Ensign Xilva Marsek - Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There
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Xilva Marsek
Jun 28, 2026, 9:46:48 PM (14 hours ago) Jun 28
to sb118...@googlegroups.com
((Room 1219, Deck 5, The Ronin))
Xilva thrived on lists. Checklists, to-do lists, grocery lists, those listicle articles that caught on centuries ago and never seemed to go away. She loved making that last checkmark and that sense of satisfaction that came from seeing that everything was done. It brought a sense of productivity to her day and a reminder that if she could complete tasks, she wasn't useless.
She wouldn't be found out to be the imposter that she really was.
When her alarm chirped, she slid out of her bed but kept her eyes shut.
Inhale. Exhale. Focus your mind on nothing but the hum of life around you.
Her bare feet dragged lightly on the cool floor as she slipped into the same set of morning exercises that she had done since she was old enough to walk. Her mind drifted towards the practice with her mother and Ayre, and how the two sisters would poke and giggle with each other. Even as adults, while the giggling had quieted, the pokes and nudges never did. At the Academy, there were no pokes, but there was life around her - her roommate's light snoring, whispered partings of lovers in the hallway, someone's muffled cursing and beeping as the replicator again fell to overwork.
The Ronin was built solidly, with thick walls that blocked the usual quiet noise of life around her.
Focus. Knees bent, arms wide, breathe in.
Breathe out.
When there was no life humming, there was no focus. For the first time in decades, her footing slipped - just enough that she could visualize her mother again, gently chiding her twins to listen to what was around. That was the point of the niitar, the morning meditation - awareness, breath, sounds.
Inhale.
She held her near-arabesque pose for a long moment, her injured leg trembling just enough to remind her that her torn ligaments hadn't healed yet.
Exhale.
Marsek: ::without opening her eyes, in a sleep-worn voice:: Da Yu Lin tea, hot.
Only after the replicator finished its cycle with a soft hiss did she open her eyes and settle into her small chair with her steaming cup of buttery tea. She wished for a window to look out of - something not granted to junior crewmembers. Something definitely not granted to imposters.
There wasn't even a soothing rumble of an engine under her feet - and with the majority of power going towards repairs, she knew that music wasn't something that she'd ask for. Repairs were far more important, after all.
Music...she gave a mournful glance at the instruments neatly tucked into the corner.
oO I'll play you soon. Maybe. If I figure things out. Oo
Reluctantly, she reached for a PADD, even though she knew what was on it. Today's Shift: None. Shore leave.
To Do: None.
Well there was that one small detail of not having done her formal introductions, but she tucked that away. The more she could avoid that, the better. Command still terrified her and she wasn't going to seek that out.
oO No, you aren't going to seek anything out. You aren't lonely. You just don't belong. Oo
The tea turned sour in her mouth.
She drank it anyway.
((Caretakers' Nodule, The Reef))
Xilva thrived on lists. Checklists, to-do lists, grocery lists, those listicle articles that caught on centuries ago and never seemed to go away. She loved making that last checkmark and that sense of satisfaction that came from seeing that everything was done. It brought a sense of productivity to her day and a reminder that if she could complete tasks, she wasn't useless.
She wouldn't be found out to be the imposter that she really was.
When her alarm chirped, she slid out of her bed but kept her eyes shut.
Inhale. Exhale. Focus your mind on nothing but the hum of life around you.
Her bare feet dragged lightly on the cool floor as she slipped into the same set of morning exercises that she had done since she was old enough to walk. Her mind drifted towards the practice with her mother and Ayre, and how the two sisters would poke and giggle with each other. Even as adults, while the giggling had quieted, the pokes and nudges never did. At the Academy, there were no pokes, but there was life around her - her roommate's light snoring, whispered partings of lovers in the hallway, someone's muffled cursing and beeping as the replicator again fell to overwork.
The Ronin was built solidly, with thick walls that blocked the usual quiet noise of life around her.
Focus. Knees bent, arms wide, breathe in.
Breathe out.
When there was no life humming, there was no focus. For the first time in decades, her footing slipped - just enough that she could visualize her mother again, gently chiding her twins to listen to what was around. That was the point of the niitar, the morning meditation - awareness, breath, sounds.
Inhale.
She held her near-arabesque pose for a long moment, her injured leg trembling just enough to remind her that her torn ligaments hadn't healed yet.
Exhale.
Marsek: ::without opening her eyes, in a sleep-worn voice:: Da Yu Lin tea, hot.
Only after the replicator finished its cycle with a soft hiss did she open her eyes and settle into her small chair with her steaming cup of buttery tea. She wished for a window to look out of - something not granted to junior crewmembers. Something definitely not granted to imposters.
There wasn't even a soothing rumble of an engine under her feet - and with the majority of power going towards repairs, she knew that music wasn't something that she'd ask for. Repairs were far more important, after all.
Music...she gave a mournful glance at the instruments neatly tucked into the corner.
oO I'll play you soon. Maybe. If I figure things out. Oo
Reluctantly, she reached for a PADD, even though she knew what was on it. Today's Shift: None. Shore leave.
To Do: None.
Well there was that one small detail of not having done her formal introductions, but she tucked that away. The more she could avoid that, the better. Command still terrified her and she wasn't going to seek that out.
oO No, you aren't going to seek anything out. You aren't lonely. You just don't belong. Oo
The tea turned sour in her mouth.
She drank it anyway.
((Caretakers' Nodule, The Reef))
Inhale.
There was no reason to stay on the ship. After washing-up and choosing the more simple attire from her maximalist wardrobe - worn combat boots, comfortable, distressed jeans, and a plain black tank, she quickly fixed her hair into a long braid and made her way into the space Narhelion called home. Her bag felt heavy on her shoulder, but there was no reason to choose a place to stay just yet. She'd find somewhere quiet later. Right now the crowds were choosing quarters together, laughing over who got which room, and she had no desire to be in anyone's way.
She moved lightly, quickly, ducking past excited laughter and gasps of awe into an unused corridor. Her heart pounded as the voices drew nearer, and she ducked into a small room off to the side, hiding just within the doorway and holding her breath.
The delighted group pushed forward, Xilva having escaped their notice.
There was no reason to stay on the ship. After washing-up and choosing the more simple attire from her maximalist wardrobe - worn combat boots, comfortable, distressed jeans, and a plain black tank, she quickly fixed her hair into a long braid and made her way into the space Narhelion called home. Her bag felt heavy on her shoulder, but there was no reason to choose a place to stay just yet. She'd find somewhere quiet later. Right now the crowds were choosing quarters together, laughing over who got which room, and she had no desire to be in anyone's way.
She moved lightly, quickly, ducking past excited laughter and gasps of awe into an unused corridor. Her heart pounded as the voices drew nearer, and she ducked into a small room off to the side, hiding just within the doorway and holding her breath.
The delighted group pushed forward, Xilva having escaped their notice.
Exhale.
She leaned against a wall and stretched her aching leg, rubbing it to try to stimulate circulation and hopefully speed up healing. It was probably just her imagination anyway, no need to bother any of the medical staff.
However, the pain seemingly disappeared when a flash of light - no, -hundreds- of flashes of light - caught her eye.
Cautiously, she approached the opposite wall, where the lights blurred into color, and she realized she was standing directly in front of an ancient mural. It was in the abstract, from what she could tell - depictions of large, roughly-shaped beings of light - Narhelion's kind, she guessed -, groups of darker silhouettes offering - was this a religious ceremony?
No, no. That was always the failsafe answer in any archaeology class - the one that was almost always wrong.
Upon closer inspection, the silhouettes weren't uniform. Xilva could make out horns, antennae, multiple arms, spidery limbs. No uniformity, like in ancient Terran murals. No, these were different - if only they weren't so dark! She absently touched one with her fingertips --
--and it reacted with a flash and a low hum, the mural suddenly changing. Now the darker figures were bowing as the lighter beings seemed to drift off the wall, into the unknown.
Her bag landed on the ground with an echoing thud, and she frantically scrabbled for her tricorder - even if she wasn't sure what she was looking for.
oO What's causing that? What could cause it? Who...who were these Caretakers? Oo
Her tricorder beeped and hummed to life as she slowly approached the wall again - this time on her knees, looking for seams, for cracks, something that could show a power source!
Marsek: ::muttering:: No, that's impossible - this has to be thousands of years old, and the first recorded instance of these shift paintings was...
Her heart stopped - footsteps. This time at the head of the hallway, growing louder.
Marsek: H-hello?
Any: Response(s)
She took a frantic glance at the mural - no one else had seen it, had they? She hadn't damaged it, had she?
Marsek: I'm not--I'm just looking!
Any: Response(s)
She glanced over her shoulder, then back towards the mural to complete her scan. For once, curiosity beat fear.
Marsek: ...Impossible? No, improbable, if I could get a read on these figures...
Any: Response(s)
She leaned against a wall and stretched her aching leg, rubbing it to try to stimulate circulation and hopefully speed up healing. It was probably just her imagination anyway, no need to bother any of the medical staff.
However, the pain seemingly disappeared when a flash of light - no, -hundreds- of flashes of light - caught her eye.
Cautiously, she approached the opposite wall, where the lights blurred into color, and she realized she was standing directly in front of an ancient mural. It was in the abstract, from what she could tell - depictions of large, roughly-shaped beings of light - Narhelion's kind, she guessed -, groups of darker silhouettes offering - was this a religious ceremony?
No, no. That was always the failsafe answer in any archaeology class - the one that was almost always wrong.
Upon closer inspection, the silhouettes weren't uniform. Xilva could make out horns, antennae, multiple arms, spidery limbs. No uniformity, like in ancient Terran murals. No, these were different - if only they weren't so dark! She absently touched one with her fingertips --
--and it reacted with a flash and a low hum, the mural suddenly changing. Now the darker figures were bowing as the lighter beings seemed to drift off the wall, into the unknown.
Her bag landed on the ground with an echoing thud, and she frantically scrabbled for her tricorder - even if she wasn't sure what she was looking for.
oO What's causing that? What could cause it? Who...who were these Caretakers? Oo
Her tricorder beeped and hummed to life as she slowly approached the wall again - this time on her knees, looking for seams, for cracks, something that could show a power source!
Marsek: ::muttering:: No, that's impossible - this has to be thousands of years old, and the first recorded instance of these shift paintings was...
Her heart stopped - footsteps. This time at the head of the hallway, growing louder.
Marsek: H-hello?
Any: Response(s)
She took a frantic glance at the mural - no one else had seen it, had they? She hadn't damaged it, had she?
Marsek: I'm not--I'm just looking!
Any: Response(s)
She glanced over her shoulder, then back towards the mural to complete her scan. For once, curiosity beat fear.
Marsek: ...Impossible? No, improbable, if I could get a read on these figures...
Any: Response(s)
Inhale...
[tags/tbc?]
[tags/tbc?]
====
Ensign Xilva Marsek
Science Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
R240305XM1
Ensign Xilva Marsek
Science Officer
USS Ronin NCC-34523
R240305XM1
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