Sarrik's Dream

     "Morning, Captain. What are you working on so early?" 

     Sarrik blinked, looking up from the PADD she'd been typing on, to find Commander Gree Marik settling into the chair opposite her. Around them, the officers' mess was quiet, with few others present this early in the 'morning'. The Bajoran pushed a steaming cup of junji tea to her.

     "Oh. Thank you, Gree." Sarrik said. She pulled it closer, moving her long-empty one out of the way. She inhaled, savouring the fragrant aroma, and took a warming sip. The ambient neutral temperature of the base was meant to be accommodating to the majority of inhabitants, and while it wasn't completely unpleasant, it was a bit cooler than the Rihannsu Vulcan cared for. 

     "A story, based on a dream I had. Wouldn't leave me alone. I had to get up and write it down."

     "Share?" Gree asked. 

     Sarrik hesitated a moment, then started to slide the PADD over to him. He put her fingers on it, stopping the movement. 

     "Read it? Please?"

     She twitched a grin, and drew the tablet back. "If you insist, Commander."

     "I do." Gree returned the grin. She knew her assistant enjoyed the sound of her voice. He called it soothing. She called him crazy.

     "Very well. Let's begin--"

--------------------

The Hermit of Talboa

Talboa Forest, Northern Argoth, 10000 ft above the Aeryth Ocean, Year of the Minaret’s Horn, 1722 CE

     Fuming still, I pushed my way into the depths of Talboa Forest. Needle fronds slapped against me, stinging where they hit flesh. Talboa was a forest of regal pine and mastiff evergreens, grown close together. The trees around me soughed and creaked in a soothing symphony. Since moving here some months ago, the forest had become my sanctuary. 

     Despite the chill, the long walk from the village had left me warm beneath my worn russet cloak. My satchel thumped against my side as I walked. Anger still bubbled in my belly, as I dwelled on the argument with my stepmother that had driven me into the forest this day.

     I wanted to attend university. Elaine refused.

     "That's a waste of money, Mai. What you need is to make yourself a good match, settle down, and start a family." 

     My temper burned hotter. I didn't want to 'settle down'. I wanted to learn! I wanted to explore the world and have adventures! I definitely didn't want to be bogged down raising children. That was Cecile's dream, not mine. 

     Elaine always gave the same tired excuse. She could be rid of me, but no… I couldn't have anything her daughter didn't. Times like this, I wish I found following orders easier, and gone to the Fleet Academy after all. By now, my training would be done. But that ship had flown long ago. They rarely took new cadets over the age of twelve. 

     A distinctly masculine cough startled me back to the present. I gave an undignified yelp, and my glowlamp went flying. It landed with a muted thud on the matting of pine needles littering the forest floor. Heart hammering, I bent to retrieve it. Fear fueling my anger, I turned to glare at the man sitting propped against a tree.

     He reached up and snapped his fingers, igniting a glowlantern hung on a broken branch above his head. It illuminated a mane of curly black locks shot through with grey, and a pair of piercing grey eyes that matched my glare. Nearly everything about the man was grey, including his rather shabby clothes, his thick cloak, and the leather toolkit unfurled in his lap. He remained silent, continuing to hold my gaze, scowling.

     "By the Oak, what are you doing?" I demanded. "Waiting to frighten unwary travellers to death?"

     He cocked an eyebrow and the scowl deepened before twisting upward in a slight smirk. 

     "People out wandering may find death in the forest tonight, but not from me. The coming storm is far more dangerous," the grey man snapped, his voice a gravelly growl. "I was listening to the trees. At least, I was until you almost trampled me. You're either very foolish, or very brave, to have wandered so deep into the forest with an iceblizzard coming. Which that is remains to be seen."

     His words were like a spark to dry leaves. My shoulders went back and my hands curled into fists. Had the response been different, or even just less condescending, we might have parted ways and my life would have followed a different course. 

     However, those drawled-out words struck a raw nerve. I hated being here! Three months ago, my father died in a mining accident when the mine he was working in collapsed. Not long after, my stepmother Elaine had dragged her daughter and I out here, to the middle of nowhere. 

     "Who are you, sir, to be lecturing me on wandering in the forest, if an iceblizzard is coming when you yourself are out here dozing at the foot of a tree?" I bit off, trying to hide my deepening fear. I started my walk under clear skies. No storm had been predicted, but Argosian weather could be as mercurial as the Clockwork God of the Technomancers, and the village was several miles distant. 

    The man's scowl returned.

    "I was not dozing. I was listening to the trees. Just then they were saying to me to watch out for the oblivious girl-child intent on running me down." He pointedly ignored my fury, and busied himself with returning a variety of chisels, knives, tiny hammers, and pencils to the leather toolkit. Rolling the kit up, he tucked it into a grey rucksack beside him. A small sketchpad and a half-carved block of wood followed. 

     "I am not a child," I ground out, trembling. "I am a woman proper."

     The grey man levered himself from the ground. The smugness passed from his face and he studied me shrewdly. Hooded grey eyes took in my appearance- patched, ill-fitting clothes draped on a gaunt frame, an unruly mane of loose raven curls, and eyes the colour of river mud behind specs held together with resin. Cecile had broken them and my stepmother refused to have them replaced. 

     After a moment, the man plucked his glowlantern from its branch and started down the path heading deeper into the forest.p, leaving me sputtering. 

     I felt the pressure change, and bone-chilling wind blasted through the canopy, bringing with it stinging shards of sleet. I cursed under my breath. The man had been right.

     Iceblizzards were caused when the sky-continent drifted into certain types of weather below. It was then pushed up and over the edge by the effects between the magnaberm beneath the planet surface, and the lucavite deposits embedded in the underside of the sky-continent, keeping it aloft. 

    "Well, come on then." 

     I looked up to find that the man had halted. He jerked his head, indicating I should follow.

     "I'm not following you! A strange man wanting to lead me deeper into the forest. Yethe. Plenty of daylight left. I'll take my chances getting home." 

      A shadowed look flickered across his face. He shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, before disappearing into the forest.

     I stared after him a moment, confused over the bizarre encounter. Who was this man? And why was he heading away from Tribeca, if there was a storm? Another blast of frigid wind had me pulling my cloak tighter, and putting those questions out of mind.  

     Half an hour later I was regretting my decision. The blizzard howled around me. Sleet pounded down through the canopy. Already, the trees were becoming encased in a crystalline clear mantle. It'd be beautiful, if I weren't freezing to death. The temperature continued to drop. I was shivering uncontrollably now, my cloak stiffened with ice. I flexed my fingers, wincing in pain. I needed to find some kind of shelter. But where?

     Go left.

     Great. Now I was hallucinating. 

     Go. Left.

     Who knew hallucinations could be so pushy? I held my lamp up, and something blue flashed faintly to the left. 

     Now I was seeing things too. Lovely.

     I forged off the path to where the light had come from. The flicker came a few times more. The last was brightest, illuminating a needle laden hollow in a large mastiff pine big enough for a person. I squeezed and used my satchel to block the hole as best I could. 

     I was going to die here. 

     Would anyone find me? Would Elaine even send anyone looking? Probably not. 

     Tears pricked my eyes. I pulled my scarf up and tried to wipe them away.  

     Sleep.

     A sense of calm wrapped around me that I'd only felt once before, as a young child. An avalanche had buried me. My panic had diminished under the low thrumming thud of a rhythmic pulse that said 'You are safe. You will be found.'  

     A Technomancer attached to the mage-metal mine my father was stationed at found me tucked quiet and calm inside my snow cocoon. 

     Sleep.

      Exhaustion threatened to pull me under. The shivering stopped, replaced by warmth. Everything felt sluggish now. I knew falling asleep was a bad idea, but the hallucination was insistent. My eyes slid shut. As I was falling asleep, I thought I heard the same pulsing from that long ago accident. 'You are safe. You will be found.'

     The sound of something large moving near my tree roused me some time later. I struggled to open my eyes, my body fought to go back to sleep. The satchel disappeared, and I was pulled bodily out of the tree.

     "Blessed Holly. You're still alive."

     I found myself lifted off the ground. I struggled, weakly batting at a broad chest. Blinking, I looked up into a pair of worried grey eyes. It was the strange man from before. The last person I expected to look for me.

     "Who are you?" 

     "My name is Ari Jeffersson. I live here."

     The name sounded familiar. 

     "The hermit of Talboa?" 

     I had purchased a stone carving crafted by the mysterious 'Ari Jeffersson' shortly after we arrived in Tribeca. It was a small owl, my father's favourite bird. 

     "The very same," he muttered. "I'm sure they warned you to steer clear of me. Normally, that's good advice. I don't like intrusions. However, you need shelter for the night."

     "Now you want me to spend the night with you? We've only just met. Do you make all the ladies feel so special or just the ones too young for you?" I said, voice fading.

     I shouldn't have been baiting Ari. He was offering sanctuary after all, but it was worth it to watch incredulity and indignation war on his face. In the end, mirth won over both, and he tipped his head back and laughed long and loud as the ice continued to beat down around us.

     “Only the very special ones.” His eyes shone with a wry amusement. "Or I could be younger than you think."

     True, I mused. His face didn't quite look as old as his silver-shot hair made him seem. His demeanour, on the other hand, suggested a maturity beyond most males my age. 

     “You have nothing to fear from me. I have no designs upon your innocence. I'll let the Constable know that I'm sheltering a wayward villager. He can send someone to collect you once the storm is over." A pause. "You know my name, young lady, but I am at a loss as to how to address you.”

     “Mai…" My voice cut out. I coughed, and tried again. "Mai Connlansdottr.” 

     “A pleasure to meet you, Mai ny'della,” he said. The gentle smirk twisted his lips again. "Let's get you somewhere warm."

     There was a mild prick against my throat and I tumbled back into darkness. 

     I woke, snug and warm, in an unfamiliar bed. Dim light suffused the room. I found my specs on the bedside table and put them on. The movement triggered a glowlamp to brighten. The world sharpened and I noticed my satchel nearby. 

     I sat up, stretched, and squeaked. I was now wearing soft, pale grey pyjamas. They smelled of pine, cedar, and earth, with a hint of something metallic. My cheeks warmed at the thought that Ari had undressed and redressed me. 

     “Leave be, you overgrown featherduster! We've a guest. You can have some when I’m finished.” Ari's voice came from somewhere beyond the small bedroom.  

     Feeling shy to be wearing my benefactor’s clothes, I ventured out into the living area. My jaw dropped. Ari's home surrounded three stout mastiff evergreens that had grown together in a rough triangle, and now served as the central supports for the house. The trees rose through the roof far above. 

     Barely visible, a depth well generator nestled between the triangle of trees, rising into shadow. A stack of depleted rods lay against one side, waiting to be sent for recharging. I arched an eyebrow. Ari must bring in more than it would first appear with his crafting to be able to afford the upkeep on the generator. Those rods needed to be recharged by Technomancers, and were usually relegated for military use, powering airships, laboratory facilities, and other major buildings.

     The cottage was one big room with three levels, though knotted pine walls partitioned off several smaller chambers on the ground floor. The upper levels contained shelves upon shelves of books. Interspersed between the shelves were numerous workbenches containing projects in progress. A fire blazed in the stone hearth adjacent to the kitchen where Ari stood over a counter. A knife flashed as he chopped something while carrying on a quiet, one-sided conversation with…

     My eyes widened.

     A soot eagle.

     Of course the man had a dangerous predator as a pet. 

     The raptor perched on a stool near the cooking counter. The casual presence of such a bird should have been a clue as to Ari’s true identity.

    I made a strangled noise. The eagle stopped trying to snatch food from Ari’s counter and fixed a piercing, pale grey gaze on me. Sleek dark grey feathers puffed out in aggression. The soot eagle screamed once and hopped off the stool. Its claws clicked on the floor as it stalked towards me. I backed away, not wanting to be anywhere near the bird’s razor sharp, metal-infused claws and beak.

     “Merc, behave yourself. Don’t scare our guest,” Ari chided the eagle, without turning around. It paused, settling its feathers, then continued to approach, all the while making soft grumbling noises. “He won’t harm you. He’s just curious.” 

     Merc stopped in front of me and regarded me for a long moment, before lowering his head. I felt frozen, unable to move. Despite Ari’s assurance that the eagle wouldn’t harm me, I found my pulse racing. Merc headbutted my leg, still grumbling. 

     "Ari..."

     "He wants you to scratch him," Ari said. 

     I warily stretched out my hand, brushing fingers over soft neck feathers. Merc grumbled happily as I scratched behind his head, then wandered back to resume his place on the stool.

     "I contacted the Constable," Ari said as he washed his hands, "and let him know I had a found a 'Mai Connlansdottr' in the forest, and brought her to my house." 

     "Dos mere," I said. 

     "He wanted me to call once you woke so he could get an address from you." Ari's eyes flicked to his hands. He finished drying them, and hung the towel back on its hook. His focus shifted back to me. Myriad emotions flickered in the grey depths of his eyes. Compassion. Determination. Anger. Curiosity. Annoyance.    

     "No one has been reported missing, Mai."

     "That doesn't surprise me," I muttered. I followed Ari to the far side of the depth well, where a comm panel nested with the generator in its alcove. He flicked a switch.

     “Constable Arnitsson, come in.” There was a long pause.

     “Constable’s not in right now, Master Jeffersson. This is Relsson. Can I help you?” 

     Ari grunted an acknowledgement.

     “My visitor has woken."

     "Still no report, Master Jeffersson," Relsson replied. 

     "Well, now she can give you her address, and you can let her family know she's safe. Mai, if you please.?" Ari urged me forward.

     “273 Eckhart, by the Grey Goose Tavern. My step-mother. Elaine Mervinsdottr," I said. 

     Relsson repeated the information, and thanked us. He said he would personally inform my family and that the Constable or one of the deputies would come to collect me once the weather permitted. Ari turned back to me, brows drawn together, after bidding the deputy good night. 

     “Your stepmother does not share your father’s name?” Ari asked. 

     “My father passed away a few months ago,” I replied, low. The deep ache of grief bloomed in my chest. I grit my teeth, fists clenched, and rode the wave of pain til it passed, leaving me feeling empty. The others acted like they didn’t even care. I knew Elaine saw me as an unnecessary burden, and would seek to make a match for me as soon as possible, so long as it wasn’t more prestigious than any that could be arranged for Cecile. 

     Standing by Ari, I realised I was almost as tall as him. My face burned with unbidden shame at this reminder that I was considered unattractively tall and thin. I was hardly a prize. I knew that. Elaine and Cecile loved to tease me, especially with my da no longer there to keep them in check. My throat closed up and tears stung my eyes. I would not cry! Not now. Not here.

     “Come, a hot bath, and some good food will set you right.”

     Ari led me to a small room off the far side of the house. Another wonder lay hidden inside-- a proper washroom with a full bath. A tub meant a recycler and a water reservoir. For a 'hermit' living in the middle of the forest, Ari managed to keep a pretty snazzy home. 

      “Sorry the clothes are a bit big. Still, better than sleeping in wet outdoor clothes, kas? Go on. Take all the time you need. Supper will be ready soon” Ari frowned, lines creasing his face. He held the door open for me. I gave a weak grin.

     “Now you’re trying to get me out of my clothes, again” I chided, tugging at my shirt. "But seriously, dos mere. If you hadn't come back for me, I would have died. There's no way I can repay that."

      Ari's mouth twitched up in a grin, and the stormy darkness disappeared from his eyes. He gave a bow of the head, but said nothing, and returned to his cooking. I filled the tub with hot water, and sank into its steaming depths.

     My thoughts turned to the time before my da passed. I let the tears come this time, silently, not wanting my grief to intrude on Ari. After a time, my eyes drifted close and I dozed in the water's warmth.

     My bath had long since cooled when a soft knocking woke me. 

     "Mai, are you okay?" Ari's muffled voice came through the closed (and locked) door.

     I squeaked and scrunched up in the corner of the bath, disoriented. "I'm fine! I dozed off. I'll be done in a moment!" Fear quickened my pulse before I recalled where I was.

     "Take the time you need. Supper's ready when you finish."

     "Ah… ok. Dos mere." 

     I waited till I heard Ari move away before redressing in the grey pyjamas. The smell of cooking food filled the cozy home and set my tummy to rumbling. 

     "Just in time." There were three steaming plates on the small dining table. He carried over the stool, complete with eagle, and placed it before one of the plates. 

    "Sit, sit." He gestured towards the table. "What do you care to drink? I've water, of course. Cider and hot tea. Or if you prefer mulled wine...?"

     "Water, please."

    Ari returned to the table a final time with two cups of water, and a third filled with pungent alcohol I recognised as furywine. The potent brew was to real wine what wine was to water, and few could drink it with impunity.

     "So, tell me, what were you doing that deep in Talboa?" Ari asked. "Usually it's only the Constable that comes out this far, if he needs help with something."

     "I didn't realise I'd gone that far." I twitched a shrug. "I had an argument with my stepmother about not being able to speak plainly, or do what I want with my life. Well, another argument. I needed to get away. I couldn't stand being there any longer." 

     "Hmmm. And what do you want to do with your life?"

     "I want to go to university, to be a culturalist." I sighed, pushing my food around before stabbing several carrots. 

     "A worthy goal. Why doesn't your stepmother want you to go?"

     "She wants to marry me off, make me someone else's problem. " I snorted. "That's the last thing I want."

     Merc grumbled softly. I stifled a yelp of surprise when the big bird flew to the back of my chair. I froze as he proceeded to nuzzle my head, still grumbling. My breath quickened, and I looked to Ari for help. 

     "He won't harm you. He knows you're upset. It's a comfort gesture."

     I turned slightly, reaching back with wary care to scratch his neck feathers. Tears stung my eyes again. How long had it been since anyone had comforted me when I was stressed?

      "Dos mere, Merc," I whispered. 

     Merc caught my hand with his foot, and squeezed gently before fluttering back to his stool. I looked at my hand, then Merc, and finally Ari. Amusement lit his grey eyes.

     "He's quite perceptive," Ari said. "And a right royal pain in my ass most of the time." 

     Merc gave an indignant squawk and nipped at Ari's hand. Ari jerked away, and tapped the eagle's beak. "It's true, and you know it." The bird made a rude noise, and clacked his beak. 

     I laughed at their antics, mood lightening. 

     "What help do you give the Constable?" I'd been curious since Ari had mentioned it.

     "Pardon?" Ari's brow furrowed. "Oh, that. Just a bit of consulting with difficult cases. Nothing interesting really."

     I looked around Ari's home again. While the upper balconies housed Ari's amazing library, the ground floor was more utilitarian. Everything was neat. Organized. 

     "Jeffersson ny'dek, why…" I stopped, glancing down at my hands.

     "Kas?" 

     "Never mind." I shook my head. "I was going to ask why you live out here alone, but that's not my business."

     A muscle twitched in Ari's jaw. His face closed down. Eyes the colour of full-bellied thunderheads met mine, and fear bloomed in my belly. I shrank back, looking down, away from Ari's fierce countenance. There was another flutter of wings. I risked a glance at Ari, and saw Merc on the back of his chair. The eagle nibbled his hair, crooning softly. Ari's eyes were closed, head bowed. His hands were both on the table now, balled into whitened fists. Fine tremors ran through his tense frame. Despite the fear, I reached out and covered Ari's hand with mine. Whatever had brought him here, the memories seemed painful. 

     "I apologise, Jeffersson ny'dek. I didn't mean to upset you."

     Ari flinched at my touch, jerking his head up, eyes still closed. I pulled away as he opened them. They were lighter again. He blew out a slow sigh, forcing his hands to uncurl.

     "It is I who should apologise, for scaring you." Ari ran a hand through his hair. "I had a disagreement with my Brother, a commitment I couldn't die up to."

     "What?" The question turned into a startled yelp when Merc gave a piercing scream. Ari and I winced. 

     "Nothing. A bad attempt at obscure humour. I am sorry. Sometimes the memory gets the better of me."

     "I understand." 

     The rest of the meal passed in companionable silence. My eyes kept straying back to the shelves upon shelves of books above us. 

     Ari chuckled.

     “The books, they interest you? Go ahead and explore if you like."

     I ascended the stairs that led to the second level, and prowled around, drinking in the variety of books on the shelves, and glancing over the projects on the work benches. One held various wooden projects in different stages of completion. Another had stone carvings scattered upon it. A third held finished pieces of pottery and several sketches, some of which appeared to be complex blueprints for airships. 

     Down below, Ari had resumed arguing with Merc. I chose a book on Arkaddian cultural customs and brought it back down with me to Ari cleaning up from dinner.

     "Oh, Jeffersson ny'dek, you should have let me clean up."

     "Ari is fine!" He grimaced. "No, you go enjoy that," Ari tipped his head towards my book. "We've got this."

     I curled up in one of the two comfortable chairs before the hearth, and opened the book. I dozed off to the sound of Ari washing dishes and murmuring to Merc. I woke to find myself tucked in the same bed as before. The glowlights were doused, leaving the house dark. 

     Slipping on my specs, I headed to the washroom. Out in the main room, I found Ari asleep in a fireside chair, feet propped on a stool, and a book open in his lap. Firelight glinted off a thick chain around his neck, the ends of which disappeared into pyjamas similar to those he'd lent me. In slumber, Ari did look younger, as if the years weighted him during the day. 

     A low crooning drew my attention to the shadows beyond the chair in which Ari slept, where I could just make out Merc perched on his stool. I smiled and shook my head as I slipped into the washroom. The soot eagle trilled softly when I passed by again.

     You are safe. You are home. 

--------------------

     Sarrik finished and looked up to find others had joined Gree. Several applauded, including the Bajoran. Sarrik flushed, darkening her olive-tinged skin. 

     "A very interesting story, Captain. But I don't recognise the world. What planet is it?" Gree asked.

     "De Sikkari." Sarrik's brow creased. "A planet in a different universe entirely."

     "Were you Mai, in the dream?" 

     "Aye"

     "Is there more?" asked one of the bystanders. 

     "Well, not yet. That's where the dream ended." Sarrik replied. 

     "Are you going to keep writing?"

     "When I am inspired to. Maybe I'll dream the next part." 

     "You're going to share if you write more, right? I'm rather invested now." Gree gave her a sunny smile. Several others murmured agreement. 

     Sarrik chuckled. "If I write any more, I'll share, yes."