Interlude: In the company of the archangels

[Asuka Yubari]

USS Excelsior-C | Armory
December 13th, 2385 | 1147 Hours

Asuka knew exactly how she looked in red. Red wasn't gold, it meant her voice meant something now, which excited her somewhat, but at the same time made her sad. The security division was her "baby". She'd been at the helm of the security and tactical divisions through some very thick times and also the thin. The woman heaved the cargo container she lugged through the corridors onto the desk with a loud thud. This was no longer her office. It was someone else's.

First off the wall from the display shelf was the type 1 phaser that never left the shelf. Second was the type 2 phaser that had seen much action. Third was the type 3 phaser that was only pulled out at the worst of times.

Fourth was a streamlined black box.

The Commander had to think for half a second, as this wasn't usually on her phaser shelf. She opened the box which reminded her of the box she got a necklace from, many years ago. A small golden gleam bounced into Asuka's eyes. A solid pip. Yubari closed the box quickly, this was totally Lorhrok's doing, she thought. She opened the box again, just to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. It wasn't.

She unfastened the black pip from her neck and set it in the streamlined box, replacing the solid pip which she then fastened to her neck. Asuka packed the last of her things into the cargo container which, in retrospect, was too big of a container to fill with the furnishings of a spartan armory. Asuka decided to sit in her old chair, one last time. She hadn't noticed for anything in the chair, which should have been second nature.

Another streamlined box with a PADD. The message on the PADD was bright against the black.

"I have a favour to ask of you..." Yubari was stumped for a whole half-second. Lorhrok. "think of it as helping me fulfill my last duty as the Excelsior's captain..." Asuka knew exactly what was going on here. "I need you to put this box..."

USS Excelsior-C | Conference Room

The room was dark, except for a bright blue light on the table, above the light on the table was a holographic projection. The figure sitting in a chair that was shaded from Asuka's point of view slapped the table. The room returned to standard illumination, brightening the room considerably and the windows untinted, revealing the busy interior of the starbase.

"Commander." Neeva spun the chair around, standing in the presence of her executive officer.

"Commander." Yubari handed Neeva the streamlined box. "A gift from your flippant boyfriend." Yubari turned around quickly and left, not waiting for a response.

OFF

[Jordyn Elbrun]

<< Chief Science Officer's Quarters - USS Excelsior >>
<< 1545 hours - December 12th, 2385 >>

Purple smoke drifted lazily upward from where the man was lying. The room was quiet for a change, the kids off somewhere with their babysitter. For the first time since he got back from Jacelon, he was able to just lie there and relax.

But soon, the quiet was interrupted by the door bell. "Come in," Jordyn said with a sigh, taking another drag from the long cigarette.

Moments later, Warren was standing beside the bed. "Hi, baby," he said, taking a seat. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm doing alright," Jordyn replied. "No complaints."

"That's good, cause I need to talk to you about something," Warren said.

Jordyn sat up, "Is everything ok?" Here lately, he started expecting the worst in situations like these.

"Well, things are both good and bad." He took a deep breath, "The good news is, I'm being promoted to Chief Engineer."

"That's great news," Jordyn said with a smile, leaning in to give the man a kiss.

"The bad news is, it's aboard the USS Warhol."

Jordyn could almost feel his heart breaking. "That's still great news. I'm so happy for you babe," he said, holding back the tears that threatened to reveal his true feelings.

"I'll be leaving the Excelsior in just a few days when we rendevoux with the transport that will take me to the Gamma Quadrant where she's stationed."

Before Jordyn could reply, the comm beeped, interupting them. "Delaran to Lietuenant Elbrun. Can I see you in Sickbay, please?"

"It's ok, go." Warren said. "We'll talk more later." He stood and walked out of the room, leaving the man alone.

Jordyn tapped his combadge, "I'll be right there."

OFF

[Jordyn Elbrun]

<< Science Lab 1 - USS Excelsior >>
<< 2031 hours - December 12th, 2385 >>

Jordyn sat in front of the console, still working on a string of forumlas as everyone was leaving the lab. The duty shift had just ended and they were all certainly ready to go home. He however still had a bit more work to do.

As he sat down to work, he heard the doors swish open behind him, and then close. "Hello, Lieutenant," Saline said.

Jordyn looked behind him at the Romulan then back to the screen, "Hello, Mr. Saline."

"May I speak with you a moment?"

"I suppose," Jordyn replied.

"I'd like you to know that I've returned to the Excelsior for the foreseeable future."

"I'm neither blind nor ignorant. I am quite aware of the situation."

"Well then, I suppose what I would like to know, is whether or not we can put the incident with your brother-in-law behind us and move on as colleagues."

"I hold no grudge against you because of Ryan. I'd never even heard of him before you."

"And as for your sister?"

"I'd rather not talk about this," the man replied, getting angry.

"I would like to know, because I have a favor to ask you."

"You're asking me for a favor?" Jordyn laughed, "And what would that be?"

"You know, I had the maturity to put those remarks you and Delaran made about me behind me, I wouldn't mind if you would show a little decency."

"I'm showing you about as much decency as you showed Nicole. In fact, I think I'm showing you more.

"Nicole shot me, about the most indecent thing I did to her was bleed all over those nice shoes, and frankly she didn't seem to mind."

"Did you ever think that she had a perfectly sane reason for doing so? And I still don't know if I believe that happened. It doesn't sound anything like her," Jordyn replied.

"Maybe it was sane, maybe it wasn't. All I know is that she maliciously tried to kill me, and I'd be remiss if I weren't a little annoyed by that. And if you don't want to believe me, then I encourage you not to. I didn't come here to debate the past. I came here hoping that you would show a little compassion, if not for me, than for my nephew."

"What about him?" Jordyn asked, not honestly caring. He was still in shock that this man dared to ask him for a favor.

"He's half human, as such, he has needs that I can't meet. I'm little more than a blood-related body guard. You have experience with human children from raising Ryan's. If you would be willing to take him for a little while, just an hour or so every so often, and promise to treat him kindly--what happened to your sister is not his fault--I would like for him to get to know Ryan's kids."

"What needs does a human have that you can't meet? And for the record, I wouldn't treat him anyway but kindly. I'm not that kind of person. And why does it matter if he knows the kids?"

Maiek glared at him. "Will you do it?"

"You just asked me to babysit your nephew, I think I have a right to the answers to my questions." Jordyn replied, glaring back.

"I'm a Romulan, Mr. Elbrun. My people are not the most adept at Child-rearing. My own father was a cruel man. I don't want Benjamin to suffer as his father and I did. And as for the Willis children, the Willises were good to me in better times, and it would please me if my nephew were given the chance to do better than I did."

"Do I need to worry that your nephew will leave the children for dead as you did their parents?" the Lieutenant asked, hoping it would sting.

Maiek glared back at him, their eyes locking. "I took psychology at the academy," he said.

"That's not what I asked," Jordyn replied, his eyes unwavering.

"I learned there of a tendency for people to choose mates similar in personality to the opposite sex members of their families, usually their parent, but sometimes, their sibling. It's interesting to note that your sister overcame this tendency. You are a vile, spiteful, ignorant little child. Ryan Willis was a better man than you. Coming here was a mistake." He turned on his heel and left.

When he'd almost reached the door, an object bounced off his skull.

"How dare you," Jordyn said, standing.

Maiek looked down at the PADD and back at Jordyn coldly. "Feel better?"

"No, I don't!" Jordyn breathed deeply, "Do you even understand what it's like to lose a sister you spent so long trying to find. She left home when I was young, and I followed her a few years later. Now I find out she got married and had kids and I wasn't able to be part of her life." Tears began streaming out of the man's eyes. "It's just not fair."

"And so you blame me."

"You could have brought her back. And she would be here with me now."

"Does it make you feel better to think so?"

Jordyn didn't respond.

"If you wish to blame me, to avoid the truth to remain in your picturesque delusions, then blame me. What do I care? Just blame me from afar. I am going to turn around and leave now. If you throw another PADD at me, I will call Security."

"Why'd she shoot you?" Jordyn asked quietly as the man turned away

Maiek stopped. "If I tell you that, then there will always be a little bit of doubt in your head that things didn't happen the way you want to believe they did. Is that what you want?"

"I just don't understand," Jordyn stated, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Do you want to understand?"

"Just answer my question."

"I believe she shot me because Ryan Willis died trying to help me, and she loved him very dearly."

"That doesn't make sense. That's not the kind of person she was."

"Very well, then she didn't shoot me. I went on vacation with the family. We were having a lovely time. I accidentally lost track of her in a shopping mall. I don't know what happened to her. I don't particularly care. I am, as you say, a bastard. I am evil, I am simply an angry, incompetent, uncaring Romulan. I am the villain you always expected I would be. May I leave now?"

Jordyn crossed his arms, "That's not funny."

"It doesn't matter that it isn't funny, it's what you want to be true, isn't it?"

"I'm trying to understand, alright. No need to be an ass."

"She loved him very much. I'm sorry if it offends you that she could love a man you never met so much, but when he died, I believe it caused her very intense pain. He died on my account. I was naive, I miscalculated. Against my better judgement, Ryan insisted on helping me through a difficult time of my life, and then when the threat against my life was revealed, he insisted on helping me to eliminate it. I should have done more to prevent his involvement, but I couldn't stop him, and it caused his death. Your sister had every right to be angry with me. I don't feel that she had the right to try to kill me. Perhaps you disagree."

"I don't know." Jordyn brushed past the man, leaving him alone in the science lab.

Maiek waited a moment for Elbrun to get ahead of him, and then quickly left the lab himself.

OFF

[Lraac Ovdan]

<<USS Excelsior - Arboretum>>
<<The Trip Home>>

Jordyn Elbrun was walking through the thickest part of the arboretum -- the part with the trees, near the back wall. He was thinking about Jacelon. He was thinking about the Iconians. He was thinking about how beautiful it was in here. He was thinking about the past and the future and bits of the present. That is to say, most things that were thinkable were crossing Jordyn's mind today.

One thing Jordyn was not thinking about was whether there were any Bolians hiding in the leaves above him waiting for him to pass by so they could leap down from the sky and tackle him to the ground.

This omission proved his undoing.

The blue mound fell atop the science officer, causing them to meet the ground with a loud thump. As the dust settled, Jordyn did his best to push upward, the action proving in vain.

L maintained his full-body pin on Elbrun's back, but the tone of his voice was strangely academic. "If I had been a razorbeast," he noted, "your liver would have been eaten by now."

"But you're not, and I would never expect a razorbeast here in the arboretum," Jordyn replied to the voice from above.

"That's what the razorbeasts are counting on, Lieutenant." With that, L lifted the weight of us body off of Elbrun and rolled over on the grass. "You know, 'dyn? Sometimes I worry that our friendship is based too much on me physically abusing you in terribly silly ways."

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing," Jordyn replied. He pushed himself from the ground into a sitting position next to the Bolian.

"Not enough to stop hangin' around me, though."

"Nah. I like you."

"Aw. You almost make me wish I didn't not hug."

Jordyn rolled his eyes, "Then you wouldn't be you. Oh, I have to tell you what happened, I almost forgot."

L stifled a yawn. "Sorry. Just woke up. Shoot."

"While I was phased, one of the Iconians came to me and started talking about me being sick. And they offered me the cure."

L blinked. "Sorry, but I'm still pretty tired. I thought I just heard you say that an Iconian offered you the cure for cancer."

"Well, there technically is a cure for cancer. Just not for Betazoids. But yea, they have a cure."

"What do they want in return? Blood? Money? Blood money? Monied blood? Bloody money?"

"They just offered. For free."

"This wasn't a dream?" L shook his head in amazement. "What did you say?"

"I turned it down," he simply replied.

"What?" L had actually jumped to his feet. "Lieutenant, I was already planning the cocktail list for your got-well party. I demand an explanation for why I can't throw that party now."

"Continue with your plans," Jordyn said, standing himself up. "Look, if they found a cure, that means that one exists. I can find it too. Besides, having Leukemia seems to have put me in a different outlook on life. And I like that. You were right what you told me before, everyone dies at some point, and so will I. But even without a cure, I'm going to live a long and happy life."

L relaxed, leaning back against one of the trees, but his brow remained crinkled skeptically. "'Everybody dies' is a scientific observation, 'dyn. It's not meant to be a goal."

"It's not a goal. But finding a cure gives me something to work for." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Besides, if I had stayed and listened to the cure, I wouldn't have been around to help Maxwell and Hst when they were in trouble, so it ended up helping them."

"But it could be years before we discover the cure for ourselves! It could be millenia!" L's body sagged. "I'm sorry, 'dyn. You put your shipmates first, and that's exactly right. I'll be the last one to hold that against you. It's just... it's just I don't want you to die."

Jordyn smiled at the man, who seemed to almost be pouting. And knowing the Bolian wouldn't like it, he walked towards him and wrapped him in his arms. "I'm alright. Look at me, I survived an almost razorbeast attack. Who else can say that?"

L squirmed out of Jordyn's grip as quickly as seemed polite... but he grinned anyway. "So far on this ship? Just you. But, between you and me, I'm hoping to get Adow before the end of the day."

"Get her how?" Jordyn asked, playing with a leaf.

"Hopefully the same way I got you," L said. "But I'm thinking about painting my teeth with paralytic venom and leaving her lying here immobile for a few hours. You know, to add to the realism." He paused, rolling his tongue around the inside of his mouth thoughtfully. "Is that pushing it too far, do you think?

"For you? Nah..." Jordyn leaned against the tree, mesmerized by the leaf in his hands. "So it's crazy about Captain Lorhrok, isn't it? Glad he's gone. I wasn't a fan."

"It's not that interesting," L said, trying to grab the leaf out of Jordyn's hands. He failed; the leaf tore in two instead and scraps fluttered to the ground. L looked away. "Lorhrok was a bad captain. That's all I'll say against him. I wish, though..." Here L paused, and started unconsciously playing with his half of the leaf. "I wish he'd had the guts to say goodbye. Also," he continued without missing a beat, "I wish he'd left me a bigger cake."

"Wait, there's cake? And you didn't bring me any? That's so rude..." Jordyn replied.


"Hey, Lorhrok and I had a special relationship." L raised his hands defensively. "I kidnapped him and he ruined my face. People who've been through that together should not have to share their cakes with outsiders." He remembered something else. "Also, didn't you Neeva give you the pie I made her in the Distant Past? So we're even already."

Jordyn crossed his arms, "Well dang, I wanted some cake..."

"You'll get no sympathy from me. I just hope Lieutenant Commander J'naya is up to the job. But I have a good feeling about any captain who starts at the rank of Lieutenant Commander."

"Well I do like her. So I'm pretty sure we'll get along."

"You've buried your greviances with her?"

"I had greviances?" Jordyn asked, trying to remember.

L glanced sidelong at the tree he was next to. "Umm... never mind."

Jordyn shrugged, "So how's the eye?"

"Same as the face: only bleeds when I drink too much."

"How's the cancer?"

"Same as always. Only bleeds..." he thought for a second, his brow scrunching in the process, "well, never."

"That seems more medically normal."

"So I've been told." Jordyn pushed his finger through the sod surrounding a rose bush, "So I found that guy we were talking about."

"The what who?"

"Remember when we were having our personal issues with Alecz, and then we were talking about contacting the old Captaiin? Donovan, remember?"

L remembered. "Nope. Don't recall. His name was sillier 'n that, though. Dahvinn or something. What'd we want him for?"

"And where'd you find him?"

"Honestly, I don't remember why we wanted him. But I found him a while back. His name is Dovan. Alcar Dovan. He's at a penal colony. But Starfleet won't tell me why."

"If he's half the man this crew thinks he is, he did it for something heroic, like framing himself for a crime he didn't commit. But if he's half the man I bet he is, the guy's doing time for something obscene, like starting a war. The scuttlebutt makes him sound like a dangerous nutter."

"Well, when I tried to send him a message, it was flagged and deleted. That's why I investigated what he was in for, and all I got was that it was classified. So something's not adding up," Jordyn said, getting even more curious by talking about it.

"Did you find out who classified it? That might be a key piece of information in finding out who to contact about it." L shrugged. "Or maybe you could just ask one of the crew. I doubt a captain can fall from his chair without the rumors spreading like cancer cells in a smoker's lung. Ha ha." L cocked his head. "Too soon?"

"Nah, I'm only a smoker who also has cancer." Jordyn giggled, "I'll keep you informed on what I find out."

They watched each other contemplatively for another minute, Jordyn still fiddling with some dumb leaf or flower or something. Then the Bolian shook his head, stood up, and swatted whatever-it-was out of Elbrun's hand.

"Come on. Talking is boring. Are you up for crashing Neeva's game night with the ops staff?"

Jordyn grinned, "Alright. Let's go." The duo walked towards the door, "I wonder if they're playing monopoly?"

Lraac Ovdan attended a gaming party.

-OFF-

JOINT POSTED BY:
L' 'n' 'dyn

[Shria Hst]

<<USS Excelsior - Arboretum>>
<<The Trip Home>>

Shria sat under a Belgosian palm frond, more like she sat inside it, the fronds covering the tree from crown to the ground. No one would know she was in there unless they had a tricorder. She was reflecting about the choice she was making in taking some time away from Paco.

Their relationship had been great. Great was an understatement. But she had to know something.

Was here love for him a natural reaction of their personalities linking to each other, or was it because of the psi link they shared in several dream states, always ending in very intimate dreams.

"This is a bad thing" said the voice of Miriam, her first host, and only other female in Hst's joinings. The end of the sentence was said without a raise in inflection in the voice, but Shria knew it was phrased as a question.

"I want it to be real." Shria answered in her mind.

"If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..." Dal ton, the scientist said.

"I don't want ducks. I want to know that I am not being controlled by Paco through some telepathic manipulation." she rebuffed the second host.

"So it's about being in control." Skl'ar answered.

"Yes. Exactly. I want to know that I am responsible for my own actions and not being manipulated. And if none of you can understand that, find somewhere else to haunt."

"Even if it means losing him?" Palner asked.

"Yes. Better to live a life true to oneself then living a lie and in heaven."

And life with Paco had been pretty close to heaven. A tear fell down her cheek as she dozed off, dreaming of having cakes with razor beasts of all things.

Shria Hst