A Message from Jaeih Dox

Posted on Mon Nov 5th, 2018 @ 10:19pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Mon Nov 5th, 2018 @ 11:59pm

Mission: Escaped Pantheons
Location: Crew Quarters
Timeline: 2395

The door to Melanie Dox's quarters opened with its characteristic hiss as the young Junior Grade Lieutenant slouched in. While the evenings' meal and the conversation was unexpectedly enjoyable for the generally introverted pilot, she was still exhausted.

Slowly, she changed into her nightgown and prepared herself for bed, putting her thick auburn hair up into a bun to sleep, she noticed a blinking light on the PaDD on her nightstand. Standing over it for a moment knowing what it likely was. She took a breath and picked it up. On the screen was a notification that confirmed what she had thought. She had received a personal correspondence from her mother.

Walking over to the small replicator on the wall with the PaDD under her arm, Melanie ordered a small glass of water before returning to sit on her bed. She slid back in a seated position with her back against the side wall, looking down at the PaDD for a full minute. She tapped on the message notification as a security screen popped up. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Melaine Dox. Play message."

A light chirp confirming her voice print followed and the screen of the PaDD was filled with the recorded video message, starting with a blue screen featuring The logo of the United Federation of Planets. After a moment, the image was replaced with that of a Romulan woman, who appeared to be what to a human would be middle-aged. Her hair was long on the sides and back and pulled back into a tight ponytail, but the front was trimmed along her brows in the distinctive v-shape common to Romulans. She wore a tight, high necked teal tunic and appeared to be sitting in a windowless but comfortable looking room. It was warmly lit and she had a slightly irritated look on her face. It was Jaeih Dox, Melanie's mother.

"Jolan Tru, my daughter." Beginning with a traditional Romulan greeting, Jaeih glanced to a point beyond the camera where Melanie knew stood a Starfleet security officer that was watching. Jaeih had been instructed to use English in her messages to Melanie but seemed to enjoy the slight bit of antagonism that the greeting expressed. For years, Jaeih raised Melanie speaking mostly the Romulan dialect of rihannsu and resented being told how she could communicate with her own daughter.

"I am sorry to hear in your last message that you are feeling trapped in your current assignment with Starfleet." Melanie smiled, taking a sip of water and remembering that her last message to her mother was recorded just before her promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade and her reassignment to the HERA. "Be it Starfleet or the Romulan military, bureaucratic banality is a universal constant, it seems. However, you and I know full well that there is a high chance that your heritage will likely be used against you in your career. It's a pity, but one that I am confident you will overcome once your moment comes." With that, Jaeih's expression of irritation shifted to one of warmth. "I know you are... resentful of the life I gave you Melanie. I can't imagine that growing up on a smuggling ship has left you with an... excess of happy memories of me. And for that, I am truly sorry, but I cannot turn back time to give you the childhood you deserved. But I know that the childhood I could provide has given you skills that Starfleet will eventually have no choice but to acknowledge if you are given half the chance to shine."

Melanie sat back further and smiled at the rare compliment. Growing up, her mother was stern to the point of being cold at times. Melanie's education was an intense one filled with stress and praise of any kind was few and far between. She couldn't help but feel that it's unfortunate that it took imprisonment and light years between them to finally get warmth from her mother.

"I will assume that your... father... has made no attempts to communicate with you as he hasn't since you declared your intention to join Starfleet. He's always been a childish man and his disdain for authority, while attractive to me at one point, has revealed itself as nothing more than the petulance of a man blaming others for his failure. He has never understood a calling. He has never had a need to serve something with purpose. I have... never been a supporter of Starfleet..." again, she glanced behind the camera for a moment. "...But I still respect your decision and admire your desire to achieve. I know you will excel and Starfleet can only benefit from your presence."

Then Jaeih's tone shifted sharply as she took a moment to look down before continuing. "You know that my decision to leave my service to the empire was based purely in my disgust with the politics of the government. The government failed our people. They failed Romulus and I couldn't stand by and do nothing while that occurred. I am sorry that my passion forced a harsh life upon you, but it is my hope that in some way that passion can carry on in your service. I used to ask myself what it was that I saw in your father. I hope you know it was you, Melanie."

"Pause." Melanie choked out. As she spoke, the image on the screen froze and Melanie Dox began to cry. There was a part of her that hated her mother for the childhood she was denied. But deep down, she still loved her and hearing an expression of affection from her tore into her harder than Melanie could have expected. After a moment, she wiped her eyes and composed herself. "Dammit, Mother." She chuckled as if Jaeih could hear her through the PaDD. "Resume".

The video continued. "I'm sorry if I allowed my feelings to get the better of me, here. I do... miss you. I miss seeing your face and hearing your voice before me. But I will continue to placate the wishes of my keepers in the hope that one day my efforts here may aid our people wherever they may be. OUR, Melanie. Do not forget that. While your father spent what little time he had with you doing... everything... to distance you from your heritage in every way, you will always be my daughter. And no matter what you see in the mirror or what others may tell you, you are as much a child of Romulus as you are of Earth and there is NO shame to be found in that. I look forward to hearing from you again, my daughter, and hope you are well. Jolan Tru." And with that, the screen returned to the Federation logo. Melanie shrunk slightly at her mother's words, wiping away tears as she had spent years trying to keep that part of her to herself. But earlier that evening, in the presence of her crewmates that she now considered friends, she talked openly about her past and her Romulan heritage and met nothing but interest and compassion. None of the scorn or derision that she found at the academy. For the first time since she was a child and had no frame of reference to believe otherwise, she didn't feel ashamed of where she came from. If only for this moment, it would be enough.

Wiping her face dry and hoping her eyes were too puffy from crying, Melanie composed herself and held the PaDD up higher towards her as she pressed a button on the screen. "Record return correspondence. Dox, Melanie. Lieutenant Junior Grade." With a light chirp, the PaDD responded. "Begin Recording, Lieutenant."

"Jolan tru, Mother. While I can't go into details, something pretty... amazing has happened. And I think I'm... happy."