Never Parted (Part 1 of 5)
Posted on 02 Dec 2024 @ 11:25pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
4,142 words; about a 21 minute read
Mission:
Episode 20 - Reconstruction
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Transporter Room 1; Planet Remidia
Timeline: MD 07, 0801 hrs
[ON]
Sera stood outside the transporter room, thermal-lined jacket wrapped about her, currently unzipped. She had the parts to build the air purifier but it was still in pieces to keep some of the more delicate technology secure until they made camp.
Glancing down, she checked that she had her tricorder and commbadge, resisting the urge to test the forwarding system she had installed as a safeguard in case something went laterally on the ship. Lamar would be here soon and the rather uncomfortable anticipation would be at an end because there would be no way to back out. She huffed a breath of air out of her nose. Why did she insist on doing this? Retreating was not a possibility. Her course was set. It was 0800.
Time ticked on the chronometer while seconds passed which turned into a full minute, followed by more long seconds and another minute. Suddenly a small commotion could be heard in the faint distance further down the corridor which grew louder as it approached. Verbal mumbling in Lamar Darius' distinctive voice revealed his presence at almost the same time he rounded the small bend in deck 2's hallway and approached the chief engineer with three robust laden rucksacks in his possession. One was strapped around his shoulders and firmly on his carried the other two in opposing hands, the muscles in his forearms and shoulders straining from the weight. A friendly smile broke through on to his eyes and moth when he arrived next to her. "I'm only three minutes late, don't kill me. Had to run back for a couple things in my quarters."
He observed her outer garment which seemed a bit unnecessary to him, especially compared to his own long-sleeved shirt and simple light-weight windbreaker still packed in one of his bags. "You, uh, know we're not visiting Andoria, right?"
"If it is too warm, I have layered and can remove as necessary." She held out a hand in silent request for him to hand off one of the ruck sacks...although the additional weight that he carried did show case the muscular lines of his arms and chest. He was a most acceptable male specimen to gaze upon.
Lamar deposited the grip from her rucksack in her hand which thankfully alleviated 40 pounds of weight from his burden. His attention drifted from her familiar and pretty face down to the gear she brought along. "What's in there?" he asked. "A time travel device?" Some morbid humor which might be out of place considering the recent debacle involving a future timeline.
Sera's eyes widened slightly but her expression remained otherwise completely placid. "You give me far too much credit. I lack the intellect and the expertise necessary for such a device. It is the air purifier you requested. I will finish construction once we have have decided to make camp." The thought of another time travel adventure did not sound appealing in the slightest. "Are you ready to depart?"
He cocked his head to the transporter room's door with an affirmative reply then stepped in and began placing their bags up on the platform's illuminated pads. "I can't wait to see this doohickey you made. It's not gonna pump out a bunch of neurocine gas while we're sleeping, right?" More morbid humor after which he held his hands up to convey jest. "I'm kidding. I brought a custom grill and some food I think you'll like. Ready when you are."
She was not sure what to make of Lamar's current attempt at humor, however, as he change the subject, she felt it was only courteous to go along with it. "Your preparation has been quite considerate. I am ready." She stepped up on the transporter pad and and prepared to be beamed down.
The intense tingling took hold of her form and the last thing she saw was shimmering golden sparkles. Then she was suddenly somewhere else. The first inhale of breath felt somewhat odd, heavier somehow. It smelled of growing things and held a tinge of ozone, overall a not unpleasant aroma. She hefted the rucksack she liberated from Lamar over her shoulder and looked to her partner in this little adventure. "What direction should we take?"
When the bright shimmering of molecular reassembly was complete, Lamar blinked then took in their new and incredible surroundings. Situated within a temperate forest area just above the northern tropic latitude line, an expansive sea of tall, robust deciduous flora encompassed almost the entirety of their vision. Most shocking was the large amounts of anthocyanin present within the leaves which produced a purple coloration to all plant life. He took several breaths alongside her and felt the distinct thickness of the air. The temperature across his covered skin felt to be a cool 70 Fahrenheit with a light breeze which he hoped would warm up soon when the sun peaked. He realized she'd asked him a question which he'd been too preoccupied to answer. "Um," the conn officer pulled a folded paper topography map from his pocket, unfolded it, then began to spin around while looking for a notable point of reference. "If the beam in coordinates are right, we're about a 20 minutes walk from a creek bed...in this direction," he finally identified after spotting a large mountain in the very far distance to orient themselves.
This world held no familiar point of reference in which to compare it to her home world. The prevailing color here was purple and it was full of growing things, unlike her world filled with the color of sand and rock and held a distinct lack prodigious flora. Yet, it was not like Earth either--not that she had any particular familiarity with it. However, even in San Fransisco, it was green and lush and so filled with moisture that she could not help but feel that she had been dropped into some kind of chilly paradise. The ambient temperature here was cool, but not uncomfortably so, and she unzipped her field jacket to allow greater air circulation.
The direction he pointed did not give any clear destination, other than his words of a creek bed. Regardless, she began walking, taking it slow before he came up next to her and set the pace...He was carrying more weight. "It is very quiet with no fauna present." There appeared to be a bed of low growing fern-like plants carpeting the ground where they were walking. It slowed their pace somewhat, and when they came in contact with the fern leaves, they emitted what appeared to some sort of spore that glittered in meager beams of sunlight that made it unfiltered to the ground. The aroma was translated by her olfactory center as strong and deep, carrying notes of cocoa, a bitter hint of Earth coffee, dried fruit like the type sold in the center square during the festivals she was allowed to attend, and of course the ubiquitous petrichor from all of the uninhibited plant life. It was a heady smell, and she could feel any concerns regarding leaving the ship alone and chief engineer-less receding. Perhaps it had a subtle mind-altering substance in it as well?
Sera detached the tricorder from her waist and began scanning the ferns with their glittering spores. "These ferns...their spores have a significant percentage of a substance that is quite similar to tetrahydrocannabinol. The percentages are low, but you may notice a sensation of mild euphoria?"
His first instinct was to frown with disapproval at her use of a tricorder during an off-the-grid camping expedition. The mere fact she'd brought it along at all earned her a small chiding. "I thought we weren't going to bring our fancy toys..." Then part of him imagined how naked an engineer must feel without the tools of their trade within reaching distance. Lamar inhaled a deep breath through his nose which allowed him to obtain a healthy whiff of the distinctive alien spores' aroma. "Weird smell, almost fruity. But I don't feel anything."
"Oh." Sera responded looking down at her tricorder. She had brought the device out of a sense of curiosity, but Lamar did say something about not having technology, didn't he? Out of a sense of contriteness, she flipped the device closed and clipped it back on her hip. It was still there, if needed, but...a compromise? "Well, that is ideal, to not have any adverse effects from the planet's unique biome."
"Don't jinx it," he couldn't help but laugh. "Famous last words and all that. Let's hope we don't beam back to the ship high as a kite and have to explain it to the new doc. What's his name? Lieutenant Numian?" He'd seen the tall tripodal Edosian at the briefing the other day but so far had had no interactions with the new CMO.
"I believe it was Nusien...and what do you mean by high as a kite? I have never heard this particular idiom before." Humans managed to take a language that was rather imprecise to begin with and then came up with statements to make language more...entertaining.
Lamar resumed slow steps while both navigating the two of them through a narrow path in the thicket and contemplating how best to describe the phrase she was unfamiliar with. "It basically means very intoxicated. Sort of like 'elevated', so 'high'. That's Earth slang for how drug users describe the effects of their narcotics. And kites..." he curiously glanced at her, "...you don't have those on Vulcan? Never played with them as kids?"
"Ah. Intoxication. I have never experienced anything like that." She was thoughtful regarding his question about a kite. She had no idea what such an object was, but did not wish to appear...uneducated. So she focused on the second half of his question. "No. There was not much 'play' in my childhood." She walked beside him, eyes darting here and there observing their surroundings as they continued to push through the blanket of ferns. Looking down, Sera saw that her pants were already coated with the powdery spores from the underbrush they were traversing through. Being a particular sort, she found this disagreeable.
"Hmm." His mumble conveyed a semblance of disapproval sprinkled with a desire to rectify what she might have missed during her youth. If she ever wanted to. "A kite's basically a flying wing - usually made out of fabric - attached to long strings on a reel. They don't have any propulsion of their own so to fly one, you have to go out on a windy day, get a running start, launch the kite with your hands, then let the wind capture its lift vectors. Then you just loosen the tether and let it soar up into the sky."
And somehow he knew to explain what a kite was. She considered for a moment before answering, "I will have to look it up in the database once we return to the ship. I used to observe the flying raptors as they caught the thermals to maintain flight or to move to higher altitudes...they were fascinating to watch. Perhaps it is a similar principle." This was a rather unusual conversation. "Did you do much of this camping growing up?"
Lamar nodded to her to affirm her correct interpretation of the mechanics behind kite-flying. She had a sharp mind which could seemingly grasp foreign concepts exceptionally well, which he envied. Her camping query quickly changed his train of thought to a period of his life long in the past which he rarely reflected upon. "For a while, yeah. I was raised in an urban environment so my parents went out of their way to force me to 'connect with nature' a couple times a year. I didn't really like it at the time but thinking back on it now? Some of the best days I ever had as a kid."
"It sounds as if you had an interesting childhood. I was required to learn about the environment in which I inhabited as well, but such knowledge can make the difference between life and death. It was not so much to connect but rather to have the information and tools to survive it." Sera had such a different experience growing up, which she did not dwell on overmuch. However, the more she learned about others the more aberrant her upbringing was. It was filled with constant lessons, although not always on scholastic subjects; clan history, etiquette, and other subjects that she spoke about to no one.
They continued to walk, and their conversation lulled. Sera's mind whirled about various subjects she could bring up to discuss, but instantly discarded them one by one. There was one subject that her mind kept supplying as a viable option, but she was patently ignoring that for now. You might not want to do that... the inner voice cautioned. That inner voice was getting far too much 'play' time lately.
She stopped walking for a moment and slipped her gear off of her shoulder momentarily to strip out of the field jacket, and quickly folded it up and put it in one of the compartments before picking back up her gear and hurrying the handful of steps to catch back up to him. Lamar was keeping a good pace; which Sera found agreeable.
He paused his steps, turned then waited for her. When she returned he affectionately squeezed one of her shoulders. "Not too far, now." Lamar reached into his pocket to retrieve and unfold his map again then glance up into the towering purple tree canopy which blocked out most of the sky and surrounding landmarks. "Another kilometer at best but we should be getting close to the spot. Keep your ears up for the sound of water." He teasingly kissed the top of her auditory organ's pointed helix then winked.
Sera's ears were very sensitive. She barely restrained the urge to tackle him to the ground. He would be somewhat off-balance given the additional weight. It would be easy--Kroy'kah! He had given a directive! Answer him!
"A short distance, then. I will inform you if I hear the sound of water." Sera replied in with a calm she most certainly did not feel. Turmoil. It was becoming utterly exhausting trying to control her actions. "I am not good at idle banter. I do not know what to say...what do human partners discuss?"
That was a good question. Most often, casual conversation created itself with no discernible form or creative methodology. It simply existed when and where ever it was deemed appropriate. "We talk about stuff. Random things which might be on our minds. But we don't have to always talk. Just being here next to you is enough for me," he explained with warm dark brown eyes. "Let's keep walking."
Lamar's comment regarding her close proximity being acceptable was not asked for but it was...agreeable to hear. A quick dip of her head in assent, and Sera began walking along side him. It was unusual sight, being surrounded by such varying shades of purple. She suddenly had something random to share. "Some colors are imbued with symbolism in my culture. Purple, for instance, is a common color to be married in. It is the color of the sky just before day break - the beginning of a beginning. I find the color of our current environment meaningful."
Marriage? A pleasurable shiver rippled through him while he continued to walk aside her through the thickening underbrush. The small natural path they've previously followed was now overgrown, and without any fauna to create trails, the thickness of the low-lying ferns swished across their calves with each step. "Is that your way of saying you want to get married here?" he curiously asked.
"No. I would want no one else to ever see this place." Sera replied immediately. There was something special about where they were. Sera wanted to keep it all for themselves.
Her rapid reply forced his eyes down to the forest's foliage. Her rejection of the proposal had been swift and concise, and he didn't want to challenge her prerogative. Not now. He wasn't sure if she spoke of Remidia's forests possessively in a candid manner or with disapproval at the notion of their formal bonding ceremony itself. Too often he'd gotten himself into trouble involving interpersonal relationships where he'd said too much. Sera was different. He wouldn't put his foot in his mouth again and so he simply trodded along beside her for many minutes in renewed silence while they attempted to approach their objective. Almost ten minutes later, she finally spoke again.
"I believe we have reached the water you asked me to listen for. It is approximately 50 meters to our 3 o'clock."
Lamar couldn't quite hear the soft bubbling of the creek but trusted her advanced auditory senses to guide them in the right direction. "50 meters? That's head shot territory with the Type IIIc." The weight of his two packs was putting strain on his shoulders and arms but he felt reinvigorated with the final push now commencing.
"A head shot? I was instructed to aim for center of mass at the academy...you must be quite proficient to actively aim for head." Sera kept her hands out, gently pushing the ferns outward as she walked through them coating her hands in the powdery soft spores from the plants.
A sideways smirk tugged and infiltrated a grin across his face. "Two to the chest, one to the head. Still standard firing technique. We're not trained for head counts but we had to do it during the war. Jem'Hadar armor was too reinforced on their torso."
"I was not aware of that. Perhaps one day you will show me the technique?"
"If you think you can keep up," he winked, playfully nudging her calf with a gentle kick of his boot's toe. No shooting here, though. This place is too peaceful for target practice."
They continued through the low brush until they broke through the line of foliage. In front of them was a sandy bank which indicated a large amount of variability in the water levels from a currently slow running creek of light turquoise-tinged crystal clear water - no doubt caused by dissolved minerals. They followed the creek for a few minutes until they came upon a small grove that was clear of the ferns that was directly adjacent to the flowing water. A spongy 'carpet' of deep purple moss grew along the ground that was dappled with soft sunlight from the opening between the trees.
There were a number of plants which grew in a vine-like configuration wrapping along the trunks and lower hanging branches which currently held blooms in a riot of blues, purples, and whites. But what was the most spectacular was that there was a number of unique plants that surrounded the water that held a vivid phosphorescence in a variety of colors. A most fascinating adaptation. Sera slowly turned in a circular direction, taking in their current surroundings with a sense of awe. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, indeed.
"Lamar...this is quite extraordinary."
Slowly and methodically, he lowered one of his blocky hard-cased packs to the ground then knelt and slipped his shoulders out from the straps of the other before standing up again to take in the full totality of their camping location. Extraordinary. That word didn't quite do the location justice but he was at a loss for a more appropriate word. His head, feet and torso craned upward and around while completing a full 360-degree sweep of their present position. The creek bed coupled with the alien flora was other-worldly and both the coloration and unique physical properties of this new life were a sight to behold. He'd never seen anything like this before in his entire career with Starfleet. Instinctively, he reached out with one hand and slipped his large dark-skinned fingers in between her light and slim bronze-infused digits. "Imagine living on a planet like this..." he whispered.
Sera tilted her head and tried to consider his conjectural proposition. It had mixed results. "If such a probability were to become reality, it would be unlikely that our existence would be an easy one. However, I find this particular location to be most aesthetically pleasing to take temporary shelter in."
He squeezed her hand and gingerly pulled her closer so her shoulder came into contact with his. "A tough life would be worth it if you were always here with me," he whispered - half to himself and half to her.
Sera swallowed. He spoke as if her remaining with him wasn't a foregone conclusion. "It is not likely that we would ever be...parted." She was unsure of how exactly to respond, but did not wish to cause offense. "Only death can sunder a bond. There is no undoing it otherwise once fully established."
The fullness of her words settled into him and he recalled the exchange they'd had post-coitus not more than 12 hours ago. "We...we're together now - permanently?" he asked, not with trepidation but rather unfamiliarity with non-ceremonial life bonds which weren't common on Earth. "Do I - we - need to do anything more to 'fully establish' ourselves?" His pair of dark brown eyes intriguingly surveyed her striking blue ones. "You don't have another arranged husband on Vulcan or suitor I need to fight to claim you? Some sort of marriage ritual to undertake?"
"I cannot speak for you; but I meant what I said in main engineering. I am utterly fixated upon you. I want nothing more than to meld with you...mate with you. These urges are rather consuming. You are mine." She idly pulled her hand up with the one he had gently clasped and ran the fingers of her free hand over his. "If there is another arrangement, I have not been informed. It would be irrelevant, regardless. I recognize only you. In the eyes of Vulcan law, we are one. An additional ritual would not be required."
In the eyes of Vulcan law... That statement resonated through him with both cerebral and visceral acceptance. Their hands together; her words to his; their bodies to each other. The realization that he and she were now married quickly dawned upon him, as if he hadn't quite understood back at the pool table in main engineering. "My wife," he questioningly addressed her by her proper title to confirm.
How different life could be from how one envisioned it playing out. It was logical to think ahead, to be prepared for possibilities, but for one such as this? Sera had not prepared for this eventuality, had not even considered its feasibility. A human male? The phantom memory of him squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin as he gazed unblinkingly at her - Lamar said he had learned such a gesture from other Vulcans serving with him during the war...he had proposed in a Vulkahnsu manner and she had accepted. Ill or not, her path had been set at that moment, the course forever changed.
"My husband...adun." She replied readily. "In Vulkanhsu wife is adun'a."
A longer-than-normal pause followed. Lamar was digesting the aggregate of their encounters and its final culmination which he, himself had initiated. In the moment of pleasure - moments - he'd been overcome by emotion for her. A private sense of longing and desire to belong to something greater than himself or Starfleet which he'd never before known in his short life. Now, all of that had suddenly altered. No wedding, no ceremony, no pomp and circumstance. Their bond, for life, was apparently already conceived. He swallowed a wet, trepidatious lump in his throat. "...My adun'a," he repeated with a shaky accent.
Sera felt Lamar's apprehension through the direct connection from their entwined hands, even as he attempted to say the Vulcan word. Deeply buried feelings of inadequacy clawed their way to the surface of her mind, but she gently removed her hand from his before the intensity of it transmitted any further than it needed to. She was not certain where his disquiet originated from, but given the disaster that was her first 'marriage,' her mind did not conjure up any positive reasons for his shift in mood.
"How can I assist with setting up the camp?" She inquired, finding safety in a subject that was much more practical.
To Be Continued...
[OFF]
--
Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
&
CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Tarin]