Selected Quotes April '23
Posted on 02 May 2023 @ 8:43pm by Commander Calliope Zahn
Selected Quotes April ‘23
“So, young man, are you happy in your current position?” Asax asked whilst still standing behind his desk, arms folded on his chest.. The desk being so long and so large, it looked like an ancient fortification. A great divide between two social classes. The successful one, and the insignificant one.
This was a loaded question, because a Ferengi can never be satisfied. Say no, and you may sound greedy to the point of stupidity. Say yes and you give the impression you’ve got no ambition. A serious crime, that.
“I’m... contemplating my options,” Brek said, figuring this was the best answer he could give.
[...]
“Well well well...” There was a little smile on Asax's face that was quite disturbing, although that might have been emphasised by the poor light emanating from the oil lamps. “I’d hate not to take advantage of your competences... How about I keep you as a staff accountant? It would give you more reports to write, and less spare time. Which, I think, will be most excellent for your wellbeing.”
“A promotion?”
“We don’t use ugly terms in this office. Now, let’s see about upgrading your contract.”
~Mistakes Are to Be Expected
“Honestly, that you’re almost indestructible came as a genuine surprise. I should have guessed though. One or two of you and your beasts have kept an entire planet at bay, so shame on me.. But now you get to find out what I’m like when I have nothing left to lose,” he announced to his opponent. “After all, this is just shits and giggles for me now. I’m dead however this turns out.”
[...]
He looked toward the sky so he wouldn’t have to see his executioner’s slow march towards him. The rain still pummeled the ground below. Too bad. He would’ve liked to have seen the stars one last time. Maybe even catch a glimpse of a shooting star and pretend it was Ibis and the kids leaving the atmosphere. Bound for home.
Home. The tears threatened to come again. Wallace searched his brain for something to focus on and began to recite the first lines he could think of. His voice faltered at first, but slowly became steadier as the words flowed out.
“I vow to obey the laws of the United Federation of Planets, to defend its security, and abide by the principles it stands for. I vow to obey lawful orders given to me, but, in good faith, question orders which are antithetical to these oaths. I vow to obey the principles of non-interference and uphold it with my life if necessary. I vow to seek out new life and new civilizations. I vow to defend the weak and protect life.”
As he finished, he looked down and toward the Pyrryx whom he thought should’ve been much closer to him by now, but it looked like it had been engaged by a trio of Marines. Curious.
God, he was tired. Where was Ibis? Oh, that’s right. She’d taken Olivia and Ikemba to get water. Jimoh and Rachel were coming over for dinner. He needed to get his dress uniform pressed or else Laura would never let him hear the end of it. Was Elizabeth coming, too? It felt like forever since he’d seen his wife.
Wallace felt someone carefully lower him to the ground. That wasn’t right: he needed to get up. Dad had asked him to help Marcus change the tires on his baby brother’s red bicycle, the one with the yellow flames. He needed to do that.
No, not that. Ibis had told him something important before she left. He couldn’t think of what it was. Well. She’d just have to remind him again when she came back. Right now he just needed a rest.
Wallace closed his eyes.
~Camp Sunrise: Embracing Death
Sure, he’d gotten used to his space on Obsidian Command, but nothing beat being out on a cruise. Nothing beat that feeling of being alone in the great wide cosmos.
[...]
The man wasn’t overly tall, but was well-built with a stout physique, like a wildling man trying to be contained by a Starfleet uniform. His hair had long ago turned dark silver, and he wore a matching beard just at the edge of Starfleet regulation that gave him the appearance of a ragged bear just waiting to be challenged. As the holo on his side resolved, he grin widely to see Captain Hawthorne.
~Waystation
Tacos the Great, Patooie advisor to Tacos, Torpedo the science guy, Calliope thought to herself as she tried to commit them to memory. Calliope knew she was gonna screw this up already. Maybe she should have snagged Khourushi or some other purple collared type from the station before rushing out on this mission. Regrets. Hopefully she wouldn't need to repeat a lot of names.
[...]
Manipulating the data PaDD embedded in the forearm of his suit, under the pretense of looking about, De La Fuente sent a text based message to Calliope’s suit: Simple statements always work best. Beautiful. Amazing. No observations.
[...]
Tck’cos clicked irritably and again silenced her advisor. She motioned for Uanika to continue, but what does one say when receiving a corpse? “We thank you for the…er…gift of the dead body. We will find a nice place to keep it.”
[...]
“I doubt it,” Uanika whistled back, “From everything that has been said, I believe not interfering must be some sort of religious doctrine. I think talking about themselves is their way of being friendly.”
“Weapon systems would have been friendlier,” he chuffed glumly.
[...]
“You have seen our world from above, taken your samples of our water, passed through our empty cities and still you don’t understand. We don’t seek alliances because we are too weak to throw off the Pyrryx. We seek help because we are dying. You put one of our bodies in a box and call it an honor. What use to us is a corpse in a box? We have too many to count. Perhaps there are so many worlds in your universe that ours will not matter to your people. It matters to us and you are our only hope. If you fail us, we’ll die. Today or tomorrow.”
“Look, I’m not a Diplomat, okay, I spend my time chasing people who break the law,” Steiner replied to the Korinn. “But I do know that the Federation is not in the business of supporting revolutions. You cannot just start an uprising and expect us to join in. It doesn’t work that way, we have our own laws about engaging in armed conflict.” He held up his hand placatingly. “Clearly your people are suffering under the Pyrryx and those who are helping them. As the Commander said, I am sure the Federation will listen, but that will take time. So you need to contact these Irix and stop whatever they are planning, they need to wait!”
“Steiner—” Calliope put a gloved hand on his big shoulder. “I think they mean to say it’s too late. It’s already begun”
Steiner looked between Zahn and the senior Korinn. “Your people are starting the revolt now?”
Tck’cos turned her head to look at Steiner, her gaze imperturbable. She clicked and chuffed loudly and Uanika hesitated with the translation until urged on by the Grand Crest. The younger Korinn looked stricken as she spoke, “You are a tadpole trying to understand whales.”
[...]
They had to do better, for their people but also for these water-dwellers who never asked for their home to be poisoned to build ships of the line for the enemy. This…is a disaster.
Sea & Sky: Difficult Circumstances
The woman, Shirin, smirked. “Come down to play with the sandbugs, huh?” Her expression softened slightly as she caught sight of the camera. “You know how to use that thing, or is it just to pick up women?”
~Sandbug
Ethan glanced over the control board once more to check that everything was secure before turning to regard his younger companion. "It's not all bad. You saw how they greeted us; more than likely they'll be subjecting the rest to welcoming speeches and state dinners of kelp and raw fish”
[...]
Amateur, Ethan thought. The kid had no experience with how to keep himself occupied, from the looks of it. "Well, you can go a few ways. When I was your age, I'd use the time to catch up on my credentials, do a little studying. Otherwise there's always mapping your eyelids if it gets really bad, or a couple hands of solitaire - poker if you're manning home-base as a team."
[...]
“The Commander doesn’t sound happy.” Tilmer said quietly to his new card buddy as he ran a quick engines check. “Diplomatic ball must not have had good dancing music.”
~Sea & Sky: Card Sharks
The voice was tinny in the headset and Declan thought he should answer. Chimwala would be worried if he didn’t, but the concept of breathing in and out without pain seemed to be more important at the moment as she stared at the ground in front of him, heaving for breath. His ears were ringing and the glass of his EVA suit was cracked. All around him, there was a cloud of smoke that wasn’t what he and his team had deployed.
[...]
He looked at the damage in awe. This stuff was not easily ripped. How had this thing just torn it off of him like it was tissue paper. Looking up, he was face to face with the warriors armored helm and he had nothing. The Pyrryx regarded him for a moment like he was savoring the last bits of his life before ending it as it held him one with one hand. Declan could see blood oozing from the joint in its arm and he smirked. The old man had put a beating on this one even if it had nearly killed him.
~Fire Team
Steiner moved over to Zahn as they removed their suits. “Commander, I’d like permission to ask those two about these USS Sunrise crew” he asked her quietly. “To be open with you, I’m concerned it could be they are just making them up to drag us into their revolt…”
Calliope took a full breath in and a full exhale, pulling off her sweaty diving hood and shaking out her hair to try to avoid the closed in sensation and give herself a moment to think. She dropped her voice. “You can’t come off like you're grilling them, Ridge.” He’d scared her a little during their talk with Taco the Great, pressing them about the revolution. “You’re asking them a favor.”
He nodded “I got it, talk nice, think mean” and gave her a wry grin “Humble little old tapople me won’t ruffle any feather- fins!”
Sea & Sky: Underway
"Some tropical island paradise, huh?" Steiner gave Zahn a grin.
“Don’t waste any time at the tiki bar!” She shouted. Conditions were so ridiculous at this point that the absurdity transformed into a moment of levity.
“Damn I forgot my Hawaiian shirt!” He smiled back, turned and nodded to the Marines. "Time for a stroll on the beach gentlemen." They all started down the ramp.
[...]
"Go! We'll stay! That ship might be coming to kill our people if they really are here!"
Both of Calliope’s hands went into her hair. “I’m not leaving people behind—” Even as she said it, she knew that both ways left someone out in the rain.
“—You’re not!” Steiner interrupted. “Either it's coming for them or it's coming for us!" He argued. "You go, if it doesn't follow you, we'll know there are survivors here and they won't have anything to defend themselves with. The Marines and I can try and protect them! If it follows you, outrun or outfight it and then come back for us"
“There’s no time to argue about this, Ridge!” If he’d actually been Starfleet maybe he would have followed orders easier. “Quit being bullheaded and get back in here!”
Steiner shook his head, the Korinn had appeared truthful enough that it was worth it to come and check and he did not want to think of abandoning anyone to those black suited monsters "If there is a chance there are survivors here, including kids, then we can't leave them! Go!" he backed down the ramp "Go! Just come back when you can!" He turned and jogged off into the rain.
Punching the air with her fists a few times, Calliope swore at him but the wind howled louder than she did. Ridge left her no choice and she slammed the ramp door shut, angry, but also sure she would have pulled the same stunt if the shoe was on the other foot. She wiped the rain off of her face as she stormed down the hallway towards the cockpit. “Get us in the air, Gunnarsen!”
~Sea & Sky: Along the Way
“I hear you fine, I’m just ignoring you.” Lifting the camera to his gaze, he sited along the various booths, focusing on the snatches of color from hanging pendants and the wares visible between passing bodies.
“How can you gunor me if you’re talking to me?” Now the small hand with who knew what muck smearing it was tugging on his pants leg. “Huh? What’s your name?”
~Flutter Bugs
"Shields up, Mr Tilmer. De La Fuente, show me the Pyrryx ship–" Calliope watched the fluctuation on all of the instrument readings. The kelbonite below was resonating with the static of the storm until up was down. She was thankful for an experienced pilot right now. "Get it on scope, even if you've got to stick your head out the window with a pair of binoculars!"
[...]
Leaving the search to De La Fuente, Ethan focused his attention on maintaining altitude as the shuttle skirted the edge of the oncoming storm. Inwardly he was cursing the luck that put them face-on to a monster such as he would never hope to witness outside of a holo-flick.
[...]
As if she were a paper crane, suddenly crushed into a vacuum at her center, the woman between Calliope and Cesar collapsed to the deck, clutching the boy and weeping.
~ Sea & Sky: Against the Wind
"I take it you had a social function? " Sylvie prompted for more.
“A social dysfunction is a better term for what I went through.”
[..]
“Listen, Ms Hardt. The things you said, it got me thinking. If by any chance your gallery needs some cash, I would more than likely be able to help you. And you wouldn’t have to concede anything. I could find you a profitable investment. It would be legal, and you could rack in the profits within a week, or three months, if you don’t want to take too many risks.”
"Charity?" Her look darkened, and she folded her hands. "Come now, do you think so little of me?"
“Ah... It is not like that at all,” he quickly countered, unable to repeat the word ‘charity’ out loud in front of her..” He shrugged. “Latinum, it comes and goes, following the whims of speculations, and I like to see it fructify. In any case, I have the highest respect for you, Ms Hardt. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
"My gallery is a passion project. I have significant resources to supply even any ongoing losses to the gallery business. Although it is no where so dire as that. I think it may be easier to explain if I show you."
That shut Brek up for a few seconds. The realisation that Surrat’s wasn’t Hardt’s main project. That her gallery could even be a side venture, just to occupy her mind on tedious days. He was, by comparison, impoverished - yes that ugly word - for ‘Timeless Treasures’ was paramount to him.
[...]
Now that they stood in what he viewed as a treasure cave, he looked around him, astonished, but a little mortified too. For he had told no one where he went. If, for some unknown reason, the Cardassian woman wanted to eliminate him, she could do it in all ease, right here, and his body would probably never be found [...] How many treasure hunters had died of thirst and hunger whilst being surrounded by gold coins? A lot. Worlds at large didn’t make a big fuss about that, because those poor greedy souls, it would probably take centuries before their dusty bones were discovered.
A Summons
Moments later there was a slash of movement through the storm clouds, something screamed down through the low clouds, barely visible between ocean and sky, it flew behind the mountain. There was a flash several seconds later a rumble rolled over them.
~A Stroll On the Beach
Fifta gave a friendly rumble and lowered her great head, drool dripped on his hand and she scooped the ball up in her mandibles. He shook his hand off and reached up to scratch her antenna. The beetle rumbled again, happily chomping nosily on the treat.
[...]
A new group arrived, three riders with others walking alongside. Ibn Sharjar recognized Niefle on the lead Eralsu, it had an elaborate harness, hung with metal stars and lines, like the necklace she wore over her robe. Her husband and the Tribal Chieftain, Gebran, held the beetle's reins and walked with some of the tribal elders. They rode along the path and people began to move from the oasis to join them.
Jelik saw his sons into place on Hrada, Gabrul in the saddle, Sasil behind. He crossed over to Kniva, gave her a long hug. Now in her six month of pregnancy, and after the long walk to and from the ceremony last night, she would be staying in the village.
They parted, Jelik mounted Khasta and Kniva moved over to Hrada to speak with her sons. "You will choose your stars tonight. You, your second" To Gabrul "And you your first" To Sasil, she reached up and stroked his unmarked cheek "Chose wisely for they will be with you until death, as they were with Tej-Selkar"
~Ibn Sharjar: Northwards On the Glass
"Settle in, Commander. You'll be here a spell. We'll get you some reading material. and somethin' to whet the whistle. Best to stay hydrated. It ain't a real visit to sickbay without gnawin some ice chips."
[...]
But it only made him angrier at the idea of false hopes and imaginary deities whom always seemed to demand all the praise and none of the blame! Calliope had been falling for the swill of the weak minded masses— but far be it from him! He would hold to the knowable truth of matters rather than take false comforts and resort to desperate bargaining with invisible friends.
~The First Casualties
"Yes, uh, granted." She said. Stillwell was gonna hate her for approving the idea. She knew he knew she knew what he was thinking and there were looks exchanged as he pushed out of his chair and lumbered towards the back of the bridge.
Roth started tucking his pant legs into his boots before leaving his chair. Ozzie knew the medic was particular about them not bunching up inside his EVA suit.
Sikan nodded and stood up, stripping off his duty jacket as he walked towards the back of the bridge, where he could go down to the armory at EVA suit storage. “We will be back before long, Captain,” he said.
“We’ll leave a light on for ya,” Boltri muttered softly, giving Roth a wave as he passed by.
"Oswalt, young man," Braedyn said. "Do avoid crashing before I get back and take the helm. If you screw the pooch out here, it's going to mean a very long float home for the Away Team. I've got complete faith in you, of course. Fly well."
"Yes , sir, of course!" Oswalt shuffled into the helm and Ozzie thought he looked more attentive than she'd seen him ever before apart from actual battle. "Zero screwing of any pooches!"
~Ride-Along: A Bird in Hand
She made to take a sip of tea, but she stopped, the cup just inches away from her lips. “You make things look simple. But they are not. You now know that I suspect my husband. How peculiar... On my side, I never considered that you would be on his side.”
“I’m not on anyone’s side. What you told me tonight, I have already forgotten. The only clue connected to your request is in your hands, Mrs Te’elis. I suggest you destroy it promptly.”
“You are a disappointment, Mr Brek.”
“So are you.
~A Frivolous Mood
“It’s too dangerous, Tahriik,” O’Shaughnessy shook her head, her Irish lilt as thick as his biceps. “We can get them on the short-wave, tell them what we’re doing and draw them out together,” she suggested.
[...]
Tahriik’s blood ran cold. A vivid nightmare of his youth flashed across his mind as he looked at the being and remembered being a small child, scared to nightmares by the stories his Great Mother had told him. The great savages of the old world. The stealers of children. The blood-thirsty, heartless beings of Geuraani lore. His people had vivid imaginations and their oral history had been passed down by the Great Mother’s to all her progeny. He had heard the stories and even told them to his own children of the Po’rh’an, the blood-thirsty ones. He’d never had such a purely primal reaction to a being he’d never seen. Nor such a unwarranted matching of his childhood stories to something living and breathing. But he raised his weapon just the same.
[...]
The Pyrryx glared at him, well aware that he’d struck a nerve. He readied his stance and Tahriik did the same, preparing to fight. One he had no doubt was to the death.
As the two of them took a wary step towards one another, the Pyrryx flinched in surprise as the Marine he’d been fighting leapt onto his back, arm around his neck and stabbing furiously with his K-Bar into the unarmored flesh about its neck.
“Did you forget about me, you bastard!” Finn bellowed, stabbing furiously with great effect.
The Pyrryx howled and charged at the wall nearest him, turning at the last moment to slam Finn into it. The Marine grunted, clearly seeing stars from the impact, but holding on tight and still stabbing best he could. The Pyrryx managed him off his back, the K-Bar still in his chest. It stepped away from the wall and yanked it from his chest to throw it at Finn but Tahriik was on him, catching the arm and slashing with his Le’uor’ix blade under the armpit where the armor was weak. It howled in fury and swung its blade back at Tahriik and the battle was joined and the pair of them scuffled violently away.
[...]
But his Marines weren’t watching him, nor were they watching the enemy. They were watching the massive Starfleet Officer and the Pyrryx who were fighting ferociously with one another. [...] What was stranger still was that the aquatics had abandoned their assault. All were watching, many simply standing there spectating what was happening as if it was the most important thing in the world right now. [...] It reminded Declan of some of the novels he’d read as a kid; knights in armor battling against one another as part of huge armies which parted to allow the champions to fight it out in single combat. The soldiers of the grand battle reduced to spectators to watch the fight, knowing its victor would decide who was ultimately victorious. That didn’t seem like it had a place in modern warfare, yet here they were.
~ Bogey Man
There was no refuge from the sun and wind now, the afternoon wore, on as grit and heat pummeled the column. Ibn Sharjar was hot, dusty and weary, the heat was oppressive and the constant trashing of the sand was becoming tiresome. He settled into a sort of nodding rhythm as Fifta skuttled along, his thoughts drifting as they ate up the distance, almost dozing off.
He came awake thinking he had heard a cry. It came again and he looked to Jelik alongside him. The man was pointing ahead of them. Ibn Sharjar followed the gesture, out on the horizon was a dark smudge, it jutted upwards, much higher that the cairns. Within minutes the shape became clearer, it was some kind of outcrop in the obsidian, steep sided and flat on top, he tried to guess the size, but out here it was hard to judge scale. It was perhaps a kilometer across at the base, maybe five hundred meters high.
“The Pillar of the Moon!” Jelik called to him “Soon we shall see the stars!”
~Ibn Sharjar:The Pillar of the Moon
"You both seem so happy," Sibyl commented. As if being conspiratorial, she stage-whispered, "What's the secret?"
Limmi and Samson shot a long, knowing gaze to one another.
"We're still working on distilling it into general advice," the former confessed as she turned back to Sybil. "You're not the first to ask. But if I had to offer something now, I'd say making friendship rather than romantic attachment the foundation."
That struck home for Sibyl, though her gentle smile didn't break. "I guess," she said with some self-deprecating humor. "That's where Cliff and I had got it wrong. Had the formula reversed." There was a lot of passion and almost nothing else in common with her and Cliff.
"Samson and I did the same at first," Limmi assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Any reservation she harbored for such an intimate gesture was trounced by feeling Sybil's regret since she felt responsible for stirring it.
"It actually took years for us to figure out that our friendship was what kept us invested in each other," Samson spoke. "There are only two definite wrongs in a relationship: willfully disrespecting your partner and refusing to grow from your experiences in it. Everything else is discovery."
"You guys really should run seminars." Sibyl teased, although it really did give her the smallest hope.
[...]
Since Limmi had said she was ready, Sibyl led the way out to the corridor, smiling again as she put the thought of Cliff to the back of her mind. "It's repetitive, running on the same loop. Not as exciting as everything a holodeck can throw at you. But it becomes familiar, and I like that too."
"Familiar can be good," Limmi admitted, falling into step with Sybil. "It can let you relax your guard and fully immerse yourself in the moment."
~The Familiar
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