Detours

Posted on Monday, 30 November 2020 - 1:39pm by Lieutenant Alex Kingsley & Commander Soral

Mission: Operation: Ouroboros
Location: Earth, San Francisco

As they filed out of the Admiral's office, the three officers from the Standing Bear could still hear the storm raging outside. As their commanding officer had noted, it was not the only storm brewing. Which was what was occupying her thoughts as they traversed the corridor towards the stairwell. Halfway there she spied an empty conference room and, offering a hasty 'excuse us a moment' to Lieutenant Zilth, she took hold of Soral's arm and ushered him inside.

Of course she was nowhere near as strong as her husband, so he could easily have put his foot down (literally and figuratively speaking) if he had wanted to. He didn't, and as the doors slid shut in almost complete silence she turned to face him. "Soral, are you okay?" she asked him, sounding worried.

"I...do not know. I am conflicted."

“I can see that, I just didn’t expect you to call out an admiral,” Alex replied, “the air was colder in that office than outside.”

He raised an amused eyebrow. "What else can they do to me. I will never attain the captain's rank I have reprimands on my record and will never advance past first officer. And she was in the wrong."

He sat down on the edge of the table taking Alex's hand and pulling he to him. "My wife you married a Vulcan Romulan with logic and passion warring within him." He kissed her forehead.

“I think it’s perfectly obvious that I have no qualms with the passion,” Alex conceded with a teasing smile, wrapping her arms around him, “I just don't like the idea of an admiral throwing you in the Brig.”

"Indeed." He sighed. "Laura and the kids will be leaving from here. Ready to say goodbye?"

"Yeah, although I wish we'd had longer with them. Although a part of me does want them to be back on Vulcan and safe," Alex admitted as she drew back. "You should also check in with Mac and Haru soon. I kind of promised Mac we'd always be around... and then I told him we were coming to Earth. I feel I gave him a bit of a mixed message. Support and abandonment in equal measure."

"Indeed." He held his hand out to her as he pushed away from the table. "Come then. Let us say goodbye." On the way he called Eyelaya and told her to meet on Earth.

They exited the building and walked a ways out of the Starfleet compound. A noise drew his attention. "Do you hear that?"

“Beyond the rain and the thunder? No, but then I don’t have your hearing... what was it?” she looked around them as she asked, certain he had heard something. And hearing something was enough for her.

"Stay here," he said knowing as he said it that she would not listen. He slowly moved towards the building in front of them cursing Starfleet from taking his phaser.

"Like that's happening," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes as she followed along in his wake.

He rounded the corner and stopped a moment. There stood a Romulan family surrounded by protesters. A bolt of anger rolled through him even as the thunder sounded. He moved in. "Disperse!" He yelled.

The group seemed to turn to him and sneer. "This is none of your concern Romulan sympathizer. Starfleet doesn't belong here. You brought them here!" a member of the crowed yelled.

Soral's hands fisted. "Why don't you pick on me first."

He heard some disgusting shouts and then, "And get sent to the brig for knocking a Starfleet officer on his ass!"

Soral took off his jacket and tossed it to Alex. "I'm not a Starfleet officer. I'm a Vulcan Romulan who's had enough of this."

That did it. The crowed turned on him. He ran willingly towards them ready to use all his V'shar training to lay them out.

Tapping her comm badge even as she caught his jacket, Alex requested help as she ran after her husband. ~Soral!~

She had no doubt he could look after himself but she sure as he’ll wasn’t going to let him face these thugs alone. Even as she followed she saw two men had taken the chance to move in on the family, the woman trying to shield her young child from the vile language being hurled at them while the man with them stood tall, refusing to retaliate. She caught a glimmer of metal in one of the men’s hands, his sneer full of intent. And still the Romulan did not back down an inch.

“Hey!” Alex called out as she closed in, getting the attention of both. She threw Soral’s jacket at the one holding the knife and just as she had, he instinctively tried to catch it. She threw all her weight into the right hook that connected with his jaw a split second later, followed by a swift kick to his groin. The pain shooting up her arm more than worth it as the man hit the deck. As the knife fell from his hand she kicked it away before turning to face his friend. Perhaps a little more sensible, he seemed to consider the odds and backed off before breaking into a run.

“Are you all okay?” Alex blurted out as she turned to face the family, looking for any sign of physical injuries and thankfully finding none. When they nodded she sighed, “security is coming. Keep an eye on him,” she pointed to the man still getting to his feet. “If he tries anything, kick him again. I need to help my husband...”

Leaving them she turned to find out how much trouble Soral was in just as her comm badge came to life. "Stillwater to Kingsley. I want the Casablanca prepped for departure tomorrow morning at 06:00 sharp. Please notify Jupiter Station we will be taking the Bear's runabout out, and clear your schedule. You'll be accompanying me."

"Understood," she replied as she ran towards Soral, "Kingsley out."

Soral twisted hard right delivering a nose shattering punch to the man who'd been shouting earlier. He felt a blow across his back and stumbled a little before gaining his footing and sweeping the legs from under the attacker. The man fell hitting his head with a sickening crack. He turned just in time to see Alex running. "Are you alright?" He asked catching her by the shoulders. "You should have stayed back. You could have been hurt." He started checking her over for injures.

"Am I alright?!" she repeated incredulously, even as approaching footsteps told her security was closing in, "Soral, you ran into a bunch of... I have no words for what they are but still! What if they were armed like their friend over there? You could have gotten yourself killed."

The fact he had dealt with the group so quickly was impressive and, hearing herself, she did not sound as angry at him as she intended.

He sighed and kissed her. "I am alright." He looked over at the family. "Let us check on them. It is time I take a less passive role in all of this."

“What do you mean?” She asked as she trailed after him. “Less passive, how?”

"By forcing the issue."

He stopped by the family and ensured they were well. It turned out to be a mother, child and grandfather. He helped calm their fears by speaking Romulan to them and then switched to Federation standard. "You are sure you are well."

"Yes, thank you." The woman said. "This is happening more and more. We may have to leave Earth but there is nowhere to go."

"Yes there is." He said. "Go to Vulcan."

They looked skeptical "But..."

"No buts. When you are ready and if you know others who are send them to the Vulcan Embassy here and ask for the ambassador. Say Soral sent you. Seek asylum under Ambassador Spock's reunification clause of the Vulcan charter."

They thanked both Alex and Soral and left. "If Starfleet will lie to the Vulcans then when Vulcans see the number of those leaving Earth and hear the stories Vulcan will call a Referendum," He said to Alex.

“And is that what you want?” she asked, watching the family move off. “A referendum? Vulcan to possibly leave the Federation? And don’t you think security will want to take a statement from them about what happened?”

He sighed. "They can at the Embassy. I will direct them that way.... if they care." He sat down hard. "I...I do not know Alex" He put his head in hands and for the first time he looked helpless.

“And if Vulcan decides to leave the Federation...?” Alex went on, leaving the implications unsaid. She had read a little about the referendum, in the memoirs of Ambassador Sarek’s wife. How she had faced the prospect of being banished from her home, torn from her family. It would be no different for them. Taking a deep breath she glanced over her shoulder, “I’ll go and talk to security. Hopefully they’ll let us do a statement later so we can still say goodbye to everyone.”

He looked up. What if they leave indeed. He knew he himself would vote that way but his duty was to Alex. It would force him to either loose his home and all he'd built by accepting banishment or Alex would need to leave the Federation and move to Vulcan. He sighed. He felt more conflicted then anything. He stood feeling old and achy and headed towards his wife.

Perhaps a chat with Stillwater was in order, he needs an opinion of someone who'd left Starfleet and someone who had come back.

OFF