six_word_stories | (no subject)

Is that something you need to warn people against often?

Usually not. But there has been a case or two of cacti related incidents lately.

Cacti. You mean, people getting frisky with other people near cacti...right?

Yes.

[Okay. The question may have been strange but the situation seemed strange too. Something about the way that the stranger is looking at makes him as if he had been sent to the headmaster or was receiving a lecture from his dad. Which was ridiculous. He was an adult and his father was dead.

Still, he adjusted his posture so he was standing almost at attention. He tried to think of something to say that was less dumb.]

Thank you for making me aware of the situation.

[Maybe that's just his commanding aura, or perhaps the uniform. Though to someone uninformed it probably just looks like a onsie. Though the pips on his collar and the Star Fleet insignia would make it clear that it's official.]

Happy to help. I'm Commander Riker of the Federation starship USS Enterprise. What's your name?

[Starship? Aya recognizes the military-sounding title. It makes sense with the authority that the man carries himself and how he is dressed. He does not know what the Federation is and does not want to look foolish by asking.]

Fujimiya Aya.

[Aya gives Commander Riker a shallow bow. He is still standing at attention and with his best polite demeanor.]

It is an honor to meet you.

[Riker bows respectfully in return. It's only appropriate.]

The same to you.

Is your starship nearby?

[There is the faintest hesitation with the word starship that suggested the word was unfamiliar.]

If by "nearby" you mean within 200 km above sea level? Then yes, it's near.

[Aya looked up, part of him expecting to see a spaceship hovering in the sky.]

You wouldn't be able to see it from here. It's in orbit. It may not even be on this side of the planet.

I didn't know. I've never heard of a starship before.

Oh... ah... well this is awkward. I'm afraid I'm not permitted to explain to you what a "starship" is.

Not permitted by the Federation?

Yes. We have a law called the Prime Directive. It forbids us from interacting with a species that hasn't yet reached space on their own. Another law called the Temporal Prime Directive also forbids us from sharing information about the future with people from another point in time.

As such I've said far too much.

I understand. Or, I understand orders and duty, anyway. Still, I would have very much liked to have seen your starship.

I'm afraid that's out of question.

[Aya smiles.]

That's what I expected.

[He meant it. He understands duty.]