Grief in the Grove of the Old Homeworld

Posted on Sun Apr 3rd, 2022 @ 4:09am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Quinn [ADMIN NPC] & Commander Arrianna Salannis an Vantar

Mission: Season 5: Interlude: Darkness Abounds
Location: The Garden of Rememberance, Sena Alindar
Timeline: MD4ish
1198 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Arrianna stepped into the Grove again. Once again impeccably dressed. And she was going to this place to once again, wallow in her shame. Desiring very much, her love, but it never came.

Quinn had been watching, she had watched the crew of her friends vessel for a while and now she watched over Arrianna. But the time for Wallowing was over, Quinn decided and she made sure they were alone before appearing beside Arrianna. "So what are you doing?" She asked casually

She turned to the woman and watched her for a moment. Then she began walking once again. Attempting to put distance between herself. She knew this woman. Arrianna knew everything about Phoenix's past. Nothing was ever simple with Arri.

"Oh ok, be that way." Quinn said "But while you mope around, Josephine suffers. Guess that's what you want right? Her to suffer and you to play the martyr. "

Arri walked up and grabbed her by what she was wearing. "What do you expect of me?!?! He turned me into something I was not.. Knew exactly how much pain I could take.. And then the bitch inside me... She turned Josephine into something she was not.. In order to be rescued by something Phoenix was not.." Arri hugged herself. "I want her in my arms again. So much. It's driving me to madness. I've made so many mistakes... so many errors.. It's inexcusable."

"So instead of doing something to fix things you are going to stand here?" Quinn rolled her eyes. "And I thought Humans were frustrating. I now see why Phoenix lost her shit at your mother."

"Mother has always put duty first. Sometimes that antagonizes even me. What if I make things worse? What if there's nothing left to save?" Arrianna noted. "I love her... I cannot live without her." She sighed. "I'll do anything to get her back. Pay any price. Even to a devil."

Quinn smirked. "No devils here" She replied. "Q gave us all a bad reputation. But if I save her, what good would that do you?"

She paced a bit, pondering what she knew about the q's.. fighting her own emotions.. She wanted to ask her to bring her here, immediately, just the way she was.. Hell she wanted to ask her to make everything right.. Make it so they had no scars from the Mirror Universe.. Like the time on Pacifica when they were once.. Whole.. But that would be a selfish fantasy." She then paced and thought a moment. Tirielle did not create the first imperium by having it handed to her.. She had to fight a long war to destroy the warlords of old.

"It will not do any good for me, Quinn." Arrianna noted. "Phoenix and the others would see that I asked you to solve my problems for me. I would be like Pallas... have all the kings horses and all the kings men put humpty dumpty back together again. Isn't that how the human saying goes?"

"So how are you going to do it? Save her? Bring her home?" Quinn asked. "Because right now I am not seeing much of movement towards that goal"

Arrianna thought a moment and then spoke. "Wait. I can find Cragen's ship. Our yacht's enhanced sensor arrays. They backup to a secondary data archive in case the yacht was ever damaged or destroyed. And with that I can discern the ship's warp signature from the advanced subspace array." Her mind went to work. "I can then use Sena Alindar's Long Range Tachyon Arrays to pinpoint Cragen's ship... They were designed to pinpoint a cloaked Romulan Fleet, and provide minute by minute intelligence on Romulan ship movements if they ever went to war with the Federation."

"Okay a good starting point." Quinn said looking her up and down. "Tell me you will be more sensibly dressed when you start this?"

"A uniform would suffice.. but high fashion is prized here. Our elegance is a reflection of the care we take in our body and mind." Arrianna noted. "One question though Quinn? Why did you ever become a Q?"

"I was born a Q" came the response. "Its all I am."

"And are you satisfied by it." Arrianna noted. "The Philosopher's college has studied you. Based upon past encounters, and after considerable amounts of debate, we've concluded that you are not so easily defined. An omnipotent being that transcends science, time, space... some say you are what we aspire for.. and others in the philosophy college say you are an anomaly, nothing more.. And I think the College of Philosophers spends too much time hypothesizing." Arrianna noted. "But I have a more pondered idea of what you and the other Q are. You are everything, yet you are nothing. You can have anything, yet you are deprived. You are something, but you are nothing. For there is no further height to the mountain your kin has climbed." Arrianna noted. "And Alexander wept, seeing he had no more worlds to conquer. Do yourself a favor.. do not tell the philosophers what you are while you're here. The scholars and the artisans however are more rational." Arri allowed herself a small smirk.

Quinn smirked "Do you think anyone can see me?" she said looking around. "Here I thought I was going to be passed off as a hallucination."

"Why are you bothering with me. My problems, may seem like the dilemma of a insect under a shoe compared to your exitance." Arri noted. "But I can say this.." She shed a tear. "I love her deeply.. infinitely... It drove me to madness not having her. I didn't want Phoenix Lalor to see my madness.. I didn't want her to see what I had been reduced to. And I will need to plead Josie's forgiveness.. Flossie had complete control of me when she..." She could finish. So I did what no Alindari did. I murdered parts of my mind, and I am not the same."

"After what you both went through, it is not surprising." Quinn said and waved a hand and Arri found herself sitting on a bench. Quinn sat beside her. "You need to understand something, Arrianna. I can help you heal, so you can go find her. I own Pene so I am going to help you."

"if you help me get her back. I will owe you.." Arrianna noted. "My mind's still unstable Quinn. Flossie was a product of torture and drugs tailored to my people's physiology. Kate was a product of unreal hatred. If you can help me order my mind.. It will prevent another rogue personality from forming. I will owe you... for this..."

"You know it would mean I would have to poke into your mind," Quinn said warily.

"Brace yourself Quinn." Arrianna noted. "My mind is not a safe place right now. Keep your guard up. You are fortunate you are a Q, as you will be entering a real where a thought could destroy. You're going to see what they did to me.. What Bishop turned me into, what Flossie did to Josie."

"I already know" Quinn said softly.

Tag - To be continued.