Ensign T’Fearne - The Vaults in our Stars
Teayl Thorn
((Eastern Temple, B'Hala, Kendra Province, Bajor))
As they turned from the fresco to follow Vedek Dana deeper into the temple, the ground shook with another tremor. T’Fearne instinctively moved closer to one of the sturdy pillars, tugging at Nemes. She could feel the tremor's vibrations shaking the ground beneath them, but surprisingly, someone had built the temple's architecture flexibly to withstand the quake. Unlike the crumbling buildings in the city, the temple swayed like a living thing, resilient and steady. Only a tapestry near the wall, previously hung with regal grace, fell to the cold stone floor with a thud. Behind it, a wall section stood, revealing a set of recent glyphs. Painted in crimson, their form sharp and angular. T’Fearne’s eyes caught the phonetic pronunciation: uh-MORE-un, and the meaning echoed in her mind in the moment's stillness. She felt it deep in her Bajoran bones—banished.
She pushed the thought aside for later, dusting her hands and shaking her robes.
T’Fearne: Well, the Eastern Temple seems well-built. oO What is banished? The temple…or B’Hala perhaps! Oo
Alieth: One would expect nothing else from the Great B'Hala.
The ensign had made an observation, but she noticed Alieth’s comment was laced with a compliment, one she suspected was carefully crafted to coax more information from their guide.
Dana: The Kai oversaw the construction of the twin temples. Seven men died in its construction. A sacrifice of The Prophets. In a matter of fact they were crushed right where you stand Priestess. You bless them with your presence.
T’Fearne stood silent momentarily, contemplating Dana's heavy, almost ritualistic tone while the group continued moving forward. Had the woman’s words been a subtle threat or a warning?
The prylar guards had followed them from the courtyard. The security training in T’Fearne told her that it would be appropriate to have guards for temple ceremonies and the protection of significant figures. Still, the burly Bajoran men with scythe weapons closed in front and behind them, escorting them into the temple. Walking at the rear of her quartet, she took the opportunity to test the boundaries. Her pace slowed as she feigned interest, gazing intently at another tapestry. The guards behind her slowed, and a burly prylar that would give the Captain and Cmdr Raga a run for their money in the tall and broad department loomed insistently, slightly too close for politeness or comfort. She nodded pleasantly, picked up her skirts and caught up to the group, having gained an idea of their allowance of free movement in this sacred place.
They passed by endless corridors and twisting hallways, each opening into another until they entered a grand chamber. The air grew warmer as the space expanded.
((Kai’s Reception Hall, Eastern Temple, B'Hala, Kendra Province, Bajor))
The hall was vast—more than twenty-five meters wide, with tall windows that let in the soft, golden light from outside. In the darker corners, blue smoke drifted lazily from lacey bronze braziers tended by elderly prylars. A rich red carpet embroidered with gold thread stretched from the door to a high dais on which a throne stood. Upon it sat a man whose body seemed frail compared to his guards. His grizzled hair and wiry form spoke of weariness as if B’Hala’s weight rested on his shoulders. As the group entered, he rose slowly, extending his arms in a welcome gesture.
Kai Oogan: Welcome, you, who are to fulfil the prophecy.
They stood in an area designed for audiences. From T’Fearne’s position at the back and by the vantage of being the tallest of their group, she let her senses take in all the information she could from the room. The guards, their weapons, the elderly prylars placing a strongly scented herb in the braziers to create the blue smoke, Vedek Dana in her opulent robes shining all the brighter as the Kai, afflicted by some kind of wasting of the body, rose to greet them.
The former Vulcazoid could sense an undercurrent of political struggle here, even without her empathy, something she had learned at her parent's knee. She needed more information, but their position was precariously balanced.
T’Fearne: oO Walking on a knife's edge, one step wrong, and we will be lost to time. Oo
Alieth stepped forward, her voice serene but probing.
Alieth: Thank you for the welcome, Lord Kai, tell us, how can we help the Holy City?
Oogan’s eyes flickered momentarily toward Dana, face unreadable before he finally spoke.
Kai Oogan: As you can see, our city is shaken by tremors. Buildings are falling, people are dying, and there is nothing we can do to stop them, can you, the Prophets' envoys, stop them?
Nemes: Since when has the earth been shaking here in B'Hala?
T’Fearne::: Leaning on her Daughter of a House of Betazed routine again:: We will do what we can to help, and if it is the will of the Prophets, we will find answers.
Alieth: And tell us, oh Kai, is there any place where we can start our search?
Before Kai Oogan responded, he seemed to flinch as though chilled by an unwelcome draft. He slumped back into his throne as though the weight of the room was too much for his frail body to support. However, his eyes bore, first into Alieth and then Vedek Dana.
Dana: A wise question indeed :: she bowed to both women :: The tremors started several weeks ago. On the eve of our harvest celebrations. The underground caverns to the south would be best for your search. The Prophets have blessed us with great mines, filled with ores and minerals. People come from all around to trade with our great city. We would make these available to you.
The young security officer waited, knowing that to accept or decline the offer would be up to Alieth or Luxa, but Nemes surprised her with a question that might get them closer to the heart of their problems.
Nemes: It would help us perhaps if we could study the old prophecy again ourselves. ::she knew she pushed her luck by assuming that the prophecy was written down somewhere, so she cleared her throat before going on:: The prophets in their wisdom have certainly given us a hint so that we know how we can help.
The Kai suddenly moved as if filled with renewed energy.
Kai Oogan: :: With an authoritative voice:: Enough! Come closer, I want to feel your Pagh before anything else.
The sudden force in Oogan’s voice sent a ripple of unease through T’Fearne. Her true body had very sensitive pointed ears. Only medical professionals or her lovers had ever been permitted to touch them. She tried to accept it as a part of another culture. As a Starfleet officer, she put her duty before personal feelings and beliefs. She struggled to push the uncomfortable feeling away, bury it down, lock it behind walls of logic, but the tools she usually used were just outside her grasp, and deep down and feint as though from a great distance of time and space, she felt a spark of rage within her katra stirring. Their current mission was to survive whatever game was being played with their tiny mortal lives so they could return to their time. T’Fearne’s hand tightened slightly as she prepared to step forward.
T’Fearne::: Muttered through gritted teeth:: Great fire!…I mean, by the will of the prophets.
Alieth: Response
Nemes’ sneezing focused her on the here and now but also seemed to have caused a reaction as the prylar guards whispered and someone scraped steel.
She placed her hands deep in the sleeves of her garment, a supplicant, almost shrugging gesture as her hidden hands firmly gripped the reassuring rough wood of the twin 2akai. Trying to remain calm, she waited for some indication from either commander that should things go further in this direction, she should act to defend them. Glancing innocently around at the burly Bajoran guards, their long-reach-bladed weapons against her toothpicks, the odds were not in their favour at that moment.
Dana: These women are foreigners. From lands that are strange to us. They know not of the ways of our Great City :: points to Nemes :: This one does not know the insult she caused to our Kai :: to the Kai :: Please have mercy on her. .
Luxa stepped forward, a protective arm shielding the sneezing woman.
Lorana: She knows not what she does. She is but a junior among us. Forgive us for our grievous insult. In our land it is a great honour to bless the Kai with this act.
T’Fearne::: licking her dry lips:: Indeed, she means no offence.
Alieth/Oogan: Response
Nemes: ::making a declining gesture to the others:: It`s okay, don`t worry.
The pleas seemed to delay any immediate action, yet the scythes remained drawn and so T’Fearnes hand remained close to her weapons. The tension in the room had distracted her from the pah grabbing she was about to allow.
She calmed her emotions with thoughts of duty and getting home as Nemes and Luxa received the offending gesture.
T’Fearne: oO Ronin Strong! I can allow this. Oo
Alieth/Kai Oogan: Response
Nemes: ::in a very low voice to the one next to her:: Wow. That hurt.
Nemes's addition was less encouraging this time.
When it was her turn, and the Kai’s cold fingers reached for her, it felt like frost had gripped her soul. T’Fearne flinched at the unnatural coldness of the touch, but she held her ground. The Kai’s touch lingered a silent assessment that made the skin on her whole body crawl. The rage stirred again, creeping closer to the surface, its usual guard and chains absent. And then he was done, turning for Alieth.
T’Fearne took a step back and breathed slowly through her nose, trying to rein her temper down, almost oblivious to events around her, but as Alieth’s turn approached, she felt her head clearing. She had noticed the commander's aversion to touch, going so far as to wear gloves. She had wondered if it was for a similar reason to her own mild 1Haphephobia but hadn't worked up the courage or the relationship to ask that kind of personal question. Now, she watched with slight apprehension at how the Commander would choose to navigate this situation as the withered man reached bony fingers out for Alieth.
Kai Oogan: Response
Dana: Your eminence if I could be so bold to speak?
The Vedek approached, head tilted in a posture of respect.
Kai Oogan: Response
Dana: The vaults and the old temple are the most holy of places. The envoy priestesses, we rejoice to have them, of course. Surely they would be best placed to the south.
Kai Oogan: Response
Dana: Of course eminence. I apologise.
Having just spent several seconds that felt like an eternity holding her rage in check as the Kai held her ear, T’Fearne had a moment of recognition. She didn’t know the woman, Dana, didn’t know her mannerisms or how she usually was as a person, but she did recognise anger in the stiff way her body moved. The tilt of her head indicated pre-aggression to the admittedly young security officer's trained eye. The smile was the sinch as it clung rigidly to the woman's skull like a mask. If T’Fearne were to make a wager with herself, she would bet that Vedek Dana hated Kai Oogan, and at that moment, the former Vulcazoid didn’t look too favourably on the Kai herself.
Kai Oogan: Response
Lorana: As you wish Kai Oogan.
She was tempted to play on Dana’s favour by backing her suggestion, but she wouldn’t undermine a superior officer.
T’Fearne: Perhaps after the vaults, we could visit the South. :: nodding pleasantly::
Alieth/Nemes: Response
((The Vaults, B’Hala, Kendra Province, Bajor))
The vaults were clearly ancient, a labyrinth of stone carved into the very bedrock of Bajor. They were a place of both sacred and treasured knowledge. The air was cool, dry and dusty, and faint echoes of distant whispers seemed to reverberate through the walls. T’Fearne had a strong sense of recognition in the vaults, though she had never been there before. Something about the environment, even 20,000 years earlier than the first time she had set foot in B’Hala, these tunnels and halls of storage and records held an eerie familiarity to the B’Hala of the 25th century.
Their cavernous room held many crates and waxy hide containers sealing scrolls, diagrams, and illustrations. They waited on the record keeper, a ranjen who had taken their information topic requests and scurried off with an assistant and a reed basket, leaving them to stay at a set of large stone tables, roughly hewn on the sides but curiously smooth surfaced on top.
Quietly, because they still had several guards watching from the entrance to the cavern, though most had remained with the Kai, T’Fearne turned to the three Science officers.
T’Fearne: Do you recognise anything here? Not the records, I mean the journey here or the architecture itself from that vision you shared until I joined you, of the events to come?
Trying to subtly talk of their meeting in the cistern in the future.
Alieth/Nemes/Lorana/: Response
Footsteps came rushing back from the depths of the labyrinth as two figures came back burdened with scrolls, parsley, and packages of assorted sizes and shapes.
Record Keeper::: slightly out of breath:: Here Priestesses. May I present…
He circled the stone table, placing each requested piece of literature in front of them and rolling off their titles, authors, collaborators, and a list of provenance in some cases and finally coming to T’Fearne’s side of the table and placing a case of brightly coloured scrolls down in front of her.
Record Keeper::: looking slightly confused:: …and er, the illustrated scrolls of children's tales and admonitions for the tall priestess. Enjoy, er, Lady. :: bowing slightly as his brow and upper lip glistened with nervous sweat.
T’Fearne: Thank you for your assistance.
Bracing as though she were at a workstation as the ranjen scurried off to a shelf of tomes and whispered excitedly with his assistant, T’Fearne began unrolling the colourful scrolls, uncovering various virtuous stories with illustrations, some songs and a few tutorials on simple tasks to prepare for apprenticeship. One she opened was of a genre akin to scary stories, where the child who disobeyed would be stolen from their bodies so the wraith could wear their flesh and assume their lives, leaving the child’s 3borhya to wander, able to watch the world but unable to act.
T’Fearne::: More sarcastically than she intended:: What lovely stories they tell the children. :: turning to the most interesting illustrated parable she had found and read aloud:: 4The Girl Who Would Sail The Stars. Seems very fanciful and maybe a bit ahead of its time. It talks of a girl who would sail the sea of stars, harnessing the power of B'hava'el to travel to strange new places. There is an illustration of her harnessing the local primary with a gold bridle, encrusted with green Orb-like jewels reflecting the star's light in an ethereal emerald light. Have you found anything interesting?
Holding the illustration up to the softly glowing lantern light so the others could see.
Alieth/Nemes/Lorana/Other if any: Response
T’Fearne: Fascinating!
Alieth/Nemes/Lorana/Other if any: Response
[[Tag, You’re It! / TBC]]
((OOC: 1Haphephobia - fear of being touched | 2akai - Betazoid Fighting Sticks | 3Borhya - soul or ghost | 4The Girl Who Would Sail The Stars - Ancient Bajoran Parable By Lt.Tahana Meru))
===============================
Ensign T'Fearne
Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14