Interlude – Prejudice and Pride
by Lieutenant Ryan Milarno & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
ON:
Pia was leaving her office and heading towards Sickbay when she noticed a familiar crewman coming towards her.
She couldn't remember where she remembered him from but he looked at her and began to stare, nudging his friend and talking loudly.
She heard the word *collaborator* more than once.
Suddenly she noticed how the majority of them were Bajoran or half, either with earrings or just slight ridges, but their attitude was clearly critical of her. She wondered if she was being paranoid.
Trying to just walk past and ignore them, Pia found one of them walking wide and blocking her way.
"What does he have that we don't?" he sneered.
"Apart from wearing his bones inside out" laughed another behind him.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Pia lied and pushed past, clearly rattled.
Ryan had left sickbay seconds earlier, and walked along the corridor, he slipped the vial of medication Chelsea had gave him into his pocket. He continued to walk until he too came across the men, they were giving him strange looks but he stared at them, warning them not to even bother saying a word. Soon enough he saw Pia walking ahead of him. "Hey!" he shouted and quickly caught up to her.
Pia heard someone shouting and hurrying behind her. Already spooked, she was about to run into the nearest doorway and look for help but Ryan caught up with her and touched her arm. Pia yelped, thinking herself to have been grabbed by one of the Bajorans.
"Whoa hey...what’s wrong? What's happened?" he asked with a concerned tone.
As she spun to face him and as soon as she realised who it was she collapsed into his arms in relief.
"Oh Ryan, thank the Prophets.... “She buried her face in his uniform tunic. Then suddenly she realised he was in uniform. She straightened up and tugged at the fabric. "What's this, Doctor?" She asked, deciding that if he was progressing this well, she didn't want him to know what just happened to her.
"Medical emergency, Chelsea needed help...nearly punched someone though" he raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. "Never mind though..."
"Punched?" She looked alarmed. "As your therapist i think i need to hear how *that* happened?"
"I could feel him staring at me several times and I couldn’t take it so I confronted him and 'nearly' punched him" he smiled. "Quite good restraint for a Cardassian"
"You're only half Cardassian and it's no excuse to become violent just because you are.. " She replied seriously.
Ryan frowned. "I don't know where those came from Pia because you've read my file..."
"It came from the fact that despite your file, i have found you to be nothing but charming, gentle, kind, genuine and generous. None of these are reputed to be Cardassian traits so why would you expect to be like the *iconic* Cardassian now when you never were before?" she argued.
"I've always had a temper..." he was confused.
"Yes but you've always controlled it. You've never hurt anyone but yourself. Now you're saying that being tempted to hurt someone for just looking at you oddly, is perfectly normal and that you're to be congratulated for resisting the urge"
"Yeah, he was looking at me; do i go around staring at people because they look strange? No I don’t"
"No, but do you go around narrowly avoiding punching people for having been in some other place when the intelligent gene was being handed out? I don't think so, I think this is a new attitude and you're applying the stereotypical Cardassian values already when in fact they don't apply to you at all” she suggested.
"I don't wake up thinking, I'll be a total Cardassian arse today!" he argued.
"No but when you lost your temper before you knew you had Cardassian genes, you thought about it, you worried about it and if you still went ahead and did something, you regretted it. Today you felt angry and *expected* yourself to deal with it with violence. You wouldn't have done that before. Today you're pleased that you didn't follow through but surprised too."
"Oh believe me I wanted to hit that man and yeah I'm pleased I didn't...I don’t see what this has got to do with being part Cardassian to be honest, if i was fully human id have been the same"
"I think you're right you'd be exactly the same, that's my point. The point is the change in your attitude" Pia explained.
"Of course I'm gunna change!" he raised his voice. "After all this...I’m sure too!"
"Yes, it's inevitable that *some* things will change, but your attitude to life doesn't have to be one of them, surely?" she replied
"Ahh Pia...I'm not having this conversation right now..." he sighed.
Pia looked at Ryan with her head tilted slightly to one side as if she was working something out. "Are you mad with me?" she asked.
Ryan nodded and started to walk away.
Pia reached for his hand before he could get out of reach. She wound her fingers between his and fell into step beside him, silent now to give him time to calm down.
A little while later, he walked into his quarters with Pia, both still silent. He let go of her hand and walked into the bedroom to get changed. He threw the vial of medication on top of one of the units, knocking other things over.
He knew why he was mad and he felt bad for the reasons why too. He undressed and came back out a little while later in white shorts and a tank top; he had no intention of leaving his quarters at all.
Ryan sat on the couch with his legs up before finally breaking the silence. "I'm mad bec...because everything you said you were absolutely right about...I think I have to act that way...cause I don’t know how to be...and don’t say just be you, cause that doesn’t help...." he sighed.
"How can you be *yourself* when you don't know who you really are?" she answered very quietly.
"When you long to be a child again, when it all seemed so simple. You were Ryan and that was that. Now that you're older suddenly you have to define Ryan and you were just doing that nicely when along comes a new Ryan who's apparently half Bajoran. Then you just get used to that shock and you find out there's another hidden side to you which seems to represent all that you used to fear and despise. What does that make you? Are you Ryan, the man who you were inside and still are... because you can't just cease to exist.... or are you someone else just because you look different and apparently your history and parents are too?"
Ryan smiled and motioned for her to sit with him.
Pia did sit with him, so close she was almost in his lap. She folded her legs up under her and leant against him.
"I'm Ryan...the first one you mentioned" he told her before he moved to lie down, in turn moving Pia with him so she was lying down too. He laughed. "Sorry...wasn't comfy" he said.
Pia smiled. "Better?" she smirked, snuggling up close. "... And by the way. Yes you are. You're Ryan, the first one... the only one. Pleased to meet you."
"Yeah...better...pleased to meet you too" he smirked.
OFF:
A JP between:
Lt. Ryan Milarno
Asst. Chief Medical Officer
and
Ensign Pia Rimmec
Asst. Counsellor
(NPC'd by jools)
by Lieutenant Ryan Milarno & Commander Chelsea Dunham
Post Details
| Title | Prejudice and Pride | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | Lieutenant Ryan Milarno & Commander Chelsea Dunham | |
| Posted | Fri Jun 04, 2010 @ 1:05pm | |
| Location | Corridors/Lt Milarno's Quarters | |
| Timeline | Backpost | |
| Tag | (3) |
Pia was leaving her office and heading towards Sickbay when she noticed a familiar crewman coming towards her.
She couldn't remember where she remembered him from but he looked at her and began to stare, nudging his friend and talking loudly.
She heard the word *collaborator* more than once.
Suddenly she noticed how the majority of them were Bajoran or half, either with earrings or just slight ridges, but their attitude was clearly critical of her. She wondered if she was being paranoid.
Trying to just walk past and ignore them, Pia found one of them walking wide and blocking her way.
"What does he have that we don't?" he sneered.
"Apart from wearing his bones inside out" laughed another behind him.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Pia lied and pushed past, clearly rattled.
Ryan had left sickbay seconds earlier, and walked along the corridor, he slipped the vial of medication Chelsea had gave him into his pocket. He continued to walk until he too came across the men, they were giving him strange looks but he stared at them, warning them not to even bother saying a word. Soon enough he saw Pia walking ahead of him. "Hey!" he shouted and quickly caught up to her.
Pia heard someone shouting and hurrying behind her. Already spooked, she was about to run into the nearest doorway and look for help but Ryan caught up with her and touched her arm. Pia yelped, thinking herself to have been grabbed by one of the Bajorans.
"Whoa hey...what’s wrong? What's happened?" he asked with a concerned tone.
As she spun to face him and as soon as she realised who it was she collapsed into his arms in relief.
"Oh Ryan, thank the Prophets.... “She buried her face in his uniform tunic. Then suddenly she realised he was in uniform. She straightened up and tugged at the fabric. "What's this, Doctor?" She asked, deciding that if he was progressing this well, she didn't want him to know what just happened to her.
"Medical emergency, Chelsea needed help...nearly punched someone though" he raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. "Never mind though..."
"Punched?" She looked alarmed. "As your therapist i think i need to hear how *that* happened?"
"I could feel him staring at me several times and I couldn’t take it so I confronted him and 'nearly' punched him" he smiled. "Quite good restraint for a Cardassian"
"You're only half Cardassian and it's no excuse to become violent just because you are.. " She replied seriously.
Ryan frowned. "I don't know where those came from Pia because you've read my file..."
"It came from the fact that despite your file, i have found you to be nothing but charming, gentle, kind, genuine and generous. None of these are reputed to be Cardassian traits so why would you expect to be like the *iconic* Cardassian now when you never were before?" she argued.
"I've always had a temper..." he was confused.
"Yes but you've always controlled it. You've never hurt anyone but yourself. Now you're saying that being tempted to hurt someone for just looking at you oddly, is perfectly normal and that you're to be congratulated for resisting the urge"
"Yeah, he was looking at me; do i go around staring at people because they look strange? No I don’t"
"No, but do you go around narrowly avoiding punching people for having been in some other place when the intelligent gene was being handed out? I don't think so, I think this is a new attitude and you're applying the stereotypical Cardassian values already when in fact they don't apply to you at all” she suggested.
"I don't wake up thinking, I'll be a total Cardassian arse today!" he argued.
"No but when you lost your temper before you knew you had Cardassian genes, you thought about it, you worried about it and if you still went ahead and did something, you regretted it. Today you felt angry and *expected* yourself to deal with it with violence. You wouldn't have done that before. Today you're pleased that you didn't follow through but surprised too."
"Oh believe me I wanted to hit that man and yeah I'm pleased I didn't...I don’t see what this has got to do with being part Cardassian to be honest, if i was fully human id have been the same"
"I think you're right you'd be exactly the same, that's my point. The point is the change in your attitude" Pia explained.
"Of course I'm gunna change!" he raised his voice. "After all this...I’m sure too!"
"Yes, it's inevitable that *some* things will change, but your attitude to life doesn't have to be one of them, surely?" she replied
"Ahh Pia...I'm not having this conversation right now..." he sighed.
Pia looked at Ryan with her head tilted slightly to one side as if she was working something out. "Are you mad with me?" she asked.
Ryan nodded and started to walk away.
Pia reached for his hand before he could get out of reach. She wound her fingers between his and fell into step beside him, silent now to give him time to calm down.
A little while later, he walked into his quarters with Pia, both still silent. He let go of her hand and walked into the bedroom to get changed. He threw the vial of medication on top of one of the units, knocking other things over.
He knew why he was mad and he felt bad for the reasons why too. He undressed and came back out a little while later in white shorts and a tank top; he had no intention of leaving his quarters at all.
Ryan sat on the couch with his legs up before finally breaking the silence. "I'm mad bec...because everything you said you were absolutely right about...I think I have to act that way...cause I don’t know how to be...and don’t say just be you, cause that doesn’t help...." he sighed.
"How can you be *yourself* when you don't know who you really are?" she answered very quietly.
"When you long to be a child again, when it all seemed so simple. You were Ryan and that was that. Now that you're older suddenly you have to define Ryan and you were just doing that nicely when along comes a new Ryan who's apparently half Bajoran. Then you just get used to that shock and you find out there's another hidden side to you which seems to represent all that you used to fear and despise. What does that make you? Are you Ryan, the man who you were inside and still are... because you can't just cease to exist.... or are you someone else just because you look different and apparently your history and parents are too?"
Ryan smiled and motioned for her to sit with him.
Pia did sit with him, so close she was almost in his lap. She folded her legs up under her and leant against him.
"I'm Ryan...the first one you mentioned" he told her before he moved to lie down, in turn moving Pia with him so she was lying down too. He laughed. "Sorry...wasn't comfy" he said.
Pia smiled. "Better?" she smirked, snuggling up close. "... And by the way. Yes you are. You're Ryan, the first one... the only one. Pleased to meet you."
"Yeah...better...pleased to meet you too" he smirked.
OFF:
A JP between:
Lt. Ryan Milarno
Asst. Chief Medical Officer
and
Ensign Pia Rimmec
Asst. Counsellor
(NPC'd by jools)