The Great Unknown.

Posted on Wed 10th Feb, 2021 @ 2:43pm by Lieutenant Kidan Mallaya DVM

909 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Shuttle Arrivals
Timeline: MD

Oh great gods, what was I thinking? That thought had passed through Kidan's mind more oft than he could count since he'd left Betazed. As he crossed the great expance of space in between Merandar and Starbase 109 that little voice became louder and louder until it was practically screaming. His people called space the great unknown in the smaller enclaves and towns that made up the mountainous regions of the R'urals on Betazed's 2nd moon of Merandar. They were a simple folk, animal husbandry and farming with snippets of technology existing only to make it easier to do those things they loved. Kidan was no exception to the love of the planet that had given him life, and the ability to grow sustenance from its soil. The farm he loved was not going to go to him, as his eldest sister would inherit the place when mother passed. The infuriating thing was that his sister didn't actually want the farm. She was taking it just to spite him, for the petty woman took joy in the possession of something he loved. He knew better than to suggest that he might have some piece to their beloved mother, who clearly favored the elder girl.

He'd finally had enough of it all, when his sister suggested to him that he bed down in the barn. She said it with the look of disgust that implied he was no better than those animals that made their life there in the great wooden structure. She'd spat a curse, that she assumed he wouldn't hear, but his new glasses had displayed the epithet clearly as if he was able to hear her. They turned the tide for him, his ability to use his eyes as his ears, and see the sounds of the world around him. He'd been so filled with rage at the slight and curse that he'd left without another word. Years of treatment as something almost dirty had taken its toll. How dare she be disgusted with me, it was she who gave me the virus that stole my Hearing from me.

His first stop had been the bank, to withdraw onto a credit chip all of his savings. He'd then walked down to the clinic in which he and his partner Vantor had toiled these many years. Van had long wanted to buy him out and set up shop on his own, but only a sense of loyalty to Kidan had kept him from doing so. In truth Kidan wouldn't have minded, but this was just the thing that Van needed and Kidan as pleased in a way to provide.

Writing up the note to Van took only a few minutes and when he submitted it he was shocked to get an almost immediate response from his longtime friend.

"Im surprised it took you so long to tire of how they treated you old friend. I'm happy that you chose to leave, but I'll miss you like a brother. I'm sending over the amount we agreed upon when we discussed it last time. Send me a message when you arrive and get settled, so I might have your address marker. I'll even send you a proper housewarming gift. -Van"

Kidan was surprised to find himself teary eyed at the man's appreciation and his immediate and wholehearted support.

He'd seen the advertisement for the position before now, and had ignored it in favor of the comfort of his 'home'. It had appealed to him even then, when he was pained here but still content enough with his treatment. The remoteness was part of what called him to it, but also the need. To be so far away from what had been his home for so long, was both thrilling and intimidating at the same time. What was also thrilling, in a way he'd never expected was the incredible need for his skills, both in Starfleet and the private sector. They had animals of many varieties, including police dogs and the station had no veterinarian.

He stepped off the transport with a single bag on his shoulder. His meager possessions were in the cargo hold of this ship and would be beamed to his clinic.

Blessed be the goddess, the whole R'ural range could fit in here with room to spare. This station was a work of architecture so amazing in its stature that Kidan could only stare upwards in openmouthed dumbfoundedness. In this moment, he felt as if he was the 'bumpkin' the humans sometimes called him. He knew it was due to his slowness to respond to the spoken word. The origins of that word amused him, for they weren't far from the same word in his own native tongue. It didn't matter anymore. He was here.

Here was the rock on which he would build his new life. Away from the trappings of a society that didn't want him. People didn't care that he was different here, so far out in space. Instead they appreciated his abilities, and the unique way his telepathic gift manifested. He hung the sign on the hooks with a look of great satisfaction- Lighthouse Animal Clinic Kidan Mallaya DVM. The lighthouse painted on it was bright, red and white and it was built on an outcropping of pawprints, hoofprints and handprints of the various animals that he could care for.

A new Kidan is born here.

 

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