Xaeprea greets you, Consul Valriya.

Posted on Thu Nov 21st, 2019 @ 3:24pm by Consul Briya Valriya

1,634 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: What Lies Ahead, Between, and Behind
Location: Shuttle - approaching Xaeprea
Timeline: Pre-Canary

The principal part of Briya’s travel to the Haumea Colony had been aboard a larger vessel, but she was now being ferried the final stretch of the journey via shuttlecraft and the pilot piped in over the comm. “We’re entering the system now, Councilor, and will be arriving at Xaeprea soon. Did I pronounce that properly? Xaeprea?”

Strictly speaking, Briya Valriya wasn’t a Councilor; not yet. She had worked alongside a Federation Councilor prior to this assignment and in the course of time aspired to the position herself, but she was now a Consul with the Federation Diplomatic Corps, this being only her second year with the FDC.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Briya acknowledged from the quiet of the small compartment set aside for sleeping. This last leg of the trip wasn’t really long enough to require such accommodations, but it had offered her some welcomed isolation from the man at the helm. Lieutenant Langley was a talker and liked to keep her informed of every little maneuver. Or he liked the sound of his own voice. He wasn’t a bad guy; he was actually quite friendly and that was a quality Briya ordinarily would gravitate towards, but she wasn’t exactly thrilled about her posting to the Haumea Colony so she’d been a bit ill-humoured. She hoped she’d done a good job of keeping those feelings to herself, but she wasn’t quite ready to give up the quiet of the crew cabin which she had to herself at the moment.

“Dropping to one quarter impulse,” came the voice from the man at the helm.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Briya responded absently, briefly shutting her eyes tightly. She was perhaps a bit cheerless in her comeback and in her movements as she went through her luggage and re-folded a few of the articles of clothing that she felt required additional attention. The truth was, it wasn’t necessary. Her ensembles looked fancy and pressed, but they were low maintenance; designed to maintain their comely creases and proud pleats. The 24th century had finally removed the need for such domestic care regarding one’s wardrobe, nevermind the lingering lure a pair of high heels could deliver. Her hands hovered over the remainder of her clothing; cold weather garments that she’d had tailored on Earth rather than replicated. If you trusted to the technology, simple scans and a replicator were able to produce a more precisely conforming article of clothing - allegedly. And Briya was not one to avoid technology out of principal or fear of the tech itself, but when it came to clothing, she was convinced nothing quite shaped up to a cut-to-fit suit. Not that such attention to detail was likely to be noticed or enjoyed by anyone else when it was regarding an insulated coat or thermal pants. Briya stared down at the cold weather pieces of her new wardrobe that she’d never actually worn. That was probably what she looked forward to with the least enthusiasm - the cold weather. She shivered just thinking about it.

A check of the compartment showed that she’d left nothing behind, but as she hadn’t been long in the room, it was no surprise. When she’d lingered as long as she could justify, Briya snapped shut the latch on each of her matching trunks and slid them one by one to rest neatly by the hatch. She joined Lieutenant Langley at the front of the shuttle and slipped into the navigator’s seat. Langley gave her a quick glance. Briya was a young woman, easily passable as Terran. She was tall and impossibly thin, and dressed like no diplomat Langley had ever seen in his time with Starfleet. But he supposed Federation diplomats must have more freedom when it comes to that sort of thing. He had his doubts as to how long this woman would continue donning dresses and skirts once she’d spent some time on Xaeprea’s surface. Xaeprea, it still sounded off to him.

“Will you be wanting to beam down to the planet?” he asked with another quick glance over to Briya.

“If it’s not trouble, I’d prefer to land and disembark onsite.” She had a pleasant voice that immediately reminded the helmsman of a vacation he’d spent on Risa where he’d enjoyed the company and comfort of the indeginous people far too much.

“No trouble, Ma’am. I just thought you might want to avoid the weather initially and have the transporter send you directly to your roasty rooms. Plenty of time later for freezing off your…” Langley faltered and his sudden console mashing began emitting extra loud beeps.

Briya smiled and rescued the Lieutenant, sparing him the need to finish that sentence or suffer in its wake. “Under other circumstances I may choose the transporter; I’m not phobic of them, but the easy come easy go of beaming in might give the wrong impression. I’m not merely visiting the colony, this is to be a long term assignment. I will live with these people and it’s important to make the right entrance.”

“As you wish, Ma’am, but I doubt anyone will take offense to the use of transporter technology.”

“I prefer it, Lieutenant,” Briya said to the pilot and that seemed to quell his line of questioning.

A few moments went by in silence between them until Xaeprea began to swell on the viewscreen.

“It’s a beautiful planet,” Langley offered, somewhat tempered.

“It is certainly white.” Briya looked down at the display to make a note of the temperature readings down on the planet. “And cold as well. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be complaining. It's just - quite a change from Risa.”

“You were stationed in Paris though, on Earth? They have white winters, right?” Langley had a bit more pep in his voice. You couldn’t keep him down for long.

“Starfleet officers are stationed; civilians are appointed or employed, but yes, I have spent much time in Paris. However, the Federation Council was rarely in session for the winter equinox so I was thankfully able to visit home during those months. I prefer the sandy powder of our beaches to the snowy powder of French winters.”

“Ah yes, the beautiful, warm beaches of Risa. I met the most charming… well we don’t need to get into that.” Langley had the look of a man who wished he’d gone AWOL and never returned to his duties following that soundly savored shoreleave.

“It is fine Lieutenant, I’ve heard similar stories my entire life. After all, Risian women are reputed to be quite charming. Or do you disagree?” Briya gave him a measured frown.

“Oh no no it’s not that. I completely agree; Risian women are enchanting, especially when there’s a Horga'hn involved. It’s just… she wasn’t Risian.”

“Well now, I am intrigued. Let me guess - she was green?”

“As a matter of fact she was blue, but I do like the green ones.”

“Lieutenant! You certainly are a well traveled young man.”

“I’m a pilot, Ma’am. That means I’m led by the stick…”

Briya cut him off. “Okay, Mister - I think we’ll just leave the remainder of that conversation unspoken.”

“Thank you, Ma’am. Local time down on the colony is ten hundred hours, but if you can spare the time, I’d like to take an alternate approach to give you a shot of the sunrise. It’s really something else.”

“Time is a never-ending explosion, Lieutenant. I think we can spare a moment for another sunrise.” Briya leaned forward in anticipation of the view.

“You never know when it may be your last,” Langley stated sagely.

“Let us keep things chipper, Lieutenant. If you deliver me to my last sunrise on this trek, I will haunt you.”

“I can think of worse fates,” Langley backcapped.

“I said chipper, not cheeky.” But Briya was smiling and did not appear to be bothered.

It did not go unnoticed by the helmsman. “I’m just glad you’re in a better disposition, Ma’am. You shouldn’t start your colony experience with a case of the sours.”

“And you shouldn’t call me Ma’am. That’s for women in a position of authority or advancing years.” Briya’s eyes were scanning left and right in search of the approaching sun. “Which horizon am I looking at Lieutenant?”

Langley pointed to the planet’s dextral side. “Consul, then? Consul Briya Valriya? Consul Briya Valriya.” He sounded like he was testing it out for viability. “I don’t know, sounds sort of stuffy, don’t you think?”

“I most certainly do not,” Briya retorted with a look of distaste on her face. Privately she thoroughly agreed with Langley’s assessment, though she wasn’t going to admit it.

“Of course, Consul. Forgive me. If the Consul will direct her attention to the afore-referenced horizon...”

The final approach had snuck up on her and she hadn’t even realized the exact moment when the shuttle entered the atmosphere as they’d continued their entry flying in the dark of night. Now, as she focused her eyes ahead, she could see the darkness give way as the planet’s starlight vanished the boundary between night and day. All became a burnished hue of delicate pastel. A pale blanket of pink and blue was lifted from the endless white beneath a lilac sky.

With her elbows on the console and chin cradled in her palms, Briya beheld the infinite sunrise and murmured to herself, “I see you, Xaeprea.”

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