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 VI
Persephone J
(( Wright Quarters, USS Chin’toka, Docked Starbase 1 ))
Wright: ::voice barely above a whisper:: You’ll have to forgive me if I can’t take you at your word. I…growing up I thought that Vulcans didn’t feel anything. That they were incapable of it. I was so scared that I would wake up one day an empty shell. And then the anxiety got bad and the telepathy got worse…dad never made me feel like there was anything wrong with me, but I knew that more Vulcan was not anything I wanted to be. I mean having to hide yourself just because some old dead guy said so? Being forced to marry a guy someone else picked who would never be capable of loving me? I…I made a bit of an effort to be as far from Vulcan as possible.
Is’Lath: While some clans still use arranged marriages, it is not logical to be forced into anything you do not desire. T’Pa’s and my clan haven’t had forced marriage since before humanity's first contact.
T’Pa: Interesting. That sounds similar to the things David said while we were together. The idea of arranged marriages upset him greatly. I understood why they were objectionable, but I didn't understand why he discussed it as often as he did. It was not my path to have an arranged marriage. It did not help when I did not want to take him to Vulcan to meet my family. I knew they would not accept him and did not want him to be upset by them.
Hana snorted a little.
Wright: I’m glad I didn’t grow up there. No one made me feel weird for being a hybrid, but I’ve heard how half-Vulcan kids get treated on Vulcan and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Some of the stuff Is’Kah’s told me…besides it’s funny because now he’s the one playing disapproving parent.
Is’Kah’s face slightly paled from Hana’s comment, avoiding her mother’s gaze.
Is’Lath: Children will be children.
T’Pa: One of the things Vulcans and Humans have in common is that their children are cruel to each other.
Hana decided not to bring up that some of the horror stories she had heard were about how Vulcan adults treated children.
Wright: Well it doesn’t matter. I’ve never been to Vulcan. I got interested in engineering early on and dad encouraged me to join up with Starfleet.
T’Pa: He was a good engineer. I am not surprised that you share his talent.
Wright: I love my dad. He wants nothing more than for me to be happy and to pursue my dreams as far as they can take me. We’re…not exactly getting along right now, but he’s just worried about me.
T’Pa: oO Am I supposed to care about him? Oo
She took a sip of her tea and let Hana talk.
Wright: I ended up getting into the academy and the Vulcans I met there didn’t exactly go far in changing my preconceived notions. Then I met Is’Kah and then Stoval and I eventually realized that my dad just…doesn’t like Vulcans and reevaluated some stuff. Eventually a doctor realized my medical records were lackluster and filled them out. I guess that’s how you found me. You need to understand that I’m never going to be a proper Vulcan, the traits I do have have been nothing but a pain, and I still don’t agree with a lot of the culture.
T’Pa: Another trait Vulcans and Humans share is being slow to let go of how they have perceived something in the past. It is my hope that as an adult, you can learn that Vulcan culture is as flawed and complex as Human culture. I hope that Stoval can show you the better side of Vulcan culture.
Wright: Oh I know that human culture sucks in its own way. And he has been, he really has. I mean I didn’t even think Vulcans had love poetry let alone so damn much of it, but you don’t need to hear that.
T’Pa smiled at her daughter, causing Hana to nearly drop her mug in shock.
T’Pa: It pleases me that you have found something you like about my culture. I hope you will believe me when I say that I never expected you to be fully Vulcan. I see it as a failure that my arguments with your father happened before I was in the diplomatic corps. I did not know he felt that strongly about my emotions, that his misconception about me and how I intended to raise you was completely incorrect.
She turned her head and thought about that statement. It was not factual, and she must admit it.
T’Pa: Perhaps he was not completely incorrect. I have learned that humans can be much softer on their children than Vulcans. I don’t know exactly what I would have been like as a parent. I now know that I would be different from what I was then, but it still would have been as harsh as what he expected.
Wright: Yeah well, I learned pretty early on that thinking about what could have been does no one any good.
T’Pa: Thinking about what could have been kept me searching for you.
Wright: I mean. I was fine? Sorry that’s insensitive. You really looked for me for that long? When I first heard about a Vulcan woman with a kid who went missing I figured the poor thing was probably dead. Is’Kah brought it up around the time I met Stoval again. Of course I had bigger things to worry about then and my memory wasn’t good anyway, so I forgot all about it.
oO Turns out that poor thing was me Oo
T’Pa: Why would I continue to live if my heart was empty? I stopped looking for you four weeks ago, when I learned you were on this ship.
Wright: oh, uh. That’s intense. Um…you wouldn’t happen to, sorry this is crazy, but I think I heard your voice before. I’ve been having this recurring dream for as long as I can remember where this voice calls out my name but she’s pronouncing it wrong and I…yeah. Thought I was crazy.
T’Pa: You have a mating bond with Stoval. There is a parental bond that is similar. It was developed when I carried you and deepened when I fed you and held you. We are entwined. I used our bond to call you. I tried every day to hear you and let you know I was still here, looking for you. It did not occur to me that you would have learned nothing of Vulcans and bond,s as most worlds teach their children about other cultures.
She looked at Stoval and appraised him. He might not have been the mate she would have chosen for you child but she saw that he would make a good mate for the woman in front of her.
T’Pa: Hana, you will come to learn that the idea that Vulcans are emotionless is false. The reason we control our emotions as fiercely as we do is because they are intense. Our emotions are fire within our veins.
Hana looked down again. Overcome with emotion herself.
Stoval: If I may. Hana’s maternal bond with you was blocked, seemingly by a healer. She had no way of knowing it was there even if she had been taught about Vulcan bonds.
Hana sighed, a heavy thing. Her world had flipped on its axis again. Now her name wasn’t her name. Her birthday wasn’t her birthday. Everything was upside down.
Fire flared in T’Pa’s eyes. She bowed her head, unable to clamp down on her emotions while looking at her stolen baby.
Is’Kah’s hands clenched as a hint of fury flashed across her face. How dare anyone mess with a paternal bond like that! Hana could have suffered greatly. It was likely that her uncontrolled telepathy was a result of not having one.
T’Pa: What kind of healer would break a maternal bond?
Stoval: I can only speculate, but perhaps a healer who thought there was danger to be found in it. I believe it’s best that we leave that discussion to another day.
Wright: I guess. I’m just…I’m tired and confused. You’re telling me that everything I know about myself and my past is a lie, that my name isn’t even Hana? It’s a hard pill to swallow and I’m terrified because I don’t know what to do.
T’Pa: That is something only you can answer. I will not try to push you but I hope you will agree to speak to me again.
Wright: I guess I will. I still have a lot of questions. And I…I don’t think I’ll be going to Vulcan soon but seeing as I’m about to be out through telepathic boot camp, I should probably learn the language eventually.
Her heart swelled to the point of dizziness.
T’Pa: If there is anything I can do to help, I will. Perhaps you can think of your name as having an addition rather than being changed. T’ is simply a new part of you to learn about, but Hana is still there.
Hana looked exhausted and T’Pa had given her word to not push. She rose from her chair.
T’Pa: You are correct. There is much to discuss. I can be on the ship for another week and will always be available to you. I believe rest is a good course of action for tonight.
She bowed.
T’Pa: Thank you for the tea and conversation. Good evening, Lady T’Hana of House T’Val
Hana nearly choked on her next sip of coffee.
Wright: That…sounds awfully fancy.
T’Pa tilted her head again and looked from Is’Lath to Is’Kah. The petite hybrid glanced away, her head slightly tilted down from feeling as if she had failed T’Pa and Hana.
T’Pa: You are… I will leave that explanation to Stoval.
Hana rubbed her temples with her gloved hands. She just…couldn’t deal with this right now. She stood from the table.
Wright: ::speaking to no one in particular:: I’m going to bed now.
She retreated from the room trying not to think about the implications of everything she had learned.
Before the others could leave their home, Stoval stood and spoke to T’Pa.
Stoval: Lady T’Pa, please have patience with Hana. It was not so long ago that I was in your position, sitting across from her and attempting to prove to her, against everything she had been taught, that I loved her. We still have yet to file formal paperwork because she needs time. Your situation may be more difficult than mine because she was taught to fear you specifically, but you have much more time than I did when we reunited.
T’Pa: I have waited an eternity. I can wait another.
Lieutenant Is’Kah Xiron
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