Bread and Jam

Posted on Sun 12th Jul, 2020 @ 9:52pm by Lieutenant Commander Lanis Dhuro MD & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Li Kainon

3,384 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Mapa per Moba, Brown Sector

Finding Brown Sector during his exploration of the starbase had been an eye-opening experience, Lanis thought as he stopped at Baro Alora's door. He was old enough to be her father, but this wasn't a date; it was more of a thank-you. She had done some computer work for him in the past, and once he'd found out about Mapa per Moba, he'd known how he wanted to express his thanks. Good, home-style Bajoran cooking was not to be missed. They tried their best at Orchids & Jazz during the lunch buffet, but it just wasn't the same.

Lanis rang the chime and waited.

Alora's home was not the standard quarters she'd started in but a small planet-like area elsewhere on the station. It looked for all the world like a Bajoran farm with a decently sized rambling farmhouse. Wind blew in through an open window as Alora worked at a wooden table in the kitchen. She'd not heard the crunching of gravel under feet, so focused was she on her work. She did catch the little tinkling door chime however and looked up from the Bajoran Springball racket she was manually repairing. She shoved her hair behind her ear and stood, wearing casual civilian clothes. Then went to the door, opening it manually as was her preference. She was curious who'd be calling this time of evening.

The house that Alora lived in was home as Lanis hadn't known it since age 5. The building was low, spacious, and comfortable-looking. I should schedule some leave to go visit the kids, Lanis thought, admiring it.

The door to Baro's quarters opened inward to reveal the lady in question standing inside.

She smiled to see her visitor, "Dr. Lanis." She a pleased tone in her voice.

"Hello, Alora," Lanis said, "Beautiful place you've got here. I like the chimes." Belatedly, he thought that he should have contacted her beforehand. What if she had company or other plans? Etiquette had been a bit looser in the Resistance camps. There, you would just wander by, and if people were busy, they would tell you.

"I came by to ask if you'd be interested in dinner. I was exploring down-station and found this little hole-in-the-wall place that serves good, home-cooked, Bajoran food. If you're hungry this evening and have no other plans, I'd like to take you out."

She knew he didn't mean romantically and didn't take it that way. He was more a family figure and a connection to home. His words got her attention, "Home-cooked? if you tell me by Bajoran Grandmas I'm in." She half joked.

Lanis laughed. "Miss Cami's a bit young to be a grandma, but she can definitely cook. Her hasperat is wonderfully spicy, and her droli are hot and fluffy--even better than my wife used to make."

Alora grinned, "Why are you still standing there?" She joked leaning to the side to grab a coat from a hook on the wall and putting it on. She stepped out and closed the door. Her hand holding onto the handle for a moment until it buzzed in her hand, telling her it was locked and the open windows closed themselves. Not that she was worried overmuch but old habits were hard to break. She smiled over at the doctor, "Lead On oh finder of tasty treats." She made a joking shooing motion.

Lanis chuckled again as they headed toward the lift tubes. "It's pretty far down-station, in a place I'd never heard of before. Brown Sector, the decks are called. Have you ever been down there?"

Alora glanced at him vaguely puzzled, "A new food place down there, huh? It's a bit risky but maybe it's a sign tings are turning around." She realized she was not being clear so explained as they walked, "It's a high poverty, high crime area because of certain treaties and general focus it doesn't get as much attention as the rest of the station and even if it did there's no promise the locals would take it. They are high in pride and/or have some angle on the side they don't want looked at too closely." She paused and ordered her thoughts, "I've been going there awhile to help fix things here and there even though technically that's not a Starfleet area." They hopped on a transport as she continued, "I've got a group of youth I teach about repair..." She smiled, "They call themselves 'Grease Monkeys.' Apparently I've formed a gang".

She ended with, "Anyway I've got another friend with a counseling office down there, I help out there from time to time though not as much since she got squared away with reliable repair business in support." She shrugged, "When you don't have much of a social life it helps with time when you want to be a helpful nuisance to others." She grinned again. "Bit more than you bargained for when you asked the question huh? Have you been down there?" She asked curiously.

"I finally made my way down there this past week," Lanis said. "When I first arrived at 109, I planned to spend my off-hours exploring every deck of the station--at least, every deck where I had clearance to enter. Intelligence lets me in as far as the lobby and then tells me to shoo, and the Marines only want me there if there's a medical reason. I've been able to get onto most of the other decks, but it's taken quite a while. I've been here almost four standard years, and my work takes a lot of my time. This week I had to either take some leave or lose it, so I took it. I wandered through Brown Sector one morning, and that's when I smelled it--stuffed makapa bread and Rakanthan cela tea. I went back for lunch that same day and had some droli and hasperat. As the Earthers say, I was hooked."

Alora nodded listening as they made their way across the station, deeper into its lower levels. "I can understand that, I was here awhile myself before I could even figure out there was something besides my office and old quarters." She joked, "I had to make an effort at some life outside of Starfleet or I'd never do anything, so I got new quarters and started to explore. Course..." She finished as they hopped on a transport, "I never found manna from the Prophets." she quipped, "Your nose should be insured."

Lanis chuckled. "I left my quarters after eating nothing but toast and tea that morning. Hunger sharpens the sense of smell amazingly."

A few minutes later they were on the tram and headed down to Deck 2400. From there, they disembarked and took a turbolift to Deck 2445. They emerged into a plaza that at first looked reasonably nice--hexagonal brown tiles meant to approximate wood surrounded the bank of turbolifts, with potted plants dotting the perimeter. But they swiftly gave way to duller, industrial-style plating and bulkheads. Nowhere in Brown Sector looked abjectly poor, but overall, the area certainly looked worse than any Federation installation Lanis had yet seen. He nodded to people they passed, clearly residents, who gave them curious looks as they walked by.

"I never went down to these decks when I was stationed here during the Dominion War," Lanis said in a quiet voice as he and Baro walked down a side corridor that branched off a main one. "I'm pretty sure I wasn't even aware that this place existed back then--if it existed." He sniffed the air and grinned. "What do you think--ramufta?"

Alora was distracted by the smell and didn't answer as she took a deep breath. "Yes. Smells like my mother's kitchen." She said and picked up her pace, she paused, "Coming Doc?" She joked.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Lanis replied, laughing, and lengthened his stride to catch up.

Mapa per Moba was tucked away off of one of the main passages that led towards the central markets from the tram. It was a quiet place, which Kainon supposed was the point. A quiet little place where people could go to enjoy a pastry and something to drink. Sometimes on special nights, you could get full dinners, and Cami knew what she was doing.

Kainon had never really known much about Bajoran food. He was still a baby when they escaped Bajor and came here, and people mostly had to adapt and make do with what was available. That meant a lot of different kinds of food, all made as palatable as possible. This was the first really Bajoran place that had sprung up, and Kainon’s mother swore by it. She came every day, and on the weekend for family dinner she brought home one of Cami’s larish pies. Kainon didn’t mind; it kept her from making her own, which was better for everybody.

He liked the place, and came often enough to try something else. It did make him feel a little bit like he was on Bajor. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like if he decided to go back, though it was an idle curiosity. This was where he needed to be. So he sat at the counter and tried Cami’s veklava and considered that good enough. When two more Bajorans came in, unfamiliar ones, Kainon couldn’t help but give them a long look. They were dressed better than most here, and they both carried themselves like fleet. He’d gotten good at recognizing Starfleet over the years. It was in the way they walked. “Hello,” he said, being nice. His mother had always told him to be nice, especially to fellow Bajorans. Pain was in their history, and they owed each other a little kindness, she always said.

Alora glanced over at the speaker and noted he was another Bajoran, she nodded politely but her smile was genuine, "Hello," She replied. Then noted the empty seats near him and gestured, "Mind?" She asked.

“Go ahead,” Kainon said, gesturing at the seats. “Cami’s around back, she’ll be along.” He stood up and leaned over the counter to grab a couple menus for them. People from topside coming to spend their money was always a good thing, the mayor had reminded him more than once. “You folks come down often?”

"Now and again." Alora answered for herself as she and the doctor took the seats. She wasn't being rude just was not inclined to verbally assault the man with her life story. "Thank you." She said with a smile, accepting the menus, handing one to Lanis. Actual physical menus, that was not something she'd seen in awhile. She glanced down, "From the smells I could randomly point at something and it'd be fine." She said, inclined to do just that.

"Thanks," Lanis said to Alora and the man on the other side of her as he accepted the menu. "Ah, decisions, decisions..." He glanced over the menu, already quite familiar with it, and at last made his selections. He set the menu down and glanced over at the man they sat with. "Dhuro Lanis," he said and extended a hand. "I think I've seen you around, a time or two. I've only been down here a couple of times, but once I found this place, I decided I would come more often and bring friends."

"Baro Alora," Alora tossed in looking up from the menu and nodded politely.

“I’m Li Kainon,” Kainon said, shaking Lanis’s hand. “Good to meet you both. You came to the best Bajoran restaurant in the Sector, which means the best on the station.”

"It certainly smells like home," Lanis said. "I'll bet this place could make palukoo taste good."

Alora laughed, "Almost hungry enough to eat one, almost." She joked. "Good to meet you as well." She said Li.

Kainon nodded. “I’ve never been to Bajor, myself. But people who have been tell me this is about the closest you can get to it.” He got up to grab the teapot that was brewing and pour them both a cup of tea. It was a communal pot that was always on.

"Thank you very much," Lanis said. "How is it you've never been to Bajor--if that's not too intrusive a question? If it is, just ignore it."

“My parents were with the Resistance, until my mom got pregnant with me,” he said. “They decided to get out while they could, rather than have me born in a cave or a camp, if I even got born at all. I was born on the freighter here. My dad didn’t make it.”

"I'm sorry to hear that about your father," Lanis replied. "My parents lasted about five years after the Occupation began. So you've lived your entire life on this starbase?"

“Not just the starbase. Here.“ Kainon gestured around him. “This sector. I’ve been here longer than most people.”

"Just on these three decks?" Lanis shook his head. "I'd go screaming nuts; I'd feel as if I were caged. But since that's what you're used to, it probably feels fine to you. I spent too much of my life outdoors. How many people live down here?"

“I don’t exactly know,” Kainon said. “I doubt anybody exactly knows. I’d guess somewhere north of five thousand, though, steady. Sometimes a lot more, sometimes a lot less. We manage to really pack into the small spaces around here, make the most of what we have. It’d surprise you how much free space you can find in three decks if you know your way around it.”

"Five thousand or more people?" Lanis asked. He did a rapid mental calculation of population size versus available space and frowned. He was itching to ask a few pointed questions but stifled himself for the moment. After all, he'd only just met the guy. It wouldn't be fair to question him as if he were some green intern on morning rounds. He gestured at Kainon. "I'd like to talk to you in more detail, but I came down here to enjoy a good meal with good company. Meeting another Bajoran here is spice in my tea and just makes the evening better all around."

Alora listened quietly and when there was a moment, "I'd like to add my condolences for your father. Many made the choice your parents did in a bid to keep their loved ones safe. I grew up in the caves but that was the choice my parents made." She said not judging his parents for how they chose to keep him safe. "I'd like to echo what the good Doctor said, if you don't mind us joining you for a bit that is?" Still trying to wrap her brain around 5,000 people in two decks, other questions poked at her but she held them at bay.

“Sure,” Kainon replied. “Go ahead.” He didn’t mind a couple of fleeters spending their money down here, but answering too many questions about Brown Sector wouldn’t be good. There weren’t 5,000 people down here, but he didn’t see any reason to tell them the truth. The truth was, nobody here was sure how much Starfleet cared about them, though the consensus ran between not at all and pretty damn little. But if they really took an interest, everybody was sure that many people would be deported back to homes that didn’t exist anymore, or put in penal colonies for old warrants, or split up families that had been made since coming here. If these fleeters were going to make reports, it was best to confuse the issue. “Have you two been in the fleet for very long? What do you do?”

Alora was not less curious but some innate respect for privacy, and what she knew of those who called Brown Sector home, prevented her from wanting to pull out all his knowledge of Brown Sector. She knew enough because of her prior experiences not to pry without need, if he wanted to tell them he would. She decided to share in the hopes he would. "Chief of Operations, basically a fancy way of saying I fix what's broke or coordinate with others who fix what's broke." She pointed Dhuro, "Medical Doctor, Chief Surgeon." Hoping he didn't mind her answering for him, "I've been in Starfleet..." She had to think. "Including Academy, 11 years?.." A pause, "Yes about that." She glanced at the Doctor...

"I joined Starfleet shortly after the Cardassians left Bajor," Lanis said. "I was...sick of the fighting and didn't want to be reminded of it everywhere I went. I needed to leave for a while. Starfleet Academy was accepting Bajorans who'd fought in the Resistance, and I wanted to learn proper medicine, so I applied." He shrugged. "I never expected to actually be accepted, even at my age then, but they did."

Alora was silent, respectfully listening. There was a huge amount of respect by the children of Alora's generation for those who had actually fought in the resistance during either Occupation of Bajor, especially the first one. She'd been 8 when the Cardassians left the first time, old enough to remember but not to fight. She remembered the fear, the caves, the time there was a shoot out and her mother ran. Daughter in one arm and a pistol in the other as her father covered their escape. She said none of that but nodded somberly, "We worked to rebuild, it was hard." She agreed at the roughness of post-war Bajor, "I joined Starfleet because I believe what they stand for and had the best education around." The Emissary had been Starfleet, to her he was what an officer should be and she tried to keep that in mind as she went through her own career. "Still trade information with Engineers back home." She ended with.

Kainon nodded, looking between the two of them. They’d both seen a lot of Bajor. A lot more than he ever had, or likely ever would. They’d traveled the stars and then ended up...right here. Three people from the same planet with three wildly different lives. His mother had never been much of a philosopher, but he wondered what might have had to be different for them to end up sitting in different seats. “So you both did it to help Bajor. But by leaving Bajor. I get that right?”

Lanis gave a wry chuckle. "I'm afraid, at the time I left, it was a pretty selfish decision. I was tired of the killing, disheartened by it, and really wanted to get away. It would be wrong to ascribe great, heroic motivations to me. I do plan to return to Bajor when I retire and to work toward its betterment then. I hope I have been of some use to Starfleet and, by extension, to Bajor. When I joined Starfleet, my two children were not at all happy at my decision. They've come to accept it because they've seen the value of the formal education I've had, and they've seen that attaining that education will help me serve Bajor more effectively when the time comes."

Alora looked at the menu in silence for a moment before looking back up. Compared to the Doctor her actions seemed oddly naive but she stood by them. "The Emissary showed the best Starfleet could be and had the best education around. I figured could learn more and help others at the same time." Her voice was softer than its usual confident tone as she considered her past, the girl she'd been. "It was and is important to me to pass on what I learned." She looked at them. "I may not see Bajor for years but it's more a state of mind than anything else." She glanced at Li, "We're all Of Bajor even if we've never seen it." She said being supportive of the Bajoran Expat. "If you want to claim it." She smiled in a kind of gentle camaraderie, making no demands as the waitress came up to take their orders.

"She's right," Lanis said. "We are all Of Bajor. We are all children of the Prophets."

 

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