The Party, Part 2
Posted on Thu Nov 13th, 2025 @ 1:30pm by Lieutenant Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil & Ensign Wrenleigh Reed
1,277 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Character Backstories
Location: Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey, Earth
Timeline: August 2372
Jean-Baptiste hesitated before sitting, like the bench might test him first. The marble was cool through his trousers. He folded his hands in his lap and looked out toward the garden lanterns instead of directly at her. "My father isn't a diplomat," he said. "Both of my parents are undersecretaries with the Federation Council. My father deals with internal Federation affairs, and my mother handles a lot of economic things."
The laughter of the younger children rose again, closer this time. There was a flash of motion--one of Wren's brothers, maybe--darted behind a hedge, chased by another boy wielding a long stick like a sword. Jean-Baptiste's eyes followed them, then returned to her.
"Wrenleigh," he said, a slight whine to his voice. "I hate how my parents drag me to these things."
"Those are some pretty important roles, are they not?" Wren frowned as she tried to remember what an undersecretary did in their role. Wasn't it handling specific areas like public diplomacy or something like that? Anyway. She too thought she saw one of her brothers dart out from behind a hedge and she narrowed her eyes.
"Then where would you rather be?" She asked sincerely with a smile. "London? Sydney? Betazed?"
Jean-Baptiste thought about it for a moment, his gaze settling on the fountain at the far end of the courtyard--a feature he hadn't noticed until just then.
"Betazed?" he asked her incredulously. "I want to be back home in Haiti--with my friends."
He risked a glance at her. "What about you--do you actually like these things?"
"I mean, if I'm going to follow in my father's footsteps and become an Ambassador myself one day, then yeah." Wren shrugged as she swung her legs back and forth underneath her. "I like the conversations, learning about different areas of politics and seeing different aspects of different cultures."
Her smile softened a bit, "Haiti. That's in the Caribbean, yes? Tell me more about it, like what part of it do you miss the most about it? I've been to a lot of places on Earth but I haven't been there yet."
Jean-Baptiste blinked at her, as if surprised she'd asked. Most people didn't. Most people just nodded politely when he mentioned where he was from and moved on to something they thought was more important.
"Yeah," he answered. "It's in the Caribbean. It's... hot. But not like this. It's not fancy heat."
He leaned forward a little, elbows on his knees, eyes drifting toward the giant tiled slabs. "I miss the sound, I think. In Bainet, you can always hear things--roosters, the waves, dogs. And there's so many things to do." He blew out his cheeks and looked over at Wrenleigh. "My uncle lives up the hill from us, and he keeps goats. They're super loud. And he used to get mad when I'd chase them with my friends." JB grinned slightly. "He said I'd make the meat too tough."
Wren was jealous of how Jean was describing his home, "That honestly sounds beautiful. Especially the waves and the animals. Is it like a coastal kind of town?" He'd piqued her curiosity now. "Goats and dogs and roosters and all those kinds of animals are something you'd never see back in London, you'd have to go out to the countryside for that. I've spent most of my time in London, so it's almost always raining and grey and cold and high rise buildings and concrete. I don't particularly like this heat either, you're right about that."
"Do you think you might get a chance to go back to Haiti at some stage?" Wren queried. She thought she saw Evan disappear around a corner, or at least someone who looked like him.
Jean-Baptiste nodded. "Yeah, we'll go back next week. But we have to stop in Paris for a few days." He sighed and watched a younger girl--giggling with delight--run past, holding a finger to her lips. "You live in London? It's so historical, though. So many things to see."
Wren got excited for a moment and turned to face him completely, putting both hands on his arm in an excited way, "Maybe our parents could talk and arrange for you guys to visit London some time! And you could see the sights!'" Her blue grey eyes had changed to more of a blue colour at her excitement.
"London... yeah, that would be cool." He pushed back from the bench a little, brushing imaginary dust from his trousers. "I mean, I like history. I'd love to visit Westminster Abbey! We studied all about it in school. That stuff fascinates me."
He leaned a little closer to Wrenleigh, hopeful that his breath wasn't too repugnant. "Back home, we don't really have streets like that. The houses are colourful, the hills are steep, the ocean is right there. But the roads are just sort of going off in all directions. Sometimes to nowhere, really."
"Sometimes a road to nowhere can lead to something good though!" Wren still had the excitement in her voice but now she wished she could see the ocean and the island the way Jean saw it. "It sounds magical, I'd--"
"Oooooh!" came the taunt from Evan as he popped out from behind a bush, apparently having been spying on his sister and Jean. He and his brother Tanner both had the same complexion as Wren and similar facial structures, but their hair was more on the brown side and their eyes were more blue green like their mother. "Wren's with a boy! I'm going to tell father on you!"
Wren's eyes went wide, she didn't want to get in trouble. "At least this solves the mystery of where you have been. Now where's your brother?" she quipped back before turning back to Jean, "I'd probably better go and find out where my other brother is and then go back inside before I get into trouble." She stood up and smoothed out her dress, smiling as she did so, "It's been lovely talking to you, Jean, and I look forward to making those plans to show you London at some stage."
Jean-Baptiste stood too, a little stiffly, brushing at his jacket hoping it might make him seem a little older and more composed than he felt. Evan's laughter trailed off down the path, and for a second, JB thought about chasing him--just for the fun of it--but something about Wrenleigh's poise kept him anchored in that spot.
He gave a small nod. "Yeah," he said. "It was nice talking to you too." He felt like a grown-up in the way the words left his mouth. He hesitated, then added, "Maybe if we ever visit London, you can show me the best places for history."
"I'd like that too," Wren replied with the soft smile she had reserved for him. "Enjoy your night." With that, she turned to disappear and look to where her brother went and then head back inside to continue the conversations her father was holding.
Jean-Baptiste looked once more toward the Bosphorus, black and now sparkling under the moon. "What kind of name is Wrenleigh," he muttered to himself.
Then, he straightened his bow tie like his mother would've wanted, Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil--twelve years-old, far from home, and only half-pretending to like it--walked back inside.
Lieutenant Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil
Assistant Chief Security Officer
USS Astrea
Ensign Wrenleigh Reed
Diplomatic Officer
USS Astrea
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