Going Home - It goes on.

Posted on Thu Sep 2nd, 2021 @ 4:09am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Remal Kajun

Mission: Gamma Quadrant
Location: Bajor
Timeline: BACKPOST

He chuckled slightly, "those windows get any larger and the village across the lake will see your naked butt in the morning. "

“Care factor, zero” Rhenora retorted with a laugh as the cabin came into view. The south wall was well on the way to completion, and served to be a feature of the building. Timber interlaid with local stone to provide a striking natural beauty that nestled into and complimented the local landscape. The other walls would be simpler construction and therefore quicker to build. “Besides, there are things known as blinds, we are installing blinds right??”

“Who would put blinds on a view like that?” He said while placing his fingers in a box shape and aiming it at the beach, then swinging lower until her bottom ended up in the little window of his hands. Their playful time was almost over as they turned up the walk and into the chaos of the construction site.

“ Hey!, no framing my backside” She swatted at his hand as they continued to walk, the noise of the construction now overpowering the sound of the waves.

“It is worth framing, you know.” He couldn’t help but to smile as he dusted off the worries and pent up pensive nature given to him by T’Givishite’s speech in the village and picked up a large hammer. There was no time for looking back, not when there was a wall to be built, and a home to be created.

“ The south wall looks good - did you pick the stone?” She asked as they entered the work site, the sound of hammers and saws almost deafening.

He stopped hammering long enough to answer, “For the most part. I told them the style we were looking for and suggested they splash in some of their own good judgement. It’s all local, from a quarry West of here, most of it a selection of river wash I believe.” He pointed to a trowel, “Hand me that will you?”

She turned and found the trowel, dipping it into the bucket of locally made mud mortar before handing it to her husband, pausing midway to sneeze.

“ I’m sick of the sneezes already” She grumbled as she arranged the stones in what she hoped was a tasteful pattern. Truth be told, design was more Remal’s flair than her own. Command a starship in the heat of battle and make the tough calls - yes, choose which rock goes where in a wall - nup.

He listened. He sympathized, it was all that he could do other than understand. He also blamed himself a little for being a participating party in the cause of her sneezes. Maintaining a flow of work and conversation, an hour passed, then two, then three. When his stomach growled louder than the hammering, all he could do was look at his bride and smile. It was time to rustle up some food.

The smell of a fire being started drew their attention, followed by the smell of cooking food and easy conversation - it appeared it was knock off time and the workers were starting to prepare their evening meal, kick back and relax a little in the late afternoon sun.

“ Sounds like dinner is on the way - are you going to take charge or see what they come up with?” Rhenora asked as she dusted off her hands and watched the fine particles get caught in the eddies of the air around them.

He placed one last stone on the wall, scraped away the mud pack and then stepped back to look at their work. It was good. The windows were large and the beach beyond was amazing. He wrapped his arm around her, placing a dirty hand on her right butt cheek. “I’m on leave. I think they’ve got a sense of what they are doing enough for me to just be able to relax for once, don’t you?”

“ That depends on how your taste buds are travelling” She laughed, trying to dust the wet mud from her backside “ Then again they could be gourmet chef’s masquerading as builders” She ambled outside, stretching in the late afternoon sun and heading towards the fire.

He frowned, “On that note.” As they moved towards the fire, he moved over to the food and began to sniff and add his own touches to the dishes. Most of the food had been prepared by local men and women, but that didn’t mean it was ‘well prepared’. But it was welcome. As he prepared a side dish he could hear the sound of children laughing and playing nearby.

“ I could get used to this, a day of manual labour, dinner by the fire, the sound of children” She sighed in contentment, dropping down onto one of the long logs that served as chairs “ My body however requires more encouragement on the manual labour side” The smell wafted from the pots and pans suspended over and buried in the coals, the scent intermixing with the tendrils of smoke that lazily rose from the crackling fire. It was a much simpler way of life - perhaps that is what she truly craved.

Cold drink in hand, he offered her one of her own before slinking back onto a log next to her. “It is a nice slow pace, and perhaps one could get used to it. But not just yet, at least not for my wife. There are too many stars yet untouched, too many lives that would go unenriched. Too many cultures yet to get pissed off.” He joked.

“ Hey!” She laughed, accepting a drink that someone pressed into her hand. “ I don’t piss off every culture that we meet… SOME even LIKE me!”

“Some.?” He chuckled. “In truth, this could be us, these could be our people someday.” He let out a small sigh. “But right now it appears not even this peace is meant to last. There is too much division among our people and I fear they are only going to keep growing until sparks fly.”

“ Until someone unifies them to a common cause, a common belief. The Government has a lot to answer for - but they have been fractured since the occupation, weak and leaderless. The Vedek Assembly has been the same since the passing of Kia Opaka. The people are leaderless, and are searching for someone or something they can trust to provide hope. If we are not careful - T’Givishite may be that person.” Her words became sombre again as though she wanted to be that person yet wasn’t up for the responsibility of the job.

Counselor that he was, he could hear the sorrow and the desire within her voice. “Perhaps who they really need is an Emissary who communes with the Prophets on the regular. Or maybe, just a couple who love one another and who only want what is right for their people.” He poked the fire. “Anyway, I informed the others we would be leaving at dawn and that we appreciated their hard work on the cabin.”

TBC