[USS Tempest] Formerly Newn
- From: Elizabeth Platt <ejbethell@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: usstempest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:36:33 +0000 (GMT)
(Takes place immediately after Idiots, Brikaars, and Dragons)
Formerly Newn
Indil Tren and Kester
Dark eyes watched the exchange between the tall, thin skeletal man and one of
the officers. Sharp ears heard each word as if they'd been spoken to him
directly. The scent of anger and arrogance drifted to his nose and he grunted.
Those same senses observed as the officer sauntered away, now stinking of
arrogance tinged with fear. Vivisection, he thought with a rueful snort. When
the pair walked away and were out of sight, the hidden figure pushed away from
the wall and started to follow the officer.
It was easy enough to pick up his scent. He was the only man with that
particular blend of arrogant self-absorption and it curdled in the Klingon's
nose. There on the lower promenade he caught sight of his target. He was
following their Chief Engineer, his eyes practically popping out of his head in
the way they always did whenever Indil was close enough to be visible.
Kester frowned as he watched for a moment, his need to have a 'discussion' with
the Operations officer tempered by his observation of Lieutenant Commander
Newn. She was behaving most strangely, almost in a daze as she wandered into
shops that Kester was almost sure she never normally even looked at. He would
definitely be having a word with her. She was as close to a friend as he had
on that ship and he found himself worrying for her. And yet his eyes, dark and
unreadible, turned back to that creature, Conway.
With graceful movements learned from years as a warrior, Kester marched down to
the lower Promenade and straight in front of Albert. He stared at the shorter
man flatly, folding his arms across his wide, muscular chest. "A word with
you, Lieutenant," he said in his deep, rumbling voice.
Albert actually jumped when the figure of Cairngorm's chief Security officer
stepped into his path. He'd half expected it to be the bag of bones Aisling
seemed to have attached herself to. "Sure, what can I do for you, Lieutenant
Commander?"
Long, wide fingers wrapped themselves around the Human's upper arm and Kester
propelled him away from the crowded area. "I am not deaf and nor am I blind,
Mr Conway."
"Um... ow... What did I do?" he asked, almost tripping with the speed he was
being dragged along. "What's wrong?"
"For one, I saw the way you were looking at Lieutenant Commander Newn," Kester
growled.
"Tren," the younder, smaller man corrected.
The Klingon blinked, just once, but continued on as if uninterrupted. The
change of name was something to be dealt with later. "You and I have discussed
your pre-occupation with the Chief Engineer before, have we not?"
Albert actually flinched in memory of that previous 'discussion'. Everyone on
the ship knew how the tall Klingon felt toward the little Trill, everyone
except apparently Indil, and anyone who even looked funny at her was game for
being invited to discuss the matter with him. Albert had made the mistake of
telling the guy to either claim her himself or move aside for someone who
would. Kester had broken his nose in three places, not that he'd laid charges
against him. Albert was many things but stupid wasn't one of them. Given the
things he himself said about Indil, he doubted any Court Martial in the known
universe would convict.
"Yes, sir," Albert said with an attempt at a sorrowful sigh.
Kester growled and shook the man hard. "Set your sights lower, boy, try aiming
for a slug and you might find your soulmate."
"Ow! That's just uncalled for!" Albert huffed.
When they were alone in a corridor, the tall Klingon let Albert go by tossing
him into a wall. "I also observed your less-than-charitable exchange with
Tempest's CMO. Let me spell something out for you, targ-breath: the men who
returned from that place are heroes and to be respected AT ALL TIMES!"
"From what place?"
Kester blinked once again, his mouth half open to shout or snarl, but he simply
shook his head and turned to stomp away. "You will never get anywhere in this
fleet if you do not read the reports!" he called over his shoulder as he
marched off, muttering under his breath.
Ferial had liked green silk, Indil mused as she wandered around the material
shop on the promenade, but Janna had preferred softer shades of blue and
purple. Yaran liked deep reds and blacks, like his Klingon wife, and Ofelian
liked the blues that matched his eyes. She touched a soft material that
shimmered in the light like a peacock's feather and smiled at how it would have
pleased Janna's artistic eye. Personally, of all of them, it was Selneth that
Indil felt the most connection to. Both were Engineers, both were Chiefs of
their departments and both had the drive to make it in a world that a lot of
women failed in. Selneth would never have gone into a shop like this,
preferring either her uniform (specially designed for her as a female Engineer
at a time when women were meant to be in short skirts) or the simple jeans and
sweatshirt of the area of Earth her husband came from.
Actually, now Indil came to think of it, only the first host, Janna, had chosen
a Trill partner. All the rest had gone for Aliens. She supposed Tren was a
curious one then. In deep frustrated confusion, she ordered two metres of the
peacock, two of the green and a metre and a half of a deep red velvet she'd
seen on the way in.
"Here," she said as she handed over her credit chip. "Have them sent to the
Cairngorm, Lieutenant Commander Tren." She'd never really get used to using
that name though.
When the assistant smiled at her all she did was frown and grumble as she
stomped out. Her stomach growled loudly and she had a sudden craving for gagh.
She'd never eaten the stuff in her life, she wasn't even entirely sure what it
was.
Kester found the chief engineer quickly and, instead of startling her, he
called out and waved. "Lieutenant Commander Tren," he said as he padded up,
"you look lost."
"That's the biggest understatement you're ever likely to hear," Indil grumbled.
She peered up at the incredibly tall man and frowned deeper than she had
before. "I know you," she said in confusion. "I mean, I know I know you
but... I know you..."
Was it a female thing that they spoke in riddles or simply a Trill thing? he
wondered. "My name is Kester," he told her, returning her frown. "I am the
Chief of Security on your ship, the USS Cairngorm. Are you well, Commander?"
"I'm fine! And I know who you are," she huffed. "I just... I recognise you
from somewhere, that's all." She huffed again, realising how stupid that must
sound. The poor man looked like he'd bee asked to solve an unsolvable
mathematical riddle with only the aid of an abbacus. "Look, come and buy me
gagh, whatever that is, and I'll try to explain."
"Gagh?" Kester smirked. "I didn't know Trill liked gagh." He slapped her back
cheerfully though tempered to how he'd express himself to a Klingon, wary of
hurting her. "Come, let me educate you as to the proper way to eat our
favourite food."
Indil stumbled slightly with the thump but grinned, suddenly knowing exactly
how much of her teeth to flash to convey gratitude. That would be Yaran, she
decided. Married to a Klingon and with four children. As the two of them made
their way to a good restaurant Kester knew, her eyes found a couple sat
together near the back of the establishment and she practically gaped. "Tia,"
she whispered, her hand over her mouth. The man she knew too, he was the
Romulan in charge of the security around Yaran when he'd been on Romulus during
the war. They were holding hands and there was no way Indil could ignore the
way they looked at each other.
"Gods and Goddesses abounding, Tia," she huffed loudly, making Kester stop and
stare at her, "what in Kahless' name are you doing with that man?!"
Tia jumped when she heard an unfamiliar female voice shout at her. She bit her
lip, blushing profusely, when she turned to see who'd singled her out. The
woman was short with blonde hair and spots that denoted her as a Trill. She
had hard brown eyes that were frowning at her and she had her arms crossed
under her breasts in a very no-nonsense manner.
"Um... do I know you?" Tia said once the shock had died down.
Khaiell had gripped his kaleh the moment the woman had made a sound and now he
knew his knuckles were white. Who was this woman to speak that way to his
e'lev?
"Oh..." Indil suddenly flushed scarlet and looked incredibly sheepish. "Oh
dear... I'm so terribly sorry... I didn't mean to disturb you... I... Well,
my name's Indil Tren."
"Tren?" Tia asked carefully. She peered at the woman and tried to see her
father in her. She'd once seen a picture of Ofelian, the man who'd had the
symbiont after her father, and she'd seen a similarity in the eyes. This
woman, though, was completely alien to her. There was no soft smile, no
gentleness to the eyes. She was hard and now totally embarrassed. "What
happened to Ofelian?"
This was the question Indil feared. "He was murdered," she admitted softly.
Tia nodded mutely and felt her love's hand rest on the small of her back. "I
never met him but I saw his picture once. SoS met him. She said he was a
bright young man. He couldn't be more than..."
"Twenty two," Indil nodded sadly. "I'm sorry."
Her head tilted to the side and Tia frowned. "Why? Did you murder him?"
"No, but I can still be sorry that such a young life was taken so quickly,"
Indil shrugged.
Kester was now really quite confused. Who were these people that they spoke
of? Why was Indil now a host and to what was she offering guest right? He
knew he was less that knowledgable about the races in the Federation, though he
had tried to learn as much as he could.
"Would you like to join us?" Tia asked, even though she knew her love would
grumble about it.
"Um... no, thanks, but I think we'll leave it for now. Maybe I'll come and
find you later," Indil shrugged. "I'd love to talk to you about your father."
"Sure!" Tia beamed. "SoS and my brother and sisters are here too. You and..."
then her eyes fell on the woman's companion and she grinned even brighter.
"Ohmygod! You've got to be Kester!"
Kester blinked for the third time that day and peered at the young woman sat
with the Romulan. "I am. How do you know me?"
"You're Emat's brother, aren't you?" Tia bounced.
A wide, fang filled smile crossed the tall man's face and he let out a deep
laugh. "Yes! My brother is HoD Emat! You're the General's daughter, of
course! He told me he would be here. I must call him while we are both on the
station. Kahless, you've grown up, little Tia, I didn't recognise you."
The girl bounced even more and giggled. "I'd hardly expect you to, we only met
the once when you were awarded your commendation and SoS insisted that we all
attend."
Kester turned back to Indil and grinned widely at her. "You are Ambassador
Tren!" he declared, the penny having finally dropped with a resounding clang.
He embraced her firmly, one warrior to another. "Let me tell you something
about this woman, Tren," he said proudly, "she is a wonder, beautiful and witty
and with a warrior's soul. She is brilliant in her field and a strong and true
friend. You are very lucky, old man, to have her."
Indil was struck dumb. Kester was suddenly someone completely different to the
man she'd known on the Cairngorm, the quiet, considered, careful man who always
watched his tone and held himself back from her despite her best efforts to
know him as she wanted to. "Thank you," she said in confusion.
"No need," Kester grinned, shrugging it off. "I say simply what I know."
Tia couldn't hold back the giggle that was burning inside her and she leaned
into Khaiell to whisper just for his ears, "He's in love with her."
Khaiell hmphed. That much was clear even to him. The man had a radient glow
now that he held her that he knew he himself showed whenever he held Tia.
"Fhaen, join us. We were about to have chocolate pudding. My e'lev is very
partial to it."
"YES!" Indil suddenly declared. "That's what I want! I haven't had good
chocolate pudding since... wow, since Ferial invented the perfect recipe for
her first grandchild."
"That's the recipe Dad taught me," Tia laughed. "It's good. This place is
almost as good, though not quite."
"Ah well, it'll do," Indil said with a grin. "Better than gagh anyway."
Khaiell pulled a face and shuddered. "Klingon food is still disgusting. How
do you people eat things uncooked?"
"By having stronger stomachs than you Romulans," Kester chuckled. He pulled
across two chairs, having decided that his companion seemed to have no
intention of leaving.
"Still disgusting," Khaiell huffed.
"Oh, I agree," Indil nodded firmly. "Ofelian hated the stuff. It turned his
stomach."
"Daddy liked it though," Tia mused.
"Sure, but he had an eye for the whole Klingon package." Then Indil glanced up
at Kester and she smiled shyly. "Not that I blame him."
Kester gave her a small, careful smile as he took his seat next to her. She
was no Klingon woman but she was beautiful to him.
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