Star Trek: Starbase 777 - jefferies-tubes

"Wait, you met a guy who claimed to have rabies who bit you in a fight? Allan, I am concerned what goes on in your life?" Solait said with another laugh as he watched his epohh sniff around Allan's feet in hopes of finding more of the snacks. As soon as the friendly human pilled out the stick with a feather on it, the epohh's antennae wiggled and she began to jump up and down. She had never seen such a toy and was very intrigued by it! Epohhs were surprisingly similar to cats despite originating from very different planets. Solait couldn't help but laugh at the sight of his daughter playing with Allan, wow did this guy just carry around pet toys? "She loves the tubes. Uhhh, it is kinda like how our home planet was, Remus. We had a lot of caves and stuff, " Solait explained as he opened the hatch to the tubes and crawled inside. "Laf'ilak, come," He said, wanting to get his epohh's attention so she could follow into the tubes. "Why don't you bring the toy inside, I think she'll follow if you do," Solait was grinning from ear to ear, showing all his pointy teeth. Laf'ilak was so cute and it seemed she had a new friend-- her and Solait had a new friend. "So why do you have such a toy with you, Allan? Wait, don't tell me you have that pet, a cat?"

"Is what goes on in my life not obvious from just looking at me?" He chuckled. It was true, though, that guy... maybe his name started with a J, or something? He couldn't remember, all he could remember was that bright orange hair. And the rabies biting thing, obviously. Crazy shit went on in his life, that was all that was certain. And now he was here, playing with an epohh in the jefferies tubes of a Galactic Commonwealth starbase during a peace conference. He laughed again when Laf'ilak began jumping up and down near the toy, walking over and into the tubes with it. "Ooh, I do love a good cave, and of course, a good tube. I'm an engineer, so it sort of just feels like a good spot to be sometimes," he waved the toy around in the air near the entrance of the tubes before going in, hopefully having her follow the toy. "She's exactly like a cat, actually, this... my boyfriend has a cat, she loves toys just like this, so I carry them around." He smiled as he continued to lead her into the tube so that they could hopefully shut the hatch, ensuring that nobody could follow them. That would be quite bad.

"Okay, you got a point, but really the rabies thing, be careful," Solait said, now a little worried that Allan may have rabies. But-- if that were true he would say something, right? Anyway, he crawled deeper into the tubes so his daughter and his new friend could follow him. The soft pit-a-patter of tiny cloved hoofs filled the small chamber of the tubes as Laf'ilak darted inside to chase the toy. Now with the space much more confined, the soft noises from the Romulan animal were even louder. Squeaking, panting, scratching against the sides of the tubes, were all ten times louder than they were outside. "You're an engineer? Wow, dude, what's good!" Solait exclaimed, not realising just how much sound echoed until the vibrations from his own voice bounced back and caused his floppy ears to shake. The one bad thing about being part Reman was his floppy ears that made him even more sensitive to noises. He quickly brought his voice down to just a whisper as he turned as best he could in the tubes so he could face Allan and his epohh. "You have a boyfriend with a cat? Yo, balls to the walls I'm happy for you!" Solait was clearly attempting to pull out all the Standard slang he knew. Partially to impress Allan, but also because that is literally how he spoke in the Empire. "So is that why you're factionless? Your boyfriend is some sort of rebel? Coz that's awesome, if only I had a partner like that, or partners. Romulans and Remans typically have multiple."

"Ah, don't worry, I'm never careful, but I somehow end up okay anyways," He laughed, he didn't end up getting rabies, and he hadn't ended up dying yet, so that meant he was doing okay, right? Right. He continued to whirl the toy all around him, watching the little epohh dash from one side to the other, stopping for a moment when Allan paused, and then whipping her little head around to run the other way when he moved it again. "Yeah, she's just like a cat," he concluded with a grin, starting to run the little toy along the ground like a snake, watching as Laf'ilak's eyes widened to watch it "B-ba-" he looked at Solait with an eyebrow raised, not sure if he heard that right or if it meant something different meaning where he was from. "I... I've been factionless way before we started dating, and having a cat doesn't necessarily make you a rebel, actually, but... yeah, you could call us both that, if you'd like." He looked over at Solait, climbing further up the tube to slink the toy up more like a snake before Laf'ilak pounced at it, jerking it back so hard he actually let go of it, distracted by the conversation. "Ah, shit, there she goes," he laughed as the epohh claimed the toy as her own, "I mean, you could have partners like that of your own, just gotta find 'em."

"Don't worry, I'm never careful-- Allan do you hear yourself right now?" Solait said with a light chuckle but wow Allan really had no sense of self preservation or maybe he was just overconfident. It seemed to be a theme with humans, but at least his overconfidence didn't drive him to commit murder or something. Solait could hear his epohh darting about to chase the toy, she was really enjoying that wasn't she? Maybe he could replicate something similar for her, it could be useful in combat training! "I like that spirit. Like really, I was about to do the same actually, before joining the Commonwealth. It's just, my brother is here and he's the only family I have left," Solait's tone was low and a little sad as he said it. Nevermind that he was literally the reason why Rai was his only remaining family left, but that was besides the point. He watched as Laf'ilak pounced on the toy again, nipping at it with her teeth as her antennae bounced. "I don't stay in relationships that long, " Solait shrugged. "It's kinda hard to date when you're like... Umm Romulan or Reman, not very attractive races. I wonder if I'd have an easier time if my ears were round instead of floppy," He said, touching the tips of his ears as he said it. It was no secret that humans ruled in the Terran Empire and living under their control made it hard to find any time to date. Why spend time on a relationship if both parties were constantly at risk for getting stabbed? "But maybe. Do you know anyone looking for a date? I only bite sometimes," Solait winked as he reached his arms out to pull Laf'ilak towards him so he could work on prying the toy from her grip to hand back to Allan.

"Loud and clear!" He nodded with a hearty laugh, still waving the toy all around. Of course he had a sense of self preservation, but he was of course overconfident as well. Even so, he was mostly saying shit just to say it and sound like a fun guy. His overconfidence sometimes did cause him to commit murder, but that was usually warranted. He wouldn't think about murdering this guy. Especially not in front of his epohh. He moved more up the tubes, just so Laf'ilak had some more room to play around. "I mean, out of all the factioned choices, Commonwealth's looking like the best one," he looked up at Solait, "I mean, I'm hoping for everyone's sake that they can all work out some nice deal here, but... I haven't even heard what's going on with the talks, honestly." However, when Solait said that Romulans and Remans were 'not very attractive races', he started laughing, dropping the toy for a moment which left Laf'ilak to take it go about the tubes with it. "Solait, are you kidding me? I mean, sure, especially when it comes to Romulans, the fashion is kind of... not top-tier, buuut... Solait, you've looked at yourself, right? I hardly think that your ears..." he chuckled, "and you bite? Oh, Solait, could I.." he reached out a hand up to the other's face, keeping it a good distance away just in case this too much of a breach of the other's space, "could I tell you a secret, Solait?"

Solait laughed along with Allan, his nose and forehead ridges wrinkling up when he did so. Allan was so handsome and funny too! It was a shame he was factionless or else Solait would ask him to hang out on 777 more. But Allan seemed like a traveler, not one who would want to be cooped up on a former Terran space station forever. He watched as Laf'ilak took the toy from Allan and began to roll around with it. "I am glad you think that. Yeah I don't know what's going on with the talks either. I want things to work out but," Solait shook his head and let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes for a couple seconds. "I feel like the Commonwealth is between an artificial singularity and a disruptor with these hmm," The Romulan equivalent of 'between a rock and hard place'. Especially for Remans, they loved being between rocks so the idiom wouldn't make much sense to them. Solait made a pouty expression before doing some very enthusiastic air quotes with his hands. " 'Ne-go-ti-a-tions', as they call it. I don't know. The Commonwealth wants peace, but I feel like KCA and Terrans are just putting on a good face as if they weren't already planning on blowing us and this station to bits. And no, we will not grow back," Solait narrowed his gaze and looked extremely serious for a split second before laughing. Laf'ilak jumped a little too energetically and smashed her face into the side wall, causing her to whine and roll onto her back. Solait, a good father as always, scooped her up in his arms and began to shower her cute little face with kisses. "Oh yea I feel you on Romulan fashion.." Solait looked at Allan before the other reached out towards his face. The Romulan-Reman officer froze, even his epohh mirrored his action and looked at Allan with all six of her beady eyes. "Y-Yes? Of course...?"

"You haven't been to 'em?" He asked, he would think as the ACOO Solait would have been involved somehow, but maybe it was just command? That seemed odd. After laughing some with Solait, he shook his head. "I really don't know what they're thinking - the other two, and I don't know what... you guys, plan to offer them in return for such a big ask. I mean, asking for them to stop - in many cases, the only way these people know how to achieve power and success and wealth is violence - asking them to stop all that, and for what? You've got to offer something big, and I've got no idea what, but..." The engineer looked over in the direction of the epohh when she hit the wall, but it was fine because Solait picked her up. Oh shit, was he really about to say this in front of her to her father? While she looked at him like that with all six of those big ol' eyes? The answer was yes, actually, because he was a man who usually followed through with what he planned. "Well, it's not actually a secret since I'm telling you, and I'm pretty sure anyone who knows you already knows, but..." Allan took his hand and placed on Solait's shoulder, and with his other hand he cupped Solait's ear, making sure to keep his voice as soft and quiet as possible as he leaned in to whisper, "you're sexy as fuck, okay?" And then he took his hands back and leaned back against the tubes, facing Solait, shrugging with a smug grin on his face. "That's all." (edited)

"Not really, the talks have been pretty slow. I had one meeting, but that was about it it," Solait shrugged as he listened to Allan's words. The man was right, it wasn't like the Commonwealth had much to offer other than peace which, for people in power meant they couldn't rule with an iron fist anymore and no way they would go for that. "Honestly, I don't even know what we can offer. I kinda think the only way is to get all the lower ranking officers to overthrow the higher ranking ones, but that would be more violence," Solait said with a light chuckle, shaking his head as he tightened his grip on Laf'ilak to prevent her from falling out of his arms. When Allan touched his shoulder and then his ear-- it felt like a surge of electricity was flowing through his entire body. He felt warm and he was sure his whole face was bright green. "-Allan??" Solait said in disbelief, his eyes wide as ever, bright silver irises, along with Laf'ilak's black eyes. She seemed to be just as stunned as her father. "I... But... I'm Romulan and Reman and..." Solait blinked and his mouth hung open just... He had never received such a genuine compliment. Sure people had said he was handsome or cute, but it was usually to get him to let his guard down and attempt to stab him. "Allan, that... Really means a lot to me," He put a hand to his chest and then touched where Allan had touched his shoulder and then his ear. "I wish there were more people who thought like you," Was he crying? No he wasn't crying, it was just raining on his face. Laf'ilak squeaked and gave Allan a silly smile. "Allan, you're way too nice to me, I... Oh I'm sorry about all this," Solait touched his face that was now wet with tears, oh this boy was such a stranger to compliments.

"Really, just one? Huh, I would've thought there would be more, I hope the next ones go okay, but.. yeah, I dunno. Maybe you guys can come up with something, for the rest of our sakes. We'll see, we'll see, uh- no need to worry about it now," Allan shrugged, and then after, well, telling the other he was sexy, he smiled softly at Solait's reaction, feeling a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. He was glad that his words had had such an impact on Solait, and he was happy to have been able to make him feel good. "Good," Allan said in response, both to Solait stating his species again and to him saying it meant a lot. Genuinely, he had yet to learn why some people thought certain species were more or less attractive than others. There were extremely hot people in every species, and limiting yourself to just a few was kind of boring. "I mean it, really. I've known you for like, five minutes, but I can tell the obvious, yeah?" Truth be told, Allan did say this to people sometimes to distract them enough to either steal their shit or stab them, but that didn't mean he meant it any less. And he definitely meant it with this guy, who he had no intention of stabbing. As tempted as he was to kiss the man, he instead took his hand and lightly placed it over Solait's on his face, helping him wipe away some of the tears. "Don't be sorry." He wondered if a compliment like that was "way too nice", then what was considered the right amount of nice, and what would something nicer than that mean? "I think there's a lot more people who think like me and are just too caught up in whatever else that they're afraid to say it. Like, it's sort of undeniable, in my opinion, to look at you and say you're not extremely attractive. Just saying." He looked the man up and down again just to make sure. Yeah. He didn't understand why people didn't say this guy was hot before. "Like... really. I could go on, even."

Why did Allan have to touch him again? Because when he did, more teams streamed down his face. Solait clearly did not get out enough. Even in the Commonwealth he had holed himself up in his quarters, only emerging for work and certainly not interacting with any of his colleagues outside of the professional setting. Laf'ilak sensed the warmth in the air and walked between the two as if asking 'me too!'. If her father was getting gentle touches, why doesn't she get pets too? As if she never got pet enough. "Allan... Umm..." Solait was right, they hadn't even known each other for more than ten minutes but already the man was touching his face, calling him hot-- all of this whilst not stabbing him?! Factionless people really were something else. All the thoughts of the peace talks too had gone out the airlock as all Solait could think about was the fact that someone was showing him gentleness. "i... The last person who called me hot was my fiance Kianarix but... Well..." Solait paused. "He tried to stab me right after but... I guess seeing how I'm alive now, you can probably guess his fate. I wish it wasn't like that thought," He sniffled and reached out to pull Laf'ilak to his lap before scooting his butt a little closer to Allan. Now they were within stabbing range, Allan could just whip out a knife and get in a few good stabs if he wanted to. "Can... This is very taboo in Romulan society, but I would like to hug," Solait looked into Allan's eyes, they were a beautiful green colour. Like emeralds shining in a cave.

Allan was surprised to hear about the other's ex-fiance's attempted attack, the sheer ridiculousness of it causing him to chuckle softly, frowning. "Wow, that's... crazy. I'm sorry, that's - that's actually really fucked up, I don't understand why... but," he realized now that he tended to laugh things like this off, but that was a bit odd, wasn't it? The very idea of a fiance stabbing someone was maybe normal in this universe, but he couldn't comprehend why anyone would do it if they were like, actually in love. Like, what if Mephis one, proposed to him, and then like, stabbed him to death later? He shivered at the idea of it. "I'm glad you're okay, though, else we would've never met, after all. And don't worry, I'm not going to stab ya," he reassured Solait, giving him a warm smile. Allan could have stabbed him, sure, but... there was no reason to. What would he get out of that? An entire starbase on his ass? Nah. And while there may have been some secret motive for Solait to stab -him-... maybe he knew who he was, maybe he'd stabbed someone he was close to, or something, but... he didn't really sense any of those vibes here. Unless the man was a brilliant actor, of course, but at that point he might welcome being stabbed by the guy. "Yeah, as long as, well, you don't stab me, of course," He looked down at Renakir's hands, which he knew had nothing in them since he had Laf'ilak in them, and sort of turned his own hands over in front of Renakir, too, just so the other knew he didn't have any suspicious weapons either before he gently pulled Solait into a hug. He rested his chin on Solait's shoulder. "I'm... actually really glad you're here, Solait. Honestly, I didn't think something like this would happen when I just saw a guy in the chatroom saying I could meet his bubble-blowing epohh, but uh... this is nice, actually," Allan said, his voice soft and sincere. "For the record, though, I still need to see the bubble-blowing." (edited)

"I mean, it's the Reman way. Dysfunctional families is kinda our brand," Mirror Remans were really something else. Solait actually didn't mind Allan chuckling, it was a humorous situation because of just how fucked up his life had become after that. Anyway, he shook his head and gently nudged Laf'ilak's bum so he could wrap his arms around Allan. He clung to the other, his strong arms wrapped around Allan's waist. The human couldn't see it but he was smiling the whole time. He knew that it was risky to hug someone without thoroughly checking their person for weapons, but it's not like Allan would get a promotion or any benefit with Solait's absence. The longer they hugged, the more tears Solait could feel rolling down his cheeks. Laf'ilak jumped up and down, nuzzling her fluffy head against Allan's back, her long antennae tickling the nape of the human's neck. Solait could only laugh at seeing his daughter so eager for attention. "Mmm.. oh you want to see the bubble blowing? Maybe if we crawl somewhere with a replicator I can show you," Solait closed his eyes, letting a small waterfall of tears fall down his cheeks. Allan felt warm, much warmer than him, that and it felt like his whole body was being enveloped by warm darkness. It was comforting, oddly enough. If Allan was planning on stabbing him well, it wouldn't be the worst way to go. "This.. May sound cheesy but..." Solait began to say before the tears really got to him and he just began to full on sob. "I-I.. Never thought there... Were nice people--" He sniffled, pulling away so he wouldn't get tears on Allan's clothes. "Such nice people like you in this galaxy," Solait's voice echoed throughout the tubes, causing his epohh to squeak back and bump her head against Allan as for some reason she thought she could go through him like a ghost to get to her father.

Allan laughed when he felt the epohh's antennae brush against his neck, it tickled a lot more than he thought it would and he instinctively brought a hand to the back of his neck -- he knew this epohh was combat trained, after all, so he sort of had to make sure she wasn't about to kill him or something. "Please, I'd love to see the bubble blowing. Can she... make different shapes, you think?" He hadn't even blown bubbles himself before, actually. He'd just never done it. He put his hand back around Solait. It was an odd situation, holding a stranger so close in the dark jefferies tubes of a station he'd never been to previously, but... this was... nice, really. Comforting, in a way. When Solait began sobbing, he put a hand in the other's hair, just gently running his fingers through it in an attempt to provide some more comfort to the other - plus... the other's hair was quite soft. "No, it doesn't sound cheesy at all," he said, tilting his head just slightly when he watched Solait pull away, looking up at him with a soft smile. That was an interesting line of thought. Was he really that nice? If he thought about it, he didn't really seem like the nicest person out there. Him and Mephis were space pirates, after all, but ... he allowed himself to think, at least, that maybe he was nicer than the standard, which was probably true. Maybe. He looked off to the side for a moment, laughing when Laf'ilak bumped into him again, now looking over at her. "It's, um, rare, but... it's actually kind of easy to be nice."

Laf'ilak was indeed not trying to act aggressively, she just wanted to comfort her crying father. If there was one skill Solait had taught her, it was to be able to sense when he was uncomfortable so she could be his emotional support combat epohh! "M-maybe she can," Solait did his best to try and answer Allen's question through his tears. He could hear the rustling of Laf'ilak's fur against Allan's clothes and shifted his position so he could still lean in towards Allan, but his epohh could scoot between them. Laf'ilak looked back at Allan, all six eyes blinking in unison as she was still trying to figure out what this strange alien was doing with her father. He was good, but she didn't understand why they we're having a tender moment in the tubes. Solait tilted his head to let Allan continue to pet his hair, as if he was an epohh himself. Allan was the first and probably only non-Vulcanoid he let touch him and for that he was thankful that Allan didn't stab him. That would have been quite terrible. "T-Tell that to the Terran Empire... I-I swear my whole time there... I didn't meet a single nice person. E-Even my comrades were mean... The only thing that kept my alive was my stupid sharp teeth and scary face, everyone thought I was some sort of mutant combat monster," Solait said before sobbing loudly again. This time it only lasted a few seconds before he could collect himself and wrapped his arms tight around Allan, pushing Laf'ilak to the side. The tiny epohh made a soft squeak as she rolled onto her back. She just wanted attention but it seemed like her dad wanted to hug his new friend. Laf'ilak rolled her way to Allan until she hit his side, hoping that he would give her pets since Solait was occupied. (edited)

Allan did wonder for just a moment why this man was trusting him so much and so quickly, but he supposed he was doing the same for the other. If they wanted, Solait and his combat-trained epohh could have absolutely gotten a sneak attack or two in, but it seemed they were both here, trusting eachother with their lives. Wow. Well, if that was the case, he might as well share a bit about himself as well, he thought as he continued to pet Solait's hair, taking a moment to pet Laf'ilak with his other hand before taking it away to wrap his arms in a hug around Solait yet again. "I met a few," he whispered quietly, as if someone may have been eavesdropping on them in the tubes after hearing all the sobbing. Very unlikely. Or likely, if someone had come to the tubes to kill them both. The thought made him feel a little on edge, but the fact that they had a combat-trained epohh and whoever else probably didn't comforted him, actually. "But... they usually didn't make it." For reasons of, well, being too nice. If you let your guard down for even just a second too late in the Terran Empire, someone less nice than you was going to stab you for your position the first chance they got. It was simple as that. "You're not a mutant combat monster, though, you're- I mean, unless you want to be," he was all for reclaiming fun titles that had been used for bad, after all, "from what I can see, you're quite the opposite."

Solait was understandably not a very used to touch, but with Allan... It just hit different. He did not trust easily, not even his own flesh and blood family. To say him and his family did not see eye to eye was a serious understatement, but that was for another time. He didn't purr when Allan pet him like Laf'ilak did, but his breathing was beginning to slow down, reflecting the calm as he was still trying to get the tears to stop. They were happy tears, but he didn't want to keep sobbing in front of his new friend. The whispering did not seem suspicious to Solait, not when he had sensitive Vulcanoid hearing and being paranoid was a lifestyle he was all too familiar with. "It's unfortunately the reality," Solait breathed in slowly as he gave Allan a strong hug. Not tight enough to cause discomfort, but Solait really had that Reman strength in him. He didn't know why he felt so much comfort in hugging this human he just met. Maybe he really was touch starved, not that Laf'ilak didn't hug him a lot-- she did, but it was much different hugging someone who could hug you back. "N-No.... I... I just want to be me. I don't want to fight. You know.. I heard in French, the word 'Soleil' means sun, it kinda sounds like my name, Solait... Ironic because Remans don't really like sunlight, but I kinda like the idea of being the sun, a light in darkness," Solait closed his eyes, still hugging Allan and completely ignoring Laf'ilak. Although she was now sat next to the two men, patiently awaiting her turn for hugs. Solait had no idea, but as he spoke Havrannsu through the Universal Translator he said the words 'a light in darkness (Ren'a Kir)', his Reman name. "I want these peace talks to work out, I know you're factionless but... I would like to stay in contact umm... As friends."

"Well.. if you wanna be you, you are you, then. You're always you. And that - quite literally, right, now, actually, if you think about it, you are 'light in darkness,' in a way," he said, repeating the others' phrase and holding Solait just as tight as the other was holding him. "Like, we're in um, a literally dark place, in the tubes, and you're - you're just a light, I dunno how to explain." He definitely didn't know how to explain that Solait was a light in darkness, too, in a more metaphorical way amongst these peace talks because, well, Allan wasn't much of a poet, plain and simple was his way of saying things. "I would love to stay in contact with you as friends," he pulled back some and held Solait's shoulders, looking into his light silver eyes, which looked like.... wait. "Hold on. Um, this is going to sound - absolutely crazy, and honestly, it's even crazier that I'm giving it to you, but-" he let go of Solait for a moment, reaching into his bag and ruffling through it for what might have seemed like forever, even if it was just for half a minute before he pulled out what looked like a thin light gold chain, before he started rearranging it in his hand and then - cupped one hand over the other. "So, um, it's even crazier how I got it, I was in like... a cave, kind of, and there was this really shiny shit sort of standing out in the rocks, and so we stole it, and um, turned out to be... I think it's called 'grey spinel'. Anyways, this is for you." He lifted the hand on top of the other to hold out a necklace to Solait, with a thin gold chain and some raw gray spinel attached in the center.

"That is true," Solait said softly, holding onto Allan with a very firm hug for a few more seconds before pulling back when Allan began to move. When they separated, he still had a twinkle in his eyes, as if he was looking at the most radiant person in the whole universe. Allan called him a light in the darkness, but the man was his light in the darkness. He scooted a little bit further from Allan so the man could have some space. Laf'ilak immediately took this chance to dive into her father's lap and rub her head against his stomach. Solait of course responded to this by petting her head and scratching behind her ears and antennae that wiggled frantically as she tilted her head from side to side. When Solait looked back up at Allan-- that's when he saw it. A beautiful hold chain held a single pendant of a very luminous grey rock. "W-What? For... For me?" Solait reached his hand out to take the jewellry piece and hold it up in front of his face. Laf'ilak turned her head to get a good look at the necklace before sticking out her long ass tongue and giving the gem stone a good lick! "Laf'ilak!" Solait chided his epohh, giving her nose a light flick. "I love, Allan, and it seems Laf'ilak also likes it," He chuckled as he tried to try off the gem with his sleeve. "I don't mean to sound Reman but.... This stone looks delicious. Grey Spinel, I have never heard of that. Where was this cave? I would love to try some of the rocks inside."

Allan laughed when Laf'ilak licked the gemstone. "Yes. For you," he smiled, "and Laf'ilak, if she likes it so much too." Funnily enough, due to the way Laf'ilak had licked the stone it actually shimmered in the dim light of the tubes a little bit more than it usually would have. "It's for both of you, then." The more who could enjoy it the better, honestly. He'd planned on selling it for some cash, but... this felt so much better, to just give it to someone (and his pet) who would really enjoy it better than most people ever would. "Please, by all means, go ahead and sound Reman, I love it," he laughed again, but he was absolutely serious. "I actually was there with some of uhh... my friends, Chadrix and Brokuk and Dudesek," Yes Mirror Versions of them exist too, "we were in this cave, oh man, I can't remember where, but they'd know if I asked them," he said, taking out his PADD and turning down the brightness so it wouldn't be too bright in the dim light of the tubes, sending a message to Dudesek. "There, I asked 'em, so I'll let you know and we could eat rocks together - well, not as much me as you, but.. oh- while I've got it open, though," he brought up whatever screen brought up a 'new contact' form in the PADD and handed it over to Solait. "Here, go ahead and put your info in, and I'll give you a little test message."

"Thank you, like.... A lot," Solait liked the pendant, it really did shine brighter after Laf'ilak licked it. Maybe it was the epohh tongue that shined it? "... To be honest no one has ever given me a gift before. Well, a good gift. Getting stabbed doesn't count as a gift," He said before laughed yet again. It was really messed up now that he thought about it. The Terran Empire really was whack. Solait clasped the necklace around his neck and tucked it into his uniform so he could keep it safe (and so Laf'ilak wouldn't lick it again). "Wait, you have Reman friends?" Solait's eyes widened when Allan began to list the names of his friends. "I... I have never met a Reman I got along with, actually. I had my Reman family but they... They didn't see eye to eye with me," More like they didn't like knowing that their only son was doing risky things and putting their whole community in danger. "I would like to try and explore caves with you and your friends, to be honest I feel a little sad not having Reman friends," Solait took the PADD from Allan and began to input his comms code. "Alright, that's the code. I don't know if you will be able to send messages outside of Commonwealth space, subspace is kinda weird once you get into uhh.. Enemy territory," More like the KCA and TE were overly fond of subspace jamming signals. Not strawberry either. "Send a message, I got my PADD here," Solait had to wrestle with Laf'ilak to get her off of his lap so he could pull out his PADD. "Where do your friends live by the way? Are they also factionless?"

"Yeah, it's no problem," Allan was smiling, but his smile dropped when Solait laughed. Solait may have laughed at saying he'd never received a gift besides getting stabbed, but it seemed... so, so sad to him to never actually receive any gift at all? Not even a small gift, like a thing a friend didn't need anymore? "No... Solait, it doesn't, actually. You deserve so many gifts, Solait, like actual, real gifts... Can I hug you again?" And assuming the other said yes, he did, giving the other a strong hug once more before pulling back and setting his hands on the others's shoulders again. "Really? Ah, well, these guys were like... way too chill for anyone, man, so yeah, they're factionless. They live on the same ship I do, and we just travel a lot," a weird way to say you were pirates, but such was the life. "And oh, do you mean those juvenile jamming signals they love to use? Yeah, uh, let's just say those... aren't really a problem for me," he laughed. He trusted this guy with his life right now, sure, but he didn't eeally trust anyone but Mephistopheles Mo with the information that he used to be Flynn Candente, the guy who had hacked Imperial Starfleet and ... run off with a bunch of their information, which may or may not have included how they bypassed jamming signals and created their own. Allan gave Laf'ilak a little pet as he waited for the message to send to Solait, which eventually did. The message simply said 'hey there friend - allan'. "More or less."

"W-What?" Solait didn't expect Allan to look at him with such sympathy again. Oh no, don't say that, he was going to cry again! He was just crying, he couldn't cry more! Well, Solait opaned his arms for Allan and gave him a strong hug, happy for the physical contact. Laf'ilak watched the two men hug and this time butt her head against the human's arm in an attempt to say 'include me too!'. She got her wish when the two men soon separated, giving her an opening to rush to Allan's lap for hugs. "Being factionless sounds nice, actually," Solait said as he leaned against the wall of the tubes and watched as his daughter excitedly leaped towards Allan. Laf'ilak may have been combat trained, but she was also very friendly. "And you can really get around those signals? Damn, you really are something. Like some sort of uhh space cowboy?" Solait didn't know much about terran culture, but he knew what cowboys were because for some reason it was an inside joke on his previous ship that Romulan cowboys were funny as hell. Weird, but he wasn't turned off by the idea of just travelling the galaxy and shooting some bad guys from time to time. He heard the ping of his PADD once Allan sent him the message and checked it. "Friend-- T-Thank you. Aside from my brother, you're my first friend," Solait's face lit up once again as he grinned at Allan. "Oh, I want you to meet my brother too some day, he's also in the Commonwealth. He's bread. Wait do you want to-- you wanted to see Laf'ilak blow bubbles. I can lead you to my quarters, I have some bubbles there!"

Allan gave Solait the hug, and then gave Laf'ilak a hug when she ran into his lap for them. It was interesting that she liked hugs from strangers so much, usually animals Allan had known only liked hugs from people they were very close to. "It's pretty alright. A little dangerous if you get involved in the wrong sort of thing, but it has its ups and downs," the ups: being able to do what you wanted for the most part, not having to kill people for ranks, actually getting along and forming friendships with your crew- the downs: mostly the 'everyone is your enemy' sort of thing and the lack of larger protection than just yourselves. "In my opinion, though, the ups are way better than the downs, but uh- kinda like a 'space cowboy', sure, if you wanna put it like that," he laughed, he actually wasn't sure what a cowboy entirely was either, but it sounded cool based off what he had heard. "But hey uh, you can consider this space cowboy your friend anytime you want, and if your brother's just as nice as you, I'd love to meet 'im. Is he just as hot, too, perhaps?"

19:50

[D] He chuckled, and the the two of them had a good laugh before leaving the tubes - or moreso, climbing through them and then leaving them - to head to Solait's quarters. Allan really hadn't totally believed that Laf'ilak was capable of blowing bubbles, but once they were in Solait's quarters and Solait had brought out the bubble solution, Allan was starting to doubt it less and less. And then, of course, once he saw Laf'ilak lean her tiny face towards the bubble wand and blew actual fucking bubbles, he was simply a total believer. Not to mention, he was also completely overjoyed by this revelation as he watched the shiny liquid spheres float up into the air surrounding the epohh, before they made a game out of popping the most amount, Laf'ilak somehow joining in the game as well. Maybe the peace talks were stalling or whatever, but fuck, man, he'd made a cool friend and met a fucking epohh that could blow bubbles. And he'd have more opportunities to meet his friend and blow bubbles with the epohh again one day! So... really, the real peace was the friends we made along the way and their bubble-blowing epohhs.