JP Lt. Ceciri Ariadust & Tri’lea Doyoxo Polgonz - Certain First Steps
Koihime Nakamura
((Jeliria Cafe, Mezzanine Level, Amity Outpost))
Ceciri was sitting down at a table, dressed in a violet kimono with a flower pattern. It looked a little bizarre on her, with her long blonde hair brushing behind it, and her cat like ears fully visible, but it had been a gift from her aunt, and honestly, she wore uniforms so often that she had decided part of the 2399 pledges would be for her to dress normally off shift.
.oO Or.. well.. Normally. Oo.
Today, granted, it was a date with her “betrothed.”. Ceciri had spent the last week starting her research. She didn’t, for a moment, believe that her great aunt wouldn’t personally benefit from this, and she wanted to know more about exactly why this was going on. And, until she was more prepared to make decisions either way, going along with the betrothal made both good sense tactically, and on a personal level, she owed Tri’lea at least a few explanations.
Also, she needed to know a bit more about what was going on in the Twentieth House.. And on a professional level, the proposed colonies. After all, Starfleet was likely to be called on for various needs until the colony was self-sufficient enough to rely on Betazed resources, so far from the home world.
Personally, she suspected that the Ambassador and her husband would push for less Starfleet oversight. She couldn’t fault them, after what happened to Ohmallera.
As if summoned by Ceciri’s thoughts of House Polgonz and the impending plans for Betazoid colonization efforts, Tri’lea arrived at the entrance to the cafe. The Daughter Ascendant to the Twentieth House of Betazed was on Amity with dual purpose.
Firstly, with her mother’s recent passing, she was expected to continue the family’s work of expanding Betazoid territory through planet colonisation. Secondly, and more importantly, her mother’s Will had revealed a plan to join their branch of House Polgonz to another noble family from Cygnet - the k’Ariadust line - through an arranged marriage. An obligation which, while not entirely uncommon on either world, both Tri’lea and Ceciri were still getting used to.
She paused at the entrance to find her lunch date and, spying k’Ariadust at a table, she smiled warmly. Ceciri continued to be full of surprises – she was wearing some sort of elaborate formal wear (at least to Tri’lea’s sensibilities) with a lovely print on it.
Tri’lea herself wore a simple solid-purple top that featured sleeves down to her mid-upper arm and a large scooping neckline that allowed her to show off the platinum necklace she’d been given as a 25th birthday present by her father. The shirt tucked into a puffed pleated skirt in pale pink that she felt met at a pleasing crossroad between fashion and comfort. Her smooth black hair was pulled back in a ponytail - a suggestion that Rei had made – just in case they decided to do something more involved on their date. After all, she had already gathered that Ceciri had something of a fiery spirit.
Polgonz: ::Approaching the table:: Well, don’t you look lovely, today?
Ariadust: Thank you. ::Ceciri smiled a bit, brushing her blonde hair back:: You look lovely too.
Tri’lea was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception, but took Ceciri’s compliment graciously. She smiled a little wider and felt her cheeks flush. It had been some time since anyone had actually told her she looked lovely, rather than just silently contemplating her attractiveness.
Polgonz: I’m very glad to see you again. ::Taking a seat:: How is your hand feeling?
Ceciri hadn’t even thought of it after the healing - there wasn’t even a scar to it. She probably was going to get ‘voluntold’ to get counseling. Or maybe she should take the initiative there?
Ariadust: Much better, thank you.
Polgonz: I’m happy to hear it – and I dearly appreciate you reaching out to me even after the rather ‘rocky’ start we got off to the other night. I’d hoped we might try and just enjoy each other’s company, despite our parents’ best efforts to make this about ‘business’.
Ceciri nodded. It would likely give her more time to research anyway. And if every date was going to be based around business, it would make these dates unbearable. She smiled a bit
Ariadust: Sounds good. I wasn’t really looking forward to discussing colonization procedures or anything anyway.
Tri’lea laughed. Ceciri was certainly feisty - there was no denying that.
Polgonz: ::As her laughter tapered:: No, I should think not! To be honest, my role in the family has always been more… well, for lack of a better word, political. My father is the planetary engineer. My parents’ marriage was a strategic one as well, you see.
Ceciri nodded. It took both an administrative focus, and a logistical focus to found colonies, even with the technology and knowledge of the 24th century.
Ariadust: I would say my parents’ marriage was, but I am of the opinion that they loved each other in their own way. ::thinking:: It probably was arranged all the same.
Polgonz: I suppose it’s not uncommon… Though certainly our particular circumstances are a little unique.
A brief moment of silence passed as Tri’lea considered her next words. She didn’t want to overstep her bounds or push Ceciri for too much information. After all, they had really only just begun their courtship – if it could even be properly called that. Still, her curiosity was getting the better of her.
Polgonz: You’re rather unique yourself. I don’t know many Cygnians, but the ones I do know have no… abilities like you do.
Ariadust: I would rather suspect not. ::pausing, as she took a drink of water.:: How much do you know of Cygnian history?
Tri’lea smiled awkwardly, slightly embarrassed at her own lack of information on Cygnet. Their government was hardly the most forthcoming, and the individuals she had met kept mostly to themselves. Even for a telepath, she had gained little of substance from those meetings.
Polgonz: Truthfully? A little – but mostly rather Mendissian… Oh, what’s the Standard expression? ‘Ivory Tower’. Bits and pieces that we’ve learned through limited diplomatic contact. I’m afraid that’s about it… ::Earnestly:: But I’d be delighted to learn!
Ceciri nodded. It was about what she expected.
Ariadust: So. ::steeples a bit, thinking.:: Cygnet has had a very bloody history. It’s why I have a ceremonial sword, and it’s actually pretty lethal. I can’t bring it on board any Starfleet station - it is lethal to the touch for humans, and I think it’s not as lethal, but still lethal *enough* for Betazeds. It’s an expression of the fact that even as the world unified, and reached out, we still retain our warrior heritage. ::bit of a smile:: I mean, there’s an entire Klingon Monastery on one of our worlds in the home system. And in the past, Cygnetians had two maturations. The first is the standard one most humanoids do - puberty. The second was a bit more limited, and we only discovered nine centuries ago it was primarily due to chemical contaminants within the region - a highly mountainous one that looked like it suffered multiple asteroid impacts - those tribes originated from.
Ceciri’s tone has been a bit more remote, and she found that talking about this in the abstract helped her a bit.. But it was going to get more personal.
Tri’lea nodded along as Ariadust spoke, but it was a lot of information to take in. Every world came with its own rich history, some lovely and some troubled. To truly understand another culture took years, if not decades, of immersion. It dawned on her that if she was to really connect with Ariadust, it may indeed take many years of work.
Ariadust: It also killed half of everyone who went through it. By roughly 3400, on the Betazed Calendar ::which was about ten centuries ago::, the maturation was considered a disease. You see.. While it enhances your baseline potential, and your psionic potential, it also makes it unstable, and without the advent of what we consider pre-warp medicine nowadays, you were unlikely to survive for long after it. There was a remediation effort, and while it took centuries and successive attempts, the zone was reduced to as small as it could be for natural deposits, and processing plants were set up. And so it passed into history.. Until my mother, Fairioni, decided she wanted a perfect daughter to aid her in her plans to force Cygnet and it’s sector to secede from the Federation.
Ceciri’s tone has been getting flatter, and flatter, and her anger rising. Tri’lea could feel Ceciri’s blood beginning to boil, the frustration at her mother’s interference quite evident. oO Even a non-empath could sense that. Oo
All the same, Tri’lea did empathise with her. Her own mother’s meddling had left a bitter taste in her mouth – the feeling of being ‘objectified’ and ‘used’ to serve some external purpose was a hard pill to swallow. Yet she felt as if her own situation were incomparable, if she understood Ariadust’s meaning.
Polgonz: And so she took it upon herself to force this change upon you?
Ariadust: Yes.
Tri’lea instinctively reached out a hand and rested it on Ceciri’s. It was a smell gesture, meant to comfort her and keep her grounded in the moment… but it felt like more. Perhaps it would take years to understand the depths of who this woman was, to understand where she came from, and who she was set to become, but right then in that moment, Tri’lea felt a connection. She hoped the feeling was mutual and did what she could to hang on to it.
Polgonz: I hear you. I feel your sorrow. I’m sorry that you haven’t always been shown the respect which you deserve.
Ceciri blinked, her mouth open for a second before she closed it.
Ariadust: Thank you. ::It was quiet, but ... to her it had multiples.::
Polgonz: This doesn’t change my opinion of you – except perhaps for the better. I’m impressed by your resilience and your determination to stay true to yourself. That shows a remarkable quality of character, don’t you think?
It was becoming clear to Tri’lea that Ceciri Ariadust had faced a great deal of adversity and emerged seemingly better for it. What she had originally taken for unmitigated emotional outbursts she was now beginning to realize were the feelings of a powerful empath who had received no support in developing her own abilities, no training. On Betazed, children learned these skills to prevent such things. To one who did not grow up with the ability, who received it without proper guidance… it would be entirely overwhelming.
Ariadust: I’d hope so.. But I strove to be the woman my mother, Ksharion, was. I’m.. glad I echo her.
Echo wasn’t the precise word, of course, but it was the one that the UT often chose. It was considered a good thing to be your own woman.. But in the mold of an honored ancestor. After all, it kept the past alive.
Polgonz: Thank you for sharing this with me. I suspect that’s not something you speak about casually.
Ariadust: I don’t talk about it to anyone. ::Ceciri shrugs:: It’s embarrassing, and I don’t want people concluding they can get catapulted to the upper range of Cygnian muscle potential, as well as a “figure to die for”. ::Ceciri air quoted that.:: I had to fend off some .. attention at the New Galway Terraforming Station. Considering I was there partially as physical therapy.. ::She shakes her head.:: Not even at the recent convivium. I mentioned the story of Faironi, but without the context. It’s not healthy, but .. I have to live it everyday, I would rather not mentally dwell on it.
Ceciri omitted the empathic abilities, and telepathic entirely. It seemed that it was increasingly common to develop accidentally.
Tri’lea sensed that Ceciri was withdrawing somewhat. Her thoughts, while chaotic to the ordered mind of the Betazoid, seemed to darken at the thought of her own psionic abilities. Tri’lea guessed that they likely caused the Cygnian woman a great deal of discomfort and distress – given how things had gone at the New Years Eve event.
Polgonz: I understand. If you’d like some time to yourself…?
Ceicri smiled a bit.
Ariadust: No, actually, I did have some thoughts. I wanted to show you the shuttle we’re modifying for the race. ::Ceciri had a bit of a half smirk:: I got permission by pointing out I need to practice what I’m going to say to the people who ask about it in the press.
Tri’lea grinned eagerly. oO What a pleasantly surprising turn of events! Oo Growing up on the Royal Yacht and various space stations, the Daughter Ascendant felt most comfortable aboard craft. There was something immensely freeing about knowing one could simply ‘take off’ that the crushing weight of a planet’s atmosphere stole away.
Polgonz: ::Momentarily losing her decorum:: Are you serious?! ::Collecting herself:: I… I would be delighted.
Ariadust: Glad you agree!
Ceciri liked to pilot tricky things, it was a challenge to her skills.
Tri’lea looked around at the quaint café they were sitting in and leaned in to Ceciri with a mischievous smirk.
Polgonz: I mean, no offense to this venue, but I’d much rather be in the guts of a racing ship any day… How fast can it go?
Ariadust: Right now it’s about 30% above full impulse. At this point, I’m focusing more on maneuverability.
It took little convincing for Tri’lea to stand from the table and push her chair in. Despite her concerns, this date seemed to be going about as well as she could have hoped. She felt her own mind glowing with the thought of their detractors standing slack-jawed at the sight of Ceciri and herself on their wedding day, clad only with ceremonial swords at their sides. oO Perhaps there’s still hope for a happy ending after all. Oo
Polgonz: Please, lead the way.
Ceciri nodded, but she didn’t like that feeling in her mouth - something like a jazz band going off in your ears, and a popping bubbly sensation - and noted to herself she needed to be clear with Tri’lea. And that was a convo she wasn’t looking forward to.
JP by
Lt. Ceciri Ariadust
Helm Officer
Amity Outpost
C239112CA0
And
Tri'lea Doyoxo Polgonz
Daughter Ascendant,
Twentieth House of Betazed
V239806K1