Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: On the Holodeck again - Bajor

Posted by Ensign Iyun Riani (Scientist) in Side Sim: On the Holodeck again - Bajor

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: On the Holodeck again - Bajor
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Achilleas set his plate to the side and looked over at Ria. She seemed comfortable so he mimicked her and laid back on the blanket and looked at the sky. “Being the youngest had a benefit in not being pushed to continue the family line. They’d like me to get married and have a kid I’m sure, but it wasn’t anything they’ve pushed me on. My older siblings were another matter altogether. My two oldest brothers have been married and had seven children between them already. My nieces and nephews are just adorable. Wait, I’m getting off topic. So I’m blessed to be born last is what I’m getting at.”

CSO Petrakos

Riani nodded silently. She found it hard to imagine what it must be like if it was important for one’s parents that the family line was continued. “It’s so different from my life,” she whispered. “My parents would never push any of us to have children.” Tilting her head backwards so that she could see the hills behind her, she continued even more softly, “If the occupation hadn’t ended neither I nor my siblings would have ever been born. They didn’t want to bring children into a world like that. I was born during the Dominion War, it wasn’t planned at all. I’m not sure if my mother might not have ended the pregnancy if she hadn’t had a few miscarriages before. So there more than understand that not everyone might want children or that the time isn’t always right.”

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

“I couldn’t imagine being born right at a frontline of war. My parents weren’t combat personnel at all so they never had that concern, though my grandparents lost the majority of their children when the Klingons attacked Khittomer. My father was their last child and that might be what pushes the desire to make sure the family is big and numerous. It’s a shame that war and hate touch everyone across the universe. I think that the pursuit of knowledge is far more noble and beneficial a pursuit.” Achilleas took a breath and raised a hand to shade his eyes, “While the Federation espouses such noble claims, not everything will just let the colonists, farmers, fishers, or scientists be. Who knows if that day will ever come.”

CSO Petrakos

“I don’t remember it,” Ria said, stating the obvious with a very soft, barely audible chuckle, that quickly turned bashful. “I hope that one day there will be no wars, no more fighting. I hate it.” She suddenly rose to her feet and walked over to the tree. Leaning against it, one arm around the trunk, her back towards Achilleas, she whispered, “I wish people would learn to get along. It’s not that difficult to treat everyone with respect and kindness and to assume that everyone is doing the best they can.” She was looking at the rolling hills and the river, but wasn’t really seeing any of them. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, as if she was a million miles away.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Achilleas got up and moved closer to Ria. He hesitated a moment before he reached out a hand and softly touched her shoulder. He spoke softly in return, “I don’t understand why people hate. I’ve never experienced anything that would cause me to hate. I’ve disliked people but never to the point of wishing them ill will. I like to think that eventually every parent will pass on to their kids the idea of respect and getting along with everyone they meet. My grandparents passed that on to their kids, my parents pass them on to theirs, and I intend to someday pass them on to mine. It has to start from those of us with similar thoughts and a lot of hope.”

CSO Petrakos

Ria gave a start and a soft gasp escaped her lips as Achilleas put his hand on her shoulder. But she didn’t do anything to move away or indicate that his touch made her feel uncomfortable. For a short moment she looked at him, but then dropped her gaze. “I don’t think I’ve ever really hated an individual person either and my parents were the ones who taught me to treat everyone with respect and loving kindness. Yet at the same time my people, including my parents, still carry a lot of hate and pain and resentment from the Occupation and the Dominion War. And I understand where they are coming from. It feels like a contradiction feeling and emphasizing with both things at the same time.” Resting her head against the tree trunk, she fell silent again while blinking rapidly a few times.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Achilleas patted her shoulder a few times before he walked past her and the tree then stopped. “I think parents always want us to be better than them. Learn from their mistakes and not have to suffer like they did. They hope that the ugliness of the world won’t change who we have the potential to become. I know my parents would rather stay home on the farm and never experience pain or horrors, but they respect that my doing so would stifle my growth and potential. Parents are a wonderful, magical, fantastic relationship to have and cherish but they have their flaws. They don’t want you to have their hate even if they can’t let it go.”

CSO Petrakos

Riani nodded, but said nothing. The truth was, she didn’t really know what to say right now. She agreed with Achilleas and knew that her parents never wanted her to have anyone. Yet if she was honest with herself, she carried some of the same prejudices as her parents, and probably every Bajoran who was alive during the Occupation and old enough to remember. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, she let go of the tree trunk and then turned so that her back was now resting against it. In an almost seamlessly motion she then slipped down to the ground. Her back pressed against the trunk, she hugged her knees to her chest.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist