12-08-2024, 12:53 AM
Mara smiled to herself as Ju went through a family life that sounded pretty damn idyllic to the Bandaran.
“What about you? Do you have family? I want to know more about you too.”
“Ah, I knew this point was comin’,” Calleja said with a good natured smile. “I get close to people, they actually want to know more than the veneer of information I let out. Damn invasion of privacy.”
She sighed.
“So yeah. My family comes with a trigger warnin’. I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, or pity, or any of the rest of that shit. Where I came from made me who I am, and I think on balance that’s probably worked out OK?”
Massive shoulders rose and fell as she shrugged.
“I did have a sister, she was a couple of years older. We had a tiny little flat about the size of your Artemis quarters, and all 4 of us had to exist in that. Bandar City, it’s a hellhole. Life is gettin’ better there, but back when I was a kid it was pretty bad. Power was erratic. Sanitation was horrific. And the gangs… They were everywhere. The fights for territory were just constant. You wear the wrong colours in the wrong place, you make yourself a target. First time I made that mistake was the first time I got stabbed, and they did not care that I was 9. I managed to keep out of the gangs for the most part but my sister Vik, she didn’t. She went in elbow deep. And Bandar got her when she was 17. Gang hit. They made an example of her and hung what was left in the square outside. I still see the body now, usually at 0300.”
A darkness had seeped into Mara’s eyes and she shook her head to clear it.
“That’s what gave me the drive to make things better. Kickstarted me. Made me see the bigger picture,” she continued. “There was a reformer on our world, an ex-Starfleeter, and I fell in with her. Did my part to see her come to power and the modern day catch up with my shitty planet when we started goin’ through the process to join the Federation. There’s a few Bandarans in Star Fleet now and the government looks after our families. My parents are in a much swankier and above all else safer place, all paid for by me bein’ out here. And when I finish my career, I go home, and I put what I’ve learned to use. That’s the deal.”
As Calleja finished speaking, the food and drinks arrived. A suitably huge steak was carefully laid in front of the COS with a pint glass of lemonade, and a big bowl of beef bulgogi was presented to Ju along with some of the ‘special’ Artemis moonshine that could crinkle paint.
Mara nodded her thanks to the staff and picked up her knife and fork. She held the knife oddly, her grip almost like she was handling a weapon not a piece of cutlery.
“So yeah. Sorry if I’ve gone an’ overshared,” the Bandaran said with a faint grin. “But you did ask. And now you know. Probably explains a few things too. If you got any follow-ups, go for it whilst I’m feelin’ truthsome.”
Without standing on ceremony, she ripped into the steak.
== Back atcha! ==
“What about you? Do you have family? I want to know more about you too.”
“Ah, I knew this point was comin’,” Calleja said with a good natured smile. “I get close to people, they actually want to know more than the veneer of information I let out. Damn invasion of privacy.”
She sighed.
“So yeah. My family comes with a trigger warnin’. I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, or pity, or any of the rest of that shit. Where I came from made me who I am, and I think on balance that’s probably worked out OK?”
Massive shoulders rose and fell as she shrugged.
“I did have a sister, she was a couple of years older. We had a tiny little flat about the size of your Artemis quarters, and all 4 of us had to exist in that. Bandar City, it’s a hellhole. Life is gettin’ better there, but back when I was a kid it was pretty bad. Power was erratic. Sanitation was horrific. And the gangs… They were everywhere. The fights for territory were just constant. You wear the wrong colours in the wrong place, you make yourself a target. First time I made that mistake was the first time I got stabbed, and they did not care that I was 9. I managed to keep out of the gangs for the most part but my sister Vik, she didn’t. She went in elbow deep. And Bandar got her when she was 17. Gang hit. They made an example of her and hung what was left in the square outside. I still see the body now, usually at 0300.”
A darkness had seeped into Mara’s eyes and she shook her head to clear it.
“That’s what gave me the drive to make things better. Kickstarted me. Made me see the bigger picture,” she continued. “There was a reformer on our world, an ex-Starfleeter, and I fell in with her. Did my part to see her come to power and the modern day catch up with my shitty planet when we started goin’ through the process to join the Federation. There’s a few Bandarans in Star Fleet now and the government looks after our families. My parents are in a much swankier and above all else safer place, all paid for by me bein’ out here. And when I finish my career, I go home, and I put what I’ve learned to use. That’s the deal.”
As Calleja finished speaking, the food and drinks arrived. A suitably huge steak was carefully laid in front of the COS with a pint glass of lemonade, and a big bowl of beef bulgogi was presented to Ju along with some of the ‘special’ Artemis moonshine that could crinkle paint.
Mara nodded her thanks to the staff and picked up her knife and fork. She held the knife oddly, her grip almost like she was handling a weapon not a piece of cutlery.
“So yeah. Sorry if I’ve gone an’ overshared,” the Bandaran said with a faint grin. “But you did ask. And now you know. Probably explains a few things too. If you got any follow-ups, go for it whilst I’m feelin’ truthsome.”
Without standing on ceremony, she ripped into the steak.
== Back atcha! ==