4-17… 4-18… 4-19… B'Elanna read the numbers painted on the ground as she walked through the 'personal vessels' area of the port. Shading her eyes against the morning sun, she looked down the aisle, trying to get a sense of how much further it would be to 4-47 – the space that housed Tevi's freighter.
B'Elanna had been woken this ghInjaj morning by the incessant beeping of her PADD. She'd ignored it at first – this was the only day she got to sleep in – but the stupid thing would not stop buzzing. With a growl, she'd finally grabbed it, ready to give whoever it was a piece of her mind.
Five messages from Tevi, all of them asking if B'Elanna could come down to the port right now. B'Elanna's brow furrowed as her sleep addled brain tried to make sense of the request. After all, she'd just had dinner with Tevi the night before and they had not planned anything for today.
"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning," Tevi had said, sitting across from B'Elanna in a noisy Bolian restaurant.
"That's too bad. If there was more time, we could have gone to the coast or something," B'Elanna responded, taking a sip of her drink.
They'd talked for nearly two hours: beginning with Miral's insistence that B'Elanna leave the port neighborhood by 24:00, followed by her boredom with work, and finally Ma'Leth's health.
"I just feel so helpless," B'Elanna muttered, pushing her food around her plate. "He doesn't even go to the restaurant anymore. And yesterday, my mom mentioned that she's worried about leaving him alone."
Tevi reached out, stilling B'Elanna's restless hand. "I'm sorry you have to go through this. It's hard to watch someone you love deteriorate."
"It's just so stupid." B'Elanna pulled her hand away so she could wrap her arms around herself. "If he would just go to the stupid medical center. Did I tell you that? It's fucking treatable. But he won't go to the hospital! He-" B'Elanna stopped short, unwilling to finish her sentence.
Tevi pursed her lips. "Maybe there is something you can do at home for him? Have you talked to his doctors?"
B'Elanna let out a rough laugh. "Doctors. God, this planet's medical system is medieval. Stupid machismo culture."
"Maybe you could do some research yourself? Maybe there something in the Federation database that you could use."
"I don't know." B'Elanna rested her elbow on the table and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Even if I find something, he probably won't want to do it."
"You'll never know if you don't try."
Lying in bed, B'Elanna had messaged Tevi that she'd be there in half an hour. After she'd stuffed Toby under her pillow, she pulled on some clothes and tied her hair back in a messy bun. Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, she'd decided she looked acceptable… even if the circles under her eyes seemed darker than usual.
4-26… 4-27… B'Elanna hurried down the blacktop aisle, already sweating in the morning heat. Although she was worried about Tevi, B'Elanna was happy to get to see her again. At dinner, she'd felt happier than she had in a while - maybe since the night she and Tevi had gone dancing. How long ago was that? Almost two months? Her life had devolved into going to work, practicing the Mok'bara, and spending time with Ma'Leth. When she tried to do anything else, reading, for example, her mind would drift off, often playing out scenarios involving Ma'Leth's death.
4-39… 4-40… The sun reflected off the hulls of the ships, causing B'Elanna to squint. A hot breeze, magnified by the rows of ships, whipped strands of hair loose from her bun. The port was quiet, it was still early, and B'Elanna was the only person walking between the vessels. B'Elanna was glad for that, the last thing she wanted right now was to be hassled about who she was and what she was doing here. That's what her life on Qo'noS felt like – one long, exhausting conversation about her existence.
4-46… 4-47. B'Elanna stopped in front of a small vessel painted a deep burgundy. Taking her PADD from her pocket, she messaged Tevi, saying she was outside the ship. A moment later, a large hatch opened, and B'Elanna stepped back so that what once was the bulkhead of the ship wouldn't crush her. Tevi stood at the top of the ramp, looking impatient as she waited for it to descend. Finally, it hit the pavement and Tevi gestured for B'Elanna to board.
"What's wrong?" B'Elanna asked as she walked up the ramp.
Tevi looked up and down the aisle lined with freighters. "Did anyone see you?"
B'Elanna's brow furrowed. "No. Why?"
"Just get inside," Tevi snapped as she closed the hatch behind B'Elanna.
"Tevi? Are you all right?" B'Elanna asked as she looked around the cargo hold, trying to find the source of Tevi's distress. The hold was full of large crates, all marked in Klingon. B'Elanna didn't take the time to try to read what was written on them.
As the hatch locked into place, Tevi let out a sigh, and leaned against the wall. "Not really," she replied, before turning to look at B'Elanna. "I was supposed to take off two hours ago, but my magnetic constrictors are fused."
B'Elanna's brows creased - that was an easy repair. "Why didn't you call the port and ask for a technician to fix it?"
Tevi looked down at the deck and shoved a hand into the loose jacket she was wearing. "B'Elanna, I…" She looked up at the ceiling and bit her lip. Finally, she directed her gaze at B'Elanna. "I'm sorry. I need your help."
The hairs on the back of B'Elanna's neck stood up. B'Elanna looked back at Tevi's hand, shifting around in her jacket. What's in there that she's grasping? "Tevi… I'll help you. Just tell me what's wrong." B'Elanna tried to keep her voice even and calm.
"Can you fix the constrictors?"
"I can." She took a step towards Tevi. "But tell me why you can't call the port."
The corner of Tevi's mouth rose in a sad kind of smirk. "You really can't read Klingon, can you?"
"I…" B'Elanna trailed off as she looked at the crates – really looked at them. Disruptors… Torpedoes… Launchers… B'Elanna looked back at Tevi. "Are all these weapons?"
"Yes."
B'Elanna's took a step back toward the hatch. Oh god. "And why can't you call the port?"
"You already know."
B'Elanna heart skipped a beat. "They're illegal."
Tevi nodded.
Panic washed over B'Elanna. Her friend - her only friend – was a gun runner? She tried to breathe. "What are you going to do to me after I fix the constrictor?"
Tevi looked at B'Elanna, a sad expression on her face. "Nothing, I hope."
The adrenaline coursing through B'Elanna pushed her over the edge. "'Nothing, you hope'? What the fuck does that mean?"
"B'Elanna, calm down. Let me just tell you what's going on."
"You pretend to be my friend so that, what? You could call me in here one day to fix crap for you before you kill me?" B'Elanna was pacing around the hold.
Tevi shook her head, her eyes wide. "No, B'Elanna, no. It was never like that. I never wanted you to know, but I didn't know what else to do!"
"How about call the people you got the guns from to help you!?"
"They can't – please, just calm down and I'll explain it all."
B'Elanna turned back towards Tevi, who now had her hands out of her pockets and was holding them out towards B'Elanna. Exhaling, B'Elanna crossed her arms. "Fine. Talk."
Tevi rubbed her face with her hands, her fingers covering her mouth as she collected her thoughts. Finally, her hands fell away, and she spoke. "I was born on a Bajor after we had already been occupied for twenty years. My parents had only been children when the Cardassians came… and my grandparents were long dead by the time I was born." She took a breath. "They'd never really known freedom, and neither had I. I lived like that until I was thirty – under the Cardassians' thumb."
There was a pause as Tevi began to pace. "When I was 23, I met a woman. We got married two years later. On Bajor, you take your happiness where you can get it. For seven years the Prophets blessed us. I mean, times were always hard, but at the end of the day, I always had her." Tevi's voice caught. "Until one day I didn't."
Tears glistened in Tevi's eyes. "They killed her. They thought she was someone else. They charged into our room, dragged her from our bed, and killed her. Right there. No trial. No chance to explain." Tevi shook her head, letting out a humorless snort. "We're so worthless to them that it didn't matter if they killed the wrong Bajoran."
"Tevi…" B'Elanna breathed. The other woman held out her hand, stopping B'Elanna.
"After that, I joined the Resistance. I couldn't live with not fighting those motherfuckers anymore. I couldn't sit by while they killed more of us. So," Tevi gestured to the hold, "I run guns."
The silence was thick. B'Elanna looked from the weapons to Tevi. The light-hearted and talkative woman she'd come to know now wore a steely expression. B'Elanna didn't know what to say. 'I'm sorry?' 'That's terrible?' None of it seemed to fit the horror that Tevi had lived through – a horror that B'Elanna couldn't even imagine.
There was only one thing to say. "Where's your tool kit?"
=/\=
Four hours later, Tevi was on her way and B'Elanna was exiting the transport station near her home. The full heat of the day was upon her, and B'Elanna was drenched in sweat after walking only a block. Despite her distaste for the humid heat of Qam'Chee, there was a spring in B'Elanna's step - today she'd done something that mattered. Not just fiddled with engines or done repairs from a long list like she did at work - today she'd helped someone. Hell, maybe she'd helped a whole planet.
Tevi had been a ball of nerves while B'Elanna repaired the constrictor, pacing through the cargo hold, checking the exterior sensor feeds for anyone who looked suspicious.
"The Klingon government turns a blind eye so that we'll give the Cardassians a bloody nose, but that doesn't make this safe," Tevi had explained to B'Elanna as she paced. "I'm so sorry I got you involved."
B'Elanna let out an exasperated sigh. "Could you stop apologizing for a second so I can concentrate?"
"Sorry," Tevi murmured as she went to check the sensors again.
In front of her house, B'Elanna rehearsed her lie. She and Tevi had breakfast at a Vulcan place near the port. They then took a walk through the Gem'Cha nature area. Miral wouldn't question any of this if B'Elanna delivered it with confidence.
With a breath, she entered the house. The smells of incense met her nose, and she could hear her mother softly chanting. Stepping into the main room, she found Miral and Ma'Leth kneeling before the shrine to Kahless.
Miral paused her chant. "Where were you?"
"I had breakfast with Tevi before she had to leave," B'Elanna replied, her eyes never meeting her mother's.
"I'm glad you've made a friend, but it would have been nice if you'd made one that lives on this planet."
You mean it would have been nice if she were Klingon. "Yeah," she replied, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
Miral looked her daughter up and down. B'Elanna held her breath.
"Join us? These chants will bring some peace to your soul."
B'Elanna exhaled – her mother was changing the topic. "Not this week," she replied, and headed down the hall.
In her room, the door shut, B'Elanna turned on the environmental control unit and sat on the edge of the bed. She grabbed Toby from under the pillow, looking into his scratched-up eyes. "Her wife was pulled from their bed…" B'Elanna muttered, stroking Toby's fur. "Can you even imagine it?"
His blank expression indicated he could not.
To have the people you loved the most persecuted and killed… B'Elanna could feel her anger start to rise as she thought about the cruelty of it all. What kind of people would do such a thing?
Pulling out her PADD, B'Elanna opened a search window and typed, Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. A long list of articles appeared.
She settled into the bed and began to read.
=/\=