Love Is a Peculiar Thing Part 1/3

Posted on Wed Feb 6th, 2019 @ 12:40am by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Asa Dael

Mission: Earthly Visitation
Location: Madagascar
Timeline: Shore Leave

Birdsong had never held much appeal to Lieutenant Junior Grade Asa Dael, but somehow while dreaming lazily on Itafy beach in Madagascar, Asa understood the appeal.

The cloudless sky was azure blue, reflecting off the navy blue and emerald green waters of the beach, and schools of colorful tropical fish swam gracefully in the coral reef just off the coastline. Fishing boats could be seen at the edge of the horizon, and gently swaying trees lined the beach area, providing shade where the sand met the land. A food and drink vendor walked up and down the beach, stopping by umbrella’s and towels to provide refreshment to guests resting a comfortable distance from one another. The world felt at peace, and in this moment, Asa understood the appeal of restfulness instead of their usual manic energy.

The last mission on the USS Hera had been a harrowing one, and the emotional toll it took on the doctor was high. They had lost six crew members, narrowly escaping the same fate by a combination of luck and teamwork. Now the salt in the air was not from tears, but the scent of the sea, and Asa allowed themself to forget about their woes for now.

After finishing off a particularly strong daiquiri, Asa stood, brushing the sand off their baggy board short and tank top combo. Their pale skin looked luminous reflecting in the sunlight, and the all black ensemble the doctor was wearing was not helping. The contrast between light and dark was a bit jarring, and made the doctor look even paler than usual. Combined with their frail physique, one could be forgiven for thinking Asa was here for medical recovery of some kind. But then again, perhaps they were…after a fashion.

Walking towards the beach, Asa felt like eyes were on them. By no means was Asa a master of situational awareness, but a few outings under fire had taught the young El-Aurian to trust their instincts. Turning to face the shore, they saw a young human man openly staring. He winked and motioned the doctor over. Curiosity piqued, Asa joined him at the food stand he was loitering at.

“Um, hi. Can I help you?” they inquired.

“It’s not every day we see someone as…..unique…..as you. I’m guessing you aren’t human….so, what’s your story?” the unknown man asked.

He was good looking in a casual kind of way. Sun darkened skin with a smattering of freckles, light brown hair with striking blue eyes, muscles that were obviously for show and not utility. He reminded Asa vaguely of the athletes from the Academy, or the security recruits. He was the type of person that most of the medical students would have called a jock.

“I’m El-Aurian,” Asa replied primly, feeling a bit off put by the man’s demeanor. They were waiting for the inevitable jokes about their pale skin, their lack of musculature, their lack of gender, or their general personage. The jocks they had worked with before always went straight to that…Well, hopefully once they grew up that changed.

“Oh, I’ve never met an El-Aurian before,” he replied, interest shining in his eyes. “My name’s Jake by the way, what’s yours?

“Asa,” they replied, “Um, nice to meet you.”

Jake moved closer to Asa, bumping against their shoulder and looking them up and down. His pupils seemed to be dilated- but that made no sense as he was not in too much shade or too much light. He reached down and plucked Asa’s right hand, as if to force a handshake, but instead brought the hand to his lips, pressing an unwanted kiss on the doctor’s skin.

Trying to suppress a cringe, Asa withdrew their hand quickly and surreptitiously wiped it on their shorts. “Well Jake, it’s been nice to meet you, but I think it’s time I go for a swim, Catch you later!” they called, quickly jogging off and out of site.

Creepy much? Plus that’s just an absolutely fantastic way to spread germs. Hope he doesn’t have Alusian fever with eyes like that…” Asa thought to themself while diving into the vivid blue water.

The doctor had always been a strong swimmer, brought by spending hot summer days growing up swimming in the rivers as a way to cool off. The waves were steady and manageable, and the doctor found themself exploring the area and ranging a bit further afield than they meant to. Just as Asa was considering it might be time to turn back they caught sight of a small inlet along the shore line leading to a picturesque grotto.

About half the interior was filled with shallow water, decreasing in depth up to a sandy shore with a smattering of grass at the rear. The stone cave was filled with a canopy of bioluminescent blue and purple vines growing up along the domed interior of the grotto, and small glowing plants filled the interior of the cave as they floated gently in the water and grew from rocks in the grass. The glow gave the grotto an other-worldly underwater appearance, uniquely beautiful and unlike anything Asa had seen before.

They paddled to the shore and rested half in-half out of the water, enjoying this moment of peace. The waves gently lapped Asa’s body and they felt the force of the ocean to cause a slight sway as they sat on their still submerged knees. The gullsong was the only company Asa was aware of until a jade green mist wafted from the rear of the grotto.

Inquisitively Asa turned to look at the mist, noticing it was swirling in on itself forming a beautiful sphere, now more emerald in appearance as it increased in density. The sphere flattened itself to a circle, and the outer rim along the circle darkened uniformly to a deep navy blue. Then the navy shifted to bisect the circle at a point starting at the center of the circle, disappeared, and then reappeared as a duplicate of the same half-diameter line. Then, as the emerald green dispersed to form a jade cloud, the navy blue line broke into three large segments and one segment slightly over 1/10th the size of one of the lines. After a moment the navy lines dispersed into the jade cloud, which reformed itself as an emerald swirling sphere.

The visuals had been simple but beautiful, and it took a moment for Asa to snap out of their reflection and realize what they had been shown.

“Pi! Of course!” the doctor exclaimed, realizing as they spoke that the being they spoke to was not only sentient, but knowledgeable about mathematics also.

Tentatively, Asa waived at the sphere and said in a sheepish tone, “Um, hi there. I’m Asa, nice to meet you. I like your sphere. It’s a very pretty shade of green.”

In response the sphere swirled a bit faster for a moment, then drifted closer to Asa. As it reached the doctors resting formed it began to form a tendril that reached out towards the El-Aurian tentatively, stopping just short of touching them, as if asking permission. Asa thought about telling the sphere to go ahead, but then realized that they had no way of knowing if they were understood. So instead, Asa reached out with one hand towards the whirling emerald sphere, showing them by action that touch is welcome.

Still moving slowly, as if allowing the young doctor a chance to move away if desired, the gaseous form moved towards Asa, eventually brushing against their fingertips and moving to surround the doctor’s arm, shoulders and head. The doctor sensed that perhaps the being needed to surround the form of whomever they were near in order to establish contact, and Asa obliged by moving out of the water onto the shore of the grotto. Once they were fully out of the water, the green sphere moved to envelop Asa’s form, creating a tickling sensation as the gas swirled.

A pressure was felt inside Dael’s head and they realized that the being was attempting to communicate to them directly. Walls they were not aware they had erected inside their mind fell at a thought, and Asa thought enthusiastically, “Hi there! I’m Asa…you getting this?”

The feeling of mirth and happiness they received in response was an immediate affirmative, then Asa received sensations of greeting and well wishes, a sense of benign intent, and feeling as if questioning if their communication method was acceptable.

Sure, this is fine, but I admit I’m a bit new at this. I tend to think in words, I’m guessing you don’t?

The sensation shifted to one of thoughtfulness, then as if summoned from a great distance, the impression of words began to form in Asa’s mind, I can, but it has been ages. Greetings Asa, I can be known as Viridi. That is what they called me when I was last on this planet. But you are not from here, I feel the universe in you, a touch of something…outside. Different. What is this?

The question felt genuine and curious, not as a judgement, but an honest inquiry to understand a mystery. Asa moved to sit on a nearby stump and Viridi moved with them, causing Asa to measure their steps more than usual to avoid a misstep. Once seated, Asa replied, I’m nothing special. Just an El-Aurian who has been given a bast from a goddess and made a pact with Death They then thought of an image of winking along with the sound of laughter and feeling of joviality to convey that although the statement was true, it was said with laughter, not bitterness.

This is new to me. I have not seen any life forms like you before. You are new, and for one as old as I, new is beautiful. Viridi responded.

You are new to me too, Asa thought, The people I serve with, Starfleet, they have encountered beings that looked to them as you do to me, but almost always in the depths of space. You said you have been here before? Where is home to you?

Instead of a response in words, Asa felt a sensation of great distance, a feeling of Nebula’s whizzing by on their skin, the eddies of a whirling gas giant enveloping their body, heat beyond what organic life could withstand- but not uncomfortable heat. To Asa the felt as if a warm embrace, it felt familiar, welcoming….it felt like home. They had the impression of a binary star system the planet was orbiting, creating a peculiar orbit as the planet was drawn to two equal gravity sources who were locked in their own dance.

They saw the growth of a rocky planet nearer the stars, a planet much cooler and rich in vegetation, liquid water, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon based life. Asa watched as the beings on the gas giant as they detected the growing civilization on the rocky planet. The gaseous beings ventured forth and allowed the unseen eddies of energy in their star system to draw them closer to the rocky world, and they floated down through the atmosphere and began to interact with the new life forms. The gaseous beings swirled with curiosity and joy, and Asa felt their excitement at confirmation they were not the only life in the universe. The doctor felt the glee as the Malleable Ones (as the beings on the rocky planet called them) learned to make touch-telepathic contact to share their minds and knowledge with the Little Ones (as the Malleables thought of them).

For a time there was peace. The two sentient species learned from each other, and the Malleables marveled at the flora and fauna of the rocky world. The Little Ones built rudimentary star ships to travel to the gas giant and see the whirls of energy and storms of sentience that raged there for as long as could be remembered. Both grew from one another….until the Little Ones became jealous of the Malleables. Jealous of their immortal life span, jealous of their ability to travel through the vacuum of space unaided, jealous of their lack of sickness, and jealous of what they perceived to be an imbalance of power.

Prophets and Kings rose up in the Little Ones, the Malleables were exiled back to their own planet, where they began to search for other life to learn from. Then one day, the air ignited. Burning in a horrendous blue fire, the nurturing gases and enzymes of the Malleables planet were all stripped away, leaving a dissipating ball of gas and a few living Malleables, now adrift in open space fleeing from the spaceships of the Little Ones, still armed with the killing weapons that had destroyed their world.

Asa felt Virildi’s sadness as they fled their home system, followed by many long years traveling formlessly through the vacuum, stopping by planets when they found them to explore and search for life. There was a sensation of contentment as Virildi rested on some inhabited planets, observing but very rarely interacting with the life already there. They watched as their new friend hitched a ride unseen on countless starships, and saw them travel to Earth three years ago. Virildi had been to Earth before in a long bygone era and had been curious to see what the little hairless apes were up to. Surprised to find Earth the heart of the Federation, they observed the comings and goings of other races, and decided they found a place to rest for a while again. After finding a quiet grotto with an interesting coral reef and abundant life nearby, Virildi had been residing in a crack in the rock face of the cave when Asa came swimming in.

Taken aback at the unexpected depth of answer, Asa replied, I’m…I’m sorry you went through all that. That you have lost so much. If I may ask….why did you chose to speak with me? I would have never known you were there…

There was a brief pause, then the words formed in Asa’s mind, Because you are like me. Alone. Unique. Neither of us has a world anymore. I saw you were like me, and I missed speaking with others.

The emotion this sentiment evoked in Asa was instantaneous. They felt sorrow for what they were both missing, but also joy that they could share this beautiful place and time together. Attempting to communicate with Virildi in the same way the other was accustomed to, Asa sent across images of dancing and happiness, followed by a questioning feeling, as if to convey, “Wanna dance?”

The joy received in response was full of mirth and surprise. You are the first to have this reaction. I have never danced before. I would very much like to dance with you Doctor Asa Dael.

Permission having been given, Asa started humming a random series of notes as they came to mind, and stomping out a beat of three for an old time waltz. The overall effect was one of an El-Aurian religious chant being performed by an 1800’s Earth composer, but it suited Asa’s purposes just fine. They raised their arms up and felt Virildi swirl beneath them, caressing their arms and legs as they moved together in time. Asa took swirling steps in a circular pattern and waived their arms about haphazardly; Virildi picked up the beat and began swirling up and down Asa’s body in time. To anyone who did not know what they were seeing it would have looked as if some unseen hand was moving diaphanous cloth over the doctor’s form as they danced. The entire affair was vaguely hypnotic to Asa, only ruined by taking one misstep and tumbling into the wet sand, where they continued to stagger until sitting down awkwardly in knee-high water.

Virildi had not disconnected at the stagger though, and now hovered enclosing the doctor’s head and shoulders. The sensation in Asa’s mind felt akin to kindly laughter and enjoyment of the dance being completed. They felt their ears turn bright red in embarrassment, when suddenly a thought occurred,

Wait, do you not need to be surrounding me in order to communicate? Asa inquired.

No, Asa Dael. Only to make the first contact. Now as long as a few of my molecules are touching you, we can sustain contact. It was very nice to be touched though as we danced. It has been many long years since I knew the feel of other sentient beings molecules entwined in mine. was the response.

The loneliness behind the statement was palpable, and Asa reached up to run their hand through Virildi slowly, as if stroking their back gently in response. Asa had never felt such an immediate feeling of kinship with another being, but there was something so beautiful about Virildi. The way Virildi swirled was so gentle, so hypnotic, so….stunning. And the way they communicated not just with words but thoughts and emotions, completely unashamed and without holding back…Asa had never experienced a being so open with them….so will be to vulnerable. It was flattering and charmed the young doctor into responding in kind.

As long as I’m down here….wanna go for a swim? Asa sent the mental image of a playful wink combined with a loving caress.

I wish very much to share your experiences, Asa Dael Virildi responded.

Asa waded deeper into the water, making sure to keep a bit of their head above water at all times as Virildi maintained contact that way, and also provided a bit of sensory input with each breath Asa took. They were about to start doggy paddling back towards shore to offer Virildi an evening enjoying a stroll through the famous Avenue of the Barabos Trees when there was the sound of an approaching boat.


“That’s odd,” Asa said aloud. One of the reasons they had swum in this direction was the area was closed off to aquatic thoroughfare outside of swimming. The birds shared their alarm and the fish sharing the grotto with them took off quickly in the opposite direction. Wanting to be on steady ground, Asa began to go back towards shore when a small craft raced in and Asa felt themself being physical hauled into a boat. Virildi signaled anger and surprise combined with a bit of fear, but did not make contact. As if realizing that Asa could draw strength from them, the gentle gas sent calming thoughts and feelings of solidarity through their mental contact.

Once the spinning in their head stopped Asa turned to look at the man piloting the boat.

It was Jake.

He was still smiling, but his smile looked predatory now. Three other men were on the boat, one moved to hold Asa still while the other two jumped into the water and went ashore, clearing the area in much the same way Asa had seen security personnel perform the task serving on the Hera.

“What the hell is going on?!” Asa cried, angry at being manhandled and confused as to why.

Looking down at them, Jake’s smile widened to show more teeth. His voice rasped harshly as he said, “Well well well, what have we here? I came here to pick up one specimen, and I have two? The Curator will be so happy.”

Asa did not know what, or who, The Curator was, but the capital letters were clearly pronounced by Jake, and the doctor was certain they did not want to find out. Virildi sent across a quick flash of reassurance, and a promise to return, and began to pull away from Asa to seek a way out.

Virildi was fast…but Jake had been expecting this. He drew a vacuum hose out from his boat and flipped a switch, causing immediate strong suction. Asa watched in horror as their swirling green friend was sucked into a small pressurized container similar to those used to store hazardous materials in a lab. A light on the top of the container turned from red to green, indicating it was in use, and Jake disconnected the hose before directing the two grunts to carry it aboard.

“How dare you!” Asa screamed, moving to kick and punch and bit whatever-or whoever- they could get their hands on. “Let us go!”

Those words spoken, Asa realized Jake had not come for them. No one casually traveled with a vacuum container to capture a sentient shade of green- this crew had been here for Virildi.

Asa’s struggle was brief- they weren’t the strongest individual, and these were trained operatives. The two men that had gone ashore having secured Virldi tied Asa’s feet securely and locked their wrists behind their back. Sensing movement would only hurt, the doctor collapsed like a lump in the bottom of the boat.

“There, that’s more like it,” Jake replied, reaching down to pat their head condescendingly.

“Why are you doing this?” Asa asked, their voice tinged with fury and fear.

“The most important three little words in the galaxy, my dear,” he replied, “Gold. Pressed. Latinum.”