tr'Jeth Dabi

Torate sent a message to Mimi’s console, hoping she’d read it when she got out of the meeting he felt was stupid. The message spoken was saved for her review. “e’Lev, temar (night) awaits. COM me when au are eliu (finished or complete), hilai (get somewhere, get to) docking ring,” He took typical long strides and got out of the Aegis quarters that were alien to him now aboard this new Sky Harbor Aegis and headed back to his ship, the Ha’feh, a Rihannsu Star Empire warship. Once Torate was on board the Ha’feh, he gave orders to the minimal compliment of crew to stand down, but stay aboard, yet stay out of his way. He commandeered a few of the different rooms aboard to be able to take Mimi around in peace. After preparing his stateroom for her visit, he started checking the time every ten minutes, while pacing back and forth on the Oira (bridge), waiting for his wife to get out of the meeting. The few officers left on duty didn’t say much except standard minimal power comments, as necessary, but they all knew their Riov (commander - Romulan) was on edge, and weren’t informed who was coming aboard, except the two Dheno (security) officers told to meet her. Aegis’ meeting took forever. The night got shorter and Torate felt starved. He kept going into the confession room, much like Federation conference room off the side of the bridge, to devour much of the food that was laid out for their dining pleasure. Torate, of course, took full advantage while digging up a handful of various foods each time he went into the room, and had his fingers and palm nearly clean before he returned from his loop around the room. - - - - Eventually, Mimi was finished with the meeting, so she made her way back to her quarters to grab her overnight bag and checked her messages. She noted the message from Torate. “Torate I’m on my way to the docking ring.” The assigned Dheno officers greeted Mimi at the docking ring in respectful tones. “Jolan tru, Daise Maenek tr’Jeth Dabi. We are to take au right to the i'ulhao'edh.” (confession room) “Jolan Tru. Alright,” Mimi passed between the two security officers and entered onto the Ha’feh, then stood aside, “lead the way.” They ushered her quietly through the ship until the group reached the entrance. When the doors parted open, the group stepped in only a few steps, then Mimi stepped in the rest of the way alone; the Dheno had backed out allowing the doors to shut behind her. The room was dull and grey. The RSE symbol hung on the back wall. Nowhere in this room where there the pleasantries of Sky Harbor Aegis or any other Federation-like ship. If one looked closer at the entrance to this room, the oxygenated, dried, green blood stains would still be visible. Dried meant most of the smell was gone, and with so much food covering the concave table, it filled the room with wonderful Rihannsu aromas. Mimi looked at Torate at the far end of the room, where he sat with both feet up on the concave i'ulhao'edh (confession) room table, ankles crossed one over the other, tilting on the back legs of the chair. With a d’anhae on his lap (a large dinner plate, albeit larger and heavier than standard Terran plates), he was chowing down with both hands. There was no need for utensils when he was this hungry. Torate spoke first, in his firm voice through his partially stuffed jaw, “Jolan tru. If au have dinglha'le (hunger), agollh (nourish oneself).” He swung one fist around, pointing at the array of food, most of which was now cold. He did not realize just how his language had been void of the Federation standard and forgot his manners with the mouth full of food. She smiled and replied, “Hello. No, I’m not hungry, I had something to eat at the meeting,” Mimi paused for a moment, “food from every ally, Romulus included.” “ch’Rihan, we agollhs (nourish) with many delights” he said boldly. “It’s lhao (cold) at this point. We have khlenai (replicator) aboard if au decide to have drinks or something else.” Torate got up and started to walk through the shadows towards her, after wiping his hands first on the napkin, then making a final wipe on the sides of his pants, he got up close enough to kiss her, though it was only on her forehead. As she groaned, “I didn’t understand most of what you said, because of it being in Rihan and my universal translator doesn’t work here. Plus, I’m not really thirsty either, my husband,” Mimi replied. His home-tongue was heavy now, having used it completely for so long as of late. He took her hand, pulled it along the confession room by the viewport and guided her into a chair next to where he stood, looking out into the stars. “Do au know that ch’Rihan was mrei (nearly, unexpected, surprised) by that weapon?” he said in a softer voice, clearly showing that it pained him to discuss it. “Ambassador Spock was only trying to help, Aelabi,” Mimi replied. He inhaled slowly, then continued, “ch’Havran’s dark side was na’taortuu (not decimated), yet remains to continue mining… at least part of it. I suppose the enemy thought they could raid our resources. But the Rihannsu are very resourceful!” “The enemy, you mean the Federation,” Mimi retorted, “that’s impossible, you know that the Federation wants to help.” He wouldn’t share his thoughts; though at the moment he wasn’t trying to woo her, clearly, the comments from him clearly sounded more like a Romulan political rally than a romantic interlude. “Do they? Their help is na felt on the light side of ch’Havran. The moons are nearly dim with dust and debris.” He hesitated; he found himself in a cultural dismiss of her opinion. “Its of na matter, e’lev,” he tried to soften the conversation wanting to keep her for himself, “but we are still nhrai’anna (bonded, married) in this e’lev (love) affair.” “I know they are still rather rough on Romulus and I still love you despite that. I want to be there to support you, no matter what,” Mimi told him. “I just want you to know that you don’t have to do this alone and that there is always someone there behind you.” He thought to himself, Do I ask her now? Just blurt out ‘Come with me, join me as I serve the RSE, be at my side.’ or should I just wait. She’s almost said she’ll be at my side, could I ask for more confirmation before I take her with me? He realized the dead silence in the room. He moved to the chair next to her, after turning it with a half spin to face her. His long arms reached all the way around her body, almost a threatening position if one didn’t know they were in love. He tried to use all Fed standard, so she understood “The time is come, Mimi. I need au baby. A first child for us.” He was now staring deeply into her eyes. “I know,” as she sat down, “the question is: if I’m even pregnant now? To answer that question, the answer is: I’m not sure.” “Au are na a maenek, how do au not know? Na Rihannsu females have this question!” He was more than curious about this process, because all of the other women that were bearing the new race of little angry Rihan’s didn’t have any question when they carried his child. “I know I’m a doctor, but you have to remember, I have a different anatomy than a Rihan woman. Plus, being human, it does take a little bit to even know if one is pregnant,” Mimi told him. Torate listened quietly while he thought about what his Rekkai had said. The words rang true and clear: ‘Au will have a Rihan child with the Lloann’nae or we will remove that distraction. Au have na other decisions, ch’Havran and the Rihannsu race is counting on every male to increase our numbers 10-fold with each wife!’ Eventually he changed his facial expression to lighten the form in his ridge. Torate took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come see my Oira, e’lev.” He knew all of the paranoid crew would frown on this, but he hoped she could see through to the political demeanor of the Man-in-Charge he’d become. “Of course, I would like to see the bridge of this ship,” Mimi replied. He was proud as he walked her onto the bridge, though no longer holding her hand. He walked before her, turning back towards her to show her a station or say something to her only. Torate didn’t address any of the staff and certainly didn’t give into any of their paranoid expressions. As Mimi walked with Torate around the bridge, she smiled politely to the crew on the bridge, acknowledging their presence. Torate pointed out inanimate positions, instead of crew members, until he got to his chair. “Riov… commander of the ship, gives orders from this chair.” He leaned down to whisper near her ear, “and if au wish, aur chair could be there,” he nodded to the empty space near his command chair, “next to mine.” Mimi just looked at him with a rather confused look on her face. As he passed each one of the three remaining staff on the bridge, they would nod and say, “Riov,” and after nod their head down or at least their eyes momentarily. He didn’t want to chat with her in front of any of them, until she understood her position within his crew. This was a Rihan ship, not a LLoann’nae vessel; he thought, she would have to be taught, in time. To avoid bridge conversation, he put his arm around behind her, and ushered her onto the turbolift in a rather friendly way. He knew the crew would see this, and know she was his and they were to be hands-off around her. His crew’s eyes shifted around, meeting each other’s gaze, wondering who knew the woman. Most of them figured he was taking on a lloann’nae female for a consort, but it never crossed their minds that they were married. Once aboard the turbolift, he pulled her up the wall to his height and began kissing her passionately. Mimi kissed Torate back, knowing it had been a long time since they have been alone, even though they had lunch earlier that day. But it was the first passionate thing he’s done since returning. Eventually, turbolift came to a halt, so Torate took Mimi’s hand and walked her down through the metallic and shadowed hallway. He stepped near the door which opened to his stateroom. Across from that door was another, but he didn't mention who normally stayed there, but it was set up often for Loxil. Mimi looked around the area and saw the quarters across and didn’t give it a second thought. The stateroom was huge, but also rather gray and dark. The walls bare, except for the mark of the RSE which was just about everywhere on this ship. In a semi-lightened area, there was one end-table with one picture and recessed lighting focused on it, containing a picture of them on their wedding day. Mimi entered the stateroom and looked around and noticed how bare it was, with the exception of their wedding photo. “Very… spacious, much like our quarters on the station. You are very fortunate. You should know that you did not have to show me around to impress me. I’m proud of you no matter what and proud to be your wife, regardless of what people say,” Mimi looked at him somewhat sternly, “I do not care what other people think of me, except what you think. Our duties may keep us apart from one another, but we should be proud of each other, no matter what.” He held her close, and tilted his head down to whisper into her ear, “I know this deep inside my hachae (soul).” “That’s why I married you, Aelabi.” She used the private first name reserved for Rihannsu people to share only between parents with their child, so they know it, and the adult with his beloved. “You are mine and I am yours. Would you like some decorations or other objects for your stateroom. Maybe a few items from your crate that I have in our closet. Speaking of which can I put any of those items up around our quarters with your approval, of course.” He pulled her close and planted a light kiss on her lips. He pulled back and looked seriously, “e’lev. Leave this lloann’nae world. Come with me, be at my side. Na leave, ever again, my e’lev.” His expression was serious, and his plea was firm. He held her there, waiting for her response. He couldn’t wait to whisk her off and keep her to himself. She looked at him, “I can’t leave. My duty is here on Aegis. But if I had the chance, I would in a heartbeat.” Mimi was growing suspicious of what he was talking about. He held her even tighter, as if it would make a difference in his sincerity, “Forget the Aegis… I need au at my side, be my Daise’Maenek, be here with aur husband.” Mimi just looked at him. “I can’t leave. I haven’t been Chief that long. Why would you suggest that I leave my post? Aren’t you proud of me? He was growing upset and started releasing his grip around her; couldn’t she see what he was offering her? “Mimi, au career, versed au husband? Reality?” His expression said it all, he was stunned that she felt more responsibility to her own career, than to their bonded unit. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, “I guess it’s habit that I focus on my career. Kind of a family habit and tradition. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, my husband. Please forgive me?” He could feel the distance growing between them, even though they had hardly moved. He spoke firmly, “I am NA offended.” Slowly he did move. He then stood next to her, released his arms from her and spoke firmly, concisely, but in a LOT of Rihan, “With my ih'æfauev d’kraep'le (abundantly great sadness, a most intense feeling while in mourning), I release my heis’he (my love) and ailhun (first wife) to her selection in the abyss.” Mimi looked at him, in a state of shock, “What are you talking about?” She started crying not sure of what was happening. “There, au are free to au career. Ay abyss awaits au.” He stood there like an unfeeling rock. Mimi just stared at him, “Are you suggesting that we get a divorce, Torate? I may want to keep my career, but I don’t want to lose you to it.” Torate shook his head, “LLoannae… there is na divorce for Rihans.” He looked down at her, still pretty expressionless, “Au have na obligation to me to have children, au may go about to aur career. Au can even take another husband, but I will always be the first, and au will always be mine.” He had a slight sad tinge across his brow, never having seen a woman push away such a grand offer. He didn’t understand her and possibly in time he would change her mind… or she his. Mimi stood there in silence, thinking; for a moment, “We may not have children right at the moment, but doesn’t mean I don’t want children, because I do. And I want to have children with you. But considering how things are going, right now might not be the best time. I don’t want another husband. It doesn’t mean I can’t come visit you on Romulus to spend time with you and try to have a child. Does that make any sense to you, Torate?” She was going on and on, and he was only half-listening, but he heard his queue and responded accordingly, “Ie. I hear au words. Au have the typical lloann’nae female clause - au want aur bake and eat it too.” He smirked. He let those words savor for a moment, then said, “Mimi, I have na great responsibility on Aegis in a long time. The RSE is proud to have my ability back in camp. We have much work to do to rebuild. I cannot put my arms over both camp and hope to hold on. I must serve.” “I know, you have your duties and I have mine. Isn’t there some way that we can make this marriage work without either one of us having to sacrifice our careers? I know I still belong to your house, clearly,” as she showed him the heirloom ring he gave her, “There’s gotta be something more I can do. I know I’m doing my bit for the Romulan Homeworld by looking after the orphaned children. But what can I do for the family, other than having your children. Can I help with business? I have enough leave to come our home on Romulus to help, if needed. Oh, we need to talk about what happened to me at lunch.” “Slow down, my wife. Let me talk to my Rekkhai. He will tell me what I can have au do. Aur wet in both courts, so au cannot be a judge. When I return, we will discuss it.” He did not even what could have happened to her at lunch, only that he was done discussing it. Torate walked Mimi to the docking ring himself this time, excusing the Dheno along the route. He gave her one last long kiss before he released her to her career, for now. - - - - - - After she left his ship, he considered the last few things to do while planning to leave. He sent one last message to a couple security on Aegis, not encrypted. Harada, Rutian and Elder would receive Torate’s personal greeting, along with his recommendation because of their skills during his time as Daise. He also offered to ‘put them up’, or as he actually recorded, “roof au, if au pass near the Ha’feh.” Another message was sent to Mr. Roberts, informing Aegis of his formal resignation. Right before he disembarked the Ha’feh from the Aegis’ docking ring, he sent one last encrypted transmission to Captain Chirakis: “My designation to the RSE aerhii (requires) that I serve ifryylhedh (resignation) towards Sky Harbor Aegis. I khlinae (honor) my grukhaii (deeds) to au, who has d’mnhei’sahe (great ruling passion). “If au ever need my upper hand, I can get to your back for this help. I have a little warship in my command now.” Riov’ Torate tr'Jeth Dabi RSE Warship, Ha’feh

[Joint Log between a husband, his wife, and his fiancé.] It wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward too, but Daise tr’Jeth Dabi had work to do, and work came before even family due to the devastation his race, his homework had suffered. He stepped into their quarters, Loxil following right behind him close. Torate stepped over to Mimi and gave her a healthy kiss, then pulled her to his side, reached out for Loxil pulling her to his other side. “Mimi, my first wife, my first love,” he crooned in his deep Rihan voice that rattled both women down into their hearts. “Loxil, my soon to be second.” He paused and kissed each on the tops of their heads, briefly pausing during each kiss. Mimi looked at him very cautiously and very confused. “What is going on, my husband,” she replied. Loxil joined in Mimi’s comments, “What Mimi said,” nodding in agreement about his demeanor. “Au got me, both of au are so insightful.” He paused again but this time only looking at Mimi, as adoringly as an expression as he could make with that square jaw, and firm brow ridge. His strong arm pulled her in even closer, lifting her off her feet, pulling her up close and embracing a kiss upon her lips. Mimi still looked at Torate very confused, wondering what all of this is about. “Here’s the details. I received the call. THE call. The RECALL,” he exclaimed. He lowered Mimi, then released both of the women so they were free to sit or stand where they wanted. He moved to the cupboard next to the replicator, and pulled out a bottle of Rihannsu Ale. There were now three glasses on the counter, and Torate was pouring a light amount for the women, and filling the glass for himself. He lifted them together, and gave the light ones to each of the women, then. . . he sat. He sat in the larger end chair with a high back, holding the full glass with both hands, staring into it. Loxil knew that meant some political gesture was about to be explained, though she was not sure exactly what it was about, but she knew that it would be about the homeworld and the Romulan Race’s restoration efforts, not just for the messed up planets, but even for their race in general which had nearly been distinct. “I have been recalled, Mimi, and I am to leave immediately.” He paused, once again, not even looking up or giving either of the women any eye-contact. He lowered his head slightly, then raised the glass up into the air just above his line of sight, “Aaith hvei'khenn eisae,”(direct translation = sad thunderstorm day) and he downed the entire glass without making a face, without that inhalation like breath after hard liquor, not even a squint of watered eyes. He just sat there. “How long will you be gone,” Mimi asked, though she was starting to get a knot in her throat. She kept her composure about her. His eyes finally looked to Mimi, beautiful Mimi - the first love. “My wife, they do not give that information, only that I am to leave within a day,” he paused to look at Loxil, saying, “eisae”. (25.5 hours in Lloanna’ae time) “And Loxil, au are to accompany me.” He held his gaze at Loxil to see how she would respond. “I am at your feet, to care for your needs, and a servant to my brothers, my jahkaer (government), our hfihar (house/clan), and our Eisn (the Sun and planets of the homeworld).” Loxil met Torate’s gaze and held her own, firmly divulging her loyalty to Romulus. Mimi sat there watching the two, still shaken from the news. “Loxil, pack now, go.” He didn’t give another look to Loxil, and Loxil knew it was time for Mimi and Torate to be alone to say their final goodbyes. She watched Loxil leave Torate’s and her’s temporary quarters and stood. Mimi then turned to Torate, “What now?” He patted his thick thigh, "My love," calling her over to him." She went to him and sat on his lap. He pulled her close to his chest, holding her with his long, muscular arms. “I will love au forever, my wife, my bride, my passion. But my homeworld calls, and I must respond. They must have my skills and my hfihar must be represented in our troubles at this time. They allow me to take au, since we married.” He left that as a statement, not asking her to make that decision, or even respond, but he longed to find out her answer. He had thought for the past hour after he received the communication about what Aegis meant to Mimi, her new promotion, the many Rihan children that were under her care. Would she… could she, he wondered while continuing to hold her. “You know I can’t leave, but if I could I would in a heartbeat. But for now I have to tend to this station and help keep the peace between our two federations,” Mimi stated. He bent down and kisses her forehead, “I know - they were counting on that au stayed her to care for all of the children. Au are now the ambassador for these children - the future of Rihan!” He spoke with such pride and boldness about her. This was what he so loved in his wife, what drew him to her in the first place. “Au are what I need back here taking care of our future.” He wanted to ask her if she was pregnant, but he figured that she would have told him in the morning, or the night before if there was any chance, so he gave up asking at this point, fearing that it would only put another painful spike in this situation. Mimi smiled at him, “just come back to me ok,” she stated. She went to pack his clothing. “Hopefully you’ll get to look at the new station. Also, I’ll make sure that our quarters there are in order for when you return,” she said to Torate. He moved to be next to his wife as she packed his bag. “Only one, I must leave everything else behind and travel light. If I can have more, I will send for things.” He put the second bag back into their closet. Mimi nodded. “Of course, my diligent husband.” “I have 2 hours, then the transport will arrive to take me away. I will have Loxil meet me at the transport, I have a few things to settle with the Captain first.” “Of course. Is there anything else you want me to do in the meantime. I know you’ll keep in touch with me.” Trying to lighten the mood, even though the conversation was completely serious, he flexed his arms, “Be strong, even if au hear things - do not believe them. Only trust what I tell au. Au know how political rumors are.” “If I’m not sure, I’ll ask the Captain to verify for me. If that’s alright.” His arms back down now, helps put a couple things into the bag, continuing, “She may not have the clearest intelligence, but that may be the closest au can get, unless it comes from me. I will encrypt with our personal encryption code, but do NA Share that with anyone!” “Of course, unless you tell me otherwise, my love.” He reached for her, “I must go see the Captain now. Come to my side, e’lev.” Mimi nodded to her husband and did as she was told. They embraced, then Torate left without another word, his bag in one hand, releasing her with the other.

Each man and woman was directly impacted by the removal of countless Rihanssu beings. This meant that the proud race felt they were no longer in charge of their former sectors of space. In fact, some whispered and wondered if they could they even hold onto ch'Rihan and ch'Havran (a/k/a Romulus and Remus, respectively, in Federation Standard), their own planets, through rebuilding? The concern was because of the many Terran and Vulcan military, health workers, hard laborers and a cast of others had invaded their worlds. So little of the main planet, ch’Rihan, was actually usable in the current state, there was talk about fears of a takeover. But the Rihannsu did not give up that easily - way past the initial Emergency Response Protocol, there were great movements uprooting to spread out the Rihannsu race, which seemed to be coming via those who were there to give aid. It was profoundly essential that their paramount focus was to rebuild physically, mentally and spiritually, and while doing this, to take control by their own without making it obvious; then to eventually remove all of the foreign aliens from their home. Even more so, would eventually like to take the lead of the entire Beta Quadrant, their original and ever existing goal. For now, however, the age old truce with the UFP (United Federation of Planets) would have to withstand. He spoke of his previous visit to ch'Rihan, where he met some of the leaders, including the current Praetor. In particular, there was a grand luncheon and grand opening of the new dam that held back the Apnex Sea, which had been severely augmented in the attack. He explained the ornate military set up to mark the auspicious occasion and even the banquet put on surprisingly by the Tal Shiar's minions. Delegates attended from every territory and sector that Rihan's still had. Very few foreigners were allowed to be in attendance. The Proconsul made sure that only those necessary to this event and achievement would be in attendance. This was the first rebuild completion marking the Rihan determination to get out from under Vulcan and Terran aid. The unrestrained ruin across not only the main planet of ch'Rihan, but nearly all of the more than 100 planets surrounding was felt by every Rihan with green blood pumping through their veins. Torate had actually been born and raised on ch'Havran, the planet to ch'Rihan's side, but as with all Rihannsu children, frequent visits to the opposite planets made it seem as if the two were of the same. The Apnex Sea had been a grand ocean, magnificently beautiful in Loxil and Torate's time. Their offspring would never encompass the beauty that had been taken so unsparingly from them. Torate didn't discuss such things with his wife. She did not have a home there, had not visited the grand forests of that planet, and he felt that she certainly would not have ever understood the devastation yet determination Rihan's had as a whole to rebuild and resume. Loxil was to be Torate’s second wife, but she was getting anxious about getting on with things. She, too, had been given orders from the Rihannsu government about procreating the Rihan race around the universe. Torate had arrived about an hour earlier for the dinner trio, so he could have time to discuss Rihannsu things with his intended. They finished the detailed conversation about the great accomplishments of their government and started discussing their upcoming nuptials and life together afterwards. She passed behind him, running the tips of her pale green fingertips across the pointed tips of his ear, which sent a chill down his spine. Speaking completely and comfortably in their Rihannsu language, Loxil said, “Will the other wives ever know your passion for home, Torate?” She traveled the few steps back over to the kitchen counter, lifted her slicing knife, and finished chopping up some fresh vegetables picked up from Hydroponics earlier. Torate was sipping on the well-made, and greatly missed, Rihan Tea. “Most delicious, au must teach all the wives, so I am not a day without this. What can one know without directly tasting it.” He placed the tea cup back on the table. “Au’s dinner meeting was a good idea, for Mimi does not understand the urgency and though I could command her,” he paused, then continued,” her and her Terran darned views.” Loxil showed a little of her own views by stabbing the knife into the cutting board made of some sort of plastic polymer. “If au could have just had an affair with the Terrans, and returned to the love of a good Rihan woman’s arms to make aur children, this long wait would have never had been.” Torate’s eyes darkened and his brow furrowed as he spoke, “And au, woman, will NEVER speak this way of my FIRST wife again!” He took in a deep breath and as it was released, it was clear that Loxil would never express that view again to anyone. Mimi arrived at Loxil’s door and chimed the bell. She hoped nothing crazy was going on. Torate just sat there, waiting for Loxil to wait on him and answer her door. She did just that: with quiet steps and a gentle tone she answered the door. As the door slid open Loxil immediately greeted her warmly, “Welcome Mimi. Please be welcome and comfortable in my meager little quarters.” Loxil took a step back, giving way for Mimi to come in, motioning to the table as she arm welcomed her into the room. “I have already prepared a meal, because I understand that you had to work this day and I did not want you to have even more work to do after you finished your station work.” Loxil stepped over to the kitchen counter after a momentary pause. A couple of seconds later, she just stepped back to the kitchen counter and returned to the task of chopping some more fresh vegetables for the salads. “Thank you for everything, Loxil,” Mimi replied as she entered. She walked over to Torate, kissed him and sat down next to him. Torate just sat there. He did kiss her back but there we not huge sparks flying from it. His mood was pretty clear and the tension in the room was really thick. Mimi looked at her husband, she noticed that there was something slightly different about him. “You never answered my question earlier today, is there something wrong?” Loxil watched from her vantage point at the kitchen, wondering what Torate had shared about the situation back home. Torate had been a bit more somber than usual with Mimi since he returned from his trip, but now Loxil was clear on why. He lifted the Rihan Tea and took a long pull, while he gathered his response for these women. He already knew that both of them loved him deeply. He didn't want to lie to either of them, in fact, he wanted to make his bond with them even stronger - as well as the bond between the two women to be stronger as well. Of course, he wouldn’t ever say that sort of stuff in public, he did have a reputation to live up to. “Well, my beautiful, luscious, and precious lovelies. I have had a lot on my mind. Au know that my meetings were endless when I was on holiday to ch'Rihan. I wasn't out sight seeing, in fact, between the Praetor, the Senate and Proconsul government and we must never forget the Tal Shiar, I didn't have any time to myself.” He paused for another long pull while he contemplated his next direction. Loxil had seen him do this before, but she was amazed that he even said this much. She could have busted out laughing on how he tried to be romantic and sweep them off their feet, but this wasn’t exactly the case. She figured he was trying to be warm with them, as a lead into the seriousness of the dire straits of their homeworld. Mimi just rolled her eyes. Without being so serious, he tried to speak of such things in a light-hearted manner. “Well, they are working on rebuilding the major cities, housing, transportation, general food and water type stuff.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a PADD, flips through various files and finally came up with some pictures for the ladies to view. “These are downtown Ki Baratan.” Looking to Mimi for a second, “That’s the main capital city of ch’Rihan.” He started flipping around, enlarging the pictures, pointing out various sights. The angle of the PADD turned more towards Loxil, since that was her homeworld as well and Mimi had never been there - as far as Torate knew. “Where did you grow up Loxil?” he handed her the PADD so she could point out and try to identify anything that looked familiar from her childhood. She took the PADD from Torate and sat down next to Mimi. She made sure that any communication between the three of them focused on Mimi and Torate speaking with each other, and any conversations, no matter how small, between Torate herself were minimal with the emphasis on trying to draw the conversation back around to focus on Mimi. She had been taught the ways of the multiple-wife partnerships, and she wanted to get this right. However, deep down, Loxil was dreaming of the day when this trio would get their act together and finally move forward with the second bonding, and eventually babies! She would bite her tongue though, and be viewed upon as if she was the most patient woman in the world when it came to making decisions in this little group. She also knew that Mimi would not accept what Torate was trying to say as having the important weight that it actually did. She pointed out her home town, the area she grew up in, but it had no bearing on what Torate needed to discuss, so she didn’t go on at length about her childhood and returned the PADD. “Au should see the main cities - the people are working triple shifts. I feel like I'm lazy out here doing nothing, only working double shifts... speaking of which, They did give me some items to take care of." “What type of things,” Mimi asked. Loxil wondered the same thing, enough though she had an idea. He continued, carefully avoiding the things for a bit more, after he nicked the glass firmly against the table as the ice shifted making another crunching sound. “There are many schools of thought on how to rebuild the Rihan Star Empire, and some people are going bonkers trying to get the nation full and over-run with Rihannsu people.” He paused again, wondering just how much he was going to tell his women. “Bonkers? I think they have been nutty the day the Rihan Homeworld became uninhabitable. Exactly, how do they plan on doing this, other than the normal means, of course,” Mimi stated, knowing she just pulled the out the medical officer in her. “They are directing everyone to procreate - immediately, and repeatedly. It's not really a direction either, its like Do It Now, no options there." He took a long look at Mimi, wondering if she was finally pregnant. "Maybe Au need to go in for a physical, see one of those doctors down there, find out if your stuff is working. I know mine is,” he grunted a manly sound and flexed his chest out, nearly splitting some threads, “working fine!” Mimi smiled, “Already one step ahead of you, husband. I have a physical in the morning. Hopefully, I can do better than seeing if it is fully functional.” “Oh, that would be exciting,” Loxil replied with a smile, because she knew that things would move along quickly between her and Torate if Mimi would finally be with child. “I know, then I could get him to stop checking on me to see if it has happened yet,” Mimi stated. Torate spoke seriously, “It would be about time. Some of the security techs are taking bets on how long you are going to hold me off, others say that … well, au womens don’t need to know the bold comments of these lloann’na men when women aren’t around. I will just inform au both that we need to get a move on now.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a list of about 20 women’s name and set it down on the table. He had a cocky smile on his face when he started in to see how far he could get the women going. “After all, I have my work orders now, and may not be around much except to sleep and all that.” He waited to see how they both took it and to see how they’d respond. Mimi gave him a stern look, “Why am I not surprised.” She reached down for the PADD, to see what was on it and noticed the list of names. “Figures, more women. You would think that the Rihan High Council would at least contact me about things like this,” she retorted. He was going to push this one more, “They are all ON Aegis, too. I won’t have to go to far.” The feeling was clear that Torate was implying he had to get all those women pregnant, but there was no way in the world that Loxil was going to address this with him, and especially not with Them! She remained quiet, finishing up the salads. She scooped what was chopped into her hand and dribbled it around the bowl of lettuce. She started mixing all of the ingredients, biting her lip, waiting for Mimi to say something, anything! The silence was killing her. She served up the salad into the bowls already distributed around the little table - which was the loudest noise in the room at the moment. The silence went on for a long time… maybe even 30 seconds. Finally, someone broke it. Mimi spoke up, “Just exactly how are you going to get all of these women pregnant, Torate tr’Jeth Dabi! I mean for crying out loud you’re just one man.” He had never pushed this far with Mimi, but it was time to see just how far he could push it. “Au don’t think I can handle all those women?” He brought out that broad white smile, as his creased forehead nearly smoothed it’s generous fold. She made a fist, near her head and was wanting to strike him for that, but that would require taking him to sickbay and having to write up a report, let alone explain it to the Captain. “Not unless you plan on doing your job as Chief of Security,” Mimi replied. “After all there is so much that the body can handle. I mean after all, I am a doctor.” She turned to Loxil, “You want to throw anything else in? You do have say in this.” Loxil was silent. She had paused after pouring the salads, and just stood there with an empty bowl in her hand, the serving utensils in the other - stymied at the reactions to all of this.She didn’t think her mouth could open even if she pried it open right now. “Besides there are other ways that one can impregnate a woman than the natural way, Torate,” she stated. “But we could always discuss that at a later time, when we are alone, if you want.” Mimi knew that there were a few other ways to get women pregnant. She was trying her best to let him know that she wanted him to be happy, but also support him. To him it probably didn’t seem like it, because she was dealing with all the children in the Children’s Home. Since she finally brought up options, he decided to give her the direction he needed to take. “Mimi,” he turned his head to look Loxil, then back on Mimi, ”my dears, Sickbay will be very busy. Each of these woman are going to visit sickbay and au will be caring for them during their pregnancies.” He looks at Loxil while continuing to talk to Mimi, “Loxil has graciously volunteered to work in sickbay or with the Rihannsu children or both, so that au have additional hands on board. The list of women… will be calling for appointments, as they already received their orders. Some will be impregnated by other men. A delivery will arrive soon addressed for au, Mimi.” “Alright, I will see where I place for Loxil. As for the appointments, I’ll try to keep up the pace. Do you know what kind of delivery I am to be expecting and from whom,” Mimi replied. “The RSE, probably the Health Commissioner or something and it will come in with the next transport from Romii.” He was not sure if this is the time to bring up that the health officials on ch’Rihan have already taken many fluids from him for what they called *testing* but he figures he’ll have offspring in 9 months anyway that he’ll never meet and she’ll probably never find out about. Mimi just nodded. She had a hunch that it has to do with something while he was Romulus. Loxil turned around to the counter, and pulled the other foods out of their warmers, then turned and placed with, each with it’s own serving utensil, onto the table. She sat down quietly, waiting for Torate to announce the beginning of dinner service.

{Joint log betwee Dr Pavillion-tr’Jeth Dabi, and Daise tr’Jeth Dabi.] -=/\=- The Log -=/\=- Daise tr’Jeth Dabi was with Captain Chirakis. He considered that there are only two women on the station that could take him from a 10-point irate to a calm, cool and collected Rihan, one of them was standing there. The other, he had just remembered, was somewhere on the station - much in need of a deserved apology for the way that he got pretty nasty. Torate finished with Kirel, “Then I will get back to securing the station, Captain, unless there is anything else?” The Captain was finished with him and he with her. It was the other calming female on the station that he had to go make nice with. He contemplated his next move while admiring the way Kirel was supporting his position during this serious time. The Captain was being firm, ordering that ‘that those who do not cooperate with security will be arrested’, which was satisfactory for Torate, though if they had been on ch’Rihan, the uncooperatives would have been severely and swiftly met a disruptor’s sting. Though he had not finished deliberating how to correct his error with wife number one, the call was initiated by her first thru the COM. ”Torate, I'm in Security. I finished scanning to identify those in custody. I would like to treat them now.” He opened his end of the COM while he stepped off the turbolift, took long strides towards her, and responded, “Can we discuss this in my office?” Before he reached her side, she responded, “Of course I'll be waiting on your arrival.” Torate knew he did not have the time for a full-out apology, so he had to cover things for the time being, because Feretti’s science guys were getting their equipment ready and were going to head up to wherever the Security teams were, so this had to be quick. Stealth-like, he came up behind Mimi, lifted her up and carried her into his office, secured the door behind him, started with a kiss of an apology. . . . Torate had been ordering Mimi around most of this shift, demanding that she send medical staff here and there. He was under a lot of pressure and certainly did not take into consideration that her department was also under the gun. Mimi had been running around sickbay for the good part of the day, treating both friend and foe. Her mind was accelerating more than she had liked, but that comes with being in charge of medical. On top of that, she was being told to send personnel to help security with identifying those who were friendlies and who were renegades, particularly those in the holding cells and down in the temporary containment cells set up on a couple cargo bays. The amount of work, topped with the amount of stress was certainly a situation that Starfleet and the Romulan Star Empire had trained both of them to be ready for, however, when it hits two married folks, the strain on the situation was certainly not something they could have prepared for. . . . His lips finally released from hers, though he continued to hold her tight. “My wife, I have na had Au in my arms for weeks.” He looked down into her blue eyes, his jaw softened slightly, and his lips turned up to form a rarely seen smile. “And such a beauty to be without for so long.” He meant every word, but his purpose was to apologize, though the specific apology words were just not coming out. All he could do was oogle at her while he held her in his office. He was putty in her presence. “I’ve missed you. I think the stress of this whole situation has been getting to the both of us,” stated Mimi. There was no way that Torate wanted to admit that the stress was a lot for him, but it certainly was not something he wanted to endure for very much time. The world was swimming around them in a frenzied rush to clean up the station, fix everything, identify all of the criminals, but suddenly for the love birds, it froze. It was all of 10 seconds... a refreshing 10 second kiss that put the world back in focus for both of them. He released the kiss and looked into her eyes. “Mimi, I am in error. I can correct it and make the meal for au after we set the departments in order this evening.” He hoped this would show his true love that he was seriously sorry for the terrible way he ordered her around during the last couple shifts without a hint of love. In his heart, he knew the orders were valid, however, he was going to make an effort to find a better way or different tone with Mimi. Mimi was starting to feel the exhaustion starting to set in. “Definitely, after this shift, I’ll see you in our quarters.”

(Joint log between Torate tr'Jeth Dabi and Mimi Pavilion) After completing her shift for the day, Mimi returned to her quarters that she shared with Torate. She took a seat on the couch, going over files of several women who had come into sickbay, when her husband left, due to being pregnant. All Mimi could think was that he had gone behind her back and started getting intimate with the women and she hoped the DNA would state otherwise. It was a while that she sat there alone, stewing over their files before Torate returned from his double shift; a suitable time to get his staff overwrought with more work than they could possibly complete while he was gone. That was his way to keep them out of trouble. “Jolan tru, e’lev,” were his words as he came in finding her head down reading a PADD. “Bringing au work home wtih au?” He stepped to the couch, reached for the PADD then placed it on the coffee table at the same time he landed next to her and drew her into his arms. The honeymoon certainly was not over for him; he couldn’t get enough time with Mimi. She brought him such joy. “Hello my love. Yes, several Rihan women came in complaining of stomach cramps. How was work today?” “It is interesting with so many assigned to the survey crews. You would think they would have no need for that many aboard, but I suppose with Athra and other threats possible, it is necessary. I have doubled their shift duties, and they all moan. I don’t know who they think would be betting all of the work done with so few... “ He caught himself answering a question she wasn’t really asking. Clearly, she didn’t really want to know about his real day, she was more interested in the women, by her expression. “I hope there is not an outbreak. What is wrong with them?” He released his grip from her body and relaxed more on the couch, his long legs extending while dropping his feet to the table after his boots hit the floor. “It seems their all pregnant. I guess the whole incident with the Rihan homeworld has gotten everybody thinking the same thing as you,” she answered. “They are all Rihannsu women?” he said with pride. “The Empire should be notified that so many are being faithful in this time. I will inform my brother. This is indeed good news, my wife.” He bent towards her and gave her a kiss on the temple. She looked at him. “I hope that you haven’t had anything to do with some of these women getting pregnant, my husband.” He knew exactly what she was implying, but he wasn’t about to let on that quickly. He kept quiet for the moment and let her continue to see just how far she’d push it. “So earlier, in my office, when you were talking about children with the Rihan women you’ve ‘selected,’ I do hope you’ll not be sharing the same bed,” she asked. His pause was more than long. He was sure he’d explained the way this would be handled clearly, even before they were married. He felt like he was traveling across a very thin sheet of ice, without anyone around that would help him out. He started very cautiously, with a few more kisses to her cheek and neck to soften the conversation. “e’lev, how else would I father the children? I cannot be a strong father thru some tube.” He snuggled up to her, pulling her close under his arm. Mimi waited a few minutes, before answering. “It just seems to me, not only as your wife, but as a doctor, there would be more options than a tube. After all, medicine has come a long way.” He didn’t want to hear her suggestions, but had to open this conversation and settle the issue. “Mimi, how did you think I was going to marry more than one woman, you my e’lev, my first wife?” He hoped that was a gentle entrance to this delicate conversation. She sighed, “I was hoping that I would be the only one you would truly have. But if you must have other women, might I remind you that I do love you and you do own all of my things. Of course you did say that I would make all the necessary decisions, no matter what the matter is.” Mimi hoped he remembered the vows he made to her. ‘Ie e’lev. Au make the decisions, but to father these children, I must be with them. I cannot go to them upon their adulthood and explain that I was never with their mother, and that a lab put the tr’Jeth Dabi mark upon their head. They would be exiled from the planet... “he paused to correct his wording, and his tone turned rather grim, “from the colony.” Mimi looked at Torate, then towards the coffee table where the PADD listed the Rihan women’s names. “Then I guess I have no choice, but to abide by your decision... but must you marry them?” He felt the need to really bring Mimi around to his way of thinking, so he pushed the coffee table far back from the couch, and kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands in his large ones, and looking up into her eyes. “Woman, au mean the most to me. Au and I shall pick other wives that I can bear many sons and daughters. Once they have had the children, they can move to the colony, and au will never have to see them again.” He waited for that to settle in for a bit, while he kissed her hands and fingertips, and held them up against his face. “What if I find one trustworthy to look after our children, Aelabi,” Mimi asked. “Ie.” He proceeded to add in the zinger, as gently as possible. “And if at any time we feel that a wife is suitable company for us, I can have separate quarters set up on the station for her and our offspring. Au may find that Rihan women are strong, hearty, trustworthy, and loyal women to get to know, and find comfort in having a sister-wife as a confidant.” “So, what you’re saying is, after they have your children: they can either live at the colony or here on the station, depending if I find at least one of them trustworthy?” His strong jaw turned into a wide grin, then he pursed his lips and gave her a big kiss with a deep belly growl, showing his appreciation. After he broke the kiss, he gazed into her eyes, “Of course, e’lev. If you do.” The emphasis was on the IF. His honeymoon wasn’t over, and he wasn’t about to topple that apple cart just yet. “And if you want, she can be assigned to assist you in sickbay, so your work load is lightened. How would you like that?” She looked at her husband and stated, “Give me some time to consider the suggestion that you are proposing. In the meantime, why don’t we consider having children. Also, I want you to answer a question of mine.” She reached around Torate to the coffee table and grabbed the PADD she was looking at earlier and gave it to him. “Do any of these pregnant women’s names seem familiar and don’t lie to me.” He grinned at her, knowing she finally came full circle with the original question. “Let me look and see what my first wife thinks I’ve been busy with.” He took the PADD and reviewed the names. He started mentioning a few, “I know of these 3,” he continued, pointing out just about every woman on the list. He watched as her eyes grew larger, and he knew she was about to pound him. He finally gave up the information after entertaining himself while watching her stew, then explained which women were sleeping with which Rihan men, none of them him at the time. “So you see dear,, I do have my ear to the station, but you are lucky, they are not mine for now.” He winked at her with another adorable grin, trying to keep the mood light and the tension down. Mimi smiled at him, “Yes, I know for now I’m the lucky one to be all yours and not having to worry where you have been at all hours of the night.” He chuckled at her, knowing she could always locate him through the station’s computer. Of course, he had ways around that, but never felt the need to use them, since he was honest and above board with his new wife. “So are you hungry or do you want to wait until later,” Mimi asked. He pulled her close, the lifted her up, “Now, about that child...”

[Thanks to everyone in the crew and those guests that attended the wedding of Mr and Mrs tr’Jeth Dabi. The following is a joint log just after they left the wedding reception.]] As Mimi and Torate arrived at their quarters, Mimi went and got a pot of water, along with the spaghetti and tomato sauce. She heated the water on the stove in the kitchen, then went to change into her civilian clothing and packed her clothes for the two-week honeymoon. “Don’t worry Torate, I’ll cook your food,” she said to him. Then she went and threw in the spaghetti and started the tomato sauce. “My brother is coming to inspect you. Make some for him.” He plopped down on the sofa and watched her, waiting for his brother to arrive. He adored her and was very happy that he married her today. Mimi looked at the wall, before turning to Torate, “Alright, I’ll get some more spaghetti and sauce.” She went and replicated some more of the items that Mimi was going to need. While assessing her cooking and response to having to cook for more, literally comparing it to his mothers, Torate hoped his brother saw what he saw in her. They guys didn’t talk much about it during the bachelor party, but they did get a bit of conversation in prior. This, however, was going to be the first quiet time that they could all sit down and actually spend time together. Makkil had been busy pestering the staff around the station, in a semi-covert way, about who he hung with and what his habits were. Of course, Makkil didn’t find out much, because no one really knew Daise D’heno tr’Jeth Dabi anyway. Mimi let the brothers talk while she was cooking the spaghetti and tomato sauce. He didn’t really care how she got to the finished product, just that he’d be fed well during his lifetime with her. Romulans did not believe in divorce, in fact, they did not even have a word for it, but he wanted a full belly. “Will you readily leave after we finish your food?” It did not dawn on him to see if she was hungry too. The door chimed, but Torate sat there, looking for Mimi’s reaction, to see how she’d care for her new husband. She quickly answered the door, then went back to the food to check on it, before turning her attention to those who arrived. He got up when he saw them, and patted his brother on the outside of his shoulders in greeting, then handed him a Rihan Ale. “Makkil, this is my wife,” he said with pride, “Mimi. She’s the better maenek aboard this station.” And turning to Mimi, “This is one of my younger brothers, Director Makkil tr’Jeth Dabi.” “Jolan tru Makkil. How are you,” she said, before turning to greet her father. Pulling the bottle down from his lips quickly, he responded to Mimi with a nod and, “Well met, Mrs. tr’Jeth Dabi,” he said with a smile. She warmly greeted him, “Hello father. I want you to meet your son-in-law, Torate tr’Jeth Dabi.” He turned to the other man, knowing it was her father because the Commander had just walked her down the aisle, but he had not met him formally yet. Torate extended his hand, like the Lloann’na frequently did, and shook it. “Jolan tru, Commander. Rihan Ale?” “Jolan tru. No thank you, I have to be on duty in a few hours. I’d hate for my daughter to treat me before leaving for the honeymoon,” the Commander replied. “She’s going to cook for you too, Makkil. I know you miss Tearsa’s cooking,” he teased, as he put the extra Ale on the dinner table. He turned to Mimi and interjected, “That’s his wife.” Mimi continued to cook the food, “Ah I see, I do hope to meet her one of these days,” she replied. Makkil knew that was quite a long shot under the current conditions, but he wasn’t about to put a damper on the evening with negativity. “Ie, I am sure she will enjoy that.” Torate invited all of the men to sit on the couch for a bit, “Sit here with me, while my woman cooks a meal, the traditional Rihan meal,” he smile at Makkil. Torate spoke with the men while Mimi brought the spaghetti to the table, she had to serve it directly, as it have enough room for the food plus the table settings. “Alright, gentlemen, dinner is ready,” Mimi stated. He got off of the couch and the men joined him at the dining table where they had to squish in 4 plates, now set up with dishes and a single lit candle. “A bigger table is to be ordered after the honeymoon,” he chuckled to everyone as they shifted in their chairs until everyone had knee space, which put Makkil and Torate back from the table a bit, but they would work that out. Mimi started eating the food that was on her plate. “I hope you like the food.” There were only a minimal grunts in reply from the brothers, as they started digging into the food. Torate wound up a pile of spaghetti noodles doused in sauce, and shook cheese, then wet the dry cheese with a layer of Tabasco sauce. He would chew each glob a couple times, then swallow and repeat. Occasionally, he’d slip out a few words in between the globs. “Au nniehv mnek'nra hvai,” {You prepared good food} were his garbled words, to which Makkil agreed. She looked at him and nodded. Mimi looked around the room, thinking that the room was just a bit crowded, before she focused her attention on her husbands face. All she could think was wanting to fix his eating habits, but Mimi knew that was a futile attempt. The food was good, and everyone wasn’t entirely quiet while they ate, but the majority was silence in an effort to clean their plates. It was only a few more minutes before Torate had the food cleaned off of his plate. Mimi was surprised the brothers did not pick up and lick the plates clean. Torate had considered it, but figured she would cook the same meal again when he asked. After she finished her plate, put her plate and silverware in the replicator and had them washed for later reuse, before sitting back down at the table. He stood from the table, leaving the dishes behind and his brother followed suit. Torate grabbed the Rihan Ale and moved back to the sofa, then opened the second bottle after offering to Makkil, who turned it down. He and Makkil had quite a few drinks at the reception, which was certainly outside of the norm for many situations for either one of them. Neither should be caught shooting a disruptor or manning a shuttle in their current conditions, but neither would admit it, ever! The conversation, though minimal, were dying down now, and finally Commander Pavilion said, “I think it’s time for me to return to my ship before my next shift. Good night.” Then he turns and exits the quarters. Makkil and Torate finished with Rihannsu well wishes, and agreed to meet up once he returned from the honeymoon. After closing the door behind everyone, he gave Mimi a kiss, “Hann’yyo for cooking.” He headed into the bathroom to pack his final items. Torate came out of the bathroom, “Have you turned your quarters over?” “Yes, the quartermaster knows that my quarters are available for any new personal,” Mimi said. “Where’s my stuff?” he asked, seeing that she’s spent time moving his things around. He was going to have to adjust, and certainly knew that the extra room will help once they have construction get underway to take out the wall. Mimi pointed to the edge of bed. “Oh,” he replied, but before going over to it, he pounded lightly with his fist on the back wall, “this should be gone when our honeymoon ends.” “Good, I’m hating the small space,” Mimi told Torate. “Ready for this honeymoon?” Mimi smiled at him, then went to put his dishes and put them in the replicator. “Yes I’m ready. Of course, mind you, that I have to pack a few more things, but I’ll be ready to go. I can clearly see that someone is just as eager to get going,” she said as she went to kiss him, again. He grabbed his duffel, then her two medium-weight bags without much effort. They headed out of the quarters, where he sealed them with his personal code. He followed Mimi through the corridors, in and out of a turbolift, and into the docking bay. The shuttle was open, to their surprise. Inside, they found a mess of balloon’s and streamers covering just about everything. Torate wasn’t familiar with any pranks on newlyweds, so he was building up steam as they toured the mess. “Woman, how long until you clean this!” he bellowed, swearing under his breath to hurt the person or persons guilty of messing up his reserved shuttle. “It’ll be cleaned, soon. Right now I need you calm down. You just get us ready for launch,” Mimi told him. She looked at the decor, thinking to save some of the items to analyze when they return so she can calmly, but sternly, get onto those before Torate does. In his rage, he started ripping down streamers attached to the ceiling panels, nearly pulling them down with it. Her soothing voice started to break through as he saw people start to gather outside the shuttle’s hatch, chuckling at his attitude. It was a struggle, but he worked hard to quickly change his demeanor and finally took the pilot seat, doing the pre-flight checklist. After she took down the streamers and deflated the balloons, she sat in the chair next to Torate. “So, where are we going for the two weeks, my love,” she asked him. “I guess you’ll just wait and find out, Mrs. tr’Jeth Dabi,” he said with a smile and uplifted ridge.

[Joint log written between Mimi and Dabi, and other live parts from other participants during the sim] He continued to hover over each of the bridge officer’s shoulders on the bridge while everyone was working hard. Leilani Feretti's NX console suddenly reported of a star showing signs of going nova in the vicinity of Romulus. Torante just happened to be over her shoulder when the report came in, and his blood pressure rose considerably. Leilani exclaimed, “What the heck?” while pointing at her console. “Look at this. One of the stars near Romulus is showing signs of abnormality.” The SubCommander scratched his pointed ear for a moment, in very heavy thought. “Open a channel to Aegis, directly to Captain Chirakis. Ops, Call the Captain back to the Oira.” Leilani expanded the star chart on her console and responded back to Aegis, “These readings on this star near ch'Rihan have been showing signs indicative of going nova. They have been going on for awhile, and I'm sure the Romulan authorities are aware of it by now.. still.” SubCommander tr’Jeth Dabi listed as Feretti reported it to Aegis, not waiting for their reply, he was hammering Leilani with questions, “What star readings? What about ch'Rihan... ch’Havran?” Leilani ignored tr’Jeth Dabi’s babblings, and continued with Aegis, “My console is picking up readings of a star in the Romulan system. These signs from my experience show that the star becoming supernova. It's been showing these signs for a few weeks now.” The Romulan was losing his mind as what he was hearing, ‘could this be real?’ Finally he spoke really loud and forceful in his direction to Leilani, “Weeks? And this information was not important enough to report until now?” Mimi Pavilion stepped off the turbo lift and onto the bridge just in time to observe what is going on, and to stay out of the way. However, she did get a load of tr’Jeth Dabi’s tone. The comments between Chirakis and Feretti continued, and tr’Jeth Dabi continued to get ignored by everyone, except Mimi. The SubCommander finally interrupted the communication, and went directly to Chirakis, opening his own separate channel, “Captain, we must contact ch'Rihan and find out what the military is doing, the Tal Shiar, the Senate, everyone, and make every attempt to assist. Permission to direct the NX to a new mission.” Her response was short and sweet, “LtCdr Ramson would make that determination. Continue on course.” It was bad enough that Ramson didn’t immediately come out to his hail to come to the bridge, but now to be shut down by Chirakis, his foot hit the deck plate in a stomp like a kid as he began his few steps back over near the command chair. SubCommander tr'Jeth Dabi started beckoning orders to everyone on the bridge, “ See if au can change the trajectory of the nova, so it does not dissipate around ch'Rihan or ch'Havran.” Leilani heard him, and with a nod said, “I'll see what I can do.” He even started talking to himself, “... maybe send the star to subspace some how...,” he scowled, then turned to talk to the others on the bridge and have them investigate this news, and almost stepped on Mimi. “Woman, what are au to the oira for?” Mimi was keeping an eye on tr’Jeth Dabi, noting the change in attitude, and took a step back, “Because I'm currently the senior ranking medical officer. I do have the authority to be up here, if need be.” He looked at her, not sure how to respond, and simply said, “Ie, au do... there is an emergency.” He immediately opened a COM to Daise Harada, “Report to the Oira.” Mimi looked at him sternly, then whispered, “You could politely ask me to get off the bridge.” He just spoke firmly, between dire thoughts, “Na, au stay here. Au are needed.” She smirked and gave him her reply, “Understood sir.” No doubt - he felt that dig. Leilani Feretti reported her findings to Torate, “This star is just too big and too close the Romulan Home worlds. It's highly unlikely that it is possible to divert the star or resulting nova away from ch'Rihan.” He responded back louder to Leilani, and to anyone within earshot from across the bridge, “There has GOT to be a way to redirect! Coordinate with engineering, find a way to save those planets.” The SubCommander’s blood pressure was rising, “Harada, Pavilion.. aus skills are necessary. Au have heard this news... ch'Rihan and ch'Havran are directly in the path of this nova.. we must come up with a plan to save the planets, subspace the nova to somewhere or something. Anything.” He slammed his fist down on the corner of a console, breaking it, “Answers must be found!” Mimi Pavilion was in thought, but got immediately distracted by the pounding of Dabi's fist, “Easy SubCommander.” Leilani Feretti glanced to Dabi thinking she'd probably be just as desperate if Betazed was threatened to be wiped off the map. Harada eyed Pavilion, raising a brow, “Uh... I... “, he brainstormed for ideas, “We could start evacuations immediately, but that would still kill billions and destroy both planets... unfeasible, but possibly the only thing that can be done.” He clutched his chin in thought, “Surely there is another...” He opened the COM again to Captain Chirakis, “I must join them!” He continued with a snarl and open COM, “There must be a way... we moved to subspace with the Breen, let's send the Nova!” he demanded. Chirakis clearly responded over the COM with a growling tone, “You will man your post, SubCommander.” “Ie,... Captain.” was all he could say, because he wasn’t sure how long he could hold it together and man this post, but for this second, the Rihan continued. The COM closed between him and Captain Chirakis. He was deep in angered thought, leaning against the other side of the shards of plexiglass that splintered from his outburst. His face froze as did his ridge, but his thoughts were a fury. ‘I must warn my people. A shuttle... I could take a shuttle and warn them. We must continue! Our families are threatened.’ He started becoming audible in his thoughts, “StarFleet does not understand, we must go evacuate, we must save our families, our leaders, Our Children!” He was just about to disregard orders, Starfleet or otherwise, to demand the NX set coordinates to the Rihannsu system, when Mimi stepped up to him. “Easy,” Mimi whispered to Torate, “We will notify the Romulan government and let them know. But right now you need to calm down and focus.” He almost told her to hush, but then her soft blue eyes met his dark ones, and all he could see is the potential for increasing his house, if something was to happen to his home. “Au will extend my House with honor, woman.” “I know I will. I will always be there for you.” Mimi said softly, with a smile. Right now, all Mimi could do was stand there by Torate’s side. Even though they were on the bridge, he reached over and gave a pat to the side of her shoulder, returning the comment, “As it should be.” She did it, her winning warmth had cooled down the beast. Now he could focus on the urgency of the matter at hand, and think at least a bit more logically.

Torate looked at the bipedal creature as she entered the metallurgic styled office, with just enough light to show her features. The Caitian was brown furred with an athletic build, and closely resembled a panther of the Earth; she waited patiently for the interrogation-slash-meeting with the no nonsense Rihan officer to begin. JoNs adopted a standard parade rest, hind paws square on the deck, free paw behind her back, silver hued flight helmet secured under her other arm. He did not deal with formalities or weaknesses like offering refreshments or chairs to sit in, since there were no such things in his office. He was reviewing her previous experiences aboard Aegis, and at this point, started calling off various events she had been present for: “Academy graduate. Concentration in security and aviation. Pilot during the Dominion War. Served previously on Sky Harbor Aegis in Security. Executive Officer of the USS Excalibur under the command of Captain Ah-Windu Corizon. Injured during a mission campaign against the Boganary* pirate clan. Transferred from the XO assignment to Camelot Station; trained pilots for possible combat against the Scorpiads.*” “How long are you going to be stationed here?” he started off. His eyes then stayed upon the digital file that was covering part of his station schematic, in 4d of course, where he shuffled between layers of write-ups from various department heads and such. “Indefinitely SubCommander. I was due to be rotated back in system, but it would seem the station is considered a bit of a hot zone of activity. My orders were changed, and apparently able bodied officers are needed out here.” If JoNs felt any annoyance at being re-stationed at Sky Harbor or more importantly out in the middle of nowhere, the Caitian let none of it slip back into her tone. She was a soldier, always had been. “Au know the hour is long for shifts.” He paused only a moment to make sure he saw the reaction, then continued, “My lead is also a woman, Lieutenant Spader, pilot lead is Lieutenant Harada. Aus combat training?” Torate didn’t pull a punch or miss a beat, throwing comments and questions quickly at her. “Aye SubCommander. I am rated in combat training. I have been trained with the standard phaser and combat phase rifle. Additional training in hand to hand,” JoNs removed her free paw from behind her back and flexed her claws before continuing, “or hand to paw if you prefer - combat tactics, some sniper training, and familiarity with a variety of bladed weapons.” He caught the little flex after looking away from the digital files, then looked right into her eyes without as much as a change in expression. “Your vision and hearing are more than any lloann’na, according to your file. What frequencies do you listen?” “In a combat or patrol situation, either ground or flight based, my senses and reflexes aid me well. Yes, these natural skills rate higher then Humans and a number of other species, with the exception of Vulcans. I admit to not knowing the specific frequencies SubCommander.” Her ‘not knowing specific frequencies’ confused him, thinking ‘did I not use the right lloann’ae word’, so he flipped one of the medical reports backwards, so she could read from her side. The felinoid’s ears flicked forward in curiosity as she quickly perused the same report that the Rihan officer was referring to. Understanding dawned, as evidenced by a slight purring noise and her tail lashing once. “I see now SubCommander. Due to my sensitive hearing, yes, I am able to discern several varying tones and pitches.” “These help to security.” He made a mental note not to do any whispering when she was on the same deck, if it wasn’t for her ears. He decided to move on to the rest of her indoctrination to this department. “Security Techs (ST) have born in this department since you hovered here. ST Elder expert pilot, the woman ST Rutian has expert hand knife solution,” though he wanted to omit the last, he decided to test this Commander’s skills, “and ST Bean. He will be in your cup.” Torate didn’t expand on the problems with Bean, rather he left it up to her to learn the lazy problems and find his special sleeping closet. If a commander, and a woman, could do anything with Bean except kick him to the curb, tr’Jeth Dabi would gain a little respect. JoNs flipped an ear back in curiosity. “If I may ask SubCommander, is this Bean a problem officer within your department?” The felinoids bright green eyes fixed on the male Rihan. She’d never been the prying type, but like any department, there were rumors and she had picked up on one or two. “He is nothing spectacticle,” Torate said dismissively; she’d find out soon enough. “Your shifts will be 3rd and 4th, unless needed on the others. Au are not given special privileges being Commander, and report to the woman Spader on the station, and Harada out in the fighters.” He considered having her be in charge of the calisthenics for the station crew each morning, since she had a remarkable athletic build, but figured he’d get to that in time. Instead, he just dropped all requalifications on her to see how she’d handle the strain. “Retrain the holodeck and turn your scores for hit/miss ratio of 2 second delay, no more. Weapons updated since your station rights. Make sure training is dated for weapons, verify with the woman, Spader, and see Harada for any pilot requals. Report to medical for a full physical update.” When she left, he watched her tail swish as the doors closed behind her, wondering if that thing would be useful in a hand fight. Perhaps he’d peek at her Holodeck workouts. * Note: Boganary mission and Scorpiads copyright the STSF USS Excalibur Sim.

The Daise placed each woman in a chair and stood before them after security closing the door. “This causes a severe security problem with your illnesses. We must talk in detail. Lillian’s head was still pounding, not only from her own pains, but from the empathy she began to share from all the other telepaths that had recently arrived in sickbay with the same pain. Fortunately, with Dabi’s help, moving to this secluded room seemed to help for the moment. She looked up at the Centurion with her coal black eyes, a frown forming on her lips. “I’m not exactly sure how much detail we’ll be able to give you. Things are still quite a bit fuzzy, but I’ll try.” He looked at each of them. “I must know exactly what is remembered before you collapsed.” He hates interrogating people together, but they were beautiful women, and didn’t mind having them all to himself Lilly tried best she could to think back on the incident. “I...I think we had just met each other in the Midway. Something was said...then I blanked out.” “What were you doing before you went to the Midway?” He wasn’t grilling them like any other interrogation, one might even thing he was slightly soft on them “I was in sickbay. It was a slow shift, not many injuries at the moment. I then told Nick and Mimi that I was going for a little walk. It’s never anything unusual. Sometimes you need a little fresh air...” “Did you spend time with the other any part of the last federation day?” He noticed that Leiliana was being particularly quiet but didn’t point it only Lilly thought for a moment. “The last time we were together, we went on the trip to TK-117 to aid in moving the Deosi. For the most part we were together the entire time.” It was really hard to think right now. Her head still felt like it wanted explode. He hated seeing them struggle to answer, because back on his planet, he’d have chemical enhancements to aid them and make them keep talking, but he knew the Feds would not ever hear of it, much less be privy to their full interrogation techniques. “If you can help with this investigation, we can stop the culprit.” He paused, and tried his best to use the techniques the Federation taught at the academy. “I am sorry that au feel so bad. I want au to COM me, if au have certain questions or ready to have interrogations more.” He almost added that when they felt better, he’d buy them dinner. These Lloannae did not mix business and personal as if both were business like the Rihans did so logically “There was something else...” Lillian added. “During the time we apparently passed out, we weren’t here...” It was hard telling Dabi that. He probably already thought the women were crazy. It took a moment to look at Leilani, to see if she confirmed the same feeling “Yes, I had the same feeling. We were there, but we weren’t. It’s hard to describe. It was much like one of those out of body experiences you read about in those tabloids. I can’t put it to words really,” replied Leilani. “These findings will be reported to the scientists. They may have more questions. One more question at this time.” His rather long pauses was probably dreadful on their heads, but he was formulating a clearly translated phrase. “Did either of au see or hear something or someone before or afterwards that was, or felt like, it was completely out of location?” Lillian lightly shook her head. “No...I don’t remember voices. just remember waking up in sickbay with a bad headache. Sorry we aren’t being as helpful as you’d like.” He considers asking them about the related PMS issue, but dismisses it as there were some males in sickbay that probably helped rule that one out. Leilani rubbed her head in obvious discomfort. “I’m sorry I haven’t been responsive. It affected me worse than I had originally thought. Thinking back to where this all started, I was at my station on the Control Tower when I had this sudden urge to head down to the mid way; I can’t explain it. Like a voice in my mind calling me out to that particular spot” she looked apprehensively at Lillian. “I had the same feelings that Lillian described. We spent time together during breakfast at TK-117, but other than that, we didn’t really spend that much time together. I certainly didn’t spend much time with the other telepaths I saw in Sickbay that’s for sure. You know there’s those old stories on Earth I’ve read about where people got ‘abducted’ by ‘UFOs’. That is probably the best description I can give. I’m not sure if it was a dream or not, it was so real. I’m sure Lillian can agree with me on that” Lilly nodded in agreement, as she felt the same thing. “It was definitely a strange feeling...” Chills went up her arms as she thought about it more.

The case was heavy for any human to lug around, but Torate found it easy to pick up and carry with one arm out of the storage unit. It had been locked into a secure for a few days until Torate had time to deal with this, and until he was able to have a social moment with the Captain. Daise’Dheno tr’Jeth Dabi proceeded through the station after retrieving the case of ale out of the secure cargo bay. The memo was still replaying in his head, but his duty was clear. If they wanted him to be a delivery boy, he was going to be a delivery boy. The one thing he hoped, however, was that the case of ale was meant as a friendly gesture, not as a assassination attempt upon the Captain of Aegis. After passing a few crew members on way to the turbo lift, the doors closed behind him where he was alone. He stood in the center as the turbo lift moved up to the control tower. He wondered how the Captain would take this “gift” from the RSE. The trip was short, the doors opened and he exited into the control tower’s hallway. Torate went right over to Captain Cooper’s door and chimed. On-duty Operations officer informed him that Captain Cooper was not in his office at that time. Torate turned back towards the door, entered his approved security code and stepped into Captain Cooper’s office. He found an adequate spot open on the floor next to his desk. He looked at the box the ale was contained in and contemplated if a note should be attached, since it wasn’t clear by the Rihannsu markings. He found a marking tool on Cooper’s desk and started writing: “Riov Cooper: Rihan Ale shipped from Kiith’Auethnen, ...” Torate stopped writing for a moment, thinking to himself that the Riov is not going to know who that is. He spoke out loud a few times, saying the words and listening to the translator. He finally crossed out the aforementioned words, and wrote phonetically what he heard. “a diplo matic advisary, Senator t’Olkein, to grate you on owning Aegis.” So translation wasn’t tr’Jeth Dabi’s strong suit, as kiith’Aeuthnen actually meant Diplomatic Advisor. Clearly, Torate would never be placed in the post of translator. He signed his designation, ‘Daise’Dheno T. tr’Jeth Dabi’ and left the office, securing the door after exiting. He recalled that the case of alcohol had been inspected by his security team, and scanned by the science lackeys for contraband, which sent up the red flags. The security team was alerted to it’s substance and eventually tr’Jeth Dabi was called in to inspect, since it was full of Romulan markings and had come in on a Romulan transport. The previous memo’s from the homeworld alerted him to it’s pending arrival, so he wasn’t alarmed. Once he knew what it contained, he chuckled to himself knowing how the lloannae went into panic mode over a case of alcohol. Just as he returned to Main Security, the APB came in on Roberts. The team needed to be briefed, and the station completely reviewed.

His quarters were dark, the way he liked. The dull metal walls and dark furniture were to his taste. Torate tr'Jeth Dabi was just getting up from his regular 4 hour rest when he was beeped with a fresh memo on his console. As he dressed for the next shift in his crisp, metallic uniform, he listened. His hands paused over his metal chest sash, then called for the computer to repeat. He listened to the memo again, in grief. " i hsah rhanne am aware au na sthe' an umaere sa'na great aith any longer, t'lhoi wonder how au aihei sa'the Lloann'ae standards of baby aethra... "Pehai the eiuuh case of Rihannsu Ale to au Daise; perhaps it will give au a dhaeg up sa'au new afvu on the shiny kaohht." It struck him as a reference to being ousted from the RSE. How could they say such things? Was the author going insane? Did he not know Torate had been ordered to fill the Daise'Dheno position on the station, while keeping the RSE faithfully updated? Many times, tr’Jeth Dabi had been proclaimed for his infestation of the lloannen’galae. How dare they insult him by calling his commission on the station 'lifeless and empty.' This was more than a stomach turn of events; these were treasonous statements, or at a minimum, a death wish to the author. His hands were tightly embraced around the sash, causing it to slightly bend thinner along one 6 inch section, before he realized what he was doing and released. He considered talking to Jorahl, to see if he'd been tortured or teased from the homeworld... or perhaps not. i = and hsah = though rhanne = I sthe' = performed umaere = interrogation aihei = attend and minister to sa'na = with'not aith = pain t'lhoi = we Rhinnasu = Romulan Lloann'ae = Starfleet Federation aethra = trick pehai = give or present eiuuh = storage object dhaeg = foot Daise (to tr’Jeth Dabi) = Captain or Commander, but meant to be a snide remark. au = you, your na = no, not Daise'Dheno = Chief of Security RSE = Romulan Star Empire afvu = lifeless and empty kaohht = space station [Had enough? ... I will translate] "And though I am aware you’ve not performed an interrogation without great pain any longer, we wonder how you hold out with the Federation Standards of baby tricks... "Present the package/case of Romulan Ale to your Captain; perhaps it will give you a foot up with your new lifeless/empty [sarcasm for life] on the shiny space station.

Reports were standard back to the homeworld on Rihan. General reports about the medical mess and prior thefts thanks to the Deosi were included. However, this regular update included details about public knowledge items surrounding Ambassador Drankum’s exit, and the new Captain Cooper’s entrance. The RSE had to be kept apprised of who he was assigned to, and where their officers were co-coordinating efforts. This station remained an interest to Romulan Command. Torate was very good at dispensing these regular reports in duplicate to both Starfleet and the RSE, nothing had to be fabricated, and of course, his team was taught to be the sharpest around so including updates about them was easy. Regular training sessions and intense security re-training was always in the forethought, because of course, his job was to make those he was in charge of to be and show their best work at all times. Daise’Security Torate tr’Jeth Dabi probably would have preferred promotions from within; The dossier was forwarded from Starfleet to alert him who was approved for command of the station and his background. Normally a familiar removal of a supervisor and promotion due to certain circumstances was something he hadn’t seen for quite a long time. He missed these ‘norms.’ His backup memo went to his department heads, Lt Jg Spader and Lt Jg Harada. Between these two, he had internal station and external station covered at all times. With the ruckus that Ambassador Drankum caused on his secret arrival and exit, and with the games they had to play with the press to mislead them, he wondered if there wasn’t actually come guilt involved in having to stealth him about the station. It wasn’t something he bothered himself to think about for long; he had to keep Spader on top of those inside the station for this massive undertaking, and Harada to keep his pilots out in the fighters and on patrol. Torate had been out of his office in the midway for many more hours than usual. He spent quite some time back at the entrance of the bar until the new Captain left for the CT, watching him, analyzing his interaction with Commander Chirakis, as well as noting Commander Brown’s attempt to get command codes switched over immediately, and the hesitancy this new guy took for such an important task. Bodies were not moved, much less cold before this was done on a Romulan ship. Ah, Torate missed home.

He was ready to gripe again. He enjoyed this time because no one else would listen to his drivel. "Begin Personal Log." There was no computer bleep to acknowledge his command. "Computer what time is it?" Again, no response. Security Technician Bean sat on the floor, in his soiled uniform, in the corner of his quarters, save the blanket. The cold, vexatious room was now his Bastille. He wasn't sure which was better, the cage or this. He mumbled to himself, "Darn that Chief, he removed computer access – again." Bean was known for massive personal logs, but they were always bitter and full of whining about everyone around him. The Chief had given him some things to think about, and clearly had stripped conveniences from his quarters to further torture him. Bean knew he was a slacker; in fact, took great pride in it, often bragging to people he hung with, well, at least in his personal logs. The few that ever listened couldn't believe how much work he did not do. It was more than fear of Chief tr'Jeth Dabi, though that was seriously on his mind, but there was something inside his core that was tugging at his very fibers of morality. Being stripped of his pride, his dignity, and feeling like his humanity was being extracted through his pores. The room was dim, and Bean stayed in the corner finally beginning to get sleepy. His eyes closed a couple times, but he was abruptly awakened by the ships computer, reciting... "As I make my way through the halls and turbo lifts, the bowls of soup are awfully hot. I do not understand why I am required to feed these people. Engineering refuses to replace our replicators. I haven't been issued new quarters, as most of them haven't been refurbished. "There's no way the others were remanded to do this sort of waitressing work. In fact, no one else has had to manually clean up the cells either! My parents would be appalled that I have had a toilet brush in my hand! "Someone must be out for me, for my job. I do not understand why I am beaten down at every step. Why in the world do they persecute me? I do not cause any problems, in fact, I am almost happy with that dusty broom closet for quarters. "I was the one that found the new prisoners during the commission of their crimes. They should give ME a medal! End Log" His eyes were wide. Assuming that the Chief piped that into the room, he called out in anger, "It's true – I DESERVE a medal! I caught them!" The last words reverberated through the room, as if it was an echo chamber. The room grew dimmer as he focused on a light point in the opposite end of the room. The point grew larger, and larger until the entire room was filled with white light. The light started to disburse in various points of the room, where children and a school room were becoming more vivid by the minute. He, of course, was sitting in the corner on a stool. The rather large teacher, with tan orthopedic shoes and a granny style house-dress, marched up to him and began waggling her finger in his face. Her nasal-toned voice started bawling him out, "You, Mr. Bean, will never amount to anything! You have cheated off your schoolmates for the last time. I am flunking you again, so you can repeat my class for the third time!" As she walked away from him in a huff, her shoes squeaked against the floor and the floor sunk under each step due to her sheer size. He drew his head down as tears welled up. "Stop this – View Arch!" he sniveled to the computer. There was no response. {{Rule #40: If it seems someone is out to get you, they are.}} He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands, whimpering to himself about how everyone does him wrong. He felt the room grow cold and dark again. Catching a breath, Bean stood up then hurried to the door. It was sealed. His code would not unlock it. "House arrest – sure, torture me more!" he whined to the air of no response. He was infuriated and started throwing things off his shelf against the back wall. There were no windows in the quarters, which were an inset within the bowels of the ship. Nothing mattered now. He started kicking and throwing, trying to break everything in his room. The room, however, had transversed around him into the bedroom of his youth. Not too young though, it was where he returned between school years at the academy. He could hear his mother pleading at the door. "Stop breaking things because his father would be home soon," she would lament, just as she had done many times before. She lived for the men in this family, trying always to please them and make sure they were cared for. She would help Bean with his homework every night, practically doing it for him. She would also make sure that the reports her husband brought home via PADD, were always spell checked, and written with a precise writing that could help gain him a raise. "Knock it off ma, I am a man. I can do as I please!" He wailed his 5th place Parisses Squares tournament placard at the door, causing damage to both the door and his prize. He worked hard at this game, one of the things he found he was able to do. He even trained with a group considered to be the elite players of the academy. His doom came when he faced Raymond Marr of Omicron Theta, who was destined to be a champion. It was the first round when he hit the ramp and was lobbed down to the floor. Second round, he took too many hits that he couldn't block. This guy must have been bionic, because Bean knew he could beat anyone. He didn't finish the third round; he didn't even get up to try. He looked around the bedroom, and the huge mess that he created. Someone had to be behind this, so again he called out, "Stop this – View Arch!" There was no response. He threw himself on the bed, grabbed the pillow and began crying again, sniveling to the point where his nose was running and eyes were red. {{Rule #45: Clean up the mess that you make}} "H O W A R D!" He leapt off the bed, but the room was no longer his. The recruiter barked one more time from the entrance to his fate. "H O W A R D B E A N – Front and Center!" He hustled to the point of no return, briefly glancing back at his proud mother and space where his absent father would have sat. "Bean, Howard – reporting for duty, Sir." The whole thing was a blur. Suddenly, he was standing in the hallway watching someone move items into a restricted area. He looked around for a moment, "Aegis" he mumbled. This was wrong. Quickly he reported up the food chain, but wasn't about to attempt a sole-arrest. At this point, he was a fly on the fall. His point of view was to watch, not to interact. The scene played out in front of him… the arrests, the possible charge of dereliction of duty, the plastic pick given to clean the cell, and all of the rest. He could still feel tr'Jeth Dabi's hand around his collar bone and neck while being hoisted up the wall. He dropped to the floor, which ended up to be the corner of his quarters. He felt defeated. Reaching to the floor where the overturned coffee table was, a PADD locked into his fingers while he pulled it closer. The PADD flickered as it turned on, and fingers began to tap out his resignation. There was nothing else for him to do. The Chief was clear, his absent father was unchanged, and his teacher even knew. He wasn't supposed to add up to anything, therefore, he was finished. He was broken. {{Rule #11: When the job is done, walk away.}} Security was quiet. tr'Jeth Dabi's door was still broken, but silenced. He stood in his office over his private console, and turned off the monitoring equipment to Bean's quarters, satisfied with his modus operandi would either give him a Chief Security Technician, or remove the bug from under his foot. Rules were adapted from NCIS.

At the moment tr'Jeth Dabi made the decision to obey Chirakis instead of the station Commander it did not hit him what had transpired. It wasn’t a decision he made, it was a knee-jerk reaction. Even his previous discussion with Jorahl did not identify why, but by then it was clear that Torate would be marked a traitor to Starfleet AND the Rihannsu Star Empire. His family would be executed for his actions. Jorahl even gave him an out to not have to witness this disgrace, but Torate could not fathom taking his own life; to him it was even more disgraceful. The time in the brig was good for Torate to wrap his mind about why he made that decision. Would there be reason enough to save his family name or even his own hide? It was strange that Starfleet protocol was not being followed. Did that mean they were taking a stance, much like the Rihan, and he would wake some dawn to his execution? Had anyone been charged or recited rights? He had mentioned this to Armstrong, privately, so that it could be investigated. Starfleet was not known for breaking protocol, from what tr'Jeth Dabi had studied, and following it was something heavily beat into the brains of the academy students. The Rihannsu had no such “right” giving, except the Right of Statement. He considered whether he would be given this right. Typically, it was only extended to state criminals, yet he wasn’t charged by anyone yet. He still gave thought to what he would be including in the statement before his execution. The frozen position he held in the center of his cell was more of a self inflicted torment, though those that peered in may have felt it was more of a warrior's stance. He wrestled until he determined what his obvious flaw was; a flaw that will end up costing his life. He continued to try to put a precise memory on the moment that the events turned for the worse. All of the new uniformed security officers kept pacing up and down the hallway, as if the prisoners were actually going to escape. They would all glance into his cell, make very brief eye contact, then quickly look down then away as if they weren’t actually looking. He knew better. They were his recruits, no matter what was said about his current position. He still felt the qualified leadership over these people, and would be soon breaking them in. Or would he? The click of a set of boot heels echoed down the brig corridor. Jen Spader's quick purposeful steps brought her towards the cells that were the attention focus of the hour; the officers being held for mutiny. Or whatever it was that they were calling it at the moment; no one seemed to really be able to decide. Her aim was the cell at the far end, that of the Romulan (former) CSEC; she'd gotten hold of his meal delivery for the day and held the small tray (bearing a food she didn't recognize) stable in the crook of her arm. Coming to a halt in front of the cell, she looked at the Rihan man standing stock still in front of her; she wasn't sure he'd moved since she'd last looked in on him. Cheerful sort. Brings the whole place up a bit. "Lunch time!" she said, with slightly exaggerated energy, her false eyes scanning over him quickly as if judging his likelihood for trying anything funny. "Haven't the faintest idea what it is, but I guess it won't kill you. Sir." She waited in silence to see if she would get an answer, but tr'Jeth Dabi did not show any reaction. Then she puffed a soft snort out through her nose. "You were talkative enough when Bean was around," she said dryly, her tone lowering, more to herself than to him, since she had a feeling he wasn't actually listening and wouldn't answer even if he was. "Must just like makin' him jump, though I can't say I blame you." Looking up again at the Rihan, she shifted the tray to her other arm, waiting for a moment, and then said, "Can I ask you a serious question?" There was another short silence and then, receiving no answer, she went ahead anyway, deciding to take the silence for assent. No one really seemed to know whether he actually had any authority anymore anyway, so she supposed by any technical rules, she didn't really have to ask permission. "Why me? You managed to put all eyes on me out of the gate. Not that I couldn'ta handled it if Armstrong hadn't showed up, but...well, sir, you strike me as a man who has reasons when he does things." She didn't really expect an answer, but it was a question that had been niggling at her. Still getting nothing, she shrugged slightly as if it didn't matter and turned, letting the force field drop partway and stepping forward to deposit the tray of food on the floor. His lightening quick reaction when the field dropped, allowed him to reach out, grab her wrist, and make their eyes meet. He spoke slow and deliberate, though holding firm, not enough to break it, which he could have done in a heartbeat. "There are three things you had better learn. One - the containment fields are twofold, one for the door, one just inside the door, so you can deliver items safely. Two - Never, under any circumstances, make yourself, your weapon, and your team, vulnerable to an attack, such as this.” He released her wrist, and stood quiet. Spader hissed with pain as he grabbed her arm and she quickly angled her body to take the pressure off the joint and place herself between him and the half-powered force field. He was quick, she had to give him that, and he of course had a point. Two points, really. One, she had left him an opening because she hadn't thought he'd try anything -- which had been partially intentional, to test the theory -- and two, he knew the systems on Aegis far better than she did. Grimacing, she looked up to let her gaze scan his without blinking. "What's three? Sir." He moved slowly now, lifted the jostled food tray from the floor and peeled it open. He started digging in, stuffing his mouth, while lacing his goatee with some of the food. With a mouth full, he looked back to her and said, "Three...," and took another bite. "Never, ever make me wait for my food." Torate observed her reactions, thinking: So, is she brazen to stand there still talking? Or will she run with a tail between her legs? Spader's eyebrows went up slightly at the sudden moment of levity. "I'll keep that in mind. Sir." She folded her arms and watched him eating for a moment as another silence stretched between them. "Not a conversational sort, are you?" she asked wryly, shaking her head and glancing back at the force fields behind her. With a gross mouth full, "What do you really want to know?" He finished his food and dropped the tray by the containment field that remained half up. Spader smiled faintly, turning to continue keeping her body between him and the exit. "I have a feeling you heard me the first time. I'm curious what's going on, sir, since you went and put me in the thick of it." She knew she was treading a bit of a line here, but she had kind of pegged him as the sort who would let her know when he felt someone was making a nuisance of themselves. "Because your training has begun." He was taking in her reactions. She didn’t seem to waiver after he grabbed her; and could tell she was processing everything. He liked that, but wasn’t about to relinquish that information. "My training?" Spader gave him a mildly puzzled look. Admittedly, Starfleet Academy probably had its weaknesses in a Rihan's eyes, but she still felt she knew what she was doing. "Did you expect your Starfleet to teach you everything about this post?” His stance was frozen again, but continuing the discussion. "I've heard you talking to every prisoner. You need to learn that they... we are in here for a reason." Spader flushed slightly, straightening at the implicit accusation. "I'm aware of that -- but it isn't easy to figure exactly where everyone stands here. You're all supposed to be traitors, but the first thing I saw coming in was you giving orders and Bean following 'em. Hard to find a balance when the instinct is you're still dealing with an officer." She shook her head slightly. "Sorry...sir...but it may seem simple from this side of the force field. Out there..." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "It's a weird business." His brow ridge turned into a sharp "V" while he frowned. Instinct? Officer? UNIFORM! He saved the thought for later, and responded to this midshipman. "Were you asked to figure everyone? It seems to me that you are attempting to be an investigator, more than a security officer." He was trying to get the point to her to leave this one alone and not figure it out, but he more wanted to interrogate her, his instinct. Spader smiled faintly and let her eyes drop. He had a point. She liked to know what was going on, who the players were and what the game was, and maybe as a grunt that made her out of line. "Just trying to stay ahead of the curve is all," she said quietly. "I suspect that you will be the," he paused, trying to find the right word. "The floor buffer of the grunter. I'm sure Armstrong will keep you on your training." His phrasing bore the mark of someone who hadn't grown up speaking Standard but Spader got the gist. Keep your nose clean and don't get above yourself. Fair enough. Between her meeting with Porter earlier and this discussion now, she had some sense of these people, enough to satisfy some of her curiosity, and she could keep her head down if necessary. But the idea didn't thrill her. "Understood." She looked at him for a moment as if expecting something more, but no more conversation was forthcoming. Shrugging slightly, she turned and walked through the still half-open force field, letting it snap back to humming existence behind her. Alone with his thoughts again, he put it together. It was very clear now, his mistake, no his obvious flaw was right in front of him. He responded to the uniform, he always had. His concentrated training with the Rihanssu, the weak training of the lloann'nae, both had something in common. Officers were trained to respond to brass, other officers, but not civilians. His training, now his grave, was what made him defy the true chain of command in the heat of battle.

Shortly after the Command staff disbursed from the CT, Torate was in the holodeck training room with Security Technicians Rutian and Senior. Sec Tech Bean was assigned to the Ambassador's every movement and eventually relieved by another security tech. Centurion tr'Jeth Dabi wanted Bean at Main Security while he was training the others. The suite's doors were secured with Centurion tr'Jeth Dabi's personal security code, just in case the techs went running and screaming as if they were scared by a ghost. The large Rihan was armed with only with the new disruptor, set for 'Tribble Trimming' of course. He hardly had to do much training as Rutian, with her long legs, and Senior with, with his quick maneuvers, were running frantically to try and disarm the beast. Had this been an RSE training mission, only one of them may have exited the suite. However, tr'Jeth Dabi had been fully interrogated on the training procedures set forth by Starfleet, but he clearly knew how to push it right up to the very edge of the envelope. One shot hit Rutian at her heel, as her boot was smoking. He was amused that even this setting was worth keeping the toy. Senior wasn't quite as amused when Torate purposefully nailed him in the rear, taking out a patch of not only his uniform, but the wears beneath. You could hear each of them yelp when they were hit or even missed calling, "But Centurion, we didn't think we had to contain the Ambassador," and, "but Daise'Security, the Commander even said to let him go," as well as, "Dr Lepage was summoned to the CT, we had to let him out of the TL." There were no excuses Torate would accept for disobedience, and he kept reminding them that their hides were on the line and how they should be ever so grateful that they aren't in Rihannsu space, as the disruptor would not have been a toy. Sec Tech Bean's eyes grew wide as Centurion tr'Jeth Dabi returned to his office to assign both of their sorry hides to the CJ for a week's duty cleaning toilets or something worse. He had peered into the holosuite while the training session went on, but all this did was proof to Bean why he was NOT required to train, and why the video feed was turned off for this session. He was smart, he didn't record a thing and didn't make a move or utter a syllable when Dabi came through. Once the doors shut to Dabi's office, Bean smiled knowing that Torate tr'Jeth Dabi, for the first time he'd know about, was also.