Word on the street is...

Posted on Saturday, 18 March 2023 - 1:50pm by Lieutenant T'Lanna Vali & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Alex’s Quarters

"... can't deny it would be more efficient," Lieutenant Knight pointed out as he held his hands up in a gesture of defeat as he backed out of the open door and into the corridor, a half eaten chocolate brownie still in one hand. Managing to squeeze in a hasty goodnight between a mouthful of baked goodness as the door began to close, the engineer turned on his heels and proceeded towards the turbolift. "Lieutenant," he offered politely as he crossed paths with the woman who had been acting as first officer coming from the opposite direction. He had very little interaction with her so far and tonight would be no different. He had a million possibilities in his head and a need to be back in engineering to test out some of the ideas beginning to form.

Back in her quarters, Alex Kinglsey was trying to decide if she should watch a movie or just have an early night. She was still deliberating when the door chime rang out. Already next to the door she reached out and used the control panel to open it, "did you for - Oh! T'Lanna. Sorry, I thought you were ... never mind, come in. Is everything okay?"

T'Lanna rarely every came looking for her off duty, so she assumed the worst. Had something happened to Soral, or was there some other crisis? Yet her visitor seemed calm enough to make her suspect neither.

"Can I get you something to drink? Or eat? There is plenty on the table but I can replicate something if you'd prefer."

Having heard the usual scuttlebutt that went around ship, T’Lanna had made her way to see Alex. News had it that she was seeing someone else, not that T’Lanna believed it. She wanted to check the rumours with Alex, hence the trip to see her, and seeing Lieutenant Knight departing Alex’s Quarters seemed to throw the wrong light on things. She smiled warmly as she shook her head. “Don’t worry about me Alex, I’m fine. Actually I err...” she paused. “I need to talk to you about a delicate matter.”

“Delicate?” Alex was definitely curious now. Gesturing towards the sofa, she herself curled up on the chair. “Alright… what’s on your mind?”

Taking a seat T’Lanna made herself comfortable. “I saw Lieutenant Knight leaving here a few moments ago.” She gave Alex a curious look. “Scuttlebutt has it that you and he are... well that you’re... involved.”

“Involved?” Alex repeated, not quite sure she was hearing correctly. “Nice to know the gossip still spreads like wildfire.”

And she could guess who was behind it all.

T’Lanna nodded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t sure whether or not you knew. With Lieutenant Knight being seen leaving your quarters it only serves to fan the flames so-to-speak.”

“I could understand that … if it was the middle of the night or he had been seen leaving half naked,” Alex reasoned. “Besides, it’s gossip. If anyone wants to read into what I do, and who I spend time with, that is on them. Are you sure you don’t want anything? There’s some wine?”

“Just one glass of wine then” T’Lanna smiled as she gave in to coercion. “You know me, I’m not a big drinker.”

Fetching another glass, Alex poured some of the red wine into a glass and handed it over to T’Lanna before retaking her seat. “Wine isn’t my usual drink but when I was staying at a friends recently he gave my mum and I free rein over his extensive wine selection. This was my favourite one. It has a nice taste and it’s really hard not to finish the bottle too fast. So…”

She took a sip from her own glass before studying T’Lanna for a moment, “did you come all the way here to find out if I was cheating on Soral?”

T’Lanna was sipping her wine, as soon as Alex asked her question she choked on her wine. Taking a moment to finish coughing T’Lanna looked at Alex. “Certainly not! Besides it would have nothing to do with me. I’m here because I’m your friend.”

“But also his,” she pointed out.

“True” T’Lanna nodded. “To be honest I hate to see the two of you so distant from one another, but I understand why. Soral isn’t the same Soral anymore, it’s going to take some getting used to.”

“For him too,” Alex agreed as she stared into her half empty wine glass. “He loved her… with such an intensity it would take your breath away. Has he told you about them?”

T’Lanna shook her head. “Not much, he’s been very... cagey as Soral always is.”

“I wouldn't expect that to change,” Alex pointed out. “Where the other Soral is from, secrecy is as essential as breathing. Trusting the wrong person was certain death. But with the two of them…”

Pausing she took a sip of wine. “It is a complicated love story, full of betrayals and bloodshed. As you would expect. And that was before they were even bonded. They had four children together, the last was born the day Lexi died. Killed by their version of T’Paris. And her murder brought him here, for me, and led to this whole mess.

And the worst of it,” Alex went on, the words tumbling out, “is that I remember how she felt about him, and how she knew he felt about her. He shared everything with her, told her his hopes and fears. Nothing held back. And I realise that we, me and our Soral, didn’t have the same. Which is my fault. And now he is… this new him. Do we start again? Should we? Does he see her when he looks at me? How can he not compare? And there is no way I can compare to her.”

T’Lanna listened finally understanding Alex’s deepest fears. “Have you asked him? Have you spoken at all since this began?”

“We spent some time on Risa,” she shrugged, “but that was mostly to resolve the Lexi hiding out in my head situation. After that… we’ve spoken about work since he came back aboard. He brought me a puppy, to keep me company I think… but other than the few times you’ve had a counselling session with us, that’s pretty much it.”

T’Lanna nodded. “How’s about I call another meeting with Soral? The two of you can talk about what’s on your minds in complete privacy.”

“This goes no further,” Alex began, waiting for her friend to nod before continuing, “but from what I’ve been told, he plans to leave if he and I don’t reconcile. He didn’t tell me - apparently he doesn’t want to sway my decision. And he doesn’t know that I know. But I do know. Obviously. And I want to scream at him with every ounce of strength I have. I cannot be his only reason for staying. And then there is my mother.”

T’Lanna wasn’t surprised by what Alex was telling her. “Your mother? What’s happening with your mother?”

“My mother is having a crisis of her own. She basically relocated to Vulcan to be with Severine and Soval - and then N’Vek. She loves them as if they were her flesh and blood she really does. And even if Soral and I make this split permanent I don’t think she’d leave them. And I’m okay with that. She is a little odd at times but a better mother you couldn’t wish for. Except for the fact that she has been seeing someone- an ambassador. He’s Vulcan and apparently he intends to propose. Soral shared that news with her. I don’t think he realises how often my mother walks away from relationships when they get that kind of serious. But she does. And now she’s gone off somewhere. I don’t know where but it definitely wasn’t to attend her cousin Amanda’s wedding in Ohio, which is apparently what she told Severine and her brothers.”

“She’s simply gone?” T’Lanna sighed. “Everything is so complex at the moment. One problem multiplies into two, and that into more. Let’s start with Soral, perhaps he will have contacts that will be able to find out about your mother.”

“No,” Alex said with a firm shake of her head. “I have a few ideas of where she is. She just needs time to think. To realise that feeling like she does isn’t some betrayal of my dad. I’m sure he’ll hear of it soon enough but what she needs is time alone and I know she’ll be missing the children.”

T’Lanna nodded. “If your mother ever needs someone to talk to, let her know I’m only a call away.” She smiled warmly. “Falling in love after losing the love of your life is more difficult than people realise.”

“I’ll tell her. Knowing her she has by now spoken to a therapist, a hypnotist, her old yoga instructor, a bar tender and had someone read her Tarot cards. If she was religious I’m sure she would have been seeking some answer from above.”

“That’s all I can ask” T’Lanna smiled warmly. “So... tell me more about Lieutenant Knight, how long have the two of you known each other?”

“Since the academy. I shared a dorm with his sister, but he was a year ahead of us,” Alex shrugged. “His family are starfleet through and through, from what I know anyway. Anya, his sister, was always so stressed over grades and being the best in everything. She was so hard on herself…. Anyway, that’s how we know one another. We kept in touch and he ended up posted here. He is a little impatient, doesn’t suffer fools especially when it comes to his work. But he is a brilliant engineer.”

T’Lanna nodded. “Well, for what it’s worth I don’t believe that there’s anything going on between the two of you. There’s nothing wrong with having male friends. Especially ones from back at the Academy.”

“Thanks, although I don’t think it is even an issue. Even if something were going on, the only people it concerns would be me, him and Soral. But there isn’t. Although I’m sure the gossip mill will keep churning out the rumour, especially if T’Paris has any say in it.”

“T’Paris?” T’Lanna looked at Alex curiously. “Is there something going on with T’Paris?”

“T’Paris has been… keen to show how incomprehensible it is for Soral to have a relationship with a mere human. Especially when she considers herself a far better suited candidate. He never saw it, and she tries to hide it. I have no doubt she is behind the rumours because she knows word will spread and there is no way Soral won’t hear it and assume there must be some truth to it,” Alex sighed. “And then there is the fact that in the mirror universe, T’Paris killed Lexi. Which was no small achievement I grant her that. Which is nothing to do with this T’Paris, it just sometimes takes your breath away to be face to face with someone who is identical to the woman stabbed you with a poisoned knife while you were heavily pregnant.”

“I’m that case that may just work in your favour” T’Lanna offered a wry smile. “The other Soral will have that memory forever engraved in his subconscious, which means our Soral, the combination of both, will have that memory too. He won’t see T’Paris as a suitable woman. I’d be very surprised if he saw any other woman as being suitable besides you.”

“Ha! I doubt that. Perhaps her… Lexi, I mean. If I make the choice to stay here… to not go back to how it was... he will leave the ship. And Starfleet. I’m sure of it. Even before this joining, he had so many reservations about Starfleet.”

T’Lanna nodded. “I hope not, I don’t want to lose either of you Alex. You’re my friends and I hate to see you both like this. Isn’t there anything I can do to help you through this?”

"We both just need to be in the right... headspace, I guess. Right now, I don't think either of us are. I don't know about him but I am not ready to make any big decisions one way or another, not until I truly feel like myself again," Alex told her. "Just, make sure he's okay. I can take care of myself. And at least I am just me. He is - not."

T’Lanna nodded. “I know, we spoke, he’s... the same, yet different.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It was so strange. I do need to talk to Soral again.”

Alex nodded as she finished her wine, “as do I. But not today. Or tonight. I make bad decisions when I drink wine.”

T’Lanna grinned. “As long as I don’t find you staggering along the corridor in a drunken stupor anytime soon!”

“If that’s all I do when I’m drunk, I’d be happy,” Alex grinned.

“Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” T’Lanna grinned as she picked up her glass and sipped her drink.

“What exactly would that rule out?” Alex asked curiously.

T’Lanna grinned as she finished off her drink. “I’ll let you think on that one, you’ve known me long enough.”

“Yes but only when you’ve been on duty, or being a mother… what do you do to let your hair down?”

T’Lanna paused. “I don’t let my hair down that often, I guess as close as I get is spending time with Jarin.” Her smile at the mention of Jarin’s name said it all.

Alex smiled as she took a sip of wine, “you have it bad, huh… how do you do it, T’Lanna? Not find someone, I’m not blind! But how do you weigh up the chance he is the one, against the risk of having your heart broken?”

“I just... know” T’Lanna smiled. “Jarin was there for me when I needed him, he’s looked upon my son as though he’s his own ever since he was born. I think I’ve always liked Jarin, it just took a nudge in the right direction.”

“I wish you well,” Alex offered, raising her glass before she drained it. “I kind of envy her. Lexi, I mean. She knew, always knew, Soral was her future. I mean the murder and the tortures… that I could never condone. But she had this almost blinding belief in him. And they bonded and had this big family. This little bit of paradise in what we’d probably consider a kind of hell. He - and their children- were one of her very few redeeming qualities. Which terrified me when she was in my head. I knew what she was capable of if I warned any of you. I couldn’t risk it.”

Shaking her head she waved her hand as if to erase the words. “Too much wine. Ignore me,” she said as she set aside the glass. “Well, you know Lieutenant Knight isn’t jumping into my bed so I should let you get back to the good doctor.”

“Alex... for what it’s worth you could never be like Lexi, not in the cruel sense. A loving mother, and wife, most definitely. You love Soral, you know you do, but I understand how difficult it is with the two Soral’s now sharing one body. I don’t know how to act around him either to be honest.”

Alex gave a small nod that made it clear she wasn’t convinced. “That’s for Soral and I to figure out. Honestly, I’m okay. Go, spend some time with your family while we have downtime. Who knows what madness we will face next?”

T’Lanna nodded. “I will, thanks Alex. For what it’s worth it’s nice to have you back, I’ve missed you being here.” She stood ready to leave. “Take care okay?”

“You too,” Alex answered as she stood to walk T’Lanna to the door. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Alex” T’Lanna smiled and headed on her way.

As the door closed to leave her alone, Alex groaned and inwardly cursed out T’Paris in every way she knew. Shaking her head she began clearing up before remembering the gift Knight had left for her. Not sure she could sleep anyway she opened up the bag and lifted out the bottle. When he had said it was old school he hadn’t been lying. “You will be way nicer than wine,” she grinned as she found a clean glass and carried it and the bottle to the sofa.

Pouring a glass she held it up to an empty room. “Cheers,” she toasted before raising the glass to her lips and draining it in one go. Setting the glass down she studied it. Would one more really be so bad?

OFF

 

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