"The Birthday Card"

written by

Michael Gray

Mei-Wan reclined in her chair, watching the stars race by out the transport's window. She enjoyed being away from everything the past week and a half. It was one of the few times in her life when she'd had nothing demanding her attention.

There weren't even other people to bother her, at least not in this compartment.

While passengers were required to be seated in this section during takeoff and landing, Mei-Wan was one of the few aboard who spent much time here otherwise. She could stretch out and relax, something nearly impossible to do in the closet-sized staterooms.

It appeared most of the passengers spent their time in the lounges which existed primarily for the finding of sexual partners.

It almost made her miss starship life.

Almost.

My god... I'm becoming one of those bitter old women who can't stand to see anyone enjoy life. Would it kill me to go to a lounge and maybe see who I might meet?

She thought a moment.

Don't kid yourself. You'll never do it, Mei.

She starred a hole into the back of the seat ahead of her.

It wasn't just any bitter old woman she feared becoming, but one in particular sent a combination of terror and mounting rage through her soul.

Mother.

The woman had defined the parameters of Mei-Wan's life, and even on the other side of the galaxy, her mindset lived within Mei-Wan as a small voice questioning everything she did.

And Mei-Wan hated it.

But nothing stopped it.

Becoming an adult, joining Starfleet, marrying Jack, none of it silenced Bao-Yu Lau's still small voice. If anything her mother's influence grew stronger, haunting Mei-Wan at every crossroad, convincing her to choose the opposite of what the adventurous part of her wanted. Even when she had gone against her mother's wishes, Bao-Yu was still there, waiting for the eventual realization that a mistake had been made.

Only her choice of archaeology as a career had thus far escaped that fate.

But like some bird of prey, her mother's will circled patiently about Mei-Wan's love of archaeology, waiting for that moment when it could strike. A part of Mei-Wan knew it was only a matter of time.

Her mother was a woman who prided herself on always being right... and letting her daughter know it.

The defeat of archaeology would be the last part of Mei-Wan's soul to go. She had to hold onto it as long as she could. But once it was gone, she would finally be the daughter her mother had always demanded she be. There were times she half-hoped she'd die on some expedition just to deny her mother that victory.

But being dead wouldn't do her any good.

She smiled.

Something she hadn't felt since she'd been a little girl, stirred deep within. It nearly made her laugh out loud.

Mei-Wan hadn't felt the mischievous streak that had so defined her early childhood in almost twenty years.

Why now?

She grinned.

"Mother..." she whispered. While the last two decades of her life had been spent seeking Bao-Yu's respect, she'd spent the first decade doing the exact opposite.

Maybe...

A steward walked up to her seat. "Dr. Lau?"

"Yes?"

He brushed several locks of sandy blond hair from his eyes. "We have received a communication for you. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to a private comm room."

She nodded and followed the young man past rows of empty seats.

***

The steward gave Mei-Wan a smile before leaving her to the meager confines of the comm room. While about the size of a stateroom, it had a single chair which sat in front of a five foot wide viewscreen. On the far wall, a window allowed her to again see the stars.

I'll be so glad when the only stars I see are overhead.

She sat and tapped a control on the screen. After a series of questions, the display changed from text to a smiling face.

"Mom?"

"Hello, Mei-Wan."

For several seconds, Mei-Wan sat in silence, stunned that of all people, her -never send a comm message ever- mother would be the person on the other end, sitting in her office at Cal Tech.

And in real time no less.

Something had to be wrong. Maybe someone died.

"Is Li-Na okay? The baby?"

"They're both fine," the reserved Bao-Yu Lau told her daughter.

"Daddy?"

"Your father is well."

"Sorry," Mei-Wan said with a smile, relaxing from her worst fears. "It's just... forget it."

"How are you, little one?"

Mei-Wan hated that nickname. "Fine. I'm good. And you?"

Her mother hesitated a moment. "I had tried to send a message to you on Kel-j'na, but was surprised to find out you had taken a vacation."

"There's a problem with getting some permits from the local government for the Institute, so everything is on hold for a few months."

"What did you do this time?"

"Nothing..." God, why does she have to... "It has nothing to do with me." Which was a lie, but Mei-Wan couldn't very well go into detail about how Temporal Investigations had arranged for the problem so she'd be free to go on a mission for them.

"You seem to be a magnet for such... occurrences."

"You'll have to speak to the universe about that."

Bao-Yu, never having been one for smart-ass remarks, frowned.

"So what did you call about?" Mei-Wan asked.

Bao-Yu smiled. "To wish you a happy birthday."

Mei-Wan had completely forgotten. The past year had been so strange that she'd lost track of what day of the year it was back on Earth.

"Thank you."

"Your father and I have a number of gifts for you, and since you were on vacation, we assumed you might..."

There it was. The real reason for this message.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Mei-Wan said. "This is a working vacation. I'm... doing research on several worlds."

"But you're here in Federation space again?"

"Right now, yes, but I'm headed out beyond Klingon territory. I'm not sure if I'll have any time when I'm finished."

"Oh."

From the age of two Mei-Wan had known the meaning of that word. It carried disapproval into her heart like a knife.

"Look..." Mei-Wan hated her own response, but it was so ingrained. Despite knowing what she was doing, and why, she continued on anyway. "I'll see if I can get a few days on Earth. There's an expedition in the South Pacific I wanted to check on. If I can schedule time for that, maybe I can set aside a few days to come into San Francisco."

Her mother nodded. "Do you know what days you might be coming?"

Mei-Wan exhaled. "I'll have to see how things go."

"Can you narrow it down to a specific week?"

"All right... what's going on?" Now it was her mother who was lying to hide something.

"I simply was asking, little one."

"Usually you only ask about specific dates when you have something planned."

"You aren't the only one with a schedule to keep, Mei-Wan. Your father and I may need to rearrange events in our lives to accommodate your visit."

"Okay... I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"We should have a talk when you get here."

"About what?"

"You're thirty years old now," Bao-Yu said. "You should be thinking about your life."

"I do," Mei-Wan said. "Probably in ways you'd never consider."

"You should think of marriage."

"Right now there aren't a wealth of candidates."

"Perhaps that is for the best. After the failure of your marriage to Jack, you should be cautious about your own judgment."

"I really don't want to go over that ground again, Mother."

"It is time you set aside childish things and took up the responsibilities of adult life."

Mei-Wan reached for the controls. She didn't at all like where this conversation appeared headed. "As you said, I'm thirty years old. I think I can make my own choices."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Bao-Yu leaned back in the chair she sat in. "Mei-Wan, last year we thought we had lost you. That was a terrible thing for your father and I."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I contacted you as soon as I got away from Nybiros."

"In that situation, you did what was right," Bau-Yu said. "What troubles us is why you don't do as a good daughter would in so many other cases."

Mei-Wan felt her eyes tear up. Her mother had terrorized her with the mark of being a bad daughter all her life. On so many occasions where Mei-Wan had received praise from everyone else in her universe, her mother had only shown disappointment.

"Mom, I can't live out your dreams."

"There are right ways of living life, and there are wrong ways. We must all look to where our duty lies. You have been a Starfleet officer. You can't tell me you don't understand duty."

"Of course I do, but..."

"Then fulfill the duties to your family."

"I've tried to do that, but..."

"Mei-Wan, you have to do more than try, and you have to take them seriously." Bao-Yu leaned forward again. "Living this wild life you've had up to now is... well, it is understandable to a degree. But now is the time for you to become a woman who can set aside the whims of childhood and take up the responsibilities of adulthood."

Mei-Wan felt drained, and more so than any other time she had spoken with her mother. There was something different now, as if everything before had been tolerated, but no more.

"What do you want me to do?" Mei-Wan asked, the fight in her gone.

Bao-Yu paused as if carefully considering her words. "Let us know as soon as possible when you will be arriving in San Francisco. We have much to talk about."

"All right. We can talk." That part of Mei-Wan which had surfaced earlier regained a temporary foothold. "But that is all I can promise for now."

Bao-Yu hesitated, apparently measuring her daughter's tone. "Once you're home, I hope to impress upon you the duties you owe this family."

Mei-Wan sat silently, not wanting to engage her mother any further.

"Happy birthday, little one."

The display went as blank as Mei-Wan's gaze, the vampiric power of her mother's voice having drained her soul to near the point of death.

How does she do this to me? Why do I let her talk me into...

No. I won't have my life determined by her. I'm going to live it my way.

Afterwards, Mei-Wan wandered the corridors of the transport liner. After an hour, she stopped and turned about, thinking she'd heard a voice, a man's voice, a laugh. But no one was there.

She was alone.

Looking down the corridor, she realized she must have passed her stateroom at least twice.

This aimless fretting over what her mother was up to had to stop.

It's my birthday, damn it. I think I'm due a small portion of fun, just for me.

Ten minutes later, she walked into a salon nestled in among a variety of brightly designed shops on the transport's lower level. A round-faced woman of middle age greeted her with a smile.

"Can I help you?"

"I want to get my hair done," Mei-Wan said as the woman led her to a chair.

The woman studied her a moment. "Any thoughts of what you'd like done to it? Perhaps a change of color? We could try..."

Mei-Wan looked in the mirror across from the chair and the image of herself in another woman's life came to mind.

"I'd like it... shorter."

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Dark Horizon Story and Characters Copyright ©2008 Michael Gray

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