The Absence of Sound

Posted on Wed Apr 20th, 2022 @ 2:22pm by Lieutenant Commander Tiandith 'Tia' Tobru

852 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 4 - The Fires Of Hades
Location: Temporary Quarters, DS21

It was almost a forgotten noise, or lack thereof.

The silence.

Tia had stepped inside the quarters she had been assigned by station security, apparently she was to be kept under watch as she noted the yellow uniforms outside her door. If not security then the operations team were super efficient in waiting for things to break so they could spring into action at a moment's notice.

Still as the doors closed and the absence of noise filled her ears she closed her eyes. Lost in that moment she could feel nothing, nor hear nor see anything. It was a simple void, dark and peaceful. What she hadn’t realised is that she was holding her breath. The quick realisation by her body caused her to quickly inhale and force her eyes open to greet the blank canvas of Starfleet design.

The air was a bit musty, like no-one had set foot in there for a while. As the lighting attempted to show some life in the room little glimmers of dust could be seen to twirl and dance in the air. Were they trying to escape too? Maybe they just liked to dance… It had been a while since Tia had.

Tia sighed and took off her long red leather jacket. She had dropped the holoprojected uniform when in the infirmary. At that point the facade had long since faded and there was no sense in ‘keeping up appearances’. For a moment though, it was nice to wear a Starfleet uniform again, even if the collar still felt a little stiff.

Running her fingers through her hair she noted it was a little tuggy. Tapping the bracelet on her arm it created a brush that she used to straighten herself out with. With a little grimace here and there, some elbow grease and effort she managed to get her hair into a respectable state and tied it up in a long ponytail. Looking back down at the bracelet the brush disappeared.

She loved her holo-bracelet. A fine piece of El Aurian engineering. It was linked to her mind, anything could materialise in moments, within reason, that could help her in minor tasks that needed quick tools at hand.

For the moment she moved to the replicator and requested a drink, a vodka with one ice cube. As she took a sip she winced.

“Computer…” she sighed. “Is this synthahol?”

“That is correct. Alcohol is not permitted from the replication system.” The rather chirpy voice reported. Tia hadn’t realised how much she had actually missed her soft tone of voice.

However Tia simply nodded and placed the glass onto the table. She had forgotten what synthahol had tasted like right up until that moment. She had gotten used to drinking what would be best described as warp coolant, or old fashioned ‘rocket fuel’.

But boy, Marshall’s moonshine sure did get you out of your own head when you needed it. She missed Marshall… She missed a lot of people. The traitor of her cell, Bovali, made sure the Dominion knew exactly where they were. So many people lost that day…

Shaking her head from her depressing thoughts she looked to the window, even the stars looked brighter. Almost as if the lack of oppressive rule made them shine with a renewed vigor and life. There was almost a flicker of a smile as she turned to see a desk across from the seating area.

Moving across she sat down at the desk and placed her hands upon it. A small red triangle came up indicating she did not have access to more restricted material, but she wouldn’t let a little thing like that stop her. Tia simply removed a ‘charm’ from her bracelet and placed it down on the desk and with a quick whirl of information she had access to what she wanted.

Starfleet record for Major Hycis Tobru, Tia’s daughter.

From what she could see her daughter had led an honourable and illustrious career so far. Decorated during the Dominion War. She had married a Human, a Commander Kirel, and they have two twin boys, one called Lukali after her father and the other Jacob.

For a moment she stared at those names, she was a grandmother. Well… technically this universe Tia was, she wasn’t too sure what she was just yet. What would happen if she reached out for the hand of her lost daughter?

No… not now, not yet. If she could get home to her universe she should at least try. Although the thought of staying in a universe that wasn't a totalitarian nightmare did have its positives. A warm bed, nice supply of food and medical supplies, not having to look over your shoulder in every port, and most definitely the loom of Dominion death everywhere.

Tia sighed and closed the information down.

She needed rest, it had been a long and trying day just on the station. The last few decades had been much of the same and the bed next door looked very welcoming.

Maybe just a few winks…

 

RSS Feed