by LT SG Rada Dengar
80721.23
Ten Years After An Accepted Life
-= A very nice house in a not very respectable neighbourhood, Betazed=-
80721.23
Ten Years After An Accepted Life
-= A very nice house in a not very respectable neighbourhood, Betazed=-
*I’ve had enough of this and I’ve had enough of you!* Wren internally shouted, she was furious with all this stagnation.
Her father was getting really tired of these same arguments day in and day out. He rubbed the ridge of his nose in frustration before turning back around to face her. His tone, if you can assign such a thing to telepathic communication as most Betazoids would argue you could, was one of incredulous sarcasm. How could she be so ungrateful?
*What have you had enough of, hmm? It’s just that I’ve given you so much that it’s hard to know what you’re complaining about half the time. Is it the fancy clothes? Is it the best vacations?*
Wren had long ago realised just how frivolous these things were and thought that by now her father might have come to understand that. She tried to dress in simple clothing and he called it childish rebellion. She mentioned that she wouldn’t mind staying on Betazed this summer and he accused her of having some hidden agenda.
*No, it’s...* She started of before he cut her off; he was not finished with his rant.
*No, of course it’s not. You love all of the wonderful things that my business gets you, you just think that I should be able to pull them out of my…* not to be outdone and taking a few more of her characteristics from her father than she would care to admit, Wren now cut him off.
*You don’t need to pull them from anywhere! Billions of Betazoids manage to get by just fine without breaking the law.*
He threw his arms in the air now, he honestly felt like grabbing the girl and shaking some sense into her; she clearly had no idea what he put into making this life for her.
*Billions of Betazoids don’t get to attend the best parties and social functions or to rub shoulders with the elite. You spend so much time associating with the upper classes that you think we’re bloody royalty. I worked my way up from the ground to get this family where we are…*
*I couldn’t care less whose shoulders this lifestyle lets you rub,* she scoffed, with the type of company her father keeps she knew he cared little for the social standing of his associates, for him power was about people he didn’t know respecting him and not a few high society types liking him *It’s still wrong.*
*Wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong.* the anger was really starting to well up within him now as he began to think that there was nothing he could do to make this child happy *It’s wrong that my only daughter, whom I’ve loved and kept safe all these years…* She cut him off again.
*Kept me safe, from what? You speak like we’re living on Chalnoth!* Perpetual anarchy was actually seeming more and more attractive the longer she spent in an area dominated by a growing gang culture; this city’s dirty little secret to be kept from the rest of the planet and indeed the Federation.
The reasons for her preference were manifold but could be summed up with two. The first was that all criminals were pack-animals and found much boldness in numbers but the second was more importantly that at least with anarchy things can change.
He reminded himself just how naïve she could be and began to see if he could alleviate some of that naivety *People around here know and respect ME, that’s why YOU don’t get hassled but like it or not, this isn’t a safe area.*
She considered just how quickly people forget and decided that it was time to alleviate some of that forgetfulness. *This used to be a very safe area. There never used to be any violence here; I wasn’t old enough then to appreciate a world like that but there are still a lot of people who remember and if you ever took the time to visit a respectable neighbourhood you’d know that they discuss it often there. You just had to change all that…* He cut her off now, furious at her suggesting that this was all somehow his fault, all he’d ever done was to retaliate.
*Hey, I never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it!*
She could see now that he could never face exactly what he’d done to his fair city or how it could have been avoided but that wouldn’t stop her from pointing it out.
*No, you just helped opened the door for every sleaze ball this side of Cardassia Prime who wants to smuggle any illegal compounds onto Betazed. You exposed a hole in our security and then helped it grow during the war. Then after building a nice little market base for yourself you were shocked when more people came to exploit it, they came to challenge the land you’d claimed and…* once again she was cut off.
*I fought back!* he declared, he couldn’t imagine that any real man would have done any less in his shoes *Would you have had me just let them take whatever they wanted?*
*Yes, I would.* she snapped back *You could have just let them take over your territory and moved to the ninety-nine percent of this world which is still truly Betazoid. Then you’d be safe, I’d be safe and mum would be…* now this really cut him and she could see it in his eyes, he didn’t have to say anything for her to stop mid-sentence. If there was one thing he had always made sure of it was that his wife was looked after. He exhaled gruffly and moved towards Wren, grabbing her by her shoulder, not enough to hurt but enough to get her full attention.
*Don’t you dare bring your mother into this, not with the way you treat her!*
Wren and her mother had lost all tolerance for one another almost as soon as her telepathic abilities became strong enough for communication, really only speaking to each other for the first time when she was an adolescent they had quickly realised that there was no love there. Their communication now consisted of little more that bitter snipes. Wren stood defiant against her father’s grip and responded harshly *Face it, father. Mum doesn’t care about me, she doesn’t care about anything as long as she’s got a bottle in her hand!*
Her father drew back his fist and broke it as he smashed it into the wall beside Wren’s head. He released her and span around, holding the injured wrist with his good hand. His head was down cast with shame. Wren moved slowly and touched him lightly on his arm as she tried to get a look at his wound, he just turned away again. It was then she heard a sound she didn’t think she would ever hear, her father was sobbing. She tried to move around to comfort him but he once again shoved her off, not turning around to face her he bitterly thought his last words to her. Though the tears broke them, the telepathic medium meant that his words were still clear.
*You…get out now. You get out of my house…right…now…and don’t you come back.*
She kept trying to comfort him but as she tried to hold him in place so he would face her he grabbed her wrist and threw her arm off him. Then his voice which was croaky from a lack of use over all this time and the tears which not fell down his face he shouted “Now!” and pointed to the door.
Wren walked out the door that day and left Betazed that night, vowing never to return.
LT. SG Rada Dengar
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Alchemy NX 53099
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Alchemy NX 53099