S2 Epilogue: "To the Elements be Free"

[Jada]

[USS Tigris]

'Well, there's a side of your second officer you might not have seen before...'

Jada opened out her sketch book and slowly turned the pages, displaying a series of drawings done in simple pencil and careful lines, favouring realistic interpretations but with her own views. The first few, Jada's oldest and admittedly done with her least skill, were of the jungles of her homeworld of Thirat, scenes with dense profusions of foliage and thick, low-branched trees, a sense of menace in every dark shadow but beauty in every flower and creature. Some were more focused, studies of snakes (included Snake himself), insects, a mobile flower. There was an idyllic Orion village and hunting and logging. Jada had only meant to tease K'lizh with her drawing of him, but looking at these pictures now, at this time, she was filled with a deep homesickness for the homeland she'd lost, and the replacement home she would lose.

She passed over a few more: an Orion militia fort, a ruined town. Bodies of the dead. Here, her style was more jagged, hurried, even violent, with much dark shading. She riffled quickly through these, as if in embarrassment or shame.

Then they were back to a more peaceful style with smooth lines. There were Starfleet ships outside and in, a lot of the Tempest, of its Ten Forward and the people there, worlds they'd visited like Okekai and Teplan. There were also pieces done in the ships' art class, where Jada tried to extend her technique and styles. And, of course, K'lizh. Naked. 'Here we are!' She'd emphasised musculature, elements of strength and speed, wild fur, giving him an almost pantherish, even feral aspect. He could almost be standing on a heap of bodies with a sabre in hand on the cover of a fantasy novel. 'Of course, this is in the Orion "heroic" style. The real K'lizh doesn't look quite like this.' She lowered her voice conspiratorially, knowing full well the Caitian would hear perfectly, 'Between you and me, I suspect the picture outside is a bit of a self-portrait. I had to erase the beer belly and six man-boobs, and add a bit of size...'

[Klizh]

[Tigris]

Alex left the implications alone, declining the opportunity for an impulsive comment out of respect for their surroundings and the three pips he still wore, albeit not for much longer. Once onboard, he set down the box with Jada's other things before taking a deep breath. Steeped in a closed environment for weeks with the life support and ventilation offline, the stale air was tinged with hints of machinery lubricant, grime, and age. To a pilot and someone who never felt quite comfortable with his feet on solid ground, it was a comforting scent. "I'd love to take a look." Alex obliged, curiously interested. "I've never been very good at drawing or painting, and most of my keepsakes are more tactile or sentimental in nature." He paused, glancing at K'lizh and then back at Jada, wary of becoming collateral damage in their little prank war. "Any warnings about what I might see?"

[USS Tigris]

'Well, there's a side of your second officer you might not have seen before...'

Jada opened out her sketch book and slowly turned the pages, displaying a series of drawings done in simple pencil and careful lines, favouring realistic interpretations but with her own views. The first few, Jada's oldest and admittedly done with her least skill, were of the jungles of her homeworld of Thirat, scenes with dense profusions of foliage and thick, low-branched trees, a sense of menace in every dark shadow but beauty in every flower and creature. Some were more focused, studies of snakes (included Snake himself), insects, a mobile flower. There was an idyllic Orion village and hunting and logging. Jada had only meant to tease K'lizh with her drawing of him, but looking at these pictures now, at this time, she was filled with a deep homesickness for the homeland she'd lost, and the replacement home she would lose.

She passed over a few more: an Orion militia fort, a ruined town. Bodies of the dead. Here, her style was more jagged, hurried, even violent, with much dark shading. She riffled quickly through these, as if in embarrassment or shame.

Then they were back to a more peaceful style with smooth lines. There were Starfleet ships outside and in, a lot of the Tempest, of its Ten Forward and the people there, worlds they'd visited like Okekai and Teplan. There were also pieces done in the ships' art class, where Jada tried to extend her technique and styles. And, of course, K'lizh. Naked. 'Here we are!' She'd emphasised musculature, elements of strength and speed, wild fur, giving him an almost pantherish, even feral aspect. He could almost be standing on a heap of bodies with a sabre in hand on the cover of a fantasy novel. 'Of course, this is in the Orion "heroic" style. The real K'lizh doesn't look quite like this.' She lowered her voice conspiratorially, knowing full well the Caitian would hear perfectly, 'Between you and me, I suspect the picture outside is a bit of a self-portrait. I had to erase the beer belly and six man-boobs, and add a bit of size...'

K'lizh merely smirked and rocked on the balls of his feet as Alex expressed his concern about Jada's sketchbook, but when she opened it, he edged closer to watch her flip through the pages. He had never gotten around to seeing her work the day he had volunteered to model. He remembered it well. The art teacher had gone on about the way light would play off his dark fur and slender frame, but it hadn't taken much convincing. Caitians had no inhibitions about nudity, and considered humans' hang-ups to be quite silly, even without the fur to keep them warm.

He tilted his head as he finally saw her portrait of him, muzzle splitting into a smirk. Ignoring her "whispered" barbs, he said, "Why, Jada. If I knew this was how to perceived me, I might have considered going off my nasal suppressants and letting you ravish me a long time ago. I can just imagine the looks of shock and admiration on my parents' faces as Starfleet shipped my body back home and told them how I died."

[Jada]

[USS Tigris]

'Har har. Sure, whatever keeps you warm in your bunk at night, commander.' Jada returned. It was easier for them to joke and poke fun at each-other at like this, now they were no longer serving together with a rank structure between them, and could just be friends. 'Speaking of, did I ever show you my shadow-cat fur and fangs?' The black fur was rolled up in the duffel bag with her clothes, but she put back her sketchbook and fished the fang necklace out of her box and put it around her neck. Uniform codes could go now too. Of course, K'lizh had seen it, that time she and s'Metra had come to the Bridge dressed as cats, supposedly in honour of shadow-cat cubbing season, but mostly in mockery of cat jokes.

After making sure Snake was settled, she pointed to K'lizh's bottle and asked 'So, are we going to Ten Forward to drink this or what?'

[Klizh]

Tigris

K'lizh remembered a time when he had avoided Jada, concerned about her pheromones. When they had been forced to work together, he had finally relaxed, and it had been the first major crew rotation that had brought them together, bonding over the loss of friendships. Now, they were being torn apart, but K'lizh fully intended to keep in touch with her. "Yes, I have. I was thinking we cold open this in here, but Ten Forward makes more sense. One final viewing out the forward windows."

[Jada]

[USS Tigris]

'Good idea.' Jada agreed fondly, looking forward to a last look at Ten Forward. She gestured them out the airlock, saying 'With you in a tick.'

Hanging back, Jada took Snake out of his tank and draped him over her shoulders, figuring he'd like a last look around the ship too.  And there was no one left to complain about an uncontained snake on board. The small snek wound around her neck and tasted the air with interest. Jada wondered if he knew this was the last time they'd see this place. 'Pets you can wear, they're great.' she said, catching up to K'lizh and Alex. She walked behind, not as reluctant as she had been, and discreetly using the nano-spray marker pen she'd palmed...

[Ten Forward]

A few drinks in, or many more (there was a lot of stuff left in the Galley to get through), Jada proposed, purely as a hypothetical, of course, 'We don't have to go, you know. We could stay on board, refuse to go. Protest this unfair treatment. Take the Tempest for one last flight. Turn pirate.' she laughed. The Orion was just joking, wasn't she?

[Klizh]

U.S.S. Tempest, Ten Forward

A few drinks in, or many more (there was a lot of stuff left in the Galley to get through), Jada proposed, purely as a hypothetical, of course, 'We don't have to go, you know. We could stay on board, refuse to go. Protest this unfair treatment. Take the Tempest for one last flight. Turn pirate.' she laughed. The Orion was just joking, wasn't she?

The "charming" thing about Jada was how it wasn't always obvious whether she was joking or legitimately being crazy. A mixture of both, K'lizh suspected. "Sounds like a lot a work," K'lizh responded dryly.

For his part, he sat back in his chair, sipping his drink and remembering. Ten Forward was the first place he had come after depositing his luggage in his quarters. Captain Rellek had been holding a meet and greet for the newly-assembled senior officers, and a then-shy Ensign K'lizh had been shocked that she had even acknowledged his presence. If he relaxed his eyes, he could almost see the ghosts of past selves walking around this room, trying to look like he belonged and not get noticed at the same time. The Tempest had been his childhood dream and, at the same time, the place where he had finally grown up.

He suspected this wonderful ship had been that way for many people over the years.

"A toast," he proposed to the remaining officers with him. "To the Tempest. May she fly again some day, and may her next crew feel as blessed to be within her as we did."

Not long after that, the assembled officers dispersed, to make their final preparations for their departure. K'lizh found himself alone in Ten Forward, watching the stars dart past her. When they had first launched, K'lizh had suggested an old Caitian tradition, to play a song to bless the ship. Rellek had vetoed the notion, and K'lizh had never gotten around to playing it for the ship. He couldn't even remember what song he had selected, all those years ago.

But now he could think of only one song to say goodbye to her.

"Computer," K'lizh said. "Access ship's intercom, play music selection K'lizh-Omega."

Summer days, where did you go,
You've let me down so bad,
Clouds fill the sky,
Gone is the dream
My happy hunting ground.
Wild buffalo played and I never saw a rainy day.
But it looks like summer days ain't coming back.

March April May, June and July,
You took me for a fall.
Big chief he lie,
Cold wind blows cool, so cold to make you die.
Mountain breeze, ocean bay and I never saw a rainy day.
But it looks like them summer days ain't coming back.

Laredo Tornado,
Adios amigos
What can you do, when your dream world is gone.
And your friends and lovers too.
No no no no no

West Winter Street under the ground,
The air that makes you choke,
Towers of concrete, hellish go-round,
Were there when I awoke
City sky, pouring down with rain
That can never hope to ease the pain.
And it looks like summer days ain't coming back.

Laredo Tornado
Adios amigos.
Laredo Tornado
Adios amigos.

"Computer... kill the lights in Ten Forward."