Part of USS Mariner: M2: All the Voices in My Head

11) Not here, not again!

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The smell of sweetness, yet that tiny bit of acquired wet plants was thrown in the mix. As Asipa sits up quickly from her bed, her eyes are big and breathing quickly. She recognized that smell from anywhere; her blurry eyes got sharper, and she could hear the familiar sound of rain pouring down. Her eyes went to the window to see the reflection of a lighting in the window. “No….impossible…” 

“Asipa! Get up, lazy girl…” A male voice came from the hallway. 

Her eyes darted toward the opened door, and due to a breeze, Asipa noticed that she was not wearing any clothing. Quickly covering herself in shock, she said, “What is going on? Why am I naked?!” 

“Naked? Because you are a woman, and it is a tradition within our house that a woman doesn't wear any clothing. Now stop this nonsense and get up. Or dad will be angry at you again.” A male Ferengi was standing there with a soft smile in her direction.

Asipa looked at the man, “Bek?” She looked confused. “But that means….I am on Ferenginar….” Muttering to herself, looking confused, “How is this possible…I should be on the USS Mariner

Raising his arms over each other, he looked at his baby sister: “That sounds like a Starfleet ship, sis. Be careful what you are saying. You know how Dad feels about Starfleet.” Bek looked over his shoulder, hearing some pans drop. “I think you better get out of bed and get cooking. Someone is grumpy.” 

She gets slowly out of bed, grabs her blanket, and puts it around her. “I refuse to stand naked in this house, even for you brother,” Asipa growls and walks past him. “Lets see what the hell is going on, I need to get out of here….” 

Bek smirked and shook his head. “Your funeral, sis….” He followed her to the living room.

Entering the living room, Asipa's eyes met that of her father, sitting in his chair, tapping the table with a platinum slip. “Great, my day got worse….” Asipa muttered once again to herself. Taking a deep breath, “Dad…what is going on?” She wanted an explanation: how could she be here and not where she belonged? She escaped this awful place of old traditions and horror. 

The old man's eyes turned toward his daughter. “What is going on? My daughter is not taking care of the household chores as she should be. She would rather lie in her bed, dreaming silly things. We make the profits in this household…..so give your father the respect he deserves.” 

She knew that hell would break loose if she didn't show the proper respect. Asipa placed her wrists against each other, making a cup under her chin, and slowly bowed toward her father. “I ….apologize, Father, for my lack of respect for the great house and its ruler. I hope you can forgive me and explain what is going on. I ….” Asipa shrugged, knowing this would let loose the hellhounds. “I am supposed to be in Starfleet right now and not in your beloved house.” 

“Starfleet, is that so girl…..” He calmly stated with a click of his tongue of disapproval, “In the House of Dago, we do not speak such dirt. It is a great omen for the great material continuum!” Dago shrugged and shook his head. “What have I ever done to you that you are so disrespectful of our ways and traditions!” 

Asipa felt a snare break in her and bit her lip to calm down. She pulled the blanket over her naked body. “Tradition…you mean that we women are mere tools for the men? Are you not worthy of wearing clothing? We are not worthy to do a business deal! Are you afraid of your status, father!" 

Dago stands up out of anger and points his finger at her. “How dare you? This Starfleet poison is spreading over our beautiful world, and women are now getting more power. Power they do not need….” 

She felt as if a glitch had broken her anger. Asipa looked around, and with every thunder, the room started to flicker slightly out of shape. “This is not real….” Asipa took a deep breath and felt the calmness come back to her, ignoring her father's raging insults. “This is a dream….well, a nightmare.” She looked at her father, who looked now quietly at her.

“You can't escape your people….or what you are,” Dago spoke while rubbing his earlobe.

Asipa smiled in his direction. “I have a much better life right now, a life you never could have given me. Enjoy your hellhole of a puddle, dad. I will never return here, and this dream will never get to me.” She closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. While exhaling, she opened her eyes and found herself in her own comfortable bed on the USS Mariner. She sat up, checked her clothing, felt that her pajamas were on, and felt reassured. “It was just a nightmare….everything is okay.”

Without knowing, other crew members woke up from their nightmare as well, all vivid experiences of what they would describe as realistic to a horrifying degree. The crew is being plagued with a storm of nightmares. 

  • Asipa

    Communications Officer