So Long, Farewell

Posted on 22 Apr 2017 @ 4:48am by Commander Jayla Kij

631 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Ground Transport Platform
Timeline: Late October, 2388

Jayla stood on the platform, her family gathered around. She would take the ground transport to the nearest transport station as usual, where she would be beamed to the ship that would take her to Deep Space 9.

Her orders had come through a week ago, giving her two weeks to reach her destination. Upon receiving them, she'd had a good chat with her father over what she should do now, though she hadn't told him about receiving recall orders. He had finally told her that she could either accept the orders or hand in the resignation she'd written, shocking her as she had no idea how he'd known about either of them.

“Where do you think you got your brains?” he'd asked her with a warm smile. “I'm glad I gave you that and your mother gave you her looks. It would be a shame if you ended up with my physique.”

Now, though, it was time to go. She had made her decision. She would report as ordered. If it all went south, she could still hand in that resignation; she hadn't discarded it.

But, she could hear the ground transport in the distance. “It's been a great visit,” she told her family. “I'd forgotten how much I missed you.”

“You'll forget again,” said her mother as she hugged her. “You always do. You make friends so easily.”

“I hope I don't forget,” Jayla said, returning the hug. “I'd rather miss you guys than make new friends, to be honest.”

“You can do both,” her mother insisted, holding her at arm's length. “If you really want to.”

Jayla grinned and turned to hug her father. “Take care of yourself,” she told him.

“You, too,” he replied. “Just remember, you have options.”

She nodded as she turned to hug her sister. “Try not to be too hard on your kids,” she said.

Jessa laughed. “I don't think that'll be a problem,” she replied; she was notoriously soft.

And last of all was Neville. She knelt in front of him. “You take care of Jessa, okay?” she said.

“I will,” he promised. “And you- you come back, okay?” He gave her a significant look and she understood that he meant to stay alive.

“I promise,” she said, and after a nudge from Kij, added, “both of us.”

He seemed confused at first, but then his eyes darted to her abdomen and he grinned. “I forgot you're joined,” he said. “D'you... d'you think it'd be all right if I used the tree house sometimes?”

She smiled at him. “I think that's a great idea,” she replied.

The ground transport stopped behind her and she stood. “I'll see you all soon enough, I'm sure,” she said as the doors opened. “I love you!”

A chorus of “I love you” replied from all of her family, Neville included and she turned to board the transport. She found a seat by the window quickly and waved to them as the transport pulled away from the platform. She kept waving until they were out of sight and she had a brief flashback of leaving home to go live with her mentor Saraja Jelic and with a start, she looked at the man next to her. But, of course he was not an official from the Symbiosis Commission here to escort her to the USS Impala for intense training.

He smiled nervously at her and she apologized softly, turning back to the window. Now, like then, she had been sad to leave. But, she was not afraid like she had been then. She was not angry. She did not feel betrayed. No, this time, she was at peace. She had done a lot of healing while on Trill and now it was time to get back to normal.

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