Ye olde gods of yore

Posted on Thu Nov 30th, 2023 @ 6:10pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant Inara Senn

Mission: Hard Earned Peace
Location: Inara's Quarters
Timeline: The morning after 'I Need Sleep'

Inara woke up with her head pounding and her stomach churning. She stumbled up. "Computer, turn on the goddamned lights." The lights came on and whatever.

She stumbled into her lavatory in her quarters and then puked. She then stumbled back to her bed and plopped down on it. Reaching over to her comm badge she tapped it. =^=Senn to dh'Klar. I'm going to have my Assistant Chief of Science take over today. Hela has done a number on me, and I need the doc and the counselor because I feel like shit. =^=

Shran was surprised to hear from Inara, and even more surprised by her colorful language. It sounded like the Hela situation was escalating, and he had to consider how long he could delegate others to deal with it before he would have to get involved. =^=Very well lieutenant. See Dr. Howard. Callie is occupied with the peace negotiations, so I would suggest seeing counselor Jortho if you require a counselor. How bad have things gotten with you and Hela?"

"I have no words to explain how demented this Hela bitch is, Sir..." Inara noted. "Last night was a blur. I have had issues for a long while, and I almost put a phaser to my cranium. I chose the wine instead. It was the better of two evils."

Shran was concerned hearing this, but it definitely sounded like something the counselor should deal with. It almost sounded like PTSD, something many who survived the Dominion War dealt with. =^=I would definitely advise you to speak with the counselor lieutenant. It sounds like your experience with Hela is having a tremendous detrimental impact on you. =^=

"Oh you are not kidding, Skipper. This bitch is an A-Class piece of work. Also, I recommend a senior staff meeting. I'm not the only one here being targeted." Inara noted.

=^= I'm aware that Hela is here regarding Shon. You seem to be a secondary target, though you certainly are having a much rougher time it would seem than she is thus far. =^=

Suddenly the comm channel went dead. "Hela is far more interested in the other mortal as compared to you lass. You are merely a distraction. She does enjoy tormenting those she sees as prizes." The redheaded woman had returned and seemed intent on something.

"Alright, who the hell are you, and I hope you aren't a sociopathic Underworld Goddess. My tolerance for bullshit is low today and if you say something demented, I will ignore you."

The woman laughed. "You think Hela is a sociopath. Well, perhaps from your limited perspective that might be the case. She certainly has deep psychological issues, but I would never call he a sociopath. Narcissistic, a bit of a psychopath, way too concerned about death and her realm, but not a sociopath." She offered a lukewarm smile. "I understand your hostility towards Hela and other of our kind. Honestly, most mortals tend to have similar reactions. Not all of my kind have shown much beyond hostile intent towards mortals over the millennia we have been in contact with your various races. Many are still particularly angry with the humans, mores the pity. As if they didn't bring it upon themselves. But there, you see, I am rambling on a bit. My name is Morrigan, and no, not exactly an Underworld goddess, though I have sent plenty there. I'm more of a warrior you could say."

"Oh believe me, I have no interest in the Gods of Asgard. My interests are always academic. Hela's opened a wound I wanted closed.. Morrigan. It took me a long time to, as my former Captain said, 'get over her.'" She noted. "Have you read the Count of Monte Cristo, Morrigan? One never gets over such things, and in time... they fester. And I've been festering. I've been festering for a very long time." She noted. "I do have revenge. I want to make sure my former Captain never gets into the Academy, her XO and the damned Counselor too, The two bastards that tortured me and her. I know where they will be, I'll get to them before they get... to a young innocent couple.. beginning to explore their love. That time Inara Senn will cease. And I'll be someone better again. A better person. Time will be different." She noted. "Edmund Dantes knew what he had to do, Morrigan."

"A fool's errand" Morrigan confessed. "You think you can change fate. I will never understand the mortal fascination with time travel, thinking that they can simply go back in time and attempt to alter something as if that will suddenly mean that the event that they wished to alter never happened. Whatever will be, will be Inara. Your desire for vengeance, your acts of spite and malice, they will not alter fate. If something is meant to be, it will be no matter how much you try to change it. You are wasting your life seeking to change something that cannot be changed. You haven't learned or perhaps accepted the fact that as a mortal, sometimes life has a cruel sense of humor, giving you want you wanted most at the worst possible time. You seem to live your life based on tales, so let me give you a quote that is quite true and also from Earth. Fate is never fair. You are caught in a current much stronger than you are; struggle against it and you'll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you. Swim with it. and you'll survive."

"It did not end well for Edmund either." She noted. "Was it my anger or pain that drew her? It took me years to pull myself back from the personality Bishop had programmed in my mind. It was a mockery upon the kind girl I once was. Arrianna was a woman who would see the good in everyone before her innocence was plundered. Now, I see only potential wickedness."

"You lost your innocence. It is true, some are guilty of stealing it from you, but you refuse to see your own part in what was done. You need to give up your quest for revenge, accept your part in what happened, your frailties as a mortal, and accept what fate has in store for you. If you do, you may find, fate can be just as kind and generous as it can be cruel" Morrigan offered.

"And what's your agenda here. The Irish Goddess of Doom, Death, and Victory. I thought you were three sisters." Inara noted.

"A common misconception the humans made, as have others on other worlds honestly. When you can do all the things I can do, I suspect it is something that would happen. As for my agenda, let's just say I had an interest to be here and cause Hela problems, just as she has caused them for me in the past. She is trying to interfere with something outside her purview. She is trying to alter fate, and I won't have it."

"Next thing I know, the gods will command me to offer a goat for their favor. I am a woman of science Morrigan. Let me propose a hypothesis. You once came across humans. Some of your kin decided, "'Hey, they have potential,'" while others thought, "'Meh... They're entertaining with their short, pitiful lives. Let's watch them squirm.' Then we began to realize the lightning in the sky was not Zeus's wrath but ions in the atmosphere because of storms. Then the party was over." She noted. "With science we took charge of our lives. 'What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!"'

"Zeus or Apollo might want you to sacrifice a goat, I have no such desires. You have learned a great deal from science, but it came at a cost. You thought yourself gods, as if you could explain everything if you simply understood the mechanics behind it. Many a wise human scientist attempted to dissuade you from such thought, but they were scoffed at for such beliefs. You turned science into your god, for all the good it did you. Many assumed that if any sort of divine being existed, created all you see, that they must have done so by casting lots. Einstein said that God does not play dice, but that mindset was scoffed at. Bohr exclaimed to not tell God what He can do, and again, mortals scoffed. You all have made great leaps in your evolution, yet you have forgotten that for all your advances, for all the marvels you have made, none of it is possible without those beyond you. Perhaps the actions of some of my brethren caused this. The actions of Zeus, Set, Loki, Lamashtu, Shiva, they did horrible things, demanded too much from you in your youth" Morrigan responded.

"So, the Gods are not perfection." Inara noted. "I know what I intend to do is horrible, but I see it happening again and again in my nightmares. I was denied love, denied justice, betrayed. Maybe I will not kill them. But they must answer, Morrigan! They must answer more than they already have, Starfleet let them go. They made a deal with Cragen to take down a corrupt Admiral. Evil deeds, no matter if they are for some foolish notion of the 'greater good' must carry a consequence." Inara mentioned. "I demand it, or my revenge against these deeds will continue. Even if I can't stop it, I will visit them, and they will know what they did. I might even grant them absolution if they ask for my forgiveness. I am not the monster Hela wants me to be."

"You were denied nothing. You had love, you lost it. Justice isn't yours to give or demand, it simply comes. You were betrayed, and you have chosen the path of vengeance for that betrayal. But what was the greater betrayal, those who betrayed you, or your betrayal of the one you loved? All actions have consequences, whether you mortals see them or not. You have no right to demand anything" Morrigan replied bluntly. She walked over and looked at one of the ruined paintings, "You will not encounter those who did you harm, never unburden yourself to them. No one, not even a god can alter your fate to that degree. You forfeited any chance of encountering them when you attempted to alter things and tried to control time. Time and fate do not take kindly to being toyed with, and they inflict serious penalties to those who try. You are here, in this moment, and because of it you have made yourself accessible to Hela. If you do not wish to become the monster Hela wishes you to be, you must give up your quest for vengeance, give up your attempts to get retribution, and live in the moment. I will not protect you if you continue down this path of vengeance." With that Morrigan faded away.