Linara's hero

Posts regarding your character's life before joining the USS Malinche

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Roen
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Linara's hero

Post: # 4454Post Roen
Sun Apr 13, 2014 12:41 am

In a small school in her town in the Racantha Province of Bajor, Roen Linara struggled with her exam. Written academics came hard for the seventh grade student, sometimes harder than the other students in her class. It did not help that her mother had been fighting a disease for several years already. When the teacher spoke a lesson or fact she could remember it without much trouble, but writing it was another matter. In the earlier grades it was easier to mask her trouble. Now it was becoming increasingly harder to keep appearances.

“Linara.” The teacher said in a suspicious tone, stepping up from behind. “Care to explain why you were looking at Rakela’s answers?”

“I…I…” Linara stammered. That was enough for the stern teacher.

“Detention. Go sit in the hallway and take your test with you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She said with a sarcastic roll. Rakela looked with an expression of pity at the trouble student. Other students snickered as she walked out in shame.
Eventually the class ended and the classmates walked out of the room. One stayed behind and walked up to where Linara was still struggling through the test almost an hour later.

She put her hand on Linara’s shoulder softly. “Are you alright?” Rakela said just as softly. “My name is Rakela and I know you weren’t cheating. Linara, right?”

“Yes.” Linara replied, still a little irritated. “I don’t know why she has to change the exams to be so hard. It’s almost like they aren’t the same material. All I see is sentences and equations that don’t make sense.”

Rakela sat knelt down next to the desk and looked at the paper. “It looks like the same material that we have been working with all along. What does this sentence say?” She pointed.

“Take the sum of three times four and multiply twelve by five.”
Her friend nodded with a smile. “I thought so. You are confusing your words. The last two numbers were actually twenty one and fifty.”

“Is that a good thing?” Linara said with a perplexed expression. “That explains why I have such bad grades at least.”

“I think they call it dyslexia. You remember things right when you hear them but have a hard time with writing, right?”

“Yeah.” She nodded and sighed. “Especially in math class. I study as much as my head can take but it never seems to help the grades.”

“Well…” Rakela stood up and put out a hand. “…If you want me to, we can try to work on it.”

“But I hardly even know you.” Linara didn’t know what to make of the gesture.

“Friends start somewhere. How about now?” The optomist’s mindset was so inviting, in particular because she had so few friends to rely on elsewhere.

“Sounds like a deal, but I will warn you I am not easy to deal with.”

Rakela laughed. “Come on. We can go over to my house, if that’s alright.” Her hand stretched out for Linara’s and pulled her up from the desk with a swift motion. Linara was a little shorter and a lot more muscular of build yet thinner in appearance than her much softer and more developed looking new friend.
As they walked along the side of the largely unused dirt road it was becoming more and more apparent they were a good pair for each other. Linara didn’t relax her walls very far at first but it was hard to maintain a front to such a personable person.

“So, do you have any siblings, Linara?”

“Nope.” She said flatly. “No dad either.”

“I’m Sorry.” She apologized. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s no fun having just mom. I mean yeah I would rather have just mom than just Dad but I would love to know him. I don’t even know what he looked like.”

Rakela stopped and looked into Linara’s eyes, then put her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “I can’t imagine what that must be like. I’m here whenever you need. Did he die?”

“Occupation. Mom got separated from him before she knew and we haven’t found any records since. I don’t think he is dead but I wouldn’t know the first thing of how to find him.”

“I see.” They began to walk again. “Someday we will find him.”

“We?” Linara asked, still getting used to the idea of having a loyal friend.

“Yes, we. Friends help each other, especially if it is important. Maybe tomorrow we can try to find out some stuff at the library. I love a good book hunt.”

“Sure.” Linara was a little pessimistic about the results but played along. Hope can be infectious, particularly when a person wants it. The seed was planted.
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Lieutenant JG Roen Linara
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

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