JP: Lieutenant Is'Kah Xiron, Lieutenant (JG) Ghee'looth Xiron, and PNPC Is'Lath - Meeting with the In-Laws Part 1
Kaitlyn Kalor
(( Main Engineering, Deck 14, USS Chin’toka ))
Chief Engineer Xiron and Engineering Chief Petty Officer Clarken watched with increasing distress as a working party of four Ensigns struggled to move a several-hundred-kilogram plasma manifold from its mount. The four junior officers grunted and groaned as eight hands awkwardly looked for somewhere to grip the asymmetric two-meter-long part. One Ensign seemed to already be tiring, lost his grip, and the manifold’s injector connection fell half a meter closer to the deck.
Xiron: Praise Andore, please say I was not that clueless when I was an Ensign.
Clarken: I swear do they even teach starships at the Academy? I bet every one of them could have a four-page examination on how Ulysses affected the Articles of Federation by the end of the shift, but not one of them thought to get an anti-gravity sled from the equipment room.
Xiron: Or have the part beamed to the test lab.
Clarken: We will make an engineer out of you yet, ma’am.
Ghee’looth felt that funny tingling in her antennae that indicated she was about to have a telepathic message from her beloved. She was starting to get used to the mind meld but the communication still took a lot of effort for her.
Xiron: Don’t go too hard on them, Chief.
He gave her the slightest smile from under this handle bar mustache.
Clarken:: Turning to the Ensigns:: What are you doing? Lay the part on the deck slowly before you drop it and have to explain to the Captain why warp speed is unavailable.::Voice raised:: Slowly and not injector side down. Now, one of you geniuses, call the transporter room and have it sent to the lab.
Xiron held a PADD as if she were reading so that she would not appear to be staring into space while she communicated with Is’Kah.
Is’Kah: ~Sh’za! Red Alert! I am escorting my mother to our quarters.~
Xiron:~What? She is here?!~
Is’Kah:~She didn’t know I was here. I would have sworn I pressed send on that e-mail after Frontier Day. Regardless, she’s our problem for a few days while her friend T’Pa tries to connect with her lost daughter. ~
Xiron:~A few days?! Are we ready for this?~
Is’Kah: ~ Do we have a choice, Ghee’looth? I guess I could make dinner while you make small talk with her.~
Xiron:~Small talk? She is a Vulcan. Like a for real Vulcan, I can’t small talk with her.~
Is’Kah: ~Well, I guess it’s time for her to interrogate you. See you in a few, sh’za.~
Xiron: Chief, you have the rest of the shift. My mother-in-law just came onboard.
Clarken: Aye, ChEng. If you want, I can stage a plasma leak; if it melts one of these Ensigns, the incident report alone will keep you here for the next twenty-six hours.
His slight smile had graduated to a wry lip curl, and her antennae bounced in jest. Xiron hurried to the turbolift in an attempt to beat her guest back to her quarters.
(( Xiron Quarters, Deck 9, USS Chin’toka ))
The door opened, Is’Kah leading her mother into her quarters. She was frustrated that she wasn’t herself around the older woman. Something about her made her snap right back into Vulcan default. She had been learning to blend a little of her true self into the stoic face worn on duty, but this was a complete regression.
Is’Kah: Tea, Mother?
The Vulcan looked around the quarters and wondered how her child could live such a chaotic life.
Is’Lath: Do you remember how to make a proper cup of tea? I do not see the point of replicated tea.
Giving her mother a raise eyebrow, Is’Kah turned for her kitchen.
Is’Kah: Of course, it will be traditional. There is only one proper way to prepare it.
Is’Lath: It is good that you kept something Vulcan.
Is’Kah put a cast-iron kettle without handles over a burner she had set up for her teapot, lighting the flame. She quickly set up the tea leaves in her Vulcan tea set on the coffee table.
Is’Lath watched her child closely to find out if Is’Kah remembered the steps.
Is’Kah: Just because I have been exploring an aspect of Andorian culture does not mean I reject Vulcan. When more than a sliver of your katra has been swapped with another, it is only logical to explore. How else would I master myself as Surak taught us?
Is’Lath’s heart panged. Most of the words were correct, except for one.
Is’Lath: More than a sliver?
The hybrid turned away from her mother, Is’Kah’s face flushing green.
Is’Kah: I believe the Vulcan mind healer said it was around thirty percent, if we were to quantify someone’s katra.
The Vulcan dared not move until she had complete control of herself. After seven breaths, she could proceed.
Is’Lath: Thirty percent? How does one exchange so much katra? Why does one exchange so much katra?
Is’Kah: ::mumbling:: Three bottles of Vulcan brandy and a mind meld is how.
The mother stood.
Is’Lath: Is’Kah! That is inadvisable.
Her mother’s tone cut right through Is’Kah’s chest. Memories of her teen years flashed through her mind. Closing her eyes, Is’Kah took a moment to ensure her Vulcan mask was firmly in place.
Is’Kah: oO Don’t snap at her. Don’t snap at her. Oo
Is’Kah: Of course it is. However, it has saved your daughter's life twice now. I do not regret doing it, nor would I choose to have it removed.
Taking the teapot from the kitchen in her bare hands as per tradition, Is’Kah slowly poured the water over the leaves.
The smell of tea wafted up and took Is’Lath’s concentration. She allowed her senses to calm her. The aroma told her the tea had been brewed properly, and she let it calm her panic.
Once it had finished seeping, the hybrid took the cup. Turning, she bowed slightly, the cup resting on an open palm, balanced by her other hand with the handle facing Is’Lath.
Is’Kah: Your tea, Mother.
Taking the cup from her daughter, she held it in front of her. She judged to worthy before taking a sip.
Is’Lath: Adequate.
The mother placed the cup on the table and looked Is’Kah in the eye.
Is’Lath: I require a full explanation.
Is’Kah: Which part? The getting drunk part? The mind meld part? ::sarcastic:: The embracement of Andorian culture to the point my daily pronouns are zha/zhen?
The hybrid slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified at what she had just said. She hadn’t planned on coming out to Is’Lath yet, then her mouth ran ahead of her like usual and got her in trouble.
Before the Vulcan had realized it, her hand had raised to the side of her torso. It was an unacceptable display of emotion. She pulled the offensive hand back to her lap.
Is’Lath: That is a lot of information, from the beginning.
The entire turbolift ride back to her quarters, Ghee’looth tried to steel herself for her mother-in-law. She had only met her once, briefly in a near catastrophe just before her formal wedding to Is’Kah. Her great aunt had spent the entire trip arguing with Is’Lath over ancient orders and honors that had little bearing in her contemporary union with Is’Kah. It had made for a poisonous first impression for both sides.
Arriving at the familiar door to her quarters, she quickly strode in, hoping to have beaten their guest home. The strong smell of Vulcan tea instantly alerted her that her hopes were dashed. Sharp Vulcan tones radiated from the living room. Is’Kah seemed to be in full Vulcan mask, and Is’Lath was sitting with eyes narrowed like a bird of prey. Ghee’looth has only caught the tail end of the conversation, but it hung in the air as thick as the fragrance of strong tea.
Ghee’looth moved into the room slowly toward Is’Kah’s side. She leaned in and touched her fingers to Is’Kah’s. Trying to play it cool, Ghee'looth waited to acknowledge the tension in the room. She could feel Is’Kah quiver as they touched, a clear sign of distress.
Xiron: Good evening, Zhyi.::Turning to Is’Lath:: Is’Lath, it has been an age. May we share the warmth of our hearth.
The greeting was a watered-down version of a traditional Andorian one for family and friends who have reunited after a long time.
The Vulcan mother turned her head slowly from her unruly child to her new blue relative. She wondered if the disapproval of the pair was actually oozing from her skin and could be smelled. She slightly lifted her teacup.
Is’Lath: The warmth has already been shared.
Xiron: I can see that this was a shock, but Is’Kah is just exploring another aspect of zha-self. Zha is hardly the first Vulcan to bond outside her culture and embrace it.
Is’Kah felt zhen cheeks flush at being reaffirmed by Ghee’looth, causing the hybrid to lower zhen head to keep Is’Lath from noticing. However, zhen hand gripped the Andorian’s in an open display of affection.
Xiron: Isn’t the basis of Vulcan philosophy infinite diversity in infinite combinations? That is Is’Kah. Zha is a Vulcan, but also a Trill, and zha is an Andorian. By right and by blood bond, zha is a clan hero.
Having said her piece in defense of her beloved, Ghee’looth sat in the frosty chill of a Vulcan in law.
Is’Lath: I asked for the story from the beginning. Are you both planning to continue to jump in the middle of the story to confuse and distract me? Is’Kah is not Andorian. Why do you refer to her as if she were? What happened with the katra? I could go on with my questions, or you could do as I have asked.
Is’Kah: Oh, you are being more reasonable than expected. Since you want to start from the beginning, then Ghee’looth should begin, quite literally, at the beginning of our Starfleet careers.
Is’Lath: You met. You fell in love. We can move beyond that.
Lieutenant Is’Kah Xiron
Chief of Security and Tactical
USS Chin’toka
R240101I14
Pronouns:
She/Her (Player and Character)
Zha/Zhen (Character)
And
Lieutenant JG Ghee’looth Xiron
Acting Chief Engineer
USS Chin’toka
D240010GX2
And
PNPC Is’Lath as written by:
Lieutenant Commander Divya Tam
Chief of Operations
USS Thor
A240104DT4
She/Her (character and player)