By Avery Breaux and Dane Cristiane
80317.3
During and After The Game
-=Bajoran Temple, San Francisco, California=-
80317.3
During and After The Game
-=Bajoran Temple, San Francisco, California=-
Kieran O'Sullivan was a man who did his homework. He'd managed to get them into the same city as Breaux, now it was just a matter of picking up the trail where it had momentarily gone cold.
As O'Sullivan scoured the local pubs and restaurants, Dane was told to stay here, blend in, and keep his eyes and ears open.
He had not been happy about the physical alterations to his appearance, but he supposed that if he were going to be any other being besides a human one, that Bajoran would likely have been the best choice.
Besides, given the Bajorans' history and passionate personalities, he figured that if he had to put on a show for anyone who may be involved with anyone in the Maquis, he'd have the best chance giving a command performance as a Bajoran.
Especially since he had a very good story all ready for them- about growing up in the child protection system, about how his parents had been murdered by Cardassians at the very end of the occupation just after his birth. It was a very convincing story, because it was all true.
It was just someone else's truth. With a few dates adjusted.
He never imagined when he'd had occasion to talk with Zanh Liis on the trip from the unstable space station in the Klingon outback all the way back to Earth and she'd told him a little of that history, that he would someday be ready to take it on, by her command, as his own.
As he entered the temple, he was approached by the attending Vedek.
"Welcome, my child," The old man said, instinctively reaching out for Dane's ear. Dane sidestepped the gesture gracefully, much to the surprise of the Vedek, worried that if the spiritual leader got a handful of cartilige he would proclaim for all to hear that Dane was a fraud and kick him to the curb.
The man was puzzled by Dane's action. "Do you seek guidance from the Prophets, child?"
"I seek. . .forgiveness." Dane blurted. He couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. *Where the hell did that come from?*
"The Prophets are wise, and loving. They will forgive us for all of our mistakes, if we but humbly ask Them and then strive to do Their will more fully." The man said. "Go. Pray. Be at peace."
"Walk with the Prophets Vedek. Thank you." Dane answered, grateful that the man had moved away to attend to adding fresh candles to the main altar to replace those that had consumed their wicks and wax, dimming until death.
Dane knelt before one of the shrines, the hood of his cloak obscuring all of his features except for the ridges of his nose which peeked out from beyond it. . .and he waited.
****
Avery said his goodbyes to Shadeen and she led him through a door and watched as he left through the back door of the Buena Vista...he then circled around to come out on Hyde Street...he saw no one along the many sidewalks, save the obvious tourist, some naive Starfleet types and patrons of the bar...
He moved quickly and stepped into the receiving alcove of the unobtrusive Bajoran Temple...he leaned back against the wall and thought for a moment about what must have been in this location over the centuries...Avery loved his native New Orleans, but San Francisco was a very close second.
The dimly lit temple was adorned with an enormous amount of candles, the Bajoran symbol being the centerpiece of the actual worship area. The grayish table that was designated for orbs, in this case held numerous shards from B'hala, the ancient, and once lost city of Bajor. Avery sat down on one of the cushioned benches and allowed himself a few moments to collect his thoughts. His feeling for the Bajoran people and their religion was deep and earnest.
"Jia'kaja, tre'nu'tol'a rem..." Dane Cristiane chanted, paying special attention to his syllabic emphasis. He tried to repeat them just as they'd sounded in the audio recording Zanh Liis had given him to practice with, saying that he may need the ability to utter the prayers properly at some point so he could avoid detection as an imposter.
She had been right.
He hadn't had long to learn them, but luckily, one of the few benefits Dane reaped from assuming so many roles in his past life in order to please his clients was that he was a very quick study.
It was a shame, Zanh had also told him, that Vedek Jariel couldn't give him a crash course in Bajoran syntax, because 'no one had ever spoken the prayers more beautifully than Jariel had, when he had the ability to speak them aloud.'
How the Prophets - whoever they really were be they gods or wormhole aliens-could ever have taken the ability from him, she had confided, was something she would never understand.
The only thing that Dane understood about the Bajoran Temple or its enigmatic deities was that he couldn't wait to leave.
Avery looked down at his simple civilian clothes and was glad he hadn't burdened himself with baggage...*baggage*...*damn, what the hell was that?*...the word had triggered something but it was intangible...he couldn't make sense of it and so he decided to continue and allow himself time for worship...
Dane prayed as softly as was possible to do and still blend in with those around him, just in case he screwed up the accent or sense stress along the way, hopefully the people around him would be too wrapped up in their own cares and concerns to notice.
Avery moved into the central portion of the temple...he found three people in various states of worship...there were still several altars available and he moved quietly to one on his left...he knelt before the candlelit shrine and extended his arms, palms up...internally he recited several Bajoran prayers and thought of friends and those he wished to receive the gifts of the Prophets...
"La'por i'lanu kos," Dane continued repeating the words he'd learned by rote- devoid of any true meaning to him though sacred to all around him.
He looked to the center stand, bereft of its intended contents but there just the same, and wondered what an Orb experience would be like. These Orbs, the so-called Tears of the Prophets were missing here- with so few of them none had made it this far away from Bajor, Zanh had explained.
But the tears of the Bajorans assembled around him were all too real to Dane, as was their trust in their beliefs, which amazed him. Despite all they had suffered, these people still found a way, somehow, to believe in something greater than themselves. They saw with eyes of faith, and Dane realized now that in that sense, he was a man stone blind.
He shifted uncomfortably, hoping that he wouldn't have to stay here much longer.
A sinner of his sort, with his history, had no business being in such a holy place.
He looked around, and his eye caught a familiar form, lowering himself to the floor before one of the shrines near by. Dane fought the urge to hold his breath- and just kept on praying aloud as he watched to see what Breaux would do now.
Avery resisted the urge to look about the temple...but within minutes he found himself necessarily looking about-everyone in the temple was in the midst of prayer...Avery returned his focus to his own shrine...and let his thoughts ramble from his early days in Starfleet to his dealings in the Maquis to the present...he reflected on Lair's recent recovery...he thought of Rada's troubled family life...*baggage*...he gave thanks...he quietly stood up and cared for two candles that had dwindled...
"I'nar tan'a'tali nor." Dane concluded the chant, and at the appropriate time, he extinguished the candles before him.
He wondered as he did so about the truth of the life that Zanh had led, and he asked himself once again why the hell she had bothered with him at all. In this moment, he considered how different his life would be now, if she hadn't. Most likely scenario was that he'd have long since been dead.
He was brought back to the moment by the realization that Breaux had finished praying, and was on his way to the door.
Across the temple, Avery Breaux took another look at the Bajoran symbol before heading to the entry alcove, and finally exited into the fog...
Dane gratefully rose from his penitant position and moved toward the door. He did not follow Breaux out into the street, certain if he did, that Breaux would discover that he was being followed and might very well end up turning violently on a man he didn't even know was his crew mate.
He hovered in the darkest corner of the entryway and pulled a small, non-Starfleet communications device from his sleeve.
"Ethos to Aodhan," Dane spoke softly and used the code names which O'Sullivan had assigned to them. "He's on the move from the temple. Where the hell are you?"
-------------------------
Ensign Dane Cristiane
Communications Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
LT. Commander Avery Breaux
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Ensign Dane Cristiane
Communications Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
LT. Commander Avery Breaux
USS Serendipity NCC-2012