And the Gods danced.

Posted on Sunday April 14th, 2019 @ 11:05am by Warrant Officer Sanya Isilme & Captain Erin "Ari" Mizriki-Clark & Captain Sumire "Remi" Rembrant
Edited on on Friday December 20th, 2019 @ 2:24pm

2,608 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Season 2 Mission 4: Finally... Something... Something...
Location: Sumire's Office
Timeline: November 13th 4566 Afternoon
Tags: ari, sumire, sanya, magic, gem magic

Upon exiting the lift, Ari and Sanya discovered that the ship's captain had departed the bridge. Ari's eyes scanned the bridge for someone that might give her an indication of where Sumire had gone. Her gaze travelled across backs turned towards consoles until see eventually met Trent's eyes and got his attention. He pointed towards Sumire's office door with a shrug.


Ari nodded her thanks as she resuming leading Sanya across the bridge to the outside of the Captain's door. Sumire must have understood that this matter could be only spoken of in private. Ari pressed the call button, alerting the Captain of their presence.


Remi replied, "Enter."


Sanya waited for Ari to move before she followed. She straightened her shirt and wondered if she was adequately dressed for such a social interaction. She pursed her lips together and take a deep breath, nodding to Ari. "Inside then?"


Ari nodded and led the way in.


Ari and Remi looked at one another for a short moment. 


Ari snapped to attention and gave a sharp salute adhering to the formalities of their station. They were close friends, almost like family but protocol was still to be followed. She declared, "Captain, I present Warrant Officer Sanya Isilme. She's on provisional assignment with us due to her unique situation. The Onyx Rescue crews found her."


"Thank you, Captain... Has she been interviewed and debriefed?"Remi inquired. 


"I handled that with some of the medical staff. Dr. Yamane gave her a clean bill of health," Ari responded.


Remi looked over Sanya for a moment then said, "Thanks, Ari, I'll take it from here."


Ari nodded and saluted, exiting the room after being summarily dismissed.


Remi looked towards Sanya and just stood from her desk waiting.  Remi was a half Asian, black haired, blue-eyed woman at 5 foot 8, she was taller than most Asians. She wore a black Trinity uniform and had her black long straight hair tied up.


Sanya stood quietly as she gave an awkward salute that mimicked the one that Ari had offered. Her silver eyes easily met Remi's azure ones, both women stood at roughly the same height. Moisture still clung to her shoulder length dirty blonde hair and dampened the shoulders of the ill-fitting gray uniform jacket she had borrowed.  Her complexion was pallid as one would expect from a woman that had been recovered from some a period of suspended animation and a sense of exhaustion still lingered at the edge of her eyes.  Her posture was overly formal, guarded, like she was expecting something to jump out at her at any moment. If Remi had to guess, Sanya might have been in her mid to late twenties but who could really know how long she had been out in that escape pod.


"The Gods greet you and bid you thanks for your hospitality and assistance," Sanya said breaking the building silence with a polite greeting that came out in translation with a strange accent. "I am Osta en' i' Uruite Tinechor, Sanya Isilme of Alethea, daughter of Conall and Alea Isilme. I was told to present myself to you for sorting into a new path."


Remi smiled; the woman was at around the same age as her, maybe even slightly older. She nodded in return and seeing this person was more into formality than military protocol, she assumed that Sanya was a civilian. Remi came out from her desk and lightly bowed. "I'm Princess Sumire Rembrant of Orteria; I am the Captain of the Trinity Forces Ship Lavie and the Executive Officer of the Trinity Combined Service's First Task Force. I also command its tactical team." She then finished her bow. "I assume you were not part of your worlds military just based on your actions. Please; have a seat and explain to me what transpired to bring you to us... I do admit that I am more a politician than a soldier, but the state of things required such to occur... Would you like a drink or something to eat?" She asked gesturing for the woman to seat herself on the couch in her office.





Sanya nodded and took the offered seat. "The Osta act as the shield, we defend as we were divined to do but I am not a warrior, war is not my purpose though I am capable of combat," she replied politely. "We present ourselves to Cálala and state our lineage, so they may know the whole of our hearts before they weigh our souls." Her cheeks flushed pink for a moment as she caught herself, "Apologies. You did not ask for an explanation for my introduction... but I would gladly accept whatever hospitality you wish to extend; the Gods would not favor it for me to decline."



"I see; now forgive me however, Osta, could you explain to me what that means? Calala, is still the name of your god or the one you worship? Please forgive my ignorance for not understanding, I am also from a different planet," Remi commented as she got herself tea from the replicator.



"Tell me what was the date on your world? I also did not ask for you to explain your introduction as it’s not necessary. I am not going to send you away for saying something wrong, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and understandings.The rules that govern soldiers do not govern civilians. I am except from such rules anyway; I am nobility after all and that comes with its own rights and responsibilities, like protecting all those under me. Some may say I am more valuable than anyone else on this ship though I disagree.  As I am royalty, it is my duty to give myself for my people if that is what must happen," she explained as she got Sanya some tea and a desert dish that was something like a cinnamon roll but from Otoria; it was like a cinnamon square with different sweet sugars atop it.



Long thin, fingers traced the rim of the tea cup and Sanya seemed pleased with the feel of the dish before she lifted the cup in both her hands. She raised her gaze to the ceiling for a moment before she lowered it again and took a careful sip of the tea. She smiled, and the warmth of the drink helped bring some color to her complexion.



"Osta," Sanya started and paused for the translator to adjust to her intention before she tried again, "It means Defender. We are meant to protect our people and families from disharmony in the community, but we also lend our strength to the shields of our homes. Cálala, is a warrior caste leader. They hold position like our clan elder. We all work in harmony to protect our home but Osta are a shield, the Ohtatyáro - the warriors, act as the sword. We must be whole, or we will die. There are many that seek to make us prey and we do what we can to stay alive... not many survive if we are taken from our home... if I am here... it means we are lost and my family.... "



Sanya’s hand trembled and caused the cup to groan in protest. She quickly sat the cup down and closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts.  "We were in the age of Rauko, in the 700th generation of the Cainen Hini," Sanya added once she recollected herself. "I pray that I am wrong. And they yet live."



"Hmm. Thank you for the explanation. Ah I see, you are a step below a soldier; more like a police officer or guardsmen. I am uncertain of this but there is no way to determine how long you were in whatever escape pod our soldiers rescued you from. Your home may or may not exist. The people you care for may or may not currently live. In all honesty, we have no way to know. I hope we can find your home but, it is more likely we might not be able to. I am just letting you know that, if you want to leave us after hearing that, I will understand and arrange for you to be left at the next civilization we arrive at. If you want to stay with us though just know that I can't promise we can get your home or that there will be a home to go back to; I can help you cope, teach you and give you things to do... I can even eventually be a friend but there is no way to make certain you will find home... I hope you understand this.... I hope I am wrong but... well... even if I am I don't know we can get you home as I already said," Sumire explained trying to be as down to Earth but as compassionate as possible.



"The seas of fate are controlled by none by the Gods. I was cast adrift and lost," the tone of Sanya's voice dropped, and moisture swelled up in her tears.  "I have been brought back to a foreign shore, I have been blessed with a chance. The Gods have brought me here, I will follow where this new path will lead me."



Sanya's smile was bittersweet as she looked up once more, the threat of tears still lingered. "If I am the last of my line, they live on within me. The Gods will lead me home if the time comes. My mother always said that even if we can't control the tide, we can choose if we drown. I can swim further out, or I can swim towards a shore."



"That is the spirit," Remi nodded. "If your home is well and you return to it then the Gods willed it; if not, well... the Gods willed that too. I am sorry that this happened, but we will try to make the best of it," she soothed, taking a moment to steer the conversation towards more immediate matters as gently as she could, "So, I know you mentioned that you want me to assign you somewhere. Let me ask you this question then- what skills do you have that we could use? Also, would you like me to arrange to have to someone give you knowledge of our language and some basics of things here? It will not fix everything, but it will help you understand our ways and read our words and the like. I can also have one of our implants set up for you; it is a small object that is placed inside of you and allows you to contact others, see information and know how you feel," she explained.



"I would like to know more so that I do not have to use," Sanya tapped the left side of her head by her ear. "Mine seems broken but I would like to read. I am like a guard? Most of my knowledge is closer to my home, I do not know if you have need of my shield, my Naur, if my ...Noire was strange. Your people were interested in the crystals there. I do not know if that helps you but I want to pay back the hospitality shown to me. My life was saved by your ship, I owe you a blood debt."



"It is our job to save others; we are part of the governments emergency forces. We are supposed to save people. As for crystal, you mean gems, like this?" Remi asked pulling out a box and opening it; it contained one of each of the gems including one that looks like the purple one that is in Sanya. "These are amazing. I only really know how to use the blue one well. I was trained by a skilled teacher of them. I know how to use the others just, the blue is my main one. Tell me, what do you know of these?" She asked.





"The Gods dance within them. They are a part of us, they are our souls. We call them heartstones when they are found like that but not all of skilled with working with the Gods," Sanya replied with a sniff, her voice found a neutral tone with the change of topic. "Each color represents a different God, a part of their grace they allow us to share. We can use their power if we are lucky or be consumed by them if the Gods do not favor us."



She watched Remi interact with the gem stones with growing curiosity but did not try to touch them or reach for the box. "How do you use them?" Sanya politely inquired.





Remi grabded one of the blue gems and closed her eyes focusing her mind. A small bit of water came out of the stone in response. She then stabbed herself with a pen hard enough to draw blood. She then touched the gem's water to the new wound to heal herself. "It is a healing power. So how do you know about them; did someone teach you or…?"



Sanya's eyes glittered as she watched Remi's interactions with the stone, they shimmered violet for a moment before returning to their silver tone. Sanya considered Remi's question before she shook her head. "We open our hearts and souls to the Gods and they speak to us. We can ask for their assistance and guidance, but we are not taught by another how to use heartstone. It's like.... seeing the air. It touches everything, and we feel it as it flows around us."



"Interesting. We teach others how to use them, it requires energy of the soul; energy of the mind to be able to use them effectively and even more so, it requires an understanding; like you say... It is hard to teach, it is something within us. Some people can't learn how to use them." Remi looked questioningly at her. "So ... what can you do with one?" She asked.




"I use them to protect," Sanya replied. "My order creates the Shield of Fire that encircles the Alethea, but we can make smaller ones to shield people too. Others guide the Alethea through the endless sea. I can use them in other ways, but I do not like to take the gift of the Gods to hurt other living beings." With some measure of hesitation, she stretched out her hand to Remi. "Would you like me to show you?"




Remi nodded, "Indeed... Please show me your gift."




Sanya's hand remained outstretched as she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Upon exhaling she softly prayed, "Seldarine tena amin ar' taina a' amin lle mela." A faint violet glow spread over her starting from her chest and moved away from her body as she opened her eyes.




The air prickled with electricity as a violet dome formed around them, and the couch. Amethystine light bled into Sanya's eyes as she looked at Remi with a reassuring smile. "It's safe, you can touch it if it pleases you." She gestured to the shield dome.

 

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