BACKSIM: JP: Lieutenant Drex & Lieutenant JG Stendhal - Fleeting Moment (Part 2)
KRN STDL
(( One of the many Federal Hubs ))
Stendhal: I would really like to return to Earth too and spend some time with my grandad Julien at Chateau Stendhal. He produces exceptionally high-quality wine there, and the natural beauty of the hills is breathtaking. It's like living in a painting with all the vineyards and lavender fields.
The village of Rosans, Provence, France, Earth.
Drex listened carefully to the description. It was unusual for him to find someone so expansive as to describe so many details the first time they spoke to each other. He had been in France, more than once during the last months of his training. He had to admit he did not go there for the wine nor the lavender.
He had a smile on his face as he thought back with a little nostalgia to the coasts of southern France and the person who had introduced him to them.
Drex: It sounds like a stunning place. So your family is involved in wine? Do your parents work with your grandad?
At home, Drex was well known for his curiosity. His parents and half parents first, and even Ayra lately, had tried to make him understand to be less nosy, but from time to time he simply slipped into his vice.
Stendhal: I'm actually 25% human and 75% Betazoid. The rest of my family is from Betazed. My parents and brother live there, their house is on the shores of the serene pink Lake Mitzawal. The sunsets are truly spectacular there. There’s a forest called Happiness there.
The trees make you feel really happier offering a psionic embrace, a comforting balm for the soul.
Karen smiled kindly.
Drex's smile half froze as he discovered the lady's origins. All the wonderful praise to her land passed through Drex's brain as pure background noise.
Stendhal: I remember when I was a little girl, I used to take long walks around the Stendhal residence. Especially in the evening, the world around me underwent a breathtaking transformation. Sunset at Mitzawal was no ordinary spectacle; it was like a vibrant masterpiece, a celestial love letter.
Karen’s eyes widened as she listened to my reminiscence.
As the Betazoide kept talking, Drex noticed her enthusiasm growing. He could not say how strong her Betazoid abilities were, so, since he really did not want to leave, he focused on the sound of her voice. Each image she described was accompanied by a raising in her tone.
Drex let out a smile. He recognized in all her words, her love for the places where she had grown up. He felt guilty for not have listened to the very first part of Katen's description.
Stendhal: I recall one particular evening when the Sun was descending, kissing the horizon with a fiery embrace. Its golden rays danced in the air, a shimmering cascade of stardust. High clouds blushed with hues of orange and red, as if sharing secrets whispered by the setting Sun. The entire sky seemed to ignite, flames licking at the edges of reality.
Drex: Your words betray your feelings for your homeland. I've never been on Betazed, do you have any pictures?
From the moment he returned to pay attention to her talking, he had builded an image out of her words, but there were some missing pieces, so he hoped to finish the puzzle this way.
Karen showed Drex a picture of the place on her Pad.
Stendhal: The building may look a bit unusual. (Beat) Ah, that's Betazed modern architecture. My mom, Sasha, is the one who loves this kind of extravagance.
Drex's imagination did not fall too distant from the picture. In his head the colors were more vivid and definitely dancing, something the static image could never render. His eyes fell on the original building as she gave unquestioned explanations.
Drex studied the flat representation of the house and let his mind run wild into recreating the tridimensional spaces it must occupy. There was no reason in some of the structures laid over and around the main corp, but his artistic soul appreciated the overall resulting harmony. With a slight tic of his head he chased away his father’s reprimand for leaving architecture.
Stendhal: My dad wrote even a melancholic song about it..
Again Karen tapped on her padd to recall the poem.
A canvas painted with celestial hue,
As sun descends, a fiery adieu.
Gold dust dances, a shimmering flight,
Kissed by the horizon, a burning light.
Clouds blush with passion, a crimson art,
Whispers of twilight, a soulful start.
Flames lick the sky, a dramatic show,
Nature's masterpiece, where beauty does grow.
Drex looked at the woman. Her emotional transportation was in some way contagious. His smile widened and his eyes laughed.
Drex: A heart-warming symphony…
Stendhal: Oh yeah, Betazoid blues can be incredibly romantic and sweet, but it's so emotionally intense that listening to it too much might feel overwhelming.
So sweet that it could give you diabetes if you listen to it too much or too loudly!
Drex leaned back against the chair, crossing his legs.
Drex: I can easily believe it. I imagine that your ability to sense and convey emotions at deeper levels than other races increases the intensity of these feelings.
Stendhal: Yes, sometimes feelings and emotions are amplified, other times not. It also depends a bit on the situation.
Keeping his focus on the images described by Karen, he had locked his inner voice in the deep of his mind. Yet he was aware it was like pretending to keep a child out of a bathroom while his mother was taking a shower.
Drex: How long have you been away from home?
If he kept her talking it would have been easier to avoid opening a breach on his soul. Or at least that was his plan.
Stendhal: Mmm, not much really. I had a three-year LOA due to health reasons. A problem caused by my nature and the human part of my DNA, which didn't go down well with an alien artifact, to make a long story short. I returned to duty a little less than a year ago. I spent the last period partly on Betazed for treatment and partly on Earth to rest with my grandfather.
Drex: Well… I'm not as good at describing places as you did, and my mothers’ place isn’t as special as the house you showed me.
Stendhal: Well you can paint it certainly better than me.
oO What about the skyscraper you design and Arya chose to live in? Oo
A new tic of his head shut up the voice once again. He could be lucky enough she did not have the capacity to perceive it.
Stendhal: Meditation. If you want to learn how to hide your thoughts the first step is a good meditation technique, you know ‘free your mind’, that kind of stuff. I can teach you and if you want I can send you some holodeck programs about it. Better than try to keep the kids out of the bathroom anyway.
Karen was a pro at these kinds of talks. She'd been through this before.
Drex: The kids…? :: He frowned.
It took him several moments to understand and realize she was able to perceive him to a deeper level than it had ever happened before. It was not only the conversation between him and himself, she could interpret stray thoughts, the ones he sometimes didn't even realize he was thinking. The similarity that she had grasped was created in her head as a background to the internal dialogue. Drex's first instinct was to retreat. He moved his gaze to the drawings scattered on the table, concentrating on the inaccuracies of the pencil line and its nuances.
She was dangerous. He should have known it right away when she came to the table talking about the coin. Even if her irises didn't betray her as a Betazoid, how many other races had similar powers? Too many.
What were his options now?
Walk away. If it was not for the uniform he was wearing and she was wearing , that would have been the best way out. But what if their paths would cross again? It was not such a remote possibility. Among all the people living in that universe, they were just a link apart, thanks to Alora. And this meant that if this Betazoid was close to Alora, it could happen they meet on Denali sooner or later. And that was more than a possibility, since the Commander's husband was a Betazoid himself.
Give her a chance. That was his sister's voice speaking. Give her a chance since she offered her help. He did not believe meditation could be of any good. He did try in the past, for completely different reasons, and things got simply worse.
Drex: Please, don't do it again.
His tone was not rude. But neither a beg. It was a simple request he expected her to understand and respect.
He raised his eyes on hers. His typical jovial smile swept away by his worries.
Drex: I don't want to know if you can or cannot avoid it, but at least keep whatever you perceive for yourself and yourself only.
Karen smiled.
Stendhal: For what it's worth, I'm not dangerous. In any case, we can discuss it, or maybe not.
Drex nodded, although he was not sure it could work.
Drex: Tell me more about your meditation.
Trying to explain the obvious? For Karen, it was as if Drex had spoken loudly and then ordered Karen not to listen. Asking her to stop even though he was mentally shouting at her. It would only have been an ego boost for Karen. What did it matter? Drex wasn't her patient, they weren't even on the same team. If they had been, she would have suggested a series of sessions with his counselor and a psychological evaluation for fitness for duty. But who knows how many miles normally separated them? Live and let live, then! At this point, even starting a tedious exposition on meditation techniques to teach him to live more in the moment without his mind wandering to other things, whether fears or reflections on the present and past, didn't make much sense. Sooner or later, perhaps he would figure it out on his own. Karen smiled and stood up, and before leaving, she greeted him cordially.
Stendhal: It's always a pleasure to meet new people, Mr. Drex. Goodbye. (Walking away, trying to not run.)
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Lieutenant Drex
Science Officer
Denali Station
D240011D14
Lt Jg Karen Trisha Stendhal
Counselor
USS Octavia E Butler
C239604KS0
Counselor
USS Octavia E Butler
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