Unexpected visit.

Posted on Fri Apr 19th, 2024 @ 12:00pm by High Priestess An'Dalus & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: Season 6: Episode 4: Memory Lane
Location: Deck 16 - Captain's Quarters
Timeline: Late MD 8
2201 words - 4.4 OF Standard Post Measure

An'Dalus paused as her hand reached for the controls beside the door, she considered for a moment if perhaps it was best to leave, then pressed the chime anyway.

If she could help, she should do so... even if these people weren't her people.

From inside the cabin came the sound of hurried footsteps and a voice called out "Coming!"

Anne said nothing, merely taking a half step back from the door so as not to appear so imposing before waiting silently. She was a High Priestess of Sequella after all, and she made no requests or asked for permission from anyone.

Phoenix answered the door, it was one of the few times in her life she had ever answered the door not fully put together, but William had thrown a fever in the middle of the night and she stood there in baggy sweat pants and a tee-shirt that read 'Starfleet Fencing Team 2387', her hair was pulled back in a messy pony tail and she carried her one year old son in her arms and he was thankfully, asleep on her shoulder. She took a breath as she took in the figure outside her cabin. "Excellency" she said, using her peoples term for a member of a faith. "Wh.. oh please come in" she stepped back to wave her inside.

Annes eyes lit up as soon as she saw the child, completely forgetting herself for a moment. “Matriarch…” She said in a surprisingly hushed and silky tone before stepping inside.

She felt the warmth as she walked by Phoenix, both in body and spirit. “You have a lovely little nest.” She added before turning and bowing her head, unsure where to go in this unfamiliar home.

Phoenix smiled and ushered her into a sitting area which had a large window. The couches were large and low and hand woven rugs covered the Starfleet grey floors. "Please have a seat," She waved to a chair that would work for the Sequus. Phoenix had made a point of it when S'hib had joined her crew to make sure she could accommodate him in her office, the briefing room, and her home just in case. "Can I get you something to drink?" Phoenix asked as she shifted her sleeping child from her arms to a pile of pillows on another couch.

William stirred but kept sleeping.

Anne waved her hand as she sat down. “Thank you, but you and I both know that I would just be keeping up appearances.” She smiled, a genuine smile for once as she looked about, tilting her head ever so slightly at William

Phoenix took a seat opposite her, "What can I do for you today Excellency?"

The High Priestess tried to hide the uncomfortable look on her face at the wording Phoenix was using. "Please, just call me Anne." She said while crossing her legs and nestling more comfortably into the seat.

"On Sequella, the Matriarch of a home is more important than the guest... no matter their social standing."

Anne took a moment, letting the information sink in. "But as to why I am here, It's not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you."

Phoenix's head tilted in curiosity. "Do go on, I am very interested in what you have to say." it was true.

Anne fell quiet, her gaze lazily meandering around the room and absorbing every little detail. But then her eyes stopped, and seriousness overcame them as they flicked directly at Phoenix.

"You are tired Erisian,"

The words sounded, No? they felt loud, at least to Phee. "You do not sleep well." The Priestess's voice thrummed across the room with unnatural almost motherly authority.

"You haven't dreamed in days, weeks?... not real dreams anyway."

There was a sort of sadness to her voice all of a sudden, mixed with a strange air of familiarity, or longing.

"Yes." Phoenix said softly. "But that's common among the crew right now."

Anne shook her head slightly. "Don't deflect... not with me, It won't work."

She considered leaving it at that, and had it been anyone else she might have done so. "But I will help them," A brief pause empathised her words as a hand waved over to William, using him as an analogy for her crew.

"once I've helped you."

"How?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"How indeed..." Anne almost sounded amused as she spoke. "Well, first of all, childcare..." She glanced at the floor, staring at rooms she had not seen. "Even the older ones, the husband too if need be."

That last had Phoenix laughing. "I see" she got out. She grinned. "As tempting as that last one is, I am sure he can look after himself. But go on."

Anne nodded with a pursed smile, relieved at the notion she may have, to some degree, relaxed the woman before her.

"I have, for the most part... tried to keep myself distanced from you and your crew. I didn't want to interfere you see, you are not my people... but It has afforded me a lot of time for observation."

She leant forward as she spoke, resting her elbows on either arm of the chair.

"Your uniforms bleed into your lives, everything becomes blurred together... and the lack of sleep doesn't help this."

Anne paused, pulling back as she brought a stubby finger to her lips, her elbows firmly planted against the seat. "It's as if you've seemingly unlearned the ability to just... stop."

Phoenix nodded "That is rather true but we think it has something to do with this part of space."

"Almost, but not quite..." Anne remarked, her steely gaze still firmly on Phoenix. "You see... you all left something behind when we were transposed to this galaxy, an echo of sorts."

Anne then looked down at her hand, pinching her fingers together.

"I feel, this almost... tugging sensation that thrums and wanes when I am near any of you. like two spinning tops, knock one over and the other feels compelled to follow."

Phoenix listened. "You have a deep spiritual connection to such things am I right?"

"When you've..." She paused, letting out an amused huff as she sat back. "I was going to say lived, but anyway..."

"When you've been around as long as I have you stop becoming singular, you watch a river bend and turn." She snaked her hand as she spoke, waving it to the ceiling.

"You notice constellations moving... and you remember things not even books can remember."

"And this experience, which must be amazing, is telling you there are issues among the crew since we came here?"

"Yes, I've seen their dreams... yours too." Her eyes drifted, pulling her face and attention to William. "They became rather hard to ignore while that device was active."

She turned back to Phoenix briefly, a deep sadness written over her features. "Painful at times too," Anne remarked before returning her sad eyes to William.

Phoenix nodded. "I am sure. I know several people have rather horrible pasts."

Anne made a thoughtful expression as she nodded in return. "We are all creatures, affected by emotions... not just our own." She began, bringing her right hand up so it sat between their eyes.

"Yours in particular affect a great deal of people."

Phoenix watched as Annes' hand was, slowly at first, consumed by an emerald fire.

It peeled away at her coat, her skin. leaving nothing but the bone underneath.

"It is why I have come to you first." She said softly, her true visage flickering into view through the fire.

Phoenix had years of training on maintaining her facial expressions and Mattias had told her already. "I try not to have my past affect the crew" she said calmly.

"Of course!" Anne agreed as she snatched her fist shut, snuffing out the ethereal flame in a blink. "But your past has emotions attached to it, emotions carry energy. That same energy is what bleeds into things, into people."

She sat forward once more, resting her hands together. "But if you allow me to perform a simple enchantment, I can silence the echo and bring you peace."

Phoenix nodded after a moment of thought. "Okay" She said softly.

"Good!" Anne remarked as she stood, her towering frame all the more imposing as she walked the small distance to Phoenix.

"Now, what I'm about to do may feel strange." She said with a reassuring smile before kneeling in front of Phoenix. "And you might see visions that won't make much sense, things from your past, and mine..."

Her right hand was stretched out now, hovering beside Phoenix as she asked one final time for permission. It was a silent request, conveyed only with gestures and facial expressions.

When permission was with given with the same silence the fire returned, flickering at her fingertips against an unseen wind as if it had always been there, perhaps it always had.

Strangely enough, however, it felt cold lapping against her skin, as did the skeletal hand that enveloped her forehead with cloven fingers.

Anne spoke, her native tongue filling Phee's ears and sending the room spiralling over itself with harsh and guttural words until nothing remained but the chant.

One word stood out among the rest, its rhymic arrival at the end of every chant hitting Phoenix with strange and obscure imagery.

It was like she was dreaming, was she dreaming?

"Gul'tul!" The word hit her again and suddenly she was standing in the city arena of Hiran, whip in hand and staring at the pole she had been tied to all those years ago.

"Gul'tul"

Again the world spiralled into itself, the whip, the arena... everything around her vanished in a haze until she found herself sitting at a Starfleet academy desk.

the same desk she took her final exam on, the same chipped corner, the same uneven leg, staring at the same question she had gotten stuck on for one too many minutes.

But looking up revealed a fragmented memory, with all the other desks scattered about and half buried in the deep red sand of a dune.

On top stood what looked like An'Dalus, though her back was facing Phoenix... next to her stood several other Sequus and a single human? naked and adorned in all the lavish trible iconography like the rest.

"Gul'tul"

Tears streamed down a face that was not her own as she clutched a stillborn Sequus to her chest.

"Gul'tul"

Again she was back in the arena, lashing the whip out at what appeared to be herself until her hand was caught midair.

"You lost count long ago, Erisian." Anne mused as her emaciated and mummified form stepped into view. "None have helped so far, so why would this next one?" She asked, a bemused expression somehow plastered over her skull as she let go of Phoenix's wrist.

"Gul'tulta..." Anne said finally, retreating her hand away.

As Anne's enchantment unfolded, Phoenix found herself submerged in a whirlwind of memories and visions, each carrying a weight of its own. The echoes of her past, intertwined with Anne's, danced before her mind's eye, painting a vivid tapestry of emotion and experience.

The word "Gul'tul" reverberated through her consciousness like a haunting melody, drawing her deeper into the labyrinth of her own history. From the unforgiving sands of Hiran's arena to the hallowed halls of Starfleet Academy, each scene unfurled with startling clarity, revealing moments of triumph and turmoil alike.

Yet amidst the chaos of recollection, Anne's presence remained a steady anchor, guiding Phoenix through the tumultuous currents of memory. Her voice, though otherworldly, carried a soothing resonance, offering solace in the face of forgotten pain.

As Phoenix confronted the specters of her past, Anne's words echoed with a poignant truth. "You lost count long ago, Erisian," she observed, her ethereal form a testament to the passage of time. But in her gaze lingered a glimmer of hope, a flicker of determination to defy the shadows that loomed over them both.

With a final invocation, Anne's enchantment reached its culmination, the word "Gul'tulta" a whispered promise of release. And as the echoes of the past gradually faded into the ether, Phoenix found herself bathed in a newfound sense of peace, as if the weight of ages had been lifted from her shoulders. But still, tears flowed down her face.

With a grateful nod to Anne, Phoenix emerged from the depths of reverie, her spirit renewed and her resolve unshaken. For in that fleeting moment of connection, she had glimpsed the boundless potential of redemption, a beacon of light amidst the encroaching darkness. “Thank you” she said softly.

Anne reached out, gently teasing her hoofed fingers under the Erisians hand with a firm but comforting grip. "You are a good Matriarch, trust yourself, trust in your herd."

Phoenix nodded and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. "I thank you for your advice and help. I appreciate it."

"You will tomorrow Erisian..." Anne remarked with a triumphant smile. "After you dream." She added, her words conveying more than just a promise, but a hard-fought truth.