A Mystery Indeed -- Part II

Posted on Sunday, 20 December 2020 - 2:28pm by Commander Soral & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley
Edited on on Sunday, 20 December 2020 - 2:30pm

Mission: Operation: Ouroboros
Location: Jupiter Station
Timeline: 2393 - After Alex's shift

Previously on A Mystery Indeed....

The fat Romulan sighed. "Fine. Ensure her safety too. With your life."

Make him appear Vulcan? Soral’s grandfather? Her temper flared at the same time her foot slipped, sending a little piece of debris skidding along the floor. She held her breath, pulling further back.

Both men's head shot up.

"What was that?"

and Now the continuation...

ON:

Solek's eyes narrowed. "Debris. Nothing to worry about. This place is practically condemned. You should leave."

The Romulan stood there. "Very well. Ensure that your identity is a secret. Soral is not to know why you are here. Clear?"

"Indeed." He watched the man disappear and then he himself took to the shadows coming up soundlessly behind his pursuer. "Hello Lady Alexandra."

She almost jumped out of her skin, spinning around and knocking aside some more debris. “Don’t hello me,” she warned, “you are lying to Soral, to everyone!”

"Indeed. I think that it's time for a talk." He looked around. "But not here." He took her elbow. "Come on before he comes back."

She shrugged off his hand, “I know how to walk. And you can start with who he is?”

"Not here. Trust me. I mean you no harm."

She pointed ahead, “you first.”

It was all the concession he was getting. Keeping a small distance between them, she followed him out of the bay until he came to a stop. “You have a hell of a lot to explain,” she told him.

He smiled, "I can see why he finds you fascinating. You would rival any Romulan woman." He motioned ahead. "Shall we get some hot chocolate?"

“You would know about Romulans, I guess,” she quipped. “And no, I’m good. I want answers. And the truth. I’ve had enough of lies and half truths.”

"A necessary evil." He studied her. "I suppose you shall only want the whole truth and no omission for your own good?"

“Indeed.”

He smiled. "Come Lady Alexandra. I shall tell you a tale that not even your husband knows."

She hesitated but then nodded. “But no lies.”

"Very well." they walked back to the promenade and found a place to get some hot chocolate. Drinks in hand they headed to the observation section and sat down on a sofa watching the stars. "I love looking at the stars." He sipped his chocolate. "As long as I remember I've always wanted to sail them and perhaps this assignment is as close as I get to it."

“To the point?” She prompted.

He smiled. "You, my dear, are impatient. Romulans are poetic...you are married to one...well half of one. But you are right. I won't waist your time with what you know. In the end Soral's mother, as he found out, was Romulan. She was part of a very important family. One of those families that is so important that they have many kids an one child is always dedicated to the Gods. His mother was sent to the Quwat Milat to serve. Yet she broke her vow and had kids. Her father...was furious until he had a dream where Soral's fate was revealed to him."

“A dream?” She repeated, clearly sceptical.

"Yes. Romulan culture, for her crime of breaking a vow, dictates that her life be taken. Her father...was bound by honour but he had a dream that a child would be born, one that would aid in the uniting of the those who fly beneath the Raptor's wings and those that exist in the fold of logic. A mystic connected to the Gods of old, a son of ... well Shariel... the equivalent of your Earth Hades." He sighed. "That spared her life and those of the children. He forced her to give up the male born, Soral to Vulcan."

Solek stared out the window at the twinkling stars. "He could not have imagined the pain Soral would go through being abandoned and alone and yet here he stands the head of a house, a writer who writes in secret, a philosopher, a champion of the Romulan and Vulcan ways, as was revealed in his grandfather's dream."

“You are talking of premonitions and fates,” she said after a moment, “Soral choses his own path. And where do you fit in? And your friend in the cargo bay?”

He sighed, "The man in the cargo bay is not a friend. He is...an annoyance that I have to guard against. Soral's grandfather will not listen to me with respect to him that is why I haven't not told anyone of the children...it is too dangerous." He sighed. "I am...an echo. I was tasked with taking care of Soral. Having failed in that when he was shot I will be executed...although I know not when but my fate is sealed. There is so much more to this."

He studied her. "Two years after the birth of Soral and his twin another child was born to their mother. Raised by his father." He couldn't stop talking now that he'd started.

“Soral has a brother?”

"Half brother yes. One that grew up far from him but always wondered about him. Perhaps one day if the fates permit."

Alex frowned, staying silent. Fate. Again.

Solek sighed. "May I ask for your silence in this...I do not wish to stress Soral after everything he's gone through."

“You want me to keep secrets from him?” She replied incredulously. “People keeping secrets to protect him have done way too much harm. Because secrets have a way of coming into the light and causing more pain in the long run.”

She leaned forward, “why did you keep the children a secret from your not-friend?”

He sighed, she was full of the right questions. "Because I wish to protect them, Soral, and you."

“From what?”

"When Romulus was destroyed... it left a power vacuum. Some are trying to find a new Romulus, a new praetor, and perhaps new blood to fill the senate. Anyone who ... qualifies for any political positions is in danger."

He looked at her, "You have to protect Soral too. But from a different threat." He grinned a little. "T'Paris...is one of those obsessive Vulcans."

“T’Paris I will deal with. So what, you think someone somewhere sees Soral or his children becoming part of this new Romulan powerhouse?” She asked. “How worried should I be? Soral has both of them on Vulcan now, probably under guard knowing him...”

Her voice trailed off as her eyes caught the news report displayed on a screen in the corner of the room. A scrolling bar stating the images were being broadcast live from Earth. She frowned, watching the images of protests, the anger of those palpable even though there was no audio.

“Right now, I don’t blame him. But still, how worried? Who am I protecting them from?”

"I will protect you all. I swear this to you, and yes...they do see him as heir to his grandfather's position. You just keep your eyes on the lady Vulcan. Our women on Romulus don't hide intentions. they challenge outright. This one is deceptive....even by Romulan standards." He paused. "Yes Soral has guards, he's V'Shar...he feels trouble in his bones." He stood. "Look I have to go. May I say something in perfect candor to you?"

“Sure,” she nodded.

"Soral and his half brother are very much alike, in a lot of ways. He's always wanted to know his brother, to have a relationship with him. He's always cared for him from afar. There has never been any envy until now." He looked Alex in the eye. "I have never envied anything my brother has had until you. You are...everything I would have picked for me. I am glad we are so alike." He bowed and then headed out leaving Alex with her thoughts.

Alex stared after him, her mind pouring over everything he had said and what it meant. Beyond the obvious... trouble. Could any of what he said be true? Most of it was far too surreal. And yet...

She stood, her untouched drink still on the table. All of this, now, was physically painful to try and process. And right now, there was even bigger problems to worry about. Sparing a glance at the news report she hurried off towards the ship.

It appeared the situation on Earth was getting worse.

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