The Ring

Posted on Sat Dec 23rd, 2023 @ 7:22pm by Captain Samuel Woolheater

Mission: Season 6: Episode 4: Memory Lane
Location: DECK TEN - PROMENADE
Timeline: MD04 - THAT EVENING
1908 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON:]

The door to "Lapis Jewelers" chimes as Sam enters, glancing around the finely crafted jewelry displayed in glass cases. The jeweler and merchant, whose name is Alara Voss, looks up from arranging a set of sparkling gemstones.

“Ah, welcome to ‘Lapis.’ I'm Alara Voss, the proprietor. How may I assist you today?”

Just wanting to browse, Sam looked around, there were no price tags on anything. And he had the sinking feeling that he was not going to be able to find something here for a wedding ring either. The other three on board jewelers either didn’t have stock or they were way too expensive. And while, as a member of the SFMC, all of his basic needs were met for free, things like luxuries and the nicer things in life, like marriage bands, were not. Sam was a Marine Captain and he had been receiving 1500 Federation credits per month as a stipend. Most of the time, the credits could just accumulate and then, upon retirement, one would use those credits to have a nice, retired life in or out of the Federation. Nobody was getting “rich” by being a Marine. Sam had checked his account before the ship had entered this space, many months ago now, and he had a grand total of 47,955 Federation credits. He had been sending credits to Emily before she died. And he had been sending credits to his parents to help them out. It wasn’t much but it was something. Samuel, like most, had no Latinum.

“Hi there, Alara. I’m just…browsing around you know?” She smiled back, “Surely. Take your time.”

He continued looking in the cases and at the displays. He didn’t know how to shop for a ring. He slowly made his way towards her. Browsing over the pretty necklaces and bracelets. There were cufflinks and broches. Hat pins and ankle bracelets. Nose pins, nipple bars, earrings, barbells, conches. There was enough body piercing jewelry here to set off a metal detector. Sam cleaed his throat, “Ahem” and then asked, “Maybe you can help me?”

“Of course, what would you like?” she answered. “I was hoping to find a wedding ring for my partner, Andrinn. We're getting married, and I want something special.”

Alara smiles warmly, understanding the significance of the occasion. “Congratulations! Love is a beautiful thing. We have a fine selection of wedding bands. Is there a particular style or gemstone you have in mind?”

He thought about th question and answered. “Well, something simple, refined. Consul Orin is a classy kind of guy. Nothing too ostentatious you know?”

Alara smiled, “Of course. Here are our men’s rings.” She produced a black box about the size of a marge newspaper. Inside were rings of all sorts neatly arranged by size and color from what he could tell.

Alara suggested a few and brought them out of their holders for him to look at. She said, “These are all very nice. Simple, but elegant in their simplicity. Do you want a gemstone ornamented on the ring or in the band?”

“Neither. Just a plain, but good ring.”

“Oh, these are all good rings here. Nothing but the best; that’s all I carry here. From Risa…” She brought out a gold ring that was embedded with some kind of ‘liquid light’, “This ring is embedded with some of the plasma from the Risan sun.”

Sam looked at her and cocked his head with “Bullshit” written all over his face. “I’m pretty sure its not.”

“Are you a metallurgist too Captain? I didn’t know that was a specialty for Marines?” she asked with a bantering smile.

“No, not a metallurgist or anything like that. However, Mrs. Woolheater didn’t raise three kids to fall for hype. Let’s just stick to men’s rings? And that’s all they do?”

Alara smiled, “Certainly, nothing flashy. How about this one? Made from the bones of the Amanthian Stellar Snake”. She removed a greenish and goldish ring. As he turned it around in his hand, it changed color as it started to warm up into a bit of a red. Very smooth, shiny, beautiful. “Made from bones you say?”

“Correct. Very rare. The Amanthian Snake lives for centuries. Their bones are very dense and like this metal.” It was a nice ring. Sam guessed that with the word ‘rare’ in the title it was going to be out of his price range, “How much is it?”

Alara said, “Well, I could let it go for…100,000 credits? Or 100 bars of gold-pressed latinum. And that would be a loss for something this rare. But I’m a sucker for newlyweds.

“I don’t have any gold-pressed latinum. And…100,000 is….I don’t have that kind of credits.”

“Oh, I see…90,000 then?” she countered.

Sam shook his head no, “Thank you, its very nice. But I’m not sure its Andrinn. What else do you have?”

Alara took the ring back,, clearly disappointed but she didn’t let on too much. “Ah, well, how about a ring made from gold-pressed latinum? Here is a true beauty” and she produced a shiny latinum colored ring. It was elegant and plain. But exquisite.

Sam turned it over and it was heavy too. A very nice ring. Most definitely it was Andrinn. “I like it. How much for this one?”

Alara said, “That’s nearly a quarter of a bar of gold-pressed latinum. Other places would easily charge 50 or 60 thousand credits for that there. It can be traded. It’s value only going to go up.”

“Well, I hope that Andrinn isn’t a secret gambler with an addiction that I don’t know about. And I hope the guy I’m engaged to isn’t looking to trade the symbol of our love. Anyway, I can’t. It’s too much.”

Alara put the ring back and said, “Perhaps if you told me how much your budget is, then I could help you better?”

He was embarrassed and his face flushed red. “I'm on a bit of a tight budget, you see. I don't have a lot of credits to spare, but I want something meaningful.

Alara noticed Sam's hesitation and sincerity, “I understand, Captain. Love transcends material wealth. Let's find something that suits your budget and holds sentimental value. What's your price range?”

He hesitated and felt cheap. “I was hoping to keep it under a ten-thousand credits.”

Alara nods, showing Sam a selection of more affordable yet elegant rings. This was not the first time that she had to open up the bottom case. Her assistant had written on the case shelf, “GUMBALL CASE”. Alara reached for it and would offer Sam a smile

“We have some lovely options here. Each one crafted with care. Love is priceless, but let's see what we can do within your budget.”

As they continue to browse, Alara subtly realizes Sam's financial constraints. She decides to initiate a more personal conversation.

“Captain?” Alara started.

“Please, just call me Sam?” he asked, forgetting his manners momentarily.

“Thank you, well, Sam, I sense this ring means a lot to you. You're doing important work as a Marine, and love is a powerful force. I'd like to make this moment a bit easier for you. How about a special discount? Consider it my contribution to the love that keeps this ship together.

He was surprised. Because he was beginning to think that the only kind of wedding ring he was going to be able to get would come out of a vending machine or winning a prize at the next county fair they stopped at here in Circinus. “That’s very kind of you. Why do you want to do that?”

Alara said, “When we hit the filament. And the ship was in such a bad way. We all needed help. Everyone was scared and for a time we didn’t think anyone was coming. It was late at night so this shop was closed. Our quarters were on deck nineteen, my family and I. The saucer section. I remember that you opened up the Marine barracks. Because you had power and medicine and food. And we felt safe there. My daughter and myself. Consider this a small token of our gratitude. Will you let me do this for the both of you? I have a ring in mind. Tell me what you think of this?”

Alara reached down to the top shelf, out of view from the display. She withdrew a small box with just half-a-dozen or so rings. She took one out and brought it up to the light. It was a simple, golden hued ring. It wasn’t as shiny as some. It had a design on it. There were multiple triangles that encircled the ring creating an elegant, masculine look to it but not too “frilly”.

“The script, what’s this script? It’s beautiful!” he said.

“It’s from Trill. It means, ‘Come out of the circle of time and into the circle of love’. Put it on your finger?”

“It’s too small” he said.

“Try? See what happens?” Alara smiled back.

Sam put the ring to his ring finger. As he slid it on, the ring adjusted itself to fit him perfectly. It wasn’t loose, it wasn’t too tight. It was perfect and it was hard. There’s wasn’t any give in the ring. It was like it was made for him. As he was looking at it, he noticed that the triangular Trill language was rotating and creating different sayings.

“They’re blessings. Now it reads, ‘May this marriage be a seal of compassion.’ It has all of these blessings, and they change…align…with the mood of the wearer. Here are the combinations in Trill:

‘May this marriage have a fair face and a good name’
‘May this marriage be as welcome as the full moon in the night sky.’
‘Listen lovers, now you go on, as I become silent and kiss this blessed night.’

“That’s amazing! How can it do that?”

Alara smiled, “Programmable metal. No real application for it other than small things. We got it on a shipment a year ago. I was waiting for just the right customer. There is always something new in this business. I bet you’ve never seen anything like that?”

“No, I’ve never seen anything like this”. He took off the ring and it shrunk back in size to the size of a button as it was previously.

“There’s no way I can afford this?” Sam said.

“It’s your lucky day. Today, these rings are on sale. Nine-thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-nine credits.” Alara said, her smile beaming.

“Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate that very much. It’s perfect. I think Andrinn will love it. He’s part Trill you know?” Sam, surprised and grateful, accepts Alara's offer. The jeweler smiles, understanding the importance of camaraderie and support among the crew.

She put the ring into a simple black box with a little notch to keep it safe. And Sam paid with his thumbprint to transfer the credits. “It's a pleasure helping you, Sam. May your love with Andrinn be as enduring as the stars.”


[OFF:]

Captain Samuel Woolheater
“Saepius Exertus, Semper Fidelis, Frater Infinitas”
Division VI, MARDET 62nd Company "Spartans", 1st Platoon CO
=/\= USS ELYSIUM - NCC-89000 =/\=