The Witness

Posted on Wed Dec 18th, 2019 @ 8:51pm by Death & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Thu Dec 19th, 2019 @ 10:10am

Mission: Neutral Zone Neutrality
Location: ch'Saithe city, Mol Krun'chi colony world
Timeline: 2396

In the modest, agrarian capital of the Rihannsu colony world of Mol Krun’chi known as ch'Saithe, the young red-headed Starfleet pilot, Mnhei’sahe Dox, slept.

While the Rihannsu officer rarely slept well when separated from her bond-mate and wife, Mona Gonadie, she was exhausted mentally and physically from the tasks of the day, and there was something about the cool night air of the picturesque village drifting on the breeze through the open window that relaxed her. The modest, clay-walled two-story house provided for the use of the delegates from the Hera was connected to the government plaza at the center of the village, but was otherwise largely rustic in keeping with most of the buildings in ch'Saithe. Dark wood floors that creaked a bit when you walked on them along with handcrafted fittings and furnishings that felt like something from another era surrounded the young woman as she slumbered. There were very few modern features to be found outside of the comm unit in the room on the wall next to the thick, tracked wooden door. On the open window, wispy green curtains extended floor to ceiling and flowed in the night breeze.

The name of the city meant ‘of the Peaceful’ in her native language of Rihan, and it lived up to the name so far. The talks with Mol Krun’chi’s ruling council had gone fairly well, all things considered, for only the first day. There were concerns and arguments, speeches made and fears that were expressed and Dox had somehow not yet ruined the diplomatic proceedings she felt wildly unqualified to be a part of. But as the granddaughter of the Rihannsu Senator who made the initial motion that had lead to these talks, Dox had been chosen to represent her grandmother and the Senate in the talks. It wasn’t a position she wanted to hold, but one she felt compelled to do her best in, regardless. She had done her best to represent what she felt were her grandmother’s wishes while comporting herself as a Starfleet officer, and while it seemed that the council was reluctant to trust her, perhaps a bit more than the others in the party, she had not yet derailed the talks. And Rita Paris had assured her at dinner that she was doing very well so far. So as night fell across the rolling hills, the ruling council ended the talks for the evening and provided sleeping quarters in the house she now relaxed in. And after supper had been eaten and pleasantries exchanged, Mnhei’sahe retired to the small room she had been provided. A room she was glad she didn’t have to share with anyone.

The bed against the wall was smaller than she was used to, but the bedding was soft enough and the breeze carried the gentle smell of lehe'jhme blossoms from the fruit trees in the farm to the north of the village. All combined, it was enough to let the stressed Rihannsu woman relax and eventually drift off to sleep in a room that felt far more comfortable than she would have expected. So she slept.

Her dreams were deep and she found herself lost in them for a while. The circumstances of her resoning for being on Mol Krun’chi were weighing on her mind and that weight showed up in dreams where she found herself, not on Mol Krun’chi, but on ch’Rihan itself. She found herself walking through the maithewood halls of her grandmother’s beautiful country home. Her family’s ancestral home she only saw in holopics and in the mindscape of Verelan t’Rul when Sonak had linked them. In her dream, she was a child again, living the life that had been denied her as she ran up and down those ancient halls carelessly. The dream was a good one, and she was happy to find herself there for a time as she slumbered.

After a few hours, a pale horse, with ghostly legs that faded to nothing and eyes that were as the deepest black of space, silently trotted into the room and nuzzled at the younger Rihannsu woman, doing his best to get her to wake up by pulling the covers partly off of her and neighing softly in her ear as if trying to tell her she was needed.

Rolling over slightly, still mostly asleep, Mnhei’sahe groaned slightly, muttering with a gravely whisper in her native tongue, “Ie? Fvah? Qiuu mnekha?”

“Is… is something wrong? Who’s… there?” Mnhei’sahe said, switching back to Federation standard with her accent more unguarded than it usually was, as she started to wake up. Still confused, as her eyes struggled to focus in the light of the small twin moons that shown in the open window, she looked up and saw the looming head of the etherial equine she knew well, looking right back at her. “Fvah? Taxes?”

Startled as she finally woke up to notice the mount of Masato Rei, the woman known as Death, standing right over her bed. The horse with the somewhat whimsical name of Taxes. “What… What’s wrong? Where’s Rei?”

Being a horse, even a ghostly one, Taxes couldn't speak and could only emote, so he glanced over at the window and back towards Mnhei'sahe before tossing his head in such a manner that his reins wrapped around her hand so he could tug at her in an attempt to get her to come with him. There was an urgency in his actions and whinnies that he'd never shown before - as if time were short.

“What’s going on… is she in trouble? Taxes?” Mnhei’sahe got up out of bed, trying to get the worn leather strap off of her wrist. “Okay… hold on…Hnaev... I’m in my underwear, Taxes… hold on.” But the spectral mount was still tugging as Dox grabbed the dark green robe that the house hru’fre, or head of the housekeepers, had provided and tossed it on her free arm as he dragged her insistently to the window.

“Taxes… this is the second floor.” Mnhei’sahe said nervously as they got closer to the window, still trying to slip the robe on, but unable to get her hand free to get the other sleeve on.

The spectral horse just kept tugging with a glance back at her to see if she was going to get on or not. When he saw that she wasn't, he shook his head and decided another approach was necessary, nibbling at her hair for a moment before poofing into a cloud of mist and reforming a couple of seconds later as a ghostly hoverbike that was keenly reminiscent of the one Dox owned, yet was still unmistakably Taxes as the whinny that came from the engine was definitely the spectral horse and the reins were still wrapped around Mnhei'sahe's arm.

“Fvah Imirrhlhhse?” Mnhei’sahe cursed at the bizarre sight. Pausing for an instant, the concept finally clicked in her mind as she rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I understand. I get it. I’m getting on.”

Awkwardly, the young pilot slowly lifted her leg and straddled the hoverbike. “Okay… uh… I’m on. Now what?”

Without hesitation, Taxes floated up and through the window silently. He may have taken the form of a hoverbike, but as a spectral entity, still paid no heed to the laws of physics one was bound by and thus traveled freely as if the world around them was moving, rather than if they themselves were what was moving.

Grabbing the reins tight, Mnhei’sahe leaned in tight to clutch the body of the hoverbike that was a horse moments ago in a mild panic. She might have been an extremely skilled pilot, but this was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

Thus as the ground below moved, there was no wind, no chill, no hum from an engine. The sound of the solar-powered street lamps, as well as the few people out this late at night, could easily be heard below them as they passed above in silence, invisible to all.

“HNAAAAAAEEEVVV!!!!” She cursed again, but the few people below them clearly couldn’t hear or notice as Mnhei’sahe wrapped her arms tighter against the body of the bike. While the Rihannsu woman was still very mortal, at that specific moment she was as immaterial as the ghostly, transformed horse she clung to the back of, and it was an extremely bizarre sensation.

It wasn't long before they came to a small cottage on the outskirts of the capital, a lone electric light flickering dimly as if the battery behind it was dying. Barely slowing, Taxes flew right through the front door, down the narrow corridor and into humble bedchamber of an old woman in a bed covered by a threadbare blanket before finally stopping with a soft whinny.

“Taxes…” Mnhei’sahe whispered as she quickly climbed off. Finally, the strap around her wrist that seemed to be fixed to her came loose, allowing her to slip the rest of the robe on and close it over her, “What are we doing here? We shouldn’t be here. Where’s Rei?”

"Is that you, Jaeih?" The old woman asked in a soft voice, barely more than a whisper. She spoke in Rihan and there was a gravel to her voice that sounded weak. "Have you come to guide your old theirr’anov to the afterlife?"

“J… Jaeih?” Mnhei’sahe whispered, looking over to the woman who could clearly hear and see her and spoke Dox's mother's name. Processing what was said, Mnhei’sahe thought on the old woman’s words. ‘Theirr’anov’ was the Rihan word for a chosen guardian. Her heart skipped a beat as she tried to swallow, though her throat was now dry. Gulping, she replied in Rihan, “Jaeih? No… I’m not…”

Suddenly, what was happening began to become clear to Mnhei’sahe as she turned back towards the door where Taxes had resumed his normal form. Looking at the now loose hanging leather strap, she realized that once she was no longer touching any part of Taxes she was visible and tangible again. The spectral horse stepped over and nudged Mnhei’sahe slightly forward with his head. This woman, whoever she was, was near death. But Death was nowhere to be seen, and instead, Death’s horse came to Mnhei’sahe to go to the woman’s side.

Hesitating, Mnhei’sahe felt a wave of anxiety tie her stomach up in a tight ball. She knew that this was a potential future that had been laid before her. A choice yet to be made. She had been chosen to succeed Masato Rei when her own life had reached its end, but that hadn’t happened and she was being asked to step far too close to that role for comfort. “Taxes… I can't do this… I’m not Rei. I can't…”

But the horse simply looked at Mnhei’sahe with a look of desperation in his eyes. He might not be able to speak, but the message was loud and clear. He needed Mnhei’sahe, and so did the woman on the bed across the room.

Biting her bottom lip, the young woman straightened up and turned back to the elderly woman in the bed. She looked to be close to two hundred, with deep creases in her face and her long, gray hair up in a bun over the top of her thin pillow. Stepping over to the side of the bed, she knelt down. “Jaeih’s my mother’s name. I’m… I’m not her. I’m not… uh… my name is Mnhei’sahe.”

The smile that spread across the old woman's face was almost blissful. "Little Mnhei'sahe? My little star?" she asked, one hand reaching up to delicately cup Dox's cheek. "Oh, it's been so long. Do you recognize me? I… I was your family's hru'hfe. I helped you come into this world. I told your mother... I told her... Stay here so little Mnhei'sahe can be safe. But you're safe now, right? Old Nurema worried about you dear. Even after you left for good. I always worried and prayed to Al'thindor and the Elements themselves that you'd be safe."

As the elder woman spoke, Mnhei'sahe's memories began to fill in. Not of the woman’s face, but of her name. It was the first name Mnhei'sahe had read in Masato Rei's book that was to die at the hands of Riov Rendal had the Tal'Shiar discovered this place in the timeline that existed before Rita Paris has rescued her from ch’Rihan. She had noticed that the woman's second name was the same as her mother's, which simply meant they came from the same village on ch'Rihan, but now she understood that it meant so much more.

"You're… Nurema. Nurema ir-Korthre?" Mnhei'sahe said, placing her own hand over the old woman's hand, still on her cheek as the heart in her side swelled. "Y… yes, I'm safe. We're both safe… myself and mother. I've… I don't remember. I've… been here before?"

Pulling back her hand as she feebly covered her mouth to cough, a raking and harsh sounding thing that made Mnhie’sahe wince ever so slightly, the elder Rihannsu woman took a moment then replied with a nod. “Oh, my little star... you were born here. Here in this very house when it was still new.”

Looking back with an expression of shock towards Taxes, who simply nodded his head slightly towards her, Mnhei’sahe’s jaw hung open. As the old woman continued, “Your mother… Little Jaeih… she was my world. She freed us when we sought to escape ch’Rihan. It cost her her freedom for a time, and so much more. This world would not exist but for her sacrifice.”

There was a long pause as the old woman shut her eyes and took some breaths. As she did, she reached back out and weekly took Mnhei’sahe’s hands in her own. “And when it came time to have you... she called out to me. She sought sanctuary…” Another cough interrupted the tale and this time Mnhei’sahe could feel the violence of it through the woman’s hand as she tightened her grip.

“The council would never have allowed it… the risk of discovery was too great. But… I could never say no to your mother. I did all I could when she was little to help raise her after her mother passed and her father left her with me to care for in his absence. And I did my best. I gave her all the love I could as if she were my own. I taught her of our people and our Vulcan roots. So I told her how to find us and she came. In secret, she came.” Nurema continued, her feeble voice growing weaker as she did.

"Back then, we were called Mol Furvas. Taken from the name of the tiny moon colony of Furvas VI we had originally tried to establish before the Tal'Shiar came for us. When your mother turned against them to save us." The old woman said with a cough, before composing herself to continue, "We would not take on our current name on this world until our founders, Elders tr'Krun and t'Chi, had passed, a few years later."

“The council was furious with me for the risk I had taken, but Jaeih calmed their fears. Jaeih… she was as much a force of nature as the Element of Air from which she was named. She would not bear you on some freighter in space. She… she insisted that you would draw your first breath with real air in your little lungs. With soil beneath you and a warm sun above. So, I opened this home to her… and to you. And it was here… in the small bedroom down the hall… that I took you in my arms for the first time. The basin in the washroom where I cleaned you for and heard your first cries. Oh, you were so beautiful.”

Reaching up, Nurema ran a finger through Mnhei’sahe’s curly, red hair and her tone went more somber. “You were little more than a year old when she decided she had to leave again. Her love… your father… was still Tal’Shiar. He could not see you while you were here. Even Jaeih knew it was too dangerous to let him know where this colony was. She told me her plan… to change you. To hide you. I hated it! Thought clearly… it worked. We fought so long over that, but your mother was never one to lose a fight. In time, she took you away from here, and we left with harsh words on our tongues and... pain in our hearts.”

Taking a moment, the elder Rihannsu collected herself. Nodding gently, she patted the back of Mnhei’sahe’s hand reassuringly and continued.

“When you were little, you had her hair. It was still curly, but raven black. Not like this. But… but your eyes…” The elder woman said with a smile, “You still have Jaeih’s eyes. I see her in you. So much of her.” Then her face took on a pained expression as she shook her head. “All this time, I have missed you, my little star. I have wondered what became of you. Please… please, tell me of your life. Tell me you are happy.”

With a long breath, Mnhei’sahe sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye onto the dark green robe she wore. Again, she found herself at the side of the bed of an elder Rihannsu woman on the last night of her life. Again, she found herself having to be strong for another that she had never known, but who had nonetheless been important in her life in ways she didn’t understand until just then. And squeezing Nurema’s hand, she replied.

Skipping over the darker parts and the most painful memories, Mnhei’sahe told the woman that helped care for her as a child the story of her life. She told her of her successes in Starfleet. Her joy in piloting starships. She told Nurema of the family she had built on the Hera with the Pirate Captain and the Immortal child, now gone off to grow their career elsewhere. With the ‘most human human to ever human’, who taught her how to forgive her mother and how to be better every day. And she told her of why she was there, on Mol Krun’chi. Of how the dream of reunification might be moving forward at long last and the part she was chosen to play in it. Then she told her of her love for Mona. Of their bond that ran so deep that it could be felt light-years away. And she told her of the three children on their way, bridging a gap between two wildly different worlds to create something new in the universe.

The old Rihannsu woman smiled deeply and nodded as she replied, a tear running down her cheek, “That… that makes my heart glad. That is why we came here… to be more than we were. To be complete again, and you… you will make it true. You can be that dream brought to life, little star. Oh, how I love you. How glad I am that it was you that came to me… to hear my words and see me one last time.”

There was a feeling of warmth in Mnhei’sahe as she held the woman’s hands tight and felt them shudder. And while she didn’t like to consider the implications, she hated that she could feel that it was Nurema’s time. Somehow, she knew. She didn’t feel Rei’s presence as she did with Charybdis, but she felt what was happening in her heart all the same, as she closed her eyes. “I’m… I’m glad I came as well. I’m glad I got to finally know you, Theirr’anov.”

Using the Rihan word for ‘godmother’ brought another smile to the elder Rihannsu woman’s aged face as she nodded. “It is good, little star. I feared I would be alone this night, as I have been all these years since your mother took you away. Oh, I have a nurse, but it’s… she’s not you or Jaeih. Tell her. *COUGH* Tell your mother that I regret the words I said that evening. T… Tell her that her old hru’hfe has always loved… always loved her.”

“She… she will know. I promise you, Theirr’anov.” Mnhei’sahe said as she nodded. “And… soon you will be able to see her again. And you will no longer be alone, I promise you.” Putting a hand on the old woman’s cheek, Mnhei'sahe leaned over and kissed it lightly, and the elderly woman smiled and replied,

“T… Thank you. You are my final gift, little star. Al’Thindor is kind.” Nurema said with a warm smile, though her voice felt weaker than ever. Her breaths became shallow and more labored. Each shorter than the last, with longer gaps between them.

“Just… just relax, Theirr’anov.” Mnhei’sahe said, her voice broken and cracked as she fought back tears, trying to be strong for her. “I’m h… here. I have you.”

With those words, it was as if a bridge of light had opened up from the small room stretching out towards a gleaming river where a small ferry waited. As the light stretched out, it seemed to sparkle a little as it touched Mnhei'sahe. On the other side of Nurema she could clearly see Rei, helping the now young woman up off of her bed as she first stared in awe at the spectre before her, then across the waters in delight at whatever or whomever she saw across its shimmering crests.

Looking first at the sight that threatened to overwhelm her, Mnhei'sahe wiped a tear on her robe as she looked over at Masato Rei. In that moment, she realized that something had changed as she no longer saw her image of the woman as an older Rihannsu as she always had, but saw her as she had once been. She saw the true Masato Rei, still pale and ethereal, but also clearly the Japanese girl whose identity Mnhei'sahe had helped her rediscover.

As they took a few steps towards the small boat, Rei waved her friend forward. "Mnhei'sahe can go with you as far as the river, Nurema, but no further. You have one last thing to tell her?"

Walking forward onto the gleaming bridge, Mnhei'sahe's skin felt warm where the light touched it and she pushed past her fear as Nurema, now a woman likely younger than she was even when she raised Jaeih, held her arms out.

Stepping into the hug, Mnhei'sahe's attempts at not crying outright finally failed. Nurema tsked her and wiped her eyes dry with all the tenderness of a mother. "No more tears, little star. You see it... this is a joyous moment. I got to hold you again one last time, and now you will know me and know what you have always meant to me. Be happy, little star. You have given me the greatest gift I have known since I first held you."

Stepping back towards the ferry, Nurema smiled broadly. In the breeze off of the river that seemed to carry chimes of music with it, her raven black hair flowed freely across over smooth face. "You have more family than you know, little star. More than Jaeih knows. And you will find them."

And with that, Nurema turned to Rei and nodded, holding her hand out to the ethereal woman in black and spoke again. "Thank you."

With that, Rei led Nurema off towards the small boat, speaking softly as she helped the woman into it, a small lantern lighting up as she sat down on the single bench, which seemed to propel it across the waters towards the other side. "Well, that was vague... But your heart will rest easy in the other world."

And with that, the light faded and Rei and Taxes were both gone, leaving Mnhei'sahe alone once more.

The river and the light was gone and Mnhei'sahe blinked a few times as her eyes readjusted to the dim light of Nurema's modest bedchamber. The young woman looked around for a moment and confirmed that Taxes must have gone with Rei. And looking down, she was alone with the body of Nurema ir-Korthre.

Looking down in the flickering, dim light of the single lantern in the chamber, Mnhei'sahe knelt back down and brushed the woman's cheek. She was gone, but the smile on her face was still there. Kneeling there for a moment, Mnhei'sahe wiped her own cheeks dry once again as she suddenly heard a sound outside the chamber door.

Another door down the hall had opened and she heard footsteps and suddenly the young Rihannsu realized that she wasn't alone in the house. As the sound of footfalls got closer, she looked down and saw a wedge of light cut from under the door and her stomach tightened as a wave of anxiety came over her.

But as she heard the metal clank of the old, rusted door latch begin to move, she felt a shot of hot breath on her neck. Turning with a start, Mnhei'sahe saw that Taxes had returned and was dangling his reins down over her shoulder as she leaned his large head towards her.

Grabbing the worn leather strap just as the door opened, Mnhei'sahe held her breath and froze. As she did, a young Rihannsu woman in a long, linen nightgown holding a candle stepped inside, whispering. "Ihhei Nurema? I heard you talking. Are you…"

The young nurse that Nurema spoke of earlier gasped and put her free hand over her mouth as she looked at the bed. "Tlhei… Oh, Elements. Ihhei Nurema."

Calling the elder woman 'madam', the young woman walked over to the bed, passing right by Mnhei'sahe and Taxes, who were clearly unseen. Kneeling down, she set the candle down and began checking for vitals for a moment. Clearly, a live-in nurse of some kind, the woman let out a long sigh as she ran her hands over Nurema's eyes to close them. As she did, she whispered a quiet prayer Mnhei'sahe knew well. "Nurema ir-Korthre, may the wings of Al'thindor carry you to Vorta Vor and your rest."

As the young nurse spoke, Taxes whinnied softly and pressed his head against Mnhei'sahe's in a comforting fashion. As he did, Mnhei'sahe patted the side of his face and closed her eyes respectfully for the prayer.

Knowing she could neither be seen nor heard, Mnhei'sahe whispered back to the woman softly, "She did."

After a moment, the nurse stood wiping tears from her eyes and pulled the threadbare blanket over Nurema's eyes. And as she did, Mnhei'sahe climbed up on Taxes back and gave the spectral horse a pat on the side on his neck. "Thank you. We can go."