"Polyphony" (Tales of Alyosha Strannik/Masterverse side story)

gulberat

Author's Note: This is a much-belated response to Unofficial Literary Challenge #5, "The Lives Of [Insert Name Here]." This story presents the zhian'tara of Dr. Jiana Sei, CMO of the Chin'toka, and a friend of Captain Strannik's. While I don't have the exact time frame when this takes place, this is sometime after the Battle of Goralis (Masterverse continuity) and the worst of the cleanup. I also expect this is just slightly after the events of my other sequels to Faces in the Flames (An Enigma Tale and "TRIBBLE of the Machine").

That said, although there are definite, clear references to the Masterverse, I think this story should be accessible to new readers as well.

I've known a lot about these hosts for over a year (about when I actually started writing this), more like two years...I'm finally now getting it "published." So, with that, I present the first part of "Polyphony."

The Tales of Alyosha Strannik:
“Polyphony”
(ULC #5)

“Deliver me, courage to guide me…
Deliver me, strength from inside me…”

“Scum of the earth, power of air,
You wanted the world, we'll bury you there...!”

“I will remember you,
Keep the pain alive,
A vision of black and blue,
Fading into white…”

“Following the sun, to find the one
Who's giving you the wings to fly…”

2412—USS Chin’toka

“I am very sorry I can’t help you with your zhian’tara, Jiana.”

“I know,” Jiana Sei assured me, gesturing for me to sit at her side, her manner that of a woman much older than her years. She didn’t show it that often so outwardly, the bearing of one who had lived three consecutive lives, plus this one. There were times when non-Trill had no idea she was joined, and perhaps a bit oddly for those elite few among her people, my CMO didn’t seem to mind the mistaken assumptions or even correct them unless someone stated it outright.

As I took the offered chair next to hers, in the sitting room of her quarters, I couldn’t help but perceive as I always did the neuroelectric evidence of her joining. Intense—the constant interplays of two distinct yet synchronized fonts of energy…it is one of the few times when I truly know a form of beauty from that sense of mine that often reminds me of anything but. To simply observe it and let it be…

“Anyway, it’s not just you. th’Valek can’t help either,” Jiana continued. “The Dax Precedents—they definitely apply to him too: sensory shock, for one, and an untrained consciousness entering a telepath of that power…the Guardian’s already ruled him out.”

Lord knew that applied to me quadruple, even though we weren’t about to let the Guardian from the Symbiosis Commission know. Full Devidian sight had pained even a Ferasan telepath as powerful as, if not more powerful, than Thraz. Furthermore, the Dax Precedents were also clear on forbidding joined Trill to use shapeshifters—even a limited one such as myself—for this purpose. My form of sight could overwhelm the unprepared. Then there was basic mobility—using telekinesis to move and walk, which my muscles weren’t strong enough to do completely unaided. Not to mention allowing an inexperienced consciousness into the body of an (almost) Undine-level telekinete, who had no idea how to control it…

And that wasn’t the only thing I had to fear the living engram wouldn’t know how to process. It was one thing for me—but another being, even a part of one of my dearest friends, waking up inside me with no firsthand experience in recognizing the feeding instinct and redirecting it to an appropriate, artificial source? Absolutely not.

Still, it made me feel useless—and a poor friend to a joined Trill.

She didn’t have to read my mind to read the emotions I conveyed on my human features. “It’s okay, Alyosha. It really is. That doesn’t stop you and th’Valek from being the kind of people I would ask if I could. Still…” A shadowy smile crept across Jiana’s face. “There is something else you could help with.”

I leaned forward. “Oh?”

Jiana’s voice shook a bit—all vestiges of an old woman’s composure falling away. “I know I’m not by your standards, but I’m actually young as far as the Sei part of me goes, and I’ve never done this before. And from what the Guardians are telling me, it could be rough. But I can’t wait any longer. After what the Orions did to that poor boy…after the Avandar…I can’t keep putting it off.”

Then she told me exactly how I could assist.

gulberat

“Deliver me, out of my sadness
Deliver me, from all of the madness
Deliver me, courage to guide me
Deliver me, strength from inside me

All of my life I've been in hiding
Wishing there was someone just like you
Now that you're here, now that I've found you
I know that you're the one to pull me through

Deliver me, loving and caring
Deliver me, giving and sharing
Deliver me, the cross that I'm bearing…”

--Sarah Brightman, “Deliver Me” (excerpt)

USS Chin’toka, in dock at 75-Tau
CMO’s Quarters

Jeris, the pale-faced Trill Guardian, stood over a freestanding censer in the middle of Jiana’s quarters, filling its outer ring with mud from the shores of the symbiont pools of Mak’ala. In its center incense burned, which I could no more smell than the incense from the Divine Liturgy, but I remained aware of the small flame and smoke nonetheless. I knew it not just visually, but by the faint crackling sounds almost below the range of my hearing, and a wordless sense of increased vigilance: a hyper-keen sense, as best as anyone could figure, for changes in atmospheric composition intended to alert me to chemical or fire dangers in lieu of a sense of smell.

Only once the Guardian seemed fully satisfied with the quality of the ritual mud and incense did he look up to acknowledge anyone’s presence. “Jiana Sei,” he announced, “I come on behalf of the Symbiosis Commission to assist in your zhian’tara. Given your…unusual circumstances, this ritual will follow one of the non-standard forms. Since your second and third hosts never performed the zhian’tara due to death and illness, rather than each personality meeting individually with the totality of the rest, the personalities will be removed one by one until the three others stand before one who is solely the fusion of Jiana Teressit and Sei, permitting all of them to interact with each other and with you for a time in sole awareness of self. The journey will be an arduous one, but restoring.”

An awkward smile flashed across Jeris’ face as he continued to address Jiana. “It’s good to see you have more friends than you have past hosts. By involving them I assume that means you trust them implicitly. Are you sure you don’t want some security with you, though?”

Jiana nodded. “I’m sure,” she said, indicating Thraz and me. The Guardian looked us over skeptically—I could see why, from his perspective: we weren’t armed.

“What about all of these?” the Guardian asked. “Do they fully understand the process—and the risks?”

Chidibere Anene nodded eagerly…it wasn’t hard to imagine how she might have jumped up and down and squealed like a little girl when Jiana first invited her. “I’m ready!”

But then…she would also have the easiest role.

Chief N’Vek was next. “I am prepared.”

“You understand that you can reassert control at any time?” Jeris probed.

“Yes, I do. And I accept the risk to my person should anything…occur.”

The last two…well…we didn’t actually know which one of them would serve as a vessel. When the Guardian had ruled Thraz an inappropriate vessel, Jiana and I had looked through a list of those cleared for the same sensitive information that she and Thraz were—and would need to be, for this to work. Seeing few other alternatives, especially after the Fek'Ihri 'assimilation' virus forced Teeglar to destroy the Avandar...and even order the killing of all who made it to escape pods...I’d helped her approach my superiors: ch’Harrell and Berat. Honestly, ch’Harrell’s the best fit, Jiana had privately confided in me. But asking him to do a thing like that…it could be hard for him. Thus the decision—which Berat had agreed to—to at least try the Cardassian first.

Berat nodded. “Aye, I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all anyone asks,” the Guardian acknowledged. He turned his stare onto ch’Harrell. “Admiral…are you willing, if that one resists?”

I caught a peripheral movement as Berat’s eye ridges drew together and he narrowed his eyes: it wasn’t like it would be an intentional thing if his mental resistance training proved too much to overcome. ch’Harrell had trained too, but not from early childhood as Berat had. The Andorian gazed back at Jeris with a stony visage. Then I saw him close his eyes for a second and release his breath slowly as one does in meditation. “I think so,” he finally said, antennae locked into place.

“Well, we won’t need you right away,” Jeris airily replied, “if we need you at all. That should give you some time to get ready.”

Admiral ch’Harrell just nodded.

“For now, I won’t be needing any of you except for…Zhidaber, is it?”

“Chidibere,” Nurse Anene patiently replied. “Berry, if you like that better.”

The Guardian motioned forward. “Stand here.” Then he nodded towards Jiana and began to speak in untranslated Trill. “I'nora, ja'kala Sei... zhian'shee, Miriane tanus rem...gon'dar, Jiana-tor...” He reached over and placed his hand on the small of Jiana’s back, and his other hand on the back of Anene’s head. “Jiana, zhian'tara vok... Tu Sei, zhian'tani ress... Zhian'par, Miriane aru'koj...”

The flash of light I saw with my photoreceptors paled compared to the perception of my neuroelectric sense: something ‘spiraled’ free of the neural locus in Jiana’s abdomen, dancing to some beat as inscrutable as a Vulcan cover of Dream Theater and then leaping forth from Jiana, through the Guardian, and into Anene in one bold stroke, jolting all three with its suddenness. And Jiana…when I turned my senses upon her as Jeris lowered his hand, she seemed—different.

Jiana’s brow furrowed. She sounded almost as though…cold. “I feel empty.”

Jeris placed a hand on the doctor’s abdomen. “Your other personalities are intact within your for right now. But this is to be expected, Sei,” he said—and in speaking the symbiont’s name, his tone grew…reverent, almost. “You spent almost a century as Miriane. Not even half that as the other three combined. Tell me, Jiana—do you remember the name of the teacher Miriane trained under when she first arrived at the Hendria Special School?”

Jiana winced as the Guardian spoke the school’s name. I had to admit, it didn’t exactly have a nice ring to it. That turned to confusion. Resignation, almost. “I don’t remember anymore. All I remember are things I’ve read about or thought a long time about, in this life. Or the other two.”

As they spoke, I had also been watching Anene—and sight, telepathy, or neuroelectrics alone would each have been enough to tell me that something was very different about her now. Not that I would have described the nurse as undignified before, but there was something almost venerable to her bearing now, that same quiet dignity and wisdom I could occasionally see flashing across Jiana’s countenance, now emanating steadily from the young Nigerian.

“Good,” the Guardian was saying. “Everything seems to be proceeding smoothly. Now. Miriane?” The elder consciousness within Anene nodded. “Can you tell me who you first trained under at Hendria?”

“Nolos Raulda,” Miriane replied. Anene let out a little sniff. “What a dour old man,” she commented in fluent Trill that I heard through the universal translator. “He had no business with children. Especially children I don't think he even respected.” Now she looked down at Anene’s hands. “How young..this is a zhian’tara, isn’t it?” she asked the Guardian. Jeris nodded. She looked to Jiana. “Starfleet...but I've never seen that uniform before. Things have changed so fast...are you the new host?”

“In a way,” Jiana said. “There are actually two between you and me.”

“What happened?” Miriane asked. “Is everything all right with her? With Sei?”

Jeris said, “The symbiont Sei has weathered some difficulties after your life came to a conclusion. We are performing the mazet’eri zhian’tara, Miriane…you’ll get to meet the other two hosts as well as the current one. After you and Jiana have an opportunity to talk.”

Miriane nodded Anene's head as she took this in. “I am so sorry, Jiana; I don’t mean to ignore you…I have one more question for the Guardian and then I promise I’ll give you my undivided attention. How much time has passed? Is Peri Sava still alive, and will I get to see her?”

“It’s been 43 years,” the Guardian answered. “As for Peri…no, she did not accompany me from Trill. But she is still with the living.”

Miriane crossed her arms, glancing down silently for a moment. “I see,” she finally replied, and turned her focus upon Jiana. “Starfleet…how interesting! Let’s see…blue uniform…ahh, just like the one this young dear is wearing—you’re, what, Sciences? Or Medical?”

“Medical,” Jiana confirmed. “I’m a doctor.”

Miriane smiled. “How wonderful! And Starfleet…I wouldn’t have given up my students for all the universe. But I’ve got to admit, I was always curious what it would be like to see other worlds. Don’t ever let anyone fool you, Jiana—the day you stop dreaming and being curious, that’s the day your life is over. Try not to worry when you get old about all the things you can’t do anymore or that you ‘missed out’ on or you’ll poison your dreams. Have fun with them—just like you did when you were little, because by the time you’re old, you’ll be amazed how much latitude people will give you to let your imagination go free, see places you want to see, and poke your nose into whatever you want to. Speaking of which…” She looked straight at me—and then to the Guardian. “Can we get a little privacy?”

“Of course,” Jeris said, and the pale Trill beat a hasty exit.

“Would you prefer we leave for now as well?” I offered.

Jiana shook her head. “No…you all can stay. Might make it a little easier later when I need all of you…”

“All right,” I said, “but please don’t hesitate to let me know if you change your mind.”

“This is amazing,” Miriane finally gushed. “I remember all of the hullaballoo on the news when the Secrecy Act was finally repealed, and we decided to be open with offworlders about the symbionts.

“I was pretty old then. I would think about the next life sometimes…but for some reason I never dreamed I’d reawaken and have the chance to hear alien languages in the consciousness I’m rooming with.” She moved Anene’s hand to her chest. “I can even feel this heart beating in a different place from where a Trill heart beats. But…some of the things this young lady thinks about—Jiana, you make interesting friends!” She looked over at me, and smiled. Somehow, I had the feeling that both Miriane and Chidibere had conspired to put that look together.

I replied with a quiet nod and a smile of my own.

“Captain Strannik is definitely that.” Jiana grinned—the look strongly resembled Miriane’s own. “Both interesting, and a friend. I think maybe you had something to do with that…seeing people for who they are, and who they can be. Being curious enough to learn from them and having respect even when there are differences…you are hard to live up to, Miriane.”

Grandmotherly affection shone through Anene’s eyes as she patted the cushion next to her. “Oh…dear Jiana, come sit over here. And don’t worry so much. I’d like to hope I’m a little better behaved inside little Sei than to sit in judgment of you all the time…”

“Little Sei?!” Jiana couldn’t hold in her laughter as she joined Miriane. Thraz and I failed too—the emotion was infectious.

“Well, Sei was a ‘little’ being then. We were on the same level when I was joined—it was first life for us both. You know how different it is once the joining actually happens…but I know how it was before. We both went into the joining wanting to back each other up, because sometimes people make judgments…” Miriane frowned. “The Symbiosis Commission seemed to have some ‘issues’ in that department. I don’t think they were ever happy with the idea of one of their ‘Joined Ones’ spending all her life on the ‘complete unsuitables.’ Like I was wasting talent and not getting the symbiont enough experience somehow. I was always getting asked when I was going to finally 'do something with my life.' The way I felt about it, I don’t think the Sei part of me was complaining…”

Something…flared?...in Jiana’s abdomen, something stronger than I had ever sensed before. Maybe the absence of so many host-memories permitted it to be…the doctor straightened and gazed intently at Miriane-within-Chidibere. “I don’t think so either.”

“Those kids meant the world to me,” Miriane said. “I don’t care what anybody else thought about them. Watching them grow and overcome whatever challenges they had...though honestly, for some it was just the smallest little ‘deficiencies’ that meant they’d never be joined. A little hyperactivity, less developed fine motor skills…that’s all it took sometimes to be treated like second-class citizens, but all of those kids were worth it, not just the ones who were only a little different. They needed to know someone cared about them…and that not all of the joined look down on them. That was what it was going to take for them to meet and exceed expectations. But the thing was, the ‘best’ schools didn’t want to risk their reputations by lowering their join percentages…” She leaned forward. “That Guardian said it’s been forty years…is it any better now?”

Jiana sighed. “Some. Especially since the interstellar schools opened…there are more opportunities offworld now—especially in Starfleet. Even back home, most people who see someone come home in uniform will at least respect the rank. And sometimes offworlders are more comfortable with you if you're unjoined...though most people are all right with the joined as long as you don't go around with a superior attitude. You opened my eyes to a lot of things, Miriane. I think…I think you help me remember not to overdo it in talking about my past lives. Even yours.”

Miriane looked over in my direction. “He's no less for not being able to take a symbiont. Why should we say that about our own people?”

“You didn't even know the half of it,” Jiana replied with a sigh. “And you were lucky not to. You'll see soon enough.”

“Something worse than the Symbiosis Commission sending 'Guardian recruiters' out to my granddaughter's school several times a year just because Peri didn't know what they'd do after she went to school and said she could touch Grandmama’s stomach and hear what Sei had to say? They always did it at school so my daughter couldn't send them away. And they kept that up until Peri gave up on everything she ever wanted, and joined the Guardians. She had so many dreams...so much promise...” Anene's body sighed, her frame bent now with a great weight. “All because they kept telling her Trill with the Touch are these horrible, selfish people if they don’t serve the symbionts...”

Jiana said nothing for the first several seconds. When she did, she spoke softly, carefully. “It doesn't take anything away from what happened to your family, Miriane. But I think maybe what the Commission did to Peri is a symptom of something much bigger. Something all of the rest of Sei's hosts have had to live with, and always will.”

“I guess I'll find out soon enough,” Miriane muttered. “Can we talk about happier things for right now?” she asked. “If you don't mind?”

“Trust me,” Jiana answered. “I don't mind. Do you want them to stay for this part though?”

“Sure, sure, I bet they don’t get to see this every day. Why not?” Miriane allowed Anene's body to relax. “Have I been able to help you any? I know that's a big leap from teacher to Starfleet...”

Jiana smiled. “Actually you have. We were exploring an abandoned ship recently. We couldn’t get a lock on the language and you helped me with some tactics to try.”

“Really?” Miriane lit up. “How was that possible?”

“I think it’s because of all the different tactics you had to learn to communicate with children with different ways of processing things.”

“Unless there have been some crazy advancements since my time, there’s still more about the Trill brain—and I guess all primates?—that we don’t completely understand…joined and unjoined both. There’s a lot of variation that can happen even in one species. I never thought that might be applicable to dealing with other species though. Very interesting!”

I wondered how often Jiana had had to apply that skill to me, even though the languages and even the music I spoke were all humanoid.

Miriane looked back at Thraz. The Aenar was doing his best to stay unobtrusive, but he never had completely mastered the art of hiding his facial expressions. “Do you have a question over there?” she asked with a welcoming smile.

For another hour or so, it was as if class were in session, not just for Jiana, but for all of us…



[And that's the first host, Miriane, formerly Miriane Sava. Two more hosts...]

gradii

I am not sure what this is about... my best guess is it's a devidian attending the transfer of a trill symbiote.

gulberat

@gradii, There's been a lot of backstory work on Alyosha in the past three years or so, but you have the gist of it.

He's the captain in my signature. He was found in stasis on Earth and was raised there (he "eats" artificially generated energy and doesn't hunt), so despite his physiology, he is culturally human since he knows nothing else. Most in Starfleet don't know what he really is, because Devidians can shapeshift according to the series even though this isn't seen in game. I'm sure you can imagine why that might be classified information even though he's perfectly safe to be around. but a few are cleared for it, including Dr. Sei and the individuals potentially to participate as hosts in Sei's zhian'tara.

If you are interested in reading a little of the early/background material on Captain Strannik, feel free to PM me and I can send you a few links, which show his...unique experience of the "Spectres" series. Needless to say it was rough on him...

gradii

gulberat wrote: »

@gradii, There's been a lot of backstory work on Alyosha in the past three years or so, but you have the gist of it.

He's the captain in my signature. He was found in stasis on Earth and was raised there (he "eats" artificially generated energy and doesn't hunt), so despite his physiology, he is culturally human since he knows nothing else. Most in Starfleet don't know what he really is, because Devidians can shapeshift according to the series even though this isn't seen in game. I'm sure you can imagine why that might be classified information even though he's perfectly safe to be around. but a few are cleared for it, including Dr. Sei and the individuals potentially to participate as hosts in Sei's zhian'tara.

If you are interested in reading a little of the early/background material on Captain Strannik, feel free to PM me and I can send you a few links, which show his...unique experience of the "Spectres" series. Needless to say it was rough on him...

I'm aware of the fact Alyosha is actually (secretly to most) a Devidian, but I'm no pro on trill stuff and thought most trill were not telepathic.

gulberat

gradii wrote: »

I'm aware of the fact Alyosha is actually (secretly to most) a Devidian, but I'm no pro on trill stuff and thought most trill were not telepathic.

Most are not. The DOFF system in STO does on rare occasions produce a telepathic Trill DOFF. The majority don't seem to have that trait though. Based on what we saw the Guardians do in the show, it seems to me like certain ones may be touch telepaths, though not the whole population. Hence that's my working assumption for story purposes.

dalolorn

Yaaay, new story!

Interesting one, too.

gulberat

Thanks! Don't expect "big happenings"...this is a character piece, but I hope you like it. I've had sections of this sitting on my computer for over a year and finally got the writer's block broken loose a month or two ago. As far as I know, I am the only one with stuff currently in the pipeline but I am also the slowest writer in the group.

gradii

gulberat wrote: »

Thanks! Don't expect "big happenings"...this is a character piece, but I hope you like it. I've had sections of this sitting on my computer for over a year and finally got the writer's block broken loose a month or two ago. As far as I know, I am the only one with stuff currently in the pipeline but I am also the slowest writer in the group.

I still have massive writers block it seems I haven't been able to write more than short bios in months

I have no idea what times you're online but would you be willing to talk about trek lore and stuff with me sometime? Might help me shake the writers block off.

dalolorn

Eh, character pieces tend to be fun. (Though to be honest, my favorite Masterverse entry has to be Sander's 'Erased', which has been quite literally erased in the forum migration. So hilarious... )

gulberat

dalolorn wrote: »

Eh, character pieces tend to be fun. (Though to be honest, my favorite Masterverse entry has to be Sander's 'Erased', which has been quite literally erased in the forum migration. So hilarious... )

Not Erased.

http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/comment/11105085#Comment_11105085

dalolorn

I found that one already, that's why I know it's erased. Note the abrupt cutoff during the fight against K'staa.

gulberat

Wow...yikes. Unfortunately I do not have access to the original file (or posting privileges ) to fix that.

gulberat

Fire surround in cleansing repose,
Letting the filth like venom it flows.
Scar, the mark remind us the pain,
Breaking the bones that will reach out again.

And now we will rise to conquer them all,
Many will challenge, many will fall.
Bring us your vile, malicious of mind;
We will bring their neck to the line!

Scum of the earth, power of air,
You wanted the world, we'll bury you there!

This is a battle, we are the blade,
And this is the line, this is the line...
All that they build we will break!
This is the line!
(This is the line!)

And though you will fight, you will not return,
For when in the fields, your temples we burned,
And scattered the ash upon every grave
To honor the ones that you have betrayed.

Scum of the earth, power of air,
You wanted the world, we'll bury you there!

This is a battle, we are the blade,
And this is the line, this is the line...
All that they build we will break!
This is the line!
(This is the line...)

Whose side are you on?

--Demon Hunter, “This is the Line”

Admiral Berat didn’t even need to shake his head after the Guardian finished his recitation for a second time, for me to perceive that the transfer had failed again. He turned to face Admiral ch’Harrell, dipping his head in the Cardassian way. “My apologies, sir.” I couldn’t sense his concern behind that nigh-impenetrable wall of mental discipline, and a hooked ridge hid his eye—but I couldn't miss it as he laid his hand on the Andorian's upper arm. “Are you sure about this, Sand?”

We all knew who was supposed to have been standing here. Even the absence of the short-statured Roylan captain was enough to command the room.

ch'Harrell looked over at the Guardian. “I'll do this,” he decided. “But I want Commander th'Valek monitoring the whole thing. From the start all the way to making sure all of this...personality...gets out of my head when it's over.” He glared at Jeris. “I have clearance enough to know what kinds of incidents can happen; don't try to deny it.”

The Guardian shook his head, starting to get exasperated. “What is it with these people? Touchy...” he muttered under his breath, earning a glare from everyone in the room, even Miriane within Nurse Anene. None of us, least of all ch'Harrell himself, were going to admit to Jeris that the Andorian had suffered a sustained telepathic assault, which had ended not that long ago. But you'll have to deal with us if you cross the line again.

“Fine, you can do your thing...ah...Commander,” he acquiesced without a hint of an apology, turning to Thraz. “Just try not to get too much in the way during the transfers.”

Thraz crossed his arms. “I wouldn't dream of it,” my XO retorted, in an entirely too genteel, almost Cardassian tone.

“Well. Now that that's established, let's get a move on so the symbiont needn't deal with any further delays.”

Is this guy really this oblivious? I couldn't help thinking to myself. I'd heard others apply that word to one of the Undine's less fortunate victims on occasion—even ch'Harrell himself had said it when Grady had first been assigned to 75-Tau, but this was no comparison. Lofton might have needed help sussing out people's motives for acrimonious or illicit behavior, but at least he wasn't this kind of emotionally tone-deaf, as to not be able to tell or care when someone was angry with him.

Let alone all the somebodies Jeris had just managed to step on. Berat wasn't having any more of it. He stood straight and put on his best Cardassian Defense Force command tone—if one ignored the Scottish burr that played into his natural Cardassian accent and colored his English. “We know your job duties, Jeris. But I'll thank you not to forget that you arenae on Trill. You are a guest of the 77th Fleet, and if you are going to continue involving members of this fleet in these proceedings, then you will do so with respect towards those individuals, and not just Sei.”

Miriane nodded her borrowed head behind Jeris' back as if to say, Go get 'em!

“Fine,” Jeris huffed in a tone that almost made me think he was going to follow it up with, Be that way! When no one's demeanor softened—particularly not Berat's—the Guardian finally relented and adopted a more deferential posture. He turned towards ch'Harrell. “Look...if you like...the host can reassert control at any time. If you'd like to test Zadrin once we're sure the transfer is stabilized, then you can go ahead.”

“That would be helpful,” ch'Harrell replied in a conciliatory tone—though I could perceive through my neuroelectric sense that his system was still in a state of heightened alert. Nonetheless, the Andorian bobbed his antennae at Berat in a signal that the Trill Guardian would not realize meant, You can stand down now.

Berat relaxed, but did not retreat. Instead, he assumed a place at ch’Harrell’s side as Jeris prepared for the transfer.

“Wait! Sir…” Everyone’s heads darted over to Jiana. “Admiral Berat,” she specified. “He doesn’t know about the peace. The real, lasting one. There’ll be changes enough for him to deal with. I…don’t mean any disrespect, but I don’t know how he’ll react if you’re the first thing he sees.”

True—the suffering this next personality had endured wasn’t at the hands of the Cardassians. There had been a détente then with the Union, but it had been an uneasy one, even with their short-lived attempt at reform. Berat nodded. “I see your point,” he admitted, and moved out of sight.

I stood. “Maybe I can help. The uniform is different, but I may still be able to calm him when he wakes.” And be there for ch’Harrell. “If the admirals agree, that is.”

“I trust you,” ch’Harrell replied. “Hopefully…he will as well.”

I took the place at ch’Harrell’s side that had been Berat’s. With that, Jeris stepped forward. “Are you prepared now?” he asked ch’Harrell. “This will not be an easy awakening.”

The Andorian drew in a deep breath and the energies within him intensified. He focused on Jiana rather than the Guardian as he replied, “I am.”

“Lay back,” Jeris said. “With what happened to this host, it will be easiest this way.”

Silently ch’Harrell complied, and I knelt down with him, taking his hand as I had the day Spitz-Reader healed the worst of the damage the Undine had done him.

The Guardian spoke the ritual invocation—the flare of energy—

Admiral ch’Harrell’s eyes snapped open, he sat up…and screamed.

starswordc

Really enjoying this, gulberat. The little discussions on joined v. unjoined relations were interesting, a good follow-on to the Trill worldbuilding in DS9 and what we've discussed in Masterverse planning.

And now we get to the really heavy stuff with host #2.

One minor question, though, why didn't you post this in the ULC thread?

gulberat

starswordc wrote: »

Really enjoying this, gulberat. The little discussions on joined v. unjoined relations were interesting, a good follow-on to the Trill worldbuilding in DS9 and what we've discussed in Masterverse planning.

Thanks. It seems to me that the Trill really have a class-based society, though in my estimation, the greater integration of Trill within the interstellar community is changing that somewhat, since now an unjoined person has unlimited opportunities offworld. Even a a real elitist would probably think twice about talking smack to Fleet Admiral Quinn (assuming Quinn is unjoined). Even Ezri Tigan's mother could be an example, since she had her success offworld.

I can also tell you that with the exception of Ezri, putting a Dax personality and a Sei personality in the same room would end in a fight. Sei is a very different kind of symbiont than Dax, in the way it treats hosts and the people around it. I haven't seen him around in ages, but Sei would get along a lot better with @ironphoenix113's Zizania than with any non-Ezri Dax.

And now we get to the really heavy stuff with host #2.

Yep...I'm not sure whether Zadrin or Garen will have THE heaviest stuff. I suspect some of it will be in the eye of the beholder, but both will have things that will not be light or friendly reading.

One minor question, though, why didn't you post this in the ULC thread?

I felt the overall expected length exceeds the scope of that thread, plus I didn't want other stuff getting posted in the middle of it in case I am not timely with any part of it.