Star Trek: Eventide 777

It felt nice being home. The fields stretched to each side of the little path that would lead Namika to her parents’ house and the sun stood above her in a cloud free sky. This was where she had grown up, tall corn plants to each side of herself. She knew that her family was expecting her inside the house. Rico especially. He’d been meaning to show her something, something he’d been working on apparently. She knew her mother would welcome her with open arms and a home cooked meal. And yet, Mika hesitated. She lingered, with her shuffle bag over her shoulder, eyes resting on the house in the distance. Soft wind combed through her hair, tugging on her black curls. It smelled of Peru, just like it was supposed to. With that extra hint of dirt and salt, something the holodeck never got quite right. She was really here. With a big sigh, she gathered all of her thoughts and courage and started walking. Her trainers hit the sandy ground gently as she made her way towards the house and she tried not to imagine the disappointment in her mother’s eyes when she had to tell her the sad news. The black nail polish on her left index finger was chapped as she raised it to ring the doorbell.

Namika didn’t have to wait for long. Rico had been sitting in the living room all day, dying to hear the doorbell ring. When it finally did, he bolted from the room into the hallway and practically ripped the door open. “Mika!” He grinned at his sister. Funnily enough, they were about the same height, even though he was so much younger.

1

At the sight of Rico’s grin, her worry faded into the background. “Heyyyy, little man!” She matched his smile with her own. He’d gotten older. Of course he had. What else had she expected? And yet, it always caught her off guard just how much he’d changed. “It’s good to see you, come on, bing it in!” They spoke in Spanish. The language was wonderfully familiar. She offered a hug.

“Little?!”, he said, mock-offended and then he wrapped his arms around his sister tightly.

Mika returned the hug with just as much enthusiasm, chuckling a little. Oh, it was good to hug him again. It felt so very grounding.

“How was the flight here?”, he asked, when they finally broke apart.

“It was fine. Took a few days, but here I am, totally worth it. Though it would have been faster if they’d let me pilot the shuttle.” She grinned.

“Bet,” said Rico.

That was when another person appeared in the door, a woman in her 50s, with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She smiled lovingly when she saw who was standing outside the door, creases appearing on her cheeks and around the corners of her eyes. “Hello, hello, my darling! How have you been? Come, let me hug you!” Millie made her way past Rico and embraced her daughter. She ran a hand through Mika’s hair.

With a smile, Mika let the cuddle attack come over her. “I’m good, thanks, mamá.”

“Come inside! You too, Rico. Food’s ready! I made your favorite, mi muchacha.”

And so, they all went inside. Or were pulled inside by their mother.

1

Once again outside of the door, Mika took a deep breath of the warm air. “Fuck,” she cursed and let her eyes glide over the landscape. After a second of consideration, she went around the house and down a slope until she reached the stables. A few alpacas turned their heads as they saw her. She entered the stables.

3

Not too long afterwards, Rico took the same path.

1

The hover car slid down the path, causing small clouds of dust to each side of it. Namika’s father steered the car towards the garage, where he saw two figures waiting for him. A boy with messy brown her and a skinny woman. His daughter. Kanye had conflicted feelings about her coming to visit. It always changed so many things, complicated things. Kanye liked to keep things simple: work, eat, gamble, smoke, go to bed. Repeat. Simple. The car came to a halt in front of the garage and he exited. Kanye was tall, had slim shoulders and a bit of a round belly. His hair was cut short and his chin was stubbly. He was dressed in some jeans overalls and his eyes landed on Mika. Both of them were wearing glasses.

Mika felt a strange mixture of resignation and anxiety when the car approached and her father got out. She was dressed in baggy trousers and a black tank top, but immediately she felt thrown back into a time where she’d run around in the fields, dressed in dirty working clothes, while her father was working. Those had been the only moments where she’d really felt comfortable with him, when they were out in the fields and he was all quiet, all concentrated. Sometimes he would explain thing about farming to her. “Hola, papi,” she said.

Rico stood next to her in his poncho, raising a hand to wave. “Hi, papá!”

“Rico, Namika,” he said, giving both of them a nod as he looked from his son to his daughter. “Good to see you’re well.”

Namika nodded. “You too. How is work?”

“How is your work?”, he said at the exact same time and then they both looked at each other.

“Uh,” she tried to bridge the awkward silence with a laugh, “Let’s go inside, maybe? Mamá is waiting, I think. We can talk later.”

Her father nodded. He wasn’t one for small talk anyways. “What’s for lunch?”, he asked.

“Tacu tacu,” said Rico.

“Ah, yes. Of course.” What else? Of course his wife had made Namika’s favorite. And with that, they all went inside the house again.

1

Mika felt sick. Maybe because of the smoke, maybe because of the things her father had said. It was like he didn’t care, he didn’t give a shit about anything, and yet he had to make his opinion known about everything! She let out a series of Spanish swear words under her breath as she went past some plantations and towards the stables.

1

Out in the fields, Namika had gotten her newer hoverbike - the one that wasn’t currently disassembled in the stables - and she’d mounted it. “Hop on!”

Rico did as he was told, sliding onto the bike behind Mika. Just like his sister, he put on his helmet, and then he hugged her waist. “Am ready!” (edited)

“Good,” said Mika quietly, a smirk spreading behind the visor of her helmet. She tightened her grip on the bike and then let the engine flare up. A mere second later, they were shooting down the familiar path, past fields of corn and wheat. She could feel Rico’s arms around her waist, holding on tight, and hear his laughter behind herself. A warm, fluttery feeling was in her chest as she accelerated and the bike slid down the path, leaving a cloud of dust behind itself. Not even the whipping wind helped against the pressing heat of the sun, but Mika was looking forward to sinking into the cool water of the Pacific Ocean. The beach lay in New Lima, stretching around the city at the end of the cliff. The rocky wall of stone dropped down and then gave way to a strip of sand before the ocean began. But Mika had a specific location in mind. It was still in New Lima, a special place, though.

1

This was just like old times for Rico - going to the beach with Mika! He knew where they were headed. They called it ‘bahía del cráter’. Crater bay. During the Third World War, a part of Lima’s coastline had been bombed. Now there was a place in New Lima for cliff diving! That’s where they were going. His sister drove the bike through their parents’ farming grounds, then through the neighbouring farming grounds, and finally into the city. Rico hung on tight as they leaned into a curve and entered New Lima.

1

The next morning, Mika was sitting in the front porch at dawn of the day. The air was still relatively cool, she was sitting on a chair, a thin wool blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

2

Out of the door stepped her father, dressed in working clothes. He pulled up his eyebrows momentarily, surprised that she was here. He was holding a cigarette in one hand, but then pocketed it as he saw her. At least he knew that she was quitting. “Morning,” he mumbled.

Namika looked up as she heard the sound of the door and then her father’s voice. “Morning,” she muttered back, appreciated the fact that he wasn’t smoking and then returned her attention to the fields that were lying in the first sunlight of the day. Their house threw a long shadow.

“What’s on your mind, kid?” He pulled up a chair beside her, putting his lighter on the table in front of them. His line of sight fell on the fields as well. Those fields were his whole life. Somehow. At least they were more present in his life than he had ever been in Mika’s life. Not that she wanted his presence in her life anyways.

1

“I’m not a kid anymore,” replied Mika, a bit of an edge to her tone of voice.

“At my age, everyone’s a kid. Now come on. Spit it out. You’re never up so early unless something’s bothering you.”

Namika hesitated. She looked out at the fields and said nothing for a long moment. Then: “Do you think I’m selfish?”

1

“Selfish? Hm. Maybe. How come you think that?”, he asked bluntly.

1

Maybe?! What kinda answer was that!?? “I- Well. You think it was selfish of me to join Starfleet?”

“You did it for yourself,” he said, almost nonchalantly. “So, if that’s your definition of selfish, sure.“

“I didn’t. I didn’t just do it for myself, papá.”

He looked over. “You sure as hell didn’t do it for the farm.”

1

Mika scoffed, kept looking at the dawning sunlight. “We’ve been over this. You think I would have done the farm any good if I’d stayed here? You know what I used to do. The farm was the last thing on my mind when I was here.”

“I know,” grumbled Kanye, “And I suppose it still is the last thing on your mind.”

1

“It’s not! I care about this place, I care about this fucking family. More than you ever did, I might add.” Her tone was bitter, but calm. How many times had they had this conversation?

Kanye shrugged it off. “You didn’t stay, did you? But to answer your question; I don’t think you’re selfish. You’re just stubborn, like your mother. Never stop until you get what you want. The two of you are very similar in that regard.”

Namika let out a sigh and wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders. She wasn’t cold, but it made her feel safer for some reason. “Sure,” she mumbled.

“I heard you’re leaving today in the evening, for your exam on Monday. What’s it you’re taking the exam for again?”

“Level 5 piloting license. It’s the last one,” she responded. She wondered whether her father even cared. He sure as hell wasn’t proud of her, that much was for sure.

“Ah, I see. Well, break a leg. I gotta go, might see you in the evening.” He stood up, grabbed the lighter off the table and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. Then he went towards his car, lighting the smoke on his way.

“See ya.” As she looked after him, she couldn’t help but feel like he was some kind of stranger. How was this guy her father? This guy who didn’t care, not really. Why had he even asked what was on her mind? She’d no idea. The man was an enigma. A gambling, smoking enigma. As the car’s engines flared up and the hovercar vanished down the path, Namika looked back at the sunrise again. “Perdona nuestras ofensas,” she muttered, and wondered whether she was praying to some kind of God, or just all of the people she’d wronged. She would have to get up and study for her exam soon. But for now she sat in the rising sun and breathed the air that smelled of home.

1

Out in front of the stables, there was a square of dry, dusty ground. Here, Mika and Rico wanted to try out the Vespa. “Remember what I told you about-“

“About hoverbiking, yes, yes, I remember. I got this!” Rico mounted the Vespa, put his helmet on and started the engine. It took him three attempts, but then the engine flared up and started humming like it was supposed to. A couple of alpacas turned their heads in interest and looked at Rico as they continued chewing.

Mika watched with a proud smile. She leant back against the fence of an alpaca enclosure and watched her brother. “Go easy,” she warned.

Rico nodded and accelerated very carefully. The Vespa slid over the square area of brown ground, hovering steadily. Rico whooped with laughter. “IT WORKS! MIKA, IT WORKS!”

3

Namika chuckled warmly. “Of course it works, I built it!” With Mo’s and Rico’s help.

1

Rico turned the bike, rode in a circle and came to a halt next to Mika again. “You didn’t do all of it,” he said teasingly.

“True!” She laughed. “Come on, take it down the path! I wanna see some speed!”

Rico revved the engine and drove down the path. He left clouds of dust in his wake and two alpacas trotted after him inside of their enclosure. It felt like flying. At some point he took a narrow curve, slithering slightly and taking a U turn. Then, he sped back to Namika, laughing underneath his helmet.

“That’s my boy!” Namika cheered. She was holding up her PADD. “I have all of that on video!”

“This is so cool!”

“Yeah, I know.” Namika pocketed the PADD. “When is my turn on the bike?”

“I though you needed to study,” said Rico cheekily, putting one foot on the ground next to the bike.

Namika rolled her eyes. “You sound like mamá,” she said jokingly.

“Okay, okay!” Rico laughed and handed the bike over to his sister. “Your turn. Don’t wreck her.”

“As if I would do such a thing.” Namika drove an elegant circle around Rico before she took the bike down the path. “Your classmates are gonna be so jealous, Sanny.” It didn’t really go as fast as her own bike, but old Vespas hadn’t been that fast anyways - back when they had still existed. So, she supposed it was all fine.

“They sure will!”

Mika rolled back to Rico and stopped in front of him. “I’m proud of you! You made this. I helped, but this one’s all yours.” She patted the bike and slid off of it.

1

Rico grinned. “Thanks.”

“I do have to go back to my studying unfortunately. But you gotta show our parents!“

“I will, later. For now, I’ll be out here if you need me!” And he hopped on the Vespa again.

Mika nodded with a smirk. “Good. Take care. Don’t do anything I would do at your age.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

1