Ensign Wil Ukinix - Royals

[Danny Lee]

((Terra Tanunda Vineyard, Barossa Valley, Australia, Earth))

::As Wil materialised on the gravel trail leading towards his grandparents’ house, he felt the heat of the 43 degree Barossa Valley day hit him.  He blew out a breath in surprise, before continuing to sing to himself the song he’d had in his head as he had walked to Fremantle station moments earlier.  It was a song he had listened to a lot when he had first started at the Academy.  The information that Sky had provided him 15 minutes earlier gave it a completely different meaning now.::

Ukinix: ::Singing quietly::  ...jet-planes, islands, ti-gers on-a gold leash, we don't caa-re… we aren't caught up in your love a-ffair

::Wil pressed the button on the sensor pad next to the front door to the 1920s facade cottage that had a large 24th century extension on the back.  The replica wooden screen door opened, and Wil stepped inside into the large open plan kitchen and dining area.::

Ukinix: ::Loudly:: Grandpa?  Gran?

::With no answer, Wil opened the nearby fridge and grabbed himself an apple.  He bit into it, his mouth crunching as he continued to sing to himself.::

Ukinix: ::Singing quietly::  And we’ll ne-ver be royyyy-alls.  ::High pitched::  Royyyy-allls.  ::Normal singing voice:: It don’t run in our blood...

::Wil corrected the previous line of the song he sang with different lyrics but with the same musical notes.::

Ukinix: ::Singing quietly:: Ac-tuall-ly, yes-it-does...

::He walked out on to the back deck and felt the heat of the day again.  As he walked over to the shed, Flower bounded out of the door towards him.::

Ukinix: Flower!  Hey girl.

::Flower excitedly did a few circles, before letting Wil pet her.  Then she bolted back inside the shed.  Wil followed her inside.  Red grapes were being poured by an AI lifter into a large tritanium basket press in the centre of the shed, to be next de-stemmed and crushed.  Wil found his grandmother Hayley, his Grandfather Astrad, and unexpectedly his father Anacem standing by a large container that already contained the juices from some pressed grapes.  The three of them each had a wine glass and were smelling the contents.  His father held a device which looked similar to a tricorder, and was looking at the screen.  Anacem was wearing a white short sleeved top, which was covered in red wine stains.

They all looked up as Wil approached.  He finished his apple, and put it in a nearby organic rubbish container.  Flower sat next to Wil, pressing against his leg.::

Hayley: Wil!  This is a surprise!

Anacem: What’re you doin’ ‘ere mate.

Ukinix: Didn’t know you were gonna be here today Dad.  How’s the vintage?

Hayley: ::Swirling her glass before smelling it::  Anacem thinks it will be a good one.  Low yield but higher quality than last year.

Anacem: About 5000 bottles.

Astrad: Hopefully “Terra Tanunda” Shiraz 2395 will be gracing the table tops of the finest restaurants in the quadrant.

Ukinix: Even Betazed?

Hayley: Good question!  ::Looking at Astrad:: I’m the grower, you handle the business side, Astrad.

::Anacem handed Wil his wine glass while Astrad spoke.::

Astrad: Well ::thinking:: I don’t see why not.  We should talk to Ninog about it.  ::Looking at Wil::  Being a Ferengi, people didn’t trust him at first around here but I tell ya ::smiling:: he’s helping put the Barossa Valley’s name out there in the quadrant.

Ukinix: ::Swirling wine glass::  Hmm, maybe we don’t need “Ninog’s” help.  You know,  ::Nonchalantly smelling the glass contents:: given that we’re nobility on Betazed.

::Anacem opened his mouth a little and stared at Wil.::

Ukinix: How’s that Dad.  Or should I say Anacem Ukinix, of the Ninth House of Agriculture.

Anacem: Righto, Wil.  Stop playing silly buggers.

::Wil could sense Astrad’s slight feeling of shock.::

Ukinix: Ohhh, noooo, I’m not telling porkies here, Dad.  Actually, I think Grandpa has been.  For several decades.

Astrad: Where did you get this idea?

::Wil could sense his grandfather’s nervousness.::

Wil: I can feel what you’re feeling Grandpa.  You gave me this, remember?

Astrad: Grandson…

::His grandmother put her hand on her chest.  She seemed shocked, but he couldn’t sense her emotions for whatever reason.::

Hayley: Astrad.  Is this true?

Astrad: Well… Yes Hayley, I’m so sorry, I should have told you the truth.

::Wil watched Hayley’s mouth drop.  He couldn’t work out why he didn’t sense her feelings.  Astrad’s also seem to disappear.::

Hayley: You mean all this time... the man I married and loved… you didn’t tell me-

::Suddenly, Wil sensed a different emotion.  Amusement.  That was followed by laughter from both of his grandparents.::

Anacem:  ::Casually, cheeky smile:: Well this is interesting.

Ukinix: ::Casually, smiling:: Bloody hell Dad, you annoy me sometimes.  ::Serious face:: I wasn’t kidding, I just found out that Grandpa wasn’t employed by the Ninth house.  The Ukinix family name *is* the Ninth house.  Grandpa is a Betazed noble.

::Wil looked at his grandmother.::

Ukinix: And you knew about this?

Hayley:  ::Nodding:: Yeah.

Ukinix: You knew!  ::Looking at Anacem:: Dad, she knew.  Did you know?

Anacem: ::Shrugging:: Nup.

::Wl was instantly frustrated by his Dad’s simple reaction.::

Ukinix: Dad, for crap’s sake-

Hayley: ::Smiling:: See, *this* is when you’re like your mother.

Ukinix: Don’t change the subject!

Anacem: Son, calm down, mate.  ::Looking at Astrad:: Wil’s right though, if this is true you should probably spill your guts.

Astrad: ::Shrugging his shoulders.:: Okay.  ::Smiling, looking at Wil:: Tell me what you found out.

Ukinix: Uh-uh.  You first.

Astrad: C’mon, Wil I want to know.

Ukinix:  ::Sighing:: Alright then… Here goes.  So my fellow crewmate, Commander Blake - Sky - She’s half Betazoid.  Half Brekkian too, but half Betazoid.  And she found out she’s related to Betazed nobility.

Anacem: Name?

::Wil raised his eyebrows::

Ukinix: Rivi…::thinking:: Vaitax. She’s Sky’s cousin.

Anacem: Vaitax. Wow.  That’s, uh… ::thinking:: ah, eleventh house.  Hearth.  Well that’s a joke.  For a house of family and home, they were nothing but!  At least when I was there.

Ukinix: Don’t deflect this Grandpa.

Anacem: WIl, I’m not-

Ukinix: Wait.  And Sky told me that the Ukinix family name basically is the Ninth house.

Astrad: Correction. *Was* the Ninth house.

Ukiinix: What do you mean?

::Astrad simply smiled, and looked at Hayley, who looked back at Astrad.::

Hayley: May I?

::Astrad simply nodded.::

Hayley: Well it’s good that you’re both here, we can tell you both at the same time.  ::Smiling:: Your father, he was the son of a matriarch of the agriculture house.

 

Astrad: Ninth house.

Hayley: Yes.  There was a lot of infighting between the houses at the time, about land in Betazed.  The ninth house had a lot of land, obviously, being agriculturists.  Some of the other houses claimed that some of the land was given to the Ninth house centuries earlier, for the benefit of all the houses.  But there was no record of that, so the Ninth house basically told all the other houses “no way”.  ::Looking at Astrad:: How am I doing?

Astrad: Beautifully, just like you.

::Wil gave an eye roll to his Dad.  Hayley and Astrad smiled, their tag team act had worked again.::

Hayley: It got all political, and it started getting into legal territory.  So, the Ukinix family decided they had to defend their land.  By trying to influence the other houses.  They thought they could even try take the over the other houses.

Ukinix: How?

Astrad: I had three older sisters.  At the instruction of my parents and their advisors, they were offered as wives to the younger males of other houses.   

Anacem: ::Sarcastically:: As you do.

::Wil shook his head at his Dad’s under-reaction.::

Astrad: That failed. I was given a job to get involved with some of the more influential houses, in any way necessary.  So, I did.  I - had an affair.  With the matriarch of the tenth house.

::Wil’s jaw dropped.  Anacem simply started laughing at the absurdity of what he was hearing.::

Ukinix: ::To Hayley:: You know about this?

::Hayley smiled and nodded.::

Hayley:  Keep listening Wil...

Astrad: Somehow the Fifth house - the house of nobility – found out. So without naming names, they warned all the matriarchs not to have affairs.  Which flushed out news of another affair.  Someone was having an affair with the matriarch of the Fourth House.

Ukinix: Who?

Astrad: Me.

Ukinix: What!

Anacem: ::Laughing:: Don’t believe you, Dad.

::Astrad simply shrugged.::

Astrad: It’s true.  The houses were already annoyed with anything to do with the name “Ukinix”, and when they found out I was involved in two affairs - well, there was a lot of pressure.  Even though it was my mother who *told* me to try and influence the other houses, they then told me I had to marry ::shaking his head:: someone from the Sixth house.  I said no.  ::Shrugging:: So she stripped me of my title and nobility, and made me a scapegoat.  My mother was ruthless.

::Astrad suddenly frowned. Wil sensed his sadness.::

Astrad:  There wasn’t a lot of love.  We weren’t really a family, we were a power-hungry enterprise.  I became a pariah.  We all hated each other anyway. I didn’t know what family really meant.  

Hayley: So I guess *I’d* better tell you the truth too. About your father and I.

Anacem:  ::Laughing:: There’s more?  This is good.

Ukinix: Dad.  You’re weird.

::Anacem simply snickered.::

Hayley: When I was studying viticulture at the University of Queensland, one of the assignments I had was learning about different horticultural methods throughout the Federation, and I picked to write a paper on Betazed.  In my studies I found out about the Ukinix family.  To be honest, there’s not a lot of information about them - I guess the other houses kept their name on the quiet.  But I did find out about a man named Astrad – sorry, “Astradem” as he was then known. I contacted him asking about how I could get information about their horticultural methods.

 

Anacem: Ha! “Astradem”.

 

::Anacem suddenly had a puzzled look when he realised just how close “Astradem” was to “Anacem”.::

Ukinix:  ::Raising his eyebrows:: You *knew* Grandpa before he got to Earth?

::Hayley nodded.::

Hayley: Only by correspondence.  And then by subspace transmissions.  And then a few *holographic* subspace transmissions.  We talked to each other a lot.  He was so friendly, so magnetic.  ::Turning to look at him:: And gorgeous and sexy.  ::Hand on chest:: OH, he made me melt-

::Wil put his fingers in his ears, which made Anacem laugh.::

Ukinix: La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

::Hayley spoke to Wil.  Wil took his fingers out of his ears.::

Ukinix: ::Looking at Anacem:: Is it safe?

Hayley: As I was saying “Ensign” la-la-la... One time he seemed upset, and he told me about the affairs he’d had and that he was being forced to marry someone. I - cried.  And I begged him to come to Earth, and I told him the truth - that I was falling in love with him.  This - man, this noble that lived light years away from me.  And that was the last I heard from him.

::Hayley put her hand on his Astrad’s arm.::

Hayley: Until he turned up at a winery in France that I was working at as part of my studies.

Ukinix: You tracked her down?

Astrad: ::Smiling:: Eventually.  About a six months later.

::Anacem spoke.  For the first time in a very long time, Wil heard a seriousness in his voice.::

Anacem: So why didn’t you tell us about all this.  Me and Sally.  And Wil.

::Astrad looked at Hayley and took a deep breath.  He took a few steps towards Anacem and placed his hands on his shoulders.::

Astrad: The Ukinix name on Betazed was tainted.  It was in steep decline by the time I left.  I hated being a Ukinix.  

::Astrad looked at Wil, and smiled.::

Astrad: Not any more.  ::Looking back at Anacem:: Anacem, your mother is the first person I ever truly loved.  She told me about Australia, and the people here - how it’s a multicultural society.  Everyone was so welcoming.  I got a fresh start.  We didn’t want Sally and you to have the life I had.  *And* we all know what Australians ended up thinking about monarchs and royalty.  So we – just kept my story simple.

::Astrad pursed his lips, and his dark eyes sparkled a little.  Wil could feel he was holding back tears.  Anacem patted his hand on his father’s arm, before responding simply.::

Anacem: ::Nodding:: Righto Dad, fair enough.

::Wil sensed that for Anacem the matter was resolved, in the most casual of ways.  But not for Wil::

Ukinix: Wait.  Then why are people - houses - gossiping about the Ukinix name on Betazed?

::Astrad took a deep breath, before answering.  Wil couldn’t sense anything in his grandfather.::

Astrad: I have no idea.  I’m not surprised they’re gossiping, that’s just what they do. But I’m surprised “Ukinix” is being mentioned again to be honest.  Last I heard, the other houses were trying to take over the Ninth house, and anyone with the Ukinix name either died or were going to get kicked out of the house.  That was – well, that was long before Hayley and I had kids.

::Wil put his hands on his hips.::

Ukinix: I asked Commander Blake to find out more.

Anacem:  Why, mate? Who cares.  Look at us.  I love my life, my job.  You got into Starfleet like you always wanted.  ::Cheekily:: I mean, your mum drives me crazy sometimes.  ::Snickering, before serious face:: But we’ve got a good life.  I’m not a Betazoid noble, I’m a winemaker, originally from Tanunda who now lives in Freo.  None of this changes anything for me.

Hayley: Wil, when your grandfather proposed to me, he told me he wanted me to be the leader of the family.  The matriarch.  I told him I would do no such thing - that we were in this together.  I mean, I did have my matriarchal moments at times.  ::Smiling:: Do you know what your grandfather wanted to call Anacem before he was born?

Astrad:  ::Smiling:: Allan.

::Wil smiled wickedly.  *That* was useful information that had a long shelf life.::

Hayley: I put my foot down and said we should at least give him a Betazoid name.  So, I named him Anacem.

::Wil clicked his fingers and pointed at his dad.::

Ukinix: ::Grinning:: G’day *Allan* Ukinix!

::Anacem simply “harrumphed” back at his son.::

Astrad: Wil, whatever you find out, you need to decide if it’s relevant to you or not.  I don’t think of you as Betazed Ukinix. You’re Australian Ukinix.  ::Smiling:: We all are.

::Wil put his hands on his hips.  He looked at Anacem.  His Dad was the ultimate definition of “Australian Ukinix”.  But his father also hadn’t been “blessed” with the empathic abilities he had.  And Anacem didn’t stray much from his home continent.

Wil was the opposite.  He’d loved growing up in Fremantle.  He also knew he was lucky that he was emotionally close to his grandparents and could spend time at their winery whenever he wanted.  But he was a Starfleet officer now, assigned to the Shoals.  He had “done” Earth for the first 25 years of his life.  It was time to find out more about the stars, the planets, and the people out beyond the Sol system.

And he couldn’t ignore what Sky had told him.  Especially after the revelations by his grandparents.

 

Maybe it was time to embrace being part Betazoid.::

Anacem:  C’arn Wil, let’s get a beer.

::Wil pondered for a few seconds.::

Ukinix: ::Sighing:: Yeah alright.

Hayley: And lunch.  You two head inside, we’ll clean up here.  We’ll be there soon. 

 

Ukinix: Lunch sounds good.  Then I gotta head back to Freo, I’ve got a surprise for G this afternoon.  ::Cheekily to Anacem.::  Let’s go, Allan.

Anacem: No worries, William.

Ukinix: That’s not my name, and you know it.

::Wil and Anacem walked out of the shed, with Flower following behind. When the two younger Ukinix males had left, Astrad turned to Hayley.::

Astrad: Well that went well.

 

Hayley: But what if they find about – you know, the other thing.

::Astrad let out a large sigh::.

Astrad: Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  *If* we come to it.

 

 

 

TBC… eventually…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ensign Wil Ukinix

Engineering Officer

USS Veritas

V239511WU0