A Place I Used to Know

Posted on 05 Nov 2014 @ 10:10pm by Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.

729 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Bajor, Musilla Province
Timeline: MD -26, 1400hrs

[ON]

The first thing Oren noticed when he left the main transit building after transporting down onto the planet's surface was that the heat of the Bajoran sun was as unrelenting now as it had been sixty years ago.

Granted, when one spent most of the last few months in artificial conditions, any temperature above 20 degrees combined with the light of an actual Sun could feel unbearable. Uncharacteristically lacking in tolerance, Oren hoisted his bag over his shoulder and briskly made his way out of the buildings courtyard and onto the streets. Walking down the busy streets, he kept an eye out for Jules, who had agreed to meet him upon his arrival.

He'd only been in the city once, when he left, and it looked transformed. In the past it had looked eerily pleasant. All seemed normal, but Oren's empathy had twisted it into the silent malicious monster that crept into every corner of the architecture. Every Cardassian looking your way, at that time, still tried to keep up the appearance of a helpful alien, willing to reach out to you. Underneath it, Oren knew he would throw you into one of the mines without a second thought and force you to work until you were less than the nothing he already thought of you.

Although the city had no more Cardassians in it, Oren still felt cold despite the sunlight from just looking at the familiar buildings. A simple gaze at the main transit center made Oren feel as lonely as he had been the last time he was there, trying to figure out what a cargo freighter looked like and hoping he wouldn't get onto the wrong one.

Staring at a couple walking with a child, Oren was suddenly broken out of his thoughts by the sound of his own name being called from across the street.

"Oren!" Julianne Marcum, a petite human woman in her mid-fifties jumped up and down, waving her arms about and attracting the unwelcome attention of an elderly Vedek making his way by. Ignoring him, Julianne continued to wave her hand, bringing a welcome smile to Oren's face.

Gripping the strap of his pack, he quickly ran across the street towards her, putting her into a short embrace.

"It's so good to see you," he told her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I just wish it was under better circumstances."

At the reminder, Oren's face fell slightly. He just nodded, not saying anything.

"Do you want to go now? We could go grab a bite to eat first, if you can stomach it," she suggested kindly, one of her hands still resting on his arm after their embrace. Oren shook his head, giving her a small, grateful smile.

"No, I want to get it over with. I'm not going to stay long, my arranged transport leaves tonight," he explained, walking with her as she set down the street towards the museum where Jules worked.

"What? I thought you'd stay for a few days!" she said, genuinely surprised by the new information. "I set up the guest bedroom for you at my house!"

"And I appreciate that, but I'll just pick up what I came for," he said, tripping over his words slightly. It was still hard to admit just what he'd come to Bajor for. "Then I have one more stop to make before leaving. I really can't stay. I just...I just can't okay?" he finished more forcefully than he planned and immediately regretted it at the sight of Julianne's hurt expression.

"I'm sorry, I just," but he was cut off by her raising her hand and giving him an understanding, but slightly forced, smile.

"It's fine. I get it, this is hard for you. I mean, it's your mom and dad, it hurts."

"Yeah...right," Oren agreed, though his voice lacked conviction and he suddenly felt very distant from himself and where he was, as if his entire being somehow shifted beyond the situation and place he found himself in, with the emotions that Julianne was obviously expecting left behind.

"Let's go!" Julianne suddenly announced, hooking her arm through his before they both took off towards the museum. Luckily, she was kind enough to breach another, unrelated subject and Oren soon felt himself relax once again.

[OFF]

Oren Idris, Ph.D.
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

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