NEW: Kail's Story 1/5 [PG] DS9
Carolann Potee
Author: Carolann Potee
Contact: cpo...@towson.edu
Series: DS9, season 5-ish
Part: 1/5
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Star Trek and all entities relating to it belong to
Paramount.
I just like to write stories about it, so please don't sue me.
Archive: ASC only, but link to
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/9166
Summary:
Kail is a lonely changeling living on Bajor and he falls for a young
woman
who knows him better than he thinks. When they detour to Bajor, will he
be found out? Find out now!
*****************************************************
Just a couple comments, if I may... This is the first time I've posted to
alt.startrek.creative in a long time. I was working on this story for years,
but never had the time to actually finish it until recently. The characters
are actually based on people I know IRL. Maybe that helped me to
really delve into the characterization a bit. :) Well, enjoy my creation!
*****************************************************
He mindlessly shoveled the last few bites of his meal into
his mouth, wondering for the hundredth time how the man sitting
across from him had managed to get him to accept a lunch
invitation. He had graciously declined the offer, and had even
started walking back when it didn't look like he was going to
accept no for an answer, but finally conceded when the man
insisted. And so, Kail had let himself be dragged inside, sat down
at a small round table, and took the offering of Hasperat that was
spooned out into a bowl for him.
As a Changeling, Kail did not require a daily intake of
sustenance to maintain his bodily functions and energies, but under
no circumstances was he about to let anyone to think that he
actually was not Bajoran. No one knew about it, and he intended to
keep it that way, or else face certain persecution from everyone
around him, including his closest friends.
He ate the food placed before him by his best friend and
neighbor, Kathan Dovan, and hoped his reluctance to eat the
Hasperat didn't show too much. The process of digestion, as Kail
had learned it during his schooling years, seemed almost disgusting
to him, but he accepted it as an anatomical necessity of most
humanoid species. The satisfaction and pleasures gained by
spending so much time finding, preparing, and consuming food
eluded his understanding for quite a while, but he eventually
figured that it must have something to do with the ability to taste
and smell food; two abilities he did not possess nor could he
replicate with his unique shape-changing abilities.
Kail put down his spoon and looked down at the empty
bowl in front of him. At a loss for words, he sheepishly avoided
eye contact with Dovan, unsure whether to thank him for the meal
or attempt to start a polite conversation.
"Are you sure you don't want another bowl? I don't think
I've ever seen anyone eat so little of my famous Spiced Hasperat.
You're not ill, are you?" his friend asked with concern.
"No, I'm not ill." The last thing he needed was for people to
think something was wrong with him. "I just don't like to eat too
much at once, that's all."
Dovan nodded, thinking it strange, but said nothing more of
it. "I just wanted you to know I appreciate your company as well as
the help in fixing my water pump. I'm not as young as I used to be,
but I can still fix one hell of a bowl of Spiced Hasperat."
Kail smiled in appreciation and told him he was quite
welcome. After all, they had treated him like a son ever since Kail
first came to the village, a lone carpenter looking for work. Kail
had eventually found a place for himself in the village, but most
importantly, he'd found a place in Dovan's family. Kathan Dovan
had lost his wife and eldest son in a raid during the Cardassian
occupation of Bajor, and hadn't seen his daughter Kelsee or his son
Telfan in several years. And so, Dovan was alone most of the time
before he befriended Kail.
Kail himself didn't even know if he had a family
somewhere on a distant planet of the cosmos until he learned of the
Dominion incursion. It was while apprenticing to become a
structural engineer in the nearby city of Lerren, not two days travel
distance. The computers and information databases he had been
given access to had some information about Changelings such as
himself. It came as quite a shock to find that the Changelings were
the founders of the Dominion, and that the Dominion was
ruthlessly trying to gain control of the Alpha Quadrant as it had it's
own Quadrant, the Gamma Quadrant. His people were trying to
secretly infiltrate, corrupt, and destroy the major powers of the
Alpha Quadrant that was his home. Kail had researched more, only
to find that his own people were cold, unfeeling, and did not care
about preserving the individual freedoms of the worlds under their
control. All they cared about was that everything was in order,
their order.
The discovery that his own people were so cold to other
humanoid species, and deathly feared by all of them, strengthened
his resolution to keep his true nature a secret, even if he himself
was not a founder of the Dominion. The fact that he was a
Changeling made him dangerous. And so, not even Dovan knew
about his true nature, despite the fact that he was the closest thing
to family that Kail had.
Seeing that Kail's mind had wandered somewhere else,
Dovan cleared his throat and changed the subject of conversation.
"Have I told you that Kelsee joined a planetary survey mission that
will be cataloguing asteroids in the Denorius Belt? I'm so proud of
her. I kept telling her that she would get to see the Celestial
Temple of the Prophets one day!"
"Only a few hundred times in the last month or so," Kail
answered teasingly. He really was happy that his friend had
something to be proud of. A lonely structural engineer such as
himself could have no such hope; at least, not that he could see.
"Oh, yes..." Dovan said, furrowing his brow trying to
remember. "But there is one thing I don't think I told you about. I
wanted to keep it a surprise until the time came."
This did seem to spark Kail's interest a bit, and he looked
up. "Kelsee is coming to visit here before she leaves," Dovan
exclaimed excitedly, "and she's bringing a friend from Starfleet
with her to visit with us!"
"When?" Kail asked; his interest in seeing Kelsee again
made him even more interested. He'd seen her only once before,
but the impression he got was that she was a very likable and
strong-willed young lady, much like her uncle Dovan.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow??" Kail exclaimed and quickly stood up. "I
have to get her friend's room ready! Why didn't you tell me two
days ago? If you had, I wouldn't be in such a rush to do it now."
"It's all right, Kail," Dovan reassured him. "Except for a
few of the heavier boxes, I've already taken care of the second
bedroom."
"But what about your back?" Kail scolded. "You know
you're not supposed to be lifting too much."
Dovan gave him his most reassuring smile. "It wasn't heavy
work. I left the three heaviest boxes for you to carry down to the
cellar."
"All right, I might as well get them now." Kail sighed, and
then headed down the short hallway towards the second bedroom
to retrieve the boxes.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Kail!" Dovan yelled
down the hallway loud enough for Kail to hear him.
Kail grumbled to himself in response. Humanoids were so
fragile, especially older ones. If Dovan kept exerting himself like
that, he soon wouldn't be able to do much of anything at all for
himself, much less cook his famous Spiced Hasperat any more. But
Kail had to admire his determination to stay active and self-
sufficient, and being angry with Dovan would help nothing.
He picked up two boxes at once, the height of them just
blocking his sight of the door to the cellar, but his own impressive
height allowed him to carry the boxes with ease. He maneuvered
himself sideways in order to find the door near the entrance to the
kitchen, but stopped suddenly when he heard a very feminine
"Oomph!" in front of him. The boxes blocked his view of who had
bumped into them, causing them to slide in his grip. Kail struggled
to regain his balance, but only managed to allow one of the boxes
to slide into his face. It knocked him down into a heap underneath
them.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" said the female voice, and then the box
on his head was pushed aside. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I
was going. Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," he said as she paused for a moment to stare
at him. Then a look of pure happiness came over her face as Kail
suddenly recognized whom she was.
"Kail!" she exclaimed excitedly and hugged him fiercely
with one of the boxes still in his lap. "Kail! It's you! I'm so happy
to see you!"
"Hello Kelsee," Kail said, grinning at her contagious and
youthful enthusiasm.
"Kail! Kail! Kelsee's come home early!" Dovan shouted
from the kitchen. "I'm going to make an extra large batch of my
Spiced Hasperat!"
"I noticed," he answered, still grinning at Kelsee.
"That's all right, Father. We ate before we left the shuttle
port in Lenner," Kelsee yelled back.
"Well, we can have it for dinner then. It's going to take a
couple of hours to prepare a batch big enough for all of us
anyway."
"I can't wait!" Kelsee excitedly reassured her father.
Kelsee giggled and offered Kail a hand, which he took
gratefully, and then his focus turned to the woman standing in the
doorway. She was smiling at them in amusement. Kelsee noticed
and remembered her manners; introductions should come first.
"Kail, this is Connie Preston. She'll be staying with us for
the next week while I'm here," Kelsee introduced her. "Connie, this
is my friend, Tescar Kail."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Connie," Kail said, and
he offered his hand in the usual human custom.
"Actually, Kail, it's Miss Preston," Kelsee corrected him.
"Humans always say surnames last."
Connie took his outstretched hand and shook it firmly. "It's
all right. Kail, you can just call me Connie."
"All right, Connie." He smiled as he noticed she was a bit
older and more mature than Kelsee. Kelsee's youthful energy was a
welcome distraction, but sometimes too much. She had the ability
to be calm and concentrated though, and that was one of the big
reasons Kail respected her so much. "So, what brings you here
with Kelsee?"
"The asteroid survey mission doesn't start for another week
and I didn't have anywhere in particular to go, so Kelsee invited
me to stay here with her," Connie explained.
"Ah, I see," Kail said. "Well, as soon as I get these boxes
into the cellar, the second room down there is yours."
"Thank you," Connie said politely, smiling in appreciation.
Kail picked up the two boxes off the floor and put them in
an out-of-the-way space as Kelsee showed Connie to her room. He
climbed the steep stairs to the main floor to return to Connie's
room for the third box, but the girls had closed the door behind
them.
He figured Connie may have wanted to change clothes or
something after their journey, so Kail did not disturb them. But just
as he turned to leave, he heard Kelsee's familiar giggle as well as
the mention of his own name. He couldn't help but be curious
about what they were saying, so he cautiously leaned closer to the
door to listen.
"Isn't Kail just the sweetest guy you've ever met?" Kelsee
said with her usual youthful spunk, drawing a smile from Kail's
lips. "I've only met him once before, but he's such a modest and
likable person. I doubt Father would have gotten along quite so
well without him. He's always saying good things about Kail in the
letters he sends me."
"Yes, Kail does seem very nice," Connie agreed, then
smiled suspiciously. "You don't have a crush on him or something,
do you?"
"Me?? Nah." Kelsee giggled again. "Well, maybe I used to,
but I don't think I'm old enough for him. Besides, I'm quite happy
just being his friend. You and Kail, however, would be the perfect
couple."
Connie laughed at the comment. "I see, so now you're
trying to play matchmaker."
"No!" Kelsee denied, blushing. "Kail almost snickered out
loud, but caught himself before he would have drawn attention to
himself. He would have been so embarrassed if he were caught
eavesdropping!
"Then what did you mean?" Connie asked, still grinning.
"I just meant... You and Kail would look good together.
You complement each other perfectly!"
"You think so...?" asked Connie, apparently wanting to
hear more.
"Yes! You see?? I think you like him too, but you're afraid
he wouldn't be interested," Kelsee hypothesized.
"He is very handsome, but he doesn't strike me as the type
to be thinking of every woman he meets as a potential girlfriend.
But do you think he'd be as interested in getting to know me as I
may be in him?"
Kelsee noticed her friend's careful choice of words. "Just
admit it. You think he's cute, and you want me to tell you if I think
he'd be attracted to you."
"All right! I admit it! But do you think he'd like me??"
"Connie," Kelsee said, putting an understanding hand on
her friend's shoulder, "I'm positive he'd absolutely adore you if he
got to know you."
Kail couldn't believe his ears. Two beautiful young women
were talking about him as if he were some kind of irresistible
hunk. He'd always tried to be polite, understanding, and attentive
to everyone he met, but he never thought his attentions would ever
attract the interest of a woman. It sounded as if Connie was
interested in forming a relationship with him, and Kelsee was
encouraging her. That was the real question, though. Did he want
to attempt to pursue the relationship with her?
He'd never had a relationship with a woman before. As a
Changeling, he mostly preferred to be by himself, or else risk
detection. Did he really want to take that chance? What if she
found out? How much would it hurt him, or worse, hurt her, if she
did?
But being lonely is very painful as well. Kail always
welcomed the opportunity to make new friends, as he did not have
many. There really was no decision to make; Kail did not know
which was better. Fate would have to make the decision for him.
He lightly rapped on the door with his knuckles and the soft
whispers from the two girls inside immediately ceased.
"Who is it?" Kelsee asked hesitantly.
"It's me," Kail answered. "I came back to get the last box to
take down to the cellar."
"Oh, sure Kail. Come on in and get it," Kelsee said,
sounding relieved, although Kail couldn't be sure whether or not
she still suspected that he may have overheard their conversation.
Quickly and quietly, Kail entered the room, carefully
avoiding the display of any nervous mannerisms that might
indicate that he'd overheard. He also tried to avoid eye contact with
either of the two girls, concentrating on just getting in and out as
quickly as possible without seeming suspicious, but Connie
managed to catch his eye as he turned for the door.
He paused to look into those eyes for less than a second,
but in that second he saw something in her eyes. He wasn't sure
what it was that he saw, but it was something he'd never seen in
any other woman's eyes before. He was tempted by that look to
stop and talk to her, but he escaped before the impulse overcame
him. As the door closed behind him, he heard a burst of tension-
releasing laughter, which turned to more whispering. It faded as he
made himself carry the last box down into the cellar and leave
them to their privacy.