S-PLOT - JL | Capt Vokar, Empress Xue'Daio Nox - "Shiiiiiiny" - "Half Past Five" Pt 1.

Posted on Wed Jun 8th, 2016 @ 8:32am by Xue'Daio Nox & Captain Vokar

2,350 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Resurgere

=\v/= Palatial Gardens, Apsha =\v/=

Recovery was slow for the ageing Vulcan, the injuries that had been sustained while he was on board the Vindicator at the time of its destruction were taking their time in healing, his limp was as pronounced as ever, not due to being injured but because of the sheer level of strain that had been put on his body over the last couple of months.

As he shuffled his way through the gardens, he could tell without looking behind him that the guards were trying to keep a low profile. Two of them were attempting to stay hidden and failing miserably - being stealthy wasn't something that came naturally to the males of this species. Vokar chuckled inwardly to himself as he came upon a bench and sat down slowly, the aching in his leg nearly taking it out from under him as it bent.

The smells of the garden were intoxicating and his heightened sense of smell allowed him to breathe in most of what was in the vicinity - included in his mental catalog of what he could smell were the guards. They'd chosen to hide themselves upwind and the breeze was carrying their scent right to the Vulcan's nose as he pretended to relax on the bench, leaning backwards and closing his eyes as he lifted them towards the sky.

Ever since the Vindicator had left and the events that had occurred to leave the Princess as the ruler of this beautiful planet transpired, there had been an air of mistrust around anyone that was not of this place. Everyone treated Vokar carefully being that he didn't resemble the bulk majority of Vulcans. Instead he was being treated as if he were a Romulan, and the people here did not trust the Romulans as far as they could throw them - which in the case of some of the males he had seen must have been quite some distance. They were an interesting species to observe, nevertheless. Vokar had been making his own notes on one of the PADDs that had survived his fall through the atmosphere. The Princess had seen fit to allow him access to the wreckage to scavenge for anything that may have been of use, sadly a couple of PADDs were all that had survived the battle and the damage caused by striking the ground.

Like Vokar watching the comings and goings of her people, the young Empress had seen it fit to observe the lone Vulcan male. His face pitted and scarred, he was hardly the most attractive specimen to study. Vulcans, like their Romulan cousins, were a generally handsome race filled with secrets and a beauty almost unattainable by most humanoids. Their olive skins darkened to a burnished gold when exposed to a sun's light for any prolonged period of time, and their hair shone slick as oil and practically iridescent. Xue could see hints of those trademarks within the injured Vanguard Captain, whispers of a past where he'd been unencumbered and unmarred by the myriad of pains that littered his face, and undoubtedly his body. "Serene, is it not?" She asked, finally deciding to step away from the thriving plot of irises. A gift from the Enterprise's lovely Caitian scientist, "The gardens have been my personal sanctuary for so long. I'm glad someone else finds them worthy of their time." Her fingers left the velvet of a rich blue-purple petal and soon found the soothing satin of her robes, gathering them to allow her to step lightly down the steps from the flower's raised bed without threat of tripping over or stepping on the hem.

"Your presence would explain why the guards that have been following me have made themselves scarce," Vokar replied with a light chuckle that sent a sharp pain shooting through his torso from a broken rib and a few more that had simply been bruised, "I can see why you have chosen this place as your sanctuary," the Vulcan continued as he forced himself to his feet and turned to greet her as a mark of respect, "It is good to see you out of bed and walking the gardens again your highness."

Xue nodded with a wry little smile, "Sit down before you fall down, Vokar. You're my guest, not my subject." She practically sighed, gesturing back to the bench he'd risen from. The injured Vulcan was hardly in any real shape to be out of his room, let alone standing to greet her or anyone else. "It's been a process, but it's left some interesting results. Results I'd like to speak with you about in private." Taking a seat at the edge of the bench, the Empress was careful to fold her hands in her lap and well within Vokar's view. It was a sign of respect, a peace treaty of sorts that made note of the fact she had no intention to hurt the old devil as long as he was in her care, "which is why I've sent my guards away. I trust that you're true to your word that you have no intentions to hurt me, or the Ascendancy as a whole."

"Even if I did mean harm, I'm in no physical condition to follow through on something of that intent," the Vulcan replied as he lowered himself back onto the bench and rubbed at his wounded leg, "I seek the best for the Federation, war with the Ascendancy is something that the Federation cannot afford." he added with a slight smile as he turned to watch her carefully.

"My skills have... Grown. I no longer need to touch someone in order to inflict damage. It's entirely possible that I've harnessed this ability long before the incident with Empress Psy'Daio, but it's become quite apparent. First noticed the day before I wed Maec." A single silver hand raised in front of her, turning and wiggling its delicate fingers as she studied it with somber rose hued eyes, "Evolution? Further difference between myself and the rest of my species? I suppose we'll never know, but I wonder what use such things can be applied towards." She hummed, turning her attention towards Vokar's pitted and scarred face.

"I have been on the receiving end of the ability that your species has," Vokar replied with a slight nod as he regarded her gesturing, "The first of your race that I met served on the Enterprise for a time, a woman by the name of Tierney, a halfbreed." he added as he closed his eyes and made his way through his memories to the day they had met, "I made the mistake of using my... gift, without making her aware of it, she made sure that I was punished for it."

"I'm surprised. My cousin didn't seem like she was capable of hurting a flea." The albino chuffed in amusement. The daughter of the late Princess Alira'Daio Nox had been born at a distinct disadvantage; she was half human. It would be both a blessing and a curse, but Tierney had made her own bed when it came to the Ascendancy. She'd chosen to leave Apsha rather than learn the finer details of her maternal heritage... Try as she may, Xue couldn't blame the woman. "Glad to see that she has a spine and some bite beyond heckling Maec. Last I heard she's left Starfleet, run off with an El-Aurian..." She sniffed dismissively and then paused. Her xenophobia, however deep rooted, was unfounded. She'd Wed a Romulan, after all, and now carried the barest beginnings of new life produced by their union. Tierney, perhaps, was the lucky one having never known the elitist ways of their people, or how hard it was for them to swallow the fact that their Emperor was Romulan or their Empress's advisor a Vulcan.

"It seemed like it was not the first time that she had experienced it, but she was just as surprised as to the severity when she awoke after it." Vokar replied with a chuckle as he leant back into the bench and thought back to that time when she had met the Starchild and friends, "It may have been as much my fault however, I did probe into her mind without permission, it is possible that she simply acted out of instinct."

"The point remains the same." Xue flippantly rolled her wrist, "But, I digress, she'll need to learn control before it kills her."

"Indeed, it did seem to take a significant portion of her energy, she was weakened for quite some time." the Vulcan replied with a knowing nod as he stopped massaging his leg and switched to his other knee, rubbing some life back into it for when he had to make the journey back to his quarters, "I would not be surprised if my crew comes back to look for me in the near future,"

"And when they do, they can have you. In the meantime I suggest you rest and enjoy life in paradise," Xue grinned and opened wide her arms in gesture to the beauty and tranquility of Alpine and Apsha as a whole. Vokar was hardly a prisoner, and certainly not one of the strange little Empress's pets or possessions. Keeping the Vulcan was out of the question. Learning from and observing him, however, wasn't. It was through quiet observation and idle chit chat that Xue had noticed small tells to the Vulcan's thoughts and overall mood. Something seemed amiss, suggesting that she wasn't the only one observing something or someone. The gears were turning in his mind, deciphering the overall that level her people represented towards his beloved Federation, especially with her marriage to the Romulan Praetor's nephew. At first she hasn't been sure of her suspicions, chalking them up to paranoia, but now more than ever, she was certain.

"You know," She began on a breath, plucking at and smoothing the pretty coral raw silk of her robes, "I rather enjoyed my time spent on the Enterprise. Of course there were unsavory creatures, but I learned a fair bit about Federation society. It's almost a study in utopianism. Fascinating, really." Her eyes lazily cast their attention towards her guest, demure as ever as she opened up Pandora's box. There would be no going back.

"The Federation at its core is an ideal that sounds like perfection," the Vulcan began as he closed his good eye and thought back to his time in school, "However, in practice, bureaucracy and self interest are part of the nature of the vast majority of peoples and governments, this leads to corruption and mishandling of information." he continued with a slight smile on his lips, his eye still closed, "This was proven most definitively by the Civil War that broke out within the Federation, a group managed to usurp democracy and install their own operatives, taking control of the Council and tearing that Utopian ideal asunder in one swift blow."

His single eye opened and he met the gaze of the young woman sat next to him, the scarred side of his face shifting as a grin formed on his lips, "However, the ideal is one worth fighting for, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, equal rights for all sentient life, regardless of source, a greater focus on self improvement and development." he was still rubbing at his leg as he spoke, "As my people say, Kol-Ut-Shan, Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations."

"Sentiments I can appreciate." The albino quipped with a bemused little smile tugging at her pouty mouth, "Sadly it would seem that there are societies bent on destroying the quid pro quo and absorbing the leftovers into their own fold. The Dominion comes to mind, Cardassia of old, even the Romulan Star Empire pre-Arrenhe," she shrugged gently, reaching to catch a falling Futguhr blossom. Not unlike Terran cherry trees, the plant wildly came to life but once a year in a decadent display of vivid lavender and fuschia orchid-like flowers. They were delicate, but hardy and nearly impervious to disease outside of their host's own lifecycle. Xue, after gently stroking the petals, offered the nearly palm sized blossom to the Vulcan, "the question becomes why protect something so openly corrupt and vulgar? There will be more unscrupulous leaders, Vokar, you can't thwart them all."

"For every person or organisation trying to tear down what we fight for, there will always be men and women like me, like Commodore Ivanova who will fight for what is right, will fight for what they believe in, will bend the rules...." the Vulcan replied with a smile that began to turn into something a little darker, the scars playing with the light and giving him a haunting look, "will bend the rules to do what is necessary. Personally, I intend to lead a new generation of Vanguard, we fight to protect the Federation as it should be protected, we do what Starfleet is unable or unwilling to do."

"Ah yes... Commendable and noble, but..." She paused, releasing the flower to fall towards the Vulcan's chest and lap, "what happens when Starfleet decides that men and women like you and the Commodore are too great a threat to their quid pro quo? There's danger and treachery afoot, Vokar. Not every Commodore is going to build an army of loyalists as Ivanova has. There will be those out there seeking to destroy people like her, like you, all for the sake of making a name for themselves... That fifteen seconds on a marquee is worth it to some." Each word, his name in particular, was purred by the sterling minx. Wiser than her nineteen years, Xue was a wealth of information and philosophy that seemed eager to dance with the scarred Vulcan's brand of idealism, conjured by the knowledge of a coming tide of what could only be assessed to be a revolution.


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to be continued...
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Empress Xue'Daio Nox
Empress of the Stenellian Ascendancy
Queen of Aleine
Queen of Apsha

&

Captain Vokar
Vanguard Commander
VCD Pendragon Commanding Officer

 

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