JP: Lieutenant Is’Kah Xiron, Lieutenant (JG) Hana Wright, Ensign S'Rorr, PNPC T'Pa, and PNPC Is'Lath - Truths, Lies, and Mommy Issues Part II
Persephone J
((Wright Quarters, USS Chin’toka, Docked Starbase 1))
Zha finished applying the foundation before applying a hint of bronzer along Hana’s nose and cheeks. Is’Kah blended the liquid before using concealer around the eyes and nose to add definition to the human hybrid’s face.
Wright: I can’t even speak Vulcan…related to that. What’s a sehlat and is it a compliment to be compared to one?
Is’Kah: Large cat, think a more angry Terren Tigar. Perhaps a cheetah, as they don’t hunt humanoids. We’re too slow for them.
Taking the eyeshadow, Is’Kah applied a peach colour to Hana’s closed eyelids.
Wright: So should I be offended that Stovie said I was as fierce as his childhood Sehlat? He sounded fond when he said it.
Is’Kah: Girl, he might as well have screamed how much he loved you in that moment. Sehlat’s will do everything to protect their charges, even facing much larger prey to protect those they see as their child. If you reminded him of his kitty, then that is high praise indeed.
Wright: Oh. Well I had just drafted a very angry speech for my dad and was making him proofread it. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to get me to tone it down or what.
Applying a lighter red to Hana’s cheeks, Is’Kah tilted zhen head approvingly.
Is’Kah: Nope. You’d get a Vulcan to sit up and listen if he thought you were like a Sehlat. Fierce and protective.
Wright: I’ll keep that in mind the next time one tries to lecture me. I really need to actually talk to my dad. He keeps calling me and I keep not answering. I’m just so confused. I never thought of him as a bigot or anything, which is probably naive of me. It’s just…I know he’s trying to protect me from heartbreak, but when he said those things about Stovie, I thought, for the first time, that he wishes I was something else. He never trusted Vulcans and thought they were cruel because of what my mother did, but he never made me feel like I had anything to do with that. I was just his little girl, pointed ears and green blood be damned. Obviously generalizing like that is bad, but it always seemed like that the scary things about Vulcans were accepted and celebrated by their culture. I never could have imagined growing up that a species that hates emotions could…love so deeply. Stoval translates Vulcan poetry for me sometimes and it’s heavy stuff, comparing lovers to air and the last drop of water in the desert and all that, and I can tell how much he loves me through our bond, but I am not sure that’s obvious to anyone who doesn’t know Vulcan stuff. It’s easier, I think, to believe that a whole species has thrown away basic connection for logic than to believe that the mother of your child was a particularly rotten example of that philosophy taken too far.
Is’Kah: That is a point of view many have.
Zha traded their brush for a thin one, applying eyeliner with a bit of curl up towards the eyebrows.
Wright: I think I need to tell him about Pon Farr. Not the details of course, he doesn’t need to know what the cure to my sudden sickness was, but just…that his efforts to protect me from Vulcan cruelty nearly…well you know…because I didn’t know what to expect.
Is’Kah: Hana, what is one person's view of cruelty is another person’s nurturing. Using Terra as an example, we can find cultures that view publicly displayed emotions as a negative thing. It demonstrates a lack of self-control and a lack of respect for their elders. It is not uncommon for a parent to never tell their child that they love them, but sons and daughters don’t doubt for a second that their parents do, in fact, love them.
Zha thought for a moment before selecting a red lipstick that zha had heard was called fierce, once.
Wright: I guess. Cultural differences are hard to understand when you’ve spent your entire life feeling like you were cast aside by that culture.
Is’Kah: The biggest thing is to keep an open mind. What you see on the surface might not be the truth. Only your perception of the truth.
Picking up the hand mirror, Is’Kah showed Hana her makeup.
Wright: Wow…I look so good. This is sorcery. It has to be.
Is’Kah: ::Smirking: I have Vulcan witchcraft after all.
Rising, Is’Kah walked over to the couch where zha had left the nail polish zha had brought. Yet, before zha could pick them up, zha froze. Zhen heart started pounding at what zha saw, the ship that docked next to the Chin’toka, colour draining from zhen face.
Is’Kah: oO No, why is that here? She wouldn’t have, would she? Oo
Turning, Is’Kah’s face showed a look of panic.
Is’Kah: Hana, I need to leave. Some-
The door chime cut off any more words.
Wright: Ishie, what’s wrong? Did you forget an appointment or something?
Is’Kah: My mother is here.
Wright: Oh god…I take it this wasn’t a planned thing? Is she the one at the door?
Is’Kah: Why would she be at the do-
Zha was cut off again by the chime. Is’Kah swallowed hard before her demeanor changed, expression leaving her face while straightening.
Wright: Why would she even be here at all?
Is’Kah:::in a monotone:: That is the question at hand. Perhaps you should answer the door. My mother shouldn’t be on the other side, but she is. Thus, the only logical way to learn is to open the door.
Hana paused in confusion. Something was wrong with her friend, but if answering the door would help…
Wright: Okay, Ishie. Whatever you need.
She walked over to the door, her palms sweaty but her face set in determination. If whatever was behind this door was causing her friend distress then Hana would face it head on. She was supposed to be as fierce as a Sehlat after all.
The door slid open at her command, but what Hana saw there had her reeling.
Wright: What the fu-
((5 minutes earlier, Transporter Room, USS Chin’toka, Docked Starbase 1))
An orange Caitian in blue uniform stood reviewing details on a hand held PADD while casually chewing on a preserved meat stick of unidentifiable origin. A high ranked ambassador would garner the attention of Captain Serala or at least the First Officer Sherlock, but these weren't officials of Vulcan High Command or Starfleet, they were somewhat lower down on the chart, garnering a carpet roll-out but not the nice red one used for special occasions. So, who do they send? The counselor. Clan heads. No, correction, Clan next-in-lines. Fabulous.
S'Rorr felt the transporter fuzz before he saw and heard it and quickly straightened up, shoving his PADD into one of the deep pockets of his duty jacket. He considered for a moment whether he wanted to shove a chewed on meat stick in the other pocket next to his tricorder and in a moment of panic just shoved the whole thing in his mouth as the ambassadors materialized.
Two Vulcan women appeared on the transporter pad. One stood about 175 cm tall, with long black hair, wearing the robes of an ambassador, while resembling Is’Kah without spots, if zha were a proper size. Next to her was a woman who was a dead ringer for Hana Wright. Bowing slightly, she stepped forward and gave S’Rorr a Vulcan salute.
Is’Lath: Greetings, Ensign. We are looking for Lieutenant Hana Wright. If you could escort us to her quarters, that would be appreciated.
S’Rorr: ::with mouth full:: Oh! You must be... excuse me. ::swallowing:: You must be Is'Lath and T'Pa. I'm Ensign S'Rorr, it's a pleasure to have you aboard. We have you assigned quarters on Deck 9 but I would love to offer you a tour of.. Wait, you said you’re looking for Ensign Wright?
T’Pa: I do not care about quarters. Take… us… to Hana… NOW.
S’Rorr: ::Taken aback:: Oh, of course.. Naturally. We’ll skip the tour, then. Right this way.
It only took a few attempts at small talk on the brisk walk to their destination for S’Rorr to rule it out completely.
S’Rorr: oO Very Vulcan. Oo
(( Wright Quarters, USS Chin’toka, Docked Starbase 1))
Is’Kah: -ck. Why are you here, mother?
Is’Lath raised an eyebrow the moment she heard Is’Kah’s voice. Apparently, the day was full of surprises for the two women. First, T’Pa finally found T’Hana, and she had found her own daughter. That was very unexpected, as she expected Is’Kah to still be on the USS Ronin. There was a question she needed an answer to: Did her baby finely get rid of that Andorian girl and enter a proper relationship with T’Hana, or was there something else at play?
The sight of T’Hana stopped T’Pa mid-step. She nearly missed landing her foot on the floor and embarrassing herself by falling on her face in front of her long-lost child. The possibility of embarrassment was the only thing that kept her from pulling the child into her arms. Instead, she stared at T’Hana. She was no longer the baby that had been taken from T’Pa. She was an adult, a stranger. The word stranger tore at T’Pa’s heart.
There was a woman in Hana’s doorway. Well, there were actually two women, but Hana could not tear her eyes away from one of them. She was a dead ringer for Hana herself, so much so that it was like using one of those filters that aged you by a few decades.
Wright: Please, just please tell me you’re a future version of myself come to give me cryptic warnings about a horrible future awaiting me if I don’t clean up my act.
Because the alternative was too scary to even think.
Chief of Security and Tactical
USS Chin’toka
R240101I14
Pronouns:
She/Her (Player and Character)
Zha/Zhen (Character)
And
Ensign S'Rorr
Ship's Counselor
USS Chin'toka
A240206S04
And
PNPC Is’Lath as written by
Lieutenant Is’Kah Xiron
And
PNPC T’Pa as written by:
Lieutenant Commander Divya Tam
Chief of Operations
USS Thor
A240104DT4
She/Her (character and player)
And
Lieutenant JG Hana Wright
Engineering Officer
USS Chin’Toka
A240112HW4