Star Trek: Starbase 777 - acoo：lt-aylek﹢family

[PADD] From: Ensign Rousseau Avignon To: COO Satok Aylek

Lieutenant, I've just finished up a fresh batch of brownies and id be proud if you'd allow me to come over and drop some off for ya. I know we discussed things the other night over dinner but it's all up to you."

[PADD] To: Ensign Avignon

Ensign, feel free to come on over and spend some time! My wife and I have just finished dinner and would love one of your wonderful desserts. Respectfully, Lt. Satok Aylek.

[D] The ensign arrived a short time later with two covered plates in his hand. He originally was going to bring just the brownies but he decided to bring 3 apple tarts that he had made just incase. He took a second to run a hand through his hair before he rung the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal a romulan woman, her brow furrowed slightly at the scene. One of Satok's friends or acquaintances, no doubt. The romulan man always managed to get around and befriend even those that didn't want to be befriended... "Ensign Avignon?" She knew about him, Satok said he was coming.

"Yes Ma'am, though you can just call me Rousseau if that makes things easier." He smiled at the woman but didn't yet take a step into the room out of formality. She seemed nice enough though.

"Aye, Ensign? Please, come on back!" He said, waving happily from the back at his visitor. He was sitting on a couch, their quarters small yet cozy with how he set them up.

The ensign followed the Lieutenant back into the quarters. "Monsieur Aylek, I brought over some deserts for you." He took a moment to set them down and then remove the tops. Between the two plates were brownies and raspberry tarts.

Oh boy! His favorite treats! His face lit up and he smiled, almost from ear to ear. He reached for one of the brownies... really wishing for a sugary delight. This romulan loved sugar and didn't get enough of it... "Thanks. These look good... quite a baker you are..."

"I try my best, though I must admit I've become slightly rusty since my time working in Paris." He walked over and grabbed a tart for himself. They were a lot more troublesome to make but he loved the flavours.

[D] The door chime rang.

With his dad baking some delicious cookies, he was left with letting in any people that might have come. And... someone came! Joel opened the door and looked up at whoever arrived, holding a spoon in his hand with chocolate substitute cookie batter in it that he was definitely planning on eating. "HI! Are you here for the cookies?"

Satok was in the background, shaping more cookies into a pan for the second batch.

As the door opened a friendly, smiley Elwyn stood outside. They were admittedly expecting someone a little taller to open the doors, but either way they looked down with a friendly smile, their lime green eyes warm and friendly. "Hi there! I am, yes!" The Ensign replied excitedly.

He turned his head to the newcomer and nodded, a half smile on his face. "Thanks for coming. I'm Satok Aylek, this is my son Joel. He's testing the batter and... I think it's quite good, honestly..." He said, chuckling as Joel stuffed his face with more of the excess batter. "Are you Elwyn? Just want to put a name to a face..." He said, motioning for them to come in. All were welcome in Satok's home!

"I'm Elwyn!" Elwyn confirmed with a smile, before stepping into the quarters. They were in uniform, because they were performing official duties by bringing the reports to where they were needed, but now it was cookie time! Their uniform helped to hide their join seams, of which weren't currently visible at all, so it wasn't nearly that easy to figure out she was an android.

"So, do you have any allergies first off? I don't want to harm you," He said, motioning to the brown cookies already cooling on the counter that were peanut butter ones. Satok didn't even suspect that Elwyn was an android, in his own happy daze world. He was happy that someone swung by.

"No I don't!" Elwyn replied cheerfully. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to try the cookies or not yet, but she didn't mind either way. They smelled really nice, though!

He nodded and looked to Joel, mumbling something in Rihan that was unintelligible. The boy understood his dad, however.

Joel grabbed the tray of peanut butter cookies and presented it to Elwyn, the cookies still warm and easy to bite. It was arguably the best time to eat them. "You can take as many as you'd like! Though try one first... my dad makes good cookies... the best cookies. He lets me eat all the dough I want!" He said, very energetic.

Elwyn grinned once offered the cookies and took one. "Thank you!" She said enthusiastically, before taking a small bite. Her face immediately lit up with happiness as she processed the flavours. "Oh my gosh this is so good!"

"Thank you... my wife came up with part of the recipe, been showing her the ropes. Human cooking is absolutely delightful for one's sweet tooth..." He said, picking one up and taking a bite. He smiled halfway. "Lovely. So, I haven't seen you around before... big station. How's security been lately?" He asked, trying to spark general conversation.

How did he know I was Security...? Wait, I have a phaser on my belt whenever I'm on duty. Duh! "Oh It's been fine! Few incidents here and there, but really nothing major!" Apart from an attempted murder, and an almost dead guy showing up in a stasis box. You know, nothing major...! Elwyn, of course, didn't say any of that, though, as there was a child present, and also because this was meant to be a nice cookie fun time! (edited)

The phaser plus the uniform colours identified that Elwyn was indeed security. He hoped for the welfare of all security members... insisting that members of his own department go to sickbay even if they stubbed their toes. Satok looked to the remainder of his cookies and sighed. "Well, what kinda cookie would you like to sample next? Could have Joel pick one out though he's biased towards the chocolate-substitute ones. Hmm..."

Joel perked up at the mention of his name, smiling like crazy as he held the treats. The boy certainly had a ton of positive and unbridled energy; he certainly was a handful for the duo raising him. His attention was on Elwyn solely, however. "Cookies are the the best parts of my day..."

Elwyn smiled in response to both of them, taking a brief moment to think before responding. She liked Joel's enthusiasm, and she assumed his attention being on herself was purely because she was the nice friendly stranger who just came to try some cookies! "Well, I do like chocolate..." She said with a grin, before eyeing Joel. "How about you pick?" She continued, her grin getting bigger.

"I was kinda thinking chocolate. I love chocolate, it's my favorite. Chocolate!" He made his way over to the counter, a few cookies on a plate, chocolate some of them. Chocolate, peanut butter, raisin, chocolate chip... "Chocolate or chocolate chip?"

Elwyn followed Joel over to the counter. “Hmm… Surprise me!” She said with a grin, before holding out a hand and closing her eyes. “I’ll try and guess what kind it is!”

He took a raisin cookie and put it in her hand, furrowing his brow as he waited for her to take the cookie and eat it.

He watched silently from the back, smiling. His little plan had paid off- Joel was getting more socialization from positive sources! Nobody else had shown up to his cookie bash, however. Hmm... well, that meant more cookies for the three of them. Satok, though, wasn't the muscly man he was a few years prior. He was slightly overweight and tired out by the boy's energy.

Elwyn grasped the cookie once it was in her hand with a grin, before taking a bite of it. She took a moment to process the flavours in her mouth and to swallow before taking a guess. "Well... That's not chocolate! It tastes fruity... What kind of fruit do you put in... Is it raisin?"

"Mmm, raisin! You're right. Raisin cookie. Do you like it?" He asked, taking one and shoving the whole cookie in his mouth. He was like a vacuum, eating up all of his father's baked treats.

"I do! It's very tasty!" Elwyn said, now opening her eyes again to finish eating the cookie. "I love cookies! And any baked goods for that matter!" She said with a grin.

"Ah, most people do. Lifts the spirit up and all of that jazz. So... would you like some recipes? I can share some with you of my own, passed down through my mother... many generations and won awards many years ago..." He said, taking a pure brown chocolate cookie and biting into it. Little chunks of chocolate and more, all worked into the treat.

"Oh I'd love that! Yes please! If you don't mind, of course! I really like baking, so more recipes would be great!" Elwyn said enthusiastically, a huge grin spanning her face. She briefly looked over at the trays of cookies, before looking back at Satok. "May I have another? They're really tasty!"

"You can feel free! Have as many as you'd like, I try and eat them all when I bake them. Kinda showing around my waistline but... worth it for the taste buds. Happy taste buds happy life... how long have you been in the fleet, hmm?" Satok asked, brow furrowed.

Elwyn grinned before taking another cookie, this time chocolate chip. "Thank you!" She said happily, before eating it. Once finished she replied. "I've been in the fleet for just over two months now!" She responded with a smile.

"Two months. So you're pretty new. How do you like your... I assume it's your first posting? Having fun?" He asked, motioning to a dining room table set up in the room. It had four chairs and three placemats... likely because there were three inhabitants.

Elwyn smiled as he offered her a place to sit, which she gladly accepted and went to sit down. "It's been nice so far! Some stuff here and there, but other than that I've really been enjoying it!"

"Hey, what isn't there to enjoy? Helping the Federation and... making some friends along the way. And getting free cookies, never hurts. Do you have any recipes, per chance? To add to the Aylek drum of recipes to share about..." He offered, a toothy grin.

"Oh, I do!" Elwyn responded cheerfully, before pulling her PADD out and swiping across a few screens. "I can send you them if you give me your comms code!"

"Hmm, I usually prefer a paper copy, makes it easier to retrieve from my scrapbook? If you can do that?" He questioned, furrowing his brow. He liked being able to scribble on things.

"Oh yeah, I can totally do that! Do you want me to write it in there or should I get a pen and paper from the replicator?" Elwyn asked cheerfully.

"Hmm... feel free to jot it down in the book. I don't mind," He replied, looking at Joel with a small smile. Ah, meeting more people. The child was socializing more, something that Satok had hoped for. But it was nearing Joel's bedtime, Satok's and the whole general mood shifting towards one of nearing goodbyes.

"Okay!" Elwyn said cheerfully, before going over to the book and opening it to some blank space. They then took the pen that was nearby and began writing down various difference recipes, including a cookie recipe with candied chocolate buttons in it. After a short while she stopped writing, her handwriting looking very fancy yet very readable. "Done!"

"Much appreciated, Ensign. I... am grateful that you stopped by; take some cookies in this box here," He offered, placing an assortment of the ones he baked in the box itself. He smiled softly, happy that someone came indeed.

"Aww, thank you!" Elwyn said happily, before taking the box with an appreciative smile. "This was fun!" She added in agreement. "It's been really fun meeting you both!"

"Jolan'tru. Have a good night... and it was nice meeting you as well. You're welcome to stop by any time..." He said, a slow and final nod. Joel had disappeared off somewhere else, probably having stolen some cookies or something.

"You too!" Elwyn gave Satok one last friendly wave and smile before heading out. "Thank you again for the cookies!"

She sat with Satok on the couch shortly afterwards, them in off-duty lounger clothes. She was right next to the man, inspecting a scratch on his hand. It didn't even draw blood... "Sati, I did tell you about being at least half decent with keeping yourself... free of blemishes. You never know if they can get infected..."

"I know, T. I got these all my life, it's no big deal. No big deal at all. Just did get a bigger one a week ago bit a flash visit to the doctor patched it up in a flash... reminds me of when I was a kid and slipped in the creek," He said, chuckling softly before pausing.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, cupping the side of the man's face with her hand in a 'look at me' sort of fashion. She was very gentle to the touch and persuasive in speech... plus very trusted by Satok as she was his wife. He'd trust her with anything in the world.

"Thinking of... well, eight years ago again. About the human dad, a few days after my... y'know. He contacted me again, wanting to see Joel but I refused him and it roused a few ill feelings. Bastard... he thinks that he's the grandfather but Nivek is. This is the Aylek house, not the house of sneaky, snaky humans that only come around when they want something," he said, flushing a green. He was flustered by this.

"Hmm... perhaps he's wishing to mend the bridges?" She furrowed his brow at him.

"I dunno. Really dunno. Mmm..." He sighed. "I need your help with the matter, I'm never good with these kinds of emotions. Hopefully... you can see the event and judge for yourself?"

"Do you mean a mind meld? If so, I can do it," she replied. She'd only done the mind melds with Satok for the past eight years so they were in each other's heads quite literally.

He nodded.

"Alright, sugardrunk..." She said, calling him by his old nickname. He used to be called Sugardrunk by her when they first met because he absolutely filled himself with chocolate. She placed her fingers on his face in the correct spot, starting the link. "My mind to your mind... your thoughts to my thoughts..."

And like a whoosh into another world, T'Lak was granted a window into Satok's mind, memories and all... Into the mind... And there was the scene, three days after Satok's rescue... in his house, at the dinner table... In the meld, Satok speaking. Satok looked younger than he did in the present day, hair cut to half an inch and muscled. Satok was indeed nervous, especially around his father (his only one at the time). "So... how... is work going?" He asked, looking at his father. His father, a proud and somewhat offensive man, looked to Satok and sighed. "Well, until I saw the fact that my blood isn't eating at my table anymore," the 55 year old said. Satok stopped mid-bite and looked at the man. "Excuse me-." The father spoke again, this time getting more aggressive in speech as he stood. Satok's human mother moved back. "You little pointy-eared bastard, eating my food and pretending to be who you're not. You're no pride of this family, you're trash that found its way in. I've had to accept you for 48 hour-." Satok tilted his head at the man, rising as well. He interrupted the human, ramming his fist into the table. A crack was heard. "So in the time I need your help the most, you back out? You can't support me?" The father spoke... "You aren't my son or daughter, you're a little freak. I mourn the death of my kid... you're not them. You're a little leech pretending to be who-."

Satok looked at the man with pure anger, grabbing the side of the table and clenching down. He shoved it to the side out of the way like it was nothing but paper- but it was an oak table. "Are you fucking with me? You have some gall, old man. The whole family accepted me but you're still on about this. I'll tell you what. If you cannot respect me then you can get my shit out of my room and put it on the porch and it'll be gone by morning..." The father shook his head. "Stealing her stuff? No, not gonna-." The romulan gritted his teeth. "No actions can save you, demon. Twenty-fucking-two years and you're just dumping me off. Well, maybe you're right. Mother, leave," he said, looking to the older woman in the room. She obliged Satok. "She lived to twenty-two, yes. Jennifer Harris Johnson on a tombstone-." The father was cut off again. Satok stepped closer and looked the man coolly in the eye. "You don't like Satok Harris Johnson? Well, Satok Aylek will do instead," he said, height making his mouth at-level with the father's eyes. He took advantage of it. "The next tombstone with the 'Johnson' name will be yours. Not because I'll clock you into the next dimension... but because you'll die alone..." This was enough to piss the father off enough to punch Satok in the nose... A splatter of green blood later and he held his nose, blinking as his eyes went green. He looked to the side, ready to retaliate... but tears streamed down his cheeks. "Jennifer Johnson is dead, you'll never see her step foot in this house again," he said, removing his hand from his nose. It was crooked but he braved through the pain as he looked at the human man. It was no longer his father, just a random human that punched him. "Fvi hlun, hevam," he said in a broken Rihan, the scene fading.