The Danger of Kindness

Posted on Wed Oct 24th, 2018 @ 7:05am by
Edited on on Sat Feb 2nd, 2019 @ 11:01am

Mission: Season 2: Mission 2.A: R&R
Location: Deep Space Nine - Promenade
3265 words - 6.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Anje Brett stepped onto the Promenade of DS9 for the first time ever, stopping for a second to take it all in, it really was as massive as her Aunt had told her. As much as she was a Federation patriot, there was something about Cardassian architecture that had always fascinated her and DS9, formerly Terok Nor, was an amazing example of their best work. After a few seconds of gawking like a tourist, she began to wander the area, looking at all the different shops and restaurants, contemplating her next meal. Or was it her first? She couldn’t remember if she’d eaten breakfast that morning or not.

Having got an early start, Estelle was already on her way back from IFFY with a small bag containing Andorian baby clothes, adapted of course for the warmer air on the Elysium. She spotted the new girl’s face at a shop front and smiled, walking over. She’d seen Anje’s file the day before, under a list of people she might possibly have to chase down for a physical, so she knew immediately who she was. She positioned herself near a restaurant and waited for Anje to be about level with her, only then realising how tiny the other woman was. ‘Certainly comes in handy in the Jefferies tubes’, Estelle figured. “Good morning, oh hungry one.” Estelle had seen Anje checking out the restaurants.

The sound of a voice turned Anje quickly, causing her to gasp as she was confronted with a lovely, curvy blonde woman, “Oh, uh, hi.” She said, “Uh, yeah, think I skipped breakfast this morning. Any suggestions?”

“Anything that’s been on the promenade for more than two months is great”, Estelle said. “The crappy places never last. Except for that Klingon restaurant. They were rather rude when I inquired about roasted rather than raw and bloody targ steak.”

“That’s a little more rare than I like it anyway.” Anje laughed, she’d had the same issue on a mission with her aunt, “We were on Q’onos, my aunt and I, and they brought out a buffet for us on the first night of the conference, it was… overwhelming to say the least: raw targ, worms of various sizes, some kind of leafy… thing. It was all I could do to eat anything and not insult our hosts. So, yeah, I can skip Klingon.”

“All I really wanted was the recipe anyway”, Estelle shrugged. “I agreed to roast targ for a shipmate tonight and have yet to figure out how to do it exactly. Though, if nothing else works, I’ll just do it like any of the other replicated meats I usually get.”

“That’s nice of you.” Anje replied, then suddenly remembered her manners, “Anje Brett, nice to meet you.”

“Estelle Hertz”, she smiled. “And yes, I just had to go into medicine being graced with that name.”

Anje chuckled, “So you’re a doctor, nice.” She stopped for a second, “You say your ship is here at Deep Space 9?”

“Orbiting”, Estelle said. “The Elysium, which you’re going to love. She’s not much to look at, from the outside. Certainly not a classic beauty, but her insides are spectacular.”

“Wait, how do you know where I’m going?” Anje asked, a little concerned by the amount of knowledge this new woman had of her.

“I talked to our spymaster for the latest scuttlebutt”, Estelle joked.

“Oh, lovely.” Anje groaned, she already knew where this was heading now, ~Next they’ll ask about my aunt and then I’ll never know if anyone actually likes me or if they’re just looking to get ahead…~

Estelle smirked. “No, your face came up on a list of people we’re going to have to ask to get checked up in sickbay. I expected at least one of the new people to run into me here on the station.”

“Okay.” Anje nodded, relieved, “And you won’t have to chase me down for my physical, I like to stay on top of that sort of thing.”

“That’s refreshing”, Estelle concluded. “Maybe share with the others that being poked and prodded isn’t quite so bad, hm?” She winked at Anje. “Jumja sticks are that way.” She pointed in the direction past the replimat.

“Might need something a little more substantial than a Jumja stick.” Anje laughed, “But like my brother, Bo, says ‘life is uncertain, eat dessert first’, right?”

“Where did you grow up?” Estelle asked. “I’ve never been more than a few feet away from a replicator, except for holidays.”

“Spent most of my early life on the USS Bozeman.” Anje began, “Bounced from post to post with my parents, spent the last couple years on Vulcan with my aunt. And there were always replicators around, why would you think there wasn’t?”

“Synonymous with a consistent food supply in my mind, I suppose”, Estelle explained her reasoning. “Bozeman rings a bell, wasn’t that the last surviving Soyuz class?” As far as she knew, all the others had been turned into the more capable Miranda design with time.

“Yeah.” Anje nodded, “My mom and dad were both assigned to the Bozeman when we were lost in the Typhon Expanse. Mom was pregnant with me, so this 24th century woman in front of you is a 23rd century baby. Talk about your identity crisis, huh?”

“Wait, then it’s you in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest recorded pregnancy?” Estelle asked. She had no idea whether that was in there but it was a safe bet, or at any rate not an entirely awful joke, at least in her mind.

“Basically, yes.” Anje giggled, she’d heard worse jokes and it was true, weird as it might sound.

Estelle started walking towards the jumja stand. “Too bad there’s no medically interesting story for me to explore there”, she said conversationally. “I’m always looking for weird, unusual and never-before-seen cases.”

“You and my mother would get along famously.” Anje said with a smirk, “She’s a Commodore at Starfleet Medical. Like a hundred and twenty years a doctor.”

“I’m still working on my first decade”, Estelle admitted. “I’m not counting my intern years, I was doing mostly a nurse’s job. Which is great, by the way. Helps you appreciate there’s more to medical care than just cutting people open and re-arranging their innards.”

“Okay, so, Estelle, this isn’t really good lunch conversation so much.” Anje laughed, her aunt would love this woman.

“Oh, squeamish, are we?” Estelle smirked. “I’ll watch my tongue.”

Coming the other way was the woman from that morning’s news broadcast, the one-eared Turkanan native. Tall and thin, but walking upright and with a look of curiosity and awe on her face, taking in the beauty of life on the station, a place where she could just be without also being afraid.

Anje could sense the other woman’s approach, Vulcans had limited telepathic powers and hers were even more limited, but she could feel it. She turned from Estelle to look at this other woman as she came nearer and was filled with sadness, this poor woman had obviously been through Hell itself. She tried not to stare, not wanting to make the other woman uncomfortable.

“That’s Jessica Clarke”, Estelle whispered, following Anje’s gaze. “She was in the news this morning, very emotional appeal for help for her homeworld, Turkana IV. Impressive woman.”

“She’s pretty.” Anje noted, “No way I’d manage to look that good living like that. I mean, my Aunt was there once trying to negotiate the release of some refugees, told me horror stories…”

“She’s asked for that kind of help, exactly”, Estelle said. “Ships to come in and take away people who just want to live somewhere else. I think we should, but it seems Starfleet and the Federation Council aren’t having any of that.”

“Aunt Anje… Ambassador Zhukov, she’s been fighting for that since she met an Ensign named Yar in the late 2350’s.” Anje said, “She’s always considered not being able to get Starfleet to intervene her biggest failure.”

“You should get the two of them together”, Estelle suggested. “Their goals are aligned, better to pull in the same direction together, no?”

“Would’ve been easier a couple days ago when I was still her aide.” Anje stated, “But I don’t suppose we can’t try. Umm, you’re the social butterfly here, maybe you can approach her?”

“I’m the what now?” Estelle asked. Anje had talked to her for all but five minutes and she already considered her a social butterfly? Estelle wondered what brought that judgement in on her. “Well, okay, I guess I can try to break the ice.”

“Thanks.” Anje smiled, Estelle was better at this than she was. Once she’d gotten to know someone, no problem, but first meetings were a nightmare.

Estelle walked up to the taller woman and said, “Ms Clarke? Good morning. I’m Estelle Hertz, I saw your appeal this morning, and I know someone interested in helping your home, and I think you should meet.”

“You, you do?” She was startled, not used to being approached in public, certainly not with a benevolent offer. “I… yes, I want to meet that someone.”

Estelle waved Anje over. “Talk to Anje over there. She’s got family who is involved, too.”

Anje walked over to Estelle and the other woman, Jessica, “Hello, Ms. Clark, I’m Lieutenant Anje Brett.” She began, “Until two days ago I was aide to Ambassador Anje Zhukov, who’s very concerned about the situation on Turkana IV. I would like to arrange contact between you.”

“An ambassador!” Jessica exclaimed. “That is hopeful news indeed! Please, arrange away.” She was trying to keep her excitement under control, not entirely successfully. She hadn’t expected such a quick response to her appeal.

“I’ll give her your information.” Anje smiled, “In the meantime, have you eaten?”

Jessica nodded. “Yes. The replimat is free, and the food is better than anything I’ve had in… ever.”

Anje didn’t know how to reply to that, she wanted to say ‘that’s so sad’ but she didn’t want to kill the woman’s joy, so she opted for, “They are a great piece of tech, aren’t they? I loved the ones at the Academy, they made the best sushi!”

“This is the kind of world all Turkanans want to live in”, Jessica said. “Even most of the criminals, I’m sure. Many of us risk their lives trying to flee home. I don’t understand why that’s not enough for people to see how desperate we really are.”

“Ambassador Zhukov has been concerned about the Turkana situation since the late 2350s, she’s not stopped working on it for nearly forty years.” Anje began, “But with a face to show the council her efforts might bear fruit.”

“I’ll do whatever I can”, Jessica stated firmly.

“And we can give you a new ear, too”, Estelle offered.

“No!” Jessica recoiled, instantly defensive, though calming down quickly. “No, thank you. This is a powerful symbol.”

“Maybe that’s something you and the doctor can discuss afterwards.” Anje suggested, “For right now, let’s focus on getting you and the Ambassador connected, keep your eye on the snake and all that.”

Estelles smiled. “Glad I’m not the only one who’s fond of that particular expression.”

“My mother uses it all the time.” Anje shrugged, “Some woman named T’Kumbra that she knew last century told her that.”

“Where must I go to find the ambassador?” Jessica asked. “There is no time to lose.”

“She’s on Vulcan.” Anje replied sadly, “But I can arrange communication from here or anywhere else.”

“I’d love that”, Jessica said. “Where can we go? I don’t have a place to stay.”

“Umm, okay…” Anje paused, not sure how exactly to respond to that, “Well, let’s see what we can do about that after I eat, shall we?”

“We’d love for you to join us”, Estelle added. “You should try jumja sticks, they’re most excellent.”

“Please”, Jessica said, still antsy. She felt that progress was close and she was being asked to wait. But she had endured for years, a little while longer would not be too bad, she decided.

Anje motioned to Estelle to lead on, she didn’t know this place. Focusing on Jessica she asked, “So, if you don’t mind my asking, how did you manage to get here from Turkana IV?”

“The short version?” Jessica said. “Captured by criminals, enslaved by Orions and rescued by Ferengi.” Her face said that none of these were happy memories, except for those last few days.

“Rescued by Ferengi? That’s a new one on me.” Anje said, turning quickly to Estelle, “Oh, reminds me, we should probably avoid a place called Quark’s Bar. My friend Delphine says the owner’s a serious pervo.”

“Ach, he’s not so bad”, Estelle smiled. “And he’s the single best source for fancy alcohol and holodeck programmes in the entire sector.”

“Which was the nature of Delphine’s grievance if I recall correctly.” Anje replied, then turned back to Jessica, “However you made it, I’m very happy. Hopefully this will finally be something the council can’t turn their back to.”

“I’m not the first one to make it out”, Jessica sighed. “I’ll fight tooth and nail but I’m not the most hopeful.”

“Well, I know Ambassador Zhukov will blast the bugle until she drops, don’t worry about that.” Anje reassured her, referencing Gunga Din.

“I wish we had a good number of Vulcans on Turkana”, Jessica said. “They are much better at resisting as a unit.” Romantic ideas, they were as fallible as anyone else, but what did Jessica know?

“That’s true.” Anje nodded, “My grandmother’s people are a hardy lot. Logic combined with strength is a great combination.”

“We’ll need people who won’t be easily intimidated, otherwise anyone sent there won’t make it past their first week”, Estelle said. “I’m afraid nothing short of a full military intervention will see results.”

~Full military intervention. That’s going to be a tough sell.~ Anje thought, not daring to verbalize it yet and damage Jessica’s hopes already, “I’m sure the Ambassador will look at a number of options, Jessica, she’ll come up with something.”

When they arrived at the jumja stand, Estelle purchased three of the sweet treats and handed two of them on to Anje and Jessica. “A lot would be improved if we had a reliable means of picking up and resettling refugees. That’ll be easier to do. All that takes is the will to help.”

“The will isn’t the problem.” Anje shook her head, “It’s getting access to the way.”

“The political will, in the Council, is what I meant”, Estelle clarified.

“Ships to take people away would give lots of them hope”, Jessica agreed.

“Well, in either case, let’s hope the Ambassador has the force of will to get the rest of the council in line.” Anje said hopefully, “I agree with the Ambassador when she says she doesn’t understand why Turkana IV has been abandoned by the Federation. I mean, it was one of ours, so the people there were, and still are, Federation citizens. You can’t just say ‘never mind’ to something like that. It’s past time we owned the mistake and corrected it.”

“I hope more will see it that way”, Jessica said. She took a bite from the jumja and the sweetness exploded in her mouth. “Whoa, this is…” She swallowed and coughed. “I never knew something could be that sweet.”

“The first bite is shocking for everyone.” Anje laughed, “But after that they become addictive.”

Estelle was saying something that sounded like agreement, with her mouth full.

“There is much I will have to learn in this world”, Jessica said. “If it hadn’t been for my parents, I doubt I’d even be able to speak in complete sentences for all the education I haven’t received.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Anje answered sadly, the jumja stick might as well have been a fresh dropped turd at that moment, the idea of anyone in the 24th century being denied such basic pillars of life was too much for her, “But, you’ll be able to make up for a lot of lost time now.”

“I am most eager to learn”, Jessica agreed.

“We have some chemical learning techniques that could bring you up to speed on many things”, Estelle suggested. “But the really worthwhile things, experience them slowly and one at a time and they’ll be the joy of a lifetime.”

“That’s right.” Anje nodded, “The best things take some time but the payoff… wow.”

“And there are so many people who want to show me things”, Jessica smiled. “I think they like seeing the joy of my trying it for the first time. Gleg, the man who rescued me, suggested oo-mox… but he doesn’t know that I know what that is. I’m grateful, but not that grateful.”

“Disgraceful.” Anje shook her head, it seemed a Ferengi would always be a Ferengi. She took a look at Jessica again, “So, where are you storing your things, Jessica?”

“You’re looking at it”, Jessica responded. “I don’t need anything. I get free food, and I don’t have to look over my shoulder all the time.”

“Well, no offense, but you’re going to need more than just that one outfit, you’ll also need hygiene products, cosmetics…” Anje began, then stopped, “I’ll tell you what, I can get these for you. No strings attached. If I can impose on our lovely tour guide to show us around that is.”

“All I’ll need is a job”, Jessica said. “Thank you for your offer, though. I am not asking for help for myself, though. And I want to prove that we Turkanans are useful to have around, we’re not a drain on resources.”

“I know you’re not a drain, Jessica.” Anje explained, “But the fact remains you’re going to need a few things, especially if you’re going to be interviewing for jobs. Don’t think of it as charity, think of it as a gift from a friend.”

“You’ll need a place to stay, too”, Estelle added. “You can’t be sleeping on the promenade. It’s best to set that up first and then look for a way of earning your keep. None of us have started from zero either.”

Jessica nodded. “I suppose. A place where I can be alone would be nice”, she admitted.

“Okay, so essentials first, then a place to stay.” Anje said, making a list in her mind, though she could practically hear her aunt in her head saying, ‘You and your lists, little one. You are TOO together.’ “And once you’re settled, a chat with an Ambassador, then the job hunt can begin in earnest I think.”

“Thank you”, Jessica smiled. People were much kinder here. Maybe because they didn’t have to worry about the dangers of kindness?