Ensign Kivik: Return to J’naii
Keegan Flick-Parker
((OOC: Tonight I realized that for the past week I've been sending sims to the wrong emails for both Amity and Thor ::facepalm:: I'm going to start sending those that still make sense to the correct emails now.))
((OOC Part 2: This takes place during Kivik's 6-month leave between nir posting on the USS Veritas & Amity Outpost. In this scene, PNPC Jasken will be simmed by S4RK, aka Ikaia Wong))
((Wentaii Capital City, Western J’naris Province, J’naii - Nooren Plaza))
It was the breeze, Kivik realized - or, rather, the pale sweet scent of the Pella blossoms that seemed to permeate the air across J’naii - that ne had most been looking forward to. Ne hadn’t considered what a joy it would be to return to nir home world and smell the planet’s unique flora again - especially amidst everything else, which made returning an ordeal.
Kivik stood, in typical civilian clothes - a simple blue one-piece suit - near the ledge of the courtyard, leaning on the stone balustrade that separated Nooren Plaza from the bay. In many ways, the J’naii capital was similar to the legislative capital of The Federation, San Francisco. Both were sprawling metropolises filled with glittering buildings and punctuated by manicured green spaces, plazas, and government offices. Their people went to-and-fro attending to important business and ships of many sizes came and went, ferrying ministers and dignitaries to their hearings. All of this looked out over a sparkling blue bay, beyond which lay the sea.
Kivik breathed deeply again, taking it all in - one last deep breath before the plunge.
Turning back to the plaza itself, which was centered around a statue of one of J’naii’s former heads of state, Kivik began walking to the agreed-upon meeting place. As ne walked under the shadow of the statue, ne couldn’t help but look up in contempt. Noor, the J’naii leader who had stood up for bigotry and spoiled the world’s chances of an amicable relationship with The Federation remained a celebrated figure among J’naii’s people.
Kivik quickened nir pace and headed for the table under the lamp. The seat overlooked a park, full of greenery. Ne smiled, recalling the conversation in Lieutenant Wong’s office that had sparked this return to J’naii and the various plant species he had been tending there.
oO Be resilient, like the Phoenix Flower Oo ne reminded nemself as ne took a seat and looked about for nir contact. oO It’s not like Jasken to be late. Oo
A small shuttlecraft caught Kivik’s eye as it descended onto the landing area at the far end of the Plaza. Kivik watched as an array of well-composed J’naii stepped off and walked for the nearby offices, but one lingered. Kivik began to raise nir hand to wave, then thought better of it, and tucked nir hand away. It wouldn’t do to draw any unwanted attention. Jasken knew the meeting place.
Kivik stood as Jasken approached, but made no move to embrace nem as ne arrived. It was agony, not reaching for nir sibling - but it had been a long, distant, and quiet six years and the tension in Jasken’s body language was clear for Kivik to read.
Kivik: Please, sit.
The two took their seats and, for a time, simply stared at one another silently.
Kivik: Thank you for meeting with me. I didn’t know if any of you would.
Jasken: Response.
Kivik winced at that. Jasken wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t make it any easier.
oO Like the Phoenix Flower... Oo
Kivik: I understand. I know that my leaving was… sudden. But I hope you can understand that, given the circumstances, I felt that I had little other choice.
Jasken: Response.
Kivik: I never meant for it to be so long. To be honest, until now, I’ve mostly been making my way without much of a plan. The Federation accepted me, gave me a purpose, and in turn I’ve given them everything I have to give. I did what I had to do.
Jasken was hard to read. Kivik felt a tinge of sadness. They had once been so close that Kivik had often felt as if they understood one another without the need for words. Now, ne was a closed book to Kivik who could barely tell if Jasken was happy, sad, terrified, or indifferent to nir return.
Jasken: Response.
Kivik: That must have been difficult for you. For all of you. I know that the consequences of my actions were not limited just to me - but I never intended for it to trouble you so. I just did what I judged to be right.
Jasken: Response.
TBC