The Family Circle

Posted on Tue Dec 8th, 2015 @ 8:56pm by Admiral Lucius Hawke & Bajun Tora & Aia Rios Hawke

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Lucius' Quarters

* Lucius’ Quarters *

There had been no more news and no new memories of the missing team and Lucius’ nerves were getting frayed. He wandered aimlessly around his quarters, hoping for something to come to mind, something to distract him from the endless waiting. The one thing that had come had not been good. The team on the ice planet had run into trouble and a rescue team was being assembled.

“The night from hell,” he muttered. “Come on….give us a break before I -”

The beep that came from his terminal cut him off and he bounded across the room. “Please be good news,” he muttered as he dropped into his seat. The channel opened and the face visible there almost made him regret wishing for a distraction.

“Hello Marianna.” He knew his tone was too short, almost angry. Now was not a good time. None of this was her fault, but the worry was getting the better of him.

“Lucius. I’ve just heard the news from Tomas and I wanted to see how you’re holding up. We’re worried about you.” Despite his obvious mood, or maybe because of it, she kept her tone soft and soothing. “I know Ehlana’s likely said so already, but Tomas says there’s no need to be concerned at this point. Nothing seems to be wrong. I know that doesn’t ease your mind but at least it’s something.”

Something. That was the perfect description of the last two days. The realization that it had been two days hit him hard and he wondered if time was passing faster here than where Julisa was.

“Lucius?”

“Sorry, just distracted. Things have been interesting here, to put it mildly. Things where they are have changed a bit too. I don’t know how much Ehlana has told Tomas but the situation has taken a dangerous turn. New memories have come, of Julisa being caught and taken to Gallitep.”

Marianna’s eyes widened. “Oh no!” She turned away from her terminal a moment to relay that to Tomas, then faced Lucius once more. “And Tora? Does she know?” Her gaze shifted, looking past Lucius. “Oh, I see she is there. Hello, Tora.”

"Hello, Marianna," Tora acknowledged her. "We're holding up rather well, all things considered."

“Good. I know it can’t be easy for you, especially since all of this is likely to come out in the open when she’s back, isn’t it?” Marianna’s voice was soft but the slight dig at Lucius and Tora was there nonetheless.

Tora frowned and snapped, "All of this? You mean the things we kept secret so you wouldn't be embarrassed? That my daughter lost her father because you were concerned about your image on a wholly separate planet? Ugh... You always were self-centered. It's nice to know some things never change."

“I was thinking about Julisa and how she will take the news,” Marianna answered and smiled, but then it faded. “You two have a bigger problem than my opinions, though, don’t you? What about Aia?”

Lucius sighed aloud. “She’s on Betazed for a few weeks.” He could see from the location stamp on the screen that Marianna was calling from Earth, which made sense. Tomas would have to get back to SFC and for that he was relieved. “But you are right. And stop reading me.”

“I didn’t have to Lucius, it’s written all over your face. It’s the same torch you’ve carried all of your adult life,” Marianna answered softly. “Do you plan to stay?” This was addressed to Tora.

"I have obligations on Bajor. I am still a Vedek there." Tora rolled her eyes. "Love, I'm going to try taking a nap," she told Lucius, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning in to kiss his cheek. Unless you'd rather I stay through this call?

Your choice. I don’t want you to have to suffer through this but you might keep me from saying something I’ll regret. He looked up at Tora with a smile before turning his attention back to the terminal.

“In answer to your question, Marianna, I don’t know. We have some things to work out, obviously.”

“Obviously,” she agreed. “I’m sorry things are so crazy for you right now but I’ve seen this collision coming for a long time, sweetheart.”

“It won’t be a collision!” Tora nearly shouted at Marianna. “Julisa has always known that her father loves her. She’ll be fine with this information.”

“I meant with Aia.” Marianna paused a moment and now she spoke to Tora. “Lucius’ heart has always belonged to you, whether you know that or not. We made our peace with it long ago but now? Things are different and I suppose your paths going forward depend on how much Aia knows.”

Tora, still frowning, looked at Lucius then walked away, leaving him to the witch’s conversation.

Lucius rubbed his eyes and looked back to Marianna. “Is that really your concern?”

“I see. You dodged the question. Does she really know nothing Lucius?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. For the same reasons that Julisa was never told. That good enough?”

Marianna nodded. “Let’s hope that Darhe’el isn’t successful and you get her back home. If there’s anything I can do to help…”

“We’ll be fine,” Lucius interrupted. “Tell Tomas I’ll call him when I know something. Good night.”

Lucius closed the channel and muttered aloud. “I did not need that right now.”

“I don’t recall her being such a witch, Lucius. Did she get worse?” Tora asked from the bedroom. She came back out.

“I thought she was getting better. She was. But you...you’ve always been a sore point for her. She’s right about one thing, though. You need to stay, and it’s not going to be easy.”

“It’s unfair to Aia and your new little daughter,” Tora said, moving towards him and lightly touching his hair. “You’ll have to stay with her. Love her, you obviously do since you married her. Don’t hurt her over this.”

He looked up with a sad smile. “I think it’s likely out of my hands. She will have to know. Would you want to stay with me knowing all this if you were her?”

“At one point, I was her, remember? I had a little girl - your daughter - and would have stayed with you even though you were married to someone else. We all love you, Lucius.”

He dropped his head into his hands and moaned aloud. “You will stay this time. I mean that.”

“We shall see, Lucius,” she said, then, thinking out loud, added, “Of course... if I were here, then perhaps I could see to it that Julisa and her beau have some children. Grandchildren should have their grandparents nearby.”

He smiled in spite of the circumstances. “I’ve lived my life denying myself the one thing I always wanted...the two things. That ends now.”

“We’ll have an adult conversation with Aia when she returns,” Tora said, “And you’ll have to promise to help encourage Jules to have a child.”

“I will.” He laughed finally. “Li is in no hurry it seems. Too busy.” He looked up at Tora. “Is that a yes?”

“That’s a ‘we’ll talk to everyone involved and see what happens’,” she smiled, recalling that he’d always been pushy. It was one of the things she loved about him and likely the reason she’d ended up with Julisa in the first place.

“Good.” He smiled back at Tora. “So now, I have to ask. Any new memories?”

“Not yet. I really am going to go take a nap, though,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “Maybe being awake keeps the new memories away.”

“It’s been an exhausting day, yes. Go, rest. I’ll call you if anything new comes up. I need to check in with Rick and I’m hoping Li will call too.”

“Be safe,” she kissed him before toddling off to the bedroom.

Lucius rose and moved over to refill his brandy. The terminal beeped once more and he hurried across, opening the channel before he even sat down. “Rick?” The face on the screen was absolutely not Rick - it was his wife. “Hi Aia, how are you?” He sat down and sipped from his glass.

Beaming happily, Aia pulled their daughter, Saye, into the camera’s view. “We’re doing just lovely, darling. Although we’d be happier if you were here with us. I miss you. So does your mother. She adores Saye, but who doesn’t?”

“That’s so true.” He smiled and waved to the youngster, truly happy to see her. “How’s Dad?”

“He is well, though he said something weird. He called Saye your third daughter,” she laughed. “I reminded him you have just two daughters.” She shook her head, amused. “Anyway, everyone in the family came over earlier for supper. Our little girl is tuckered out from being passed around.”

Lucius froze with his glass halfway to his mouth. Dammit. He forced himself to move, hoping she hadn’t noticed the effect her comment had on him.

“Sounds like a good time was had by all.” He smiled once more and felt suddenly exhausted. He also wondered if Tora was sleeping or might wander out and be seen.

“It was a good time,” she yawned suddenly, “Oh, sorry. We’ll both sleep well tonight. You look a bit worried; is everything okay?”

“We have two teams missing at the moment, Aia. Well regarding one, we know where they are but they are in some trouble. The other has been..displaced. In time. So it’s been a difficult two days for a lot of reasons.”

“Oh,” she frowned. “I wish I were there to comfort you. Is Li on one of the teams?” Everything in her expression said: ‘Please say no!’

“No, she isn’t.” He finally managed to get his glass to his mouth, sipped from it, then set it aside. The warmth calmed him just a little. “But three of the Fleet were basically kidnapped by a brig escapee. There was an anomalous rift and the ship was pulled through it. They’ve gone back to….to my past Aia.”

“Then you know what happens to them.” She seemed to think the issue was simple and closed.

“Not completely, no. Things are changing.” In a lot of ways, he thought. “Some previously...classified information is coming to light.”

“Time travel and the ripples it causes confuse me. I’ll talk to your parents tomorrow about a departure date. It sounds like it might be good if I’m back on the Station for you.”

“No need to cut your visit short, my darling. Not that I don’t want you here but I’m not much company at the moment. I’ve been on call for two days now and in and out at all hours. Stay and enjoy yourself.” Lucius knew he needed a little time before dealing with the fallout of all this. “You’ve put the trip off already so now that you’re there, have some fun.”

“If you say so, love. It’s nice to be on a planet, under a real sun.” Saye squealed, reaching for the screen and Aia smiled. “She’s trying to touch you.”

He put his hand up to the screen and was greeted by a small hand reaching out. “I suppose I’ll see you two in a few weeks. Will you put Dad on when we finish?” He hoped the request sounded casual. He and his father had something to clear up immediately.

“Certainly. Let me get him,” she rose easily, picked up their child and walked away. A moment later, she came back. “He’ll be along in a minute. Are you eating well? Getting enough sleep?”

Lucius had to laugh at the questions. “What are those things? El’Shar sent us some dinner earlier but I’ve not had time to get to it yet.” Too late, he realized he’d said ‘us’.

Aia, a former spook like Li, caught the slip but let it go. “Well, whomever your ‘us’ is, make sure she takes care of you.” She turned away then said, “Your dad is here. I love you, Lucius. Saye and I miss you.” She blew him a kiss then stood and moved out of the way for an older man.

“Son. You’re in the far reaches of the universe. How are my grandchildren?”

“They’re all fine Dad.” Well that wasn’t quite true, was it? “Aia says you and Mom are doing well.” He was hedging and he knew it. He also knew his father would too. The old man was still razor sharp.

The old man turned and looked around him then faced the console again. “No one here but me, so stop telling tales. Is Li injured? Seren? The Bajoran?”

Lucius sighed. “The Bajoran is part of the issue. She was taken from her office by a prisoner and beamed to his ship, which then went through a rift to the past. 2360 to be exact. The other problem is that you mentioned my ‘third’ daughter. Aia was asking about that.”

“Eh, I’m an old man; she waved that away as me being an old man. Is the jig up on your secret? I’d like to meet her.”

“With Aia? Not yet but it may be soon. Tora is here. She was coming to visit Julisa and arrived just after her ship vanished through the rift. Julisa is back there now, where we were when she was little. It’s likely she will know when she returns and if not, we’ll tell her.” Lucius hesitated, then carried on. “Tora may be staying.”

“Huh... you have the luck, my boy. You stole mine, I think,” he joked. “And Aia? She’s a beautiful woman and loves you. Will you abandon her and Saye?”

“I’ve never abandoned any of them.” Lucius felt his patience ebbing, though it was not his father’s fault. “I need to go. Tell Aia that I’ll call her tomorrow but Rick is waiting now and I’m over due there. Tell her that too.”

“I will. I love you, son.” Lisnan smiled before the channel closed.

*****************
Admiral Lucius Hawke
Vedek Bajun Tora
Marianna Hawke Cruzado
Aia Rios Hawke
Lisnan Hawke