April System Mingle

[thespaceopera]

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: Possibly!
Action: April System
When: Month of April!


[Welcome to the Belt, a huge asteroid belt that's been terraformed for life. Here you can explore the different asteroids, become a rock star, race on some ATVs, enjoy not being underwater.

In other words, it's a mingle! Get in everyone!

> System Info ]

Comments

[musicalhost]

Oh no, I'm always in control. There's never been any kind of situation where the symbiont has taken control. Really, it's just something some of us do once we're joined. It's hard to explain, I guess because some part of us always lives on? Do talking about ourselves in the third person doesn't mean anything.

[Curiosity is good! Trill actually value learning and now that the secret isn't a secret, curiosity is normal.]

[universal_charm]

Oh, I see. Then does Dax - I suppose the term might be "speak" with you? Also, Dax is receiving a host to live in, but symbiotic implies you also receive something in return to your benefit. Is it allowable to speak about what it is, or is it personal?

[musicalhost]

The symbionts used to be a secret, not even the Vulcans knew. Not until a few years ago, Beverly saved a joined diplomat. [By which she means she saved the symbiont.]

Not really though, Dax is just kind of there. And we joined alright, sometimes symbionts and trill don't join right. I'm not explaining this well. I was a triple niner- one of the nintey-nine point nine percent of trill humanoids not suitable to be joined but mostly just because I never wanted a symbiont.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He frowned a bit harder and looked at her. ]}

Were you forced to join with Dax?

[musicalhost]

[Quickly:] No.

No, we're never forced to join. Dax's previous host had been killed though, the Destiny was taking Dax back to trill to recover and find another, suitable, host. Dax took a back turn during the trip though, and I was the only Trill available to be a host to save Dax's life. The captain let me choose: save Dax or not, she would never have ordered me to host a symbiont.

[The symbionts are important to Trills though. And even if she hadn't wanted one in her pocket, she couldn't bring herself to watch one die.]

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk nodded, satisfied with this answer. ]}

Has the way you came together negatively affected you though? And if I might ask - why did you not want one?

[musicalhost]

Not really. Aside from the occasional identity mistake.

[She looks thoughtful for a moment, expression turning hard.] I was afraid of losing myself, who I am, to everyone else Dax had ever been. You hear about it once in awhile, the memories and personality of a previous host overwhelming the new one. It's rare but I didn't want to lose Ezri in all that.

It seems kind of silly now.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He shook his head. ]}

No, I think that's a legitimate fear. Some things you can ignore the possible dangers of, but something like that - something where the core of yourself is risked - I think that's something to be frightened of, to make a person pause.

Spock and I have often said "the needs of the many before the needs of the one", but sometimes... sometimes there are just things you can't ask a person to give up. Which makes it truly impressive and courageous that you accepted Dax.

[musicalhost]

Dax had been on the front lines of the Dominion War, had served Starfleet for three lifetimes, been a diplomat- I couldn't let that die.

As a Trill, I couldn't let a symbiont die.

[universal_charm]

_{[ Again he just nodded. It wasn't his place to comment on that, and if it was how Ezri felt and she had made the decision for herself, he really had no right. So long as she was not forced, he was satisfied. ]}

So, should I keep addressing you as Ezri? Or should I say Ezri and Dax? Do you prefer she, him, they, something else?

[musicalhost]

Ezri. My name is Ezri Dax now, though. The symbionts name always replaces the family name of the host.

And I'm a female, it's all dependent on the host. If everything had gone correctly, the Kirk from my timeline, would have met Torias Dax. Maybe you'll actually get to meet him someday.

[universal_charm]

Heh, maybe. I rather hope so. It means I manage to live quite a few more exciting adventures, doesn't it?

[musicalhost]

I can't imagine imagine you not living through a few adventures and giving Starfleet a headache.

[universal_charm]

Oh, you have no idea - I am already a headache. Bones and I have bets on which one of the admiralty I make have an aneurism first, or if I get a protocol named after me.

[musicalhost]

Not named after you, sorry, but there is the Temporal Prime Directive!

[Congrats, Jim.] I remember you were eventually made an admiral though. To keep you out of trouble.

[Can you guess how well that worked?]

[universal_charm]

_{[ He wrinkled his nose and rubbed the back of his head as they walked. ]}

Actually, I had just applied for a promotion not that long ago - a Rear Admiral. But I ended up turning it down when it was offered. Admirals don't fly, after all. But maybe I change my mind a bit, when I get a bit older.

[musicalhost]

They probably didn't give you much choice, I can't imagine you liked being behind a desk either.

[universal_charm]

If I'm honest, I want to die out there in the stars, not chained down on a planet.

[musicalhost]

I know that feeling. I want to be out there, my life meaning something, than playing it safe on New Sydney or Trill.

[universal_charm]

Heh, it's not that our lives don't mean anything if we're not out there, I think. Our lives will have meant something, no matter where we are. But having died once, I can say for sure that when I go again I want to die fulfilled in that moment.

The dark is a lot less terrifying that way.

[musicalhost]

All that I would have going for me by staying on my home planet would be helping run a mining consortium. And joined trill... we live to experience new things.

[universal_charm]

Because part of you lives on with Dax, or am I missing some cultural meaning there?

[musicalhost]

You've got it, actually. You got it exactly. Maybe the next Dax will be a Starfleet captain, who knows. We haven't done that yet.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He smiled at that, as if he found the thought amusing or pleasing in some way. But then a thought occurred - ]}

Is there a finite number of Daxes? Not as in there is more than one Dax, but more of his species, I should say. Given their need for a host, their population can't possibly outpace yours. How young do Trill tend to join?

[musicalhost]

No, there are plenty of symbionts, there are the Annuated who lay eggs that hatch into symbionts and the Guardians care for them. They don't really need hosts though, they can live in the pools in the Caves of Mak'ala.

As for us joining, typically, we're joined in our mid to late twenties. And about three hundred symbionts are eligible for joining per year compared to the thousand trill humanoids. On average.