From: Margie Benham (madhron_at_yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Thu Jan 03 2008 - 14:48:30 PST
###########################
"Memories"
(Continued from Jamie's: "Reflections In the Glass")
###########################
Location: NOCTURIA
Stardate: 2.80103.2234
Scene: Alcedo Clan Quarters
Time Index: Approximately 15 years ago from Present
Time
"Rharn are you not ready yet?" The voice echoed
around the sleeping area that the young Rharn Alcedo
called heris own.
"Almost guardian."
Bast made slight hiccuping noises.
"And you stop laughing." Rharn regarded herimself in
the long bronze mirror. Blue hair was braided simply
and a long soft gown covered heris slim figure. Heris
red skin glowed softly under the faint light. "Why do
they think I am ready?" She asked petulantly.
"I believe it is more a sense of s/he is ready for
you." Bast considered.
"And that is supposed to make me feel better?"
"You are unique both you and T'nnent."
"Along with the rest of our hatchlings." Rharn
protested.
"I believe not." Bast considered, "I believe that
there are things about you and T'nnent that are not
quite the same as those of your siblings."
"Ha." Rharn sighed, "Oh well I guess I should get
this over with."
"This is supposed to be the time of your life child."
Bast chided softly from his comfortable position on
Rharn's pillow.
"Easy for you to say." Rharn tossed over heris
shoulder. "You do not have to attend the hibernation
chambers for the first time."
"They have explained to you what will happen?" Bast
reminded his young charge.
"Compaired to what?" Rharn bit heris tongue and
gently lifted the hibernation gift heris clan had
bequeathed heris. A blue and red jewel lay nestled
together both seperate and yet joined together on a
bed of white gold. The chain seemed to have been spun
by a spiderling and Rharn knew that it was a gift
beyond measure.
"That I cannot say." Bast seemed to pause, "We Jaraxs
do not consider it necessary to have to *hibernate* to
produce young."
"I am too young to even be considered."
"The eldest ones do not feel so."
Suddenly the black cloth that seperated Rharn from the
rest of the clan was thrown back. "Now Rharn! We
cannot wait any longer."
"I am ready as I ever will be."
-[/\]-
Scene: Hibernarium: Private Sleeping Chamber
The room was lovely and Rharn considered the figure on
the opposite side of the room. They had grown
together so it should have been no suprise to find
himer waiting for herim. Still Rharn felt nervous.
"You know that we are different?" Hiser pale green
skin glowed softly. "We are an experiment." He/she
seemed to find it difficult to speak.
"Yes." Rharn inclined heris head, "I knew that."
"Do you know how different?"
"No." Rharn bit heris tongue, "I did not enquire of
the eldest I felt it unnecessary."
Heris green counterpart smiled softly, "They have made
us unique amongst the others because they have given
us genders Rharn."
"NO!" Rharn shook her head, "I....." S/he paused,
"Is that why I have a different figure to the others?"
"Partly." He/she nodded and pale gold hair fell
across hiser features, "The eldest wish us to be more
closely intigrated with the rest of the species in the
universe."
"So they have chosen to make a *new* breed of
Nocturians?" Rharn dropped into a chair.
"No not a new breed just you and I." He/she moved
forward and knelt before Rharn, "One each from the
last two hatchings, if we are successful there will be
more."
"I cannot....." The red skinned Nocturian shook heris
head. "I....."
"Shhh." He/she reached out, "I need to show you
something, will you trust me Rharn?"
"I....." Rharn lifted heris head and regarded the
figure kneeling before herim. "Yes, I have no
choice."
The green skinned Nocturian rose to hiser full height
and gently helped Rharn to heris feet, "Come here."
He/she moved so that they were both enclosed and
hidden amongst the many curtains that adorned the
walls and sleeping chamber.
Carefully he/she slid hiser jacket off. So that
he/she was bare chested. "I am the male." He smiled
wryly, "I suppose you should call me him rather than
himer."
"I always knew that some of the Nocturians preferred
female ways to masculine and I thought that was
strange." Rharn admitted though s/he was greedily
drinking in his lithe form.
"You will be the female."
"I gathered." Rharn glanced down at heris still
forming figure. "I suppose I will have to learn to be
referred to as her?"
"Eventually." A green hand reached out and Rharn
trustingly placed heris own in it. "Though I do not
believe either one of us is ready for that yet Rharn.
I am to be sent to the skies first for *additional*
training."
Rharn's red skin deepened. "Am I to go with you?"
"They would rather you remained here on NOCTURIA, I
believe, however, and my clan agrees that you should
accompany me."
"But eventually we will mate?" Rharn mulled all of
this through her mind.
"Yes that is their wish. Is it your's Rharn Alcedo?"
"I do not know." Rharn admitted. "I am still very
young and have not considered making an alliance."
S/he paused and regarded heris counterpart, "What
about you?"
"I have watched you grow Rharn, I belong to the
medical clans, I knew long ago what was happening to
my own body and what would happen to you. I have
great respect for you."
"I see."
"Do you?" He held heris hand close to his chest, "Or
are you blinded by their teaching?" Carefully he
pressed the palm of heris hand over his heart,
"Nocturians do not consider emotions relevant to a lot
of their lives Rharn, including producing young.
However, they have trained you and I to be different.
You need to be amongst the stars and to learn to
accept your emotions. Perhaps we will in time agree
that a union between us is acceptable but that will be
your and mine decision not theirs?"
T'nnent paused, "So Rharn will you escape to the stars
with me?"
"Yes." The young Alcedo smiled and inclined heris
head, "I will come with you." And with that the two
figures were swept away in a shower of sparks.
-[/\]-
Present Day
Location: USS STONEHENGE
Scene: Captain's Quarters
Rharn was dressed in a simple Nocturian robe heris
long blue hair was freed of it's braids and the
Nocturian was considering the past and what heris
present position should be.
For the past several years s/he had been quite happy
to let everyone believe that s/he was non-gender
specific and now s/he had to address the matter to the
fullest.
If NOCTURIA escaped this meteor it could become time
for Rharn's clan to enter the hibernation area. The
Captain had to consider if s/he would go and would
s/he refuse to submit to the process.
Rharn rose to heris feet and stared out across the
stars that were sweeping past heris ship. Here on the
STONEHENGE s/he felt accepted, unique as s/he was for
being the only Nocturian in Starfleet. S/he felt as
if s/he was getting somewhere with knowing the crew
and the ship.
Rharn moved gracefully across the room and leant
against the bulk-head. S/he had even managed to find
a lighting system, with Peter and Ronnie's help, that
enabled herim to function with the rest of the crew
and not cause herim headaches and stopped the crew
from stubbing their toes everytime they tried to walk
across the said same room.
Memories of the last night that s/he and T'nnent had
spent together flooded heris mind. They had argued
because Rharn had wanted to fly further and further
away from NOCTURIA and out to the furthest stars.
Over the last twelve months since they had escaped
together T'nnent had grown taller than most Nocturians
and Rharn's body had changed considerably also.
He had demanded that they make a decision about their
future and Rharn had calmly told him that s/he was
going into Starfleet. T'nnent had stalked out of
their quarters and out into the Station that they had
been staying on. He had not returned.
The next day Rharn had boarded the flight that would
take herim to EARTH. The pain in heris chest and the
eventually headache that ensued Rharn put simply down
to the lights on the transport vessel.
Rharn regarded heris reflection, "Do you remember me?"
S/he whispered to the stars, "Did you find the love
you wanted, the acceptance?"
"Did the pain ease from your heart? Did you stop
listening for my footfall outside the door? Did you
remember me when you were out walking? When the snow
fell high outside your door? And late at night when
you could not sleep and moonlight fell across your
floor?"
"And were you relieved that I could not hurt you
anymore? Do you remember me? Because part of you
still lives in me, deep inside my heart..."
Rharn Alcedo squared heris shoulders. "Perhaps it is
time for me to stop living in the past, they created
me perhaps now it is time for me and them to accept
that." Turning Rharn headed to the only crew members
on the ship that s/he felt s/he could trust for their
help.
-[/\]-
Scene: Phia's Quarters
Phia looked stunned, "You are asking for our help in
making you look more feminine?"
"That is correct." Rharn inclined heris head. "I am
genetically female. I was just nutured as gender
neutral. The scans that Aerdan and the others Doctors
will show this."
"You mean now that they can compare them to more
mature Nocturians?" Phia concluded.
"Indeed." Rharn blinked. "I do not know how to
address these issues."
The Counselor shook her head, "I'm not completely
certain that Izzy and I are the best ones for this job
Captain."
"I have to change my image before we reach Nocturia,
which gives us only a few hours...." Rharn glanced
between the two women. "And I have no one else to
turn to."
Izzy regarded the taller alien with something akin to
shock. "You are asking for help?"
"Shhh." Phia hushed her friend.
"Please." Rharn glanced between the Alterian and the
Bolian/Vulcan, "I must do this. I cannot go into the
hibernarium and the only way to avoid it...."
"Is to disclose to the entire race of Nocturians that
you are not a full clone?"
"Exactly."
Phia regarded Rharn with stunned incredulation. "Well
I still say we're not the right ones to ask but we
shall see what we can do."
"I cannot get my hair cut." Rharn added, "For my race
that is a punishment, but anything else is
acceptable."
Izzy giggled, "This could be fun, don't you have some
of those clothes in your wardrobe that Maddie and
Daisy insisted you buy?"
Phia nodded, "I believe that is true." She rose to
her full height, "You are sure of this?"
"Yes." Rharn nodded, "I have been hiding this for too
long..."
Phia rolled her eyes, "I guess that there is a man
involved somewhere."
"Why do you say that?" The petite alien asked.
"Because there usually is."
--------------------------------
NRPG: Character centred I know but it gives you some
insight as to what Rharn's secret was and why s/he was
hiding in Starfleet. I also hope it helps with some
back story as to the NOCTURIANS.
A more mission related post will be sent tomorrow or
Saturday to get us arriving at NOCTURIA.
---------------------------------
This post was brought to you by me:
Margie Benham <madhron_at_yahoo.co.uk>
Speaking for:
Captain Rharn Alcedo
Temporary Commanding Officer
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Captain Mad'hron Zanders
Temporary Commanding Officer
E4
-and-
Lieutenant Ronnie Zanders
aCEO
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Lieutenant Lara Kal'el
CNS
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Commodore Morelia Amethystina
Director Of Advanced Command Training
Starfleet Academy, EARTH
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