[USS Tempest] Re: Friends and Gifts
- From: Debra Mosqueda <mightymidgie@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: usstempest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 09:13:13 -0800 (PST)
LOL! Loving this one. :)
TKilyle@xxxxxxx wrote: Friends and Gifts
by Senek Menkara, Miranda Craig, & Nan Ecitsuj
No matter how many times he explained that he would be perfectly safe and,
more importantly, that she and Kaiidth would be well protected if he needed to
leave the ship, it wasn't until he'd asked his father to come stay with her and
the baby that Aylin was somewhat mollified. Senek couldn't blame her at all,
even though was illogical anyway. tr'Cruak had no chance in hell of getting
aboard the Georgetown but the horror of what he'd threatened was enough to keep
Aylin afraid.
And he had to attend to ship's business, too. He could have passed it off to
someone else, claiming illness, but that seemed irresponsible to him. Aside
from which, he felt better than his usual death warmed over if only because of
the temporary relief from the balms Aylin had rubbed into his joints. The fact
that the scent still lingered was also very helpful. It kept him from
irritation at the officiousness of the people he saw at the Fleet liaison
office on the station. Once he was done there, though, he had other plans.
There were things both Aylin and Kaiidth could use...
When she was younger, on those rare occasions when Lindsey was home on her
birthday, they always did something special together just the two of them.
They'd go riding and have a picnic, or get up early and have breakfast, or have
lunch at the kids place in Dallas. Those were always the best part of Miranda's
birthdays, and she wanted to get back to those moments so she'd decided they
were going to spend a whole evening alone for Lindsey's birthday. She'd
reserved the holodeck so they could see Lindsey's favorite band's latest
holo-concert after she'd made them dinner.The only thing left do to really was
to buy a present, and that was always the hardest part because Lindsey was the
most difficult person in all the world to shop for.
If it had been the market place at T'LingShar, Senek would have known just
what to get and just where to go. Even the one at ShiKahr was equally ordered.
DS9, however, was an illogical melange of everything from Earth to the Delta
Quadrant. It was irritating. He supposed that the baby and children's shop
where he and Aylin had gone the first time would do for a start. Absently, his
hand felt for the sidearm he'd been authorized to carry. "God help the man if
he shows his face again," he muttered under his breath.
When was the last time she'd seen Lindsey in anything but her uniform?
Miranda couldn't remember if it had been days or weeks? Smirking to herself as
she lifted a soft, pale green button up shirt from a rack. "It would be nice to
see her in something other then red and black."
Granted it was the voice that caught his attention, the sound of it making
him cringe in remembrance. Then it was where the speaker was: a shop that sold
a variety of items, including children's things. That, plus his small tinge of
mischief that still existed, made him pause in his travels. "It's not your
color, Ensign," he said dryly.
"Not my style either," she replied as she turned to look at the tall
irritating Vulcan. "I'm trying to find a gift."
"Ah," he said simply as he stepped inside. "This would seem to be an ideal
place. I'm actually here for the same reason since the Fleet liaison office
seemed to want me out of there as quickly as possible."
She smirked at that. "That's because you're a Georgetown officer, y'all about
as much a ship of lepers as we are. There are people who don't like John any
more than my sister."
One brow went up slowly at that. "I rather thought it was because I was, as
my father says, looming. I am apparently an intimidating height for certain
species."
Miranda looked him up and down and then shrugged. "Yeah, I can see how you'd
freak out short people."
"It comes in rather handy at times," he said with a minute shrug. "I think I
even frightened my wife when I first met her."
"Oh yeah," she smirked. "I head about that and the baby, congrats."
"Thank you," he said quietly even as he looked around, looking for spying
eyes and ears. "She is small but thriving. I've come to get things for them
both."
"They have cute stuff here," Miranda said as she pointed out a part of the
shop with baby items. "I was going to get my friend Tawny's sister's baby
something but it's bad luck in their customs to give a child gifts before it's
born."
"Many Human cultures have that custom, believing that it would go against the
will of God," he said distractedly as he lightly touched a tiny teddy bear.
"which is patently ridiculous to think that a mortal could change what already
is."
Miranda titled her head to the side for a moment and then replied, "Lindsey
says it makes more sense when you think about how the mother would feel if
she'd lost the baby, to have those things around." She shrugged then said,
"Religion makes about as much sense as logic."
"Are you trying," Senek asked deadpan, "to kill two birds with one stone?
Though offense is illogical and emotional, I find I am prone to it upon
occasion."
"Just callin' it like I see it," the young woman replied.
"You ought to know that I am perhaps one of three Vulcans who practice the
faith, Ensign, in conjunction with c'thia," he told her.
Miranda smirked as she leaned her weight to one cowboy booted foot. "Didn't
say there was anything wrong with that, Commander. Was just sayin' that from my
point of view, it don't add up to much."
"Yet," Senek said as he picked up the bear, "you will not buy something for
your friend's future niece or nephew out of respect for their beliefs."
"Nephew," she said as she nodded. "Just cause I don't believe it stuff like
that doesn't mean I don't have respect for those who do. It's just I'd rather
put my faith in the people I trust, my parents, my grandparents, and my sister."
Senek hmmphed softly. The bear for Kaiidth most certainly. "Now if I did
not do that myself, I would not be here right now but I simply believe there's
something more, the faith comes from somewhere."
Miranda picked up another shirt to look it over as she shrugged. "My
grandfather would say it comes from the heart."
"I prefer to think otherwise," he said with a painful shrug.
"Why?" she asked honestly as she turned to look at him.
"Because," Senek said, looking directly at her, "I believe. It is that
simple. My wife has issues with that but all will be as it should."
She thought about it a moment and then asked, "So you going in to it blindly?"
He mulled that over for all of a second. "Yes, absolutely," he said simply.
"As did my father."
Miranda wasn't sure what to say to that, she'd never had blind faith in
anything but her sister.
"That, Miss Craig, is why it's called faith," he said with no small amount
serenity. "Hence my daughter's name: Kaiidth, which means 'what is, is.'"
Miranda smiled, "That's very pretty, and really great advice. What is, is."
"It is the founding tenet of Vulcan philosophy," he began even as he wondered
what pretty and soft things he could get for Aylin. "spoken by Surak himself."
Then his expression softened just slightly, though he didn't dare smile. Of
course it was pretty. This was his Kaiidth they were speaking of. "And thank
you. It matches her."
"It's a name she can be proud of," Miranda nodded slightly then drifted off
to a collection of real books. "That's important, to like your name and be
proud of it."
"Yours is Miranda, is it not? Might one assume one of your parents is a fan
of the Bard?" he asked.
Miranda thought about it and then shrugged, "No idea." She didn't really know
all that much about her parents to be honest. "Lindsey named me. Miranda Ariel
from the Tempest. It's her favorite." She smiled softly as she picked up an old
copy of 'Stranger in a Strange Land'. "I still have the worn old copy she use
to read to me from."
"Keep it. You will treasure it even to use for reading to your own one day,"
he said quietly, peering at the books to see if there were anything Aylin might
like. "There are few real books on Vulcan so my parents and grandfather tod us
stories from memory: tales of the Forge coupled with the lives of Egyptian
gods. There would be one reason why, as my friend Nan says I am not wrapped
too very tight."
She couldn't help it, she laughed. "You are a rather strange Vulcan,
Commander."
One eyebrow went up slowly. "I do know that, Ensign," he said with a
completely still face. "If you remember Chief Ecitsuj, realize that he is my
closest friend. That ought to give you a clue as to how very odd I am."
"Odd isn't a bad thing," she replied as she picked up another book. "Who
wants to be like everyone else? That would get pretty boring, or you'd end up
like those 001100 aliens."
"The Bynars?" he asked. "Interesting people if you can get them to talk to
you and their music..." He trailed off as he found and old leather bound
diary. Its pages were blank, unused. Something for Aylin to use for her
herbal things? "And no Menkara is boring. You have not met my parents quite
obviously."
She shook her head then chuckled, "Maybe at the next GT/Tempest thing." She
scanned the room and smiled when she spotted a table in the corner. Walking
over she picked up a Betazoid music box and opened it. A lovely little tune
played while soft, colorful lights danced from the box. "I have one of these.
Lindsey sent it to me first time she'd been on Betazed." She looked at the
shopkeeper, pointed to the box and nodded. She then held it out to the
commander. "A gift for Kaiidth."
It was fortunate the thing was so light and delicate. Anything larger than
what he already had in his hands would have been more painful than he could
bear. He listened to the music briefly before closing the top. He didn't
smile yet his expression lightened. "Thank you," he said quietly. "from my
wife and from me."
Miranda smiled, "You're welcome."
He was unaware of it but, until he slowly straightened up, Senek had been
slouching slightly. As he did straighten, he heard pop that had to be audible
in his estimation. "That actually hurt," he said with a rub at his back. "I
may have to call Nan."
Miranda's smile turned quickly into a look of concern. "Are you alright,
Commander?"
He bit back a sigh. There was no use in explaining the entire reason for his
pain but his lack of control demanded an answer. If this were his parents or
Aylin then they would have known. So, too, would have Nan and his lady.
"Believe it or not, Vulcans are not always the very model of health," he said
dryly. "There is a family history of, as my father says, a bad back."
"Do you need help getting back to GT or should we call your Chief and have
you beamed back?" She replied as she slipped her comm. badge out of the pocket
of her jeans.
"One moment," Senek said easily before slowly lifting his arm to tap his own
comm badge. "Menkara to Ecitsuj."
"Ecitsuj here."
"Nan," he said, already letting him know with that that it was not official,
"it seems I require some assistance and I would rather not have certain people
notice me using the transporter."
"Ah, right," Nan said, clearly having no idea who he meant. "I'll be right
there. Ecitsuj out."
Miranda raised a brow but said nothing. It wasn't any of her business that he
didn't want to be seen transporting.
"He will be quite amused to see you," Senek said wearily. "I do recall your
encounter with his now fiancee."
That made the girl laugh, "I haven't had much luck with GT crewmen."
"You've had trouble other than Lieutenant McKay and I truly do not consider
that trouble," he mused.
"A run in or two with some security ensigns over the domjat table." Miranda
said easily. "Your lot doesn't lose well."
"Considering that I do not engage in gambling or games of chance, I cannot
begin to speculate how badly they lost. It wasn't Mr. Pax was it?"
She shook her head, "No, just some losers I knew from the Academy." Then she
smirked, "And Domjat, like pool, is a game of skills not chance."
Senek hmmphed softly. "I will have to tell T'Leara to watch them closely,"
he told her. "Skill and chance are often the same thing. Those games are just
too easy."
"Yeah and you play chess with the witless because you're bored," came a sunny
voice.
Miranda snorted, "Well, pool and domjat aren't anywhere near basketball, but
they're far from easy." She looked over at the voice and smiled, "Your strange
friend here threw out his back shopping. If he's married now, he's gotta build
up his stamina or his wife is gonna need a shopping buddy."
Nan grinned at Miranda, offering her a theatrical bow, before turning those
pearlescent black eyes onto his friend. "The same?" he asked in the whispering
tones of his native language.
"As ever," came the reply. "And, Ensign, before I've come to the state I'm
in, I've played baseball. It outshines all three of those."
Miranda snorted again," Yeah, you hit a little ball with a big stick then run
around in circles."
"A diamond," Senek said archly.
"And he is the only man I know who's actually aimed hits," Nan snorted even
as he took Senek's items.
"Babe Ruth used to," Miranda said and then shrugged. "Sports are huge in
Texas."
Nan looked at Senek to confirm the answer and received a slow painful shrug
in return. "Ensign, I've only ever seen the game played at my time at the
Academy and then when they would play on the Wilderness. They used to use a
particular set of rules when this one and the first officer deigned to join
them. There was something about letting big men hit missiles. Personally I
just watched."
Miranda smiled, "I'd rather play, even if it's baseball."
"We have nothing like it on Ninitchik and I have never been able to convince
my friend here that skiing is enjoyable," Nan said, knowing it would bait Senek
into a reply.
"If the average temperature is so low that it snows, I have no wish to ski,"
Senek retorted. "Nor could I."
"Do it on the holodeck where you can make it warm and still ski." Miranda
offered with a smile. "I'm from Texas, can't stand the cold, but love to
snowboard."
Nan snorted in amusement. "No, he really can't but even if he could, the man
is too stubborn to anyway."
Miranda just shrugged. "There's always sitting by a fire with hot chocolate
covered in whipped cream." She blinked a moment then smiled, "Oh that sounds
good."
"Playing chess," the two said at once before Nan went to make sure the shop
owner was compensated for the purchases. Senek straightened slowly, rubbing
the small of his back. "He knows me too well now."
"That's part of being best friends," Miranda explained. "You know each other
better then you know yourselves."
"Wonderful," Senek said dryly. "My chosen brother knows what I think and talks
too much to tell me what I can say in one word."
"If you both talked in single words your conversations would be short and
dull." Miranda laughed.
"I heard that," Nan said as he returned, the items neatly bagged. Amusement
lit his complexion and he laughed out loud. "Oh, Senek, I'm sorry but that's
too funny. Especially when the first non-work related words he ever said to me
were basically 'shut up.'"
Miranda laughed, "I guess that has a logic in it, short and to the point,
though that's really two words not one."
Senek's glare spoke volumes but Nan just chuckled. "I think we ought to go, my
friend."
"I should go too," Miranda said with a smile. "Need to finish my sister's
birthday stuff."
"Congratulations, though, Ensign," Nan said mildly. "It usually takes a lot
longer to irritate him."
Miranda beamed brightly, "Lindsey says I have a gift."
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