Lt.(jg) Dr. Toz: Getting to know you...
Patty Boyle
(( Sickbay, Deck 5, USS Octavia E. Butler ))
Barney: I don’t really know. My dad was Henry Bales Nilsen. I don’t know who Wilma’s parents were. But dad’s brother was named Harold. I never met him. We were chased off Gault when I was a teenager.
Nilsen: ::Quietly:: Woah.
Toz watched with fascination as Llandon took a sharp breath and steadied himself. He'd never heard of Henry, but suddenly all the torture in OVIV had been worth it to find Barney.
NIlsen: Harold is my papa, he’s my dad. :Beat: I think that makes us cousins.
Lhandon smile was as wide as the galaxy. If he was was holding back some emotion he was doing a poor job of it.
Nilsen: My ma is called Morgaine, and I’ve three brothers and three sisters. Which means in total ya' got seven of us cousins.
Toz was watching Barney closely. She wasn’t certain he was well enough to handle the excitement. Or the tension.
Barney: Cousins. Dad said we didn’t have any family.
Nilsen: This is…this is a damn good day cuz! I got like a hundred questions!
Barney lay back, his heart racing and his mind pumping out questions. Why would his father tell him there was no one but the two of them? His mother died when he was a baby and it had been the two of them all those years. Memories came back in a lazy rush. The farm, the offer of 25 percent. Father refusing.
Toz: Barney, are you feeling better?
Barney nodded, another memory of leaving in the middle of the night. A shuttle and then they were sailing through space.
Llandon was almost short of breath as he spoke. Toz peered at him hoping he didn’t notice. He was fine, just processing the new information. More than one question remained. He was probably dying to ask about Wilma, but also how on Earth a branch of the Nilsen’s had been chased out of Gault.
Nilsen: You mentioned you got chased off Gault, what happened? Was it the FAC?
Barney: No. Yes. The Ferengi acted all friendly, going to help us and give us a deal. They’d have a part ownership in the farm, we’d expand and get rich. Instead of individual farms there would be a consortium and all would benefit equally.
Toz: ::putting her hand on Barney’s shoulder::: Calm down. It’s all over now.
The FAC (Ferengi Agricultural Consortium) was a group that bought up farms and land on Gault over a period of decades. They started small and slowly wore down the farmers on Gault until they caved. As they acquired more land, they became increasingly greedy, taking larger cuts of profits, adding complex terms, fees, and additional charges that made it difficult for farmers to maintain ownership of their lands.
Barney: Finally, dad decided that rather than stay and be forced out, we’d relocate on our own. I don’t know where he wanted to go, he wouldn’t tell me. But we weren’t quite ready when a couple of men came and talked with dad. After that… that night, we left.
A loose group called the Free Gault Family Farms, had tried to create a united front against the FAC, the Nilsen’s being one of the spearheads of that. Yet despite the resistance, many farms eventually succumbed to the FAC's offers, leaving only a few families independent.
Nilsen: response
Barney: No, she wasn’t family. Wilma was a friend. The only friend I had. I didn’t get to say good-bye and then we were told about the shuttle accident and she was killed.
Nilsen: response
Toz: If he’s up to it, I have no objection. This is one of those cases where the patient needs to tell us what the best treatment is. ::beat:: We should contact the Dow and let them know he’s here.
Nilsen: response
Ensign Barney Nilsen
Security
USS Unity Dow
and
Lt.(jg) Doctor Toz
Acting Chief Medical Officer
USS Octavia E Butler
T239801T14