"A Little Bit Of History"
[ Con't from Michael's "The Job Isn't Done Until You've Been De-briefed" ]
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Stardate: 60299.1200
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Cafeteria
The day had been a busy one so far and even though the Oltharian had been more than ready to continue, the orders from his superior to get something to eat had not been the kind that Elan could ignore or disregard given his new rank.
At one point the massive Engineer had held the rank of Lieutenant Commander, serving on some of the most unique ships of the federation. One possessed a piece of technology that had technically been banned and forbidden according to the agreements reached by the Treaty of Algeron while another had been given a unique drive that allowed it to truly go where no one had gone before. During his time on these and many other ships Fairborn had learned that life never turned out as one might have wanted or expected - something that the Oltharian had grown to anticipate and maybe even enjoy on some strange points.
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Stardate: 38171.1130 (over 22 years ago)
Setting: OLTHAR PRIME
Those who had hoped to be allowed to follow the path of the Religious Circle sat around the black stone statues, their thoughts focussed on their meditation. Their first test had begun far before the sun had begun it's journey through the skies, and unknown to the Circle's hopeful, their numbers had counted one more from the start.
The priest in charge of this group occasionally glanced in the direction of the green bush behind which the 8 years old boy had elected to hide. Bardef knew of his nephew's presence but instead of acknowledging it by calling out the boy's name or going over to see him, the simple priest only insured from time to time that all was well.
Elan knew nothing of the methods of meditations, his parents both belonging to the Scientific Circle, having opted to instruct their only offspring in the more *practical* ways. Even though lacking such knowledge the young Oltharian already showed great promise in his abilities and patience, something which Bardef could only rejoice about in silence. Mallock and Sholla had dreams for their son, alas Bardef already knew that the boy's dreams were far differed from those of his parents.
The sun, the physical representation of their god, had already traveled midway across the skies and although the young apprentices had so far proven the strength of their faith with relative ease, the youngest and most inexperienced of the group began to show signs of fatigued. The test required the adepts to meditate for one full rotation of their world. 38 hours of nothing more than sitting, thinking, pondering and concentrating. Even for those who had been instructed in this way, the test would soon enough prove to be a challenge, but for Elan, the challenge had already started a few hours back.
The boy's eyes opened to their fullest when he had feared that the rumbling of his stomach had alerted his uncle and the others to his presence. Luckily for him though, it had appeared as if the sound had not traveled as far has he had expected, Bardef not having moved a muscle. Doing his best to contain his growing hunger, the young Oltharian closed his eyes and focussed on images which he hoped would divert his attention away from the pain in his belly.
Elan's eyes once again opened to their fullest as he felt something land on his folded legs. Fear that he had been discovered filled his mind, but that idea soon vanished as he observed his uncle casually walking around the statue. No indication that he had been discovered could be found, yet the proof that someone knew he had been there could not be mistaken for anything else. Hunger soon gave way to reason and without asking how or why, the young boy quickly ripped at the bread which had miraculously appeared to answer his need.
--==(/\)==--
Stardate: 60299.1202
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section A, Cafeteria
The memory of that event that was now lost in the eternity of antiquity brought a generous smile to the face of the imposing Oltharian. So many years ago as a young boy, Elan had hoped for nothing else than to become a member in good standing of the Religious Circle, but life had had different plans for him. These plans had made him follow in the footsteps of his mother, travel to EARTH and join Startfleet, become a Chief Engineering Officer, be part of countless strange and unbelievable missions that had ended when he had returned to his home world as a simple civilian. Something in his life had been missing and it had been only after some time lost in the wilderness of the world that had seen him born that the Oltharian came to understand that what he had been missing had not been something internal - it had been something that could only be found within.
The realisation of his error had only doubled Elan's willingness to perform and this clearly showed in his second run through the Academy. For one reason or another the Oltharian had found his way to this place as a Robotics Engineer, but the giant did not care why, all that he hoped for had been to be given a chance to prove his worth and rediscover the part of himself that he had lost so many years ago.
--==(/\)==--
Francois Charette {f_charette@hotmail.com}
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elan Talak Fairborn
Robotics Engineering Officer
NEW ALEXANDRIA
2005 post #047
