| Author | Message | ||
     Cdr Sieven Drexler |
"Distant Murmurs" Golden sands stretched for miles while bright turquoise waters highlighted by coral reefs followed. Hundreds of people dotted the beaches with their colorful umbrellas and bathing suits. Shuttlecraft passed overhead with little more than a subtle "woosh." The location was none other than Risa, with its bright orange sun overhead and two moons rising in the northwest. Further north, a large resort jutted out over the sands, claiming its own private section of the beach. Fancy verandas were set up over the sand where patrons could sit underneath and enjoy the view, a drink, and not burn to a crisp. Underneath one such canopy was a woman. She was quiet, alone, and did not generally say much, but was always curteous to the staff. She was dark-skinned, apparently human, wearing an odd hybrid of robes and beach apparrel. The staff treated her like a familiar friend and guest, appropriate for someone who'd been there before. This particular subject, however, had been a regular visitor for well over half a century, though she didn't look much older than fifty. Most curiously was her headgear, which was a large oval apparatus that encircled her head much like a halo. Strands of braided black hair slipped from under it and draped her shoulders. She sipped an exotic drink with five layers of color from an ostrich-laden straw protruding from the liquid. An Andorian waiter approached and whispered something to her. She nodded and received the PADD-like device. She unlocked it with her fingerprint and watched as the front page with a Starfleet logo scrolled into view. It was a letter. "You spend far too much time on Risa," it began. A smile crept to the face of the woman and she proceeded to read through the entire letter, which was partially in Standard, partially in an odd typeface that no one could properly decode, save her. Upon reading the final sentence, she looked out on the ocean, contemplative, slowly grinning. A moment later, she called for the same attendant. "Madam?" "I'll need a secure commlink to Starfleet Headquarters," she said, never taking her eyes from the ocean. "It's time I pulled some favors from old friends." BTC |