People Left Behind

Posted on Sun Feb 3rd, 2019 @ 7:47pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Commander Rita Paris

Mission: Earthly Visitation
Location: Earth, Loudonville, Ohio
Timeline: 2396

As Mnhei'sahe Dox had taken her old hoverbike out for a spin to relive old times and the only freedom she had likely ever felt living in a small town on earth, her friend Rita Paris was left behind, pawing through the storage boxes and bins that were the life’s collection of her grandparents, Shawn and Juliet Dox. As their only son was in prison, their daughter in law estranged and unavailable, the dispensation of their worldly goods had fallen to their granddaughter to manage, who had simply had it all shoved into storage.

Thus while Mnhai'sahe was feeling the wind on her face, Rita Paris was exploring the past.

The pieces of a life are odd things to wander through, a menagerie of possessions that tell tales about their owners, yet gave an incomplete picture without context. A carved wooden skee-ball was in one box, but why it was there was beyond the stranger to their lives. A very old lamp with a heavy stained glass shade was in one box, which was no antique Tiffany lamp, but was clearly a family heirloom as it would have been old in Rita’s day. A sailing ship in a bottle was a novelty that she had set aside, planning to ask Dox if she could have it, as she thought it would make a sweet gift for the piratical Baroness. A leopard print coffee cup with a small sculpted leopard looking up from inside the cup would make a nice gift for the spotted captain. An antique camera might make a nice gift for Thex.

Feeling guilty, Rita realized she was shopping for her friends and shipmates while going through family heirlooms of the Dox family, and she felt a bit sheepish.

After a short while, the drone of the hoverbike engine thumped closer as Dox brought it to a stop near the open door to the storage unit. Pulling the helmet off and sitting it over the handlebars, the red-headed part-Romulan woman was still a windblown mess. "If you want to take her for a spin, she's all yours, Rita."

Then Dox paused, noticing Rita seemed a little off as she went through the boxes. "Are... are you okay?"

Looking up suddenly, it was clear that the girl anachronism had been lost in reverie as she put down the family quilt she had been holding. Mnhei'sahe knew that look- it was the look Rita tended to get when she considered her past, and all that she had lost when catapulted from the past to the modern day, 130 years out of time. While most of the time she casually referenced it or occasionally she might make a very dated reference, her chronological confusion seldom reared its head unless it was a moment of her simply being thoroughly ignorant of a modern event or technology, which she tended to take in stride. Now, poking through old boxes of her grandparent’s junk, something had set Rita’s ‘wayback machine’ as she sometimes jokingly referred to her moments of getting lost in the past.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m… fine. I’m okay,” Paris smiled, but it was clear that her cheeks were still wet from tears and her eyes looked a bit red. It might have been from the dust, but it was unlikely.

Tilting her head to the side, Dox ached an eyebrow towards her friend that said 'really?' She stepped in next to Rita and leaned against the box. "Now, you wouldn't let me get away with that, so talk to me. I know that look."

"Oh do you now?" Cocking an eyebrow to look down at the shorter woman, the pretty pilot smirked. “I see my lessons have come back to bite me on the rear,” Rita joked, then she pulled a sculpture of a fireman out of the box, hefting it thoughtfully in her hands.

“When they put me back together the first time, Starfleet Psych took my case because I was a wreck. Part of my therapy in learning how to stay connected to the physical world was possessions. The doctors advised me to surround myself with objects that made me happy, that reminded me of good times, good friends, good experiences. Also, having a lot of luggage made it easier for me to beg off transporting and take a shuttle. Which worked great until I lost everything again, and I find myself starting over again.”

“Except now I have no ties to my past- it isn’t my past, I’m not from this reality. Rita Paris’ story from this reality is not my story, and even if it was, none of her things were my things, and they were 130 years in the past. So what I am trying to say, in my own maudlin and long-winded way, is that looking through your grandparent’s things, I find little pieces of Earth that I recognize, that are a touchstone to my home. It just… it makes me a little sad, that’s all.” Making eye contact once more, Paris smiled.

“But enough about the old lady problems. How was your bike, how was the ride, seeing the old town again?” Deftly Rita changed course, as she so often did- an intuitive navigator at heart.

Being a pilot herself, however, Dox decided to steer the proverbial ship back around. "It was great. As good as I remembered. But what about this stuff," Dox picked up a commemorative plate with a painting of the Golden Gate bridge on it.

"Sure, they aren't from your life either, but they sure seem to be evoking memories. Feelings, at least. And I've got a lot of people telling me how it's good for me to explore those feelings rather than changing the subject." Then she smiled warmly up at her time-tossed friend. "No uniforms, just us Rita. Talk to me.”

“It’s stupid and petty,” Paris sighed. “I just… I see all this old junk, and they are all ties to your life, your origins, your roots, and… I’m a little jealous, you know? You have roots you don’t want, and looking through and seeing all of this,” Rita picked up souvenir magnet advertising ‘Scenic Sheboygan!’ and sighed. “I look through it all and see treasures, lost artifacts of the past that are still forty, fifty, sixty years after my time. And you don’t want any of it- to you they are just bad memories and crap that you want nothing to do with. But I’d kill to have a storage unit full of junk like this. I was going through picking out pieces that would make nice gifts for our friends, and… yeah. Like I said, it’s stupid and petty.”

Sighing, Dox's eyes dipped slightly. "It's not that I don't want it. It's more that... Ive just been afraid to try and reconnect with it until recently. Afraid to try and look back through fresh eyes at the..." Dox paused as she thought, then looked back at Rita. "At the mistakes I've made. But I got some good advice lately that it's not too late for me to find a positive connection."

"Looking at you with this stuff, I think I know one way I can do that." Dox pulled out a framed photo of her Grandparents from when they were younger. "This was a family I pushed away. But now I have a new family... And I want to share this with..."

Putting the picture down, the young part-Romulan that was also Part-Human felt her throat choke up slightly. "I want to share this with that family. With you."

Reaching over, Rita wrapped her arm around the shoulders of the renegade Romulan and squeezed a bit. “Thanks, Mnhei’sahe. I do have a family now, so I guess I am sinking down roots, right? I toldya it was petty and selfish,” Paris sighed. “Sometimes I forget how good I have it in the present because I get fixated on what I lost in the past. I suspect a counselor would tell me that’s not healthy…”

Returning the hug, the shorter young redhead chuckled. "We actually have a pretty good one of those now, ya' know."

Then she leaned back a bit to look back up at Rita. "But I'm serious. When I was out there riding, I thought about it. And I decided, this is all coming back to the ship. If my father wants it, he can come find me on my amazing, classified Starship and ask nice before I tell him no."

The red-headed Romulan let out a slight chuckle. "And Apparently I'm getting my own pirate ship, of all things, that I can store this all with while we go through it. But I say 'we' because, well, this belonged to my family. That's you now. If there's anything in here that puts a smile on your face for any reason, it's yours. Keep it, gift it, whatever you think feels right."

Dox stepped back, looking at the boxes and wiping a tear from her cheek. "These things didn't mean anything to me when they should have. I want them to mean something. Now they can."

“That's... really very kind of you, Dox. Thank you," Paris choked up a bit herself, then like the intuitive navigator she was, turned on a dime. "Private pirate ship you say? Well, Cap’n told me the night I came board I could always get a captaincy in the Artan fleet. Looks like she wasn’t kidding. Congratulations!” she grinned at Dox, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “Seriously…. That’s very sweet of you, and… thanks. I’m not about to go bothering my not-descendants and stirring that up, so… this is... it's very sweet, and I appreciate it. You're a good friend to me, Miss Dox, and I do appreciate it more than you know."

Gently picking up the ship in a bottle, she showed it to Mnhei'sahe, “See? You just know the Baroness would love this, and she’s probably never seen anything like it before."

Smiling, Dox nodded briskly. "Absolutely. It's perfect. I think she'll love it too." Then the Redheaded Romulan tilted her head slightly as she switched back for a moment to the earlier mention of her impending Pirate ship.

"Did you not know about the ship? I guess I just assumed the Captain mentioned it or something. I didn't really know how to file a report on being declared a Pirate Baroness."

That started her, and Rita made a confused face at Dox. "Ahhh, no, not in my briefing. I guess I'm fleet business, that's pirate business, so... the Baroness. Right, no, she didn't mention and I didn't know..." Those fine features contorted into a bit of a frown.

"I'm happy for you, just make sure that you never arrive at divided loyalties. Since the pirates are considered privateers by the Federation, apparently they are okay with it- which means that being Starfleet and being a pirate should be easily accommodated, as neither is in conflict with the other. But when you are on pirate business you are still held accountable as a Starfleet officer, and I'd wager visa-versa. So enjoy yourself, and I suspect you will have some epic adventures, just always keep one eye to that point, if you will." At that, Rita rolled her eyes.

"See? This is the part that I suck at. Turning it off. We're on vacation, you tell me some awesome good news and I lecture you about minding responsibility conflicts. I am going to talk my kids to death someday. I'm sorry- I'm happy for you, congratulations on your barony, Baroness Dox, which apparently comes with a sweet ride, gimme five!" Paris held up her hand with her open palm toward Dox.

Awkwardly, Dox returned the high five with an crooked grin. "Yeah. Its... It's super weird. And as for your concerns, rest assured that I share the hell out of them, and I know which way my arrow points." She pulled back her jacket to her Starfleet Comm Badge hidden under it.

"Well said, Miss Dox, well said." Pulling a Viewmaster out of a box, she held it up to her eyes and peered through it. "I'm glad I came on this trip. Thanks for inviting me along. This is fun."

As they talked, the two continued to pull various items out of the different boxes. Passing each piece along, some were set aside that Mnhei'sahe had fond memories of. One, a large patchwork quilt and another a set of photographs of her grandparents. But most were items that would go to the members of her new family on the Hera.

The Starfleet girl born and bred in San Fransisco claimed the plate with the painting of the Golden Gate bridge excitedly along with a box worth of items that all evoked smiles and warm feeling. An old pair of boxing gloves, a series of landscape images in simple wooden frames. A ghostly child's toy that was a squishy stress ball shaded an odd off-green color that she excitedly pointed out glowed in the dark with bioluminescence, which was apparently miraculous to the throwback earthling.

As the day passed into the afternoon, the two laughed and talked until the boxes were resorted, repacked and tagged for transport later. Replacing the hoverbike inside, Mnhei'sahe closed and locked the large metal door as the two stood outside.

"Okay, so there's a human tradition. When we die, many still prefer to be buried in the earth. From it we spring and to it we return, kind of a circle of life. The place where you're buried, they place a marker to commemorate you. So that people can come and connect with you, where your mortal remains lie buried in the earth. Look, I didn't come up with all of this, I just report it. Thing is, that whole having a one-sided conversation with a tombstone- that's what the marker is called- I always found it kind of soothing."

"If you'd like to try it... it's called visiting," Rita explained. Shaking her head because somehow she never expected to be standing in Ohio explaining human grief therapy to a Romulan shipmate. The easygoing earthling held out a small PaDD with a map on it.

"Dox, would you like to go visit your grandparents?"

Looking at the PaDD in Rita's hand, Dox froze for what felt like forever. Slowly, she reached her hand out and took it. In her mind, she could her the voice of Baroness Schwein Von Alcott from a few weeks ago back on the Hera. When Dox had discovered that the literal embodiment of Death was on board and had a message for the conflicted young woman.

It was a message Schwein conveyed about her Grandparents that said, 'there's still time to do right by them if you just know where to look.'

Looking at the PaDD, tears welled up in her eyes. "Y... yes I would."

"Awwwww," Rita blubbered and enveloped the smaller woman in a bosomy hug. "It's okay. Shhh, it's okay. I'll drive."



Pioneer Cemetery was located north of Loudonville, on County Road 175. It was an unremarkable patch of gently sloped terrain, with a collection of stone carvings rising up to varying heights, none higher than the hip. Names and legends were carved into the smooth faces of the primarily rectangular masonry. The Fedepedia Guide to Earth was surprisingly comprehensive, as the gravesites of Shawn and Juliet Dox were marked with coordinates, where they had been buried side by side with one grave marker for them both.

Stepping out of the shuttle, Rita peered into the late afternoon sun out at the graveyard. "Wow. Some things never change in the human condition. That's... that's comforting, really."

"I kinda think this is a mission you need to fly solo, Lieutenant," Paris said plainly. "I'll be over here. You take your time, go have yourself a real good one-way commcall to the afterlife, and you say whatcha gotta say."

"I'll be here when you're ready to go." With that, Paris stepped off into the field to admire the landscape, take in the sounds and the scents and the feel of the breath of the planet on her skin, because she was home.

Watching Rita walk off on her own, Dox turned back towards the tombstones of her grandparents. The conflicted half-Romulan, half-human woman stood there for what felt like yet another eternity, not knowing what to say or do. She had no idea if this was what Death was talking about regarding her still being able to make right with them, but it seemed like it at least couldn't hurt.

"H... hi." She whispered under her breath. "It's me. Mnh... Melanie, I guess. Or maybe you know everything from wherever you are with me changing my name and..." Dox rolled her eyes at herself. She was rambling, trying to talk to ghosts.

"Anyway, I... I wanted to come and see you. I wanted to try and talk to you if that makes any sense. I know that I was a... a pain in the ass. When Starfleet contacted you about me, you didn't even know that I existed at that point. He... my father... you hadn't spoken to him in years. You didn't know he married a Romulan woman or had a little girl with her. But you still opened up your home to a total stranger." The young pilot wiped a tear from her face as she spoke.

"I don't know if you're here... if you can hear me. But with everything I've seen since joining the Hera..." Pausing for a second, Dox actually smiled slightly as she let out a small laugh. "I guess I can actually talk about my assignment with you. Well, since joining the Hera, I've seen things and met beings that defy everything I ever thought could be real, so I guess it's not such a leap to hope you're here."

Taking a moment, Dox slowly sat down on the cool ground in front of the markers to continue. "I wanted to say... I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was so angry about everything in my life that I never stopped to appreciate you. I'm sorry that I never gave you a chance to be the grandparents you were trying so hard to be for me. I'm sorry that I pushed you away." She was openly crying now as she spoke. The words pushed out with a hoarse crackle.

"I've... I've made friends on the Hera. And they've..." Then Dox gestured over her shoulder to the direction Rita had walked off in. "She's been reminding me that I can be a Romulan and a human and that the two ideas don't have to fight each other. She's helping me try to be a better person. I wish you could have met her. I wish I could have met her when you were still here. Maybe things could have gone... maybe I wouldn't have ruined everything between us."

Taking a moment to collect herself, Dox looked around at the trees as late afternoon light dappled through the leaves. "I never appreciated how beautiful this place could be. And it's just something else I've got regrets about." She took a breath. "But I wanted to tell you that... that I don't want to let those regrets hold me back anymore. I want to remember you the way it should have been. I want to be the granddaughter you deserved when you were here."

She stood back up and pulled her jacket back so her Starfleet badge was visible. "I wear this everywhere I go. It... means something to me. I thought for a long time when I discovered that my given name was Mnhei'sahe. I decided to reclaim that part of me. But wherever I go in this universe, I will remain Mnhei'sahe DOX. And I will carry that name... that part of myself that you gave me for the rest of my life."

"I won't forget what you were for me even if I didn't let you be that when you were still here. Please know that no matter what, I know that you... that you loved me in spite of myself. And please know that even though I never knew how to say it then, I'm saying it now. I love you too. I love both of you."

Standing alone for a full five minutes, Mnhei'sahe Dox was quiet. Perhaps, waiting for some kind of a sign that what she said was heard. After a while, she smiled, allowing herself to believe it was heard just fine. Regardless, she turned to walk back to Rita Paris, who she saw across the field. Far enough away to give Dox her privacy, but close enough to Dox know she was still there. Sitting cross-legged, likely meditating, the local gal opened her eyes slowly when she heard the approach of her friend, and she turned to squint into the late afternoon sun.

"So how did your visit go?" Paris asked as she stood, her voice gentle, knowing how emotional such visitations could be. "Y'okay, Dox?"

"Yeah. I think I'm okay." Dox replied, wiping her cheeks dry. "At least... at least I will be. I don't... I don't know if they heard me, but I'd like to think so. I hope so."

Looking down at her first officer and friend that she thought of as a sister now, the little lieutenant smiled. "When I was here, they tried so hard to let me know that I wasn't alone. I wasn't ready to hear it back then. But I wanted to let them know that I understand what they were trying to tell me. I wanted to let them know that it was okay. That I wasn't alone anymore."

Looking back over her shoulder, across the field at the cemetery, Dox smiled as Rita rose smoothly from the ground and draped her arm over the young Romulan woman's shoulder.

At their graves she didn't feel alone, and she wasn't alone standing there now. In her heart, Dox suspected that she would never be alone again.

“C’mon, you,” Paris hugged the stout little pilot briefly, then began walking her back to the shuttle. “There’s another Earth tradition that goes with this one. You go visit, you say all the things you never got to say, you feel better and worse, and then you get ice cream. I saw Sonia has an old-fashioned ice cream parlor in town… how about we finish out this particular ritual the right way?”

Smiling, Mnhei'sahe let a slight laugh out. "You are both the expert and my tutor in all things Human. So who am I to argue with your wisdom?" She replied with an exaggeratedly formal manner.

That brought forth a chuckle from the Earth girl from so long ago and far away. “I dunno about expert, but I am a student of the human condition. And don’t kid yourself, Miss Dox- while I tutor you, I learn from you as well. We learn from one another, because that’s how Starfleet works. Our diversity is our strength. That’s a big part of why I’ve devoted my life to it- because it’s a mission I believe in.”

“Just like you.”