Star Trek: Starbase 777

The bonfire area was just that, a large fire that people could throw their 'prophet money' into. Alternatively, anything a person would want to send to the celestial temple / to their loved ones could be thrown into the bonfire. There was a request to only throw burnable items though. Things like PADDs or electronics were not allowed, but there was a little booth with paper replicas of many common items like those! Instead of throwing in a real item, one could simply pick up a replica to throw. There were a few monks at the bonfire, making sure people didn't do anything dangerous. There was a rope that blocked off the bonfire so one couldn't get too close. Even though the festival was all 'inside',it felt like one was outside enjoying some open air festivities. There was also some paper food at the bonfire area, for throwing in the fire! A few individuals were already gathered around the bonfire trying to 'summon' some ghosts. If there was any place to practice necromancy, this was it!

Ellara was at the bonfire! She was summoning some ghosts! She was calling upon the spirits of her fellow renjens as well as the spirit of her son that died premature. Nalas was there too, partying it up and shaking his ass to try and summon some ghosts.

Paper food. So this event was mostly symbolic, it seemed. Maran'agar found himself, for the umpteenth time since starting life in Alliance space on this side of the Bajoran Wormhole, befuddled at the very nature of this celebration - he'd passed the banquet table on the way there and seen it laden with food, all untouched. Strange. Regardless, he still had not seen what he'd come here to see (assuming his colleagues' claims held any water at all), and so, at the monks' direction, he decided to pick up what looked like a paper plate of steak and potatoes (a very realistic one, he had to add) and toss it into the fire, expecting... nothing? After all he didn't exactly have dead loved ones he wanted to see. (edited)

The summoning worked! Only two jem'hadar showed up though. The taller of the two pointed at Maran and said, "Haha, bitch ass motherfucker," before both disappeared into the smoke.

Maran'agar snorted. Jem'hadar weren't normally that childish with their insults. He glanced around the altar looking for holoprojectors or some other kind of tech that might've brought it about - and, seeing none, decided to simply toss a handful of paper food into the altar, because... why not?

And then a bunch more Jem'hadar appeared and just laughed at Maran before disappearing. Oddly enough their laughs were in unison to... a familiar beat. Anyway, it was over and done in only a couple minutes.

Okay. Fine. That sounded about right. At least whoever - or whatever - had made this festival happen had managed to get even the sound of Jem'hadar laughing down to a tee. And he still hadn't gotten anyone specific that might make this event more believable! Ridiculous. Okay, fine. Maybe he just needed to imagine someone specific. Maran'agar had to think hard to conjure up the image of anyone he knew who'd died - Jem'hadar didn't normally commemorate the dead. When he came upon the first mental image of another Jem'hadar he knew, he tossed another plate of paper food into the fire.

And there appeared-- maran's First. Very lorge, very buff, very.. ugly? Well, he actually wasn't that ugly. some nice souls had burned some make up and skincre products, so he actually looked quite good! Moisturised and living a new life. "What do you want?" Came his very unamused voice.

Full confession: Maran'agar had no idea what to think of the apparition that now stood before him. Yoga'chak had always had a face that only a mother could reasonably love - but then again Jem'hadar didn't have parents, so... a Founder could love? Maybe? He squinted at this thing that had taken the form of his former First, and snapped open the tricorder he'd totally not brought solely for this purpose to scan... it. Him. Whatever it was. "You do the First that bestowed my name upon me justice - except the makeup. Yoga'chak would consider it beneath him to wear any such products, even to look better in front of his troops." Maran stated tonelessly. "So, logically, you, whatever you are, are likely some kind of... anaphasic entity. Given form by whatever I recalled of Yoga'chak, presumably also influenced by whatever other little beliefs the others celebrating this festival hold. Or you are a collection of neural energy that has somehow or other coalesced into solid form due to any number of scientific phenomena. Or perhaps a highly advanced hologram, paired with a neural scanner to make your appearance all the more convincing." "Of course, if you are somehow the departed soul, or spirit, or ghost, of First Yoga'chak, I challenge you to prove it to me beyond doubt." He met the apparition in the eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Exactly the way Yoga'chak would do."

"What the goo, dude?" The Jem'hadar apparition said as if he had just been insulted. "Who are you to tell ME what I can and cannot do? You literally summoned tons of us and we all laughed at you, and honestly rightfully so," The burley Jem'hadar crossed his arms and made a loud grunting noise. "I don't know what you're on about, Maran'agar, but maybe you need to like.. stretch out," And with that, this Jem'hadar, who was definietly yoga, started doing some yoga poses because yes, in the afterlife he discovered the beauty of yoga and mindfulness. Kinda odd for a Jem'hadar, but with nothing else to do when you're dead, you have a lot of time to pick up hobbies and actually explore individuality.

03:20

and no, there was nothing on tricorder readings. these were real motherfucking ghosts.

Maran stared in disbelief. Add one more thing to the long, long, long list of unbelievable things he'd seen in his so far twenty years of life since leaving the Gamma Quadrant - both what he saw in front of him and on his tricorder (which displayed nothing out of the ordinary on screen, by the way). No. No no no. He had to be hallucinating. Or something. It was the incense. Or something. Maybe everyone was under the influence, or... or... but then again he could see many, many other apparitions just like this one around the temple. If he was the one hallucinating, then how could he also see that of the rest? This... could this be real? Holy shit. Watching the entity do its thing, though, brought back a rather unpleasant memory for him. "2403. Darnassus IV. What happened to me on that mission?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the other on the floor. If there was any one good chance for whatever this thing was to prove its identity, this was definitely it. (edited)

After doing a few yoga poses, Yoga looked at Maran and answered in his classic Jem'hadar deadpan nature. A tone that could even rival Maran's own blandness in speech. "You fell into a sinkhole and did the splits. By the way, I can do the splits now," Yoga said, proceeding to well, do a split.

Maran's eyes widened. Either whatever was making this phenomenon happen had a really, really good neural scanner behind it, or... no way. "Okay. Fine. So you are Yoga'chak. So there is life beyond death. Lovely." He deadpanned. "And this is how we spend it? Self-discovery, puns and... slang."

"Yeah, why not?" Yoga said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I am a little frustrated I didn't discover these pleasures during my life. Maybe I wouldn't have been such a hard ass to you guys," He pointed at Maran and then laughed. "You should try being more fun too, Maran'agar. The afterlife is great, I get to party all day and if I wanna fight, I can fight. We do have rumblr in the afterlife," Yoga mentioned, confirming that yes, recreational sparring did happen, even after death. "Anyway, have fun here, don't have such a stick up your ass, have a drink or two or three, dance the night away ,all that!"

Maran stared in complete shock as the apparition that used to be his former First dissipated into smoke and was gone. His gaze never left the floor, even as he moved aside to let somebody else have their turn at the bonfire. I mean, you might too if you've just had at least two or three of your own core beliefs upturned with nearly irrefutable evidence in the span of ten minutes.

Teno had stayed in the temple entrance for quite a while, meandering amongst the folks who arrived, nodding and smiling at people he recognized, but mostly remaining silent. This festival was one of joy and celebration, but during festivals Teno often found himself feeling pensive and emotional. A sense of warmth and comfort washed over him as he walked toward the bonfire. He had his hands clasped in front of him as he walked, gripping some of the paper money. When he got close to the bonfire he noticed a familiar silhouette standing off to the side of the fire, staring dejectedly? at the ground. Curious, Teno walked over and placed a hand on the Jem'hadar's shoulder. "Maran'agar, are you alright?" He asked with a very calm, soothing tone of voice.

It took about one to one and a half seconds for the Jem'hadar to notice that someone had spoken to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Like, yeah, his brain had transformed into a sort of buffering screen as he processed the past... what, ten minutes? He did glance up at last, though, and grunt. "I am... fine. Merely shaken." He admitted, sheepishly. "I've just seen something I thought was not possible. Apparently it is."

Teno peered into Maran's face curiously, trying to ascertain what it was that had Maran so shaken. The last time he'd spoken to the man, he'd been attempting to meditate, so he was much more emotive than he had been that day. It occurred to him, with Maran being so close to the bonfire, that maybe Maran looked like he'd seen a ghost because he had in fact seen a ghost. "Ah, yes, the first Hungry Ghost Festival is the most daunting, at least for non-Bajorans." He nodded and gave Maran's shoulder a squeeze. "Who visited you?"

"My First. Uh. The highest ranking Jem'hadar in a company." Maran'agar responded. "I... he seemed content. At least. And changed. For better or for worse, I am not entirely sure. He can now do splits." Whoa, the words tasted weird in his mouth. Like, actually. To say them out loud was one hell of a roller coaster. "And others. Um. Would you like to go elsewhere so we can talk. I have no desire to hold up the line..."

“Oh wow, he sounds like he’s really enjoying the afterlife, then. That’s wonderful!” Teno made a small happy sighing noise and dropped his hand from Maran’s shoulder. “You can with me to the side over there if you like. I must meet up with the Renjen!” He pointed to where a figure of a Bajoran woman in Renjen robes was standing and conducting some special rites to keep the festival on track.

"I can definitely do that." Maran replied, trailing after Teno seeming a little lost and bewildered, but at least he wasn't staring at the floor anymore.

Ellara was there, just dancing to the music being played and helping people with burning items! She was chatting to some of the festival goers, educating them on the Bajoran faith and celestial temple.

“Okay, good, come with me.” Teno said and strode over to Ellara with purpose. He made sure he was walking at a pace that Maran could keep up as they weaved through the crowd. When he finally reached her, Teno bowed and smiled. “Renjen Ratana! It is so good to see you again!”

Ellara turned to Teno when he approached her! She was happy to see a familiar face! "Oh hello, Teno, right?" It had been ages since she had seen the boy who was not really a boy anymore. Teno was a full grown man! He looked happy and healthy, which put her mind at ease. Ellara didn't speak to many members of her family as they had heavily disagreed with her romantic company. It was her first experience husband at first and then it was her second-- which honestly was based of them. Giyon was a major cunt. Now Ellara was single and still living on Cardassia Prime because she had a great career as an adjunct professor there! "how are you? You are much taller than I remember!"

Teno smiled and nodded at Ellara happily. It had been a long time since they'd seen each other, though she looked as beautiful as ever and Teno was very happy to see her. "Yes, I'm Teno." Teno's parents had mostly shielded him from whatever had happened to make the family fall-out with Ellara. His parents never talked ill of her, and if they did it was where he could not hear them. They were very, very intentional people. Teno was kind of sheltered, actually, which was probably a result of him being one of the first generations born after the Occupation ended. Teno did know, however that Ellara did not live on Bajor. Which was part of why he'd not seen her in so long. He couldn't remember how old he was the last time he'd seen her, very small though. Certainly not almost 6ft tall and bearded, anyway. "I am well," he said with a warm smile and bowed just a little bit. "I left the monastery training when I was a teenager... I am in Starfleet now! I study plants as a botanist, and this Starbase is my current posting. I was very excited to hear that you were coming here for the Hungry Ghost Festival! Oh, and this is my friend Maran'agar - he's a tactical officer." Teno gestured to Maran, who was a very tall Jem'hadar standing pretty close.

Ellara couldn't help but laugh when Teno mentioned he was a botanist. "Oh, a botanist! Wow, it must run in the family, so is Nalas, your cousin. I know you may not remember him much, I had him right before we left Tozhat for Cardassia Prime," Ellara said, looking a little sad when she mentioned the move. It was a stressful time in her life and also when she fell out with the rest of their family. She had still not spoken to them for fear they would give her the inevitable 'we told you so' speech. Perhaps Teno's side of the family wouldn't give her much trouble, but there were other Ratanas who would not as forgiving. But all that aside, she was happy to see her nephew! He looked so handsome and so tall! Nalas was also tall, 6 whole feet and silly. Ellara had always been on the shorter side. "I am proud of you, Teno. I understand wanting to find a life outside of our faith and I hope you can enjoy your time at this festival as a way to connect with the prophets," Ellara said and then looked towards the Jem'hadar standing beside Teno. "Hello Maran'agar, it is nice to meet you too. Are you enjoying these festivities? See any ghosts? I was trying to see if I could summon one of my former resistance friends, but I guess I did not prepare enough food," Ellara said, looking at the table almost bare of foods. They had more coming, but she'd have to wait for OPS to come by.

"Oh wow, I didn't know Nalas was a botanist too! That's wonderful," he said brightly, genuinely happy to know his cousin shared an affinity for plants. It was interesting how family could be so similar and yet so far away. Teno was about 5 years older than Nalas and had grown up on Bajor rather than Cardassia, so had not met Nalas except maybe once or twice while the Ratana boy was a baby. "Hmm," Teno hummed at Ellara's words. He was actually still a quite pious follower of the Prophets! Though he did not speak about it much to people unless they were very close. He was very private about his beliefs, not out of shame or distrust but simply because he felt like his relationship to his Gods was very sacred and personal and he never wanted to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like he was proselytizing. "It was a Dr. Uya who convinced me to join Starfleet when I was seventeen, actually. I was going to become a Renjen like you, or at least try anyway," he said with a chuckle. It was true! Teno had been on track to become a monk and had been studying to become part of the Bajoran religious order for many years during his childhood, balanced with life on the farm. Sometimes he wondered if he would return to a monastery when he retired from Starfleet but that was a long ways away. "My last posting was on Deep Space 9, so I spent a lot of time on away missions to Bajor and was privileged enough to have easy access to our culture. But this will be my first official celebration aboard Starbase 777 and I am so grateful that you are the one leading the festival this year. It is so lovely to see you." He smiled and listened as she spoke to Maran.

Vara'l walked into the bonfire area as he idly wiped his eyes again. Wiped his eyes as he looked out for any other ghosts and moved a bit to leave people to their conversations. The Romulan moving along as he headed closer to the fire then stopped at the roped off area. Once there, he selected some of the stuff on offer for burning and decanted the paper into the fire.

"If I recall, he does more genetic modification-related work. I remember him telling me about helping to save the Bajoran Rubberwood tree. The research is still in progress, but he was one of the first to splice Gamma quadrant kava tree DNA with the Rubberwood. I am not a scientist, but it was very impressive to me," Ellara said with a smile as she looked over at Nalas who was still twerking in front of the bonfire. She honestly did not mind he was being silly because he was having fun and that's all she wished for. Her eyes then went back to Teno, realising how similar the two Bajorans looked even though they were only cousins. It was a shame that Ellara didn't have much drive to return to Bajor, but she didn't know if she was ready to face her family. "Oh, were you? Well it's never too late to choose this lifestyle. You don't need to do it now, you have a nice career in Starfleet," Ellara said with a smile, her eyes brightening when Teno said he had wanted to be a renjen. "I know this starbase is so far from home, which is why I came here. A few others from my old temple have also travelled off world to help connect members of the diaspora to the Bajoran faith," Ellara explained.

And Kakabam was here too. Looking at the fire, all dressed in his pretty robes. They grabbed some of the paper items, some were a little silly like boats or dragons. They weren't sure if those in the afterlife really got those items, but they decided why not. They looked over their shoulder to see another Romulan just tossing things into the fire too. "What are you giving your loved ones?" They asked him. Upon second look they realised -- this was the ACTO! Vara'l tr'Hara if they recalled.

The Romulan turned to look to the other officer then as they inquired after what he'd put in there. The question itself as it'd come had initially surprised him, he'd been off to one side..away from the conversation that had and continued to continue on behind them as this person asked their question. Yet..they'd turned and asked him that. So well, after a moment, he responded. "Already was at the banquet earlier...now I'm just burning things to remember the lost, stuff they'd have liked." He responded vaguely as his mind briefly turned to the members of the Arrenhe Tactical team. Some of whom had died, others who'd been assimilated like him. "Eagles and birds, other things, just stuff they once liked."

"Oh that sounds nice," Kakabam had yet to explore the banquet. They were going to do that later so they could fix a plate of food to bring back to their son when they got home. It was a shame that Riki had slept through this whole event, but he was young and this event was held at night. "How was the banquet?" They asked, wondering if it would be worth it to adventure over there now instead of later.

"Mmmm," Teno hummed, nodding and fiddling with his paper money idly as he listened to his aunt speak about her son. Teno's eyes followed Ellara's over to where Nalas was dancing in front of the fire and a smile burst across his face. He'd not seen his cousin as an adult yet! He made a mental note to keep an eye out and make his way over to where Nalas was after he was done talking to Ellara. "Yes, that sounds so fascinating. I love the Rubberwood tree and heard of his efforts to preserve it. I find the research and application of it amazing. I never would have considered his technique! And it is doing so much for our people." Teno looked sparkly eyed at Ellara and then to Nalas and then back at his aunt. "Mhm, I know. I've considered maybe returning to a monastic way of life after I retire but that is a long time from now yet," he said with a smile. "At least I hope it is a long time from now. And yes, the work you are doing is so important to folks like us... far from home and wishing for a little bit of closeness to the Prophets. Of course we can find it in our daily lives but it is so...important to have spaces such as this to practice our customs. It means a lot to me. And I wanted to thank you." Teno bowed to her, eyes closed and a grateful look on his face before straightening back up and smiling warmly at Ellara. (edited)

"I agree. Rubberwood is vital in a lot of traditional alters. I will admit we have not been doing very well as a society in preserving the plant, but I hope with our presevation efforts now we can better protect its existence," Ellara said to Teno with a smile. She also glanced at Nalas who was still throwing it down in front of the fire. He had a lot of energy, she was always amazed at how much he had even as he got older. One would think a person would slow down as they aged, but not Nalas. If anything he was even more energetic as an adult than he ever was as a child, which was.. hard to believe since he was an exceptionally energetic boy. Much like another energetic Ratana child... "And when you do, we will be happy to welcome you. Until then, you're free to attend our services. We do have a few monks who hold services at the multi-faith temple here, they were so kind as to help arrange all of this," Ellara said, gesturing towards the fire and decoration around the area. "You're welcome, Teno, stay well. I'll be here all evening and of course you're always free to message me with whatever is on your mind."

"I could not say it better than you just have," he agreed. There wasn't a lot more to say about the preservation efforts of the Rubberwood tree. But what his aunt was talking about was one reason Teno had gone into Botany in the first place. Preserving his culture and heritage so that it could last for generations to come, a privilege not all Bajorans had in the past. "Thank you, really. I will keep that in mind and the same goes for you, of course. If you are ever in the area again and would like to share a meal or catch up, my comms are always open. And I will do better to reach out in the future." He said this earnestly, which was apparent in both his voice and his demeanor. He realized now that Ellara probably had a lot of things she needed to do with the event and it was time to exit the conversation, so he bowed again, this time deeper, and spoke again when he straightened, "Voka a Bentel, Yania." Walk with the Prophets, Aunt. And then he made his way toward the bonfire where his cousin was still dancing wildly. (edited)

And dancing wildly he was! Nalas was making up his own words to the beat of the Bajoran drummers. The music was to help get the spirits parting! Nalas wasn't sure if there were ghosts dancing with him, but if there were, he hoped they were having a good time!

Kakabam was standing next to Nalas, actually, glancing at him every so often to try and get a good look at his earring. He didn't want to say anything in case this guy thought Kakabam was like.. checking him out or something. Well, Kakabam was checking Nalas out, but in a 'are you related to my son?' sorta way.

Teno beelined to Nalas, a smile on his face and his fingers still fiddling with his paper money. The fabric of his clothes swished as he walked, making a nice soft sound as he made his way to Nalas. "Cousin!" Teno said brightly as he stopped a respectable distance from Nalas. "I have not seen you since you were a baby. Hello!" He smiled warmly and glanced over to Kakabam who seemed to be hovering near Nalas as well and nodded, a welcoming look on his face.

Nalas turned around when he heard someone speak to him and was surprised he... Did not recognise this guy. Considering Nalas had moved to Cardassia Prime when he was 7, it made sense that he wouldn't recognise his Bajoran family. After moving to Cardassia, his step father had forbid him and his mother from any sort of contact with his Bajoran family. It went along with their household rule that they were forbidden from speaking Bajoran at home unless it was for educational purposes -- when Nalas' mother was trying to help him keep up his proficiency in the language. It didn't work very well because when Nalas responded back to Teno it was in Cardassian. "Heeyyyy," Nalas waved, smiling brightly at the stranger. He sorta recognised him, but as a colleague, not a family member. "Cousin? Uh, are we? I'm Nalas, like... the resistance fighter guy," Nalas said with a laugh, bowing his head in greeting. "Ratana is my Bajoran family but uh.. I go by Nalas Za'ari yeah," Nalas said awkwardly, assuming this guy was from the Ratana side of his family.

"Oh Teno, from the chatroom, Baja blast," Upon hearing Nalas' last name and seeing Teno approach him, Kakabam thought it would be a good idea to try and strike up a conversation. "I am MADD LAD, Kakabam, I think we briefly saw each other during the faith services at the temple," Kakabam told Teno. They glanced at Nalas, now able to get a better view of his earring. It was very similar to Riki's, same colours and shape even.

Teno's ears perked up upon hearing the semi-familiar Cardassian language but he didn't understand what Nalas was saying until his UT kicked in. He was only fluent in Bajoran and Federation Standard, though he knew a few basic phrases in Cardassian like 'where is bathroom' and 'do you speak federation standard?' It made sense, however, that Nalas was speaking Cardassian, since he'd moved there as a child. Teno often spoke a combination of Bajoran and Federation Standard, or switched languages depending on who he was talking to. He wasn't sure what option was best now, so he just spoke as he normally would, in mostly Bajoran, and assumed the UT would do its job. "Uh, oh, yeah! I'm Zaru Teno. Your mother is my mother's sister. We are cousins! And it has been a very long time since we've seen each other. But I wanted to say hello," he said, smiling sheepishly and tapping away on his paper money. A little stim to tamp down the nerves from the social awkwardness. He looked over at Kakabam when he said hello and smiled. Kakabam was so pretty in his dress! And very friendly. "Hi Kakabam, yes, I'm," he chuckled for a moment before repeating his screen name. "Baja Blast. It's funny, I never say it out loud unless I'm ordering the drink. Wow. Well, hello! Yes I think I have seen you in the temple once or twice. It's nice to meet you!"

"Ohhhhh!!!! I don't know much of my Bajoran family, I'm sorry. I don't know how much you know about my family but like.... my step dad, he was Cardassian and very mean," Nalas wiggled his fingers and then made a pouty expression. "I'm glad I'm meeting you though! And yo I think we're in the SAME DIVISION!" Nalas said, incredibly loudly. He was a little too excited because he ended up turning his head to cough and try and catch his breath. Since the bonfire was a real fire, it sucked out all the oxygen around it making it very hard for the one-lung legend Nalas to breathe. "And hi Kakabam!" Nalas waved to the Vulcanoid who approached them, also not recognising the person but assumed they were just there to say hi to Teno.

"Yes, Baja blast. You know, Riki loves that drink now," Kakabam told Teno, thinking he'd like knowing he had impacted his son's taste. "Actually...." Kakabam paused for a moment, looking between Nalas and Teno. They weren't sure how much they would be allowed to say considering the temporal prime directive and all. "My son is also of the Ratana house, I cannot say much more than that, but Teno, Nalas... I have been looking for Riki's biological family for almost a year now. There is no other Ratana Riki in your family, is there?" Kakabam asked,fearing that there was a primeverse Riki. Luckily there wasn't, Riki did not exist in the primeverse since he was Kronos' kid and well, Kronos did not exist in the primeverse.

"Well, not a lot if I'm being honest. I knew you and your mom moved away when we were much younger. And sometimes my mom talked about when she and your mom were children but that was a very hard time for them so." Teno's brows furrowed some as he struggled to remember things about the Ratana side of his family. He'd not known his grandparents, for obvious reasons, and also Ellara had left the family and his mom just didn't talk about her much. Except to cry, but Teno didn't want to bring the mood down. So he figured he'd just...address that some other time. He did make note of the fact that Nalas said his stepdad was very mean, though. That was something he would remember. "Yes! I am also a botanist, actually! We should talk about plants...I could talk about plants forever." He chuckled, and raised his eyebrows when Nalas coughed. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked, genuinely concerned. "Ratana Riki?" Teno asked Kakabam, looking back and forth between Kakabam and Nalas. "I am not aware of a Ratana Riki in our family, are you, Nalas?" His head turned ever so slightly to the side, curious. (edited)

"Yeah we like... dropped off the edge of the universe," Nalas joked, laughing again and triggering the coughing again. He waved his hand to the side and shook his head. "I'm good, I'm good! I have one lung," Nalas straightened his posture and patted his chest, right over his one lung. "I was born like this, it's okay," Nalas dug through his pocket to pull out-- an inhaler! He was smart and carried it everywhere because you never knew when breathing would be hard! He took a deep breath and put of back in his pocket. "We should! I love plants! I do like.. genetic modifications with them. I consider myself more of a biologist since I do more than plants! I am just like.. balls deep in plants right now," Nalas said, not realising the innuendo in his words. He was heavily interested in plants which is what he meant! "Ratana Riki hhhh... no I don't know? The only Ratanas I know are my mum and uhh... Kronos? He was my twin but uh, well, we didn't develop all the way so it's just me," Nalas said, unsure how to explain that Nalas' twin had died before birth without sounding too dark.

When Kakabam heard that about Kronos they nodded, now understanding the situation. So that would mean Riki's other biological father would probably know nothing about him. If Kronos wasn't alive in this universe, his partner surely wouldn't have married him. They did wonder if he was out there, somewhere. "My son is also a Ratana but.. I suppose from a different branch," Kakabam said, skillfully trying not to mention anything about a mirror universe. "That would make you two uncles. Interesting. Riki fell asleep before this event started, but I can introduce you all formally another time," Maybe it was good that Riki wasn't here since some of the ghosts were a big too rowdy. "Now I know why Riki has so much energy, it seems like being energetic runs in the family."

"It..is." When they inquired about the banquet, Vara'l mustered the barest hint of a smile. "..It was good, better then good." The Romulan had responded before, when Lieutenant Za'ari approached and the like, Vara'l allowed himself to slip off away from the chat for a bit. He then burned a few more things as he considered his old tactical team, those who he'd lost from the team as he looked into the fire and the flames. "Wherever you all are now.. I hope you know.. we did good." The Romulan sighed as he watched the paper burn. Watched it burn and softly added. "We bought them all the time we could." Vara'l sighed a bit at that as he tossed a few more bits of paper onto the bonfire. Once he did that, he stepped back a bit and just..watched it all burn. Allowed himself to be lost in thought as it all burned. (edited)

Oh good, Nalas had an inhaler! That made Teno feel better and he relaxed a little bit knowing that Nalas would be alright, though he considered moving a little bit away from the fire. Teno chuckled at Nalas' comment about being 'balls deep' in plants right now and shook his head some. "Oh wow, yeah, I'm a plant specialist. I learned stuff in my time at the Academy about other life forms but plants are my babies. Mostly Bajoran plants and then also like plants that are culturally important to mostly federation worlds though... I try to be aware and learn more about all kinds of plants! Yeah. Agriculture is also one of my specialities kinda." He smiled and then looked over to Kakabam. "Oh wow, uncles?! That's... I would love to maybe spend some time with you and him in the future for sure. Please, message me any time and we can make sure to make time for that. I can maybe make a traditional meal or...you just let me know okay?" The words poured out of Teno's mouth quickly, his thoughts just popping off and leaving his mouth as soon as they went into his mind.

"I love all plants too! I like learning about genetics and what makes different plants and animals exhibit certain traits. I think by learning about those things, we can learn more about our own biology and maybe help find treatments or cures to diseases!" Nalas said with much enthusiasm. He then looked towards Kakabam and stared at this kinda tall Vulcanoid guy with wide eyes. "UNCLES?! I'm too young to be an uncle!!! wait no I'm 26," Nalas exclaimed before realising what ‘uncle' meant. So one of his siblings had a kid? But he had no siblings. Maybe it was his biological father's kid? Nalas knew nothing about his biological father so maybe this had to do with him.

"Of course and yes I will. Riki will be very happy to meet some family," Kakabam felt bad that Riki had been separated from his Bajoran family for so long. Due to Federation laws, they could not display photos of Riki's parents, not openly at least. He didn't want to risk revealing that he had any knowledge of other universes. "I will let you two continue your family chat then. I will be sure to send you each messages inviting you to a family dinner, perhaps we can invite the Renjen as well if she is still here," Kakabam said, glancing over at Ellara who was chatting with one of the monks with one of the vacuum machines. "Have a nice rest of the evening," Kakabam bowed their head and shuffled off to go summon some ghosts of their own.

Teno couldn't help but to look starry-eyed at Nalas. Using plants to cure diseases? He knew it was possible and that's how a lot of different societies developed medicine but still, he loved thinking about how plants could solve so many problems. Social, medical, cultural... plants had so many uses. "Oh? Yes, of course! Plants are so...amazing. I can hardly romaine calm when I'm talking about them!" He exclaimed the pun, partially because he was not a good comedian and also because he was genuinely, truly excited about what Nalas had said. Teno also didn't have siblings! So he wasn't sure if Kakabam was confused or what but regardless, learning about a new family member overwhelmed him with joy. He was just too excited to really contain said joy or also think very critically about familial relationship words like uncle or cousin or... it didn't matter - family was simply important to Teno and if there was a new child to shower with love, well, he was excited about it. "Byeee Kakabam! Enjoy the festival! I'll be looking for that message." Teno turned back to Nalas after Kakabam left and brandished his paper money. "I think it's time for me to make this offering, actually. I need to stop at the banquet as well but, I figured I'd make an offering at the bonfire as well. I was hoping to meet our grandfather, actually, if you'd like to stay for that." Teno said softly, hoping Nalas would stay but unsure if that was something the other Bajoran would be interested in. (edited)

And Nalas laughed very loudly at the plant pun. He LOVED puns! He laughed so hard he started coughing again, but he had his inhaler and could calm himself down, but it was a funny pun! Nalas also waved to Kakabam, excited to meet more of his Bajoran family! After some great character development, Nalas was no longer ashamed of being Bajoran and embraced meeting more of his family. He wished he knew more people than just his mum and now Teno, but he knew his mother's relationship with her family was complicated and didn't want to stress her out. "Ohh our grandfather? Yooo I'd be down!" As if he read his mind, Teno offered to summon their grandfather! Wow how exciting! "I'll dance to try and summon him," Nalas offered as he got low-low-low like he was wearing apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur. He then proceeded to dance.

Teno was very happy he could find common ground in Nalas' enjoyment of bad, bad plant puns. He took note of it and decided he would have to make more plant jokes for his younger cousin. He laughed along with Nalas and then laughed even harder when Nalas began to shake his butt again, squatting and getting low to the ground to music that Teno could not hear. "Oh my goodness," Teno said through laughs. "Okay you do that, Nalas, I'm going to toss the money now!" He was still laughing but took a few steps, next to Nalas and toward the protective rope that encircled the bonfire, and tossed the paper money into the flames, thinking hard about his Ratana grandfather who he had never met, but whose name he knew - Ratana Vosa!

And out from the flames Ratana Vosa rose! His figure was a bit faded at first, but after a few seconds it was clear he was... Dancing with Nalas. Just enjoying the rhythmic beat of the drums.

Teno grinned, a toothy smile from ear to ear. He let out a laugh or two and then bowed at the waist to the ghost of their grandfather. "Soraya renga, afah Vosa!" Greetings grandfather Vosa! Teno said in his native Bajoran to the older man rising out of the flames. "I am Teno, and this is Nalas and we are two of your grandsons!"

Vosa stopped dancing so he could talk with Teno. "Oh! How lovely!" He said, clapping his ghostly hands. "Hey.. What do should you do if you are addicted to seaweed?"

Nalas rushed to Teno's side and stopped dancing so he could see his grandfather. He shrugged and looked at Teno. "I don't know.. do you?"

Teno cocked his head to the side, leaning toward Nalas, and thought for a moment. Aha! He thought he knew the answer but...he didn't want to steal his afah's limelight! He decided instead to play dumb. He gave a sheepish look at Nalas and then back to his afah. "Uhh mmm nope no not at all what should you do?"

Vosa paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "SEA KELP!"

Teno cackled loudly and pointed at his grandfather like that Terran Leo DiCaprio meme from hundreds of years ago. "I beg your garden!" He said in mock offense to the pun, cackling.

Nalas bursted into laughter that the plant pun AGAIN! He didn't need his inhaler this time, he was able to keep his breathing steady, but he was laughing just a loudly!

"And lastly... Tell the person who invented zero.... thanks for nothing," And with that, Vosa disappeared into thin air, having made the most fire jokes anyone could have asked for!

Teno laughed happily for a little while longer, doubled over a bit and holding his stomach. "Oh my goodness!" He exclaimed, and finally stood back up to face Nalas. "Oh, it was so good to meet him. I see where I got my jokes from now, I think." Teno made a happy sighing noise and took a step toward Nalas. "Thank you for staying with me for that, Nalas. It has been very good to see you again after all these years. I would love to stay in contact with you if you would like that. I know things between our family have been...complicated, but I am just genuinely happy to know that you and yania Ellara are doing well." He smiled again, a warm, genuine smile and nodded vigorously, hoping Nalas understood. He really wanted to be friends with his cousin! "I think it is time for me to meander about the rest of the festival for a little while, maybe check in with some of the other monks or put some food out for the ghosts. But it has been so, so nice seeing you and I hope we can catch up again before you and yania leave?" He looked like he wanted to give Nalas a hug but was also not sure if Nalas wanted to be touched and hoped that at the very least it would be obvious that Teno cared for him and wanted to get to know him!

"Me too! Wow, now I know why my step dad didn't want me to meet my Bajoran family. They're too funny!" Nalas actually didn't know if the entire Ratana family was as funny as Vosa or Teno, but he had a feeling jokes were common. It did make him wonder if he would have known Teno growing up had he stayed on Bajor. Considering his mother had moved far away to Tozhat province, maybe not? "Okay! And uhh," Nalas wiggled his fingers for a moment. "Oh I'm staying, I work here," Nalas laughed. "But.... yeah let's meet again and uhh... Teno, do you like hugs? I like hugs! Not too tight, I only have one lung!"

“Wait you live here!?” He exclaimed, very loudly. Loud enough that one of the Renjens peeked around from the other side of the bonfire with one of their vacuums almost menacingly, just in case the noise was coming from a rowdy spirit. It was not of course, but they didn’t know. “How did I miss that! Oh okay good well we will have to share meals sometimes and catch up and YES!” Teno laughed happily and went in for a big, but gentle hug with his slightly taller but still younger cousin, wrapping his arms around the man and squeezing. But not too tight!

"YEAH! I'm a biologist I said!" Nalas was in fact around, in the NPC drawer, but he was around! He happily jumped into Teno's arms to hug him! Nalas was rather tall for his species, six feet, which contrasted with a majority of Bajoran men being around 5'8 or so. Anyway, he was so happy, FAMILY!

Having arrived from the temple entrance, he looked around for Nalas and Ellara.

Ellara was close to Nalas, just finishing up talking with one of the monks who had finished hoovering up some bad spiirits! She turned her head and noticed-- "Eshen! Oh is that you? Eshen, it's so nice to see you again!" The Renjen slowly made her way over to the Klingon-Vulcan, waving both her hands in greeting!

"Ellara!" He picked up his dress and ran over to her, then held out his arms for a hug if she wanted one, embracing her warmly if she accepted. "I missed you so much! How's life been?"

"Eshen!!!" Ellara picked up her pace and gave Eshen a warm embrace. It was always nice hugging him since he was so strong and much taller than her! He also smelled nice! "I love the dress, you know just what to wear. The white is very symbolic, a sign of purity and good faith," Ellara gave Eshen a firm pat on the back and then let go so she could look into his eyes. "Life has been good. I am living on Cardassia Prime still, as an adjunct professor teaching about Bajoran faith. I am unsure if you heard by my ex husband, Giyon, was arrested and put in jail. I already have a nice career on Cardassia Prime so I intend to stay there to at least finish up my teaching contract this year and then I plan to travel a bit before turning to Bajor. And what about you? How is life?"

He nodded in thanks to her compliment of his dress before he continued, "Thank Kahless - you didn't deserve that man. You do deserve all your good fortune. I've had much the same - I love my lovers -" He found Nalas and gave him a quick forehead smooch - "And each day is full of fulfilling work and play. Couldn't be better, really. Say, speaking of Kahless... Don't suppose he'd make an appearance if I asked?"

Ellara chuckled when she saw Eshen kiss Nalas on the forehead. The young Bajoran man laughed loudly and wiggled his whole body with excitement. Ellara loved seeing Nalas happy and was glad he found someone he liked. "Kahless, the Klingon warrior? I am sure he would. We do have some paper bat'leths if you want to toss those into the bonfire to summon him."

"Oh, excellent! I was hoping to replicate a Targ leg or something, too, in case he wants a snack." A paper bat'leth? How big were they? A tiny paper bat'leth would be so cute, he thought. He had long since stopped embracing Ellara entirely, but he still had one hand softly touching the side of her shoulder, which he would drop if requested. "Where are they?"

Standing in front of the bonfire, Bellona consulted the small notebook in her pocket. When she'd first heard about this festival commemorating the dead, she'd grabbed one of the notebooks on her desk and scribbled furiously in it, which had taken her a good chunk of a half hour. For her efforts, though, she now had a list of every single gladiator whose life she had snuffed out with her blade in the arena. She picked up a pile of paper dishes, counting them one by one to the exact number of names she'd written down. Bellona took a moment to stare at the burning brazier. She knew this gesture alone wasn't enough to atone for what she'd done, but it was the least she could do. "Gods of Rome, bear witness..." She murmured to herself. One by one, she tossed each paper facsimile into the burning fire, muttering the name and epithet of one dead gladiator each time. She didn't know if anything would come of it (well, the spectral entities standing around seemed to be indication as to the contrary!), but she hoped that, at the very least, they'd take her gesture well.

Ellara considered Eshen as her third son (her second son was technically Kronos). She loved him just like she loved Nalas and was happy to see he was doing well! "They are the size of a hand, not very large, but I am sure int he Celestial Temple they can expand the items we burn," Ellara said as she pointed towards and offerings table with origami version of popular items. There were traditional weapons, a few modern electronics, some animals (in case your loved one needed pets), and some daily life items like make up or skincare products. Ghosts needed to moisturise!

Up front the bonfire, a few figures of fallen gladiator materialised. Some spoke, some didn't. They all had their hand over their hearts, bowing to Bellona as they came and went.

And he considered her a second parent. His first was an old lady called Grandma. Neither, of course, were his biological parents. "It's the thought that counts. Come, let's set fire to things!" An alarming phrase in any other context. He replicated a Targ leg (or something similar that was fire-safe, if Targ leg wasn't) and took one of the little paper bat'leths, then threw them both into the fire. "Qoy qeylIs puqloD! Qoy puqbe'pu'! yoHbogh matlhbogh je SuvwI' Say'moHchu' may' 'Iw. maSuv manong 'ej maHoHchu'. nI'be' yInmaj 'ach wovqu'. batlh maHeghbej 'ej yo' qIjDaq vavpu'ma' DImuv. pa' reH maSuvtaHqu'. mamevQo'. maSuvtaH. ma'ov!"

There was something raw about the emotions that sprang immediately to Bellona's throat as her former opponents took turns interacting with her. Not every name on her list appeared as an apparition. Not all spoke. All of them placed hands over their heart and bowed - the traditional Magna Roman symbol of forgiveness. Before she knew it her eyes were wet, and soon she was standing off to the side with a ranjen's arm on her shoulder as she sniffled and wiped her eyes dry on her sleeve. Whether Pluto Himself had seen fit to allow her old opponents one last chance to offer their forgiveness or not, she was immensely grateful for it.

And out of the smoke-- YES IT WAS KAHLESS HIMSELF! RISING FROM THE FIRE! He held a bat'leth in his hand and let out a loud roar! The Bajoran monks gathered around with their little vacuums, prepared to hoover up this rowdy spirit! "IT IS I! KAHLESS!" He shouted, shaking the bat'leth above his head.

It was him! The man of glistening glutes and bulging biceps, powerful pecs and terrifying triceps! The strong! The fearsome! The one! The only! "KAHLESS! How is it in sto-vo-kor?"

It was at this point that Bellona decided to try and make herself scarce, accompanied by that ranjen. She was absolutely not here to battle the ghosts of former Klingon emperors! Or... emperor. As it were. Funny how this one could show up while, to her knowledge, the real one still resided on Qo'nos!

Allan stepped into the room, a little bit solemn but definitely determined to find one man: Renakir. However, the bonfire was - holy fucking shit, was that Kahless? He immediately went up to Renakir once he spotted him. "Heyyy, bestie, sorry, um- are you seeing that shit?" He was talking to Renakir, but his eyes stayed on the sight in the center of the room. Eshen certainly did not lie to him. Kahless WAS 'juicy of glute and meaty of thigh, plentiful of pecs and bountiful of biceps, with delicious deltoids and tantalising triceps'. Wow.

His biceps did bulge, his glutes glistened, his triceps terrifying, and pecs very powerful! Kahless flexed his arms and did a few poses as if he were posting for Klingons Illustrated magazine or something. "I guard the honourable Sto-vo-kor, admitting only the fiercest of warriors! Everyone has been pretty nice and I enjoy seeing my fellow warriors fight against our fallen enemies," Kahless replied to Eshen. He then looked towards Allan and Renakir who were also staring at him. "Greetings all warriors, you are doing great!"

Renakir was so engrossed in the sight of THE Kahless that he almost didn't notice Allan until he heard his voice. "OH! Yeah, holy shit, look!" Renakir adjusted his sunglasses, making sure it wasn't an illusion. He also agreed, Kahless was hot AF!

"You're amazing, sir! And gorgeous, too! Tell me: will I be admitted? Am I fierce enough of a warrior?" He said, hardly believing what he was seeing. (edited)

"Fuck.. okay, yeah, we're all seeing this," Allan whispered back to Renakir, blinking his eyes as he just. Looked, yeah, before his eyes were brought back down to Eshen as he spoke to Kahless. "Gorgeous, yeah.." he sighed, a smile on his face before he turned back to Renakir, "you see that dress? Fucking stunning, as always, though.."

"THANK YOU!" Kahless shook his bat'leth, his voice bellowing through the entire area with each syllable he spoke. "You surely are fierce, Eshen, you're KILLING it in the dress today too," Kahless said, saying Eshen's name! He knew all, obviously. "You are brave, you are grace, your presence intimidates even the mightiest of warriors, you have a place here when it is your time," Kahless responded and then made a loud rahhh rahh noise. The Bajoran monks lifted their vacuums, pointed at the ghost of Kahless.

"Oh for sure, Eshen is killing it today," Renakir agreed with Allan, his eyes going towards Eshen. When Kahless began to cheer, so did Renakir. Giving a little fist pump and then clapping. "YEAH!! ESHEN!”

He blushed, flustered (a rare feeling for him) at what encouraging words were coming from the mouth of Kahless himself. Was it his birthday? He was going to remember this until the day he died - and afterwards, when he was in sto-vo-kor! He almost wanted to say thank you, but he felt something more Klingon would be suitable: "'IwlIj jachjaj!" Which meant 'may your blood scream! Of course, ghosts didn't have blood, but there was no word for ectoplasm in Klingon. "You better go before they hoover you up, but I'll always remember you!"

"Oh you're right, I don't wanna get hoovered. Until next time, Eshen K'Tann and friends!~" And with that Kahless disappeared into the smoke and the Bajoran monks moved to begin cleaning up for the night.