04-15-2024, 07:34 PM
Ktan spent an hour or two settling into his new quarters, where he'd stay until Starfleet figured out what to do with him after his misadventure on the Philadelphia. The Bajoran merchant who owned the small apartment had gone back to Bajor for an extended mercantile tour, and would gone for weeks, if not months. That meant for the time being, Ktan had the run of the place - not that there was much running to be done. Ktan could only make so much of a mess with only a single duffle bag's worth of belongings.
A problem I plan to rectify right now, he thought.
He got on the comms and reconnected with the quartermaster over at Outpost Gamma-7, who assured him again that he'd arrange to have Ktan's belongings sent to DS9 on the next available cargo vessel. When exactly that would be, he couldn't say. Ktan could only growl under his breath and disconnect the call.
Not wanting to venture out into the station proper in a fowl mood, Ktan instead settled into some quiet meditation and prayer. The Bajoran had a little reliquary to the Prophets on display in a corner, and it was there that Ktan set himself up, first offering a reading from a traditional Bajoran prayer designed for respectful non-adherents, a chance to parley with the Prophets and ask their permittance to pray to one's own gods. From there, he settled into a series of Rememberer recitations, wishing for redemption for the Kzinti people, the restoration of their females, and a return to the ways of old - free from the arrogance and aggression that plagued Kzin today.
Even as these prayers were ongoing, Ktan thought he heard a response.
A tune. . . a tune of mourning, a mixture of the Hero's Tongue and a complex, mournful melody that seemed to draw on other musical traditions he was not familiar with. Was this the Prophets reaching out to him in a language he might understand? Was he, like many men and women stationed close the wormhole had before him, about to have an encounter with these non-linear entities?
No, Ktan realized. The sound is coming from outside.
Venturing out into the hallway, the music became more clear, coming from somewhere else in the Habitat Ring. He followed the resonating harmonies, each more soulful than the last, down a long corridor until coming up another feline Starfleet officer, a medical lieutenant he recognized from the Philadelphia, sitting at a piano.
Ktan eyed the man warily. Here was an officer who had sworn not only to uphold the values of Starfleet, but also to "do no harm," as was expected from Federation doctors, and he had joined Captain Braggins' little rebellion. He had risked war with the Cardassians and the safety and wellbeing of the hostages, their own crew, and even the citizens on this station to follow a wayward captain's impetuousness. Could Ktan not escape this mutinous rabble?
He wanted to slink off back to his quarters, but the music had - perhaps as the man had intended - ensnared him. He lingered too long, and gave the officer a chance to speak to him.
== Tag R'Kaar ==
A problem I plan to rectify right now, he thought.
He got on the comms and reconnected with the quartermaster over at Outpost Gamma-7, who assured him again that he'd arrange to have Ktan's belongings sent to DS9 on the next available cargo vessel. When exactly that would be, he couldn't say. Ktan could only growl under his breath and disconnect the call.
Not wanting to venture out into the station proper in a fowl mood, Ktan instead settled into some quiet meditation and prayer. The Bajoran had a little reliquary to the Prophets on display in a corner, and it was there that Ktan set himself up, first offering a reading from a traditional Bajoran prayer designed for respectful non-adherents, a chance to parley with the Prophets and ask their permittance to pray to one's own gods. From there, he settled into a series of Rememberer recitations, wishing for redemption for the Kzinti people, the restoration of their females, and a return to the ways of old - free from the arrogance and aggression that plagued Kzin today.
Even as these prayers were ongoing, Ktan thought he heard a response.
A tune. . . a tune of mourning, a mixture of the Hero's Tongue and a complex, mournful melody that seemed to draw on other musical traditions he was not familiar with. Was this the Prophets reaching out to him in a language he might understand? Was he, like many men and women stationed close the wormhole had before him, about to have an encounter with these non-linear entities?
No, Ktan realized. The sound is coming from outside.
Venturing out into the hallway, the music became more clear, coming from somewhere else in the Habitat Ring. He followed the resonating harmonies, each more soulful than the last, down a long corridor until coming up another feline Starfleet officer, a medical lieutenant he recognized from the Philadelphia, sitting at a piano.
Ktan eyed the man warily. Here was an officer who had sworn not only to uphold the values of Starfleet, but also to "do no harm," as was expected from Federation doctors, and he had joined Captain Braggins' little rebellion. He had risked war with the Cardassians and the safety and wellbeing of the hostages, their own crew, and even the citizens on this station to follow a wayward captain's impetuousness. Could Ktan not escape this mutinous rabble?
He wanted to slink off back to his quarters, but the music had - perhaps as the man had intended - ensnared him. He lingered too long, and gave the officer a chance to speak to him.
== Tag R'Kaar ==