Star Trek: Timelines #2 - "Crossing the Line"

[Steve]

I'm going to just post the first part of Chapter 6 right now since it's taken me so long to finish it. Enjoy.


After the commotion in the shuttle bay the decision had been made to proceed straight to the conference room set aside for the treaty negotiations. Parker had hoped that things would settle down on the trip there and they could get to work.
But the door had scarcely been given time to close when Rossa immediately said, "He must be returned to us." It was clear who she was talking about, but Rossa did not stop there. "You broke your treaty with us by keeping Jeremiah. I insist you return him to the Federation immediately."

"In what way did we break our treaty?" Durlora asked calmly. She and Lwaxana exchanged glances, both diplomats seeming to agree that Rossa was not in a reasonable state of mind. Parker pondered whether Lwaxana had been able to send that impression to Durlora telepathically. Carefully, Durlora put her hands together and waited for an answer.
"The treaty required you to return all prisoners you took," Rossa said angrily. "You should have returned him immediately."
"He was not a prisoner!" Endar jumped into the conversation now. "I adopted him as my son!"
"You had no right!"

"I had every right! It is the Geje'hut. My son was killed fighting the Federation. I in turn killed a Federation commander and adopted his orphan as my new son. It has been the way of my people for millennia!"
"Jeremiah has a family in the Federation!" Rossa hit her fist on the table. If it brought pain to her, she did not show it. "His aunts and uncles, his grandparents. You took him from us and made us think he was dead! How could you be so cruel?!"
"This arguing is not going to get us anywhere at the moment," Durlora pointed out. "We should discuss more pressing matters."
"I would agree." Lwaxana stepped up to Durlora. "But you must have security concerns now, Director. Is there anything you would like us to do for you in that regard?"
"Not at the moment, Ambassador. I would much prefer to get these negotiations started before the reactionaries that manipulated young Gelya can strike again."

Rossa went to open her mouth but was silenced by a glare from Lwaxana. Picard took the opportunity to point out the seating arrangements for the two diplomatic teams. Parker and Endar would stand behind their respective ambassadors, who were at the head of each side of the rectangular table set up for the negotiations. The table was not very large, with seats for just the ambassadors and the respective admirals. Parker and Endar stood behind their respective delegations and observed quietly as the opening terms were discussed. Protocol was important in such matters, and the wording of the new treaty's opening statements was carefully argued.
The debate was still concerning the wording of the new treaty's opening when Parker's commbadge beeped. Razmara's voice followed it. "Captain, Doctor Nguyen has a report on the boy's status. He is in critical but stable condition. They're prepping for surgery now."

Parker tapped the badge and replied, "Thank you for the update Commander. I'll talk to you later. Parker out" He looked across the table at Endar, who regained some of the color in his face. Rossa also seemed to lift a little in spirit. The negotiators at the table showed various reactions to the interruption but were silent.
Endar finally spoke. "Can I go over to your ship now, Captain? I wish to see my son."
Rossa's eyes gazed at Parker, as if she were giving him an unspoken order to deny Endar, but Parker wasn't about to play that game. "Of course, Captain. Please come this way."

"Captain, he has no right to board a Federation starship," Rossa protested, standing up.
"I'm hardly giving him a tour of sensitive areas, Admiral," replied Parker. "He will remain in sick bay."
Rossa went to speak again but was silenced by a glare from Lwaxana. The admiral's mental state was again becoming agitated. Parker did feel sympathetic for her. Finally, Rossa spoke up in a calmer voice. "I would also like to visit my grandson."

Lwaxana didn't say anything at that point. However, Admiral Relki stood up and moved away from the table upon seeing Durlora's nod. Parker imagined it had more to do with the Talarians' emphasis on "balance", and that this was their way of showing support for the Admiral. He wondered if Rossa would recognize that. Lwaxana nodded at Rossa, who stepped away from the table and toward Parker. She and Endar exchanged looks while Parker tapped his commbadge. "Parker to Enterprise. Lock onto me and the two closest life signs. Three to beam over." About three seconds later, the transporter took hold of them and they disappeared in pillars of light.






Relki stepped out of the conference room, no longer welcome due to the departure of Admiral Rossa. She looked at her daughter as she stepped out of the room. The honor guard had been kept, but only the first rank was allowed into the room to equal the two Starfleet Marines with the Federation delegation; the last four ranks were kept outside.
Once outside of the room, Relki started to think to herself. She and Utali had underestimated Jono. That was really the danger of their contempt for aliens; they thought less of them, and Gelya had paid for that with her life. Relki had to admit that even if the boy was physically Human, he was spiritually Talarian. The way he attacked, the pride in his sathje, was everything she would have expected from Utali in that situation. Endar had raised Jono well.

Durlora lived. That was a problem. She would undoubtedly tighten security and make it difficult for another assassination to be successful. Relki would have to consider other options.
And then it occurred to her. Admiral Rossa's outburst. Her charge that young Jono was her family blood. She did not care for the Geje'hut and if her allegation proved true she would spend the entire conference trying to force Jono's return to the Federation. Endar would oppose it, of course. But Rossa was a respected Federation admiral. If she persuaded Picard and they in turn pressured the Betazoid Ambassador Troi to make Jono's return a necessity.... such a fear could be used to turn Endar onto her side. Yes, and with him would come the Talara'Sathra.

Relki thought about it. She had considered a naval uprising in the squadron, but without the Sathra it was doomed to failure. The Talara'Holtaje was loyal to Durlora, as were one of the destroyer captains, but both cruiser commanders and the other two destroyer captains were against Durlora's and Murluno's plan. So long as the Sathra and Holtaje supported Durlora, this was not enough force. But if Endar could be convinced that Durlora was going to take Jono away from him and give him to the Federation.... yes. That would work.
All Relki had to do now was manipulate Durlora and Endar into that collision course, and her plan would succeed. The Steadhold would be preserved.






Parker had expected Endar to be a little awed by the size and look of the Enterprise from the inside, but the Talarian seemed oblivious to the entire ship. The same was true for Rossa. Parker led them around a corner to one of the pathway corridors that cut between the circular corridors (circular in that they followed the ship's circumference) that were the main travelways through the heart of the Enterprise.
They arrived in Sickbay and were directed by Chief Ignacian to the surgery ward. Inside one of the operation rooms, visible through thick trans-aluminum windows, Jono was visible on a table. It was somewhat of a tube, really, with only his feet and head visible out of the tube. He was still unconscious. "What.... what is that thing?" Endar pressed a hand to the window, as if to reach for his son.

"Holographic life support unit," came a reply from behind. Phong emerged from a corridor leading to the offices and locker rooms of the sickbay unit wearing a white surgical dress, complete with cap. He was accompanied by three others. Parker recognized Doctor Bashir from the Valiant. The woman of the group - Doctor Marskukas from the Intrepid - was more easily identified by her emerald skin than her face or her figure. The third figure, an Andorian considering the specially-shaped nature of his cap and his blue skin, Parker remembered as Doctor H'varka, Phong's senior assistant. Phong stopped in front of Endar and Rossa and introduced the doctors present as a matter of protocol. "Aside from my senior assistant Doctor H'varka, I called for Doctors Bashir and Marskukas because of their talent and experience," he explained. "Doctor Marskukas has much experience in dealing with surgical operations of this complexity and Doctor Bashir, being so recently graduated from the academy, has dealt with holographic units more than any of us."

"Holographic units?"
Phong nodded at Endar's question while the assembled doctors dispersed and headed into the OR. "The plasma blast incinerated portions of Jono's lungs, stomach, and diaphragm muscle, and a good deal of tissue also suffered burns and other damage. Some of it is repairable, but to save his life we had to remove the incinerated portions with a laser scalpel. Rather than put him on conventional life support, which would be a constant strain on his system, we put him in that holographic unit. It's like a miniature holodeck. The replicator and transporter elements of the unit simulate the existance of the portions of his organs that we removed. This way his body is acting normally and we were able to stabilize him enough for the next surgical operation."

"Which is?"
Phong looked at a nearby clock. "My colleagues will begin prepping him now. We used DNA samples to replicate new organs to replace the ones that were damaged and we will be transplanting them in this op. Unless complications arise, I do think he will pull through."
There were looks of relief on the faces of Endar and Rossa. Rossa quickly asked the question that had consumed her. "Is he my grandson?"
Phong nodded stiffly. "I checked the Starfleet Archives. The DNA is a perfect match for your grandson's DNA."
Rossa leveled a glare at Endar. Sensing the conflict about to erupt, Phong pointed a finger at both of them. "If you're going to stay, I want you both to remain quiet. Otherwise I'll have Commander Carter's people toss you out. Am I clear?"

Endar did not protest, his gaze focused on Jono. Rossa seemed ready to protest but, wisely, decided she wouldn't be able to prevail against a ship's CMO. So she remained silent. Parker decided it was best to leave the matter up to Phong, but he would arrange for Carter and Kira to have a few guards ready just in case Endar and Rossa became disruptive in another fight. Out loud, Parker asked, "Doctor, is there anything else you need?"
"That is all, Captain."
"Admiral, Captain, if you'll excuse me, I have duties to attend to." Parker nodded to both and headed out of the room, leaving them to watch the preparations for surgery.






Aside from the flickering of candles, there was no illumination in the two-bed quarters assigned to Lieutenants Crusher and T'Dyra. T'Dyra was seated on the floor in a meditative pose, clad in traditional Vulcan robes. Her mind was quiet save for the mind-focusing exercises she had been trained to do since she was young (in this case, the reciting of the prime numbers). It was through these exercises that Vulcans learned to establish control upon their minds, restraining all emotion.

The common caricature of Vulcans was that they were emotionless beings. This was not true. It was impossible to lose all emotion. Even those who succeeded in kohlinar had only mastered complete control that meant a de facto purging of emotion; kohlinar masters who had been afflicted with Bendii relapsed into emotion with the degeneration of the disease. And T'Dyra was still very young, only twenty eight and still recovering from her first frightening onset of pon farr.

But there was another weight on the young Vulcan's soul that was drawing her thoughts. She and Sophia Razmara were kin, by T'Dyra's father who was Commander Razmara's half-brother genetically. T'Dyra was the youngest of Stovuk's grandchildren, born after his death from Bendii. The same Bendii that robbed Stovuk of his control and which caused him to brutally rape Mitra Razmara four years before that death - an act which shook Vulcan society to it's core from it's recalling of the long-buried past of their people. T'Dyra had spent her formative years observing her family's vicious fight in the Federation courts to compel Mitra to give custody of her daughter to Stovuk's second wife T'Par, citing that the girl's Vulcan heritage demanded a Vulcan upbringing so that she would learn to control her emotions. T'Dyra remembered clearly T'Par's insistance that without that upbringing, Sophia Razmara would become a brutal, violent adult from her Vulcan passions.

In the past twenty years, that had been shown as a lie. T'Dyra came to age with her grandmother's restrained distaste for her step-daughter projected onto the family, and none would come forward to speak well of her for controlling her emotions as well as any disciplined Human in Starfleet. With T'Par's death the previous year, T'Dyra no longer had to concern herself with her grandmother's disapproval of her choice of career, nor with the prospect that T'Dyra might try to re-establish the family links that T'Par had severed.
T'Dyra finished counting prime numbers and went to work on square roots when she heard the door open and the familiar (and to T'Dyra, disturbing) tune of Human rock music. "Sevendust, 'Enemy'," she sighed with a breath, opening her eyes and looked back to the door. Jacquelyn Crusher was shedding the tight-fitting sports bra she wore while jogging, leaving the sweat-coated garment in a small pile on her side of the room. She had pulled the headphones off her head, allowing the rock music playing from a small personal music player on her waist to be heard. She turned the music off and discarded the the player onto her bed before pulling down the jogging shorts. Hiding her irritation at being interrupted in her meditations, T'Dyra asked, "Would you not prefer changing and showering in the gym locker rooms?"

"No, I wouldn't. I like my privacy. And being an officer lets me have that perk." Jacquelyn walked across the room in the buff toward the shower. "Sorry for disturbing your meditations. I thought you'd be sleeping."
"I do not need sleep at this time." T'Dyra watched Jacquelyn enter the bathroom. She heard the distinct sound of the shower being turned on. Water was not a commodity on starships and had not been since the advent of replicators, though each room's shower stall still had a limit to it's water usage per day, enough for one quick five minute shower per day for each occupant (senior officers got enough for two showers a day). "Would you not prefer saving that shower ration for when you are prepared to sleep?"

"I'm not taking a full wash," Jacquelyn answered over the roar of the water. "Just rinsing the sweat off." As if to punctuate the point, the shower turned off a moment later. There was a short delay in Jacquelyn stepping out while she applied deodorant. When she came out she went straight across T'Dyra's vision again and over to her closet and drawers, from which she pulled out undergarments and a fresh uniform. "So, any reason you're meditating?"
T'Dyra leveled a gaze at Jacquelyn as she finished pulling on her underpants. Had the younger human woman been looking at her, she would have noticed it was a "that's none of your business" gaze, but Jacquelyn's attention was fixed to a mirror while she strapped on a bra next. Thinking on it for a moment, T'Dyra decided to open a little to her roommate; studies did show that roommates were an excellent source of advice and comradeship, and years of her grandmother's insistence that Humans were to be avoided and kept distant had not done T'Dyra or her family any good. "I'm sure you've noticed that I share some physical similarities to Commander Razmara."

"Yeah."
"We are blood relatives. She is my father's half-sister."
Jacquelyn looked back to T'Dyra. "I didn't know your grandfather married a human woman."
"He didn't." T'Dyra swallowed. "There was... an incident. Commander Razmara's mother worked for my grandfather Stovuk as an aide and assistant. Stovuk was old, well past two hundred human years. He contracted Bendii Syndrome and began to lose control. Because Miss Razmara was quite attractive, he..." T'Dyra spent a moment contemplating her usage of words. She couldn't very well lie or mislead, like T'Par had done for so long, but she didn't know if it was right to be blunt in this situation. She made her decision and continued to speak. "...he compelled her to mate with him. This was how Commander Razmara was procreated."

There was a short pause. Jacquelyn seemed to be thinking as she pulled on her black uniform trousers. "You mean your grandfather raped Commander Razmara's mother and she was conceived as a result."
A human would have winced at the bluntness. T'Dyra raised her left eyebrow. "Yes."
Jacquelyn pulled on a white sleeveless vest and went for the red turtle-necked uniform sweater that would go under her uniform jacket, her one gold-one black pip arrangement already on the right side of the collar. "Well, I can see why that's a bit of a family problem."
"There is more." T'Dyra, for the first time since she began to meditate, picked up a small case with an isolinear data disk. "I was asked by my parents to give her something. But I detected her apprehension and bitterness immediately upon meeting her and it has given me doubts as to whether I should present it to her. Given her reputation for shortness with Vulcans, she might not accept it."

"Well, maybe you should try to warm up to her first." Jacquelyn shrugged. "I mean, the Commander's got a rep for being a cold cast-iron bitch, but I hear she's approachable if you're doing a good job and not trying to suck up."
"I am not quite sure how to go about doing that. She appears to dislike associating with Vulcans." T'Dyra slipped the thin disc case between her index and middle finger, looking at the half-transparent blue isolinear material that made up the data disc. "I suppose it is because other Vulcans have tried to form associations to encourage her to adopt our ways."
Jacquelyn was finished getting dressed at this point. "Well, if you need any more advice or help, I'm always available. Heading to the bridge now. Commander Carter's giving me tactical for the rest of the day."

"Certainly an important task. I wish you luck." T'Dyra watched Jacquelyn walk out of the room. She returned to her meditative pose for a short while before deciding that sleep was probably a good idea until her appointed watch from 2200 to 0200 the next day. After setting the room's computer to awake her at 2100 and putting the disc for Razmara away, T'Dyra shed her robes and went to bed.






Phong was in the sickbay changing room, getting back into his usual uniform with a white doctor's overcoat, when he heard commotion from outside. He immediately knew who it was even before coming out into the waiting room.
"Would you have preferred I left him to the mercies of the wilds on Galen IV?!" Endar's hand swept out to the curtained-off room where Jono ku'Jashklu - Jeremiah Rossa - was sleeping to recover from his second surgery of the day. With the help of Doctors Marskukas, Bashir, and H'varka, the operation had gone off without a single problem and the young man would make a complete recovery.
Unfortunately, it seemed that his recovery was going to be put into jeopardy by the greater issue of his custody. "I would have preferred that you and your people had not attacked us in the first place," Rossa shot back. "I would have preferred that Connor and his wife had not been killed by you! I would have preferred having my family alive and intact!"

"And I would give anything for my son Rolar to still be alive, but he is not! He died fighting the Federation, just as your son died fighting us. It was for such things that my people have the Geje'hut!" Endar clenched his fists before the older Human woman. "You have no appreciation for what I have done! Any other commander would have left him to die! I took him into my home! I adopted him into my family! Every achievement he makes brings honor to me and the Jashklu family!"
"You have raised him to hate his own people!" Rossa stabbed an accusing finger at Endar. "You raised my grandson to hate me! To believe he is something he is not!"
"I raised him as a Talarian, as is my right under the Geje'hut!"
"We do not recognize such rights! You should have returned him to me when peace was made!"

"If your Federation is so quick to ignore our ways when it is convenient to do so, perhaps this alliance is bound to fail! My people will not abandon our culture for you!"
"You...."
"That's enough!" Phong's voice carried over both of them. "I don't know who has the greater claim to the boy, legal or moral. But I do know one thing, and that he is my patient, and you're not doing him any good screaming about where he belongs! Now get out!"
Endar didn't speak, but Rossa's face started to turn purple. "Commander Nguyen, you forget your place! You will not speak to me in that manner or I'll have you in the...."
"I'll speak to you any God damned way I please so long as you don't heed my directives, Admiral. This is sickbay, and in here I am in command and I don't care how high your rank is. And the regs are with me on this. You are being disruptive. You have to leave."

Rossa was fuming but spoke no more. Through her anger, she knew he was right about the regs. Starfleet Medical was notoriously stringent about the kinds of special rights a ship's CMO got in regards to doing his or her job. Even if he was technically of lower rank, all he or one of his subordinatres would have to do was raise an admiral in Medical to back him - and one would - and Rossa would have triggered yet another fight between departments in Starfleet.
Slowly her fists unclenched and she stormed out. Phong leveled a glare at Endar. "You too. Return to your ship."
"I must be with my son," Endar insisted.

"There's nothing you can do here for him. You're a captain and you have duties to attend to. If something comes up, I'll make sure you are notified."
Endar clearly didn't like leaving his son alone on a Federation starship, not after Rossa's outbursts, but he wasn't going to cross Phong either. Not after seeing him handle Rossa so harshly. He gave one last look toward his son and left the room.






The day's negotiations were coming to an end. The preliminary text of the treaty had been agreed upon by Durlora and Lwaxana and negotiations had begun on the first terms, including the Federation returning uninhabited systems taken from the Steadhold during the war (for outposts and listening stations to prevent the Steadhold from launching another surprise attack as it did at the opening of the last war) and economic issues. Originally they would have ended hours ago to prepare for the planned banquet, but the station's Commander Gatalak - a stout-nosed Tellarite - had agreed that the assassination attempt made the banquet unfeasible now and it had been canceled. Durlora was preparing with her staff to head back over to the Sathra when Picard decided this was as good a time as any to bring up the newest pressing subject. "Technically," he said, "one could say there is reason to Admiral Rossa's argument. You did not return young Jeremiah to the Federation and you did not even inform us of his survival." Before Durlora or Hoturo could protest, Picard quickly and diplomatically added, "I understand you have your own customs in this matter and I do not fault you for upholding them. However, the boy is human, and we should have been informed that he was alive."

Durlora regarded Picard silently. "Ambassador Troi, what is your opinion on this matter?"
Lwaxana sighed irritably. "Oh, he does have a point. Admiral Rossa's not being very diplomatic about it, true, but I've read the Alpha Magnetai Treaty and it does call for nationals to be returned on both sides. And much like your people, there are those among mine who do not trust your Steadhold and they would use such a breach of faith to undermine our work."
Hoturo's expression locked into a scowl. "The Geje'hut is one of our most time-honored customs," he growled. "It is extended to celebrate the courage and honor of a defeated foe, by bringing his offspring into the protection of the victor. It was not malicious kidnapping. It was a gesture of respect to the Rossas."

Picard seemed to consider his words carefully before speaking. "Perhaps that was how it was intended, Admiral, but there is the legal question of the boy's status. Adoption is a time-honored custom among our people as well, but not in that method, and certainly not when the child has blood relatives that could have claimed him."
"We understand your position, Admiral Picard, but I hope you can understand our's." Durlora put hier hands together in front of her. "Young Jono is a rising star of the Jashklu Family. Despite unfair treatment he has performed better than most young men his age. He has even been recommended to attend our military officer's college. He cannot simply be... turned over to a woman he knows nothing of. Perhaps a form of compensation can be arranged? We are not above formal apologies for such failures in communication."

"Somehow, I doubt your offer will be acceptable to Admiral Rossa, who by our laws would be the boy's legal guardian."
Lwaxana spoke up next, sensing Picard's remarks had not been well-received. "Nevertheless, Director, I am certain an arrangement can be found that will benefit all concerned."
"Yes, I suppose so," Picard agreed.

Durlora and Hoturo nodded in agreement. Final pleasantries were exchanged and the two Talarians departed with the first rank of Durlora's honor guard. Relki was still waiting in the hallway for them with the rest of the honor guard. As they walked back to their transport, Relki asked how the negotiations went and was told of their positive status. But it wasn't until they were in the transport and returning to the Talara'Sathra that she asked about the issue with Jono ku'Jashklu. Durlora did not reply at first. "All of our hard work," she finally said, "and it could be undone by the presence of a single boy."
"Has the Federation demanded his return?"
"Not yet."
Hoturo grunted irritably. "They will, though."
"Ambassador Lwaxana seems more annoyed with the issue," Durlora said. "I do not believe she will make it an issue unless she is forced to."

"And if she is?" Relki allowed Durlora a few moments of silence before continuing. "I would think that the fate of the Steadhold is more important than one boy, or even one Family."
"Perhaps so," Durlora agreed.
"When he reaches Federation majority age, he could always return to the Steadhold," Relki continued. "There is very little we could gain from holding out on this one issue."
"The Jashklu Family is powerful," Hoturo reminded them both. "Alienate them and you risk having the treaty fail in the Djakake'Juthke."

"Families are not always in mutual agreement. Jinal ke'Jashklu has a reputation for placing duty above her family ties. If it is made clear that this is for the good of the Steadhold, she will not oppose us."
"This debate shall be held later," Durlora said, stopping the argument. "For now I wish to return to the Sathra and give a report to the Lord Protector on today's events."
"Of course, Director." Relki stared darkly into the depths of space as the Sathra loomed closer, rebellious thoughts creating an endless loop in her mind.






Parker was alone in his office on Deck 4 when Yeoman Galvarez reported that Commander Razmara had arrived. He bid her over the intercom to tell Razmara to come in and looked up from his plain oak desk to see her enter, hands at her sides as usual. Her eyes briefly looked around the office, as if to remind herself of how Parker had furnished it. Aside from his leather office chair and the two smaller vinyl chairs, he had a cabinent filled with mementos from his careers. Awards, commendations, replicas of various ships he had served on - a model of the Akira-class U.S.S. Salamis was now displayed beside the Galaxy-class Yamato - and pictures of his family and childhood home adorned the various shelves. Razmara realized that she had never heard Parker speak of his family before and thought about inquiring into it for small talk at a later date.

She also, for the first time, noticed a picture of Parker with Deanna Troi. They were in civilian clothes, in a daylight setting. No wonder you've been so apprehensive... She stood at attention and waited for Parker to motion for her to relax. He did so in his usual fashion when he was occupied, a nod of the head, and she walked up to his desk. A copy of a leather-bound hardcover book was on the desk, a bookmark sticking out about two-fifths through. She looked at the cover. "John Archer's memoirs?" Razmara slipped into one of the seats facing Parker. "You actually bought the physical copy?"
"No, I inherited from my grandfather, John Harriman." Parker looked up from where he had been reading a report. "And yes, that John Harriman. Ironic, I suppose, that I ended up with a ship named Enterprise like he did. Maybe my tenure will be just as quiet as his was."

"Well, Harriman is called one of the most boring of the Enterprise captains for a reason I guess," Razmara said. "Didn't they blame Jim Kirk's death on him? During the Lakul Incident?"
"Contemporary press did. Pavel Chekov even made a public spectacle of it, though years later he apologized. Of course, I heard through my mother that Grandpa Harriman had little choice in the matter. The desk jockeys at Starfleet Operations wanted the Enterprise-B's launch done on schedule. After all, who knew they'd have to go racing off after some weird subspace ribbon to save a shipload of El Aurians?" Parker smirked and tapped a button to turn his monitor off. He stood up, picking up the book from his desk to return it to a shelf. "My father never approved of my desire to join Starfleet. He wanted me to take up the family's auto shop business. Most of his big fights with Mom were over her 'filling my head with Starfleet nonsense'." Parker put the book onto a shelf with a handful of other books. "Parker's Auto Body... Grandpa Parker swore up and down it'd been in the family since the 20th Century."

Razmara smiled diplomatically. "I don't think being an auto mechanic would have fulfilled you, Captain. It can't compare to being Captain of the Starship Enterprise."
"Can't it?" Parker leveled a gaze at her. "The family business was good enough for my sister Amanda."
For a moment Razmara thought of what to say. Before she could speak, though, Parker continued, "Grandpa Harriman bought Archer's book because he knew he wasn't going to follow Kirk's model, so he wanted another famous captain of an Enterprise for his inspiration. Archer, despite all the claims of his exploits, had a rather boring career up until the Romulan War, and afterward he spent his days as one of the Federation Starfleet's first leading admirals."

"Archer's U.S.S. Enterprise was the first Earth ship built under Starfleet, wasn't it?"
"Of course not, but it was the first constructed under the Naval Construction Contract registration system. Hence NCC-01 for it's number. And it was U.E.S. Enterprise. United Earth Ship." Parker folded his hands together on the desk. "And before you ask, no, he did not have a dog named Porthos on board and no, he did not have a Vulcan XO or a Denobulan CMO. The Denobulans were isolationist and barely warp-capable and Earth-Vulcan relations were rather strained in the early 22nd Century, what with the Vulcans insisting on Earth adhering to their interstellar treaties and regs. That schtick is purely the invention of Berstein and Bragg."
"Well, everyone knows holoshows about Starfleet and the military tend to be inaccurate anyway." A smirk appeared on Razmara's face. "Though I found the guy who played Archer to be handsome."
Parker chuckled at that. "So, Commander, any news of note?"

"None. Some leave requests, and by your orders we're only allowing that on a limited basis for off-duty personnel. Chief Watson and her people are keeping tabs on everyone who goes down for immediate beamup if you order it."
"Good, very good." Parker kept his hands on the desk. "Commander, would you mind if I asked you a bit of a personal question?"
"Depends, sir, on the question."
Parker nodded and crossed his arms. "How do you do it? Maintain your relationship?"
"Relationship?" Realization immediately dawned on her. "You mean Jack?"
"Yes, Jack Kelvin. How do you keep that flame going even when you see him so infrequently?"
Razmara tried, and failed, to hide her pain. Her heart immediately began to pine for Jack. "I don't know," she confessed. "I guess, in a way, I make myself forget about it most of the time."
"But you miss him?"

"Terribly." Razmara folded her arms on her lap. "We've never had it easy. We met in the Academy as roommates, fell in love by our third year, and have spent most of the last eighteen years just trying to see each other. We managed one year together when we were both posted to the same ship. And then he retired from Starfleet eight years ago and went into the private sector. I mean, I don't blame him for it. As a megaton freighter captain he earns great money, probably more than both of us combined. But it makes meeting him so much harder. I mean, before we were together in May, the last time I saw him was March of last year when I was about to go out on the Phoenix." She scoffed, looking down at her lap. "He offered to make me his first mate if I retired. Then we'd work together for a while, retire at 40 and get a nice piece of land on some mid-range world with a lake shore or maybe something on an ocean coast. Live out the rest of our days together, living off stock dividends and bank interest."
Parker nodded. "Sounds good."

"Well, it also helps that we fully understand each other. We haven't exactly been faithful in these past few years." Razmara looked up at Parker, who seemed a bit surprised at the admission. "It first happened at the same time for us. We admitted it to each other and, well, after a good deal of fuss we realized it was something to be expected when you're alone out here. So we gave each other permission, if you will, to look around. After all, no use pining for each other if what we have isn't that strong." Razmara shrugged. "Though maybe in the end that's just an excuse for both of us. I'm not sure I know."
"Neither am I." Parker smirked. "So, any plans to eventually leave Starfleet and end that problem?"

"Oh, yes. In fact, I had my mind made up about sixteen months ago. After I ended my year as XO on the Phoenix, I was going to retire and meet up with Jack. Then Captain Harburton offered me the XO spot on the Enterprise. And, really, who can turn down a senior position on the Enterprise? That's the pinnacle of any Starfleet officer's career, when you think about it. I mean, there are officers would gladly fly survey ships for their entire careers if they got to at least have one stint on the Starship Enterprise."
"I understand it completely," Parker said. "And now that you're here, I'm sure you'll be angling on getting the chair one day, right?"

"Maybe when they add two more ships to our squadron and make you an Admiral," Razmara said with a grin. "Though I'm probably not anywhere on the list of potential Enterprise COs after you."
"If I ever think of leaving, I'll have to change that."
"Thinking about her, huh?"
"Deanna? Yes." Parker sighed. For a moment he considered speaking with Razmara about it, but something was stopping him. He hadn't really known her very long, just a couple of months now. And while she was competent, well.... Virshk had been competent too, but Parker had never even considered opening up to him back on the Salamis.

Before he had to make any kind of decision, his intercom system beeped. Usually it would be the commbadge, but since he was in his office the computer automatically routed control to his desk. He tapped a button with his right index finger. "Parker here."
Lieutenant O'Keefe's Australian accent was as pronounced as ever over the comm link. "Captain, you've got a private channel waitin' for you."
Parker almost immediately knew who it was. "Patch it down here, I'll take it in a moment." He looked back to Razmara. "Commander, you are dismissed. Maybe you would like to go planetside?"
"I have no reason too," Razmara answered. "I'm heading to the command bridge now. Commander Williams needs to be relieved."

"Very well. I'll see you later." Parker made sure Razmara was out the door and that it was closing before he hit the receive key. Deanna's face blipped into view on his desk monitor. She was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, though her hair seemed a little more disheveled. "Hello Deanna."
"Adrian." She showed the slight hint of a smile. "I just got a room down on the planet, and there's a nice roadside diner down the street. I was wondering if you would mind coming down for dinner?"
Compared to the coldness earlier, Deanna was coming off as surprisingly warm now. Almost as if she and Parker had never broken off. Parker looked at the screen for a moment before nodding. "I, uh, I've got a clean schedule after 1800. I mean, relatively clean."
"Then 1830? I'm staying about four kilometers from the planetary government complex in Waipahu. The Hiller-Jennings Coastal Hotel."

"I'll meet you out front. See you in a couple hours." Her image disappeared from the screen.
Parker drew in a breath. He'd been hoping to talk to her, to settle things, but he hadn't expected it to come like this. He turned an eye back to paperwork and the other to the clock, which told him he had an hour before he had to get ready. His hand went to the comm button on his desk and he opened a channel to Data to let him know he'd be having a bridge watch tonight.
And as he did so, he began to think of what could happen, and what he would say to Deanna.






Phong was staring blankly at his monitor, ignoring the medical requistion orders on the screen as he fought the drooping of his eyelids. He stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep lately because of his work and the emergency situation had drained him rather well.
Just as the thought came to him of replicating some black coffee, a shrill wailing came from outside his office. Phong winced as an immediate reaction and jumped to his feet, fully awakened. "Just what the hell is that?!"
As he came out of the office, one of Alpha Shift's nurses bumped into him on her way into the door. "Is there a problem, Nurse?"

"The boy just woke up, and he started making this awful screeching sound. I... I don't know why, the scanners on the bed don't see anything wrong with him...."
Phong walked around her and into the medical room where Jono had been brought. He was sitting up, his mouth hanging open and wail after wail erupting from his throat. "Stop that immediately!"
To his surprise, the boy's mouth closed without hesitation.
"That's better." Phong crossed his arms. "Now what was all that about?
"The Ba'nar. And I will continue it until you return me to my people." And without further hesitation, he began to make the awful wailing noise again.

"Not around my other patients, you won't," Phong countered loudly. "You will knock that off immediately." He noticed Jono stop once more. "You're not a prisoner here. You needed medical treatment to save your life."
"I will not be your slave," Jono said defiantly.
"We don't want you to be one. As I said, you needed surgery and we brought you here for that purpose. That's why you've got an entirely new set of lungs in your chest."
The boy looked down. "Does my father know what you have done to me?!" Jono demanded.
Meeting Jono's gaze without flinching, Phong nodded. "He watched the procedure, young man."
"Then where is he? Why did he not wait for me to awaken?"
"He had duties to attend to," Phong lied. No need telling the boy that his father had to be removed because of a rather nasty spat over his custody. "I need to keep you for observation over the next twenty-four hours at least, to make sure your body completely accepts the replicated organs."

"I want to be returned to my father."
"Not until I know you're made a full recovery. It's my obligation as a doctor to ensure that you are fully healed before releasing you." His already-slim eyes narrowed further for effect. "You wouldn't want me to shirk my obligations, would you?"
The harshness of the question had the desired effect. Jono gave an understanding nod and spoke no more of the subject. Moral and ethical obligations were quite highly regarded among the Talarians, after all.
After looking over the boy for a moment, Phong walked a little closer. "Tell me, young man... how much do you know about yourself?"
"What do you mean?" Jono had a quizzical expression on his face at Phong's question.
"You have to know that you're different, physically, from other Talarians. Has it ever been explained to you?"
Jono did not answer at first. "I am the son of my father's slain enemy. My father adopted me for Geje'hut to honor his slain foe and restore the balance of his own lost son."

"'Restore the balance'?"
"The Universe desires balance," was Jono's reply. "My father Endar lost a son to the Federation, and he adopted me from the Federation. The Universe clearly arranged this."
Phong nodded with an "ahhh" sound to show understanding. "But what I mean, Jono, is what you know about yourself. About being Human."
"I am not Human. I am Talarian."
"Maybe in spirit," Phong admitted, "but genetics has it's own mind and according to your genes, your body is Human. Do you understand that? The things that make you different, physically, from other Talarians?"
Now Jono seemed a little irritated. "I am aware of some things. I have tried to change them, but..."

"Unfortunately Jono..." Phong sighed and shook his head. "Give me a few minutes, I have to go do something."
After Jono nodded, Phong left for his office. His hand tapped his commbadge and he asked the computer to connect him to Commander Carter. Though he could just as easily use his authority to call the Talara'Sathra to talk to Endar, he preferred working with his crewmates and Carter was the Security Officer for the ship. By the time he had closed the door to the office, Carter was responding over the ship's intercom. "Doctor, what can I do for you?"
"I'm requesting an open channel to the Talarian flagship. I need to speak with Captain Endar."
"Certainly, Doctor," Carter replied. "I'll have Communications connect you right away."
Phong turned to the monitor on his wall and waited until the comm was answered. After about four minutes, Endar appeared on the screen with some concern visible in his features. "Doctor, has something happened?"

"Nothing, actually," Phong answered. "Jono is awake and doing well, though I'll want to keep him for observation over the next twenty-four standard hours to make sure his body accepts the new organs. I called you for a different reason." Drawing in a breath, Phong thought of how to phrase things properly before continuing, "How much does Jono know about himself?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"How much does Jono know about being a Human?" To forestall the protest he was certain would be developing, Phong raised a hand. "I'm not here to debate the legality or morality of your adopting him, or whether he is a Talarian at heart. He is Human, physically, and our peoples have some differences. Differences that could make his life difficult in some cases."

Endar didn't seem very happy with where the conversation was going. He seemed to think for a moment before saying, "What differences do you speak of?"
"For instance, your people place a great deal of importance in having children to carry on the family, right?" He waited for Endar to nod in affirmation before continuing. "Jono... cannot have a child with a Talarian woman. On the T'Ral-Hawkins Scale of Interspecies Compatibility, a Human/Talarian pairing ranks as 3. You need a 5 using modern medicine to be capable of producing a child in an interspecies pairing."
Endar nodded slowly. "I have... already heard this. It is a problem I hoped could be handled in time."

"Outside of adoption, it can't be fixed. And beyond that, humans don't have the pheromone-based mating drive that Talarians do, nor are we compatible with Talarians in that fashion. And then there's the fact that human bones are less dense than Talarian ones, some of the nutritional differences..." Phong noticed the expression on Endar's face growing darker. "I've called, Captain, to ask if you would permit me to discuss these issues with Jono. To teach him about his body, how it works and what it needs and how those things differ from Talarian norms. That way he knows how to care for himself."
Endar nodded silently, as if in thought. After a few moments, he spoke in agreement. "You have my permission." A quizzical look crossed Endar's face. "Doctor, if I might ask, why did you come to me for this permission?"

"Jono is underaged. As a doctor, I am ethically required to seek permission from his parents, or guardian, before doing anything or saying anything to him."
There was a hint of bitterness to Endar's voice when he said, "I think your Admiral Rossa would not be pleased to hear of you coming to me for permission, and not coming to her."
"Frankly, Captain, I'm not sure about the legal or moral issues here, and those aren't my concern. Your son is my patient; I have an obligation to do what I think is best for his health. Having spoken to him, I can clearly see that he considers you to be his father, his parent, and he certainly does not know who Admiral Rossa is. You are, by all appearances, his father, so I have asked you. And that's exactly what I'll tell her if it comes to that."

Endar nodded in reply. There was some respect showing on his face when Endar said, "Well, Doctor, I thank you for this. You have my permission to tell Jono all he needs to know. And if you would, please tell my son that I am very proud of what he did and that I shall see him again soon enough."
"Of course." Phong nodded one last time to Endar before the Talarian captain cut out the signal. He sat down at his desk for a moment, thinking about how he was going to approach Jono.

[Agent Fisher]

"And before you ask, no, he did not have a dog named Porthos on board and no, he did not have a Vulcan XO or a Denobulan CMO. The Denobulans were isolationist and barely warp-capable and Earth-Vulcan relations were rather strained in the early 22nd Century, what with the Vulcans insisting on Earth adhering to their interstellar treaties and regs. That schtick is purely the invention of Berstein and Bragg."

ROFLMAO

[Kuja]

Phong kicks ass.

[Crazedwraith]

Great, why is it aall odctor sem to have steel spines when facing downs adrimals and such?

[Prozac the Robert]

What Agent Fisher Said. (Although the doctor is probably the best character from Enterprise).

It's all good. Keep writing.

[phongn]

I 0wn3z puny Admirals

[paladin3030]

I will be very glad when you finally update this story.

[SpecWar826]

He made a post over at Spacebattles saying he had some problems from Hurricane Frances and he is working on the story as time allows. Just thought i let everyone know.

[paladin3030]

He made a post over at Spacebattles saying he had some problems from Hurricane Frances and he is working on the story as time allows. Just thought i let everyone know.

You know it's times like this that I'm glad that I left the south for California.

I mean when was the last time a hurricane hit California?

[Steve]

Seeing as how Hurricane Jeanne is going to adversely affect my net time in the next week or three, I'm going to give you the next two scenes of Chapter 6 and resolve the question of just how much hot water Parker's in when it comes to Deanna.

Here we are:

Parker had changed out of uniform before beaming down. Since it was just before sunset in Waipahu he knew it would still be warm, so he dressed light; a red and white-line patterned collared pull-over shirt and knee-length black trousers were his outfit, and he made sure to bring his wallet and a hand-held comm device, a Qualcomm, so that anyone back on the ship could call him if a need arised.
The Hiller-Jennings Hotel wasn't as large or fancy as he thought it'd be, but then again, Deanna had never been one to delve into the trappings of royalty like her mother, who was staying in a suite in an expensive Radisson hotel on one of the nearby islands. She was waiting for him outside, wearing more modest clothing than before. A blue blouse of more conventional material than the fancy silks she'd been wearing earlier, sleeves cut at the elbows, and a skirt that went to her knees. The blouse was open at the neck, but didn't plunge down to her cleavage like some of her fancier dresses and suits did. When he walked up, Deanna smiled at him - smiled - and walked up to him. "Hello Adrian," she said in a sweet, if not overjoyous, tone. "Happy to have some dirt under your feet and a sky overhead?"
Parker smiled at that and nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am. So, where is it you want to go?"
"Just a short walk down the street."
Parker nodded and went to take her arm, but she didn't seem to accept the gesture. He wasn't surprised and was now wondering if Deanna had less friendly thoughts under her friendly demeanor.
The diner she had spoken of was small. What little ornamentation it had was set up to emulate North America in the 1950s, complete with a scale replica of a Thunderbird beside the door. A waitress of tan complexion and Polynesian features greeted them, wearing a blouse and skirt from the same time frame the restaurant was evoking. Parker mentally judged her no older than 25, possibly even teenage; her nametag had "Lila" written on it. Deanna allowed him to ask for a booth in the corner, where they were seated. Though he kept an eye on Deanna, Parker gladly took in the aromas of the diner. The smell of fresh cooked food, not replicated but the "real" thing, was as welcome as ever. There was slight chatter all around the restaurant, including a few people talking about the arrival of the Talarians.
Once at their booth, Deanna took the seat against the wall and Parker sat across from her. They ordered sodas and, after quietly contemplating their menus, summoned Lila back to make their orders. After they had ordered the main meal, Parker made sure to add that Deanna would want the chocolate sundae on the desert menu, drawing an amused grin from her as Lila scribbled it down with pen and paper - Honest to God pen and paper! Parker realized how used he was to the digital PADDs and stencil writers used by Starfleet - and walked away. After a few moments of silence, Parker finally said, "You look good, Deanna."
"Thank you. I've had to watch the weight recently. That sundae you just ordered will be my chocolate for the week."
Parker smiled and shook his head. "You used to eat chocolate all the time. Couldn't get enough of it."
"Well, people change sometimes." Deanna folded her hands on the table. "How's Amanda and the kids?"
"Oh, they're fine. Charlie is about fourteen now, Frank is ten. And she had a third one, Jamie, he's six."
"That's nice." Deanna's gentle smile slowly faded into a look of sadness. "I met Chief Winters a few years ago and he told me about Lisa. I'm very sorry, Adrian."
Parker nearly choked. He had hoped a little too greatly that Deanna wouldn't have known about that. "Thank you, Deanna," he managed to say, not wanting to indulge the memory. To change the subject he swallowed and said, "So, you went from psychology to diplomacy. Interesting change."
"It was right after I got my doctorate. I am technically Doctor Deanna Troi, you know." She grinned at him while they waited for the waitress Lila to place their sodas onto the table in real glasses, with straws, after which the waitress walked off. "I was still looking for a firm to intern in when my mother asked me to join her team as a specialist. It's my job to judge the psychology of the people she's dealing with. Learn what they might want, personally and professionally, so she can better understand them. Not a bad job, but a little boring compared to being the Captain of the Enterprise."
Parker tried not to smirk at that. "I'm sure diplomatic teams get their fill of tall tales."
It was at that moment that they chose to sip at their drinks, long enough for Lila to bring their meals. Though it was clear Deanna was waiting to say something, and Parker knew and dreaded what it would be, they began to eat quietly. Both took their time, yet felt rushed, as if fearing and wanting a resumption of their conversation at the same time.
It was only when they were finished eating that Deanna finally spoke up again. "Well, now that we've got the pleasantries and the dinner out of the way, I suppose it's time to get to the point." Her expression grew cold. "You never answered the question."
Parker didn't need to ask which question she was talking about. Why would he have to? It was the question. The question that had come to him again and again, demanding answers and never getting them. Even here, now, eight years later and with Deanna sitting right in front of him, he couldn't answer it.
There was no reply from Deanna while his silence stretched into a minute. In fact, she took the moment to almost non-chalantly slip her currency chip into the feeder on the table to pay for the meal electronically. Being an empath, she no doubt sensed the doubt and anxiety in Parker's mind. But after the minute passed, she folded her hands on the table. "I'm still waiting for an answer."
Parker had to answer with the truth. "I don't have one."
"Of course you don't." She sighed with exasperation. "Adrian, you've had eight years to decide if you had any kind of feelings for me and you still don't know? I find it hard to believe that even your meteoric rise in Starfleet was so overbearing that you couldn't lay down at night and think about me."
"I have. More times than I can count."
"Oh, but you still can't decide, 'Hmm, maybe I really didn't love Deanna', or something to that effect? No, you still string this out. You were awfully decisive about leaving me to further your career, but you still can't decide if you loved me at all?" Deanna's voice had started raising in volume. "You can't have it both ways, Adrian. You can't leave me behind as if I meant nothing but still want to leave open the door. Either you love me or you don't."
"And what about you? After eight years, do you still love me?"
"Oh no. I asked first."
"Yes, but as you said, eight years have passed." Parker folded his hands on the table. "Even if I decided I still loved you, I would do so under the memories of what happened before. How do I know you haven't already moved on?"
"Moved on?! Adrian, I turned down the betrothal my mother arranged when I was still a child because I still had a slight hope, a damned slight hope, that maybe what happened between us was something more than just a fling!"
Parker swallowed from a strange feeling in his heart and stomach, a contradictory mixture of happiness and dread. After all this time, Deanna still had feelings for him, but at the same time, he now felt a familiar fear of what to do. He ran a hand through the hair above his right temple, trying to think.
"Are you going to answer the question today or not?" Deanna's voice had become deceptively calm, but in her eyes Parker could still see smoldering anger. And he couldn't blame her for it at all.
"You don't think I've spent these eight years trying to answer it to myself?" Irritation at his inability to do just that now crept into Parker's voice.
"It's not a hard question, Adrian! Did you love me or not?"
"You're the empath, Deanna, you tell me."
"That's not how it works and you know it. I only sense general feeling. I know you're confused and upset, but why, I'm not sure of. Seriously, Adrian, if you're just afraid of hurting my feelings, don't, because you did a good enough job of that eight years ago when you pushed me away and I'm quite used to that now."
"I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings," was Parker's meek reply.
"What did you think would happen to me then?! After all the times we shared together, did you think I could just turn those feelings and memories off like a switch?! You stood there and told me to forget it ever happened and to go on with my life. My life is intertwined with your's, Adrian!"
"Maybe it was, but not anymore. Look, Deanna, at what we've become. I'm the Captain of the Enterprise and you're a key member of your mother's diplomatic team, one of the best in the...." Parker noticed Deanna's expression change slightly. He had said something that made her angry - which she already was - but now he could see shame and embarrassment in her features. "What is it?"
"Look, I don't want to discuss my work with my mother in public."
"Then we'll go somewhere we can."
Deanna glared at him. "What do you care?"
"I... I thought you had made a good life for yourself, but you don't seem to think so. I want to know why. Listen, Deanna..." Parker drew in a breath and took her right hand into his hands. "I want to answer the question, to give us both some peace of mind. But I need to know everything about what we are now before I can honestly answer it."
"What I am now doesn't change what I was then, Adrian."
"No, but.... please, indulge me on this. I feel as if it's important to know. When we split, I thought you had a good future, a career, in store for you. If that's not true, it means I was wrong for what I did back then. Do you understand, Deanna?"
There was no immediate reaction. She was judging his sincerity, or, perhaps, searching for a glimmer within him that the answer she wanted from the question would be given. Finally she said, "Let's go back to my room."
Parker nodded and agreed. Before getting up he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver dollar coin from North America, flipping it onto the table as a tip. He didn't know if they used Earth currency out here on the frontier, but he figured the waitress could just cash it into the bank for a couple Federation credits.


Their walk back to the hotel was quiet. An elevator brought them to Deanna's fifth floor suite, which faced the turquoise sea on the sunrise side. Parker looked around the suite's living room; it was a one bedroom deal, with a king-sized bed in the adjacent bedroom to the right and a small kitchenette on the left. Ahead, of course, was the balcony, complete with plastic patio chairs. The living room was well-furnished, with a couch, a love seat, a couple of chairs, a coffee table, and set on a table beside the door to the bedroom there was a vidscreen. Deanna set her keycard beside the vidscreen and slipped into a seat. Parker took the loveseat, which was opposite from her. "Adrian, I entered psychology because I felt that I could use it to help people. I hope you understand that was my motivation. Helping others."
"I know that."
"When I got my doctorate, well, I wasn't exactly the most coveted new doctor in the Federation. I got a few offers from some minor psychology firms, that was all. I considered going into teaching for a short while before my mother came along and offered me the chance to work with her. She gave me the speech that my natural talents, my empathy from being half-Betazoid, would work well with my education and allow me to help her negotiate lasting treaties and all the usual things. It took me about a year, though, to really understand why she wanted me."
Parker remained quiet as he watched Deanna slump back into her chair. "I wasn't there to be her advisor, Adrian." Deanna's expression darkened. "Mother wanted me to be a distraction. She always got me the least modest suits she could find, she was always bragging about how I was unattached, everything so that men on the other side of the table would be paying a bit more attention to me and not to the issues." Deanna put a hand on her temple. "She dresses me up like some high-priced whore on Betazed and lets me get all the attention so she can outmaneuver them in the negotiations."
Parker really couldn't reply at this point. He had always thought Deanna would have a good career in her field, but to see her talents used like this? A part of Parker wanted to blame himself. Hadn't he set it up by making Deanna leave him?
Deanna didn't notice Parker's growing agitation with her mother and himself. "My mother meant well, I want to think. The excuses just keep coming through my head. She thought she was doing me a favor by letting me work with her. She wants me to follow her into the diplomatic corps, since Kestra chose the Imperial Navy. She wants me to have companionship. But dammit, Adrian, sometimes I feel like I'm being used. Like I'm nothing more than a piece of meat that my mother parades around for her own purposes."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea."
"Of course not. Do you think I'd go around telling everyone what my mother does? It would be a scandal, every good thing she's worked for would fall apart." Deanna put her hands together on her lap. "So I'm stuck. I have to act like a whore to help my mother do her work and let my talents, all of those years of education, go to waste. And I feel you getting angry, so don't."
Parker shook his head, smiling in spite of himself. "I don't know, Deanna. That, to me, is very wrong. Your mother is wasting your talents."
"Nothing else I can do, Adrian. We all have to live somehow." Deanna looked around her room. "This is pretty modest compared to what I'm used to, but...."
"But what?"
Deanna looked up at him and smiled a little. "I didn't want you to think I was trying to insult you by renting a room you could never afford on your salary."
There was something in Deanna's smile that made Parker break out laughing at that. To his surprise, Deanna joined in. It felt good, considering that barely fifteen minutes ago they had been shouting at each other. "Deanna, you're right." Parker looked down. "You deserve an answer. God knows I've been trying to find one for all this time. It's just not something that's coming easily."
At the restaurant Deanna's response would have been angry. Here, though, having just revealed the great shameful secret of her life these past years, Deanna could only smile weakly. "I believe you, Adrian." She walked over and sat beside him. "I hope you'll say yes. Because back then, I know I was in love with you."
Parker took her hand. "And I want to say yes. But I'm not going to lie about it."
Being so close now, Parker could feel a pull, magnetic in it's intensity, drawing him toward her. Years of loneliness - his handful of attempts to find another woman had failed quite spectacularly - and memories long pushed to the back of his mind were now at the forefront. He imagined what it would be like to be back then again. Still in his thirties, the prime of his life, with Deanna as radiant as she was now but with that youthful twinkle in her lovely dark eyes returned. Eyes that had since had to hide the frustrations of all her desires in life being thwarted.
No, don't do this to yourself, he thought. And he could see Deanna was feeling it too, both her own and his feelings. "I'm...."
"Don't fight it, Adrian, not if you feel it." Her smile turned sweet. So where her lips when they came to his in a kiss. First gentle, then growing in intensity and passion, the kiss was something Parker would have given everything in the world for at times in the past years. He put his hands on her neck and held her head close so he could return the kiss with equal fervor.
And where would it go from here? A mere kiss, to relive a past he hadn't yet made peace with? Or something more? A rekindling of the fire that once burned within him, something that made him look at Deanna Troi and see everything his heart wanted in a companion.
Neither got the chance to find out if the other wanted to take the next step. A loud beeping sound came from Parker's pocket. The kiss seperated, forlorn looks on both their faces. Parker's left hand reached into his pocket and pulled the flip-cover comm unit out. He flipped it open and noticed the incoming call was from the Enterprise, one of the open communication lines. He hit the receive button as Deanna watched and said, "Parker here."
The voice on the other end was Data's. "Captain, you may need to return to the ship. Admiral Rossa has beamed aboard and is insisting on being allowed to visit him."
Deanna overheard what Data said, and felt Parker's irritation grow tenfold. "Alright, I'll be right back up. Lock onto my signal and beam..."
"Adrian." Deanna got his attention and put a hand on the phone's receiver. "Let me help you with this."
"Help me?"
"Yes. Between Admiral Rossa's state of mind and the boy's, you're going to need me."
"Deanna, we're talking about a Starfleet admiral and a Talarian national with some rather big family connections. This is a dangerous...."
"Please Adrian." Her eyes were wide, and Parker saw in them her desperation. "Remember what I told you? This is my chance to finally do something with my talents. To help people. Please, let me help."
Parker sighed and indicated for her to uncover the receiver. "Mister Data, signal Transporter Room 1 to beam me and the person sitting beside me directly to my quarters. I need to change before seeing the Admiral."
"Yes Captain. Standby."
Parker looked back at her and tried to grin. "Well, at least I've got some help in fixing this mess," he said to Deanna before the Enterprise's transporters whisked them away.

[Kuja]

Ah, the life of a Starfleet captain. To be ever on the move, ever watchful for the next turn of events, to stand vigilant on the wall between society and the chaos that would rip it apart. To be the first in each desperate charge and last in each desperate retreat. To go about your day while encased in a metal bubble that seperates you from perfect vacuum. To briefly grasp the beauty of an entire world and leave it the next day. To forever test the boundaries of our limitations. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before.




Good stuff, Steve. Really good.

[paladin3030]

Great part can't wait to see how it turns out.

Seeing as how Hurricane Jeanne is going to adversely affect my net time in the next week or three.

Maybe you ought to think about moving to Cali the weather is real nice here.

[Crazedwraith]

Poor poor Parker.

[paladin3030]

Last update was on September 25th

October: Zip

November: Zero

December: Nadda

Good lord it's been three months sence the hurricane are you still with us Steve?

Where are you man?

[Steve]

Last update was on September 25th

October: Zip

November: Zero

December: Nadda

Good lord it's been three months sence the hurricane are you still with us Steve?

Where are you man?

Doing other things, mostly. Creativity for TL just kinda puttered out for the moment.

I suffer this, sadly. So many ideas in my head, all vying for attention.

[Steve]

Ten minutes later, Parker and Deanna entered Conference Room 1 on the Enterprise. Phong, Data, and Rossa were waiting for him. "Captain Parker, your doctor continues to refuse to let me see my grandson," Rossa said icily.
"I trust Doctor Nguyen's judgement, Admiral," Parker replied briskly and, without waiting for her to say more, he stepped into the room. "Admiral, this is a complex situation, and I think you need to realize...."
"Complex? I don't see anything complex." Rossa remained standing even as Parker sat. "My grandson was presumed dead. He is alive. Legally he's my responsibility, and I insist on being allowed to see him."
This time it was Phong, not Parker, that spoke up against her while taking a seat beside Parker. "Admiral, you're simplifying things greatly. The boy has been raised by Talarians. He doesn't think of himself as human and he considers Endar his father."
"It should also be noted, Admiral, that the Jashklu Family is highly ranked on Talar, and Jono is considered one of it's best prodigies at the moment." Data sat down as well, this time across the table from Rossa, while Deanna took up the other seat beside Parker. "To try and take..."
"His name is Jeremiah," Rossa snapped.
"Not to him, it isn't." Phong steepled his fingers in his hands. "Admiral, I've been speaking to the boy, explaining the physical aspects of his body that are different from Talarians. He didn't seem to consider himself a Human at all, not even when I showed him the differences in baseline Talarian and Human DNA. As far as he sees himself, he is Jono ku'Jashklu, not Jeremiah Rossa."
"It's very obvious that the Talarians brainwashed him, Doctor. This wouldn't be the first time an alien aggressor has turned our own people against us."
"Considering the data on the Talarians, I cannot agree with that assessment of their motives, Admiral."
"Your agreement isn't necessary, Commander Data."
"Admiral, you're not thinking about this rationally," Deanna said, cutting in.
"So I'm being irrational? Miss Troi, I've mourned my grandson for twelve years and now I've found out that he's been alive this entire time, raised as someone he was never meant to be!" Rossa's face flushed with rage. "He's been denied his human heritage and made to think he's one of them!"
"I think the problem, Admiral, is that you are operating from an assumption of malice on the part of the Talarians that the data does not justify." Again it was Data speaking to Rossa. "The practice of Geje'hut, the adoption of a fallen enemy's children, is an honored one in Talarian society."
"I don't care, Commander Data. Legally, they have no grounds for adopting my grandson, not without pursuing the matter in Federation courts."
"I doubt the Federation courts are well-equipped to handle a custody case like this," Phong said softly.
"Federation law is clear. I am within my rights, and authority, to order Jeremiah held here until we can reach through to him and clear out his brainwashing."
"Admiral, shouldn't you be thinking about what's best for Jeremiah?" Deanna's expression became the same mask of determination as Rossa's. "He's lived with the Talarians his entire life. That is what he feels himself to be. If you take him away from that you will tear him apart!"
"He deserves to know who he is, Miss Troi!"
"But you're talking about taking him away from everything he's ever known!"
"No, I'm asserting my rights as his guardian under Federation law, and by that same law and the treaty between the Talarians and Federation, all Federation nationals were to be returned to us, including Jeremiah!"
"What you are asking for is going to destroy him!" Deanna's face turned red and she slammed a fist on the table. "You're being selfish and you don't even see it!"
"Admiral, Doctor, please." Parker now stood. "Screaming at each other is not going to calm this situation."
"You're quite right, Captain. You have your orders. Jeremiah is staying here, and he is not to have contact with the Talarians, at all."
"I have already made assurances to Endar that he will get to speak to his son later."
Rossa glared hate at Phong for that remark. "You have no right to do that!"
"I have every right to do as I see fit so long as it benefits my patient, and letting him speak to the man he considers his father is perfectly in line with that!"
In reaction Rossa jumped to her feet and shouted, "This is an abuse of your authority!"
"And your orders to Captain Parker are an abuse of your's!" Phong shot back, now standing and leaning against the table in her direction. "This entire meeting has been an exercise in futility because you're so damned pigheaded!"
"I'll have you court-martialed! Do you hear me?! I don't care how loudly the bureaucrats at Medical howl, you have gone too far and I will have you court-martialed!"
"You may find yourself before..."
"That's enough!" Parker's shout, and the accompanying thump as he slammed his palms on the table and jumped out of his chair, silenced the room. "Admiral Rossa, I will remind you that this squadron is under the direct command of Admiral Pressman and is outside of the conventional Starfleet command system. Your authority here is based solely upon your rank and upon the regulations of Starfleet, which allow us to ignore it if you begin issuing orders detrimental to the duties we have been assigned, as you are now! My orders are to do anything necessary and within reason to ensure the Talarian Steadhold signs the planned treaty with the Federation. This issue with your grandson and your reaction to it are a danger to that end. Furthermore, you have been less than reasonable this entire time." Parker stopped for a moment, but before Rossa could do more than open her mouth, he continued. "I understand, Admiral, that this is a great shock and I don't blame you for wanting your grandson back. I sympathize with you, I really do, but this is not the way to do it. I really must insist you allow the diplomats to handle this."
By this point, the fire Rossa had possessed was gone, as if it had burned itself out finally. She slumped back into her chair, very much the old woman she was, with an expression devoid of emotion and a failing energy not up to the task of maintaining the fight. "I want to see my grandson."
"Captain..." Phong looked at Parker and shook his head, his disapproval obvious.
"Please. I... I will withdraw my opposition to Endar seeing Jeremiah, just let me see him first. He... he was only three when I last saw him. It's been so long..."
Parker looked back to Phong. "Doctor, you have an objection?"
"Jono, Jeremiah, doesn't even know who she is, Captain. This could agitate him in ways I can't begin to fathom. He's already paranoid that we're going to take him as a prisoner."
Parker nodded and looked to Deanna. She shrugged. "He might be right, Captain. I can't form an educated opinion because I haven't interviewed him."
After looking between them, and then back to Rossa, Parker sighed. "Very well. Doctor, please show Admiral Rossa to sickbay."
"Captain, you don't have the authority..."
"And you didn't have the authority to go over my head and talk to Endar!" Parker and Phong now faced off, their eyes focused intently as the others watched in silence. "I fail to see how letting the Admiral see her grandson will do any kind of physical harm to him. You are not a psychologist, Doctor. You have no authority, whatsoever, to bar her from visiting her grandson, especially as he is a minor and under Federation law she has a strong claim to legal custody!"
"Captain, the boy is an adult to the Talarians, and in his own mind! He doesn't even know this woman, and he's already paranoid that we're going to take him as a prisoner! You don't realize..."
"Admiral Rossa has waited twelve years for this! Twelve years!" Parker smacked an open palm on the glossy black surface of the table. "I have an obligation, moral and legal, to at least let her see him." Before Phong could protest again, Parker stepped away from the table. "My decision stands. Admiral, I will show you to sick bay."
"Thank you Captain." Rossa stood, but only barely; the strain from her emotions was becoming overwhelming. Phong sighed and stood to follow, as did Deanna and Data.


The door to sickbay opened and admitted Parker and Rossa, with the others not so far behind. Phong quickly passed both of them and stood in the doorway to the examination wing. "Admiral, keep in mind that he does not know you and will not recognize you."
"Yes, Doctor," Rossa said, rather dispassionately at that. She seemed weak and Parker imagined that any more stress would literally make her legs quiver from the effort of keeping her up.
Such stress seemed unavoidable as they actually walked into the exam room that Phong had assigned Jono to. He was sitting upright, looking about and rather tense. Parker wondered just what he had been taught about the Federation to think that he was a captive. He began to reconsider giving in to Rossa's request.
But it was too late for that now. Rossa walked into the room, standing near the door and not daring to move at first. When she finally did, it was a few tenative steps. Still, Jono did not react to her. He seemed more occupied staring into empty space, if one could look occupied in doing such a thing. Rossa waited until she was just about five feet away from him before she actually spoke to him. "Hello." When she received no response, Rossa went on. "Jer... Jono, I am your grandmother. I..." With no response forthcoming, she waited a moment before pressing on. "I haven't seen you in person since you were a baby."
Parker watched intently. Jono wasn't responding to Rossa at all. Deanna walked up beside him and whispered, "I don't think this is going to work."
"I hope you're wrong," was his reply.
"Please say something! I'm your grandmother! I've spent all these years thinking you were dead, that I had nothing left, and to know you're alive has changed everything! Jeremiah!"
Something jolted Jono. His eyes opened a little more and his jaw tightened. Deanna took Parker's hand to get his attention. "She just triggered something. A repressed memory."
Rossa appeared to notice it too. "Do you remember? You were the pride of your parents. I still remember how happy Connor was when you were born. How happy I was. You were my first grandchild. When they brought you out of the hospital I gave you a stuffed bear, the same kind your father had when he was a child. Bright blue, with a white belly that had little blue and green flowers...."
Deanna's eyes widened just a moment before Jono acted. He jumped off the bed and ran toward the door, knocking Rossa over in the process. One of Phong's orderlies tried to stop him and received a punch for it. Phong instinctively went to his fallen subordinate.
Parker was now the last person between Jono and the door. Jono cried out, a similar cry to what Parker had heard when the boy had jumped on the assassin earlier in the day, and came straight at Parker. Parker adopted a defensive stance and was about to tackle Jono when the boy, rather unexpectedly, ran into him. Had Parker been solid on his feet, his superior mass would probably have absorbed the hit and brought Jono down. But as he had been off-balance in preparation for his own lunge, Jono's speed and mass were enough to knock him over. Parker felt onto his back and Jono was clear into the next room.
He barely took a few steps inside before Carter stopped him cold. He didn't even notice her until her outstretched arm caught Jono square across the chest. He had lost too much of his velocity from hitting Parker and Carter's arm was too strong to knock out of the way. He didn't quite have the chance to get knocked down as would have happened, however, as the arm grabbed him and pulled hard, causing Jono to whip around. Carter tossed him up against the wall with a grunt, knocking the air out of Jono's lungs from the sudden impact. Before he could recover, Deanna came from the other room and pressed a hypospray of sedative to his neck. Within moments Jono went limp and was unconscious.
Phong had a couple of orderlies take Jono from Carter and bring him to a bed. Parker was back on his feet as well, dusting himself off by habit. "Commander Carter, that was rather excellent timing."
"I was on my way to speak with Doctor Nguyen." Carter stepped into the exam room alongside Parker and watched Phong secure Jono into a bed. A flip of a switch and a forcefield around the bed area would keep Jono from trying to run off again. "Captain Endar is asking to see his son. He won't want to be kept waiting, though I imagine he'd be even nastier if he knew precisely what just happened. So..." Carter surveyed the room, noting the orderly with the swelling jaw and the need for another to help Rossa to her feet. "...what just happened?"
"I'm not sure. The Admiral must have said something?" Parker looked at Deanna. "Deanna? You seemed to be feeling something."
"Given the sudden sense of shock and confusion I felt in his mind, I believe Admiral Rossa's pleadings brought up repressed memories. Probably of his early childhood."
"He wasn't yet four when the Galen colony was overrun," Carter said. "I don't know about you two, but I don't remember very much from six on down."
"Still, it is there and has remained repressed until the Admiral brought it out." Deanna looked to Rossa, who seemed shaken enough that she might collapse again at any moment. "She got through to something, but I'm not sure what."
Wearing an unpleasant expression, Phong walked over and leveled a glare at Parker before he turned to Rossa. "Admiral, you should go sit down. Let's go to my office and talk."
Rossa did not argue or even verbally agree. She seemed dazed and rather bewildered. Parker followed behind her just to make sure she didn't collapse. After everyone slipped into Phong's office, Parker helped Rossa into one of the chairs while Deanna took the other. "Admiral." Phong put his hands together and on the desk. "As you can see, Jono - Jeremiah - has no clear memories of you."
"He remembered something, I'm sure of it," Rossa said, very meekly. "Why else did he act that way?"
"I'm not debating that he may have recalled a repressed memory, and Doctor Troi here would be a better authority on that issue anyway, but even if it was one, I'll remind you that your grandson was still a toddler when he was taken. At that age, memories are sporadic and distorted anyway." Phong handed her a PADD with a display on it. "This is his physical. As you can see, he's mostly healthy, and what few problems I've seen are the result of incompatibilies between Human and Talarian diets. Something I've already taken measures to correct. But what you have to accept is that Jono has no memories of you or his biological family. All he knows is the Talarian family that raised him. For all intents and purposes, Admiral, Jono is a Talarian."
"But he's Human," Rossa protested.
"Biologically, yes, Culturally? No."
Rossa simply stared into space for the moment before looking back at the PADD. Phong looked back to Parker. "As you can see, Captain, I had a good reason for wanting to avoid this. Now I'm going to have to go to Endar and let him know what happened. He won't be happy."
"Doctor, while I appreciate your commitment to ethics, the fact is that Admiral Rossa is the boy's grandmother and has every right to at least see him. And that's not getting into the legal issues involved." Parker drew in a sigh while getting a cup of Bolian tonic water from the replicator. "This is a whole damned mess."
"That is true." Phong looked to Deanna. "Doctor Troi, any opinions?"
"Without an actual interview, all I can say is the obvious. He's been raised Talarian. He knows nothing of being Human and any attempt to compel him to be Human will only draw violent reactions like that. The Talarians, socially, border on irrational xenophobia. They don't work well with aliens at all, it's a miracle Jono was even accepted by them."
"Endar's family is highly placed, they may have sheltered him to some extents. Made him wear helmets and such." Parker took a sip of the tonic water. "Of course, I suppose Humanity wouldn't have been so open if our first contact with aliens consisted of those aliens trying to exterminate us."
"Probably not," Phong agreed.
"Doctor..." Rossa suddenly looked up. "These marks on Jeremiah's skeleton, what are they?"
"Various fractures and injuries to his bones," was Phong's immediate reply.
"He's got so many." Rossa handed Phong the PADD. "Why so many injuries?"
"Well, I can't be sure. They're old, received over the previous ten years or so."
Rossa didn't seem so convinced. "Doctor, how do we know that they haven't abused him?"
"Well, from a stricter sense, there's no way to know without Jono actually telling us. Some species have a lot of rituals or sports their young males play that could produce such injuries. And my own findings have shown that Talarian skeletal structure is about ten percent stronger than Human. Things that Talarian bones can withstand would fracture Human bones."
"How do we know that for sure? How do we know they didn't abuse him to make him be like them? It wouldn't be the first time!"
Parker did not reply at first, though he too had some serious questions he wanted to ask Endar. Phong sighed and looked to Deanna. "Well, Doctor Troi, your opinions?"
"Aside from repressed memory, I cannot see any normal signs of intended abuse, Doctor Nguyen. But I would have to interview him to make sure."
"It doesn't matter! You have said it yourself, Doctor, that Jeremiah considers himself Talarian. He might think his abuse is just a part of being Talarian."
"That is pure speculation..."
"Doctor, I insist that he be held here now. We can't turn him back over to the Talarians if they're abusing him!"
Deanna stepped in, shaking her head vigorously. "Admiral, if you don't turn him back over it will just verify all of his suspicions in his own mind! He believes we intend to kidnap and enslave him!"
"Jeremiah is a Federation citizen. He has never renounced that. We have a legal obligation to make sure he's not being abused!"
"Yes, Admiral, we do," Parker agreed. Before Deanna and Phong could protest, Parker added, "And we will do so, in a civil a way as possible. Doctor," Parker looked to Phong, "do you think you've gotten close enough to Jono that he'll be willing to talk to you about this?"
"Well, he won't be suspicious of me asking about the injuries. I've already talked to him about various things. Differences in the Talarian and Human dietary requirements, hygiene differences..."
"Good." Parker turned his head to Deanna. "Deanna, if you don't mind, I'd like it if you were nearby when this happens. You can determine if Jono's hiding anything or not."
"When are we going to do this?"
Phong looked at his watch. "Well, you gave him a strong sedative dose. And I want to keep him inactive long enough to make sure that nothing's happened internally, so the morning should suffice. About ten or so hours from now, 0700 hours ship time."
"Fine, I'll do it."
"Then I'll make sure you're given a secure channel for the transporter room in the morn..." Parker's comm badge beeped and he tapped it. "Parker here."
As expected, it was O'Keefe on the other end. "Captain, we're gettin' a hail from the surface. Ambassador Troi wants to know if her daughter is up here."
"Yes, she is."
"Okay sir. Seems the Ambassador wants to speak with her. Normal diplomatic stuff or somethin'."
Deanna heard that and stood up, straightening out her blouse while Parker told O'Keefe she was on her way to the transporter room, then cut the channel. "Zero seven hundred still good?"
"Yes, it is. Doctor, Captain..." Deanna excused herself from the room and left.
When she was gone, Parker went over to Rossa. "Admiral?"
"Captain, if he's been abused by them, you won't turn him over, will you?" Rossa looked up at Parker.
"If Doctors Nguyen and Troi tell me not to, I will not. But Admiral, you must understand that he has been raised Talarian. He does not know what it is to be Human and he has no Human ties. Unless I have good reason not to, I'm going to have him returned to the Sathra as soon as Doctor Nguyen clears him."
Rossa didn't reply, though Parker knew this wouldn't be the end of the matter. Not by a long shot.


Deanna materialized in the courtyard of the Marlowe Pearl Resort and immediately had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sunset. Marlowe Resorts and Retreats Ltd. had bought the island she was standing on now, in the middle of the Pearl Islands chain a thousand kilometers west-south-west of Waipahu. The Resort was nothing like the Hiller-Jennings back in Waipahu. The suites were extremely luxurious and aside from the tropical beaches, the Resort boasted an indoor and outdoor swimming pool (with bar attached), large showering and locker rooms, various recreational facilities, a massage service, and many other expensive perks. The spas in the largest suites could also accomodate multiple types of baths.
Homm was present to meet Deanna and escort her to her mother's suite. Deanna walked into the expansive, space-wasting bathroom and found her mother lounging in the spa, having a mudbath while a barechested, handsome light-skinned Human man sat behind her and massaged her shoulders and neck. Fymehai, the Betazoids called it. "Wasteful indulgence" was it's literal human translation, though it was also translated as "aristocratic privilege" in some contexts. In this case, Deanna had a strong temptation to think of it as both.
Homm bowed deeply and left, leaving Deanna to look at her nude mother, covered only by the gray muck she was bathing in. "Oh, Deanna, come in dear! It's your favorite mixture, and I can have another masseuse called up in minutes!"
"I'd rather not." Deanna took a seat nearby. Although the Trois were a ludicrously wealthy noble family anyway - Deanna was only three generations removed from High Empress Kestra VIII Herself - she was quite certain that her mother was charging every cent to the Federation as "expenses".
"Oh dear, you really must loosen up some." Lwaxana smiled at her. "Or are you still pining for Parker?"
Deanna gave her mother an unamused look. "Dear, my poor dear, Parker's gone too far now to ever look back. You should move on. There are plenty of fine men around here or back on Betazed."
"Yes, Mother, I know."
"Anyway, what were you doing up there anyway?" Lwaxana briefly looked up in timing with her question. "Is Parker having problems with Admiral Rossa?"
"To a degree, yes."
"Oh my. This complication has just been so... annoying." Lwaxana looked up to her masseuse. "Dear, why don't you go take a break. I have to discuss important matters with my daughter."
The masseuse nodded and left, though not before giving Deanna a second look. Lwaxana grinned in amusement at that. "See, dear? Now what would be wrong with him? Handsome and he has very strong hands."
"Mother..." Deanna let the word trail off, making her displeasure obvious.
"Deanna, I'm merely trying to find a way to make you happy. Chasing after some star-hopping Starfleet captain isn't going to get you anywhere. Not that he's commanding the Enterprise now. It seems that every Starfleeter that gets on that ship gets this hero complex." Lwaxana shook her head dismissively. "Anyway, what's happened now?"
"Admiral Rossa is determined to keep the boy Jono here on any pretext she can find. The Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Nguyen, believes that Jono cannot function as a Human and intends to return him to the Talarians as soon as possible."
"And we're stuck here, everything held up over a single boy." Lwaxana sighed. "I only hope this doesn't spiral further out of control. As it is, I don't imagine it will be well-received in the Council. I just cannot believe everything I've worked for is going to be undone by this trivial matter."
"Mother, this isn't a trivial matter!" Deanna's temper flared for a moment. "Don't you see? This can tear the boy apart, and Rossa, and Endar. These are lives that could be damaged, irrepairably!"
"Yes dear, that's quite horrible too, but we are here to negotiate a treaty that could bring a sense of lasting peace to this region. If we fail here, well, I shudder to think of the consequences." Lwaxana brought her hands out of the muck and rested her elbows on the edge of the spa. "Dear, you're tired. Why don't you go back to your hotel room and rest? I can have a civilian hover fly you back."
"I think I will. Have a good evening, mother. I'll see you back at the Starbase tomorrow." Deanna stood up and went to the door.
As soon as she got there, Lwaxana called out, "Dear, please call that young man back in. My shoulders are starting to ache."
Rolling her eyes, Deanna replied, "Of course, Mother."
After Deanna left, Lwaxana did not allow her mudbath and massage to continue for long. Within five minutes she sent away the masseuse, emptied the spa, and took a normal shower to remove what was left of the mud. When she was cleaned, Lwaxana donned a silken nightrobe and entered the office of her suite. After taking her seat Lwaxana turned on the computer unit and patched into the planet-wide communications network, from which she linked directly to the Sathra. The comm officer on the Sathra relayed her to the Holtaje, where Durlora was supposedly dining, and within eight or so minutes Durlora was appearing on her screen. "Director, my apologies for disturbing your meal," Lwaxana immediately said.
"It is excusable, Ambassador," Durlora replied with a small, diplomatic grin. "What is the purpose of your call?"
"I wanted to speak with you, privately, about this regrettable situation which has developed over that boy..."


The comm screen in the captain's office on the Holtaje flipped off and Durlora looked to her side, where Admiral Relki had remained outside of the viewer's field of recording view. "What do you think, Admiral?"
"My opinions have not changed, Director." Relki stepped a little closer. "The needs of the Steadhold must take precedence."
"Correct. However, the implications of this crisis are troubling. It could doom the treaty in the Senate."
"It could, yes. Which is why you should tread carefully, Director." Relki maintained her stance, not wandering about the room like others might have, and kept Durlora's attention. Here, now, she was at the critical moment for her new plan. "Director, perhaps you should stay aboard the Holtaje?"
"Why?"
"I do not suspect Endar will be pleased if you are required to give the boy up to the Federation. If you are on board his ship, well, it wouldn't be the first time that a father's emotions toward his son have overridden his reason or his loyalty." Relki kept her gaze on Durlora. "Director, it would be a prudent move to stay here for now, at least until we see what happens tomorrow. I will explain to Endar that you are merely staying here due to an offer for First Meal from the captain, who is your cousin, I believe?"
"Cousin by my grandmother, yes."
"He will think nothing of it, I assure you. And then tomorrow you can discuss this issue with the others." Relki drew in a breath. "The boy is of age to make his own decisions anyway, no matter what the Humans think. I have little doubt that if the Federation is so arrogant as to force his return, his Human blood relatives will regret it soon enough."
"I hope it will not come to that." Durlora stood from her chair. "Return to the Sathra. Inform Captain Endar that I will be staying here tonight to have First Meal with the Holtaje's captain tomorrow and will be returning to the ship tomorrow. Extend to him my promise that I will not let the Federation destroy his family."
Relki narrowed her eyes. "That, Director, is a dangerous promise to make."
"It is. But Ambassador Troi seems just as determined to not make this an issue. There are greater matters at stake in these negotiations. We must conclude them as quickly as we can, keeping the Steadhold's needs in mind, so we don't give the conspirators another chance." Durlora walked toward the door. "Now I must go see Captain Malora about arranging my room for the evening. I will see you tomorrow after First Meal, Admiral."
Relki saluted respectfully and left immediately after Durlora did. Now she had but one thing left to do.


Seated in his office on the Sathra, Endar was free to roar at the screen - and the Federation doctor on it - all he wanted without alerting anyone outside. "What have you done to my son?!"
"He is sedated and resting," Phong answered on the other end.
"You assured me that you were only keeping him for medical reasons, Doctor! Now you say that this woman was allowed to talk to him and try to confuse him! What kind of treachery is this?!"
"There is no treachery, merely my Captain's misguided sense of compassion," was the doctor's reply. "I advised against it but was ignored, and because I am a physician and not a psychologist, I don't have as much authority when it comes to mental health as I do in terms of physical health. I couldn't overrule my Captain's decision."
"You should have turned him over to me," Endar growled. "Our doctors are just as competent as you."
"Your doctors don't have the same medicine or technology as our's do, Captain. I did the surgery, it's my responsibility to make sure he has no complications arising from it. Now, I've forbidden Admiral Rossa from making any more contact with him, and Captain Parker has agreed with this. I will release him from care tomorrow afternoon, after my final examination is completed. He'll be beamed over at about 1400 hours on my ship's time, which is roughly sixteen Earth hours from now. Is this satisfactory?"
"No, Doctor, it is not, but I will accept it anyway." Endar heard his door buzzer go off and reached forward. "I shall speak to you tomorrow. Goodbye." His finger punched the button to cut the channel. "Come in!" he barked to the door.
When Admiral Relki entered, Endar stood and saluted. She nodded at him. "You may be at rest, Captain." Endar's posture relaxed while Relki stepped further into the room. "Captain, have you heard from your son?"
"No." Endar's frown returned. "The Federation doctor has sedated him due to an incident earlier. Captain Parker allowed the Admiral claiming to be Jono's blood to speak with him. Apparently, Jono was somehow provoked and attempted to escape the Federation ship."
"Yes, so I've heard. Ambassador Troi called Director Durlora to speak to her of the incident."
"I see." Endar frowned. It seemed wrong that he had been the last to learn of this incident. "Has the Director retired for the day yet?"
"Perhaps, but she is on the Holtaje for the evening."
"Why?" Endar's voice betrayed his bewilderment. "Why is she staying over there?"
"I have my suspicions," replied Relki. Now her moment had come. She had to play this perfectly or it could backfire and destroy her chance. "Captain, I think she will agree to force Jono to return to the Federation."
"She wouldn't dare! My family leads the Senate!"
"Yes, but she is counting on your family's traditional patriotism to keep it on her side." Relki walked over to him. "Captain, look at the circumstances. She refuses to come back to the Sathra. She sends no word to you of her decision. And we now see the Federation is tampering with your son, perhaps even planning to brainwash him and turn him against you and the Steadhold. Perhaps they will return him in time, but as a spy against us."
"Jono would never agree to that. I raised him to be loyal."
Relki nodded, not wanting to be confrontational or call into question Endar's loyalty. "I do not doubt how you raised him, Endar. You raised him to be a brave and loyal citizen. But the Federation includes races with mind-altering powers. Vulcans Betazoids, these races could use their powers to plant within Jono the seed of disloyalty and he would not even know it. Imagine the dishonor it would bring to him, to you, and to your family if he was compelled by mind tricks to commit treason against the Steadhold." Relki forced Endar to make eye contact, keeping her gaze level. "Even as we speak, they could have a Vulcan mind-melding with Jono as he lies helpless and asleep, planting treason inside him. Perhaps that is their plot? To turn Jono into a spy against us while appearing to acqueise to Durlora? It would increase her own power, and the power of those in the Steadhold who support the Federation, while placing within your great family a spy, perhaps the first of many, to undermine the Steadhold and make us dependent upon the Federation. All of our beloved freedom, our autonomy, our way of life, destroyed by the Federation in it's drive to unify under it's flag the galaxy."
Had his mind been sharper, Endar might have noticed Relki's contradictory remarks. One moment Relki had claimed Durlora was going to give up his son, the next claiming that the Federation was going to turn him into a spy and return him to Endar. But Endar was tired from a day of worry and fear. His mind was suspectible to these suggestions. He was terrorized by both possibilities; that he would have his son taken from him and forced to become Human, or that Jono would be returned as a spy to betray the Steadhold and thus destroy their family. Neither scenario could be accepted. "What can we do to prevent this?" Endar looked at Relki. "I cannot have them take my son away from me. I can't let them use Jono against the Steadhold. What can we do?"
"Jono as you know him may be lost," Relki said solemnly, "and it would be a grave loss considering his heroism today. But he would not be the first, and if he is lost then we must ensure that the Steadhold remains true, in honor of his sacrifice. Captain, give me the night to prepare the others. The commanders of the Utarko'Tal and the Eralba'Tal are on my side, as is the commander of the Deytofa. With the Sathra, we would have the firepower to defeat Durlora's loyalists in battle. The Federation will not interfere. To move so openly would destroy their credibility."
Endar glared at her. "You are asking me to kill comrades. To commit treason against the Lord Protector."
"How can defense of the Steadhold be treason?" Relki pointed to the flag of the Steadhold that Endar kept in his office. "That is our Supreme Commander, not the Lord Protector. The Lord Protector is bound to protect Talar, to protect our society, our citizens, our way of life! If the Lord Protector fails in this duty, then she must be removed so that another can perform it! And if Durlora and her supporters have their way, Captain, we will lose our society and our way of life and our citizens? They will become slaves to the Federation. Yes, their chains will be made of silk instead of iron, because the Federation will enslave us with luxury and bounty to make us as weak and decadent as they have become! The great monuments on Talar - the Fountain of Hope, the Monument to the Fallen, the Spires of Djak'Heytke - will be oddities for alien tourists to photograph! We will have forgotten everything that has been fought for. The sacrifices of our parents, our grandparents, our family founders, the Fallen, and our people will all be dishonored and forgotten. Do not forget your first son Rolar, Captain. He died for the same Steadhold that I am now asking you to help me preserve."
"What makes you think this will succeed beyond killing Durlora?"
"There are those on Talar who will move as soon as they learn of her death. We will ask the Lord Protector to commit honorable suicide, considering her age, and others we know to be sympathetic toward the Federation will be required to leave government. The Senate and Assembly will be asked to appoint a new Lord Protector. You will be praised for your part in this, Captain, I promise you. And Jono, if we are so unfortunate as to lose him, will be remembered with honor as a Talarian."
Endar looked off at the wall for a long, hard moment, filled with conflicting emotions. This was not an easy thing she was asking him to do. His honor and that of his family was at stake, and she was asking him to do something that could end up costing him his son. But Relki believed she had said what was necessary. Endar had finally seen the Federation for what it was and would never allow the Talarian people to suffer it's subversion.
Finally, with an expression showing desperation and defeat, he nodded. "You have my support."
Relki nodded with approval. All that remained was a battle to be waged. And when they returned to Talar, they would return as heroes who saved the Steadhold from itself.

[paladin3030]

It may have took a while but it was worth the wait.

[Crazedwraith]

sweet!

[Kuja]

Worth the wait, IMO. Data is making himself look pretty good; I'm actually liking him. And yes, Phong still kicks ass.


Aroo.

[Junghalli]

Good fanfic, especially the later chapters where you aren't so heavy on the detail . Just one minor point though. IIRC the Enterprise is 600 meters long and you said the Talarian flagship was 800 meters. So why would Picard have expected Endar to be impressed by the size of the Enterprise when his own ship is 200 meters longer?

[Steve]

Good fanfic, especially the later chapters where you aren't so heavy on the detail . Just one minor point though. IIRC the Enterprise is 600 meters long and you said the Talarian flagship was 800 meters. So why would Picard have expected Endar to be impressed by the size of the Enterprise when his own ship is 200 meters longer?

Parker, not Picard.

As for being impressed by the size, I stated size and look. The Enterprise is only the second Sovereign-class ship in the Federation fleet at that point, the most advanced starship in the Federation, which has a number of technological advantages over the Talarians. The cramped, narrow passages of Talarian ships would contrast heavily with the larger interiors of the Enterprise though it probably isn't quite as spacious as the canon Enterprise D or E.

Note: I was going to say there were displays in the hallways until I caught myself thinking "Why the hell would a ship have hall-mounted displays on the walls aside from those by doors?". So scratch that.

Though as I said, the fact that the Talarian flagship is possibly a bit longer doesn't mean as much as you think. If much of it's extra volume is needed for weapon systems or required to contain a structure large and strong enough to support the ship's mass, it won't be as awe-inspiring size-wise as a "smaller" ship built with superior engineering principles, materials, and thus capable of being as powerful, if not more powerful, as the larger ship.