A Question of Distance

Despite the medical facilities here on Docosie being advanced and more than capable of handling routine symbiont care, the Symbiosis Commission still insists on sending someone from the homeworld to check up on any joined Trill living off‑world on Docosie III. At present, that means me — the lone datapoint in their grand survey of “Trill living dangerously far from home.”

I don’t object to the checkups themselves. They’re sensible, and Dax has lived long enough to know that a little preventative care is far easier than a medical crisis. What I do object to is the attitude of the specialist they sent this time. From the moment they stepped off the shuttle, it was clear they’d already formed an opinion about my life out here — and not a flattering one.

According to them, joined Trill “really shouldn’t” live at a significant distance from the homeworld. Too risky. Too destabilising. Too far from the cultural and medical infrastructure that supposedly keeps us whole. They didn’t say it unkindly, but the implication was unmistakable: that choosing to live on a frontier colony is, at best, eccentric… and at worst, irresponsible.

They even questioned my decision outright. Not the logistics, not the medical considerations — my choice. As if the sum of Dax’s lifetimes somehow obligates me to remain within a comfortable shuttle ride of the Commission’s front door. As if meaning can only be found in familiar places.

I answered politely, of course. Old habits from past hosts die hard. But the truth is, their words lingered longer than I expected. Not because I doubt my place here — I don’t — but because it’s strange to be reminded that some on Trill still see joined individuals as something fragile, something that must be protected from the very life we’re meant to experience.

Docosie is challenging, yes—unpredictable, often. But it’s also vibrant, full of purpose, and very much home. And if the Commission can’t quite understand why a joined Trill would choose to build a life on the frontier, well, that says more about their limitations than mine. Many joined symbionts were lost during the Dominion War, and that is a great tragedy, but a joined existence is never without risks, regardless of the distance from the homeworld.

Image found on Reddit.

Image of Tricorder found on Reddit.