The Road So Far: Aria Rice [1/4]
Posted on Fri Jun 7th, 2024 @ 10:35pm by Lieutenant JG Aria Rice
2,211 words; about a 11 minute read
Place: Selene City, Luna, Sol System
Year: 2373
Snow can wait, I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose, get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter
I put my hand in my father's glove. - Tori Amos, ‘Winter’
Her white tutu was itching the small of her back as she sat in the small alcove of Dome Seven, hidden behind the maintenance hatch. She had stopped crying though, the tears making her face feel hardened and sticky. She sniffed though, bringing her hand to wipe her nose, pale blue eyes watching the barren landscape outside of the dome.
The dance recital hadn’t gone as planned. Her Mama had insisted she did the fouetté for it, and they had practiced so, so much. But she had messed it up, tripped and twisted her ankle. She could still see the look of disappointment on her Mama’s face, so she had managed to run away. Even with the pain. She was used to her feet hurting, so she had pushed it away in her mind to run.
Aria Rice looked accusingly at her left ankle, swollen and straining against the ballet slippers. But she didn’t want to take them off. They hid the plasters from raw toes. She bit her lip stubbornly, a little frown coming to her face.
“Well, if it isn’t my little Stardust…”
The voice was deep, warm, playful but also full of love. She turned her head, seeing the pale blue eyes, so like her own, and the gentle smile of her Papa. She turned her face away from him, her lip wobbling for a moment before she sniffed. She had to be strong, her Mama didn’t like her crying.
“I heard that you had a little hiccup at the recital,” he said, squeezing into the little spot with her. Her Papa was big, a gentle giant in her eyes, with long almost black hair tied back. She liked it when he wore it loose, like a Klingon would. She shivered suddenly, the warmth of him reminding her that the temperature was a lot lower in these areas. She closed her eyes as she felt the jacket being put over her shoulders, drowning her in it. The green on black, the familiar scent of citrus and bergamot overlaying the static scent from discharged phaser rifles and sweat. “We really should get you to a doctor, you know.”
“I’m not going there…” Aria said, stubbornly, shaking her head firmly. “I’d rather die in a ditch.”
Her Papa laughed, a rumbling sound and she was pulled close, close enough to rest her head against his chest and hear his heartbeat. “You’re not going to die, Stardust. And where did you learn that…” he sighed, and she felt the tears rise again.
“Mama’s gonna be angry,” she whispered against her. Angry meant quiet, meant long stretches of silence.
“Your Mama…” for a moment, her father hesitated, and she felt that strong hand on her head, undoing the tight bun to let the light brown hair escape. “She is so proud of you, Stardust, of your talent for dancing. Sometimes, it reminds her that she misses dancing. It’s not your fault. She is angrier at herself, for pushing you too far.”
It only made her cry harder, and she felt herself being picked up. “Papa…”
“Hush…you be my brave girl now,” he said, even as he carried her. “We’ll get that foot healed up, and then we’re going for ice cream.”
The promise of ice cream stopped the tears, and she rubbed her face against his shirt. “Okay…okay, we…we do that,” she said, trying to sound cheery.
Place: Selene City, Luna, Sol System
Year: 2374
Legends never die
They're written down in eternity
But you'll never see the price it costs
The scars collected all of their lives - Against the Current, ‘Legends Never Die’
It was a military memorial, not a funeral. A funeral meant there was a body. There was no body to bury. She wore black, her Mama beside her, her hand in hers…her mother squeezing her hand so hard that it hurt, but Aria stared ahead. His wasn’t the only name. A lot of names, a lot of times, since the War had started. It was always War with a capital W. Her Papa had spent as much time as he could with them, whenever he had some time. But mostly, he had been away. It had started with video messages. But suddenly they because audio only. She overheard her Mama talk with Lhai’s mother, who was a Vulcan, and she said that her Papa didn’t want to show his face because of the conditions. She didn’t know what conditions, but her Mama had sounded serious.
After the memorial a Bolian Marine had come to her, during the wake. She was sitting in a chair, watching her mother go easily from person to person, talking. The Bolian was large, but most people seemed large to her, with a friendly smile and a bandage that to her made her wonder if he had lost an eye. But people didn’t lose eyes, medicine healed it, so maybe there was another reason. When she had cut her hand the doctor had healed that up with a few waves of the magic stick thing. She wasn’t scared or anything, but he wore a dress uniform like her Papa’s, only he had the Sergeant stripes. And he had given her the commbadge. Her Papa’s. It was broken, edges burned, the bottom snapped off. But it had his name on the back, Antonio Rice. The sharp edge cut her hand as she tightened her fist on it, but it didn’t matter. It was all she had left. And she didn’t want the magic stick to take away the marks.
She ran back to her favourite hiding spot in Dome Seven as soon as the grown-ups were talking again. It took two days before hunger drove her home again, and her mother replicated her a sandwich and picked up another PADD to fill in more dance classes for Aria. The commbadge in her pocket felt far more comforting than the brief hugs her Mama would give her before the dance recitals.
Place: Selene City, Luna, Sol System
Year: 2980
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
Fire away, fire away - David Guetta, ‘Titanium’
“You know what you’re doing?”
Aria made a face, squeezed into the corner of a disused shaft of Dome Seven, Maintenance area 3S. “Hell to the yeah I know,” she said, rubbing her fingers together before she turned the small valve. “It’s simple, you know…fermentation, drips, booze.” She made a movement with her hands, mimicking an explosion before she grinned.
The boy, Aaron, shook his head with a smile, crouched down as he was, a bruise on his cheek. “So what do we do with it? Once we’ve had it made? Drink it?”
“That swill? Nooo,” Aria shook her head firmly, sitting back, before she pushed some of her brown hair from her forehead and back into the bandana she wore. “We are entrepreneurs! Look, if we are going to get off this rock, we need to barter.”
“What do you know about bartering? We live in a currency-free society!” Aaron laughed, offering his hand to help her out.
“Just because the Federation is, doesn’t mean everywhere is,” she pulled herself out, stumbling on her heels. “And you want to get away from your sitch, and I want to get away from mine. So…we need something to use. We need to be smuggled off Luna, and somewhere to lay low until we come of age. No biggie…” she clapped his shoulder, leaning closer. “We could be space pirates! Oh, or space detectives! A, it will be brill. Promise!”
Aaron smiled shyly, looking down at his feet for a moment. “I…appreciate this. You don’t have to…you know…help.”
“Well, when the d-bag of an uncle you call guardian comes swinging at you again, remember who has access to a dermal regenerator…” Aria reached into her black backpack, pulling it out. “Tada! Sit down, let me make things prettier.”
Aaron sat down, staying still as Aria fumbled with it for a moment before she got it working. “I get why I want to run away, but…why you? Your mother is so pretty, and she bakes nice cookies.”
“She’s also judgmental, and I am her constant disappointment,” Aria said, frowning as she bit her lip. “Besides, she only goes Stepford Mum when others are around. When it is just us two, it’s like I don’t exist unless there is a dance recital she wants to drag me to. It’s all about image and moi is a massive let-down.”
“You still dance though,” Aaron said with a small smile, staying still, before he winked when she finished.
“Yeah, duh, I enjoy it. But not…as prima ballerina as she wants me to be. Dance camp, dance camp, dance camp…diets…” Aria rolled her eyes, taking a breath as she sat back. “I don’t know. It’s not what I want. I want to make a difference, somehow. I want to be a Marine.”
“I know what you want…double pepperoni and cheese pizza pie,” Aaron said and grinned as he stood, offering his hand. “Come along, little mama!”
Place: Selene City, Luna, Sol System
Year: 2381
Would you mind if I hurt you?
Understand that I need to
Wish that I had other choices
than to harm the one I love - Within Temptation, ‘What Have You Done’
“It’s not often someone tries to run away from Luna. But because of her father, we’ve kept this unofficial.”
The cell’s forcefield shimmered as Aria watched her mother and the constable talk. Aria sighed as she lay down, stretching her legs, looking down at her favourite pair of boots. Her pink wig was lying in a corner, alongside her jacket. Of course, they had taken everything she had been carrying. Her bar of gold pressed latinum. Her bag, with her stuff. Everything.
“We found four bottles of moonshine on her as well, a phaser, a laser knife, a bar of gold pressed latinum, two pairs of boots, various clothes. Pretty sure the bag was bigger than she was, Mrs Rice. And not entirely sure what she was doing with the alcohol, or how she got a hold of it. And of course, she ended up blocking our constables from going to investigate an un-authorised shuttle departure.”
“Snitches end up in ditches!” Aria called out, shifting to sit up. At least Aaron got away, she wondered how long it would take before he would be declared missing. Long enough to be away from the Sol system, considering his uncle wasn’t exactly all there when on the drink. Oh, he hid it well from the world. Well enough for people to turn an eye. Luna had always been good at that, turning an eye. Or just accidentally opening a Dome in the past to let someone go on a walk without a suit.
The constable rubbed his forehead tiredly, looking over at Jasmina Rice, Aria’s mother, before giving her a small smile. “Of course, we won’t put this on her record, or make a big deal of it. But get your house in order.” He lowered the forcefield, and Aria stood and stretched.
“Aria, what were you thinking?” Jasmina said with disbelief, reaching to grab her daughter’s arm. She sighed when Aria pulled away, turning her face away. “Stupid little girl, running away? What was your plan?”
“Who says this wasn’t the plan?” Aria said lightly, putting her jacket on before she walked through. She took her bag, lifting it, before she looked at the constable. “Hey, where did my stuff go?”
“Evidence,” the constable said lightly, giving a small shrug. “Illegally obtained items of a restricted nature. Sorry Sunshine.”
Aria groaned, tipping her head back. “I traded those fair and square! That is just…nope…” she shook her head, taking a deeper breath.
“Well, you could tell me who you are covering for and have it all back,” he said lightly, looking over at Aria’s mother, meeting her eyes.
“No one, it was all me,” Aria said quickly, before she made a face. “Teenage angst, our greatest foe…” she tapped his arm and turned to face her mother. “So. What are we talking…grounding? Extra chores? Wear pink for a year?”
Jasmina looked at her, holding her eyes before swallowing. “Your father would have been so disappointed in you,” she said, before she turned and walked away from her.
Aria frowned, looking down, her hand pushing into her coat pocket, feeling the commbadge there. “No, he wouldn’t,” she whispered to herself.
[TBC]
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