JP: Cmdr Alora DeVeau & Lt Velaan Saa - The Revanent (Return to Betazed Part 3)
Sevantha Saa
((Ohmallera Memorial Site, Ohmallera, Betazed))
Few ever had the opportunity to stare at a memorial with their own name on it. Even fewer had the chance to reclaim the life another universe’s self had left behind following their death. Velaan’s finger traced across the etching of his name, smiling weakly. In his universe, they engraved his sister’s and father’s names instead. A bittersweet moment in which he realized who similar yet different their universes were.
Single moments such as the USS Thor never sinking, his mother dying in war instead of surviving, his sister and father dying instead of him, made the worlds intrinsically different. Trake wasn’t even a Captain where he came from. He hadn’t been lost in time, and the Avander he knew was a scientist and not an intelligence specialist. Everything about this place was eerily familiar, yet alien to him.
Drawing his hand back, he quickly stuffed back into his pocket before taking a few steps back. He flashed his companion a smile, one meant to mask the conflict he felt.
Saa: The monument looks shorter in this universe.
Verdant eyes shifted over to land upon the man whom she had accompanied to the monument. For him, the trip must be odd. Velaan was from another universe where people lived who had died in Alora’s own. How many of the names did he recognise? How many were etched on the wall there that hadn’t been in his own?
Although Alora had never known them personally, there were several names on that monument to whom she had a connection to. On one side, the Tesers were listed together, four of the last six surviving members of the fifteenth house gone in an instant. They were killed long before she met Kalin, but her deceased husband had felt their loss keenly. After his death, she’d made a habit of coming at least once a year to honour them in his stead. That year, Velaan had come as well - or perhaps she was the one accompanying him. Now they stood before it together, both mourning those who had once lived, but people they had never truly known. Even so, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was another reason Velaan stopped at the memorial.
DeVeau: You’re delaying, aren’t you?
Tilting his head, he sighed, well aware she was right. He was standing on the precipice of change with a life-altering decision to make, and he was running out of time to make it.
Saa: …I’m being obvious aren’t I?
A small flicker of amusement tickled her lips and she shifted the bundle upon her back. Shyla, exhausted, had gone to sleep in the carrier that Alora wore, affording the two adults some quiet time to chat.
DeVeau: Just a little.
Saa: After so long, do you think I’d just be ripping open old wounds in a time that is already tumultuous for them?
The usual peppy lilt and playfulness in his voice dulled, his eyes lowered to the ground as he allowed his usual guard to relax. Cold feet wasn’t the greatest
Velaan reminded her a little of Avander. Both of the men had a tendency to hide their true feelings behind a mask. Even she did the same, keeping herself close at times. Yet, she recognised that it wasn’t necessarily a healthy thing to do.
DeVeau: You’ve talked to Sevantha about it?
She knew the answer, but sometimes, people needed to hear their own mouths speak the decision they had already made.
Saa: A little… ::Stuffing his hands in his pockets:: Her mother knows, the article about the race made it to the Beta Quadrant, her last letter for Sevantha made it to me by mistake after Sevantha temporarily blocked Tesslana’s messages.
The match had already been lit, the fuse burned, and he was pretty sure he was wading through the aftermath of the two women’s clash.
DeVeau: Then it seems to me that delaying it will only make things worse.
Sometimes, it was the fear of what would come that made people hesitate, preventing them from moving forward. Maybe he just needed a proverbial kick in the pants.
Saa: Or I make it worse by just showing up…
DeVeau: Will Sevantha be with you?
Velaan shook his head, she had offered, but he’d insisted that he didn’t want her to endure more than she was ready too. Tesslana and her may have come to a small understanding, but they were a long way from resolution with one another. If Tesslana took it hard, she may turn on Sevantha, and he didn’t want his sister to avoid her homeworld for another two years.
Saa: No, I told her to actually take time to enjoy Betazed and show Morro around.
DeVeau: Would you like me to come?
After what had happened with his mother, Alora was probably a persona non grata, a fact he would know. If, however, it helped him, she wouldn’t hesitate.
Saa: You have already done a lot for my sister, I wouldn’t want to take any more time away from your daughter or business.
DeVeau: Bini is here. She’ll take Shyla, and I’m happy to go with you.
His lips curled into a faint smile as he considered it, her sincerity and willingness striking deep, and admittedly he wanted to give Alora the opportunity to change her mother’s opinion. Somewhere, Tesslana was the hero he knew her to be in his universe, the difference is she lived beyond the way.
Saa: I… ::turning to lift a hand, combing through his hair in debate:: I’d like that.
DeVeau: All right. We’ll just have to stop and drop Shyla off.
She paused then, considering her offer. Alora had no inclination to rescind it, but she also knew that Velaan was in an untenable position, and she didn’t want to make things worse for him.
DeVeau: I want to help if I can, but don’t feel bad about turning me down if it’s going to make things worse with her. I don’t think she cares for me at the moment, and I would understand if you would like to distance yourself.
Saa: I’m not sure it sits well with me for my mother to have such an ill opinion of you based on you simply supporting Sevantha. ::shakes head:: It’s strange to see how your absence can change the lives of those you love, how grief profoundly changes them.
Again, he turned towards his name on the headstone, wondering how similar they must have been, before turning fully to face Alora.
DeVeau: I’m happy to support both of you however I can.
Saa: …And that is why you're my favorite Alora of all the Aloras I’ve met.
DeVeau: Oh good…
She grinned, turning to make her way down the row of graves before she did a double take.
DeVeau: Wait…how many of me have you met?
((Entry Way, The Saa Estate, Medara, Batista))
A pair high arched double doors made of frosted crystalline polycarbonate, etched with intricate designs in homage of the Four similar to those found on the walls of the marble temples greeted them. A long porch, lined with trellis’s full of white flowers known as Merander’s Tears, named specifically because of the light glow the flowers emitted during Merander’s full phase. It was always a mystery why Avander and Keylander never brought out their glow.
Velaan knew this place, but not here, not in this universe. The designs on the door in his universe were images of Rixx’s deeds, encapsulating the Seventh House’s pride in being the “House of Courage.” Admittedly, he found himself surprised to see the trellises, and lightly lifted a hand to rub his left arm. An attempt to sneak out in his youth down one of them had led to him falling, landing flat on his back with a broken arm. Young Velaan was far from the rogue he was today.
Alora though the place looked lovely, and it was obvious that the Saa’s took pride in it. It wasn’t as large as the Lumie…well, now Teser, home, but for Alora, that was actually part of the appeal. As much as she loved Enzada, the woman had inherited a huge home and land. The Saa estate was much more reasonable.
DeVeau: So this is your family home.
Well, sort of. Velaan wasn’t from that universe, but she figured if other things were the same, then that most likely was as well.
Saa: After the destruction of Ohmallera, yeah, I was a ward of the Matriarch Ascendant of the Seventh House. ::He hesitated, stared up, then began to pace:: I fell from these trellises when I was 14.
Alora stopped and tugged at Velaan’s arm to encourage him to do the same. Her eyes set upon the house, the grounds, and everything about it. It looked like a home, a place where people lived, loved, and yes, even lost. Velaan had lost something too. In a way, he got it back, but it wasn’t the same, and never would be.
DeVeau: What comes to mind when you look at it?
Saa: …Excitement interlaced with fear.
A nervous half smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he stared at the door before looking back towards Alora.
Saa: Like I’m about to skydive or transport onto an unknown world for the first time, my heart’s racing.
A quick glance darted his way, lingering just long enough to get a sense of his expression, but not so long as to make it seem like she was scruitinising him. She wasn’t, of course, but his face spoke as much as his words did.
DeVeau: Do you regret coming?
Saa: No, I… ::he smiles:: It just feels very surreal.
Lifting his hand, he almost self-consciously reconsidered his facial hair. A vain little anxiety emerged. Was the Velaan of this universe clean-shaven?
Saa: Should I have shaved? Do I look too mirror-universe with the beard?
DeVeau: Considering I’ve seen pictures of some people who didn’t have facial hair in the mirror verse, I would say you’re just fine. Come on, take a breath. It will be okay.
Inhaling for a three count then exhaling, Velaan steadied himself, guided by the vibrant brunette with Fana blessed eyes. All the nervous energy had been building up, they were at a precipice of change that he’d been avoiding for nearly a year because of internal anxiety.
What if this was too much for them?
Was he being cruel by reopening these wounds by selfishly trying to grasp at the family he’d lost so long ago.
Saa: …::Takes a deep breath:: I… I think I’m ready.
DeVeau: All right.
She started forward, but before she could take a step, Velaan spoke again.
Saa: Before we go in.. ::he reached out to take her hand, giving it a light squeeze, allowing his mask to slip:: Thank you, truly…
The playful rogue melted into a vulnerable, lost boy, who was terrified to be only meters away from those he’d lost. A chance to see his mother again, alive and well, to see the father he’d lost with his sister during Ohmallera. Alora’s fingers curled around his, returning the gesture, and didn’t let go, a small smile caressing her face. She kept hold of him, a friendly presence, and in silence, they moved forward together.
The front doors of the estate opened, and the long lost son of the Saa family greeted the warm glow of the inner chamber light with a smile.
Saa: …Ma’di? Atda?
And with the last step, cries of relief and joy could be heard from a woman inside, followed by the muffled sobs of man torn from his family far too long.
After years locked away in a collection.
A year in a universe with all the pieces he’d lost in his life present.
Velaan Saa finally made it home.
[[To Be Continued…]]
******
Lieutenant Velaan Saa
Operations Officer
USS Thor
A240105SS2
&
Commander Alora DeVeau
Chief Science Officer
USS Thor
&
Matriarch of the 15th House
Betazed
M239008AD0