Lt JG Wil Ukinix - Foreign Land
Danny Lee
((Xerix family estate-Rixx, Betazed))
::After being shown to his room with the curtain-door, and with two White Russians under his belt, Wil’s body clock was still disoriented. He tried laying on his bed, still in his Starfleet uniform, to have a short nap. But that didn’t work. As he pondered what to do, he looked outside of his window. It looked beautiful. There was a small breeze, and in amongst the mass of trees and plant life, he could see grassed areas.
Wil moved back to his bag and got changed – a pair of smart-casual shorts, a long sleeve grey v-neck collarless shirt, and a pair of black leisure shoes. He also a grabbed a deflated football and his combadge, before leaving his room.::
((Outside Xerix family estate-Rixx, Betazed – 20 minutes later))
::The flora a fauna that surrounded him during his walk reminded him of the sub-tropical parts of his native Australia, except on Betazed it was much more “elegant” and colourful. The walk and fresh air had woken him up a little. He had only passed two other people on his journey – even though these parts of the grounds were accessible to any citizen.
Having finally found a large grassed area, Wil held the deflated football in both of his hands. Using a thumb, he pressed and then held in the small rubber button that was on top of the ball. It glowed green, before the football self-inflated. He casually kicked the ball 20 metres or so, before it dribbled end over end for another 10 metres.
For the next 5 minutes, Wil simply kicked the ball from one end of the grassed area to the other, casually walking to collect the ball after every kick.
An errant kick that went off the side of his shoe caused the ball to dribble to a nearby path. As Wil went to retrieve it, a young boy aged approximately 6 years old that was walking along the path ran towards the ball and picked it up. He then briskly walked over towards Wil. A woman that was with him walked behind the boy.::
Ucren: Here you go, sir.
::Wil lowered himself on one knee to accept the ball back.::
Ukinix: Thank you! What’s your name?
Ucren: Ucren.
::The young boy looked at Wil’s deep blue eyes.::
Ucren: Where are you from?
::The woman that was with the boy finally caught up to him.::
Hixela: ~~I apologize, I hope - ~~
::Wil’s eyes opened sharply. He looked at the woman in a bit of shock. Wil’s grandfather had never communicated with Wil telepathically – he would sometimes “hear” Wil’s stronger thoughts, but that was about it.
The woman looked at Wil’s eyes, and opened her mouth a little. She looked at the Starfleet badge on his shirt and placed her hand on her chest.::
Hixela: I apologize, I hope young Ucren was not interrupting you.
Ukinix: No, not at all, he gave me my ball back. ::Looking at Ucren, smiling:: And I was about to tell him that I’m from Earth.
Ucren: ::Pointing at football:: What is that?
Hixela: ::To Ucren:: Don’t be rude.
Ukinix: ::To Hixela:: No, it’s OK. ::To Ucren:: It’s a football. For kicking around, it’s an Earth game.
Ucren: What’s your name?
Ukinix: I’m Lieutenant U –
::Wil blinked his eyes a few times.::
Ukinix: Wil. ::Smiling:: Lieutenant Wil.
::Hixela seemed to be looking over Wil’s shoulder. He turned around, to discover a woman slightly younger than him, wearing a black jacket and matching pants, standing approximately ten metres away with her arms crossed.::
Hixela: We shall go Lieutenant Wil, so that you can speak to your friend.
Ukinix: Uh-
::During Wil’s confusion, the boy pointed at his hands.::
Ucren: Can I have it?
Hixela: Ucren!
Ukinix: ::Looking down at football in his hand:: What – this?
Hixela: Ucren, we can replicate you one when we get home. We don’t ask for other’s things.
Ukinix: ::Smiling:: You know what? Ucren, it’s yours mate. ::Handing ball back to Ucren:: It’s from Earth – well, it was replicated on a starship at Utopia Planitia… close enough.
Hixela: ::To Ucren:: What do we say?
Ucren: Thank you, Lieutenant.
Hixela: Really, thank you.
::Wil stood up, looking over his shoulder at the mystery woman, before turning back to Hixela.::
Ukinix: You’re both welcome. ::To Hixela:: Your son is gorgeous.
::Hixela smiled as she walked away with Ucren’s hand in hers.::
Hixela: Oh, I’m not his mother, I’m one of his carers. Nice to meet you, Lieutenant.
::As Hixela and Ucren walked away, with Ucren looking at the red oval shaped ball that he had in his hand, Wil turned to look at the mystery woman. Her arms still crossed, she took a few steps towards Wil as she studied the carer and the young boy while they made their way back along the path.::
Woman: Inherited privilege. ::Sarcastically:: Such a wonderful Betazoid trait.
::Wil studied the woman.::
Ukinix: Yes – um, sorry – who are you?
::The woman turned to look at Wil, with a piercing look.::
Woman: I should be asking you that same question, Lieutenant Wil from Earth. That chooses not to speak his family name.
::Wil furrowed his brow a little, before he detected a sense of pride in her from her quip.::
Woman: Are you ashamed? Scared?
::An unimpressed look showed on Wil’s face. He put his hands on his hips and looked at the woman.::
Ukinix: Keehani Ral. Ukinix.
::Wil crossed his arms.::
Keehani: Nice to meet you, second cousin. Yes, I’m Keehani. “Ukin-iths”. Well, soon to be. ::Hands on hips:: Hopefully.
::He felt his jaw clench.::
Ukinix: What, are you stalking me now?
Keehani: I have my contacts.
Ukinix: I explicitly said in my message back to you that I didn’t want to get involved.
Keehani: You also failed to mention that you were coming to Betazed.
::Wil crossed his arms tighter.::
Ukinix: Yeah, that’s because the reasons for coming here – a *bombing* and a *funeral* – happened after I sent you that message. A bombing on my home planet, by the way.
Keehani: Yes, that bombing was awful, I was sorry to hear about that. ::Nodding:: I know why you’re here – for Ensign Xerix. Still, given that you only just found out that you have a second cousin. ::Cheekily:: ~~It would have been nice if you had contacted me~~.
Ukinix: OK, if we’re going to get along, you need to not do that.
Keehani: ::Smirking:: ~~Do what?~~
::Wil took a few steps away.::
Ukinix: Well, it was nice to meet you-
Keehani: ::Chuckling:: Sorry, Wil, I’m sorry.
::Wil placed his hands on his hips, and looked at Keehani, wondering what he should do next.::
Keehani: Wil, we’re second cousins! You don’t need to feel anger at me.
::He had the sudden realisation that not only was she confident, she must have been empathic as well. Which stood to reason – of course she was.::
Keehani: ::Confidently:: Let’s go get a drink. I know somewhere that serves Earth wine, you’ll love it. You can tell me about your life, and I can tell you about mine. ::Cheekily:: Sounds good? OK, let’s go.
::Wil smiled ironically while looking away from Keehani. She took a few steps towards him and locked her arm in his. Apparently being cheeky was a Ukinix family trait, even light years apart.::
Ukinix: ::Sighing:: We may as well. Something tells me you’re just going to keep stalking me if I don’t.
::Keehani simply chuckled as they began to walk on the nearby path. There was several moments of awkward silence, which was compounded by the fact that Wil could sense her awkwardness. And he could sense that she could sense his awkwardness. That made him feel more awkward. He decided to break the silence.::
Ukinix: I haven’t caught up since I arrived on Betazed. Did you end up hearing back from my grandparents?
Keehani: ::Sighing:: Yes.
::She swallowed as she looked ahead, before continuing.::
Keehani: They’ve acknowledged that they received my message. My request for help is “Under consideration”.
::Wil pursed his lips and slowly nodded, as they walked along.::
TBC…
Lieutenant JG Wil Ukinix
Engineering Officer
USS Veritas
V239511WU0