Lt. Commander Tahna Meru - Scars, Both Old And New
Tahna Meru
((Linum Market, Arnali, Palanon))
It had been three years since Palanon was nearly torn apart by the sudden appearance of a rogue planet. It wore the scars with grace. In Arnali, buildings and stone-paved street that could be fixed had their cracked stones filled in with brightly-colored cement and plaster, like the city itself was a work of kintsugi, that old Japanese tradition. Still other buildings were entirely new construction, though they kept to the old architectural style of the city.
It had been one year since the planet was torn apart again by the Borg—except that event had never happened, because the Gorkon crew had worked tirelessly for a year to prevent it. The city bore no scars of Borg occupation, and Meru hoped it never would. Meru’s arm rested casually across her abdomen, over the place that Borg drone had sliced into her in the Unimatrix. The universe may not bear the scars of Johnson’s plans, but every member of the Gorkon crew did, some physically, all mentally.
It was good, and strange, to be back.
The market was busy, bustling with a crow that would have been dead or filled with cybernetics had Johnson ultimately succeeded. All these people who would never know the horrible fate they had narrowly avoided…
Meru wasn’t shopping for anything in particular. Really, she was just at the market to be. To exist. She hadn’t left the Gorkon except on away missions in that whole time in the Borg universe, the fresh air, the scent of flowers and baked goods and street food on the wind… it was invigorating. And still, strange.
She strolled the market, taking her time, smiling at vendors, feeling the planet turn beneath her. The market carried on, around the corner, to…
Tahna: Nice to be off the ship, isn’t it?
An unmistakable, tall Andorian was there too, among the throng.
zh’Tisav: Response
Meru offered her a smile. Their relationship had been…prickly at times, in that other timeline, but she hoped that was in the past. A universe filled with Borg didn’t make things easy on anyone, and she was sure that was especially true for the Andorian as a mother.
Tahna: How are you? How’s Tyvya, and your family?
zh’Tisav: Response