Part I -- I name you...

Posted on Sunday, 25 July 2021 - 4:59pm by Commander Soral & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Lazarus
Location: Various | USS Standing Bear
Timeline: 2394 MD 06 -- Just after lunch

ON:

Setting aside her tricorder, Lieutenant Kingsley secured the last panel and took a moment to admire her handiwork. Three class four probes were now online and prepped for launch with each one bearing an inscription with their name and a four leaf clover for good luck. They would need it if history was anything to go by. Maybe she should find some Holy Water..?

Reaching for her padd she logged the latest update and pre-launch checks for PC4-921D, PC4-922D and PC4-9223D. Otherwise known as Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

"You will be fine, you will be fine," she repeated under her breath as she began packing up the equipment case she had obtained from engineering. If she said it enough, it would be true. Just as she was closing the case, her padd lit up to signal an incoming transmission, although it bore no other identifiers. She frowned as she tapped the 'accept' button.

The image shifted and changed. There was a brief green flash like a raptor a familiar symbol of an empire long gone and then a familiar face. The very woman who could not seem to let go of Soral. "Ah...hello Red. How burns your flame today." She grinned at her own joke and wondered if the woman's fiery temper would flare to life.

Alex's eyes narrowed as she looked at the screen. Behind the woman, her surroundings were deliberately non descript. "Evesta," she said slowly. "Huh. I never knew hell had such good comms. What's wrong? Remembered about some more children you abandoned?"

She laughed, "It's actually Anandrine...the real name. No, no more children, at least from me." She looked around. "Hell can be a fun place." She steepled her fingers. "I was hoping we could chat, a little."

"Yippee," Alex muttered, rolling her eyes. "And what have I done to deserve this... honour?"

The smile never left her face, it wasn't a sarcastic one but seemed genuine. "I liked you, Red, the moment I saw you. I'm glad you and So are together."

"Your blessing means so much," Alex lied sweetly. So? Really? "What exactly do you want? I have work to do."

"How are the children?" She asked looking, for a moment vulnerable.

"Adjusting," Alex said after a moment. "They've been through a lot. But my mother is with them and Soral has ensured they are well taken care of. Soral is taking you at your word that you will not contact them."

She sighed. "I won't. They are your children to raise with him now. Will you care for them?"

"You called me to make sure I was taking care of the children you had with my husband, without breathing a word of their existence to him?" Alex clarified. "Do you know what you did not just to him, but to them?"

"I did what was necessary. He needed heirs, his grandfather wanted children that were Romulan and had noble blood. Keeping them from him...was not the intention but was necessary for Soral's sake and theirs."

"Well he will be delighted Soral married me, I'm sure," Alex quipped. "But I assure you, the children will be fine."

"Alexandra Kingsley Soral's grandfather is not someone you wish to mess with. He wants Soral to help lead the era in the Romulan Empire. Do not underestimate the old goat." She studied Alex. "I hope that one day you will grow to care for the children, despite my DNA link to them."

"I care for them a lot, and if anyone hurts them, or Soral, I will happily hunt them down and make sure they pay for it," Alex assured her coldly.

"Good." She studied the woman. "You are quite attractive, I can see what he sees in you. Now I am transmitting a code. Should you ever need me, I will assist where I can."

Alex raised an eyebrow in a way her husband would have been proud of. "You are sticking around? Why?"

"Call it a hunch. Just... stay close to Soral, lest your demons, like Sara Kingsley try to revisit." She looked up and then back. "Until next time, Red." The screen went dark

Alex stared at the blank screen for a long moment. She knew about Sara Kingsley... then she reminded herself that of course the woman would know, she was Romulan intelligence. Did she knew where Sara was? Was Sara planning something...? She realised her hands were shaking and forced herself to stop, to be calm. She could sense Soral's concern, but also his reassurance.

She needed to speak to him.

Soral was already moving through the ship towards Alex. Something was wrong, he could sense it. He was free for a good half hour so he'd check on her and then head to his duties.

Coming out of the shuttle bay, she almost barrelled straight into him as he came from the opposite direction. Taking hold of his arm she pulled him towards a small alcove, handing him her PaDD, "Evesta... Anandrine, whatever she wants to call herself... she just called me," she told him a hushed voice. "I don't know if you can find anything out, she transmitted a code so I've disconnected the link to the central computer just in case. She said I should use if I needed it. That I shouldn't underestimate your grandfather and... she mentioned Sara. It got me anxious. I'm sorry, I need to learn how to control how much of this," she gestured to herself, "filters through to you."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "It is alright. We will figure it out together." He motioned. "Come, let us go to my office."

She nodded, following after him as they headed into the turbolift. She felt him tense as the music started.

"I hate this infernal sound." He winced. The music was just a few pitches too high for his ears. "I do not normally use the turbo lift since the noise started."

She flashed him a sympathetic smile, touching her fingertips to his, gently pointing out, "we could have just avoided the turbolift."

"It makes the crew happy. I will adjust. Hamura is rigging ear plugs for me."

"Sounds like a lot of effort, you realise the other Vulcan's on board are probably suffering just the same way, we can change the music, I'm sure..." Alex told him.

"Indeed," Just then the door opened and they headed towards his office. Once inside the door hissed closed and Soral set to work calling up the code. "I shall run it through our database and the Vulcan one."

“She did say she was going to stay away. From the children I mean,” Alex assured him as she paced his office, “but then again she isn’t exactly in the habit of being truthful. But why now? And she mentioned your grandfather. That she did what she did because of him… or was it in spite of him…?”

He raised an eyebrow. "I see." He imputed the code and waited. "What else did she say?"

"That she's a sociopath. Okay... she didn't use those exact words," Alex admitted as she sank into a chair. "She wanted my word that I'd care for her children."

Soral smiled, "She may be a lot of things, Alexandra, but she does care for the kids. I know it. Her agreeing to stay away is because she understands it is best for them."

“She used you and then lied to you,” Alex pointed out, “aaaand let’s not forget she made everyone think she was dead. I do not trust her.”

"She is a lot of things but deep down there is a good person there. I do not think she realizes this herself." He looked up at Alex and reached over taking her hand. "What ever comes against us I will keep you safe."

She squeezed his hand, "you can't always be there to be my knight in shinning armour, Soral. And sometimes, I get to keep you safe. Like a princess in shinning armour."

"I believe I like the sound of..." Just then the computer beeped. He looked down. "It is just a contact code. Nothing else."

"So she was being honest? Guess there is a first time for everything," Alex shrugged.

He gave a nod. "Indeed." He studied Alex. "The thought of it disturbs you?"

“Her being honest?”

"Indeed."

“She is trained to lie and deceive,” Alex retorted, “if she is being honest it is likely because she believes she will benefit later. I’m not going to suddenly trust her, Soral.”

"I am not asking you to. Caution is always the best policy." He studied her. "What else is bothering you?"

“Me? Nothing. Why?”

"You just seem...distracted."

She frowned. Was she? She didn’t think so…. And other than the fact her dreams of late had been weird, she was fine. “No, all good. I mean, I guess I’m worried about the probes. But that’s just me.”

"I see. I am sure they will be fine." He could not understand his wife's attachment to probes.

Alex rolled her eyes, "you think I'm crazy for worrying about inanimate objects, don't you?"

His lip twitched, "Not crazy, no but I cannot begin to understand it. Although perhaps I can." He stood and walked over to the bookshelf in his office. He pulled a book and gave it to Alex the title reading The Meditations of An Ancient - By Shar of Vulcan.

She shot him a quizzical look, “we established I’m too easily distracted for meditation…”

"It's meditations like philosophical thought." He said. He looked at the time. "Alexandra...we must talk."

“About?”

He sighed. "A lot of things." He had made his decision perhaps when she'd confided in him about Evesta. "Dinner tonight?"

“Alright…” she agreed slowly, clearly both curious and worried.

Soral sensed her worry. He stood and walked over to her pulling her into his arms. It was the simple things he enjoyed, like holding her.

Alex frowned as he held her, her mind racing. What was going on?


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