Reunion

Posted on Wed Nov 23rd, 2011 @ 7:41pm by Commander Sakkath & Captain Li Hawke

Sakkath opened his mind, searching through hundreds of decks, thousands of individuals. His mental gifts were not meant for this... he was a touch telepath, but Li's unique abilities amplified his own where she was concerned. Their joining had made it simple to find one another, veritable needles in a haystack.

The most brilliant point on Starbase 900 was clear to him, shining like the brightest star amid an endless void. Now, more than ever, he was keenly aware that he had been gone too long.

Thought eluded him, but his feet seemed to know the way. This spot was uniquely theirs. He... appreciated the sentiment, though reaching it was simpler than the last time. Then, they had relied on Li's skill in espionage. Now, he possessed Operational overrides that were second only to the Admiral's.

He lingered there, in the final portal, just... watching. Her, the stars, both equally radiant. Inwardly, he was elated. Outwardly, he was only Sakkath of Vulcan.

It was beginning to feel as if you might never get home... The single thought rose within him, Li's inner voice. She had not turned around yet, but knew he was there, had known the moment he landed. The bond had fired to life, sizzling through her, restoring that part of her that had been missing. She felt keenly that same moment that had hit so long ago in the X-Sistential Lounge on the Berkeley - that arc of supernova energy, rebonding them, threatening to shatter her into a million tiny sparks.

Her hands tightened on the frame of the portal, giving him a few moments to adjust. Finally, she turned, the faint lights from outside the station filtering in through the portal, illuminating her bare shoulders, the dark silk of her dress.

It was too empty, too long....

Without another word, she flew across the circular space of the room at the top of the station, throwing herself into his arms.

Sakkath wrapped her in his embrace, drinking in the touch of her skin, the silk of her gown, the smell of her hair. All of it stirred an animal passion deep inside of him that he had to fight down, even here where they were alone, where the control he had worked so hard for mattered most.

I know, he replied. Even with my crew, an ailing world and the weight of command as my companions, there is a space only you can fill, Imzadi. Sakkath exhaled, an almost audible sigh. I am whole again.

Yes. She continued to hold him tight, blotting out the world, the fears and nightmares, everything but the feel of him, his scent, his presence in her mind once again filling the dark, empty place he'd left behind. It was just as overwhelming as that first time and tears sprung to her eyes.

The fiery passion in him blazed within her too, though she sensed the fight to maintain control. It was difficult to reconcile, but on a logical level she understood it. She had no intention, however, of allowing it to remain, at least tonight. All of this passed through her thoughts in a flash, passed on to Sakkath willingly, unhidden like the rest that she kept to herself just now.

The emotions that passed between them were as strong as the pair had ever known, an intimacy that almost none had ever experienced where a Vulcan was involved. For all of the walls he built for the outside world, she could pass through them as though they were no more than vapor to what lay behind.

There is much and more to recount from our time apart, he thought, wrapping his fingers in the loose curls of her raven hair, sensing some small degree of reticence.

There is. As his hands wrapped in her hair, she leaned her head back, his touch overwhelming. How many nights while he was gone had she dreamed of him, feeling his touch on her skin? Nights at least that were not interrupted by Rhys, his nightmares bastardizing her dreams. A soft sigh escaped her and she pressed closer, making the effort to shove Rhys from her thoughts.

Everything in him tensed at once, every emotion and every muscle. The predatory feline nature of the Vulcan race that had been passed down to him needed only to catch the 'scent' of his rival to rise within him, and the part of Rhys Balasz that still dwelt within Sakkath's mind nearly gripped her hair and pulled... or had that been him? Unsure, he forced composure to reign. The spear in the other's heart... he reminded himself. Logic. Logic. Logic.

He haunts you, he said to her, not daring to speak his name. He had no idea just how right, how literal, he was.

Not in the way you think. Li reached around him, pressing the panel to close the door. Once it was done, she pressed Sakkath back against it with her body, her own composure none too stable, spurred by the tension that gripped him, the pure primitive instinct. She sensed the reaction he had managed to stop, the memory rising like a black cloud. Not tonight. Tonight is...us. No one else.

The warmth and softness of her body against the front of him contrasted with the cold, unyielding metal of the station behind him. It reminded him of his own internal struggle as he disentangled his hand from her hair, brushing a thumb against her cheek. His hand hovered there, his fingers spread as he looked into the ebon pools of her eyes.

May I touch your mind, Imzadi?

As you wish my love.... Her answer came with no hesitation. Though be warned, my control is...limited...

Gingerly, he placed the digits of his right hand across her face, speaking the first words that had disturbed the silence of their reunion. "My mind to your mind," he whispered, leaning in, his forehead mere millimeters from her own, his breath heavy on her lips. Your thoughts to my thoughts, he added in her mind.

What the bond allowed to pass between them was as nothing compared to the true blending of their consciousnesses that the meld accomplished. In moments, the time that had kept them apart was reduced to an instant. Thought and emotion, Sakkath shared all that had transpired on Divitia: the triumph of logic over bureaucracy; the disappointment that lingered in the minds of he and the crew; the thrill of command and, most recently, the thought and image of their bodies entwined here, in this space they had claimed for their own.

As the meld took hold, her body relaxed against him. She relied on his strength to hold her even as his thoughts filled her own. She took them in instantly, scarcely breathing. At the same moment, her own passed to him - the rumours, Iggy's transformation, the crystal and Rhys, his threats. The image of a dark man with long hair flashed through as well, and then the longing for him, the depth with which he'd been missed consumed all other thoughts.

There were issues there to consider, ones his Vulcan mind could not ignore: Could the crystal embody a malevolent mental presence? Could that presence affect the physical world? What effect would destroying that malevolence have on Ignatius, now a sentient being in her own right? Could she and Norval both betray him? Who was this new man in the shadows?

And even as they struggled to surface in his thoughts, they were drowned out by raw emotion. Sakkath could not even recall breaking the meld, he only knew that both of his hands were on her hips, sliding her dress up, feeling the curve of her body as he leaned into her, his lips locked on hers.

She gasped aloud as the meld broke, then his mouth took over her own. Her fingers rose to frantically open his collar, rip open the tunic. What he'd felt moments before was now magnified a hundredfold within Li.

Only you... was her last coherent thought.

____________
Sakkath and Li
Reunited