[ussbansheec] Nothing from Nothing

From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 06:01:47 -0400

_ Nothing from Nothing_ by Delphine, Gloria, & Byron Matthews; Sophus of Vulcan, Aidoaneth & Erianath S'Ghaladriel, Lindsey Hale, & Susanna McEntire

"Nothing from nothing leaves nothing
You gotta have something, if you wanna be with me.
Nothing from nothing leaves nothing
You gotta have something, if you wanna be with me.

I'm not tryin' to be your hero 'Cause that zero, is too cold for me - brrr! I'm not tryin' to be your highness 'Cause that minus is too low to see. " by Billy Preston

The trip to the facility where Delphine's uncle was being treated was not long in reality but, relatively, Erianath would have sworn it took forever. His father (or one of them really) had found the ship they were all to leave on and headed straight for its medical facility. If not for the fact that he'd seen the man with his head practically stuck to a microscope. Erianath would have sworn he was one of the mythological Earth creatures Delphine said was called a phantom. He had gone to see him just one where upon Aidoaneth had firmly, though very kindly, told him he didn't care to be interrupted when he was working. Still he'd laid a gentle hand on his son's face and smiled at him before staring back at whatever he was staring at.

That of course left the younger man to his beloved and her parents. In the moments before they were due to arrive at the facility, Erianath was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to appear.

Delphine stared out of the view port, her mother staring out the only other in the room. Both women were lost to worry and fear so Sophus left them alone. He took a seat next to his daughter's young man and laced his fingers on his lap.

"You clearly did not come to this quadrant for my daughter," he observed archly. "May I enquire as to why you did choose to visit?"

"I was invited, for lack of a better choice of words," he explained. "One does not deny an invitation from the hru'Airifvir."

"That is a title I am unfamiliar with so you will have to excuse my ignorance," Sophus said evenly. "But you have chosen to stay because of Delphine?"

"She is the chief Civil Servant of the Empire and has been for several praetors lifetimes, rekkhai. Even the praetors themselves know better than to disagree with her," Erianath said with a wry smile. "As for why I am still here, ie, Delphine is the reason. I cannot bring her to ch'Rihan and I will not go without her."

"Why?" the older man asked.

"She is a fusion and, worse yet according to some, a Thhaei fusion. Fusions are not well tolerated on ch'Rihan, second class citizens at best. I will not subject she who is a queen to such indignities, even though she did offer that to me," he said, his thoughts darkening even as he thought it. "She is above that and beyond."

"You have given up much for her," he mused, one eyebrow arching. "One could ask what you expect her to give up for you."

"I was not aware that a marriage--a bonding--was a business transaction that needed that," Erianath said almost coldly. "I do not expect her to give up anything in return. There is no, and will not be, bargaining."

"You will have to excuse my bluntness," he said softly with a one-shouldered shrug. "Your people have a very bad reputation. I simply had to be sure." Sophus watched the young man. He seemed hot-headed and irritable, something Sophus often attributed to his daughter so perhaps they would make a good match. He would have to observe more, he decided. One known so swiftly is one to be wary of.

Erianath almost snorted in amusement. "Do we? If one considers what some Rihannsu have said to the Federation's face, then it would go without saying that what is said behind its back is much worse," he said mildly. That much was true. He'd seen vids of the diplomats at council then spoken to them later on. "Very funny indeed."

"I am sure," the Vulcan intoned. "Be that as it may, I am an over-protective father."

"Ah, well, I never had one of those. I had grandparents who had faith in me," Erianath told him, hmmphing softly to himself. His father had been so wrapped up in research since setting foot on this ship that he hadn't met Delphine's parents. "Our reputations are our names and mine is untarnished."

Sophus nodded in approval but he didn't let his face show any other sign of acceptance. "You will be most welcome in our home then."

The door slid open to admit a the older but equally graceful and elegant man that was Aidoaneth. He was wearing his usual attire, Vulcan styled pants and a tunic but in shades of gray and blue, his kaleh tucked in his belt, and an oddly triumphant look on his face. Ignoring the others for a moment, he approached Delphine, holding up a PADD and a data chip. "Never let it be said that I am nothing if not persistent. I may have found something but I have to contact a Federation doctor once we are at the facility."

Delphine lifted worried eyes to the man who was her father in law. "What... what did you find?"

"Old research that was never written up for some reason or another. This Dr. Jameson did some interesting work but it just stopped cold for some reason. If what was contained in the notes was good data then it looks promising. I have to find this woman and see what goes on," he explained.

"I don't know her but my Uncle might, he's a commodore at Starfleet Medical," Delphine said softly.

"Oh, you misunderstand, child," Aidoaneth said with a smirk. "I will ask the woman myself. I've been around the Lloannen'galae long enough to know how the game plays but I will keep that in mind if she should prove hard to track down."

"I'm not a child," she said automatically.  "But thank you for trying."

"A term of affection, Delphine," he said with a shrug. Somehow, that slight correction stung but he simply piled that upon the deep aching hurt he already had, caused by his youngest child's disappearance. Instead of going any further, he peered across the room to where Erianath sat with an older Vulcan. The young man looked distinctly discomfited. "What irks him now?"

"Perhaps," she observed softly, her blue eyes on Aidoaneth, "he misses his father even more now he's so close." She shrugged as she turned back to the view port, "Or perhaps my father is just as irritating as his daughter."

"You, my dear, are hardly irritating," he told her. "I've met irritating many times and it occasionally ended up dead. His mother--she was irritating." He offered her a weary smile. "Join me?"

"As you wish," she said, turning away from her vigil and returning his saddened smile.

Erianath stood up as his father approached. The man had an ISD and a data chip which made him wonder if he'd found anything. "Rekkhai, I thought maybe you had your head permanently glued to that screen," he teased gently, offering a tentative smile.

"Na, that would be your dianvm who does that, faelirh. Those are the times when he is more his ri'nanov's than mine. It's coincidental that I found a hint of what I'm looking for just as we are where we need to be," Aidoaneth told him. He wondered now about what Delphine had said. Perhaps the boy, a grown man really, did miss him more.

~~He may have found something, beloved. He might help Uncle Byron~~ Delphine slid up to Erianath's side and put her hand into his.

~~Ie? Good news indeed, my beautiful queen.~~ Now then was the question of good manners. "Rekkhai, this is Delphine's di'nanov," Erianath said simply, leaving the name for the man to present himself, as was Rihannsu tradition.

Sophus inclined his head to the other parent, noting the grey in hair that should have been jet black. He supposed either the man was used to unusual stress or he was older than Sophus had imagined.

"My son and I share the same House name but I am called Aidoaneth," he said with a slight bow. Even after all the years in the Federation, he refused to use the Vulcan greetings. He was Rihannsu after all and the phrase 'live long and prosper' sounded Ferengi to him.

"Greetings, Aidoaneth, I am Sophus of Vulcan," he said softly. His eyes flicked to Gloria who had joined him at his side. "This is she who is my wife, Gloria Matthews."

"Lhhei," Aidoaneth said simply, "I am honored."

Gloria tried to smile but she was having a lot of difficulty with that. "Mine too. Should've met in less depressing circumstances."

Aidoaneth hmmphed softly, knowing that would have had to have been a while ago, before Banshee had gone missing. He kept that to himself and offered Erianath a slight smile. "Seeing one's child again after forty years is shocking but not depressing."

~~Is he what you imagined?~~ Delphine asked softly.

~~I don't know~~ Erianath admitted. ~~I cannot tell if this control is a show he is putting on out of courtesy but I doubt that since his wife is Thhaei also. I don't know if anything he does is normal for him.~~

~~Ask?~~  She took his hand and twined her fingers around his.

~~Now would be a spectacularly bad time~~ He almost chuckled at that then glanced at his father. "It is rather an interesting little issue, isn't it?" he asked.

"Rather," Aidoaneth said dryly. "Remind me to smack your brother if I should see him. Vincent has not been complimentary to say the least."

"He is... obnoxious in the worst sense of the word," Delphine nodded. "A disagreeable man."

"Yet I once knew a man who was the good sense of that word," Aidoaneth snorted with amusement.

"Not you, rekkhai?" Erianath asked.

"No," the older Romulan chuckled, "I am but a novice in that area."

"Your son does well in that area," Delphine teased.

"As well as being opinionated and arrogant," Erianath stated, grinning before kissing her cheek, wondering as he did, if his father would kiss his Vulcan wife in front of others.

"Definitely S'Ghaladriel," Aidoaneth agreed with a smirk. "Now, come. If I am to get to work, I actually have to be there. I have already spoken with the ship's doctor. We are in transporter range and need not wait for docking."

Delphine glanced at her parents who were already heading for the door and sighed when her mother didn't take the fingers her father offered her. ~~The strain shows in more than just her attitude toward you, beloved~~

~~For myself I can get over the slight. It is irritating but nothing worse than I have been subjected to for other reasons. I just hope that Di'nanov can do something.~~

~~As do I~~

Her hand tightly in his, Erianath followed after the older people. ~~Not that he has been forthcoming with too much speech but I can tell you one thing, e'lev. He likes you. He is being neither blatantly disrespectful, like Tal, nor overly polite. I...think this is simply him.~~

~~Are you pleased with him then?~~ She smiled at her beloved, willing that his father could help her uncle.

~~Would it offend you if I said I was glad to see that he is still very much a Rihanha and not entirely something else?~~

~~Perhaps but I will survive~~ There was a teasing look in her eyes as she curled into his side.

The transporter operator knew as soon as the door parted that the man in front of the group was the one the doctor told him about. Damn it, I don't care if he is wearing civvies, him and the other one do NOT look like Vulcans. Now, the other man: that was a Vulcan, much more serene and not as calculating. "Dr. tr'Ghaladriel, they're expecting you so you can all step right up."

Delphine waved for her parents to get on then she followed, letting Erianath go for the brief ride down.

If they hadn't been in a medical facility, Aidoaneth would have laughed. When the group rematerialized, both he and Erianath sneezed, almost in stereo. "Fvadt these things," Aidoaneth muttered. "They make us all sneeze for some reason."

Automatically, Delphine reached out a hand to rub Erianath's back. "We can take the shuttle back, if you prefer."

"Not for that," he said, shaking his head. ~~It's inconvenient and annoying but I'm not in need of Hru'rinanov's remedies.~~ The gesture, though, pleased him. He would admit it to no one but her but he needed her strength in these strange waters.

~~Perhaps but I may just ask your Aunt anyway~~ Anything to make his life here more like home.

It irked Aidoaneth that, after all these years, that he could still be looked upon with suspicion. So be it, he grumbled to himself as they wound their way to the proper room. A perverse part of him actually enjoyed the attitudes, especially now. He missed his son, his youngest one, and a fight pr argument would certainly dissipate a lot of tension. Of course his e'lev would say that was illogical but it was true. When they finally did reach the room, he stopped and turned around, dark eyes settling on Delphine and her parents. "Will you enter first?"

Gloria nodded, brushing past everyone to peer into the room and smile brightly at the withered man in the hospital bed. "Got the nurses running rings round you already, little brother?"

A bright, joyful laugh echoed out of the room that almost broke Delphine's heart. ~~If I don't go in, it won't be true. Silly childish logic but...~~

Erianath kissed her temple. ~~Only as silly as the fact that I cannot get past seeing my father as an icon and not as a man~~ he told her.

"Come in," a deep, cheerful voice called.  "Where's my niece?"

"That would be our cue," Delphine said ruefully.

Erianath offered her a bow then stood up and offered his elbow. "Lhhei, if a prince might escort a queen," he said mildly, knowing his father was watching but not quite caring if he found the courtly old behavior odd.

"The queen would be most grateful," she teased, grateful for the easy private joke. "Uncle!" she beamed as they entered. "I've brought someone to meet you."

A gaunt man with silver hair and hollowed eyes grinned up at them. As ill as he looked, Byron was still the life and soul and that was very clear. "Welcome, welcome. I won't get up, if you don't mind."

Casting a glance at his father, Erianath smiled at the man and shrugged easily. "Rekkhai, you are older than I am. There is no need for you to get up," he said simply. "Delphine has told me a good deal about you."

"Really? Not forgotten her old uncle, then?" Byron winked at Delphine and opened his spindly arms to hug her tightly and stroke her braids.

"I'd never forget you, Uncle," she said softly.

"One does not forget family," Aidoaneth said quietly.

"Exactly," Gloria said firmly.

"With that in mind, rekkhai," Erianath said as Aidoaneth stepped closer, "I never forgot that my di'nanov was a doctor. It was sad chance that he was on station and I asked him to come with us, to see if things can't be helped."

Byron raised white eyebrows at the other men in the room. They were clearly Romulan but that never bothered Byron, people were just people to him. "As far as I know nothing can but if you've got an idea boy, go ahead and try it."

Aidoaneth blinked. No one had called him that in years and, even then, it was his grandfather. It amused him more so now because he was still older than the man in bed. "The idea isn't mine," he said, still biting back amused acidity. "It belongs to a Human woman and I have no idea why the research was never published or acted upon. It seems as though it would have worked."

"Seems it, does it? Well, at this point, seeming is just fine by me." Byron shifted in his bed, grumbling at over-stuffed pillows under his bed. His illness was well past the stage of mood swings or personality disorders, he was on the downward slope of finally regaining his mind only to see his body waste away. If he hadn't been a warm hearted man, he would be lost.

"I wish to be fair to you, sir," Aidoaneth told him. "There is no guarantee and I am not the sort of man who will lie simply to give false hope. I can try but it may be all for naught."

"Naught's what I got so a little more naught's not going to hurt me, is it?" Byron said, green eyes sparkling.

"Quite. My youngest child is fond of an old Human saying of 'nothing from nothing leaves nothing'. It falls along the same lines. If you will excuse me, I have to contact this Jameson woman," Aidoaneth said, smiling now at the man's good nature.

"Off you go then, young man." Byron waved happily then gave his niece an extra hard hug.

Aidoaneth walked away shaking his head. T'Leara would no doubt be bemused. Aneirin would have laughed outright, parental displeasure aside.

"So," Byron said, eyeing the other new face, "you're the boy who managed to woo my little niece, are you?"

"I think, rekkhai, that it was a mutual wooing," Erianath said with a smile, squeezing Delphine's hand.

Aidoaneth could still hear as he sat at the work desk there in the main room. He tapped in the code he'd found for this Jameson woman and hoped it was still good.

Lindsey bit back a sigh as Anna's comm chimed again. The Macs had asked her to look after the ranch for them but she only looked in now and then in between times she was doing her own investigating on Banshee's disappearance. With a grunt, she leaned over and opened the link.

"McEntire residence, I'm afraid none of 'em are home right now, can I take a message?" she drawled.

"None of...I am looking for a woman named Susanna Jameson, a doctor," Aidoaneth began, biting back the instant annoyance that sprang up. "I need to speak to her about research."

"Told you, she ain't here," Lindsey said, a slight snap to her voice. "Kinda busy lookin' for her five kids. Maybe you heard of it... lost on the Banshee."

Aidoaneth's eyes narrowed, the Fire that he usually hid flaring to life. It took every ounce of self control he had to not snap as his face flushed dark emerald. "I am fully aware of that, madam, since my own child is also aboard," he said tightly. "My /only /child, who is a physician just as I am."

"Then I'd recommend you do somethin' constructive instead of botherin' me," Lindsey retorted. "You ain't the only ones to lose people. I'm sendin' over her ship's code but if she ignores you, ain't my fault. Good day." With that, she cut the connection.

"Susse thrai," he muttered under his breath, appending several other epitaphs to that as he re-entered he code he'd been sent. "Fvadt Lloann'na bureaucrats..."

"Not now, Lindsey," snapped a greying redhead, not even looking up to see who it was. Only Lindsey Hale had the number for her personal comm so it couldn't really be anyone else. "I'll call you, okay? Just... give me an hour, I'm in the middle of something."

"I am not Lindsey Hale," Aidoaneth said as politely as he could. "I am tr'Ghaladriel and I call you as a fellow physician."

Anna lifted pale grey eyes to the man and frowned. "If she gave you this number, it must be something to do with Banshee. How can I help you, doctor?"

Aidoaneth pressed his finger tips together before his mouth, a very Vulcan gesture that he found useful for wasting time while gathering thoughts. "Yes and no," he finally said. Dark eyes met gray ones and he recognized them. "You are Victoria's mother," he said softly.

Straightening in her seat, Anna couldn't help but blush slightly as she nodded. "The youngest of my quints. How do you know her?"

"You look like her," he said matter of factly. "We met when my son took me and my wife aboard for a tour. She is his commanding officer."

"I see," she said sadly, seeing exactly what she saw in her own eyes and her husband's and any other Banshee family member's. "What can I do for you, Doctor? We don't have any news, I'm afraid."

"That much I do know," he said with a tired sigh. "My wife accepted a transfer to DSVP in order to be closer to the action so to speak. No, the reason I was looking is much more simple. I want to ask about some research you did years ago. It seems to have never been published yet it also seems to be just what I'm looking for."

Anna blinked.  "Um... sure... what do you need?"

"My second son's bondmate's uncle suffers from the symptoms you described in your research," he began and then went on to completely describe everything he knew about the case. "I promised I would do what I could and your research was the only thing that had any sort of promise."

"I was moved off the project before I could complete it," she admitted. "But you're right, it was almost finished. I needed to do trials but it was hard to create synthesized versions of the decease."

At that, Aidoaneth nearly cringed. "I dislike like using people as guinea pigs, as you Humans say, but I may not have a choice. The man appears terminal after all."

"Then what little ease my cure could give him would be temporary. My most cautious estimates put the treatment at only partially successful on advanced patients," she said.

Aidoaneth shrugged. "Or it may do the very thing it was designed to. Even if it were only palliative, it would give him more time among family or time to work. There is an old Earth saying that says that which does not kill us makes us stronger, na?"

"Very true but if he's as weak as you say then be careful not to over do the therapy," Anna warned.

Aidoaneth nodded. "I will have to be perfectly and clinically honest with him," he mused. "And even then, I would proceed with the caution of a first time enarrain."

"Let me know what happens?" she asked, a smile in her cold grey eyes.

"Ie, of course," he said automatically. He was still very much a scientist as well as a doctor. No doubt, he told himself, so is she. Both that sort would want to know. His expression softened slightly, allowing some of the crushing loss of his boy to be show. "They will come home you know. They have to. Aneirin needs to meet his brother and his wife. I want to thank your daughter for making him feel so at ease."

"They have to," she agreed. She didn't allow even a speck of what she felt at the loss of all of her children but she offered him a smile. "We will let you know when we know anything."

"I am not hard to find," he told her. He reached for the button to cut the connection but stopped as his hand rested over it. "Thank you. It may sound odd coming from one such as me but I thank you on my patient's behalf and my own."

[ussbansheec] Nothing from Nothing

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