Good Reasons

Posted on Thu Dec 10th, 2015 @ 3:09pm by Admiral Lucius Hawke & Captain Li Hawke & Lieutenant Commander Leto & Ensign Kozel

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: XO's Office

* Li's Office *

It was late, so late that Li had lost track of the hour and didn't much care. She did know, however, that it had been a very long day since she'd left her father's quarters early that morning. She tried to think back to what had filled so many hours but the day seemed little more than a blur. The only good news to come had been from Leto. They had Seren and were fleeing Devore space. She still hadn't told Lucius and that brought her back around to what had really preoccupied her and sent her through the day on auto-pilot.

Julisa.

Li sighed and the sound seemed overly loud in her empty office. She was still uncertain just what she felt about all this or what she should do. As was typical for Li, such a heavy emotional question didn't come with the urge to talk about it but instead, to hole up somewhere alone, somewhere quiet and puzzle it out. Sakkath's habits had been good for her in that respect. Think it through logically, consider all the angles, then arrive at a decision. Except this time, the decision involved some deep emotional issues and so far, trying to figure it out in a reasonable manner hadn't worked.

The real problem wasn't Julisa, of course. It all circled back around to Lucius. She couldn't even pretend to understand the difficulty in making the decision he and Tora had made all those years ago. She hadn't lived through the Occupation, hadn't faced any of the issues they had, or any of the complications. It was often so easy to think she would have chosen better but the truth was, unless she had been there, she had no idea what she would have done. This was Lucius after all. Given his life in Intel, if he said there was a compelling reason, she could accept that there was. Rick was right, she really should sit down with her father and hear him out.

She started to rise, but the sudden sense of Lucius being close pushed her back into her seat. Immediately, the chime at her door rang. She pressed the panel on her desk to open it and there he stood, waiting for her invitation.

"Hello honey."

"Come on in, Dad. I was just thinking about you," she answered.

"I know." Lucius smiled as he walked into her office. He looked first at the empty chairs, then bypassed them and moved around the desk, leaning back against it at her side. He wanted to reach out, take her hand, touch her shoulder...something...but he sensed the turmoil that still gripped her. One step at a time, he decided.

"I have some news," he began. "A new memory. Perhaps it will help explain more of this."

"Let's hear it then." The words came out much sharper than she intended. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so --"

"I know," Lucius said again. This time he did reach out, wrapping his hand around hers. "It's a complicated situation and a lot has been dropped in your lap."

"Not as much as has been dropped into Julisa's lap," Li countered. "She's going to know when she gets home, isn't she?"

Lucius nodded. "The new memories...we did manage to get her out of Gallitep and something I said during that rescue made it very clear to her."

"She's safe?" A knot of tension that had taken up residence between her shoulder blades began to unwind, bit by bit. That was great news, and not only because Julisa was a valued member of the crew here. She was now family. "That's a huge relief."

"Yes it is." Lucius paused as he looked back at Li. "That rescue is also one of the main reasons for all the secrecy...besides your mother that is. Darhe'el didn't take it well that we got the better of him. He swore he would hunt down and kill everyone I held dear. He didn't know about you or the boys so the focus was on Julisa and Tora."

"And he had the power to make that threat a reality." Li nodded. "I get it."

"I requested re-assignment just a few months after that. I didn't want to leave them but it was the only way to be sure they were safe if Darhe'el was, in fact, hunting me down. He'd follow my trail and leave them alone. Which is what he did, though he failed. He died three years later but we could never be sure he hadn't passed his vendetta along. It's just the sort of thing he'd do, too."

"And now? You have a lot of things to work out it seems." Li tightened her grip on his hand. When she looked up, her eyes shone with unshed tears. "I'm not angry, Dad. Not anymore. Now, I'm worried about you. You face a hard choice. If either Aia or Tora was Betazoid, it would be easier but they aren't. I don't envy you any of this. I cannot imagine what it's like to finally have Tora back and be...." She stopped and shook her head. "I'm sorry. For all of it."

"It's my own doing," Lucius admitted. "Life is never smooth sailing. You've learned that first-hand. I will face it all head on and work it out. Somehow."

"You will." Finally, Li smiled. "That's what I've always admired about you. I have to ask though, does Aia know?"

"No." Lucius shook his head. "None of it. For the very reasons I gave you. I've been very careful to keep her out of the spotlight, just in case. I'd already lost enough, I didn't want her or Saye in danger as well. Now? I'll tell her once she is home and we'll figure out what to do then."

"I don't know if there's anything I can do but if so, you know I'll come running. I've wondered if maybe it would be better to stand back until we see what is needed. I don't want to have to take sides, Dad. I can't. There are too many sides in this situation." She laughed for a moment and he joined her.

"Truer words were never spoken, honey." Before he could continue, the open channel Li had been using to monitor the cha'Do beeped.

=^= Li? Hey sweets, I just wanted to let you know Seren seems okay for now. I'm letting all the boys sleep while we hide out in this asteroid field for a bit. The departure got a little hot but we're out of sight and should be underway in a few hours. =^= The voice was Leto's.

"Seren??" Lucius was immediately on alert.

Li held up her hand to quiet her father for a moment so she could answer. "Gotcha, Leto. I'll keep this open in case there's trouble. Otherwise, update me once you're on the move again."

=^= You've got it, buttercup. Tell that gorgeous father of yours not to worry. I'm out =^=

The channel went silent and Lucius began to laugh. "She never changes, no matter what name she's using at the moment. So...speaking of keeping secrets, care to explain that?"

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise," Li admitted. "Seren got picked up on the Devore homeworld. You can see the problems with that. So, I sent Leto and a man I know from down below to do the extraction. They met up with Jens there and snatched him away from the Devore, then apparently had to make a fast getaway. When this issue with Niro running away with our people arose, I figured you had enough to worry about. So I decided to wait and tell you once they were actually home."

"I see." Lucius considered it and finally nodded. "I'd have done the same in your shoes. So, Seren's okay?"

"That was Leto's way of saying he's better than he was. She said he was in bad shape when they got there. We'll know more once they get back here though."

It was a matter of seconds for Lucius to pick the details from her thoughts and he frowned. "Drugged food? Given it's Devore, let's hope he doesn't suffer the usual after-effects."

"Let's hope," Li echoed. "But you heard her. Don't worry. You have enough on your plate already and before you know it, Seren will be here."

"About time." Lucius was excited at the news. He hadn't seen his son in almost two years. "I should get back, Tora and Rick are waiting." He pushed a2way from his seat on her desk and stood.

Li stood too, and wrapped him in a fierce hug. "We'll all get through this, one way or another."

"We will." He kissed the top of Li's head. "Remind me to thank Rick, for whatever he said to you."

"I will. Now go. I have a rescue mission to drop on Sakkath. Call if you need me."

Moments later, Lucius was gone and Li settled back into her chair. Her regular channel beeped and it was her assistant.

"Hello Kozel. It's very late. I hope you're home relaxing?"

=^= I am. I set that channel to be monitored here, though, and heard Leto's call. Is there anything you need? =^=

Once again, Li recalled her gratitude to Barefoot down in personnel. "No, Kozel, get back to sleep. I've still got some things to clear up, but nothing to drag you out for. We'll cover it tomorrow."

=^= Acknowledged, Captain. You should take your own advice. Don't stay there too late. I'll see you in a few hours. =^=

The channel closed, leaving Li wondering why it was that good assistants always had a dose of mother hen in them. It was true, though, she had plenty to do before Sakkath's team departed. Reaching for her comm panel, she opened a channel to Piper. She had one more set of orders to issue - Dr. Mi was going with the team.

**************
Captain Li Hawke
Admiral Lucius Hawke
Taking Care Of A Few Things

Lt. Leto
Ensign Kozel
Taking Care of The Hawkes