Returning Home, Part Four

The smells and sounds of the house had become foreign, lacking the deep thrum of a starship or a station that normally lulled Juliette to sleep. She dozed, then woke, then meditated, then dozed again. As she awoke for the final time she groggily realized what she had gotten would have to do.

Unpacking the Biome took the better part of an hour. It was a small, dense shrub with short tangled branches clutching a dense nebula of deep green leaves bunched around mantis oblong pods, most of which were open to reveal an off-white orb inside. At the center of each orb was a red spot giving each the countenance of a baleful read eye. For its thick foliage and startling appearance, much of what made the Biome the subject of such intense scrutiny at Daystrom was not in the leaves or eyes, but in the fibers and microorganisms amid its roots. 

Returning Home, Part Three

As the flyer descended toward the shuttle pad of House Sri, the pilots maintained transparency so that Juliette could point out the old retreat nestled among ornamental gardens that produced an outburst of russet, plum and juniper ringed with the white poppies currently in season.  The shuttle alighted delicately on the landing pad while Tessa said goodbye like she was leaving a dear friend, and wouldn’t let go until she promised to attend the Tal Isle festival. Andres kept a respectful physical distance, though his presence in her mind was close and personal. Was tomorrow too soon to call on her? Not at all.

Returning Home, Part Two

House Morin’s flyer was as large as a Yellowstone shuttle – though where the Starfleet workhorse was rugged and practical, Juliette felt she was boarding a work of fine art. The inside was more than enough room for Juliette, Tessa, Tessa’s assistant (a star-struck girl from the Chiliat), Tessa’s two bodyguards, Andres and Juliette with room for at least four others. If she ignored the consoles and monitors and focused only from the filigree and brocade on the furnishings the room could have been from Betazed’s early baroque period. Even the pilot that proffered a silver tray with drinks was dressed in a uniform from the period – a stiff dress jacket with gold threaded epaulettes -- clearly an indication of how back House Morin laid claim to their line.  Juliette declined the offer of champagne and selected effervescent water mixed with fruit juice instead.

Returning Home Part One

Despite the signs and announcements against doing so, the queues for the transporters started well before the passenger ship had established standard orbit around Betazed.  Vacationers, eager to make the most of their trip, crowded the transporters until the queue compressed into an impatient, irritated mob. For most Betazoids, pockets of anxiety and frustration were at worst a distraction. For a Betazoid with the rare condition of hyper sensitivity to strong emotions, it was a trial of will and stamina. Rather than test her meditative techniques against an unruly throng, Lieutenant Juliette Sri instead rode in  a shuttle down to the Southern Continent.