Shadows

Posted on Mon Aug 24th, 2020 @ 3:43pm by Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell
Edited on on Thu Sep 3rd, 2020 @ 2:46pm

Mission: Deep Space Nine
Location: USS Wayfarer
Timeline: MD-01

'Where...where am I?'

Rosaleen made her way along a dirt path through some of the thickest forest that she could ever remember experiencing in her life. Her life...what was her life? Only shadows and whispers greeted her when she tried to remember where she had just come from. In fact, she remembered nothing before the moment she awoke in a small clearing in the woods. There had been only the lone path leading out of the clearing...a path that she had been traveling on for what seemed like hours now.

'Never mind that. Who am I, and how did I get here?'

The path ran straight. It had since she started upon it, with not the slightest deviance in either direction or elevation. But even though it seemed almost pointless to continue on, she knew that she must. Something awaited her at the ultimate end of this journey. But what? I was almost as if...

'Better to get this over with...' The voice past by her like a ghost. There was a familiarity to it, but just it's mere presence startled Rosaleen. She thought she was alone. "Hello. Is somebody there?" She called out into the woods. But no answer came forth. Perhaps it was her imagination that...

"No, my child. It is not your imagination. It is simply artifacts of your other existence."

Rosaleen spun around to find an elderly woman standing where she had just passed. The thicket was much too dense for her to have made her way from the woods. It was as if she had appeared out of thin air. "Who are you?"

A gentle smile. "I am Niochellete. I tend to the path, and those who travel upon it. And you...we have been waiting for you to find your way here. Come...join me. We have much to discuss." Beside the woman a bench had appeared at some point. Niochellete sat at the far end and indicated that Rosaleen should join her. Which she did.

"If I may...please. You know who I am?"

"Oh, most certainly. You are one of the new risers. A Caomhnóir na Ríochta Nua...Guardian of the New Kingdom. Sorry, the translation does not work in your language well. We will need to change that."

Rosaleen smiled. "Actually I understood you fine. I'm not quite sure how though." She reached out with her mind, looking for any fragment of an existence which had put forth all effort to elude her every effort to remember. "But, please. Who am I? Me...my name. What am I? Where did I come from?"

The woman held up a hand, chuckling as she did so. "Slow down, my child. You are going to hurt yourself." She paused for a moment, looking up towards the unseen sky before nodding at seemingly clear air. She turned back to Rosaleen and smiled. "You are Rosaleen Caer Tiena McLaughlin O'Donnell. First daughter of Aoibheann, The Countess of Brú na Bóinne." She reached over and took Rosaleen's hand before continuing. "We are known by many names in many places. But...well, you are Ka'bu. We are a race of travelers and explorers, and our experiences are shared and enjoyed by all. Rarely do we settle in any one place for a length of time, but over time there are those of us who have left the path to take pause. Such was the case with your mother." Niochellete suddenly laughed. "Oh, I must say that decision was not a popular one with her Father. You see, they happened to spend time on a young world that captured their curiosity. In the end, though as it always has been, it came time to travel on. However, there were a few who chose to stay behind, as they had inexplicably become attached to the planet. Your planet...Earth. Anyway, after much debate, the decision was made to allow them to stay. And the rest, as they say on your planet, is history."

Rosaleen sat silently, taking in as much as she could. It was almost overwhelming, but oddly familiar at the same time. "That seems rather simplistic, and quite abbreviated as well. Why would anybody from such a nomadic group suddenly decide to..." And at that moment everything became crystal clear. "My mother. She fell in love with somebody on Earth, didn't she?"

The glint in the woman's eyes told her everything that she needed to know before she even spoke. "Oh, you could say that. She was absolutely smitten. There was no talking any sense into her, as your Grandfather would have said. And of course, her best friend decided to stay behind with her...to keep an eye on her. And no, her father did not by that excuse one bit either."

Rosaleen reached out with everything that she could muster, trying to find even one solitary link back to the world that haunted her in it's lingering memory, looking for any sign of familiarity, but was unable to sense anything that she could decipher. Shadows and wraiths were all that answered her call.

Niochellete smiled at Rosaleen. "You are learning...growing now. You are starting to understand what you are, and what you are capable of. You are well advanced in your control. Much more-so than Kathleen. But her time will come."

Rosaleen had still been trying to make sense of the maelstrom that she was fighting through when Niochellete mentioned Kathleen. For just a moment, a point lightened within the storm, but quickly was re-absorbed into the storm within her mind. "Her eyes snapped open. "I'm sorry...to whom are you referring to?" The name rang with a hint of familiarity, but she was unable to make any true connection. This was so damn frustrating...

But the woman did not answer her question. At least not directly. "She is part of your other existence. That which you left behind to journey here." Suddenly her features turned severe. "That path, if you choose to explore it, is one that you must find yourself. It is forbidden for me to help you. If it is where you are truly meant to exist, you will find your way back. If not..." She did not continue her thought. Instead, she stood and smoothed her dress. "But...as much a pleasure as this has been, I must tend to others. I will be watching, though. And for what it's worth...I do hope you find your path home. Regardless of what the Elders may think, I believe you belong there. I believe that is your true home now."

Rosaleen was about to ask another question...anything to delay the woman's departure, but an odd noise...like tinkling bells...sounded from behind her, she turned her head but for an instant to look, and when she turned back around...

She was once again alone.

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Rosaleen's alarm chimed loudly, as the volume had increased to maximum while trying to awaken her. The room had turned so cold that she could see hints of her breath. Fighting down the panic that surged up to her throat, she quickly started to exert control back over herself. The temperature slowly started to normalize, but the panic was still there for some reason. Something had happened. Something important. If only she could remember...

Just how important that what was wouldn't be known for days.

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Lieutenant Rosaleen O'Donnell
Chief of Operations & Logistics
USS Wayfarer