Reunion

Posted on Sun Jun 17th, 2012 @ 8:29pm by Ignatius Reilly & Commander Sakkath & Captain Li Hawke
Edited on on Fri Jun 22nd, 2012 @ 11:40am

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Li & Sakkath's Quarters

Li finally emerged from the Cherry Pit and entered the turbolift. The conversation with Lazan had been an interesting one, especially his observations regarding Suresh's emotional attachment. She had suspected it was so, just not quite as deep as Lazan portrayed it. Tomorrow was something she wasn't exactly looking forward to, but a necessary step. She had to get things back in balance, put Suresh back in his place.

Her thoughts drifted away, moving on to Sakkath. She'd had no news yet from Sickbay, so she assumed no change. She wanted him to awaken, and yet in some way was afraid for him to. Norval's words rose in her thought and while he was right, she knew that Sakkath's first hours home could be wonderful or they could be....strange. She was trying desperately to separate Sakkath from the events that had occurred. It would take time, she supposed. And maybe some of Robin's magic.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the wall of the lift, trying to force the tension from her body. Finally, she began to relax, let her thoughts open.

And it hit her like a plasma bolt, so hard her knees buckled. She pressed her hands against the lift wall to keep herself upright and moaned softly. The link to Sakkath was restored.

Moments later, the turbolift doors opened on her deck and as soon as she stepped out, she was running down the corridor.

Sakkath had returned to his quarters with Iggy on his arm, setting her down in the living area upon his return. His crimson robes had been through much, too much, between the events on 900 and subsequently on the Takei, so he recycled them through the replicator and took a few moments in the sonic shower. What he redonned was white and unadorned, as though he were an initiate in the ways of the kolinahr. Indeed, he felt as if his mind needed to be... reordered and reinvented.

He had lit the dozens of candles he scattered throughout their living quarters, and settled into a position on the floor to begin his meditations. With Iggy present, however, he swiftly realized that was going to prove impossible (as Iggy had taken up a spot right next to him, staring at him and obviously eager to chat) and so he had instead taken up residence at his workstation, puzzling through several of the promises he had made to the arachnid over the past few nights. A nano-communicator was the simplest of the issues, something he could place in the area between her carapace and abdomen, though even that could only allow the base computer to locate her. Enabling communication would prove somewhat more challenging.

Out in the corridor, Li reached the doors of their quarters and skidded to a stop. She was at a loss for words, completely. But she couldn't stand here in the corridor all night and so, opening the doors, she stepped in. She was surprised to see him at his workstation and all she could do was stand, watching.

Finally, the spider broke the mental silence in the room: Li! The single syllable gave the definite impression that, could she have done so, Iggy would have bounded to the door to greet the woman like a Terran puppy.

Sakkath looked up from his work and set down the PADD he had been holding. "Imzadi," he said simply, looking her over. "You appear to have changed your hair color, and your eyes," he noted additionally, folding his hands on top of the desk. "The doctors assured me I had not been unconscious for so long."

You were out long enough. But now you are both here and you can mate, Iggy looked from one to the other, a movement that required she actually turn her body.

Li started to speak, but at Iggy's words, she remained silent. Reaching up, she pulled off the red wig, letting it drop, then fluffed up her hair. she then bent her head, carefully removing first one contact, then another, dropping them to the table by the entrance. Only then did she address Iggy.

Iggy, I....that is we need to... She fell silent, having no idea what to say to that. She didn't even know what to say to her own husband, but now she felt somewhat on display.

"Ignatius has been somewhat insistent," Sakkath explained, "that our joining is for the sole purpose of procreation. She does not seem to understand the Vulcan concept of the plak tow or the potential emotional involvement... which is, of course, quite understandable for one so recently gifted with intelligence. I am working on her communicator," he said, shifting the subject slightly as he motioned to his PADD. It seemed he was not going to be the first to address the elephant in the room.

Plak tow? Iggy parroted the words, preventing the elephant in the room from rearing its head just yet. Someday, Li's Mate, will you teach me of things like that?

Li was curious what Sakkath would say to that and she left them to it as she bent down, scooped up the wig and passed through into the bedroom. Her hand shook as she tossed it to the dresser and began to strip down out of the 'work' dress to get into something more comfortable. She left the door open, however, as she wanted to hear and besides, it was Sakkath out there. He knew her body as well as she did.

"You may have noticed, Ignatius, that I am not one for emotional outbursts... though my behavior of late may seem contrary to that point," he added, with no hint of annoyance. "Vulcan suppress their feelings, choosing instead to live out their lives in dedication to the ideal of logic. As a result, we are not driven to the passion of mating... the exception is the plak tow, a period where the need for reproduction overwhelms our higher mental functions. It is the instrument through which our race continues, and it occurs only once every seven years in the lives of adult males. That much, at least, has become common knowledge in the Federation community."

Sakkath kept his eyes on the spider throughout the conversation, giving Li some manner of privacy. He was not about to let his emotions get the better of him, not now after having fought Rhys for so long. He was as dedicated to the kolinahr as his robes demonstrated. There would be no break from Vulcan tradition. He needed that. He needed the time to sort through his own thoughts and feelings.

Once. Every. Seven. Years. Iggy considered that information, though she really didn't have a good grasp of how long a 'year' was; she had the feeling that 'years' might relate to molting periods. If so..., That's a long time. So it is not mating season?

"It is not," Sakkath replied, quite simply.

Li pressed her hands to her eyes as the conversation continued. It was so much more complicated than that, and she was not about to discuss 'off season' with Iggy. There was a lot right now she wasn't going to discuss with the spider, no matter how much she liked her. What she needed was....

Sakkath.... She reached out to him along their link before she could stop herself.

Outwardly, Sakkath arched his brow. Imzadi? he questioned.

Just his use of the term was reassuring and she sighed aloud. This is difficult with company, but I need you.

Something that I fear is impossible, my wife, Sakkath was forced to reply. I do not feel myself, my mind is not as ordered as it should be after... after all that has happened, he decided to leave it at that. I must be true to my discipline, else I will never truly recover from this schism in my mind, this invasion and sudden divorce. I need ... time.

That is what I need as well, not the other. There's so much to resolve I know. I just need to talk to you alone. Even if it's about nothing in particular. Li finished dressing and emerged in a tank top and a pair of loose silk pants, her feet bare.

"Ignatius," Sakkath spoke aloud, "I fear that after all that has transpired my wife and I require some time... alone." Vulcans were not known for their delicacy, but neither was there judgment in his voice. He was stating a fact, as if it were no different than reporting the condition of a station system in Ops.

Oh, of course. Go ahead. I shall wait here, Ignatius graciously offered. Less than a split second later, though, after she'd gotten just a touch of something from both Li and Sakkath, she recanted, Oh. OH! Right, well, then, I shall be on my way. The spider turned and made her way to the door, where she waited till Sakkath ordered the door to open and then she disappeared into the corridor.

There was a part of Sakkath that desperately wished to laugh, but he controlled himself as he opened the door and saw Iggy out. "If you wish, I can have someone convey you home, to avoid incident," he offered.

The reply came back: No, no, I am not heading home just yet and I will use the ceiling rather than the floor. Bi-peds tend not to notice what is above their heads.

Later Iggy. Li sent her goodbye after Iggy and was quiet till the doors closed. She turned to Sakkath now. "If it helps, my head is a mess. I love you, I know that, and yet the fear refuses to leave just yet. I'm sorry," she finished in a whisper.

"The truth tends to neither help nor hurt," Sakkath said as he steepled his fingers and walked to the couch, taking a seat. "I feel similarly," he admitted, "and I do not question anything I have pledged to you in the past, my life or my love, but I too am possessed of a fear. I was made into a weapon. I must come to terms with that, and with myself."

Li nodded, remaining where she stood. "I understand, but we both have to remember that it was not your fault. He did it to you, and we cannot let him continue to do it even though he is gone. While you were asleep, Norval came to see you. We talked a bit and he made sure to remind me that I cannot hold Rhys' actions against you. By that same token, you cannot hold them against yourself either."

"I do not hold Rhys responsible," Sakkath replied matter-of-factly. "I fault myself, my lack of strength that allowed him to do it. I am a Vulcan, control is the cornerstone of my life, and I lapsed in that control. It seems clear to me that I must work more diligently."

Li studied him for a long moment, the impact of his words more than clear. She bit her lip, hesitating to give voice to the thoughts, but then they had always been completely open with each other.

"Am I part of what you see as a lack of control?"

The Chief of Operations paused a moment to consider that before finally shaking his head in the negative. "No. While I do admit to a certain... loosening of my behavior while alone with you, it is only because you are in my mind as I am in yours. It is a unique situation, one not many Vulcan couples are presented with, even those who share the meld. It has never caused me to act without a conscious choice."

Li's knees sagged with relief and she leaned against the door frame to steady herself. At least they had this. Hopefully it meant that they could weather this, that Sakkath could re-center himself without it driving a wedge between them. There was already a ghost there now, they didn't need more trying to drive them apart.

"I'm glad." She closed her eyes, reaching out mentally once again, taking comfort from the restored bond. She realized she needed the time as much as he did, and wondered yet again just how much his devotion to logic had changed her. Finally she crossed the room, pausing by the sofa to touch his cheek, then hold out two fingers. "Very glad."

"As am I," Sakkath admitted as he pressed two fingers to hers in the traditional Vulcan gesture of intimacy. He was normally the one to initiate such reserved contact, and he deeply appreciated her effort. So much so that he leaned into their closeness and lightly kissed her cheek. His voice low, he wondered in her ear, behind ebon curls, "What have I missed, slumbering in Sickbay?"

She closed her eyes at the kiss, her heart tripping up a little as the hope that maybe things would be alright flickered to life. "Dad and Aia's baby is here, a girl. Born just a couple of hours ago now. I heard it from dad just as I was leaving the pit and was going to stop and see but then, I felt our link re-open and I had to get here. Things down below were...interesting this evening. The admiral showed up and Suresh sent me over to meet him. He ended up buying me for a few hours, and it gave me enough time to give him a little info on what's what down there. Which reminds me, I need to send him a bill." She smiled finally, as she settled down on the sofa beside Sakkath. The rest of the evening, she decided to keep to herself. It was work and had no place here.

Sakkath did not smile outwardly, of course, but there was genuine happiness communicated over the bond he shared with his wife. "Then we should go to them," he decided, "and meet your new sister. These are good tidings, come of dark times." He had no idea how dark, still ignorant of the bombings on the planet below.

"Now? Or would you rather relax tonight and do so tomorrow?"

"I have spent enough time in bed, I think," the Vulcan admitted, "but I shall leave the choice to you, Imzadi. You know your family better than I."

"Sure. I just need some shoes." Reaching out, she took Sakkath's hand, lacing her fingers with his. She was glad to see him taking an interest in something and in truth, she was anxious to see the baby as well. Raising his hand, she brushed a kiss over the back of it, then rose. "Just a moment."

"As many as you require," the Vulcan assured her, standing and, in the silence and stillness that he was left with in the living area, trying to find his center in the maelstrom that still raged within.

___________________
Ignatius J. Reilly
Living Up to Her Name

Sakkath
Searching for Peace

Li Hawke
Sifting Through The Chaos