The Ties That Bind
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole
ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a
court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Star Trek: The Next Generation no mine...no money, no sue, please?
Deanna was waiting in Will's quarters when they got there. Miranda was immediately tense. She wanted to run again, but knew they were already going to be asking a lot questions.
/It's all right! There's nothing wrong with you!/ Deanna told her quickly, "Why don't you come and sit down" she added aloud. Miranda looked at her warily, but took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
"Miranda, how much do you know about your mother?" the dark haired woman asked. The young girl shrugged. She hated to admit how much she didn't know. She hated to talk about her mother.
"Did you know she was half Betazoid like me?" Deanna persisted. Miranda shook her head woefully.
"Nobody every told you?" Will demanded. She could feel his indignation and it surprised her. But, he was a Starfleet Commander, he felt indignation on other people's behalf all the time. She wasn't special. IT wasn't because he cared for her. He was ashamed of her, wished she'd never been born. Just like their father.
"Miranda" Deanna tried to reach for her hand but she pulled back, "Your mother was half Betazoid. Betazoids are naturally telepathic. It's something that developed naturally on our world. That means your mother was empathic, like I am. She could read other people's feelings. So can you, because you're part Betazoid. Do you understand?"
Miranda just looked back and forth between the woman and her brother. Deanna wasn't lying, but that didn't mean it was all true.
/You don't believe me/ Miranda snapped her gaze over to Troi.
/Why should I?/ she asked, as a sort of test.
/Because you're proving it's true by speaking telepathically/ Deanna replied, /And why would I lie?/
/How do I know? People are weird, they'll lie about lots of things/ Miranda replied, surprised at how natural this really did feel.
/I don't./
/That's what you say/ Miranda quipped. There was a pause. Will was remaining quiet, aware of what was going on.
/You said empathic/ Miranda finally pointed out.
/Yes. But also telepathic, with other telepaths/ Deanna answered, glad to be getting somewhere.
/So, I like, couldn't talk to him?/ Miranda asked, indicating Will.
/No. A full Betazoid, like my mother, could, but anything less than that leaves only the empathic genes/ Deanna explained. Miranda digested this. She threw a look at her brother, wondering what he thought of all of this.
/Will's a wonderful man, if you give him a chance/ Miranda snorted.
/I'll bet he is/ she replied truthfully, liking this whole talking without talking thing. Maybe she could get away with never speaking to him. There was Data to talk to, and Deanna didn't seem to bad, though she'd have to be careful what she said to her.
"Look, why don't you come and see me tomorrow?" Troi suggested out loud, "I can explain more then"
"You can come after school" Will added. Miranda held back a snort. She hadn't bothered to actually go to classes for years. She wouldn't mention that. If he thought she was at school all day, at least she wouldn't have to worry about him popping in, giving her most of the day to herself. She glanced at Deanna, hoping she hadn't heard that. The woman didn't say anything, though, so Miranda just shrugged.
"Good" Deanna grinned, obviously excited about the prospect, which made Miranda suspicious. But never mind.
"Well, if you're going to school tomorrow, you should probably be getting to bed" Will said, standing.
/No one's told me it was bed time since I was ten/ Miranda told Deanna, /Is he always like this?/ Something about that made Deanna frown inwardly. The girl was very bitter toward her brother. She didn't reply. The truth was, he was always like this. He was always taking charge. Usually, though, everybody was happy enough to follow. Miranda was not one of those personalities though.
"We'll see you tomorrow then" the Councilor said instead. They said goodnight and Will walked Miranda back down to her room.
"Well, you've had an eventful first day aboard" he said. Miranda spun around to pin him with one of her very efficient glares. She could see the relaxation fade from his eyes.
/Oh no, brother. I'm not won over that easy. I don't like you, and I don't plan on starting to/ she thought at him. Of course, he couldn't hear her. Still, he seemed to pick up on her feelings because he just gave her a short nod.
"Goodnight, then" he said, and left.
Alone at last, Miranda sighed and flopped into a chair. She blinked at herself, wishing she felt sleepy. Bolgara's rotation happened to be close to Earth's, and therefore Enterprise's, but she had always been more of a night person. She loved the cool quiet, the moon, the feeling that the whole world around her was asleep and she was free.
There was no real night on a starship. At least a third of the crew was always up. The ship, after all, needed to be monitored at all times. Miranda felt like going for a walk, but she did not feel like running into anyone. The notion of going to see Data, who never slept, entered her head, but she pushed it aside. He would no doubt end up telling Will and that wouldn't do. She could tell that Will was a speech giver.
So instead she asked for some music, something Irish, and pulled a book off the shelf. The Once and Future King was one of her favorites.
The next morning found her being awoken in the same chair she'd fallen asleep in. It was not an unusual occurrence.
Her door buzzer was ringing. Miranda pulled herself up and went to answer it, her eyes still half closed.
"Hi!" a cheery voice assailed her ears. There was a boy, probably not much younger than herself, standing in front of her. He had a big smile on his face, as if expecting she would be happy that he had so rudely awakened her. His hair was all combed and he wore a strange gray one-piece outfit. (They were popular at the moment, but Miranda hated them)
"Hi" she replied slowly.
"My name's Wesley Crusher" he told her in the same cheerful manner, "You're Miranda, right?" Miranda frowned.
"Yeah"
"I'm supposed to show you around a little, take you down to the school" he told her. She rolled her eyes and stepped back to let him in.
"My brother send you down here?" she asked, fetching herself something to drink.
"Commander Riker? No, my mother actually. She thought it might be better if someone your own age showed you around" he replied. Miranda took her seat again.
"Your mother, huh? That be Dr. Crusher?" she asked.
"Yeah, you met her yesterday. She said you've come to live with the Commander since your father died. You'll love the Enterprise! There's all sorts of cool stuff to do" Miranda resisted curbing the boy's enthusiasm. Most people, she'd noticed, were happy with their lives. There was no reason to go around popping their bubbles.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Well, there's the gym, and the gardens, oh, and the holidecks! You'll love the holidecks" Now this caught Miranda's attention. She of course knew what a holideck was, but the only ones on Bolgara had been in the somewhat more unsavory areas of the larger cities. Therefore, she had never actually seen one.
"A holideck, huh? Everybody allowed to use those?"
"Sure. I've got some really great programs" Wesley replied, again enthusiastically.
"You can make your own programs?"
"Sure. Hey, if you want, I could take you down this evening, after my Bridge duties" he offered. Miranda instinctively drew inwards, suspicious of his offer. But she could feel his sincerity. He was a very honest person, it was easy to read him. There were some benefits to this empathic gig.
"Hey, speaking of duties, we better get to classes!" Wesley stood, expecting her to follow suit. She stayed in her chair.
"I'm not going"
"Huh? How come?" Miranda shrugged.
"Why should I?" she asked, "William's the one who signed me up, or whatever. I haven't actually gone to school in two years. What's the use? I'm the top of my class in everything except math, and who needs math?" This was actually a speech she'd prepared for Deanna, but young Wesley here was good practice. He looked at her, completely surprised and somewhat uncomfortable. After all, this was the 24th century and things were perfect, or at least nearly so. Human beings didn't have problems with jealousy and hate and unfairness or anything petty like that anymore. They certainly didn't disobey orders from their older brothers.
He finally recovered though, and apparently decided not to argue.
"Well, I'm pretty good at math" he offered, "I'd be glad to help if you ever need some" Miranda gave him a bemused smile.
"Thanks. You better get going. But if you want to show me the holideck later, that'd be cool"
"Cool! Okay, well, I'll see you later!" Wesley said and actually waved before the door closed on him.
To borrow a phrase: Star Trek: The Next Generation no mine...no money, no sue, please?
Deanna was waiting in Will's quarters when they got there. Miranda was immediately tense. She wanted to run again, but knew they were already going to be asking a lot questions.
/It's all right! There's nothing wrong with you!/ Deanna told her quickly, "Why don't you come and sit down" she added aloud. Miranda looked at her warily, but took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.
"Miranda, how much do you know about your mother?" the dark haired woman asked. The young girl shrugged. She hated to admit how much she didn't know. She hated to talk about her mother.
"Did you know she was half Betazoid like me?" Deanna persisted. Miranda shook her head woefully.
"Nobody every told you?" Will demanded. She could feel his indignation and it surprised her. But, he was a Starfleet Commander, he felt indignation on other people's behalf all the time. She wasn't special. IT wasn't because he cared for her. He was ashamed of her, wished she'd never been born. Just like their father.
"Miranda" Deanna tried to reach for her hand but she pulled back, "Your mother was half Betazoid. Betazoids are naturally telepathic. It's something that developed naturally on our world. That means your mother was empathic, like I am. She could read other people's feelings. So can you, because you're part Betazoid. Do you understand?"
Miranda just looked back and forth between the woman and her brother. Deanna wasn't lying, but that didn't mean it was all true.
/You don't believe me/ Miranda snapped her gaze over to Troi.
/Why should I?/ she asked, as a sort of test.
/Because you're proving it's true by speaking telepathically/ Deanna replied, /And why would I lie?/
/How do I know? People are weird, they'll lie about lots of things/ Miranda replied, surprised at how natural this really did feel.
/I don't./
/That's what you say/ Miranda quipped. There was a pause. Will was remaining quiet, aware of what was going on.
/You said empathic/ Miranda finally pointed out.
/Yes. But also telepathic, with other telepaths/ Deanna answered, glad to be getting somewhere.
/So, I like, couldn't talk to him?/ Miranda asked, indicating Will.
/No. A full Betazoid, like my mother, could, but anything less than that leaves only the empathic genes/ Deanna explained. Miranda digested this. She threw a look at her brother, wondering what he thought of all of this.
/Will's a wonderful man, if you give him a chance/ Miranda snorted.
/I'll bet he is/ she replied truthfully, liking this whole talking without talking thing. Maybe she could get away with never speaking to him. There was Data to talk to, and Deanna didn't seem to bad, though she'd have to be careful what she said to her.
"Look, why don't you come and see me tomorrow?" Troi suggested out loud, "I can explain more then"
"You can come after school" Will added. Miranda held back a snort. She hadn't bothered to actually go to classes for years. She wouldn't mention that. If he thought she was at school all day, at least she wouldn't have to worry about him popping in, giving her most of the day to herself. She glanced at Deanna, hoping she hadn't heard that. The woman didn't say anything, though, so Miranda just shrugged.
"Good" Deanna grinned, obviously excited about the prospect, which made Miranda suspicious. But never mind.
"Well, if you're going to school tomorrow, you should probably be getting to bed" Will said, standing.
/No one's told me it was bed time since I was ten/ Miranda told Deanna, /Is he always like this?/ Something about that made Deanna frown inwardly. The girl was very bitter toward her brother. She didn't reply. The truth was, he was always like this. He was always taking charge. Usually, though, everybody was happy enough to follow. Miranda was not one of those personalities though.
"We'll see you tomorrow then" the Councilor said instead. They said goodnight and Will walked Miranda back down to her room.
"Well, you've had an eventful first day aboard" he said. Miranda spun around to pin him with one of her very efficient glares. She could see the relaxation fade from his eyes.
/Oh no, brother. I'm not won over that easy. I don't like you, and I don't plan on starting to/ she thought at him. Of course, he couldn't hear her. Still, he seemed to pick up on her feelings because he just gave her a short nod.
"Goodnight, then" he said, and left.
Alone at last, Miranda sighed and flopped into a chair. She blinked at herself, wishing she felt sleepy. Bolgara's rotation happened to be close to Earth's, and therefore Enterprise's, but she had always been more of a night person. She loved the cool quiet, the moon, the feeling that the whole world around her was asleep and she was free.
There was no real night on a starship. At least a third of the crew was always up. The ship, after all, needed to be monitored at all times. Miranda felt like going for a walk, but she did not feel like running into anyone. The notion of going to see Data, who never slept, entered her head, but she pushed it aside. He would no doubt end up telling Will and that wouldn't do. She could tell that Will was a speech giver.
So instead she asked for some music, something Irish, and pulled a book off the shelf. The Once and Future King was one of her favorites.
The next morning found her being awoken in the same chair she'd fallen asleep in. It was not an unusual occurrence.
Her door buzzer was ringing. Miranda pulled herself up and went to answer it, her eyes still half closed.
"Hi!" a cheery voice assailed her ears. There was a boy, probably not much younger than herself, standing in front of her. He had a big smile on his face, as if expecting she would be happy that he had so rudely awakened her. His hair was all combed and he wore a strange gray one-piece outfit. (They were popular at the moment, but Miranda hated them)
"Hi" she replied slowly.
"My name's Wesley Crusher" he told her in the same cheerful manner, "You're Miranda, right?" Miranda frowned.
"Yeah"
"I'm supposed to show you around a little, take you down to the school" he told her. She rolled her eyes and stepped back to let him in.
"My brother send you down here?" she asked, fetching herself something to drink.
"Commander Riker? No, my mother actually. She thought it might be better if someone your own age showed you around" he replied. Miranda took her seat again.
"Your mother, huh? That be Dr. Crusher?" she asked.
"Yeah, you met her yesterday. She said you've come to live with the Commander since your father died. You'll love the Enterprise! There's all sorts of cool stuff to do" Miranda resisted curbing the boy's enthusiasm. Most people, she'd noticed, were happy with their lives. There was no reason to go around popping their bubbles.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Well, there's the gym, and the gardens, oh, and the holidecks! You'll love the holidecks" Now this caught Miranda's attention. She of course knew what a holideck was, but the only ones on Bolgara had been in the somewhat more unsavory areas of the larger cities. Therefore, she had never actually seen one.
"A holideck, huh? Everybody allowed to use those?"
"Sure. I've got some really great programs" Wesley replied, again enthusiastically.
"You can make your own programs?"
"Sure. Hey, if you want, I could take you down this evening, after my Bridge duties" he offered. Miranda instinctively drew inwards, suspicious of his offer. But she could feel his sincerity. He was a very honest person, it was easy to read him. There were some benefits to this empathic gig.
"Hey, speaking of duties, we better get to classes!" Wesley stood, expecting her to follow suit. She stayed in her chair.
"I'm not going"
"Huh? How come?" Miranda shrugged.
"Why should I?" she asked, "William's the one who signed me up, or whatever. I haven't actually gone to school in two years. What's the use? I'm the top of my class in everything except math, and who needs math?" This was actually a speech she'd prepared for Deanna, but young Wesley here was good practice. He looked at her, completely surprised and somewhat uncomfortable. After all, this was the 24th century and things were perfect, or at least nearly so. Human beings didn't have problems with jealousy and hate and unfairness or anything petty like that anymore. They certainly didn't disobey orders from their older brothers.
He finally recovered though, and apparently decided not to argue.
"Well, I'm pretty good at math" he offered, "I'd be glad to help if you ever need some" Miranda gave him a bemused smile.
"Thanks. You better get going. But if you want to show me the holideck later, that'd be cool"
"Cool! Okay, well, I'll see you later!" Wesley said and actually waved before the door closed on him.