" Genetics "
(Previous Post was Tallulah's and Jessica's "A Counsellor, a Shillian and a Monkey Walk Into A Bar")
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Stardate: 60329.1630
The young woman watched with great relief her adoptive daughter playing
in the middle of the living room without a care in the world… as if the
events which had concluded their last mission had never actually happened.
Being the daughter of a Level-5 Field Operative, Talia had grown accustomed
to not seeing her biological mother for weeks and even months at a time, and
as far as the young child had been concerned this 'death' everyone had been
speaking of had only been another way to describe Enaii's current absence.
Because Talia had lived through the 'death' of her adoptive mother, when she had been lost during a starship accident which had left the redheaded woman stranded in piece of drifting wreckage, which had concluded by the discovery of *Samantha Rikar*, the young child seemed unworried about the return of her other mother. If her adoptive mother had found a way to 'cheat' death, surely her biological mother would be able to do the same… especially when considering that Talia knew her mother to be far more resourceful and determined that Sabrina could have ever been.
Although this lack of concern and sadness on the part of Talia had been a source of comfort for the young woman, it had also proven to be something that the CO of the ANUBIS feared beyond words. The only reason why she had managed to cheat death had been because she had not actually been dead despite the reports to the contrary… a condition which unfortunately did not reflect the situation surrounding the Intel Operative. Rikar had witnessed the demise of her life-mate and there had been no ifs, ands, or buts about the final outcome… Enaii had died and the atoms her body… as well as the energy of her soul… had been scattered across the atmosphere of SURIAL III.
Despite all of her training and experience as a former Cns, the young woman could not find a way to explain to her daughter that her biological mother would not be coming back… especially when the person trying to get this point across had been the one to have returned from the dead. Stubbornness had definitely been a genetic trait that Talia had inherited from her mother and as much as the young woman wanted to find fault in this she could not… sharing in some strange and unexplainable way the desire to see the ILO walk through the doors of their quarters at some point in the future.
"Soozaan," Talia announced out of the blue, prompting the redheaded
woman to tilt her head and look quizzically at her daughter.
"Talia, what did you say?" The young woman inquired not having recognized the first name of the ANUBIS' Cns through the thick Romulan accent that her daughter used any and every time she tried to speak a language other than her mother tongue… not that Enaii had been Romulan. Because of the ILOs' unique upbringing, the long-time enemy of the Federation had been as much as a home as could be for the Intel Operative and this had been clearly evident in her teachings to her daughter.
Before the young child could reply, the door chime rang causing the redheaded woman to glance at her daughter with an odd look… a look which turned into astonishment when the young woman opened the door and saw the ANUBIS' Counselor standing in the corridor.
"Am I catching you at a bad time?" Ens. Mein inquired as she gazed onto the features of the redheaded woman and saw surprise and puzzlement.
"No… not at all…" Sabrina replied hesitantly, glancing over her shoulder at the young child who had returned to her playing, the adoptive mother wondering how Talia had managed to know that Susan had been at the door even before the Cns had used the door chime.
"Lt. Cmdr. Maya and I are going around inviting members of the staff to a surprise party to celebrate Lea's promotion… and of course you and Talia are more than welcomed to come. The celebration is set to take place tomorrow night in Sickbay" The smiling Cns explained as she continued to watch the way the mother had been carefully scrutinizing her daughter as if the young child had been about to shape-shift into some mythological creature.
"We'll be there." The young woman confirmed, barely managing to take her eyes off Talia long enough to smile at the Cns before closing the door and returning to observing the child who apparently shared more than simple genetics with her biological mother.
As soon the door had closed, the mother turned to face her daughter who
acted as if the visit by the ship's Cns had never occurred. Slowly the
young woman approached and joined the child on the floor pushing aside
some of the mismatched toys that had been scattered about.
"Talia… how did you know that it was Ens. Mei at the door?" Rikar
inquired as she ran her fingers through the soft locks of her daughter's hair.
The young child halted her playing for a moment, looked up at her
mother with an expression that eerily echoed that of her mother's when she had
it in her mind not to answer any questions in order to guard her secrets
before casually returning to her toys. If there had been any doubts
what-so-ever in Sabrina's mind as to the genetic lineage of the child, the look that Talia had given her adoptive mother had settled them once and for all.
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"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light" 2005 post #527
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Draxx/Rikar's Quarters
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
