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(immediately ASP - 2401) Voices... Part 1 (PG-13)
#1
The scent of Jula’n Incense filled her nostrils as the smell of rous’ made her hungry for lunch. It was supposed to be a beautiful day, and her father had just gotten his terminal leave papers from the fleet, and they had just closed on a house in the gamma sector of Pon’ Colony on the planet Tierames in the Trill sector, only eleven light years from Trill itself.  Jada had just figured out how to braid Bora petals together when her mother called her for lunch.
 
            At six years old Jada had a perfect mind and was filled with innocence, perhaps it was no real surprise that she noticed the four assault craft coming in hard before her father had.  Twenty-two years later, the smell of jula’n still makes her vomitous and the smell of ozone mixed with blood made her blood boil with rage.  She remembered everything, every sight, every smell, and every touch she had ever experienced, it made her a dangerous enemy but a broken girl as well.  Her gifts were countered cruelly with the curse of every moment of her family’s murder. When she thought she was alone she would still weep for them, a silence was always in her heart of a family she took for granted and a life that was perfect until it wasn’t.  Jada opened her eyes in a hospital bed, the smell of ozone and blood were faint, but it brought back the tears and the memory all the same. 
Shavi was dozing when her adopted sister finally woke up, this was a bittersweet reunion, Maru was safe inside his adopted niece, but the old man would never welcome them back from a successful mission again.  Shavi fell asleep against the medical bed, and she was beginning to drool a little on her sister’s hand.  Her only family was in this room and now in a single body, Shavi didn’t know what to think but she wasn’t going to lose them if she could do anything about it.

            Jada felt warm and satisfied somehow, her thoughts were still entirely her own, somehow she expected to hear her uncle speak to her much as he did when he was separate, but she got no sense of anything other than warmth and satisfaction.
Jada gently slipped her moist hand away from her sister’s cheek and ran it through her long straightened hair, Jada wasn’t sure how long she had been out but Shavi color her hair, a soft natural green with highlights of blue and violet tousled over her shoulders and neck.  Shavi smiled and cooed at the attention before she looked up to see her sister smiling back at her.

           “You’re alive! … I mean you’re awake! How’re you… I mean… is… oh my stars! They said you’d be out for at least another day! Jada! You’re awake!” Shavi backed up with her eyes looking over her sister as though maybe the surgeons might have missed something, she looked for a scar and saw only Jada’s muscled smooth abdomen unmarred by any scar or incision.”

“Always the bright one of the pair sis’” Jada laughed making her internal micro-sutures pull a little wincing slightly in pain. “I’m fine Shay.  Any idea how he’s doing?” Jada asked talking about the symbiote that was now actively moving inside her.

                “I got the best corpsman in the sector looking after you and the surgeons say you’re both going to be fine, but the link might take a few weeks to find out if you’re right for each other, at least that’s what the Trill ambassador on DS9 when I grilled him for an hour.” Shavi grunted disappointedly at how slow everyone was being at making sure her sis’ was going to make it.  Shavi had enjoyed many battles with Jada over the last twelve years they have been together: falls, burns and wounds lesser women would have died too, Jada once got into a rather vicious fight with two angry Nausicans at the same time while Shavi watched and started making bets.  But at this moment even though the surgery was a complete success Shavi was convinced even sitting up wrong could kill them both.

“Shay! Look at me… I’m fine… both of us are, I just need to rest…” Jada returned giggling a little at how much her sister was going on.  “Maybe the doctors should have a look at you too?”  Jada snarked as Shavi returned her glance with mock disgust.

                “I am perfect, doctors can’t fix that” Shavi grins in her higher-pitched gossip voice.

“A perfect mess, maybe…” Jade winced again as the minor but noticeable pinch made against muscles getting used to a new neighbor.

                “hrmph!” Shavi huffed and giggled again. “I was going to bring you some chocolate mousse to help you recover, but now…” Shavi grinned.

“I’m gonna go get it for you anyway, so there!” Shavi was, passionate, she didn’t attach herself quickly to very much but in Jade’s case, Shavi would have torched the entire alpha quadrant if anyone were to come between them.  “I’ll let you rest, but I’m going to enjoy your dessert, Toi’ made it especially for you.” Shavi grinned as she comically slipped around the corner.

                A federation doctor she didn’t recognize came out from his office and pulled out his tricorder.  Jada didn’t have anything against doctors or even engineers for the most part, but federation politics and intolerance made it easy to hate the uniform.”

                “How are you feeling this morning?” the cute doctor scanned her as he smiled in his professional manner.
 
“Did you happen to get the registry number for the shuttle that hit me?” she smiled pleasantly, absently rubbing her stomach as he scanned, she knew even in the federation she would be fine here.  The presence of Dax, both Ezri and Jadzia gave significant mettle to the medical needs of the trill.  They perhaps knew more about physiology than anyone outside of the trill sector.  The Trill ambassador was not a fan of Maru, and for good reason, it wasn’t their first interaction.

                When Natl was Ishtan Natl he had been one of the chief negotiators for the treaty of Organia in 2267, the Organians, Klingon council, and the Federation used Trill to broker an agreement due to their even tempers and long relationships with both sides.  Because the Trill were one of the only species that had integrated well across the two quadrants equally, they had proven themselves time and again.
 
                Ishtan and the current ambassador then named Fera Hux were involved in many trade disputes over the years but none that had such a prominence nor gravity.  Ishtan pointed out many flaws of the federation council citing their lack of diversity among the command class, and the idyllic presentation among their colonies when the reality showed a deep-seated intolerance towards the Klingon and the Romulan peoples, if an agreement were to be made there would have to be principle changes in the way the federation conducted itself.  In the end, Fera failed to give adequate representation to the needs of the Klingons and while a potential alliance was proposed, it was ultimately shot down by Ishtan for the largely isolationist motivations of the central government of earth.

                Fera and Ishtan had been at odds for nearly a century discussing trade routes and open charter ports, in nearly every instance the symbiote Hux had failed to identify a substantive benefit of both sides in the agreement highly favoring federation law as the basis for many mutual spaces.  Ishtan went further to say that the federation was closer to the dominance and cultural devaluation tendencies of ancient Rome than the Romulans were.  At least the Romulans were open about their desire for empire.

                Remen Natl had little interaction with the diplomatic corps although she retained communication and patronage of the houses and the agreements her predecessors had brokered. Remen was a freedom fighter assisting in the liberation of many warring Klingon states weeding out weak houses in control of vast expanses of territory while the grand council bickered among themselves. Remen effectively broke the back of the Orion open slave trade, disabling just enough of the major houses as to disrupt the syndicate, it took more than eighty years to rebuild the connections and when Maru was implanted he was careful to limit the expansion of the syndicate by using economics and free trade alliances.  Fera was integral in the combat to that as well, accepting the Orion species into the Federation as a full member state in 2307 instead of the provisional state they had retained over a 70 year period. Hux is still respected highly on both sides, but in closed quarters Natl was the preferred negotiator for anything that held quadrant level implications.

                Now that Jada Natl was the host Hux currently named ‘Hazean Hux’ was determined to show the inefficacy of Natl.  Jada was following in Maru’s footsteps but eventually, she would have to play a role in intergalactic affairs as each of her predecessors had, the average bonding time was about four days to genuinely integrate the two organisms, it is assumed that the host could be indoctrinated within that time largely limiting the effect of the symbiote to have judicial control of many of the choices the host made.

                Hasean stood outside the medical bay staring at the newly implanted young woman, his eyes were determined and soulless in his ambitious pursuits, he knew Jada’s official records in the Klingon empires but most of it was redacted or otherwise left out of the official record.  At first, Hasean assumed she was an operative of the Klingon Defense Force, she had the training for it but not the official house attachments and aliens rarely made good operatives without significant support from the council.

                Four hundred years of patience, planning, and preparation gave him all the tools that he could need to convince anyone of anything.
                The doctor did his scans suggesting she rest until the bonding was complete since that is when most of the potential problems would manifest themselves.  She thanked him and shifted restlessly in the bed, he smiled and nodded as was the custom but stopped another moment to tell her she had some familiar company introducing the Trill ambassador before he returned to his office.

                Hazean nodded to the doctor and took a seat next to her bed he smiled and bowed his head to her before speaking. “You have done the galaxy a great service Jada…” He smiled broadly catching her eye. “Natl has been pivotal in government affairs since before most of our modern governments have existed.” He continued. “Natl was one of the first truly great diplomats of the space age.”  He watched her carefully while he spoke. “I would like to offer my utmost appreciation for the rescue of one of our most revered elders.”

                “My uncle never mentioned you, and he certainly never mentioned he was a diplomat” Jada returned. “I don’t feel comfortable talking about my uncle without knowing who I’m talking too, if he is what you say, I’d much prefer he spoke on his own behalf… no offense ambassador.”

                Hazean chuckled and nodded again. “I understand child, he rose a wise woman and an even wiser judge of character” He smiled and stood moving to the replicator. “Jula’n tea, Hot…” The device on the wall thrummed with activity, and a mug of steaming violet tea formed on the access port.  Jada could smell it already as it turned her stomach.
 
                “Could you drink that somewhere else? I’ve never liked the smell” She pleaded trying to be polite.

                He quickly poured the tea into the access port as it filtered back into the reservoir.  “My apologies, assumed some tea from your homeworld would make you more at ease.” He smiled and took a seat again next to her.  “I’ve come to learn a great deal about you, and it’s a pity what happened to you, and you had just gotten your life back on track and this happens…”

“What happened?  My uncle died? Is that what you’re referring too?” She tensed up, thoughts of attacking him in remarkably unpleasant ways flashed into her conscious mind.
 
He put his hands up in defense. “no, no, my dear… I am not talking about your brave sacrifice, or the tragedy of his death, I am referring to the life, his life’s work that is now yours to continue.”

“What are you talking about?” she growled.

“Your uncle… Maru was on his way to transfer his symbiote to someone trained and prepared to give up the rest of their life, to continue HIS work.” He accurately responded. “One in a thousand make it through the training to accept the responsibility, that isn’t your life Jada, is it?” He challenged her.

                “I am honored to accept my Uncle’s responsibilities in his stead, until another can be found to take his place.” Jada defended.

“We would have been privileged to have you in the college of hosts.” Hazean smiled before continuing.  “Before I was bound with Hux my ambitions were to fulfill the work of my father, an unjoined, but honorable man.  I was failing my classes, because I was too busy thinking I could be one of the lucky ones that I never prepared for it before they made a decision.” He confided in her.  “Hux chose me, and we had gotten to know each other years before his passing, it took all that time for these selfish ambitions I had were more important than the responsibilities the college was preparing me to accept.“

He leaned back in the chair with a knowing look on his face.  “I knew what I was getting into, and over time I learned how to make that transition something we both could benefit from.” He moved forward again to convey the passion in his voice.  “This isn’t a life sentence in which you have no say, but it is not a walk in the park while you get used to the new responsibilities, the new feelings and most importantly the memories you know are not your own.” He smiled and inched closer yet again.  “Your uncle never shared his past with you, how does he expect it to live on through you?” He questioned.

                “His crew, his journals, his ship, they all tell stories…” Jada replied.  “Until we are bound, and perhaps months or years later, I will grow into the position.”  Jada defended her uncle’s decision again.

“What if you didn’t have too?” He asked.  “What if there was a way to safely transfer your uncle into someone else and maintain your relationship with him as it was before you were bound.” Hazean replied. “There is a way to keep everything you had before he died and not be trapped with anything you weren’t prepared for, and… when it was your choice… you would be ready, if that is what YOU wanted.” Hazean smiled.

                “What are you talking about?” she seemed disgusted at his approach but interested in his proposition.  

He smiled knowing he was gaining ground. “it is a pity your uncle didn’t share the history of your people with you, and your father wanted nothing to do with his homeland either.  Allow me to offer a bit of clarification.” He took a deep breath and began.

“When our people first discovered the symbiote pools, many of the ancient ones could tap into our latent telepathic senses and communicate easily with our ancestors, they gave us knowledge of the world beyond our senses and far beyond our own understanding, some of the elders had lived for millennia some were barely older than trill, they guided us for six thousand years negotiating a settlement between peoples, establishing governments where all people were represented, and in time, they sought to join us in the stars.  Historical records show that the first few implantations were disastrous, entire communities were affected and it nearly brought us to civil war and a desire to banish the symbiotes.  In 1073 earth time the first successful implantation was completed, in less than 100 years our home was without war, without poverty, without the stresses that still plague the galaxy, Hux was one of those first implanted.  It’s still remarkable to me how humans got to a point where they could ever work together.  We were on earth to see humans first explore deep space, we were on Qo’nos when they first met the Orions and Nausicans.  We were on Romulus long before the war with the Federation began.  We are the eyewitnesses to the greatest moments of all three kingdoms.  Our job is not to guide them but to watch and ensure the real story is told.” He finished.

                He finished his story, but Jada still looked at him blankly. “There were seven of us that first elected to leave the trill sector.  We had been integrally bound for nearly 1000 years at that point and every meter of space was understood so close to our homes.  Natl, Myself, Dax, Verin, Fan, Ren, and Kilda.” He smiled remembering the first scientists that accepted them.  “Natl and Dax were the first to venture into deep space, I was the first to land on earth, Verin still leads the global council on Trill and Fan, Ren, and Kilda ensure the pools are pristinely cared for.”  He beamed with pride.  “Natl was Kah’less, or Niel Armstrong or Spock, they breached the divide that made space so lonely.  His responsibilities to the homeworld go far beyond that of simple implantation, he is one of the vital hearts of the Trill people, and now he is in you.”

                Jada moved to stand, the pain in her stomach was mostly her new roommate getting acquainted but it took some getting used too and there was no owner’s manual to this outside of trill.  It was clear she detested the ambassador, but if there was a moment in which he could actually help wasn’t her responsibility to make sure her uncle had the best chance, even if she couldn’t be the one to be there with him.  When she thought she paced, like her uncle this was a tactile way to figure things out, her bare feet on the carpet gave her stimulation, it kept more random thoughts from popping up.

                “You’re saying that my uncle is a hero among the trill and if I do what you’re asking you could put him in a new body and things would go back to the way they were right?” she challenged Hux.  This wasn’t her first time dealing with grifters and people that were little more than their clothing, but if even ten percent of what he said was true wasn’t it more important that the girl who he gave so much too, give him the chance to live his best life?

                Feelings of unease filled her mind, the emotions were new and distressing, what if she couldn’t bond with him the way he needed, what if the surgeons had messed up.  Jada lived on the seat of her pants Maru always knew everything he attempted well in advance and was rarely surprised.  Jada didn’t want to hurt the life inside her by being reckless and open as her combat style sometimes required she hated the sense Hux was making but she couldn’t deny it made sense.

                “If… I decided to do this, what would that entail?” she asked cautiously.

“For you, meditation, lots of rest, and most importantly no interruptions” Hazean smiled somewhat knowingly. “For me, I contact the trill home world and the send a candidate prepared to accept the responsibility and they come to the station we do the procedure in two days’ time and you enjoy your life knowing you gave your uncle the best chance of continuing his.”

                “I want to talk to the candidate, but that isn’t a promise Ambassador” Jada warned.

“Of course, my dear I will arrange contact for later this afternoon and you can take it from there.” He stood and bowed from the neck. “Until then, you should rest, you’ve been through quite the ordeal and stress is the least helpful part of the bonding…” He smiled as though his teeth prevented him from saying more, then turned and left.

                Alone again in the med bay she couldn’t bare staying still any longer.  The Vetyl was docked at port 9 and she needed some peace and quiet.  She had converted the bay into her own home, without a reason she rarely left and had guests even more rarely.  As she approached the dock Shavi just appeared behind her right shoulder, even with her training, Shavi could sneak up on her with ease, she had tried to get used to her delightful but irritating sister being around all the time, but in truth this transition affected her sister just as much as it affected her.  They relied on each other when they were off the ship and both would give their lives in a heartbeat to save the other.

                Shavi hadn’t said anything, but Jada could tell she was waiting until they were alone, she missed her uncle too, but she would welcome bondage again before she would admit it to the world.  Orions were fun when they were comfortable and boisterous when they had the upper hand, but they were stoic and silent when they were focused, or concerned.  Orion funerals were disturbingly quiet, the more loved the deceased was the more it seemed any happiness that had existed in their life died with them for a time.
 
                They passed through customs with nothing to declare and nodded to their own security forces on the inside of the loading bay.  Huzo had command of the ship until the bonding was complete and Maru asked for it back, Thraak was his first mate and they scarcely spoke, both seemed to know integrally what the other wanted of them.  As Jada and Shavi passed through the concourse towards the mess and disparate cargo bays Jada noted that Huzo was watching her from the bridge as though Maru was speaking back to him. Jada smiled weakly and nodded her head at her dear friend while the crazy situation was still sinking in.

                Shavi on the other hand was not similarly reserved, she leapt over tables and tresses, climbing banisters and deck plates as though she were weightless.  She was at Huzo’s side clapping her arms around the monolithic captain as though she were hugging a tree.  The Gorn’s defiant posture collapsed into huffs of laughter and gentle sparring with his diminutive better in combat.  Shavi took him to the floor without hurting him and ended up on his chest with a devilish grin on her lips. “I win.” She whispered into his ear as she hugged him yet again and leapt off of him and took a bonding arc off the side of the bridge back down to the concourse three decks below, just before hitting the ground, she activated an Anti-Newtonian field generator that formed a white orb of force around her, it quickly dissipated but Shavi walked through it with no injuries, it was clear She had found a new toy.
 
                Jada walked alone to the cargo bay, she was literally surrounded by people that thought the world of her, but she had never been so alone in her experiences.  Her outfit was the typical heavy coat she always wore in public but even with its many layers she still felt frozen on the inside.

                She smiled at her crewmates and even hugged a few she was closer too, but it was a mask, she couldn’t let on how scared she was, not even to Shay, they’d try to fix it, and this wasn’t something that could easily be figured out with brute force, or a schematic of some kind.

                She was so lost in thought she actually nearly toppled over Pauc, the tall powerful half-vulcan armorer she had often confided in.

                “I’m so sorry Pauc’!” she cried as she tried to keep him from falling.

“Nul’ sweet Jade!” He laughed deeply as he accepted her hand to resist falling.  “The best way I can think of to get my head out of the books too.” He laughed again holding her hands gently. “if you need to talk:  hnaai eiraia, auethn ven kuhoira,” he kissed her cheek and let his lips linger as she held to him closer too.  He was a poet, the kind that could cut through any resistance like a plasma lance through iron, he spoke many languages but the art of seduction was no better portrayed than in Romulan, the exact words had no literal meaning in universal but it essentially meant: ‘one most worthy of admiration: advise me, my criminal’  It was his pet name for her, and an inferior position among the Kormerak masters.  To her, it was a seductive tease, an invitation to correct him… physically, which she did, nearly every chance she got.

                In her more adventurous youth, Pauc had always been there to listen, he had always been the one to help her center her thoughts and trained her expertly in the art of meditation, calling the soul ‘Katra’  He was familiar with the transferring of souls from one body to the next and knew of traditional rituals of the trill but above all he knew his place was to assist when asked, and insist when necessary.

                He knew instantly she was in no mood to play, and she was scared, more than he had ever seen her.  Fear in the hands of an assassin pushed out of their comfort zone was an invitation to disaster, he was about to open his mouth again when she met it firmly with hers, kissing him deeply, just wanting to feel something other than the dread in her stomach.

                “Carry me,” she whispered as she sunk her head into his shoulder weeping as he lifted her.  Carrying her in his powerful arms as easily as a child who had scraped her knee.  He walked with her back to her cargo bay and opened the door walking carefully into the near-complete darkness.
“Aithaen, liorae seha aestur.” He called out to the computer as the lights rose enough to see but not enough to dispel many of the shadows that made the bay her home.

                He carried her to her massive collection of furs and keepsakes and gently removed her heavy cloak.  She wore next to nothing underneath as it warmed her more than not.  He laid her gently in the middle as he lay next to her, running his fingers through her hair as she cried deeply and profoundly into his chest.

He sang softly in the dim light as the shadows looked similar to the moon cresting through the clouds:

Ehhaai e'lev, Ehhaai ven epohh
Hnafirhn ehraet rreinnte daevire
Eisn faehor, Aidoann a nahi
Ven sahe'lagga ssaed hssai shinarae
Ehhaai e'lev, kwai astev kwai aehjae
Eisn faehor, aen Okhala

He sang the ancient lullaby repeatedly as she cried herself to sleep next to him.

(translated)
“Sleep, my crime girl, sleep my pet.
let the weary world forget
the sun will rise, the moons will call
but my arms will always break your fall
sleep sweet crime girl, your time will wile
when the sun will grant you your wings of fire.”

                Shavi knew when her sister was in pain, she may act as though she hadn’t a care in the world, but it was an act to encourage others to feel better and not take the grim circumstances of the moment so seriously.  She watched from the third deck low to the ground, laying her face against the cold steel overlooking her sister in bed.  Shavi was crying lightly, she knew she wasn’t the shoulder to cry on at the moment. when Jada was at the point she was ready to make a decision she would need Shavi to make her plan work, so she slept as her sister did.
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