Home Again

Posted on Tue Mar 29th, 2022 @ 8:01pm by Ensign Jonaya Darik

Mission: *CD*
Location: Betazed
Timeline: The Recent Past

Home. It was a long time since Jonaya had been there and she was filled with mixed feelings. What should have been the carefree days of childhood, the memories of fun and friends, had been a time of more separation and loneliness than any child should have had to endure.

Of course there were many wonderful days; she was still loved and did have some friends, but when you're a psi null in a race of telepaths, it was easy to be left out.

It was summer on Betazed where her parents house was, the home where she grew up, and she was in the backyard, standing next to the in-ground swimming pool. She stared at the calm surface of the water that reflected the blue sky. It was like a symbol, reminding her of the contrast between what was and what could have been.

"Well, look who's here."

Jonaya turned at the sound of the familiar voice. She had been so deep in her reverie, she hadn't heard anyone coming.

"Mychal!" Jonaya ran over, throwing herself into him, his strong arms wrapping around her in a huge hug. "Okay, I can't breathe," she gasped.

Mychal let go and took a step back, his hands on the sides of her arms. "Look at you. My baby sister is all gussied up in her shiny Starfleet uniform."

Jonaya smiled.

"I really am proud of you," said Mychal. "You overcame a lot and it made you strong."

Jonaya's stomach fluttered and her eyes felt just a little bit wet. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"Though I don't know about you being in security and having to detain a drunk Klingon."

"You'd be surprised at what I learned." Jonaya held up her right hand, her index finger pointing upwards. "I know seventeen ways to kill you with just this one finger."

Mychal's hands dropped to his sides, his face showing he wasn't sure if he should believe her.

Jonaya chuckled. "So how are you? Have you asked Tiela to marry you yet? What's been happening? Tell me everything."

Mychal harrumphed. "I'm not the marrying kind."

Jonaya rolled her eyes. Her brother was tall, strong, and handsome. He never had a problem finding a girlfriend.

"Maybe you should be," said Jonaya, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "I don't see me giving Mom and Dad grandchildren any time soon."

Mychal took a slow step back, eyeing her finger.

"We'll see. Enough about me. How long can you stay?"

"I have a week of leave time. After that, I'm taking a transport to DS9 to meet the Sunfire."

"Then we won't waste even a minute of it," said Mychal. "I've already reached out to your friends. Bonfire tonight at the Tressia house. You can catch us up on your academy adventures."

Jonaya smiled. Lona Tressia had been her best friend for years. She stayed by Jonaya's side and never treated her like she was broken. It was sad leaving her the day Jonaya headed off to Earth.

"It really is great to be here," said Jonaya. "I know I visited during each summer break, but my last year was intense. There was the pressure to graduate and the competition to be on the list for a prime duty assignment was so heated, I just couldn't get away."

A mischievous smile spread across Mychal's face. "Maybe you need to cool off."

Before Jonaya figured out what her brother was doing, he had scooped her up in his arms, moving towards the pool.

"Mychal, no! I'm in my uniform. Please stop!"

"Welcome home, Sis!"

"You son of a..." Jonaya's words were lost as she splashed into the cool water, her brother's hysterical laughter the last thing she heard before she went under.