A Social Event

[NDak 0]

Filled with expensive vehicles, the flitter port near the Tzanana, a posh upper-crust island off the shores of the Imperial City, home of Senator Jhaen Saevon buzzed with activity. Out the side port of their silver, Hvillah, Issaha and Destorie N’Dak looked on anxiously. Having eschewed their military uniforms in favor of crisply pressed black and charcoal tunics, the two brothers had said little since they departed from the Senate grounds. Once the long, sleek bodied Hvillah finally touched down, they were quickly ushered out from their flitter and escorted by footmen down a long sandy path towards the palatial home that set on picturesque, manicured greens overlooking the purple oceans.

 

The warm, evening sea-breeze swept across the island as they were finally led to the door where they were greeted by a tall, thickly built Romulan with deeply grayed hair and the countenance of a statue and his diminutive, but attractive bondmate.

 

“Jolan tru,” the senator said, “Daise’Erei’Riov and Ne’Arrain N’Dak. It has been many years since you have been to one of our parties, and though my bondmate and I were both sad to hear that the Senator and the Ambassador would not be attending, we were overjoyed to hear that we would have two such distinguished young ios as auself, and au Issaha, Ruealla was especially happy to hear that au would be in attendance. She thinks often of au!”

 

Destorie fought an urge to laugh and instead tipped his head. “Hann’yyo, we are both honored to be invited to your home, Senator. Perhaps you should reintroduce Issaha and Ruealla, then? He also thinks often of her, don’t au?”

 

Beside him, and dying inside, Issaha nodded. “I.. ie. Ie, that would be most… gracious of au.”

 

Jhaen smiled. “Mehnka! Chasra,” he said turning to his wife, “why don’t au take Issaha to the salon and introduce him to Ruella again. Destorie, au come with me, au may join myself and the others in the drawing room.”

 

Issaha looked to his brother with wide, fearful eyes, but was met with only a devious smile.

 

“Go along Issaha, and remember to behave.”

 

“Ie, brother,”Issaha said as Chasra locked arms with him, leading him into the home.

 

Several minutes later, Destorie found himself in a pushily decorated room adorned with gold-pressed latnium leaf, thickly upholstered chairs, and exquisite art works to rival museums. Of course, to io who’d grown up with this sort of ostentation, it wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring; still having spent so much time on a starship, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome, either.

 

The room was filled with aristocratic power brokers from both public and private sectors, senators and captains of industry. In fact were his house name not N’Dak, he would be severely out of place, and though he knew many in the room, it had been sometime since he’d spoken to them, and this was his first formal introduction to them as a peer, and not a child of a great house. In some way, it was liberating.

 

Taking him around the room, Jhaen took pains to make sure that Destorie was properly introduced as an equal, even to the military officers in the room that outranked him. Once such officer, EnRiov Gharan Jaeoln, took particular interest in the young officer.

“Daise’Erei’Riov, did au say?” Gharan said speculatively over a glass of ale, looking mildly impressed at the short young N’Dak. “And at such a young age, most impressive.”

 

Actually blushing mildly, Destorie nodded as Jhaen politely excused himself. “Hann’yyo.”

 

“Though I am surprised how a young man of au pedigree and obvious caliber has escaped my attention. Just where has Galae Command been hiding au?”

 

Destorie mentally frowned, hesitant to reveal his assignment, still it wasn’t like it wouldn’t come out eventually. “I have served for the last several years aboard the Talon.”

 

“The Talon?” Gharan said, his eyebrows arching. “Under Khre’Riov t’Rexan?”

 

“Ie.”

 

“And au have managed to live this long?”

 

“Ie.”

 

“Then au should be commended! That old battle axe goes through executive officers faster than Senator Elral goes through lovers!”

 

Relieved that it wasn’t a grave offense, Destoried chuckled. “Only two others during my tenure,” he said. “But, ie. It is na the easiest of assignments.”

 

“Then au clearly like a challenge,” Gharan said, calling a servant carrying glasses of ale over. “Mehnka! Too many ios in au position would use their family name to get cushy assignments near homeworld pushing papers, or on quiet patrols. Talon certainly doesn’t get those missions!”

 

“As the Lloann’na say, ‘au can say that again’,” Destorie added ruefully as he took a glass of ale from the server.

 

Destorie continued his conversation with the gravel voiced Enriov for sometime; discussing a wide range of issues from his first assignment to his most recent mission. Meanwhile, in the salon, Issaha had his handsful.

 

“Oh Issaha,” Ruealla Saevon exclaimed, wrapping two arms around him. “I thought I’d never see au so soon!”

 

Gasping for breath as the tall, well-built, brunette squeezed his ribcage, Issaha tried to feign excitement. “Oh has it been that long?”

 

“Nearly three years you dog!”

 

“How time flies!”

 

Finally releasing her prey, Ruealla grabbed him by the arm, thanked her mother and drug him across the ornately furnished room to one of the couches, where a flock of young female Rihans sat with wide grins on their faces.

 

“Girls,” Ruealla announced. “This is Issaha, of the House S’N’Dak. He’s the one I told you about! Isn’t he handsome!”

 

They giggled and nodded as he was pulled down into the gaggle.

 

“So, now, Issaha, tell us about all the wonderful, exciting and sexy adventures you had on your ship!”

 

“My… my ship?”

 

“Yes! Your ship! See he’s already commanding his own ship girls!”

 

He felt an elbow in his side as he started to protest and let out an umph, before recovering with a ‘Oh, yes of course.’ He was going to kill Destorie.

 

Though he did occasionally feel that strange feeling of some io walking on au grave, Destorie gave it little thought and continued conversing with the power-broking elite of ch’Rihan until at last it announced that dinner would be served. Smiling and parting ways with Gharan with a promise to come see him before he left for the Talon again to discuss a possible reassignment, Destorie found himself at a large table with dozens of people. Beside him, Issaha was all but cowering under the table.

 

“Au look as if au enjoyed auself, Issaha.”

 

“Oh my elements,” Issaha said with his best attempt at the infamous N’Dak-death-glare (to which Destorie was entirely immune.) “How could you do this to me!”

 

“Do what?” Destorie said as he spread his napkin on his lap as the first course began coming out.

 

“Leave me with her.”

 

“Oh. Well on the bright side it looks like she completely forgot about the last time you saw her.”

 

“I’ll say,” Issaha said still half-glaring. “You have no idea what it was like. Her and all of her friends were all over me. Hugging me, touching me. One even groped me on the sly!”

 

“Why Issaha,” Destorie said taking a roll. “I would have thought this to be your dream dinner.”

 

“I hate you, brother.”

 

“No you don’t.”

 

“Yes I do. And when dinner is over, we’re leaving.”

 

“No we’re not.”

 

“Yes we are.”

 

“No we aren’t.”

 

“Then I am.”

 

“No you aren’t.”

 

“I hate you. If we have to stay then then I am not going to spend any more time with the ladies. I am going to come with you and be a grown up.”

 

Destorie glanced at Issaha, and then up the table where Ruealla was waiving at Issaha. “Sorry, Iss, but looks like your girlfriend has other plans for you.”

 

“She. Is. Not. My. Girlfriend.”

 

“Not yet.”

 

“Go to hell.”

 

Content that he finally exacted some small measure of vengeance against his always in trouble, lecherous brother, Destorie continued through the meal, making occasional small talk to those around him – enough to be sociable, but not so much to draw attention to himself (which was rather surprising given his brash nature.) Once the dinner had been served, the men withdrew to the drawing room again, while the women and younger men (namely Issaha) went back to the salon for card games, or in Issaha’s case, playtime – but not the kind he enjoyed.

 

In the drawing room, Destorie found himself in even more powerful company than he had before dinner. In fact, he was likely the only man in the room who either wasn’t a senator, an executive at a large firm, or a flag officer of the Galae.

 

“It’s a shame that tr'Vatrix could na join us,” one of them said at some point.

 

“Ie,” Gharan added. “Though I would na cry for him!”

 

Destorie looked up from his drink (a rather strong liquor) and blinked. This topic could get uncomfortable in a hurry.

 

“Oh?” One of the Senators asked. “Why is that? I mean his wife did just leave him.”

 

“Ie,” Gharan said with a sly grin. “But I am told that he was seen with a rather young, svelte Rihannsu earlier this week, and has spent much time with her. Quite the looker.”

 

“Well au know what they say about power…”

 

“Ie,” another said, “It is na hard to have lovely women draped all over au when au have such power.”

 

Destorie sighed in relief. They hadn’t heard, apparently, that the woman ‘draped’ all over tr’Vatrix was none other than L'Haiy t'Rexan – his commanding officer. Nor had they apparently learned about her little… face lift.

 

“Au have met tr’Vatrix?” Gharan said turning to Destorie.

 

“Me?”

 

“Ie, au? I mean he is close to that thrai that commands au ship, is he na?”

 

Elements. Destorie hesitated, unsure how much he could actually trust anyio in the room and even more unsure how much of his own past they actually knew. He went for simple, but truthful.

 

“Oh, well, ie, I have met him before, and ie, I do believe someio mentioned in passing that the two have known each other for many years.”

 

Gharan slapped Destorie on the back and smirked. “Well, I am sure she was torn up when she heard that he was single again.”

 

“I bet she was ready to get her hook into him!”

 

“Now now…”

 

“How did she get that hook anyway.”

 

Destorie was mortified, but kept a straight face.

 

“If I recall correctly,” Gharan said, taking a drink. “She got in a fight with some giant alien squid.”

 

Destorie opened his mouth, but a sly look from Gharan told him all he needed to know.

 

“Isn’t that right, Destorie.”

 

“Oh, ie. It was terrible.”

 

“Ah, well then. Looks like she’ll have to get in line then, eh Gharan.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

When the party had begun to wind down, Destorie found himself on a balcony alone with Gharan and the sweet sea breeze blowing in for the night.

 

“Hann’yyo,” he finally said.

 

“For what?”

 

“For covering my honor back there…”

 

“Oh, au mean that thing with t’Rexan’s hand?”

 

“Ie,” Destorie said lowly. “It was na exactly my shining moment.”

 

Gharan snorted. “Na, but au certainly paid a steep price for au lesson.”

 

“Ie.”

 

“Did she ever permit those scars to be healed?”

 

“Ie.”

 

“Mehnka. Io with a destiny such auself should na have to bare such burdens.”

 

Destorie smiled and decided to take the compliment for what it was. “Well I should go find my brother, I am sure by now Ruealla has him in make-up.”

 

Gharan snorted again. “Bedah then, Destorie, of the House S’N’Dak. Au did well in there, I hope to see more of you on homeworld soon enough. Remember to come see me before the Talon disembarks.”

 

Destorie nodded again and tipped his head respectfully, “Hann’yyo again, and bedah.”

 

Leaving to find his brother, Destorie couldn’t help but wonder just what Gharan had meant.

[KhreRiovtRex 0]

Awesome Log N'dak. Enjoyed it....(even with the 'Battle Axe, and thrai comments! ). I kept waiting for you to drop the other shoe...lol. And poor Issha!

 

Logs have been great everyone, great storyline going. Thanks to everyone for contributing and reading!