ILLUMINARRPG: (2,1221) CSRD Lieutenant T'shalaith

[Aaron DeLay, Teacher]

Mission:  An End and a Beginning

Day: 2

Stardate:  2446.03.17

(Vulcan - Mount Seleya- Temple- CSRD Lieutenant T'shalaith - 1221)

::Sath thine time here is ended. Thy place is readied.:



T'shalaith watched as the high priestess T'ral stood alone against the
tempest she knew once as her father.  The power that flowed within the
Vulcan was extraordinary - T'shalaith fell to her knees in her mind as the
full strength of the high priestess became visible and felt within the
confines of her own ruined mind.

She watched as the Katra of her father fell to his knees in front of her,
shaking from the power that flowed all around them.  T'shalaith had feared
her father’s power before she’d thrown herself into the wall - she had
feared what she might become.  In her mind, he was as powerful as they came
- that he could black out the universe if he so chose.  Now, in this
moment, she was reminded of the incredible strength of the most aged and
learned Vulcans - and how they used it.  They didn’t hide their Katras away
in order to turn a trick on their daughters.  They sought so much more than
the petty things of her father. T'ral’s voice quaked the ground and air
around them as if it was within each of them.

::Thee will come with me.::

T'shalaith shakily stood as the process began and her father’s Katra
attempted to shout once more in protest but was suddenly silenced by a
simple glance from T'ral.  The rumbling thunder of the high priestess and
her power continued to shake the ground as the figure of Sath’s Katra…his
mind and soul began to be drawn out like poison and into the hands of
T'ral.  He continued to fade as he glanced once more to her, and his face
filled with regret.  In this moment, she understood - in the dark troubled
Katra that her father had remained - much like she had remained sheltered
from him - the good part of him had been sealed away.  She reached out her
hand to him as his Katra faded further…and was gone.

The Vulcan High Priestess turned to T'shalaith, gave her a quiet nod…and
faded slowly away.  The power remained thundering in her ears but slowly
began to fade like her father.  Her mind was hers once more.  She stepped
around the debris of her memories.  She was getting a second chance to live
life…differently.  The memories would soon return, but she could choose a
path all her own - one without wondering if it was her father directing her
choices and not her.  She looked around and closed her eyes.  She began to
put her mind to work on rebuilding the connections, the memories…and the
emotions.  What an odd feeling she had at this moment - her emotions were
not roiling around within her…they were not troubling her at every decision
point.  Had her father truly influenced her that much?  When had the last
time she had been truly herself?

“I will live my life as my own now.  I am T'shalaith…and I will make my own
path in life.”  She said it quietly at first in her mind…but then was soon
shouting it from every corner as she ran over the quickly assembling paths
of her brain, jumping from memory to memory…idea to idea…and emotion to
emotion.  A surge of something resonated from deep within her…and she
struggled to identify it as it rushed to the surface until it slammed into
the sky above it, bright as the sun and as warm as one too.  She frowned at
it…and then recognized it.

It was joy.  It was rushing forth like a damned river released from behind
the concrete walls - it flowed in bright yellows and oranges - it
overwhelmed her senses and nearly sent her stumbling as she ran through her
mind…but she found her footing and continued running towards the light of
consciousness.  She wanted to be free of this world inside of her…and see
the outside once more.  There were names and faces out there that she had
missed…and did not want to lose sight of again.

She was moving faster than she had ever run in her mind, and she felt as if
she might achieve sunlight speed reaching for her eyes, her mouth, her
ears, her hands, her feet, her…

The brightness snapped into being as her eyes flitted open and the voice of
her captain spoke, "Welcome back Lieutenant."

She could see an outline of his face.  She felt the tears stinging her face
as she felt her muscles contract as she openly cried for the first time
since saying goodbye to her friend five years previous on Vulcan.  “It…is
good to be…back, Captain Sekal.”  She sobbed as her heart felt free for the
first time, “I…did not realize the weight of my father.”  She continued to
cry, tears spilling from her eyes as she remained laying down, “It is as if
the sun has come out from behind the clouds and I can feel it warming my
soul after being covered by rain clouds for so long.”

(Reply Sekal, any)

She pulled herself up, still in tears and shaking her head, “I feel…empty
and full at the same time, sir.”  T'shalaith accepted a towel as her sobs
continued as she spoke logically - an odd juxtaposition for even her -. “I
am free from him…and I can at last rebuild myself as myself…without fear or
worry of someone else being in there.”  She looked to him, sniffling, “I
spent my life building barriers to emotions as directed by my father…all
the time thinking that was the way.  That it was the only way.”

(reply Sekal, any)

T'shalaith grimaced through her tears, “I have much to learn, it seems.”

(reply Sekal, any)


(reply Sekal, any)

(posted by Aaron D.)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://startrekfreedom.com/pipermail/illuminar-rpg_startrekfreedom.com/attachments/20220702/011d99bb/attachment.html>