JL | CSciO Lt. Anaxar Shran & Empress Xue' Daio Nox

Posted on Thu Mar 22nd, 2018 @ 2:40pm by Commander Evan Merlin & Xue'Daio Nox Tr'Verelan

Mission: Lacuna
Location: Cold Station Theta
Timeline: SD 241803.22

By the time the senior staff meeting on Cold Station Theta had ended, Anaxar felt as if his head could explode at any moment. He put a trembling hand in his pocket and squeezed a painkiller capsule open. Like the day before, it only served to dull the pain but didn't dampen it completely. He dimly realised that this could be a prelude to a full-blown migraine, but too bad. He couldn't afford to waste the time to visit a sickbay, either here or on the Vindicator.

Besides, the people in CST's sickbay were already busy enough, after the disappearance of their CMO.

Nothing to do right now. There was a lull in activities, where there were still so many questions and so little answers. He started walking aimlessly, blindly following memorised paths without paying any real attention to where they lead to. Maybe, hopefully, he'd be called soon with news that someone, somewhere, had found something, a lead, a hint, anything. That reed of hope was the only thing he could grasp right now.

Away from the main hive of activity, Xue had managed to remain in relative seclusion. Evan had proven invaluable when it came to keeping her calm - but there was only so much that he could do when it came to thwarting the savage desire to bring the galaxy to its knees and reclaim that which belonged to Apsha to rightfully. It was only when the sound of foot beats stole from her her requiem, that she realized that maybe it wasn't just Apsha that had been pilfered from. The Andorian was the picture of depressed anxiety. He was grim, angry, hurt. The way his antennae were held gave way to hints of what she could have expected to find on his face should he have had eyes instead of that primitive implant and skin more pliable than scars.

Holding her place by the window, the sliver of starshine turned her face towards him fully, drawing breath well enough to finally articulate something better than just quiet stares and pensive thoughts, "I know you." She hummed as greeting, her eyes glistening as they continued to study his face, "You and I mourn and wait together for the same person, but for entirely different reasons." Her lips pressed together at the end of that somewhat intelligent statement.

The clockwork footsteps came to a halt. Without activating his implants, Anaxar could still guess who this person had to be. Her statue, silhouette, the sound of her heart, all pointed at Stenellis. Her words were the giveaway. His antennae twitched as he regarded the shape of her in the corridor before him. "Empress Xue' Daio." His raw voice was as devoid of emotion as a Vulcan's. "We do indeed."

A shell shaped ear twitched gently towards the sound of his voice. Sand paper over wood sounded better, and she instantly felt remorse for him beginning to temper the anger that threatened to rise up and drown her. His every motion gave his hurt away, both physical and mental, leaving her to relish in her decision to leave Si'a with the Federation - to honor that request. Yes. Love. She'd fallen in love and had indeed found it with a man who was now all but broken by her sudden disappearance. A tilt of her head echoed the consideration, wondering if he'd have honored it should Si'a have left... Would he have followed her to Apsha? To the ends of the universe, seemed to emanate in silent answer from the very core of him. "I think we both know that she still lives." Xue nodded softly, choosing her words with careful grace, "I believe that we would feel it were she truly gone. Now all that is left is that we find her and who it is that's responsible for her disappearance." She added, bringing her hands together in front of her.

"I will find them regardless of whether she lives or dies." The words were almost hammered in stone, so cold and inflexible were they spoken. "What happens next will depend on whether she is alive or not. And in which condition." The man stood stiff, under rigid control. Only his right hand, clenching into a fist and relaxing, showed the true depth of emotion.

He tilted his head slightly, forced his hand to stop its motions. "My apologies, Empress." Some of the cold left his voice, again more by force of will than because he truly relaxed. "But maybe our mutual reasons are not so different after all."

"No..." Her head shook, allowing him a patch of silence in which to gather himself and her to gather her thoughts, "Perhaps not. Perhaps you are right and we are more united on this front than we once thought." Xue added, choosing to close the distance between herself and the man caged by his own heart and soul. Her head tilted off to one side, "I had thought she was crazy when she said she was staying behind for a man that was not bred of Stenellis blood or tradition, but I see that she made the right choice and that you will do right by her." She nodded, reaching to gather one of the Andorian's hands in hers, holding it in effort to comfort when she herself felt as if she were turning to ashes waiting for word or chance to rally, "I pray those who took her are smart enough to return her or at least have her found in good condition."

He trembled at her touch, for though the difference between the Empress and Si'a were clear, they were alike enough for him to draw close all that he had lost. "I never even got the chance to tell her," he whispered. The words escaped, just like that. He hadn't even wanted to speak them, hadn't even known he was going to say them before they escaped. "Didn't get the chance to confirm."

Blinking, Xue's head canted off in the opposite direction in an almost dog-like fashion, but her grip on his hand never wavered. "Confirm? Tell her?" Now her head was shaking and her brow furrowed in confusion for lack of intel, "Does she not know that you love her?" Of course she knew! Xue's mind screamed at her, but all that did was add to her confusion as she squeezed his fingers, drawing her cousin's world closer to the here, the now in hopes of actually understanding what it was plaguing his psyche beyond the extremely obvious.

"She does. I do." His free hand, curled into a fist, pressed against his forehead. "Last night? No." How easy it was to lose track of time, even for him, walking metronome! "The last night before she-" He choked here, couldn't bring himself to say it aloud. He took a deep breath instead, released it slowly, fighting once again for control and winning only by dint of long practice. "I thought I heard something. When I was with her. An extra heartbeat, but very weak, very faint, very fast. I didn't get the chance to tell her, wanted to ask her to come with me to confirm, when we had dinner that night. Only." Only she never showed.

Terrans used a phrase; Time out. She knew this, had seen it happen a time or two when they were visiting Apsha as part of the Federation's delegation, but still couldn't find the gall to use it in that situation. Instead she did what she could not to suck in a breath of shock when her ruby eyes went wide in realization of what it was he was trying to tell her. Instead she managed to remain in perfect stoic composure, standing on tip toe to tug his other hand down from his forehead before he hurt himself and held it captive in hers. "Your child." Xue whispered both in question and in statement. "Oh heavens, Mr. Shran..." Pity? Hardly. Her heart was there with his but he stood to lose so much more.

One way or another, Xue was certain they, the missing trio would come home and she would make it so that it was incredibly uncomfortable for any who returned empty handed. It left her with the knowledge that she was going to have to play her hand, flex her powerful reach as far and as wide as possible. "They will come home." Yes... Yes they would. All other options were simply unacceptable and inappropriate.

Anaxar gave a curt nod. Sympathy was a killer, he was a heartbeat away from crumbling and wailing. He held himself together, for himself, for the Empress, for Si'a. For that little heartbeat he had heard. None of them would be helped if he lost it.

"They must," he replied with his broken voice. Had he still had eyes, there was no doubt they would be blazing like stars. "They must."

The albino nodded along with his sentiments, doing what she could to try and stabilize a crumbling wall. At least, she thought, the foundation was strong and the reason to stay together was stronger still. "Come with me, Mr. Shran. Let me find you dinner and a warm beverage, somewhere to rest while we both wait for an action plan." She'd protect him under her jurisdiction, allow him the luxuries she could afford. A soft place to fall was better than rock bottom during times as trying as the ones they were forced to endure. Her people would treat him as he deserved while she did what was necessary to facilitate the return of lives that meant so much to them both. That, of course, would start with a visit down deep in the belly of the Station in the haunted halls of Intel. In their darkness she would force light. No matter the cost, they would come home.

"Thank you," Anaxar grated. Food? He couldn't remember when he'd eaten last – was it before he discovered Si'a was gone, or had there been some sustenance after? If there had been, it hadn't made a lasting impression. In regards to rest, that was much clearer: since the abduction, he hadn't been able to sleep at all. Maybe there could be rest. A temporary relief from all the pain. Maybe.

Empress Xue'Daio Nox
Queen of Apsha
Ruler of Aleine
Stenellian Ascendancy

Lieutenant Anaxar Shran
Chief Science Officer
USS Vindicator