Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.
(The Lord of the Rings)
[Vulcan]
3rd Day in the month of D'Ruh, YS 9023
A cloud of dust churned behind the shuttle craft as it sped recklessly through the desert at a low altitude. It zigzagged between the towers of stone and dove over sand dunes haphazardly increasing the contrail that billowed behind it. Shiarrael sat in the pilot's seat wearing a particularly alarming smirk as the shuttle twisted and turned through the maze. Next to her a young human Lieutenant braced himself against the copilots console, his skin pallor long since having drained to an unhealthy pale.
"Captain," He wretched as the shuttle bobbed over a dune unexpectedly. Covering his mouth he gagged for a second and then pulled his hand down "the Vulcan traffic network is demanding you return to normal altitude. They will revoke your pilot's license if you don't"
"What license?" She chuckled, but the look of deathly horror on the Lieutenant's face forced her to some level of seriousness "do not fret, we are fine, let them fester." Shiarrael added as she twisted the shuttle around a tall and narrow rock formation. Ahead of them the desert slowly gave way to shrubs. She frowned and brought the shuttle up and steadied its course. "We must be near." She commented as the Lieutenant began to regain some color. "Guide me to the commander's home."
"Yes sir." The Lieutenant sat forward and tapped slowly on the console. The window on the copilot's side polarized and a map illuminated "we are nine kilometers from their estate, inputting exact coordinates into your panel." He glanced out the side window as the shrubs turned into long grassy fields with short tree patches "is this still Vulcan?" he muttered his thought out loud.
"Good." Shiarrael smiled again and the shuttle suddenly banked as she increased the speed. Below them the grass grew until each individual blade was visible as they twisted away from the speeding craft. Her fingers danced swiftly on the console as the shuttle rolled over the hills, her honed Romulan reflexes showing.
[Kir Provence, Sakarra's Family Estate]
A low rumble precipitated the arrival as the honey colored walls of the estate vibrated. A young Vulcan boy who had been out on the hill suddenly gazed up. Just below him at the bottom of the hill near the entrance to the estate a middle aged Vulcan looked at the child just in time to see the shuttle dart over the boy. The beige robes on the child fluttered violently as he twisted and fell down startled by the vessel. It continued with great speed as it circled the estate once before twisting down and landing within the grounds of the estate . All around it stripped blades of grass whirled creating a thin cyclone.
The rear hatched popped open with a loud hiss as it lowered to form a ramp. Shiarrael stepped out as several pale yellow blurs whirled past her along with the blades of grass. She reached out and plucked one from the air- looking at it she realized it was a flower's petal "how strange" she commented and dropped it to the ground as she descended the ramp. Behind her the young Lieutenant stumbled out and vomited to the side of the shuttle.
"Those … ah, those … pilots!" Teeming with rightful indignation, a grand Betazoid lady stormed through the ancient hall and prepared to give whomever had upset her afternoon tea a right ding behind his pointy ear. This was the third time this week. Heedless of the two males who apparently were trying to stop her by fluttering around in their robes like a flock of startled Theocondts, the Lady Lhorexa flung open the tall doors and expected to see yet another of those sleek, devilish looking red fighters sitting on the small tarmac down … only there wasn't.
What had those fools done this time?
"Parasol!"
At least these males weren't entirely useless. The requested item appeared right by her hand and the tall, silver haired Betazoid snatched it up, her black eyes falling onto little Sevel who sat in the grass, looking unseemly amused. And down to her left ... oh, Four Deities.
"Warya! NO! Bad teddy bear! Bad! Sit! Roll over! Something!"
Amazing how such a massive bulk of fur and muscle could move so fast. The Sehlat ran down across the grass, all fangs and claws and growls … making straight for a Starfleet shuttle that sat squarely in the middle of a flowerbed. T'Sey's favorite daisies, too. This was going to get ugly.
"No eating visitors, even if they can't park! Dammit, Warya!"
Even if she broke into an undignified run, she wouldn't reach the stupid people before the Sehlat.
"Kreek-ah!" that was the word, right? Maybe not. "Kroykah you overgrown ball of fluff. You heard me? KROYKAH!"
Even as the disgruntled Warya dug a trench into the lawn in his attempt to stop, and the first person stepped out of the shuttle to admire the havoc they had caused, the Betazoid Lady snapped open her parasol with the air of affronted royalty and stepped out into the glaring sun.
Sheer momentum made the elderly Sehlat skid to a halt a mere meter from the vile creature that smelled of things he had cheerfully disemboweled the last time they had tried to harm a biped cub in his territory. But the loud voiced she-biped had made it clear she'd deal with this one herself. Warya was prepared to let her, seeing as she'd likely make the creature suffer in creative ways. Still, no harm in a nonchalant yawn that showed off his still magnificent fangs before he plopped onto his haunches, eyeing the approaching Betazoid like one watches a warship under full sails bear down on a pesky little pirate.
"Who the hell are you? And never mind the teddy bear, he's just a big old softie, really."
What a funny little thing. Romulan, too. Gutsy. Well, she better be, making such a fuss on T'Leia's own land. Interesting vibes. Bit aggressive, but they were all vicious little buggers.
Night black eyes glared down at the insolent pilot-person while the outerlying regions of Lady Lhorexa's flowing dress finally caught on to the idea of standing still.
"Well?"
"Captain!" The young Lieutenant pressed a hand to his chest as his eyes widened at the charging Sehlat. "Maybe we should go back into the shuttle..."
"No. It's just a Sehlat" Shiarrael commented dryly still oblivious to the danger. As the big ball of fur grew near she reached towards her belt and wrapped a few fingers around the customized pistol grip attached to her phaser. Just as she was about to un-holster her weapon and vaporize one of the creature's legs a shout from just above them caught her attention and apparently the Sehlat's as well as the creature forced itself to a sudden full stop just a meter from the pair. She glared at the thing as it yawned "that open mouth would look quite well on my wall." A smirk creased across her lips as she turned to look at the arriving woman.
"Captain Shiarrael t'Rehu." She said studying the woman and immediately noticed those dark eyes. Betazoid- no doubt this was the right place now. This woman was likely one of Sakarra's relatives "I am here to collect my executive officer and her lover. Forgive me, but I do not have time for pleasantries." She walked past the woman and her Vulcan entourage pointing at the main house where the woman had emerged just moments earlier "is she in there?"
Warya snorted. The he-biped smelled of fear, old and new. But that female … smelled like trouble. The kind of trouble you could get into when you stumbled over a nest with delicious fresh eggs and suddenly had a beak and a flurry of feathers charging at your face. Nothing like a vicious little wing-creature to put you off your lunch. Especially if it pecked at your nose or tried to scratch your eyes out of their sockets. Whatever this she wanted, Warya was going to keep an eye on her.
"Collect her? My dear, you have no idea where you are, do you?"
Not just gutsy and cheerfully insolent but a right little hellion. Had to be the little one's Starfleet friend. What had she said? Captain Tea Yoohoo or something. And here she came up to the house as if one just knocked on the ancient gates and asked for a cup of sugar. The Lady Lhorexa could not help but be a little bit impressed.
But if she was any judge, some interesting things were bound to transpire shortly. One could only hope T'Leia would not happen to anyone.
Twirling her elegant parasol over her shoulder, the tall Betazoid scratched a grumbling Warya behind his ears and smirked "Well, if you are referring to my little one, yes. She's in there. You picked a hell of a time though I must say. Oh, Setal. Be a dear and get Miss Sherry here a glass of water while we figure this little problem out."
[To be continued...]
Captain Shiarrael t`Rehu
Commanding Officer
Commander Sakarra Tyrax
Executive Officer
USS Charon
Also starring:
Lady Lhorexa Tyrax
Warya the Sehlat
And a flock of happy Vulcans
