Secrets and Lies - Part II

Posted on Saturday, 27 June 2020 - 10:35am by Commander Soral & Lieutenant T'Lanna Vali

Mission: Operation: Iktomi
Location: Vashti
Timeline: Current

{ON:}

Lali sat waiting on her visitors to join her for breakfast. It would prove to do a difficult day. She's spoken with her niece and she wasn't please about meeting her half sister.

Lali sighed and lost herself in thought.

T’Mari had woken in the arms of the man who’d come to prove he was everything she’d hope he’d be. He’d understood about Soral now he’d heard it for himself and he was still willing to marry her. Now she was looking forward to meeting her half sister.

“Shall we go?” Savar offered his hand to T’Mari.

“Yes, lets” T’Mari nodded. “I am eager to meet my half sister.” Making their way down to breakfast T’Mari offered Lali a polite nod as she and Savar joined Lali. “Good Morning.”

"Good Morning." She motioned to the food. "Breakfast is served."

“Thank you” T’Mari inclined her head politely before choosing herself some breakfast from the selection being offered.

Savar too chose himself some cereal and fruit, along with a juice. He waited for T’Mari to begin eating before starting his own breakfast.

Lali took her own plate of fruit and settled in. "I am afraid," she began as they sat. "Your half sister is rather resistant to meeting you."

“Oh ...I see” T’Mari nodded. “Is there any particular reason why she doesn’t want to meet me?”

Lali sighed. "My niece has always been...spirited. It will take her a while to get used to it and she is worried you are here to take Severine and Soval to Vulcan."

T’Mari nodded “I can understand her concerns, rest assured I love my brother and I wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt him.”

She sighed. "Soral doesn't know he's my nephew either." She smiled. "Your brother has his mother's temperament."

T’Mari looked at Lali curiously. “Is that a good or a bad thing? As the Humans would say.”

She laughed. "Both." She smiled at the woman. "This must be difficult for you."

“It is ... more than that” T’Mari looked at Savar. “I’m just glad I have an understanding man who is willing to stand with me no matter what.”

“I have and always will” Savar nodded as he looked at T’Mari. In public he was any other Vulcan but in private he was anything but.

Just as Lali was about to say something Liviana walked in. "What did you need Lali?" She stopped cold staring at T'Mari. There could be no mistake that Soral and she were twins. She had the softer outlines of Soral's features with one major difference. She had full Romulan ridges and her ears were more angularly pointy. She was Soral but all Romulan. She was slender and tall and her hair the same colour as Soral's but filled with wild curls.

T’Mari looked at Liviana, the likeness to her brother was astounding. “You’re my half sister ...” she looked at Lali for confirmation.

Lali smiled.

Liviana sighed. "Really? You call me here to set this up even though I said..."

Lali waived her off. "I just called you, you chose the time." She winked at T'Mari.

The Romulan nuns believed in absolute candor so Liviana's statements were keeping with that tradition, "I told her I didn't want to meet you. Not even Soral knows who I am."

T’Mari nodded. “That is ... understandable. I don’t know if he even knows who he really is, all I know is I would do anything for Soral and now for you. You are my half sister.”

She raised an eyebrow, adding further to her Soral like look, "Why would you do anything for me. You have just met me."

“You think that changes anything?” T’Mari looked into Liviana’s eyes. “We are sisters, I may never have known about you until now but I would like the chance to if you will allow it.”

"Just like that? With nothing in return."

Lali stepped in. "It is not her fault your mother chose to bring you here. She left Soral because his father knew about him. His father did not know that she carried twins. You were the logical choice to be brought here as this is an order of women. You cannot take it out on her or your brother and you cannot feel guilty about something that is not your fault."

Liviana stayed silent.

T’Mari looked at Liviana. “I don’t know what will happen next, but I would very much like to get to know you. This is my betrothed Savar, we’re going to marry soon in secret. I do this for Soral, and Savar is doing it for me.”

Lali stood. "Savar, come. I will show you a shrine to a Vulcan philosopher." She stood.

Savar looked at T’Mari who nodded that it was alright for him to go. It would give her some time alone with her new found sister.

Liviana said nothing. The truth of it is she felt guilty. She'd had a good life for the most part but her brother had not. It was difficult. This place held so many secrets and lies that it was hard to unravel them. "What is it that you wish with respect to Soral?"

“I wish for him to be happy. He was being forced into a marriage so that I might marry Savar.” T’Mari paused. “Fang said he’d found a way for us to marry here whilst getting Savar out of his arranged marriage. His wife to be is a woman out to get what she wants and that doesn’t include being a good wife to Soral.”

"I see." He sighed. "That's two women that have tried to do that to him." She sat down.

T’Mari nodded. “I will not allow Soral to ruin his life by marrying this ... woman. I want to do everything I can to help him escape the web of hurt that she would cause him.”

"I am starting to think he has a type." She said. "First it was Evasta and now this woman."

"He did not choose her" T'Mari paused. "He was betrothed so that I might marry Savar. He just wanted me to be happy."

"Evesta was no better. She used him for money but in the end..." She shrugged. "So why come here? What do you think that we can do to help him?"

"Fang sent us, this is all part of a plan he's set in motion to help Soral. I'm just doing as Fang asked of me, the fact that I get to marry Savar in the process is the icing on the cake, as the Humans say."

"What does this Fang say must be done. Why here?" She had a feeling. She'd never me the Ferengi but she knew enough about Vulcan laws.

"He said ..." T'Mari paused. "He said that I needed to bring one called Soval to Vulcan. He explained no further than that. I don't even know who Soval is or what role he plays in this."

Liviana's face turned fierce. She hissed. "How does this Fang even know about Soval."

"I told him," came a voice from the shadows. Slowly the short figure inched out and floated towards the two. The girl, looking to be about six or seven years of age but Vulcan all the way came towards T'Mari. She studied her. The girl had long black hair pulled up in a bun the IDIC symbol in her hair. She had on robes that would fit well on Vulcan but not here on Vashti. Her ears were slightly angular hinting at Romulan heritage but her blue eyes and the shape of her face bore a striking resemblance to the two women here.

T’Mari looked at the young girl in front of her. “Who are you? and what do you have to do with my brother?”

"I am Severine. Soval is my twin brother." As if on cue a young boy came running in. "Aunt Liviana!" He hugged the woman and then turned to the others in the room. The boy was obviously Romulan but his features mirrored Soral at his age so closely that it was uncanny. "Who are you?"

Liviana sighed. "T'Mari meet Soval. Your nephew."

T’Mari looked surprised as her less than Vulcan emotional side came out. A smile appeared on her face. “My nephew ... and of course my niece as well. This is ... amazing! It is so nice to meet both of you. I would very much like to get to know you.”

"Indeed." Said Severine.

Livianna sighed. "You contacted Fang?"

Severine gave a nod. "Since you and Lali had no intention of telling our father about us I had not choice. It was the logical thing to do.

“Soral doesn’t know he has children does he?” T’Mari looked at Liviana. “Why must I only bring back Soval? Why not Severine as well? Don’t they deserve a chance to meet their father?”

"Neither of them is going. Their mother entrusted them to my care."

Severine raised an eyebrow. "You are acting most illogically. He is our father. Would he not want to know of us?"

Liviana called Lali and soon the children were out of ear shot. Liviana turned to T'Mari. "They are not going. Evasta entrusted them to me. She knew she'd hurt Soral with how she treated him. What happens now? He recently bonded with this ... Earth woman. Do you think she would accept the children?"

“I have never met her so I really can’t say.” T’Mari sighed. “All I know is that Fang told me I must bring Soval back with me, his plan to free Soral includes Soval somehow.”

Liviana shook her head. "No. I am their guardian and I forbid it."

“Please Liviana!” T’Mari looked at the other woman. “I swear to you that I will protect Soval with my life. He’s my nephew, I wouldn’t let any harm come to him.”

"No." She stood and abruptly left nearly knocking over Lali in the process.

Lali sighed. "What happened?"

“She won’t allow me to take Soval to Vulcan.” T’Mari shook her head. “I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do!”

Lali sat down beside T'Mari and put a motherly hand around her shoulder. "It will be alright. Liviana is afraid. She lost her brother at an early age and was prevented from seeing him. Now she has, in Soval and Severine, a part of him back. She fears his rejection of her and judgements about how she raised her niece and nephew so far. Also fears what he'd say when he learns that we've hidden the truth from him. She feels guilty with all that he's gone through growing up." She sighed. "May I make a suggestion?"

T’Mari nodded. “Please.”

Lali smiled. "I just got notice from Frang and had a great conversation with him. He intercepted an invite for you and he has an invite to your brother's wedding ceremony on Earth. He is marrying, as Fang said, Lady Alexandra Daughter of Earth. Why don't you go. I'm sure Severine won't mind stowing away." She turned her face to the shadows. "Right Severine?"

The young girl stepped out of the shadows. "How did you...."

Lali laughed. "What do you two say. Ready to meet your father?"

Severine, who had until now been the picture of Vulcan stoicism, looked uncertain.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to” T’Mari looked at her niece. “Your father may not know about you but I don’t believe he would turn his back on you either. He’s an honourable man.”

Lali smiled. "See. You take up your father's mantel a lot with your brother. You always talk about what a great man he is and you've never met him but you are worried he'd turn away. I know your father." She pointed to T'Mari. "As does your aunt. Severine you are a child. You do not have to be so grown up yet."

Severine studied the women and the walked over to T'Mari and Lali.

Lali pressed on, "You are three fourths Romulan even though you look completely Vulcan and you picked up your father's telepathic abilities. Your father is half Romulan too. You do not have to be the perfect Vulcan. Embrace both sides."

Severine looked at T'Mari. "I will go."

T’Mari smiled a true, most unvulcan-like smile as she looked at Severine. “I promise you Severine I will take care of you and this will give us a chance to get to know one another as well.” She looked at Lali. “What about Liviana?”

Lali shrugged. "I shall not say anything to her yet. Perhaps she will come in search of Severine and she'll have to face her brother too."

“I don’t want to incur her wrath but Severine and Soval deserve to know their father, and Liviana should get to know our brother I’m sure he’d want to see her.”

"It is difficult to untangle so many secrets and lies my dear girl."

"Indeed it is" T'Mari nodded. "Very difficult indeed."

{OFF:}