Stranger From a Strange Land

Posted on Fri 30th Dec, 2022 @ 2:40am by

614 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: A Fresh Perspective
Location: Tivoli Gardens, Doubletree Hilton Hotel, Deck 1552
Timeline: MD 8, 1015

Looking out from her Hilton balcony, Desdemona Addams tried to fit this landscape, which she knew was on the deck of a starbase, into the many Hilton hotels where she'd stayed across Earth, and in her travels through the Federation. It wasn't a misfit, exactly, but the confines of being on a deck, instead of in what she thought of as a real environment, were telling. For one thing, instead of being on a 20th floor, she was only on a second floor. She'd seen the amazing river and waterfall they'd built here in these gardens, but a 20-floor hotel was outside of that reality.

She turned away from the view, which was lovely, snowy and white, and returned to her spot by the fireplace. Although it warmed like a wood fire, and felt like one, it was completely, unnaturally created from a hologram of an elegant fireplace ... somewhere else, far away, no doubt. There were many advantages to wealth, and to life in the Federation, but sometimes, Desdemona wanted something that was real, that actually was what it appeared to be.

Forcing herself away from her feelings of discontent, she sat into the corner of the stuffed plush sofa, her feet tucked under her, and stared into the flames that seemed to be there. She'd been on SB109 for three days, coming unannounced to meet her soon-to-be-wedded cousin, Purulence Addams. Apparently, she'd just missed meeting the oldest of the three cousins, Chlamydia, but her goal today was to run into the middle cousin, Ischemia. She had met them in the past, but they'd all been children then, and she knew she looked nothing like her pudgy ten-year-old self now. She'd come prepared to recognize her cousins, having seen photographs in the news, and even a few in family files.

Ischemia looked the most like her, but they wouldn't be mistaken for sisters. They had dark hair and dark clothing in common, something in the shape of their noses, too. Desdemona's eyes were much lighter brown, and she hoped she didn't look quite so serious as her cousin, her cousin who was seriously engaged in the rights of sentients. Meanwhile, Desdemona frivolously designed clothing, and didn't even have a famous reputation ... not one connected to her, at least. The clothes were certainly famous, but generally credited to a reclusive older female designer no one could quite point to or pin-point. She smiled at the irony of that.

"It's the bed you made, and you're the one lying in it," she said outloud, repeating something her mother had told her often. She'd needed a lot of retelling. Somehow, she still did. The truly wonderful thing about her career was that she loved what she did. She never tired of trying to find ways to attractively dress women of all body types. She didn't design for children or men, only for women. They were the ones who, in this advanced time, still needed confidence in themselves, and the right clothes helped. A uniform like Starfleet's could do it, but so could the clothes Desi created.

=^=The time is now ten hours and thirty minutes past midnight, =^= announced a pleasant musical female voice. Desdemona rose from her position on the sofa and padded into the bedroom area of the suite. Time to dress for success and see if she could accidentally run into her cousin. She'd investigated slightly, surreptitiously, and discovered that Ischemia liked to lunch at Orchids & Jazz in the Promenade. It wasn't a daily sure thing, but it would be fun to see how her luck was running today. Because of the magic in her background, she had uncommonly good luck.

 

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