We All Fall Down – Debrief
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Post Details
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It had been four years since Isha had seen her niece, or indeed had any contact with her woder family. In that time she was aware that Rianni had studiously avoided the suit of D'Lin despite the command of Isha's mother.
She was unsure how Rianni would react to her return. As Isha had left the house and the associated privileges to found her own it was not expected of her in Rihannsu society, but then Rianni was not fully Rihannsu.
Still, Rianni had asked for a meeting on her return and Isha was ready in the observation lounge. Perhaps a family reunion could help take the sharp edge off the previous days dark events.
Rianni hadn't expected to get summoned by the CO of the station, let alone to find out it was Isha, ~Aunt Isha? Ambassador Isha? What is she anymore? Especially to me. And am I anything to her anymore?~ However, the report on her PADD was sure to bring cheer to all involved, that beam out trick of tr'Vainlli's had saved hundreds of lives, that was always cause for celebration. She walked into the observation lounge slowly, her PADD in one hand and Mittens in the crook of her free arm, ~Wonder how long she's been here? Maybe she left my baby in my place for me. She does have the access codes.~
As she walked in she finally caught a glimpse of Isha, not sure whether to be more shocked by her severely cropped hair or the fact her Aunt, Romulan royalty, now wore a Starfleet uniform, ~It never rains but it pours.~ After she fought the urge to burst into tears over Isha's shorn mane, for some reason Isha's long locks had always given her comfort during the many breakdowns she'd experienced on her shoulder, she stepped forward, "Well... hi." She began, not really sure what to say at that point. On closer examination, Isha looked fabulous, which made her even more self conscious about her own appearance and made her quickly tuck a stray lock of her own mid-back length, dry, split hair behind her ear, ~Damn it, must she always be so perfect? Like I needed to feel like I looked like a slug. Of course, who do I have to look good for? I lost Lee, lost Ayren, ran Arrienye away... I've got a kitten. A kitten who thinks I'm the most beautiful creature in the galaxy as long as I can open a can of tuna.~ "So, here's the reports, we were able to beam a lot of people off of that ship before it went up, looks like about a 97% survival rate."
Isha exhaled sharply, "Please tell me that is not a joke?" she said, everything else she had been about to say to her neice was temporarily on hold.
"You know me well enough to know this is nothing I would joke about." Rianni smiled, "I've got to give most of the credit to tr'Vainlli, though. It was his maneuver that made us able to save all those people. When my XO leaves I think I'm going to offer the spot to him."
"tr'Vainlli has a number of well practiced maneuvres up his sleeves, but I've never seen it done on this scale. If I believed in the divine I might call it a miracle," Isha said.
"He's a regular Captain Scott." Rianni said with a sly smirk, referencing the Chief Engineer on the original Enterprise, a man she'd met during the Dominion War and found quite charming and fun to be around, not to mention the fact he could drink most Marines under the table. She stroked Mittens furry head and smiled to Isha,
"So, there you have it, great news." She could tell Isha had a lot on her mind, hopefully she'd let it out, ~Suspense is killing me. Maybe if she'd talk more I'd know what to frackin' say.~
"What an interesting creature," Isha said as she tickled the kitten. "It seems to be very fond of you."
"Her name is Mittens." Rianni replied with a smile as Mittens purred happily at Isha's touch, then stopped cold, "Wait, you aren't the one who left her in my apartment?"
Isha shook her head, "So, how have things developed?" she asked.
"Okay, I guess." Rianni replied, her mind now totally occupied by the lingering question of who had given her the kitten and how they had gotten into her apartment, "Thinking about living on the Dhelan full time now."
"Why?"
"Because apparently someone walked into my apartment who I don't know." Rianni replied, obviously a little shaken, "So, anyway, what's new? Like the haircut, it works on you."
Having been away for four years the question was brattish, and not one that Isha intended to address. Isha had asked her neice directly, she understood Rianni's position, but she had neither the time nor the patience for this.
"I asked you a question, answer it! If you refuse I'll leave you to your devices," Isha stated. No give, no leave.
"I came home drunk one night, said I wished I at least had a kitten to come home, too." Rianni began, she hadn't yet learned to refuse Isha's demands, "The next morning I wake up and , there she is. So, I ask everybody who did it, nobody did. Today I come here to give you the report, thinking it was probably you, you tell me no. That tells me that not only has someone been able to get into and out of my home without my knowledge but they were apparently standing there, watching me, during all this. So, yeah, I'm a little freaked out. And now here we are together again, and I don't even know what to say....." She felt herself on the verge of yet another breakdown, but she wanted to fight it off.
Isha drew in a breath. "Rianni, I've been away for Four years, I've been back for two days. You too seem to have kept your distance from Deep Space Five. I can quite understand why. I am no longer a member of the Great House Khellian, but if you wish to speak to me as the founder of the Lesser House Vaurek, so be it. I cannot command your actions in any way."
"Damn it, this is not about greater and lesser houses!" Rianni fired back, "You know I don't give a damn about that! Never have. This is about relationships, something that goes beyond names, but that seems to be all anyone cares about anymore."
Isha drew a breath, "I founded a new house in the name of the father of his children." Isha drew thew pawing kitten where it wished to go.
She raised the creature cupped in her hands, then as she lowered it, kissed its furry brow before returning it to Rianni,
"She's very sensual," Isha said, "but you still need to tell me how your marriage has worked out."
"Well, so far he's been in no rush to make it legal, which suits me just fine." Rianni sighed, "He's already getting Khelliana treatment without having to do so and he's openly with his girlfriend, who I feel so sorry for, and we don't spend a lot of time together for which I thank God regularly."
"So, I guess that means Raedhol is definitely dead." Rianni continued sadly, "I'm so sorry, for all of us, he... he meant a lot to me, too." Raedhol had been more than a mentor to her in her early days discovering her heritage, he'd been like a family member, like that perfect supportive uncle who gets you even when your dad doesn't, and she'd come to love him very much, even if she would never dare say it in her father's presence, ~Worst part is I forgot to tell Raedhol himself. Now there's no chance.~
"We don't know for certain," Isha said, stiffly. "There has been no 'official' ruling. The odds suggest that he is."
For some reason that sparked Rianni's will anew, "Then what if I was to say take the Dhelan and go recon the area where he was last contacted?" She suggested, "I mean, I do have that nice, shiny Warbird down there, just sitting and waiting for something to do. All I would need would be a little bit of intel to fall into my hands, that's all."
"And before you say no based on some idiotic ancient Romulan protocol, please know I don't give a shit about any of that." Rianni smiled, "Whatever your last name is, you're my aunt, we're family, and, I mean, you know, for whatever it's worth, I love you." She realized she'd probably missed the chance to say this to Raedhol, she wasn't about to let it slip by her with Isha, "Let me do this for you, I need to do this for you."
"I fear it would be a wasted journey, Rianni," Isha said through a sigh. Even she had given up any hope of seeing Raedheol again. "I will not forbid it, and I can't imagine the thought of spending more time with your intended fills you with joy," she added wryly.
Rianni noticed that Isha had made several references to D'Liin and she was starting to wonder why, "So, this is funny, but for some reason it seems like you're thinking more about D'Liin than I am." She began, but dropped the subject quickly, she knew that Isha wasn't going to tip her hand, even to her niece, "But, I'm sure we can make it a training mission since I'll probably be receiving a whole bunch of green recruits."
"If that's what you wish," Isha said. Then she opened her arms to her neice. "Come here," she said.
Without a word Rianni went to Isha and laid herself on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around her aunt's waist, softly saying, "I've missed you."
"Its been a long time," Isha agreed. She knew what it was like to face a new and difficult situation alone but Rianni lacked her own sense of purspose plus Isha came from within the system. She'd learned how to play the game before she could walk. "Is there anything you need to tell me?" she asked, "as your Aunt, not as the Commanding Officer."
"Okay." Rianni began, "I've kept the Dhelan out as much as possible over this time to avoid D'Liin, as long as I'm out scoring victories the pressure to marry him is off. I figured it was a win-win, long as I'm out there winning, Llair isn't on me to set a date, and if I lose, I'll be dead and I won't have to marry him at all. But, I know soon I'm going to have to marry him or Llair will cut my dad, sister, and brother out of the family. I won't do that to them. So I'm going to marry him and have his kids and hope I don't hate them as much as I hate him because I really don't have a choice."
Isha squeezed Rianni, "I'm inordinately proud of the way you've accepted your duty to the House," she told her. It was not an easy thing for an outsider to do, nor Isha knew, was her mother an easy woman to deal with. "Things do have a way of working out."
"I hope." Rianni said, her voice barely above a whisper, "But I'm not seeing a way out of it yet." It was ironic to her that she couldn't keep any of the ones she wanted, but the one she didn't even want to share breathing room with was the one she couldn't get rid of, "Hopefully he'll be an absentee husband, right?"
"Most likely," Isha said, not that it was in any way reassuring, "Once you have a child you have fulfilled your obligations as long as you are both in agreement. After that you are both free to persue your dreams."
"So best case scenario I'm out of this after about a year." Rianni laughed sadly, "Well, still less time then I would get for killing him, I guess."
"Rianni, I grew to love my husband, but even before that I respected him. You don't respect yours and never will, nor should you in his case. Never speak of accidents."
Rianni was a little unsure of what Isha meant by that, though she often found herself unsure about some of the things her aunt said, she only knew that it probably meant Isha was playing cards Rianni didn't know existed, ~Between her and Daddy I spend more time in the dark than a mushroom.~ She thought, but that was okay, somehow things always turned out for the better, "Of course." Rianni agreed, "Maybe after this I'll finally get a little lucky, huh? Find a woman who won't drop me or run away with someone else or transfer off the base because I'm so hard to deal with...."
"You'll find the right one," Isha said, "At the right time. Tell me, how did Eleni recieve my bathroom suite? She admired it a lot and the designer will never create another. I hoped she would accept it as a peace offering, even if we may never like one another."
"She loves it." Rianni replied, "And, actually, she's kind of missed you, too. Apparently keeping Daddy out of trouble is more than a one woman job. I'm probably not easy to deal with, either. I mean, the whole thing has me kind of, you know, it's just... I'm in a bad place in life, I guess."
Whilst Isha might have lessened her grasp a little she had not let Rianni go - there was a link, back to when Rianni was a reckless pilot and Isha an Ambassador - a link to the past.
"I doubt Eleni has missed me, but I'll take your word," Isha said. "The bad places mark us out," Isha added.
"Yet you come through all of them visibly perfect." Rianni chuckled, "And I, well, you can tell I've been in a fight. But, you know what? I'm not afraid anymore. I mean, all I've got left to lose is my life, so what have I got left to fear?"
"There never was anything," Isha replied, "and once you've learned that, nothing life attacks you with can destroy you."
Rianni said nothing in reply, merely staying where she was and knowing that, as always, Isha was right, and there really was nothing to fear anymore.
-Off
by Commander Isha t'Vaurek & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Post Details
| Title | Debrief | |
| Mission | We All Fall Down | |
| Author(s) | Commander Isha t'Vaurek & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian | |
| Posted | Sun Sep 28, 2014 @ 7:52pm | |
| Location | Observation Lounge | |
| Timeline | MD02 11:00 |
It had been four years since Isha had seen her niece, or indeed had any contact with her woder family. In that time she was aware that Rianni had studiously avoided the suit of D'Lin despite the command of Isha's mother.
She was unsure how Rianni would react to her return. As Isha had left the house and the associated privileges to found her own it was not expected of her in Rihannsu society, but then Rianni was not fully Rihannsu.
Still, Rianni had asked for a meeting on her return and Isha was ready in the observation lounge. Perhaps a family reunion could help take the sharp edge off the previous days dark events.
Rianni hadn't expected to get summoned by the CO of the station, let alone to find out it was Isha, ~Aunt Isha? Ambassador Isha? What is she anymore? Especially to me. And am I anything to her anymore?~ However, the report on her PADD was sure to bring cheer to all involved, that beam out trick of tr'Vainlli's had saved hundreds of lives, that was always cause for celebration. She walked into the observation lounge slowly, her PADD in one hand and Mittens in the crook of her free arm, ~Wonder how long she's been here? Maybe she left my baby in my place for me. She does have the access codes.~
As she walked in she finally caught a glimpse of Isha, not sure whether to be more shocked by her severely cropped hair or the fact her Aunt, Romulan royalty, now wore a Starfleet uniform, ~It never rains but it pours.~ After she fought the urge to burst into tears over Isha's shorn mane, for some reason Isha's long locks had always given her comfort during the many breakdowns she'd experienced on her shoulder, she stepped forward, "Well... hi." She began, not really sure what to say at that point. On closer examination, Isha looked fabulous, which made her even more self conscious about her own appearance and made her quickly tuck a stray lock of her own mid-back length, dry, split hair behind her ear, ~Damn it, must she always be so perfect? Like I needed to feel like I looked like a slug. Of course, who do I have to look good for? I lost Lee, lost Ayren, ran Arrienye away... I've got a kitten. A kitten who thinks I'm the most beautiful creature in the galaxy as long as I can open a can of tuna.~ "So, here's the reports, we were able to beam a lot of people off of that ship before it went up, looks like about a 97% survival rate."
Isha exhaled sharply, "Please tell me that is not a joke?" she said, everything else she had been about to say to her neice was temporarily on hold.
"You know me well enough to know this is nothing I would joke about." Rianni smiled, "I've got to give most of the credit to tr'Vainlli, though. It was his maneuver that made us able to save all those people. When my XO leaves I think I'm going to offer the spot to him."
"tr'Vainlli has a number of well practiced maneuvres up his sleeves, but I've never seen it done on this scale. If I believed in the divine I might call it a miracle," Isha said.
"He's a regular Captain Scott." Rianni said with a sly smirk, referencing the Chief Engineer on the original Enterprise, a man she'd met during the Dominion War and found quite charming and fun to be around, not to mention the fact he could drink most Marines under the table. She stroked Mittens furry head and smiled to Isha,
"So, there you have it, great news." She could tell Isha had a lot on her mind, hopefully she'd let it out, ~Suspense is killing me. Maybe if she'd talk more I'd know what to frackin' say.~
"What an interesting creature," Isha said as she tickled the kitten. "It seems to be very fond of you."
"Her name is Mittens." Rianni replied with a smile as Mittens purred happily at Isha's touch, then stopped cold, "Wait, you aren't the one who left her in my apartment?"
Isha shook her head, "So, how have things developed?" she asked.
"Okay, I guess." Rianni replied, her mind now totally occupied by the lingering question of who had given her the kitten and how they had gotten into her apartment, "Thinking about living on the Dhelan full time now."
"Why?"
"Because apparently someone walked into my apartment who I don't know." Rianni replied, obviously a little shaken, "So, anyway, what's new? Like the haircut, it works on you."
Having been away for four years the question was brattish, and not one that Isha intended to address. Isha had asked her neice directly, she understood Rianni's position, but she had neither the time nor the patience for this.
"I asked you a question, answer it! If you refuse I'll leave you to your devices," Isha stated. No give, no leave.
"I came home drunk one night, said I wished I at least had a kitten to come home, too." Rianni began, she hadn't yet learned to refuse Isha's demands, "The next morning I wake up and , there she is. So, I ask everybody who did it, nobody did. Today I come here to give you the report, thinking it was probably you, you tell me no. That tells me that not only has someone been able to get into and out of my home without my knowledge but they were apparently standing there, watching me, during all this. So, yeah, I'm a little freaked out. And now here we are together again, and I don't even know what to say....." She felt herself on the verge of yet another breakdown, but she wanted to fight it off.
Isha drew in a breath. "Rianni, I've been away for Four years, I've been back for two days. You too seem to have kept your distance from Deep Space Five. I can quite understand why. I am no longer a member of the Great House Khellian, but if you wish to speak to me as the founder of the Lesser House Vaurek, so be it. I cannot command your actions in any way."
"Damn it, this is not about greater and lesser houses!" Rianni fired back, "You know I don't give a damn about that! Never have. This is about relationships, something that goes beyond names, but that seems to be all anyone cares about anymore."
Isha drew a breath, "I founded a new house in the name of the father of his children." Isha drew thew pawing kitten where it wished to go.
She raised the creature cupped in her hands, then as she lowered it, kissed its furry brow before returning it to Rianni,
"She's very sensual," Isha said, "but you still need to tell me how your marriage has worked out."
"Well, so far he's been in no rush to make it legal, which suits me just fine." Rianni sighed, "He's already getting Khelliana treatment without having to do so and he's openly with his girlfriend, who I feel so sorry for, and we don't spend a lot of time together for which I thank God regularly."
"So, I guess that means Raedhol is definitely dead." Rianni continued sadly, "I'm so sorry, for all of us, he... he meant a lot to me, too." Raedhol had been more than a mentor to her in her early days discovering her heritage, he'd been like a family member, like that perfect supportive uncle who gets you even when your dad doesn't, and she'd come to love him very much, even if she would never dare say it in her father's presence, ~Worst part is I forgot to tell Raedhol himself. Now there's no chance.~
"We don't know for certain," Isha said, stiffly. "There has been no 'official' ruling. The odds suggest that he is."
For some reason that sparked Rianni's will anew, "Then what if I was to say take the Dhelan and go recon the area where he was last contacted?" She suggested, "I mean, I do have that nice, shiny Warbird down there, just sitting and waiting for something to do. All I would need would be a little bit of intel to fall into my hands, that's all."
"And before you say no based on some idiotic ancient Romulan protocol, please know I don't give a shit about any of that." Rianni smiled, "Whatever your last name is, you're my aunt, we're family, and, I mean, you know, for whatever it's worth, I love you." She realized she'd probably missed the chance to say this to Raedhol, she wasn't about to let it slip by her with Isha, "Let me do this for you, I need to do this for you."
"I fear it would be a wasted journey, Rianni," Isha said through a sigh. Even she had given up any hope of seeing Raedheol again. "I will not forbid it, and I can't imagine the thought of spending more time with your intended fills you with joy," she added wryly.
Rianni noticed that Isha had made several references to D'Liin and she was starting to wonder why, "So, this is funny, but for some reason it seems like you're thinking more about D'Liin than I am." She began, but dropped the subject quickly, she knew that Isha wasn't going to tip her hand, even to her niece, "But, I'm sure we can make it a training mission since I'll probably be receiving a whole bunch of green recruits."
"If that's what you wish," Isha said. Then she opened her arms to her neice. "Come here," she said.
Without a word Rianni went to Isha and laid herself on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around her aunt's waist, softly saying, "I've missed you."
"Its been a long time," Isha agreed. She knew what it was like to face a new and difficult situation alone but Rianni lacked her own sense of purspose plus Isha came from within the system. She'd learned how to play the game before she could walk. "Is there anything you need to tell me?" she asked, "as your Aunt, not as the Commanding Officer."
"Okay." Rianni began, "I've kept the Dhelan out as much as possible over this time to avoid D'Liin, as long as I'm out scoring victories the pressure to marry him is off. I figured it was a win-win, long as I'm out there winning, Llair isn't on me to set a date, and if I lose, I'll be dead and I won't have to marry him at all. But, I know soon I'm going to have to marry him or Llair will cut my dad, sister, and brother out of the family. I won't do that to them. So I'm going to marry him and have his kids and hope I don't hate them as much as I hate him because I really don't have a choice."
Isha squeezed Rianni, "I'm inordinately proud of the way you've accepted your duty to the House," she told her. It was not an easy thing for an outsider to do, nor Isha knew, was her mother an easy woman to deal with. "Things do have a way of working out."
"I hope." Rianni said, her voice barely above a whisper, "But I'm not seeing a way out of it yet." It was ironic to her that she couldn't keep any of the ones she wanted, but the one she didn't even want to share breathing room with was the one she couldn't get rid of, "Hopefully he'll be an absentee husband, right?"
"Most likely," Isha said, not that it was in any way reassuring, "Once you have a child you have fulfilled your obligations as long as you are both in agreement. After that you are both free to persue your dreams."
"So best case scenario I'm out of this after about a year." Rianni laughed sadly, "Well, still less time then I would get for killing him, I guess."
"Rianni, I grew to love my husband, but even before that I respected him. You don't respect yours and never will, nor should you in his case. Never speak of accidents."
Rianni was a little unsure of what Isha meant by that, though she often found herself unsure about some of the things her aunt said, she only knew that it probably meant Isha was playing cards Rianni didn't know existed, ~Between her and Daddy I spend more time in the dark than a mushroom.~ She thought, but that was okay, somehow things always turned out for the better, "Of course." Rianni agreed, "Maybe after this I'll finally get a little lucky, huh? Find a woman who won't drop me or run away with someone else or transfer off the base because I'm so hard to deal with...."
"You'll find the right one," Isha said, "At the right time. Tell me, how did Eleni recieve my bathroom suite? She admired it a lot and the designer will never create another. I hoped she would accept it as a peace offering, even if we may never like one another."
"She loves it." Rianni replied, "And, actually, she's kind of missed you, too. Apparently keeping Daddy out of trouble is more than a one woman job. I'm probably not easy to deal with, either. I mean, the whole thing has me kind of, you know, it's just... I'm in a bad place in life, I guess."
Whilst Isha might have lessened her grasp a little she had not let Rianni go - there was a link, back to when Rianni was a reckless pilot and Isha an Ambassador - a link to the past.
"I doubt Eleni has missed me, but I'll take your word," Isha said. "The bad places mark us out," Isha added.
"Yet you come through all of them visibly perfect." Rianni chuckled, "And I, well, you can tell I've been in a fight. But, you know what? I'm not afraid anymore. I mean, all I've got left to lose is my life, so what have I got left to fear?"
"There never was anything," Isha replied, "and once you've learned that, nothing life attacks you with can destroy you."
Rianni said nothing in reply, merely staying where she was and knowing that, as always, Isha was right, and there really was nothing to fear anymore.
-Off