InsaneJournal

Tokyo was easy. The Enterprise had a great deal of data on Earth and it had been a matter of discovering and programming that in. Luckily, Japan had avoided a lot of the Eugenics Wars of the 90s and the city was a marvel, impressive even by Jadzia’s standards. And hopefully by Mako’s. Jadzia had even programmed in people. Pedestrians and traffic, people shopping and selling. It looked, sounded and smelled like a 21st century city, in that between period before the fascism of the 2020s and the eventual world war of the 2050s.

It really had been a miracle humans had made it to warp drive.

She stepped out of the door and closed it, leaning against the bulkhead while she waited.

--

Mako grew up in Tanegashima, Japan. Her mother and father brought her to Tokyo for her father’s sickness. They were just visiting. Turned out it was the day Onibaba decided to visit too-- a relatively small kaiju, that looked like a crab. She lost her shoe and lost her family and was rescued by Stacker Pentecost that day.

Since then, Tokyo was a wasteland.

When she saw Jadzia-- Dax, as she preferred to call her, she waved slightly and bowed her head. “Good day. Guinea pig time?”

--

“Guinea pig time. Such a funny saying, that. Ben liked to use it sometimes.” Jadzia pressed a button on the panel next to the door. “It’s already to go. I picked the evening for you. The lights make it more spectacular I think.”

Grinning, she watched as the door opened to reveal downtown Tokyo, with its brightly lit displays and oodles of people and flashing signs. A city very much alive.

--

Mako put a hand over her heart before she even stepped into the simulation. It took her a moment to finally do so, and she looked completely in awe at it all. “It’s beautiful, Dax. Come in, come in with me!” She reached back out and pulled on the other woman.

“I wonder if we can find the corner where my father and I saw my mother come out of the dress shop…”

---

"If the dress shop existed in this version of Tokyo, it might still be there." There were a lot of factors that might mean it didn't exist, but in Jadzia's experience with time travel, little things like that typically remained constant. She laughed, letting Mako pull her in, and squeezed her hand.

"I'm glad you like it."

---

“Oh, it existed for a long time. My mother went there at least once a year. It was her birthday gift.” She looked at Dax and squeezed her hand back.

“Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

---

"This is why I did this," Jadzia assured her. "To give people a little piece of home. Or at least as close as we can get."

It was amazing how bright it was. A lot of alien species preferred less bright lighting, but humans liked things lively. She'd always liked that about humans. “You can’t really buy things in the shop, but I’m sure we can replicate something you like.”

---

“Oh, that’s all right. Just the feel of the city is nice. And knowing it was before… before my father got sick, before the kaiju… that’s all that matters.”

Though, Japan did have a lot of cute stuff in the 2010s.

---

It was kind of adorable. Jadzia wished she could see the look on Worf, Quark or Odo’s face being exposed to this. Or Kira. Kira would probably have an allergic reaction to it. The thought only widened the smile on Jadzia’s face. “Tokyo is alive.”

---

“Thank you, for this.” She was so excited. Mako walked down a random city street and walked through one of the people, “Oh pardon me,” she said in Japanese.

---

“You’re welcome. And remind me to fix that. They should feel as solid as real people.” She reached over and passed her hand through another person. Definitely a glitch. Jadzia said nothing about Mako being polite to a hologram. It was kind of cute, and while holograms didn’t actually have feelings, they sometimes acted like they did.

---

“Oh! Okay! Note taken.” She pointed to her temple. Mako was able to lean on a building front and press her face to the glass of a bakery. “This works all right,” she said a little muffled-- as her nose was smooshed on the glass. “This is beautiful, Dax. I’m so impressed!”

---

Watching Mako smush herself against the glass made Jadzia’s smile grow bigger. “I know that smells delicious but you can’t actually eat it.” Holographic food wasn’t real, though some programs could be created to actually serve replicated food. Jadzia hadn’t gotten there yet.

She walked over, reaching up to squeeze Mako’s shoulder. “Anywhere else you want to see? We can take a.. Taxi, I think they’re called. Or I can make the program take us there right away.”

---

“A taxi might be fun!” She put her hand over Dax’s on her shoulder. “I haven’t seen the dress shop yet. Maybe it’s not in this district. I don’t know it very well.”

She went to the curb and looked for a taxi.

---

“Taxi it is then. If you remember the name, I’m sure we can find it.” Jadzia politely got the door for Mako once a taxi pulled up. “What can you remember of the dress shop?”

It had to be important to her, if it had come up like this before.

---

“Sakaeya Kimono Shop,” she said with a smile. It was kind of a sad smile. “My mother wanted to dress traditionally sometimes. She got me one once, it was interesting-- have you seen a kimono before? If not, I’ll show you.”

She got into the taxi and told the driver where to go. They pulled up almost instantly. “If only it were like this in real life!”

---

“I have seen a kimono before, but that was years ago. One of my friends is.. Was… Japanese. The wife of our chief of operations. Her name is Keiko.”

Jadzia was a little disappointed. She hadn’t been in a ground vehicle in ages, and they always felt like they were going faster than they actually were. At least this way no one got spilled onto anyone else in a tight turn. “Sometimes it loses its charm. Are you going to play dress up for me, Mako?”

---

Mako blushed a little. “Would you like to see one on me? That can be arranged.” Why was she blushing? It was one girl to another. An attractive girl to another.

---

“I’d love that.” Jadzia smiled at her, then got out of the car. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail, letting it fall down her back. Gathering it up, she resecured it. “There. Lets go look at your dress shop.”

---

Mako exited the taxi and quickly got up onto the sidewalk. She marveled at the look of the shop, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. “It looks a little younger, but it’s the same place…”

She opened the door and held it for Dax a little absently, her attention turning towards the silks. There was a pair of shoes in the store-- near the back in Mako’s eyeline. They looked like slippers but were bright red and had a strap across the top. “Oh .. oh dear.”

---

“A little younger, hm?” Jadzia stepped inside, looking around curiously. She didn’t know if it was accurate to Mako’s memory, but it seemed to be close enough. Memory could be a tricky thing, like looking through a fog.

“What is it?” Jadzia placed her hand on Mako’s back.

---

“Those shoes. They remind me of shoes I had when I was little.” She noticed the hand on her back and felt a little steadier. “One of the straps broke and caused me to fall behind when Onibaba attacked the city. I lost my mother and father that day. I carried it through the streets, sobbing, until sensei found me.”

---

“I’m sorry.” Jadzia rubbed Mako’s back in a slow circle, feeling an urge to hug her. “I guess some things don’t change.” They couldn’t take the shoe with them, and Jadzia didn’t know if Mako would even want to. “But one way to look at it, those shoes saved your life.”

---

Mako was quiet for several moments. “I suppose you’re right. And then that led me to the Jaeger program, which lead me to Raleigh, which led to stopping the kaiju. Those little red shoes saved the world.” She looked at Dax with glassy eyes, but still smiled.

“That’s a wonderful way to look at it.”

---

Jadzia smiled. The butterfly effect was a very real thing, and even though it sounded silly, Mako was right. In a way, those little girl’s shoes had saved the world. “We can’t take them home with us, but lets go get lunch. I think this was a successful test.”

---

“I think so too.” She felt like she’d been through a round of therapy or something, the weight off her shoulders lifted. “Lunch sounds wonderful. Shall we?” She held her hand out for Dax to take. It was a strange visit, but one she wouldn’t take back for anything.

---