by Jariel Camen
80629.17
Awhile after Used: Part Two
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Soundtrack: Move Along by The All American Rejects
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-=Quarters of Salvek and Lair, USS Serendipity=-
80629.17
Awhile after Used: Part Two
--------------------------
Soundtrack: Move Along by The All American Rejects
-----------------------------
-=Quarters of Salvek and Lair, USS Serendipity=-
"Camen." Lair Kellyn raised her eyebrows in surprise as she opened the door to her quarters. She had not expected to see him, not with all that was swirling around him at the moment. "Please come in."
[[Thank you,]] Jariel signed out of habit. He still had not yet decided if he would continue signing, it seemed more personal, and people had an easier time opening up to him. A part of him honestly enjoyed being known as the silent gardener.
"What can I do for you?" She asked.
[[I have a favor to ask, Kellyn.]]
"Name it." Jariel had done so much for her over the years she would not hesitate to fulfill any request he had.
[[Liis transported to a location on the surface a while ago, I was wondering, if you could check to see if she has left it, and beam me there.]]
Kellyn's shoulders slumped. She knew Liis and Keiran had left the ship together and it didn't take a Warp field theorist to realize they had gone to Temporal Investigations.
"Camen, I don't know. Maybe that's not the best idea."
On top of her own reservations for the Vedek's well being, Kellyn had frankly had her fill of people sneaking off the ship lately.
"I want to see it. Just once." He said simply. "I probably won't even get in the front door. Besides I could have lifted that coordinates myself and just gone, but I did not want to raise any alarm."
Jariel's last statement was meant to appease her misgivings surrounding Avery Breaux.
"All right," She said with a sigh. "But only if I can go with you."
He had wanted to go alone, but in the fragile state he was in he had no idea if what he saw down there may be too much to handle. It would only be logical for Kellyn to be there as well, just in case the experience overwhelmed him. She was a Bajoran at heart, but also the wife of a Vulcan. She had her head on straight, of that there was no doubt.
[[Agreed.]]
They left together, walking to the transporter room. "How are you?" She asked.
"I don't know." He sighed heavily. "There's only one thing left I'm sure of right now."
Kellyn nodded in understanding. "If there is one thing to be sure of, that’s the best one possible. Even MiM could see how you feel."
Camen laughed for the first time he could remember in a great while.
They entered the transporter room, and Camen walked up to the pad. Kellyn checked the scanners and coordinates.
"Clear." She said simply. She set the delay on the transporter and took her place next to him.
Moments later they were on the streets of Earth.
"This way," She said, checking her tricorder.
Soon they stood before a large, nondescript building. Trees swayed back and forth in the breeze on the grounds, and large white clouds floated harmlessly overhead.
This place was, by all outward appearances, average. A place no person happening by ever would have given a second glance to.
Kellyn led the way through the front door. A man sat at a desk before a bank of turbolifts, plucking away at the terminal in front of him. Music played overhead that threatened to drive Camen mad if he were exposed to it for more than a few moments.
"Can I help you?" The man asked, looking up from his display.
Camen stepped past Kellyn and up to the desk. "I would like to see Admiral Vox."
"Never heard of him, try Starfleet Command." The man went back to his terminal.
"I know he's here." Camen insisted.
The man looked at Camen, then back at his screen again. He tapped buttons for a few moments, and Kellyn began to grow impatient.
"Are you even going to answer him?" She asked finally. The man held up his finger to silence her. Camen cringed wondering if Kellyn would send said finger hurtling across the room, but she kept her peace.
"Answers here require the correct question. We don't give tours, at least not just to anyone wandering in off the street." The man said, as a smile played out across his face. "Yes, the correct question indeed."
*Just anyone. * Camen thought, and his stomach began to twist in pain. He thought he might be ill, as the realization of what the correct question may be came to him.
"Tell the Admiral," Camen said with a lump in his throat. "That the Kai wishes to speak to him."
There was a hiss from the bank of turbolifts, as one of the doors opened. The man at the desk went back to his business as Camen and Kellyn entered the lift. A woman waited for them there.
"Jariel Camen, Lair Kellyn, welcome." She said.
There was silence, as the woman led them through the maze of corridors and turbolifts, before arriving at that same door labeled 'Janitorial Staff Only Beyond This Point'.
"The Admiral will be with you in a moment." Their escort said, leaving them before the door.
"But, wait a minute..." Kellyn began to protest.
"It's OK." Jariel said, patting her hand.
They waited in silence for five minutes... ten minutes... Kellyn folded her arms across her chest. She hated to be kept waiting. At last the door gave a heavy creak and opened.
Admiral Vox stood at the entrance, and behind him, a world like nothing Camen could ever have imagined.
"Please come in." Vox said. Camen stepped through onto the polished floor, and heard the echo of his footfalls seemingly travel through time itself.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Vox announced in a booming voice. The men and women filling the room paused and turned towards the Admiral. "Lunch!"
It only took a few short moments, but every terminal in the room went dark. The officers secured their stations and vanished behind the dark walls through doorways the eye could not even see. What was a bustling command center a moment before, was now silent.
Silent except for the ticking.
Vox and Kellyn stood at the entrance, as Camen walked across the empty hall. He scanned the room, looking at the clocks that adorned the walls, including the largest of them all, Polaris. The ticking filling the room was hypnotic.
Vox walked up beside Jariel.
"I remember you." Camen said.
"Of course you do. We met when I came aboard the Serendipity previously."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know." Vox replied, his hands clasp firmly behind his back.
"Why did you come to me there, and ask about her?"
Vox shrugged. "Curiosity. What can I say. I'm a romantic at heart."
"Right." Camen said with a slight roll of his eyes.
"I needed to understand you. Zanh Liis is important to us, and you are important to her. You play a crucial role here, even though you've never set foot in this place until today. Come."
Vox led him to the bank of clocks along the wall. There was a doorway beside the bank, which Vox opened by placing his hand on the scanner. The room curved seemingly forever, with an infinite amount of small clocks adorning every square centimeter of the walls.
"One of these is you. Not sure which one. I try to stay out of here, it makes me dizzy."
Vox shut the door, and pointed up. “Have you looked at the ceiling yet?”
Camen cast his eyes up at the sparkling mural of the galaxy above. He felt a tear form in his eye at the sight of it.
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
“It’s not that.” Camen said, as he shook his head. “I just wonder how many times she has looked up at this ceiling in awe. How many times has she returned here, to start everything over again, for my sake. To set right a wrong she could never accept.”
Across the room Kellyn waited patiently. She saw the glimmer of a tear roll down Camen’s cheek, and her heart ached for him and all he must be feeling to be standing in this place.
“You didn’t come here to look at the ceiling, Vedek Jariel.”
“No.” He said, looking back down at the Admiral. “I feel as if Zanh Liis and I have always been on a journey, and this place is the hub from which it all begins. I knew it existed but I needed to see it for myself. I had to experience this part of her.”
“I think lunch is almost over.” Vox said, indicating that he needed to get his people back to work.
Jariel dropped to a knee, and pressed the palm of his hand to the perfectly polished floor. The cool tile warmed slightly at his touch, and he closed his eyes, committing the feeling of this place to memory.
Standing back up, he shook the Admiral’s hand.
Officers began to filter back into the room, as Camen met with Kellyn at the exit. As the door swung shut, the computers once again came to life, and those inside resumed the task of keeping time in order.
Vedek Jariel Camen
Ship’s Chaplain
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Ship’s Chaplain
USS Serendipity NCC-2012