Sisterhood Remembered

Posted on Wed 24th May, 2017 @ 2:24am by
Edited on on Thu 8th Jun, 2017 @ 2:15pm

1,013 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Unity Week
Location: Conference Room Somewhere in Alpha Quadrant
Timeline: MD 01 Arrival

Ischemia Addams rubbed her temples, going in circles, trying to ease the headache that would not be eased.

"Minister Tloc'Lon," she said, making the proper glottal stop between syllables, "I understand that you are trying to work with me, and with the representatives of the Denasians. Your planetary Charter of Sentient Rights is a great step forward."

She dropped her hands to the table and looked him in the eye as she continued. "However, statements in the document are made with a Tloc-centric vocabulary. There are several gender-specific pronouns that do not correspond properly with the three genders recognized by Denasians. Great strides have been made, and I suggest we take a break and meet again when the moons are all dark."

Those seated around the table glanced at one another, or at their own species at least, and all nodded agreement. They adjourned shortly thereafter and, as Ischemia packed up her negotiations kit and handed it to her assistant, she was suddenly struck by the fact that she had 14 Terran Standard Days, and no place she absolutely had to be. Out here on the edge of the quadrant, there were no vacation spots she wanted to visit, and no time to really enjoy a place she did.

"I'm taking a vacation," she announced to Fred. All her assistants were called Fred. It made it easier to remember their names as none ever stuck around long ... although this one had been with her almost a year. Perhaps I'll have to learn his name, she thought

The man hid his surprise quite well, merely saying, "You've certainly earned it."

"Wise of you to think so. You're released for the next ten days, as well. Enjoy yourself, after you stow the kit in my diplomatic safe. I need to find out where ships are going from here. Do try not to get yourself killed. I've gotten quite used to you." She walked away from the conference hall, toward the port. It wasn't far, and it was a lovely day for a walk ... if you liked it dark and cloudy and slightly on the chilly side, which Ischemia did.

The bright red dress the lawyer was wearing ended slightly above her knee caps, swirling in a soft cloud of fabric as she walked. Though the dress was professional, there was a hint of something sensual about her movements, as though she enjoyed life and intended to wring every bit of experience from it. In spite of her height, humanoids generally found her attractive, today being no exception as they stopped to watch her move away, even in the crowd.

At the port, she approached a Tloc woman behind the ticket counter, and spoke to her in her native tongue. "Ships from here go where this day?" would have been a direct translation.

"Many places, Your Grace," the woman answered. "Where go you like them?"

In a very unusual happenstance, for the second time, an idea came from nowhere and Ischemia deemed it excellent. "Starbase Vanguard. Here close it is, yes?"

The clerk leaned over the out-dated computing device and after a moment said. "There goes a ship this night. USS Regret, Dock 14C, two decimes from now it goes. A seat one you?"

Chlamydia's slightly younger sister hesitated. She hadn't seen her sibling since the pod had been discovered in space. In fact, the last time she'd seen her was just before Archimedes disappeared, taking Chlamydia with it. They'd danced the mamushka that night, an Addams tradition. Her sister hadn't actually reached out to her, but then she wouldn't, would she? No doubt she was up to her knuckles in some "interesting" anatomy dissection. Ischemia snorted. She probably didn't want to see either of her sisters. If she had .... Well, too bad. She was going to have to see this one!

"Yes," she said firmly. "A compartment for this one."

She walked away with a ticket chip, wondering whether she should contact Purulence and have her come, too. Descend in numbers, and what could Chlamydia do? Her younger sister, however, was a bit ... well, a bit fragmented, wasn't she? Better to do this on her own. Anyway, who ever knew where the girl was?

Once on board Regret - a name that could be considered an unfortunate omen for the trip, if the Addams family were the superstitious sort ... which some of them were, of course - Ischemia went straight to her bedroom compartment. It was small, but quite adequate for her needs, with a bathroom, including sonic shower, a replicator stocked with over 200 common recipes, and a comfortable sofa which would become her bed. It took less than a day to reach Vanguard, and Ischemia used most of that time to sleep.

A shower, fresh clothes - a long red sweater over loose casual red pants - and Ischemia strolled out of the ship, through the minimal customs port and into the lower levels of the promenade. All around, people were preparing for some kind of festival, but an Addams always had their own idea of festivals, so she strolled past, pulling her small traveling bag behind her, until she came to a locator booth. Putting in Chlamydia's name and her own ID chip, which verified their relationship, she was given directions.

Since she'd arrived after the doctor left work, Ischemia acquired directions to something called Tivoli Gardens. A lift swiftly took her down the thousand or so decks to her destination, and the blinking locator module uploaded to her iPADD did the rest.

And then she was there, standing on the porch of an old mansion which reminded her in some ways of the home where they'd grown up. It might have been a touch more lived-in. There might have been a few more cobs living in webs strung in corners. Yet, the dim interior glowed a darkened golden color through clouded windows, which bespoke home to Ischemia. Her older sister had done well. As she lifted her hand to the brass knocker, she wondered if there was a graveyard out back.

 

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