JL | Xue'Daio Nox & Lt. Evan 'Weirdo' Merlin | "Hari Om"

Posted on Tue Mar 13th, 2018 @ 5:46pm by Xue'Daio Nox Tr'Verelan & Commander Evan Merlin

Mission: Lacuna
Location: Cold Station Theta
Timeline: briefly back logged, night of the masquerade

Usually the man wearing the guise of the Goblin King had better timing. But this time he was at the other end of the area where the masked ball took place, far from the excitement which suddenly erupted. The butterfly he had danced with earlier had more obligations of the heart than his alone, and she had been attending to those as midnight approached.

So, as he took a shy crewmember who usually worked deep inside the bowels of the station through the steps of the last walz, he was completely taken unaware when he felt a sudden tug from the invisible chord which bound him to the butterfly. He hadn't even noticed the sudden movement of the holowaiters to that specific corner of the area, since there weren't any on the dance floor to begin with.

It took all his willpower and restraint not to dash off immediately – he knew that whatever was going on, would be over by the time he got there. Instead he finished the walz, spun the crewmember around for the last time and gave her an elegant bow before dashing off.

And he was right – when he arrived, it was all over. Only the Commodore stood in the middle of the room, eyes flashing, announcing it was two minutes to midnight. Suppressing a snarl, he pulled a miniature padd from one of the many pockets in his outfit and tapped a few commands. The screen came to life and displayed the last five minutes of this specific spot, the sudden drama of two Vulcans, and Xue's reaction. Around him, people chanted a countdown to midnight, laughed, clapped and cheered when fireworks erupted and masks were removed.

Almost of its own volition, his hand rose up and plucked the goblin mask from his face. It fell to the ground as he strode off through the crowd, already forgotten. "Computer, record the following message and send it to Empress Xue'Daio Nox. 'Let me know if there is anything I can do. I will be here.' Message ends."

The computer breeped its confirmation as the message was sent. Meanwhile, he entered a turbo lift and snapped: "Brig. No jokes, please. I mean it." The lift obediently and quietly brought him to his destination.

---

There was nothing that could be done. Whether the man was a liar and a madman, born of the mirror universe, or not... He'd been her friend and confidant. He was dead long before medical flooded in and she relaxed her hold on his cooling body - the rich vermilion of his blood staining both her gown and the stark white canvas of her skin. The new Vokar, true Vokar, was a murderer. No matter how many times his story checked out, no matter what she was being told - Xue couldn't have cared less. If he approached, she crackled with the threat of another powerful strike against the copper-based creature - this time he'd be put to death even if such a controlled act would kill her in the process... Or would it?

Her head hurt. Her body tingled and shivered - she'd never thrown her bio-electricity before, at least not in public, and the sudden display of power combined with the emotional onslaught of holding her friend as he passed away had been enough to quell and squash her spirit. Once her statement had been given, and she'd assured concerned parties that she was alright and holding no ill will against the Federation for the action of an unruly murderer, the Empress had chosen to leave. No chaperone. She didn't want company. All she wanted was to follow her own feet to the sacred silence of a hot bath and the cocoon of her own bed.

Turning a corner from the main brig, it became abundantly apparent that her subconscious had other plans and knew her better than she knew herself. Stern, stalwart, Evan didn't look his usually care free self. So much so that it stopped the numb little Stenellis in her tracks. Her mouth opened to say something, but words refused to make themselves available and her lips soon pursed as her head shook and glassy blush hued eyes closed.

On the crossroad between disciplines – Security, Intel and StratOps – the interrogation of the younger Vokar would be a flip between Security and Intel. StratOps might need some of the info gathered via those interrogations, but since that discipline by and large dealt with threaths on a far grander scale, the Lieutenant wasn't involved in this. Either way, the point was moot for now. The energy blast which had struck him ensured that he wouldn't be talking any time soon.

There was little to do for him but wait, so wait he did – until he felt her moving closer, her energy diminished in many ways, more than could be explained by either the blast or the whole situation surrounding it. She was a black hole, not radiating anything at all, and she walked as if in a dream – or a nightmare. He opened his arms and shared what he could – energy, and more.

"Let it go..." Xue wasn't sure if she whispered, or her mind did, as soon as her cheek met the warm firmness of his body and her fingers tangled in the fabric of his costume. It wasn't like her to cling to anyone or anything, but there she was... Holding on to him as if he was her only hope of standing - her pylon against a dark and raging sea of emotion and feelings that furiously tore at her delicate shine and light. She wanted to be dark, to learn hate. She wanted to turn around and put Vokar, the one that belonged in this universe, down like the dog he was. From now on the Vanguard would be enemies of the Ascendancy for as long as they sailed beneath his hand. Whoever adopted him would find themselves under her scrutiny for as long as she was able to draw breath. Pretender or not, the man had been her friend and had saved so many from Vrith Tr'Bak that harrowing night some years ago.

The point remained though... This wasn't an issue for the strange-blooded Evan to mix himself up with. This wasn't his fight, and it would be pointedly swept under a rug for the sake of diplomacy and Xue's own intentions to give the Federation the benefit of the doubt and chance to align with the Ascendancy after an ordeal as cruel and wrong as the one that they'd been brought into by her own mother. Either way, his fight or not, she wasn't sure just who was holding who - but she stayed there, hidden within the warmth and strength of his strange embrace, feeling him radiate around and through her as he tried to put two and two together and keep her steady as if sensing just how close she truly was to fracturing.

"I do not pretend to know what has happened, nor am I going to ask," Merlin said softly as he held her. He began to walk, slowly, murmured a security override to take them directly to the area of the station which contained the diplomatic quarters. With his clearance level, he wasn't allowed to bring them directly into her quarters. There were ways around that, but it wouldn't be necessary. The diplomatic area was quiet, the corridors deserted, and just knowing they were away from prying eyes would be enough for now. As the tingling from the side-to-side transport disappeared, he continued: "All I can say is that I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

The albino nodded patiently, relatively uncaring of the liberties he took by sweeping her away from the cold doldrums of the brig if only because that's exactly what he'd done. He'd saved her from that horrendous place and the eyes and the thoughts and the politics. Now she knew she needed to engage in more forward motion of her own if she was going to keep them both upright and aid him in his attempt to further shepherd her away from everything she detested about that evening in particular. The closer they got to her suite, the better she began to feel - even if the chill refused to leave her skin as a whole.

Once inside, however, she felt her lungs inflate to full capacity and release in a long, shuddering sigh. He was still there, ever watchful and patient with her as she gathered herself and her thoughts together with a gentle shake of her head, "It will be forgotten as well it should be... Unless they push it." Xue's voice was gravel as she reopened her pale eyes and was instantly met with the savage shade of green contrasting to brutishly with the powder white of her skin. It made her stomach lurch. "He might, but I doubt the rest will... And he'd be a fool to try." Her words were whispers and hisses, struggling to find strength beyond the savage conviction that resided so easily within.

The words still made little sense, though he felt the shapes of pieces of puzzles slowly beginning to knit themselves together. For now, though, the puzzle itself was not as important as the woman before him. She was a person who had been dealt a hard blow, and who had retaliated in turn. That act in itself might have scared many people off, but the Lieutenant saw how much it had drained her, how deep and fierce the emotions were, so barely held in check, anger and grief warring with each other and with exhaustion, a frayed rope just barely holding her together. One wrong word, from anyone, one wrong gesture, and that rope would snap, and she would rise like angry waves, dragging herself and everyone else nearby along with it. So instead of sea himself, he would be like a rock, anchoring, strengthening, steadying her.

"Would you like to tell what happened? Maybe, in telling, you'll see clearer what comes next."

"Maybe so," Xue responded with the slightest of bereft little nods.

Standing there in the middle of her living room, however, was doing her very little in the way of favors. Her body released his, her fingers rubbing at the stains along her arms and delicate little hands - and she knew that step one, stage one, would be to erase the evidence of what had happened from her body as quickly and as diligently as she could. She would call no maid, no servant, none of her ladies in waiting - it would be done alone... Or as alone as she could get with him being there. Had she told him to leave, he'd have stood sentinel regardless. The link was there, and he saw with far more clarity than she at that current portion of time. A quick look over at him cemented that reasoning, and she put herself in motion again. This time she drifted towards the bathroom, soon covered by nothing but the drape of her alabaster mane as she shed from the tattered and stained costume - leaving it in her wake as she drew herself a bath.

It wasn't long before steam curried her finer senses, begging her to sink beneath the hot surface of the water. For a second she reconsidered - maybe a shower would be better - but her aching soul refused her sensibilities and she, without much fanfare, stepped in and sank until it covered all but the precious lines of her face. "Vokar... The leader of the Vanguard, the one who saved Commodore Ivanova and helped chase Vrith Tr'Bak away from the wreckage and my home world..." She paused, searching for words, "My adviser. The man my daughter considers an uncle..." Her lips forced their way into a wry, pained little smile, "Was an impostor, or so it seems... The Mirror Universe representation who apparently captured the real Vokar and lead life for him. What happened was the Prime Vokar taking back what was his - but at a rather dear cost." She sighed, closing her eyes and allowing her fingers to drift across her arms, ushering away the Vulcan blood stains, "My friend is dead. The one left behind is now my enemy regardless of what he may say or claim or try to do to remedy. He is my enemy and an enemy of Apsha."

The Lieutenant nodded slowly. "Clear," he said. "Betrayal doesn't cancel out betrayal, and death doesn't cancel out death. A situation where there are no winners, only loss." He stepped into the water with her, not heeding the fact that he was still mostly dressed, picked up a sponge and began to wipe the stains away. With a flick of his free hand, he set the water streaming, so that the greenish tint drained away, to be replaced with clean water. The sponge made small circles on Xue's skin. Nothing sensual, only a soft, gentle massage.

The sound of him entering the water didn't surprise or rouse the white Empress in the least. She rested, quiet, and simply allowed for him to carry on as he so chose. He was a strange being - perhaps one of the oddest she'd ever met - but she'd never trade him for all the tea in China or Latinum hidden on Ferenginar. His touch only served to reassure her that they were on the same page - though her fingers briefly rose with the intent to stop him, to explain that he was not under her servitude - but stilled for reasons she couldn't quite formulate. Perhaps out of the intrinsic knowledge that he did as he pleased and not under any such pretense. "Only loss indeed." She concurred with a bit of a nod, those risen fingers finding themselves tangled in the iridescent paleness of her hair as it floated, encouraged by the motion of the bathing and the water as it cycled and rid the tub, and her body, of the verdant hue she wished to forget. "It will bring war should he trespass on the territory of the Ascendancy. Him being on this station is too close for comfort." Her pretty lips pursed, "I should like to be rid of him and everything he represents."

"If you seek the informal, non-procedural way for that, best wait until he's left the station," the Lieutenant murmured, beginning to rub soap in her hair. Tiny flecks of silver came loose and transformed the bath into a snow globe until the stream carried the glitters away. "If only because it will complicate legal matters intensely. On the other hand, extradition requests can be part of…" one of those casual waves of his hand, "diplomatic talk, negotiations. He only has to be inside your borders for your justice system to take over, and do with him as you see fit." Practicalities. A cool, rational counter to all those raging storms. That was the best he had to offer now.

She didn't have to nod, or move, she knew he knew she agreed with every word that spilled from his lips. Each tone of his voice, each syllable, all held promise that the sun to her moon could think in ways both dark and dreary... Perhaps even morbid. Was she plotting the death of Vokar? It begged for reason - certainly she wanted him to pay for what he'd done and she knew, given the chance, she'd put him down like the lame dog that he was. Her universe had no place for a man like him - dangerous, unstable, arrogant... To her he was no better than a petulant child version of Tr'Bak. Vulcan... Romulan... It made no difference, the parallels were drawn without hesitation. What had transpired was not unlike what the terrorist would have done should someone have chosen to play with his red shiny ball without permission. A tantrum. "Should he come within our borders, he will not leave again alive." Xue's voice warbled softly, Merlin's fingers caressing her scalp as he coaxed glitter from her hair with gentle, practiced ease. Just where had he come from again? She sighed, feeling the bits and pieces of her aggression begin to ebb and slough away.

Well, the diplomats would probably be grateful to know that no immediate demise would cap the events of last night, the cool, always observing part in the Lieutenant's mind noted. He dismissed that part of him with the mental equivalent of the casual hand wave. That left only Xue's well-being, which had been, and still was, his main area of concern tonight. He felt some of the tension leave her, the strength of her emotions fading as fatigue became ascendant. He finished rinsing her hair, began to rub it with a crème which would ensure the long strands wouldn't be a tangled mess when it dried. Another flick of a finger and a faint smell of flowers arose from the bath, lavender, rose, thyme. Smells of late summer evenings and early summer nights, smells to aid relaxation, a release. In his mind those smells mingled with the ocean breeze, and in his memory he heard the sea murmur quietly under starlit skies.

No such thing as actual telepathy bound his mind to hers, but he was certain those memories did reach her, at some level. Somehow.

Another sigh, this one deep and bold and filled with more of the tension that had threatened the sanctity and sanctuary so many had built for themselves within the station. The peace had nearly been shattered, her own temper flaring and her quest for retribution and revenge rising to fever pitch before she could be talked down - but talked down she had been. Talked down and gently coaxed into relaxation when all she wanted to do was burn. Instead she found respite from all the hurt and pain she'd suffered that night, and the anxiety that had come two fold. The sea murmured to her above the scent of herbs and floral notes and with it came the knowledge that she wasn't alone. Xue accepted it and reached for him, tugging him to her using his soaked clothing with the same quiet fashion she'd have called for him through their link; gentle... A question, not a demand. "Stay with me tonight?" She asked, her eyes opening into rose hued slits, hoping her lack of interest in being alone so soon after so much trauma would somehow convey. Oh how strange they were, really, a figment of moonshine born of the sea and a man that burned as bright as the sun but knew nothing of his past, or heritage, at all. Yet she couldn't help but appreciate and covet him for everything he was, including that which remained mysterious.

"Yes."

It was as simple as that. Yes. He began to discard soaked clothing, the frilly blouse, boots, socks, and let the water take them away. The pants, tight as they were, weren't easy to discard one-handed. He left them on for now, brought his free hand back to Xue to hold her in an embrace. Yes, he'd stay the night. If she needed him just for the presence of a warm, breathing body to hold the memory of a cooling one at bay, that was fine. If she wanted more, an act of passion to affirm life when death was just around the corner, that would be fine as well. He was ready to give what she needed, freely, without restraint.

For this night, what he could give was for her to take.

---

Lieutenant Commander Evan Merlin
Strategic Operations Officer
COLD STATION THETA, SB-1170

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