Old Knowledge, New Faces

Posted on 09 Feb 2013 @ 7:35am by Raifi Zaren & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman

2,514 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo: Deck 2, corridor
Timeline: MD01: 1450 hrs

[ON]

As the 'welcome party' split apart, Zaren caught up to Evelyn in the corridor. "You guys ever heard of the expression 'you catch more flies with honey'?"

Evelyn arched her brow, "Yes, however the press can be merciless." She turned to look at Zaren.

"We can, it's true. Then again, sometimes Starfleet's pretty merciless too. Imagine spending every day trying to get people to explain things that they stubbornly want to keep secret..." He smiled at her meaningfully, "Ah, you know what that's like though."

Evelyn smirked, looking at the Trill, "Sometimes secrets are necessary, according to your articles regarding the Romulan refugees..."

"Are they, though?" Zaren wondered. "I used to think so. Well, you know. I used to think the moons and stars of secrets. But I wonder more and more just how much damage they do in the long run. Wait-" he paused, studying her, "you've read my articles?"

"Once I received your names I researched all of you, including latest stories. I admit, I'm not sure you are covering the Romulan situation correctly." Eve remarked.

"I'm covering the facet available to me as well as I can given the information available. If you've got different sources, I'd be happy to speak with them."

"What do you know of the Romulans themselves being sent to that colony?"

"You mean the individuals? There's over forty thousand planet-side now. I haven't spoken to all of them," Zaren slipped his thumbs in his back pockets. "But those I've spoken to had made their homes on Romulus. Some of them were involved in the wars. Some of them were not. Many of them have a distaste for the Federation; many appreciate having been evacuated before the planet was destroyed. They're people, Eve. They can't really be lumped into a general sum. I can speak to the situation planet-side, which I've seen for myself on many occasions, and is not pretty for the refugees or the original Federation colonists. Tell me what I'm missing."

"Have you been noticing the Vulcan response regarding the settlement?"

"There is no Vulcan response to MS1. To a few of the other settlements, certainly, but not the colony I've been covering." He considered her curiously, "What are you getting at?"

"Doesn't matter. In a unrelated note, don't you ever wonder what happened to Ambassador's Spock unification movement on Romulus?" Evelyn eyed Zaren giving him a small smirk.

"I was given to understand he believed that the VUA was not a large enough group within Romulan society to make any lasting political change. And that some of the founding members of the VUA had - shall we say - less than unifying intentions. That, for those individuals, the unification project was a front, a part of a long term plan to insidiously work into Vulcan political dynamics."

"Following the Shinzon coup, the VUA managed to get a Senator elected. That Senator was assassinated before he was sworn in. Last reports said the VUA had a membership of about fifty thousand. The kicker is, the Vulcans do not approve of what Spock was doing..." She leaned against the wall of the corridor. "I wonder if there is a link between the VUA and these Romulan refugees."

"Eve. 'These Romulan refugees' are billions of individuals who lived on Romulus; one in five of them are children. Whatever their political sympathies might be - and I'm not saying by any means that they don't have them - they're still people. I think we, as moral people, can say with a surety that they deserve at least clean water and food. They haven't been charged with anything. These are supposed to be relocations, not prisons."

"Zaren, I know, the truth is our society is not as perfect as it should be." She reached out and rubbed his shoulder, "you always were passionate about your causes. I still can't believe you're the old man I talked to all those years ago."

He rested his hand over hers, "And I can't believe you still look just the same." Maybe a little sadder around the eyes.

Evelyn chuckled, "I'm going to look like this for quite a while. El-Aurians age slowly."

"Physically anyway," he murmured. "It's what we're here for, isn't it?" he wondered aloud. "Why we live so long, gain so much perspective? To grow more passionate. To teach more compassion." He shook his head, "Enough of that for the day. Tell me what I've missed. What have you been up to?"

Eve smirked, "Not much has changed since the conference except position and rank. What about you? How long ago since the upgrade?"

"Twenty three seventy three," he told her. "Lots of changes. For one, I have discovered that chocolate and caffeine are drugs that should likely be monitored for their addictive qualities. And the art." He lifted his chin. "I do love this art. I can carry it with me."

Evelyn chuckled, "You know even though you're physically different, you're still very much that same man I met all those years ago." she grinned, "I hope you in this life, you don't make the same regrets that you said plagued you."

"I make an effort," he brushed his thumb over her fingers where they still rested on his shoulder.

Evelyn squeezed his shoulder before pulling her hand away, "So you going to tell me what you and your team are hoping to uncover on this mission?"

"I didn't come with an ulterior motive, Eve," he said with a shake of his head. "What is it about the FNN that you distrust so much?" He paused. "Or is it me, personally, you're suspicious of?"

Evelyn looked at him, "I've been a member of the Intelligence community for over a decade, it's grilled into you to avoid the press." She chuckled, "and please don't take it personally. It's flattering to think a two week event left that much of an impact in your previous host."

"Every kindness is magnified when you see the world through the eyes of someone relegated to sipping synth-ales and playing koleto while waiting to die," Zaren murmured with a half-smile. "Avoiding the press is different than antagonizing them The first thing the Federation taught me when they got their fingers into Arjin's life was to ingratiate myself to those I was suspicious of. Imbue them with a sense of trust, so that they would be more likely to give over information."

"Those skills are often used when undercover." Evelyn winked and then mused, "maybe I should go into journalism as my next career choice. I have a good seven hundred years before I start thinking about the end of my life."

"Every ending gives me a little more perspective," he explained. Perhaps that was the biggest difference between her people and his. The El-Aurians lacked an immediate experience of mortality. They saw death in others, certainly, but they only experienced the end of their own life once. "My point," Zaren said with a quick laugh, "is that you'd have more control over the story if you worked with us, rather than acting as though you have something to hide. If there's something you don't want us to know, just don't tell us. And if somehow we manage to stumble on a secret, if we're all friends perhaps even the most jaded of us can see reason. But taking the people who Starfleet command sent here to create good press for Starfleet and snarling at them first thing... that's not good planning, love."

"I'm sorry if you were offended. I just...think of it from this side of the notepad. You constantly put your life on the line, uniforms are uncomfortable sometimes, have to constantly be on guard for anything. Add the press and now you are talking about stress off duty. Watch what you say and how you say it. In my extensive career I've witnessed good officers go down because of their loose lips. I just, I want to make sure nothing like that happens here. I just have this hunch there is a secondary story being pursued here, handsome." Eve spoke sincerely while ending with a small smile.

"If you're worried about it," he said with a quick grin for the 'handsome' comment, "I'll look into it. I have no problem letting you know what's going on... on our side of the notepad. I don't see why you shouldn't get to see the notes and broadcasts before they go out. I can talk to Trija about it. After all, the whole reason we're here is because Starfleet's leaders are on board. It'd be against Trija's interest to put something out that would bar us from further endeavors with the Fleet."

"I'd hope so." Evelyn replied, looking at him. "You probably should get back to the 'party', your team will wonder where you went."

"And you're trying to get rid of me," he said, tongue in cheek. "Don't think I don't notice." He patted her cheek gently, a gesture that had felt natural as Arjin but as Raifi felt just a bit odd. "Nice to see you again, kid."

The way Raifi was looking at her was the same has the look Arjin used to give her. "Don't tell me you still harbor that crush."

Zaren laughed, "You knew?"

"You weren't subtle enough." She teased.

"And he prided himself on being such a good liar," Zaren mused.

Evelyn looked at him, "He never could lie to me."

"Well, he wasn't really trying that hard," the Trill chuckled. "He was pretty enamored."

"Enamored...right." She scoffed at him, "There is nothing special about me to be enamored with."

Raifi Zaren looked at her, just looked, seeing her now from another perspective. She was still beautiful. Still funny and wry and empathetic, but she was a little harder now than he remembered her. It could have been the situation they found themselves in. Or it could have been that something had happened to toughen her up more since the last time he'd seen her. "He'd disagree with you," Zaren said. "So would I."

"I appreciate the thought." Evelyn chuckled shaking her head.

"Not a thought. A fact. You're lovely inside and out. No point trying to deny it; that'd be a waste of time."

Evelyn looked at him and started chuckling, "Turn off the charm, Zaren, you're radiating."

"Can't help it," Zaren sighed, putting on a beleaguered expression. "Believe me, I've tried. My charm is a curse." He touched his forehead lightly with the back of his hand, "Woe is me." He winked at her. "But you are lovely, regardless."

Evelyn arched her brow at him, "Why do I get a feeling you've broken many hearts with this new host."

Zaren laughed. "What makes you think Arjin didn't?"

"He might when he was younger, but I didn't know him during those years." She grinned and then gestured, "besides between your outfit and your nose ring, screams flirt."

"I like this look," he murmured with a sideways grin. "Everyone's always poking fun." He wiggled his brows, "And you haven't even seen all my piercings."

"You have other piercings?" She shuddered at the thought, "I'll never understand the desire to puncture one's body."

"Different bodies enjoy different kinds of pleasure," Zaren shrugged, perfectly at ease. "This is one of mine."

"Well, guess that's good to know." Eve mused.

"One of the benefits of being a symbiotic species," the Trill explained, "is getting a wide range of experiences from many perspectives. Pain, pleasure, glory, loss - it's all part of the learning curve. Seriously, though, I try not to break hearts. They're fragile; I remember too well what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a loss like that."

"I bet you do." Evelyn said shaking her head. "Trill. I confess, Zaren. Your species I believe is the one I find most interesting. Especially you joined Trills. The idea of being a host to a creature...most find the idea daunting."

Zaren cocked an eyebrow. "Most aren't designed with a biological imperative for symbiotic behaviors either. It's really not all that strange when it's how you're built. Much like, to us, the idea of sharing a common consciousness with others seems a foreign concept, while many other species seem to have developed that capacity. However, I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Within reason," he added with a small smile. "We have to keep some of our secrets too."

"I do have one question that I always wanted to ask..." She bit her lip as if thinking about whether to ask it or not and then she shrugged her shoulders. "Does it ever say thank you? I mean the symbiont is using your body to live, and I understand you're awake for the joining process...I would hope the symbiont would tell it's... host thank you before taking over."

The Trill beamed at her, outright joy in every facet of his spotted, tattooed, and pierced face. "Lovely," he repeated, "inside and out. The Zaren symbiont does not 'take over'. We become one. We are joined irrevocably on every level. None of Raifi was lost in the transition. Only more added. And it doesn't have to thank me. I came to the Joining willingly, in fact eagerly. It is an honor, a privilege, and a pleasure to be one of Zaren's hopefully many hosts. In a way, without the memories and experiences of the Zaren symbiont's previous hosts, I would not have learned what it is to truly live. As a whole Trill. As I want meant to be from birth." He brushed her cheek with his fingertips, "But you are so beautiful to ask."

She looked at him and heard how passionate he felt about his symbiont. "No problem." She smiled and reached up to gently pull his hand from her cheek. "Anywho, perhaps you should go back to the party. My shift starts in a couple of hours."

"Party is a funny way of putting it," Zaren murmured with a small sigh. "But the network wants what it wants. I'll talk to Trija." He lightly squeezed her fingertips, then slipped his hands into his pockets. "You need company, you know where to find me. The girls can be a little excitable, but they mean well. But then you've always been good at seeing behind the curtain." He turned towards the quarters, then looked back. "It really is a miracle, finding you again out here. I hope- I hope we might see each other again. Despite being on opposite sides of the notepad."

Evelyn smirked, "This is a small ship, I'm sure we'll run into each other again."

"Right," he shook his head on a grin. "Right. I'll see you around."

Evelyn smiled and turned about and entered the turbolift nearby, "Going to be a long mission..." she whispers to herself.

[OFF]

Raifi Zaren
FNN Journalist
USS Galileo
(pNPC Lilou Peers)


Lt. Commander Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer, 2XO
USS Galileo

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