Lieutenant JG Hana Wright - In My Life

[Persephone J]

((Wright Quarters, USS Chin’toka, Docked Starbase 1))

Stoval: Everything will be alright, my Hana.

Wright: I know…it’s my dad…sure he may have lied about my mother and my name and even my damn birthday, but he’s never…he’s never been mad at me for long.

They were waiting for her dad to pick up the call so she could finally get some answers.

Her heart skipped a beat in her side when the screen lit up, but it wasn’t her dad on the other end. It wasn’t certainly the living room of her childhood home, she could see the pictures of her at various ages on the wall, lovingly placed next to the scorch marks from her earliest attempts at inventing. She had gotten her own workshop in the garage after she made those. But no, the man standing in front of that backdrop wasn’t her dad, but her childhood teacher. 

This wasn’t all that surprising. Rico Arnoni and David Wright were friends from their Starfleet days, ending up with them taking a job on Starbase 230 where Hana was born. It wasn’t all that unusual for him to pick up a call when her dad couldn’t. Of course, it also meant that he might also have answers for her.

Arnoni: Hana Banana! Boy if it isn’t good to hear from you! Your old man has driven half of Hades II up the wall with worry after you stopped answering.

Wright: We had a fight, Teach, a bad one. 

Arnoni: Oh I know, he told me all about that. Made it sound like you were being kidnapped and brainwashed by a scary demon like a Princess in a fairy tale. Most of us didn’t buy it, of course, and I really don’t if that’s the guy in question behind you. Looks more like a mild-mannered goodie two shoes desk jockey instead of the bad boy biker ol’ Dave described seducing you to the dark side with lies and false promises.

Hana snorted.

Wright: This is Stoval, he likes maps and poetry, and seeing how I just got reprimanded, if anyone’s on the dark side, it's me. 

Stoval: It is gratifying to meet someone important to Hana. I hope that this meeting has a more satisfactory conclusion than my introduction to her father.

Arnoni: Nah, Davie Boy means well but he’s so protective of Hana Banana here that he loses any sense when he gets it in his head she’s in danger. You should have seen him, nearly lost it every time she tripped and scrapped her knee. As long as you don’t hurt her, you’re fine. Hana’s sensible, if she picked you, you’re alright. 

Stoval: I do not understand the purpose of appending “banana” onto Hana’s name.

Wright: It was my favourite food as a baby and he likes that it rhymes.

Arnoni: As a baby? Kid, you ate two bananas a day up until you left for the academy.

Stoval tilted his head in consideration. 

Stoval: Now that it has been brought to my attention, Hana still partakes in this behaviour. 

Arnoni: My point exactly.

Stoval: I take this to mean you have known my Hana since her infancy?

Arnoni: ::teasing:: My Hana, eh? A possessive? Perhaps Davie was right about you.

Hana could tell Stoval didn’t get that he was teasing because she felt actual concern flash across their bond. 

Stoval:  Negative. It is merely meant as a term of endearment.

Rico Arnoni laughed and shook his head.

Arnoni: Yeah, you’re alright. So, Hana Banana, any reason why you’ve decided to break your silence.

Hana tensed. This was when stuff started getting real.

Wright: Yeah, I…something happened and I need to talk to dad. 

Arnoni: He’s out in the field. I can go fetch him for you if you want. 

Wright: Actually, since you’re here, I want to ask you something first. When dad first brought me to the colony…did something seem, I don’t know, weird to you? Was dad acting oddly?

The atmosphere on the other side of the call shifted, the jovial mood seeming like it was stomped out and replaced with something far more complicated.

Arnoni: I’ll get your dad, kid. 

And just like that, he stepped out of the frame.

Wright: I don’t like the sound of that.

Stoval: It would seem he knows something. 

It didn’t take long for David Wright to come careening into frame, nearly stumbling over himself. 

David Wright: Grease Monkey! Are you okay? The expression Rico gave me when he said you were on the line was just- oh. 

It seemed he had finally noticed Stoval was there.

Wright: Hi…we uh, have a lot to talk about. I haven’t broken up with Stoval, and I don’t plan to.

David Wright: ::sighs:: I see.

Wright: ::straightening her back:: Actually, I’m calling you from our shared quarters. 

David Wright: Sweetie, even if you do love him and he does treat you right, it is a bit soon for that.

Wright: Dad…that’s not. Stoval and I are…he isn’t technically my boyfriend.

Her dad narrowed his eyes at her, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair.

David Wright: What do you mean?

Wright: Um, by uh, by Vulcan standards he’s…we’re.

She was losing her nerve. She figured explaining the permanence of Stoval in her life would be a good way to lead into everything else, but it was hard knowing that he would be upset with her.

Stoval: Hana is my wife.

David’s face morphed with rage, turning into something more of a snarl.

David Wright: Honey, what did he do to you. I know you’re an adult and can make your own decisions and experiment with whoever you choose, but you don’t have to marry the first Vulcan who pretends he loves you. You don’t have to marry him if he knocked you up, you know. 

Wright: He didn’t! You know I’m…

She was going to say sterile but she wasn’t really, was she? Her reproductive system just was more Vulcan than human. With everything that had happened she hadn’t had the opportunity to really process it.

Wright: Dad…do you know what Pon Farr is?

David Wright: Honey what? You know I don't know much about Vulcan culture. They’re notoriously secretive and your mother didn’t tell me much before she left.

He was lying. He was lying to her face. He always had been, she just knew the truth now.

Wright: You should know…I told you when you first met him that Stoval saved my life. It wasn’t on a mission or anything, Stovie’s a cartographer, he barely leaves the ship. It was before he was a member of a ship. I’ll spare you the unfortunate details, but it’s not…it’s a condition. It happens to pretty much every Vulcan and Vulcan Hybrid. It’s deadly, dad. Unless you take care of it, you die. Most are prepared, but I wasn’t. I got…I got really sick dad. My own body was turning against me and I didn’t know what was happening. I was lucky. One of my hybrid friends figured out what was wrong with me and Stoval was able to help. If he hadn’t been there that day…I wouldn’t be here.

David Wright grew more and more panicked as Hana spoke. 

David Wright: I didn’t know…are you okay now? 

Wright: This was months ago. I’m okay, but I very nearly wasn’t. And…you know I have my troubles with my anxiety and my telepathy? Those would be a lot worse if it wasn’t for Stoval. We met when we were kids. Remember when we went to get Teela and you left me on a bench for a minute? Stoval was there that day and we accidentally formed some kind of preliminary mental bond, like a betrothal. It probably kept me sane until we met again and the bond matured into um…

Stoval: A marriage bond. It is enough on Vulcan for us to be considered spouses without any other paperwork. 

David Wright: He formed a bond with you when you were a child?

Wright: He wasn’t much older than me and it was more mutual than you make it seem. It happens sometimes. One of my best friends got married because of an accidental bond like that. It’s just…two compatible minds touching and not wanting to let go. I didn’t know what was happening because I had no training, but I wouldn’t change a thing. 

David: Hana…

Wright: He’s not going to hurt me, Papa. He’s been nothing but good for me. He begged me to give him a chance to let him prove himself. He transferred ships just to see me and he…he’s not what you’re worried about. 

Stoval: When I learned my bondmate was half human I put a great deal of research into human culture and ensured she would be as comfortable as possible. 

Wright: He’s not trying to change me, Papa. He loves me the way I am. He’s not trying to control me, I made the choice to be with him and to move in together. He even puts an arm around my waist in public even though I know you know Vulcans don’t like PDA. What I’m trying to say is, I know it’s moving fast, I was scared out of my mind at first because of that too, but I’m sure. You know I don’t see a point in waiting if I know what I want. 

David: Grease Monkey, you’re still my little girl. I’m worried you’ll regret this.

Wright: So let me regret it. I’m old enough to make my own choices and my own mistakes. It’s just…I want to have a proper human-style wedding and I want you there, dad. If you want to be in my life you have to accept that he’s going to be in it too.

David: Okay. Okay. I can’t say I’m not still worried but…you’ve always been a bright girl, you can make your own choices. I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t give up my place in your life for anything.

Hana wished this was it. That she could end this call now on a happy note. But she couldn’t.

Wright: I’m glad you’ll give him a chance, but…that actually isn’t what I called to ask you about.

David: What can I do for you?

Wright: Dad…you’ve lied to me, haven’t you. My whole life. 

The other end of the call went so silent, Hana was half sure she had accidentally muted it. Then, her dad shook his head and sighed.

David: So it’s already time for this huh. I thought I’d have a few more years, but it was a miracle we made it through your whole childhood.

Wright: You’re admitting it? Just like that? No argument.

David: I never planned to keep this from you forever, Hana. I just wanted to keep you safe. How did you find out?

Wright: You kidnapped me! You literally stole me from my crib and you’re asking me questions?

He shrugged and looked pointedly at Stoval.

David: You’re a smart cookie Hana, but you never showed any interest in it, so I’m wondering what’s changed.

Wright: Stoval had nothing to do with it! It…it was a medical scan I think. Someone updating my profile in the system flagged a decades old search for a little girl, but…a lot of people around me knew first. They were trying to tell me but I didn’t…I couldn’t believe that. My baby blanket, one of my friends…remembers giving it to a half-vulcan girl who vanished. It was handmade and she…she saw the bear I made out of it in a video call and she knew then, who I was. It was one of a kind apparently. She wanted to tell, to run DNA tests because her mother is a friend of T’Pa’s, but Stoval wouldn’t let her.

Stoval: I would not subject her to anything without her permission and was not entirely convinced that her separation from her birth mother had not been done out of concern for her safety.

David Wright paused and squinted at Stoval for a moment before nodding. He didn’t elaborate, but Hana could tell that his perspective on the Vulcan had just shifted for the better.

David: So she found you, huh.

Wright: Showed up at our apartment while I was with my friend. Gave me a hell of a scare at first. I just…is it true.

David: Is what true?

Wright: That you kidnapped me! That you forged my birth certificate! That you changed my name! That you lied and said I was two months younger than I actually am? You told me my mother didn’t want anything to do with me out of logic, because there was something wrong with me! But every Vulcan who hears that thinks its crazy and she…she searched for me for years.

David: There is nothing wrong with you Hana. There never was. The rest…is true.

Arnoni: I was the one who forged the certificate and made a new identity for you in the Federation database.

He had been staying out of the conversation before now.

Wright: You were in on it? What is this? A conspiracy?

Arnoni: Me and Doc. I forged the data and erased records. He made sure you were healthy without leaking any information that could lead back to you. Davie came to us and said he had to get you out and…well we were already planning on going to the colony. He made it pretty clear that it was the best thing for you. I taught you to hack so you could cover your own tracks if you needed to.

It both made sense to Hana and broke her heart. They had been like family while she was growing up. More like uncles than anything else. And they had lied to her too?

Wright: I just…I don’t…why? Why do that?

David: We thought you were going to be a boy. I don't know how the scans made a mistake, but we were expecting a son. We were going to raise you on the Starbase in both of your cultures and name you after my father. Your mother is some kind of noble, you know. The only reason she was able to be out there in the stars was because she had gone through a lifetime of training already, but she was always tied back to her family and the life they wanted her to lead. They didn’t want anything to do with me, or you I suppose before you were born. Only girls could inherit and the last girl born in the family was your mother. They showed no interest in you, so I thought you would be safe from all of that. Safe from the expectations and being pigeonholed into what they wanted. I was okay with that.

Wright: ::sarcastic:: What? And me being a girl changed everything?

David: It did. Before we made decisions about you together, but as soon as we realized you were a girl…my input was irrelevant. She gave you a Vulcan name without asking me and started planning out your future like what you wanted wouldn’t matter. Suddenly all of the plans we made together didn’t matter. There were visiting nobles and grand gifts and plans to take you back to Vulcan to be raised there. T’Pa didn’t…she didn’t even ask if I could get a transfer to come with the two of you. She enrolled you in the Vulcan Science Academy before you were a day old, Hana…and I overheard talks of arranged marriages and education on Vulcan tradition. It was like…it was like the fact that you were also human, the fact that you were my daughter too, didn’t matter. She didn’t cry when you were born, she just started organizing how to get you away from the environment we planned to raise you in. For all of the time I knew her, she never let me so much as speak to her family because I was human....I was scared for you. If they wouldn’t even meet me, how would they treat you? I saw…I saw the girl that gave you that blanket. Half trill, but so…cold and empty. Her gift was heartfelt, but you could tell her mother had wanted something more Vulcan. It was like everything that made up her other half had been stripped away. I even overheard from T’Pa and her mother that the poor thing had tried to run away from home because she was poorly treated for being a hybrid. It was like seeing your future…and it didn’t look like one I’d want for my daughter, or be allowed to be in regardless.

Wright: So you kidnapped because of that?

David: Not…exactly. I wanted to try for something legal, of course I did. But…your mother and I never married. Vulcan is a matriarchy and there is a long history of custody courts favouring the mother. I felt…like I didn’t have a leg to stand on. I tried to tell myself it wouldn’t be so bad, that I could keep contact and sue for custody.

Wright: What changed?

David: ::smiling softly:: You laughed at me. I was playing with you while your mother was organizing getting you to Vulcan when you laughed for the first time. It was…the most beautiful sound in the universe. I realized then that if I let her take you to Vulcan…they would take that from you. That simple, childlike joy and the freedom to express how you felt and choose your own path, would be all but beaten out of you. I couldn’t…I couldn’t let that happen to you. I couldn’t let her turn you into a proper little Vulcan who hides her emotions regardless of whether that’s even healthy for someone part human. All a father wants for his children is for them to be happy. Not content, or satisfied with life, or whatever Vulcans consider good enough, but happy. Truly happy. I didn’t know what else to do, so I took you. I staged a break in and left for Hades II and didn’t look back. I raised you away from Vulcan culture so that you could always be yourself. I…was too hard about it. I know, but I was so scared they’d find you and take you away from me and try to make you something you weren’t. 

Wright: Dad…

David: Grease monkey, I know you suffered because of my choice and that I could have done better, but I don’t regret it. How could I regret it every time I saw you with that cute little beaming smile or that laugh that always made my day. I won’t say what I did was perfect or right, but what your mother wanted to do…I truly believe that would have been worse. 

Hana…didn’t know what to think. Both of her parents wanted to paint the other as the villain in her story. Her dad had run away with her, but was what T’Pa had been trying to do that much better? Hadn’t she also been trying to take her far away to a new life where she knew her dad wouldn’t be welcome. 

She couldn’t hate her father for what he did. With him she felt loved and had been encouraged to forge her own path. He treated her emotions seriously, got her Teela when no anxiety medication worked, and let her be a kid. Hana couldn’t say a life on Vulcan would have treated her as kindly. She had read about the standards noble children were held to and how hybrids were treated on Vulcan and…she would have buckled under the pressure. Would she have even been allowed to run off to Starfleet when she was supposed to be some kind of precious commodity?

She also couldn’t hate her mother, not anymore. Not when she had wanted Hana and had searched for her for years. Not when, even now, all she seemed to want was the place in her life she had been denied. 

Who was she really? Hana, mostly human Starfleet Engineer with a wild streak a mile wide and emotions she wore on her sleeve? Or T’Hana, the kidnapped heiress to house T’Val, denied any chance to learn her own culture? Everything had changed, the foundations that she built her life on shifting, leaving her to try to hold everything together. 

Wright: I…need to think. Dad. I love you. I can’t…I can’t hate you, but if you want to be in my life and come to my wedding…you have to accept that I might want her to be in it too.

David: I can live with that Grease Monkey. As long as it's your choice. 

The call hung in the air for a moment, Stoval rubbing circles in her back as she tried not to cry.

Stoval: Before you go and give her some time to consider, I am curious. How did you block her maternal bond?

David: We ran into a Vulcan healer while we were first on the run. She could tell I was trying to get Hana as far away from her mother as I could and helped us. I don’t know why.

Stoval nodded, considering. Hana loved that about him. He considered all the details she would want to know later while she was trying to piece her shredded identity back together.

David: I’ll give you some space, sweetheart. Call me when you’re ready and know this: I love you more than anything.

And with that, the call ended and Hana was left sitting in her apartment with her world still upside down.

Lieutenant JG Hana Wright

Engineering Officer

USS Chin’Toka

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