Chapter Text
“Studying.” That was what she called it, all the hours she devoted to try to fill in the gaps in Earth’s history and culture that she had missed while living on Ceti Alpha V. Sometimes (like today) this looked less like pouring over books and more like lying in bed watching a video projected on the ceiling. Music, dance, theatre…these were still important pieces of Earth’s history, and there were days when her fatigue kept her from doing much more than lying back and passively watching.
Today’s choice was a Russian ballet classic: The Sleeping Beauty. Maya knew nothing about it, only that the music was composed by Tchaikovsky, and that she was fond of Tchaikovsky. However, she had barely through the overture and opening credits when she saw something so shocking that it gave her a jarring surge of energy.
Ekaterina Mikhailonva Smirnova.
The dancer portraying the lead role had the same first name and patronymic as the same girl Maya had loved years ago, but she tried not to dwell on it. This was a common Russian name. She set those thoughts out of mind enough that she could enjoy the prologue without distractions, but when Princess Aurora danced onstage, Maya felt her throat itch and her eyes close when she saw how much this Ekaterina reminded her of her own. This recording was over 200 years old, yet in this woman of the past she saw so much that reminded her of the girl she used to love: lean, long round eyes, and a warm smile.
She wondered what else the two young women had in common. They both had fathers named Mikhail and were probably called Katya or Katusha by their friends. Did this Katya see the best in people, or have a tender heart that ached whenever the people around her were unhappy? Could her Katya dance like that if she had only had the chance to learn?
A more troubling thought crossed her mind. Whether it was true or not, Mikhail Ivanovich Petrov—Katya’s father—claimed that part of his genetic template came from Russia’s best dancers. The timing might be right, the dancer flitting across the stage could be an ancestor…No. Her thoughts were getting too far ahead of herself.
“Computer, stop.”
The projection went dark, and Maya closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Five years had passed since she and Katya were forced apart, and not long after the heartache had begun to fade she saw her first lover killed before her eyes. Katya was everywhere, and Maya wasn’t sure if she liked the little reminders or wanted to that part of her past from her memory.