edge_of_forever | (no subject)

In her capacity as diplomatic envoy for the Betazoid government, Lwaxana Troi had travelled from one end of the Alpha Quadrant to the other. The sight of an unfamiliar starfield outside the nearest viewport was not unsettling to her. But here on this station, if she thought about it for too long, the knowledge that she might be seeing constellations that were completely uncharted by any entity she had ever come in contact with—

Well, that was worth glossing over.

So as she sat at the small table on the observation deck, she gazed out at the stars with only a passing interest. It had taken a bit of concentration not to concentrate on finding familiar star patterns, but once attained, maintaining a detached view of things was not too difficult. Since she was simultaneously attempting to ignore her discomfort at having to present herself in these rags--with her own hair!-- Lwaxana began to regret arriving so early to meet the young Vulcan, and started wishing for someone else to distract her.

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Lwaxana was privately glad for the noise made by the station's doors; without it, she would probably have been surprised by the woman's entrance. She wasn't used to being surprised, but everyday something new showed her just how much she had relied on her telepathic abilities.

She turned, smiling and took the woman's hand gracefully. Not a full-on, human handshake, but close enough. "Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House of Betazed. It's situations like these that show us our true capacity for resilience," she said in reponse to the commander's question. "I've never heard of the 'SSV' designation; you must not be from Federation space."

"Federation?" Shepard repeats, her brows furrowing. Bashir had mentioned something like that the day before, hadn't he? "You're not talking about the United Federation of Planets, are you?" It's a long shot and Shepard knows it. Her Alliance and Zoe's Alliance ended up being two very different things despite sharing the same name. The same could probably be said for a word as common as Federation.

"I'm not from Federation Space," she confirms, letting her hand fall back down at her side. "I'm Alliance Military." Shepard had made a habit of knowing who was aboard the ship when ever since their first gathering almost a month ago; today would be no exception. "Are you nobility?" Lwaxana's title seemed to indicate as much, as strange and foreign as it sounded to Shepard's ears.

"I'm a Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed," she said in assent, inwardly pleased that Shepard had picked up that particular detail. "The Fifth House is one of the great houses of Betazed, which is itself a primary member of the United Federation of Planets.

"I also serve as ambassador from the Betazoid government to the Federation. We don't have much of a military on my planet," Lwaxana switched subjects without skipping a beat. "It must be terribly exciting."

The title really doesn't mean anything to Shepard, but whoever this woman is, she's probably important. "What should I call you?" she asks, finally. Normally, she defaulted to calling people by their surnames, but that might be a little impolite in this case.

"Exciting's one word for it," Shepard says, scratching the back of her head. "I'm still not entirely used to this place. It's pretty different where I come from."

In short, a lot more peaceful.

"There's at least one other person on this station from the Federation. You haven't run into him, have you?" she asks.

"Oh, please, Commander, call me Lwaxana." Years of diplomacy had shown that a friendly overture--such as a first name--could go light years toward establishing a solid alliance.

"There are two I know of," she said. "I am meeting Ambassador Spock shortly, but I haven't run into Captain Kirk yet. You would have received the message from him as well, I imagine. About the cyb-rats?" Lwaxana briefly relieved the thrill of excitement she had felt upon seeing the signature to that communication. She knew her UFP history well enough to know the stories of the famous Kirk, his conquests of the galaxy and the heart. She only hoped she would have her things back before finally meeting him.

"Lwaxana, then," Shepard says, with a nod of the head.

Spock and Kirk. Both men she had met briefly on their first days aboard the Prosperina. She didn't realize that either one of the men were from the Federation. Bashir'd probably want to hear about that. "I know both of them," she says. "The captain's a pretty sharp guy. Don't think I could have put something like that together if I wanted to."

But Kirk -- or Spock -- weren't who Shepard was talking about.

"Actually, I was talking about Julian Bashir. He's a doctor aboard Deep Space Nine. Have you heard of it?" She figures that if Bashir's galaxy is as large as hers is, it's more likely that the ambassador has heard of a space station than an individual living on it.

Lwaxana's pleasant expression blossomed into a grin. "Doctor Bashir is here? Oh, how delightful! I just left Deep Space Nine, myself. I was under his treatment for a slight malady--he said it was Zanthi fever, but that only affects older Betazoids." She paused, momentarily flustered. She hated to admit her age. It called into relief the very many people she had lost in her life.

"In any case, the medicine he prescribed for it seems to have cleared me right up! The quarantine let me keep that, at least."

Shepard looks happy herself -- if only because she knows that Bashir will be happy to know that at least one of his friends or acquaintances made their way onto the ship.

"I don't know if it's any consolation, but you certainly don't look old to me." Then again, in her reality, "old" for humans was 150.

"It's good that whatever brought us here made sure we were provided for." Though admittedly, a little strange. "Do you have an ample supply of medication?" She's not exactly sure if Bashir's knowledge of all things medical extends to pharmaceuticals. And she's not entirely sure he has what he needs onboard the station to even reproduce that medication in the first place.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Lwaxana replied. "You're very sweet.

"And, yes, I had the full regimen with me when I left the station, so that's what I had with me when I woke up here! You're probably worried it's contagious, but it can only affect Betazoids," she continued, matter of fact. "Zanthi fever projects any of the afflicted telepath's emotions outward onto anyone nearby, but other than that..."

Lwaxana trailed off. Her telepathy barely functioned here anyway. It was unlikely her malady would have gone unnoticed even if she hadn't had the pills.