In the Country of the Brown, Part 1

Posted on Wed 24th Jun, 2020 @ 4:55am by Elizabeth Anderson M.D. & Lieutenant Damion Ildaran

915 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Brown Sector, Deck 2245
Timeline: MD-14, 0900 hours

Damion Ildaran rang the bell inside the lobby to Elizabeth's office and waited for her to give him permission to enter. He'd dressed in a pair of coveralls he normally saved for messy or sweaty work, which were the right color and style of clothing for Brown Sector. Today, they were freshly replicated in honor of the Bajoran Peldor Festival, which was being celebrated in Brown Sector.

=^=Lieutenant Ildaran is requesting entrance,=^= the door A.I. announced.

"Well, let him in!" Elizabeth said cheerfully. "You know he has free run of my apartment."

=^=As you wish.=^=

Elizabeth wondered who had programmed the A.I. before she had the space. She couldn't seem to get it to learn new habits, even with her affinity for programs. Of course, she hadn't spent much time at it, but she would have to, sooner rather than later.

The door to the private section of Elizabeth's office opened, and Damion stepped inside. He climbed the stairs to her apartment and entered. "Good morning!" he said. "You look lovely today."

Surprised, because Damion didn't hand out compliments frequently, she said, "Thanks! Do you think this olive green tunic dress will be suitable for both the location and the celebration?" I've never been to a Gratitude Festival before."

"Neither have I," Damion admitted. "It looks fine to me. The color brings out highlights in your hair. I quite like it. And the style's plain enough that I think it'll work for Brown Sector. I'm not sure you should look to me for fashion advice, though. That might be like me asking Morva if my chocolate cake tastes good."

Anderson laughed, "Okay, I'll bear that in mind." As long as he was happy with the way she looked, and she wouldn't really stand out in the somber color, Elizabeth felt reassured. "Let me get the shawl you made for me. I always think it's a little chilly down there." As she went back to her bedroom, she reflected that she could adjust her body to any temperature, but she tried her best to live as a human would, to make few distinctions that were noticeable. There were those who were uncomfortable with lifeforms they didn't understand.

"Are we meeting anyone there?" she asked, as she walked back into the living area.

"Not that I'm aware of," Damion said. "I know more Betazoids than Bajorans. I did tell Ensign Brennan about it, so she might be down there, but I didn't make specific plans to meet her."

"Sounds fine. I'm sure a lot of people show up who aren't Bajoran, too. Look at us. It's quite a celebration from all I've read." That covered everything the station's database had, of course, and it hadn't taken her more than nanoseconds to absorb. "We'll just go and plan on having a good time."

They left Elizabeth's building and took the local turbolift to the down station express tram. Once they were seated on the tram, she turned to him and said, "This is getting to feel quite normal, taking the tram down so far. Oh, did I tell you I had a visit from the sheriff the other day?"

"No. I didn't know they had one. So what's he like?" Damion asked.

She wiggled her hand side to side. "He was warning me about how dangerous it can be in the sector. He really didn't seem, uh ... happy? To have me there, I mean. He didn't seem happy with any of us outsiders who've started coming down. He liked the lemon cookies, though!" Elizabeth laughed.

Damion laughed. "You and lemons!" He became serious. "Exactly what sort of dangers did he mention? I've seen a few blokes here and there in Brown Sector wearing what I would call 'war paint' if I were back home. I wasn't happy to see them, but I don't live down there, so I don't get a say in it. How dangerous are they? As in, do I need to start bringing a weapon with me?"

Shaking her head, Elizabeth smiled. "I think we're fine. He was talking about people who might not appreciate me coming down from my eyrie to help the residents, trying to get me to see the point of view of the opposition and the dangers that could provide. I had the sense that we were talking more about people being hateful toward me, convincing others who need help not to show up at the clinic, maybe some kind of graffiti painted on my door, that kind of thing more than actual personal violence."

After a moment of thought, she added, "Actually, I haven't seen anything negative yet, though it's early days. The numbers coming in are still low, but they are increasing slowly. We'll have to talk to the Romulan doctor, or his daughter, and see what they have encountered. We've been going down about the same length of time. I asked Sheriff Kainon if he'd talked to them yet, and he said they were next on his list."

"All right," Damion said. "So not the sort I'm used to dealing with back home. That's a relief. I doubt the boss would approve of me fighting folk, even if it were in self-defense. I'll keep my eyes open, though."

The tram arrived at Deck 2240, and they had to wait for a turbolift. "This is a first," Elizabeth said. "I guess we aren't the only ones coming for the Festival. I'll bet it's really crazy by lunch time!"

 

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