Ensign Jovenan – Longing for the Paradise
Jovenan
((Deck 10, Astrometrics, USS Excalibur-A))
The Astrometrics lab is not a toy, not its holographic capabilities nor its microgravity function. It’s a serious, complicated piece of equipment and an important tool to the science department and the overall operations of the ship. It can calculate and display routes across the galaxy, properties of several spatial anomalies, massive changes to the fabric of space and time, radiation vectors from all over the universe. Yet, if you ever brought a friend there, you don’t show them just numbers and lines and meshes crossing in space. You show them the space.
Jovenan: It can display much data of course, but I want to show something else, too… ::pause:: Computer, show Rubicun III.
So far, the Azure Nebula had succeeded in grasping Ensign Jones’ attention, but with a single command, it dissipated. For a short time, the lab was entirely black, only the glow of the few interfaces and light fixtures on the floor shed some light. Even then, it was difficult to tell, if they were somewhere “down” there, or maybe “above” them.
Then, the planet appeared. The hologram stood just in front of them, massive, glowing ball of green, blue and white. It was a paradise. It was home.
Jovenan: Beautiful, isn’t it?
It was something personal for Jovenan to show this. Sometimes, she had tried hiding her Edo origin. Cultural differences were sometimes difficult to overcome, and stereotypes, while not entirely false for the wider Edo population, didn’t fit her that well in all aspects. She didn’t hide the fact anymore; it was just something that would come up often. And now she was showing this to another person.
Jones: It ... I don't think that does it justice.
Jovenan spent a few minutes giving names to various places and answering other questions. She would also point out locations that the Doctor hadn’t asked: the capital city, the place of the first contact with humans, her home region… She greatly appreciated the interest Jones showed to her homeworld. It was not a just a random planet out of millions she could have shown. The planet meant a lot to her, and he knew to place some value to it as well.
After a while, Jones ran out of questions and a silence followed. She didn’t want to turn her eyes from the sphere. It had not been a decade yet when she had first seen it from this point of view. It was still something amazing. She wondered when she could see it again.
Jones: Why did you leave?
She sighed with sadness in her voice.
Jovenan: I was… I didn’t always fit in. I love my family and my home, and they love and care about me, but I didn’t always have the same… mindset about everything. They respected it, but I still felt an outsider. And when off-world, I felt an outsider because I was.
Jones: It's not typical for Edo to go off-world, is it?
Jovenan: No, it’s not. It was entirely banned for a long time. Eventually they allowed colonies on the other planets in God’s jurisdiction, and when I was a teenager, they started accepting applications to leave for other worlds. I had to apply myself when I left for university… And after I left, I lasted less than a year before I ran back. ::sad laughter:: I wasn’t ready for the outside world.
Jones: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Sometimes habit kicks in, and I start asking personal questions.
Jovenan: It’s okay. I guess I wanted to talk about it with someone. I haven’t met another Edo, face to face, since the brief visit home between the university and Starfleet Academy. Not even application is needed anymore, but very few find a reason to leave the paradise. There are a few Edo officers in Starfleet, and some civilians on Starbase 118 at least, but I never met them. ::turns to Jones:: I guess I have felt lonely sometimes.
Jones: Response
She nods in agreement. For a few more seconds, she stares at the hologram before regretting turning the cheerful event to all about her and her emotions.
Jovenan: ::attempting to be more cheerly:: Ugh, sorry for making this all so gloomy. Computer, end display. Platform.
The hologram turned off and the colourful orb disappeared from before their eyes. The lighting returned to normal, revealing the grey walls of the large room and the floor, with computer interfaces and the Vulcan who had been working on the systems this whole time. The lab was so sterile this way. A computer-controlled tractor beam turned them back the right way up before beginning to pull them out of the microgravity bubble and back on to the floor.
Jovenan: So… Earth’s very beautiful place too. What made you leave your paradise?
She had to admit she knew very little of the other Ensign. Their service record summary revealed little, and she didn’t want to dig deep into other people’s pasts without their consent. She remembered Jones had been a bit cryptic when asked about it during the space walk.
Jones: Response
Jovenan: Oh. Okay. Well, you’ve been on Excalibur almost as long as I’ve been. Have you made many new friends in the crew yet?
Jones: Response
TAG/TBC
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Ensign Jovenan
Science officer
USS Excalibur-A
E239911J11