Star Trek: Eventide 777 - ╰mol′rihan-national-enquirer-hq

It was on a particularly hot day that Valleka found herself marching into the Mol'Rihan National Enquirer HQ. She was flanked by two servants, as always, but dressed in civilian robes. She was clearly angry about something as she literally walked from her estate to the building on foot. Crazy, but she wanted to make a point. Compared to most buildings in the district, the small newspaper was little more than a shoebox in size. It only had 3 rooms, a main room, washroom, and kitchen area. Despite being a newer building it had already gathered dust from the various electronics scattered throughout the room. There were papers everywhere and piles of photos too. Valleka with her pure white civilian clothes looked incongruent against the earth toned room. "Hello? Is there a manager here I can speak to?" Valleka walked up to one of the three desks in the room and began to shuffle papers on it. A cloud of dust formed, causing her and her servants to cough. Was this place really just a year old or was it 100 years old? Her servants stood behind her, kicking up some of the papers as well.

3

"Excuse me--" Lun came scurrying out from the kitchen area with his fancy black suit absolutely covered in flour. He looked like a B-movie ghost it was so bad. His messy hair covered his forehead ridges and the tips of his ears. Despite being nearly ten years older than Valleka he looked like he was ten years younger. Fluffy curly locks of dyed cobalt blue hair coupled with droopy puppy dog eyes, Lun did not look like a former war criminal at all. (edited)

4

"Oh it's you, Lemon? Lumiere or whatever your name is, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were still hiding from your sister?" Valleka put her hands on her hips, clearly unamused seeing one of her in-laws running about in such a dirty place. Somehow it didn't surprise her that he would be here, but what did surprise her was that he was cooking? Was it poison? It was most definitely poison. "And just what are you cooking?"

3

"It's Lun, it's three letters, Valleka," Lun dusted some of the flour off his clothes, not even caring that he was getting it on the floor and some on Valleka. He spoke calmly despite his frustration dealing with the senator. Honestly he had hoped that after her trial she would have just left him alone, but she never missed a chance to bully him for whatever reason. "I'm making Kreyla and Lalisa is on that Federation Starbase for the press conference. Mokut gave me permission to be here," He explained, staring right back at Valleka, he was not intimidated by her at all.

"Well then if you spoke to Mokut recently then you can pass a message on," Valleka picked up one of the newpapers from the desk and rolled it up so she could wave it at Lun. "I am not happy with the Torre'vnau article. How dare you Cardassian vole of a paper write me as the villain. I will be taking this up with Cerrub myself, but I would like the whole issue shredded and would like to be featured in the next paper," She said, bonking Lun with the rolled up newspaper.

Lun did not flinch or show any emotion for that matter. He was still a follower of Surak and it showed by the way he could keep his composure. He was nearly half Vulcan after all, much more than Lalisa's 1/8th. "I will tell him and if you hit me again I will charge you with assault," Lun took a big step back away from Valleka and crossed his arms. "Now if that is all you can leave so I can finish making my Kreyla."

"Oh and for you, Lemonade, you're a fucking Qezhtihn," Valleka tossed the newspaper to the side and gestured to her two servants to follow her as she made her exit from the buidling.

Lun gave no reaction to Valleka's insults or purposeful butchering of his name. He was used to dealing with her outbursts and this was precisely why he was never home. It was his day off and he wanted to make some Vulcan food, not get yelled at by his boyfriend's sister. Once the doors had closed, Lun began to pick up all of the fallen papers so he could go back to making his bread.

5

1

[D] And who showed up not even an hour later, Ms. Lalisa herself. As soon as she walked through the door she was greeted by an oddly familiar smell. The aroma of sweet berries, flour, and some Vulcan redspice filled the musty office. Lalisa's high heels made a loud clack against the tile floor, kicking up some dust as she walked. The office looked different than usual. It looked tidier, like a giant cleaning tornado had raged through the otherwise cramped office space. "Lun."

His ears were quick to pick up on the sound of someone entering the office. He was just about to cut into his freshly baked Kreyla when he heard the front doors open and the chime ring. And then he heard a familiar voice call his name. Lalisa. He thought to himself as he debated what to do. He was told by Lalisa's business partner that she would be gone for at least another day. He did not expect her return so quickly. At the same time the fact that she knew to call his name hinted that she had some new information. He couldn't hide any longer. "May I interest you in some Kreyla?" Lun held a wooden board in his hands with a few slices of Kreyla placed delicately on top. He showed no expression on his face and spoke like a true Vulcan. In fact, he could certainly pass for one with his forehead ridges completely covered by his fluffy blue hair.

"You have a lot of explaining, but now is not the time. Jarok will be here soon for an interview," Lalisa said as she stepped closer to her cousin, now with only a desk separating the two. She stared right back at Lun, her face as emotionless as his. "And clean all of this," She said before sweeping her arm across the desk and tossing all of the papers Lun had carefully picked up earlier to the floor.

"You look a lot shorter when you're not on a viewscreen in a warbird," Was Lun's only comment before turning on his heels in a very Alizati fashion and heading back to the kitchen area. He placed the wooden board on the counter and began to slice the rest of the bread. He did this all while remaining perfectly calm. He grabbed a long plate and put all the bread in a neat row and then placed a glass cover on it so it would stay fresh. It was a beautiful presentation. He then proceeded to clean the rest of the kitchen, making sure that every bit of flower or berry juice was properly cleaned. And that's when it hit him, Jarok. Their grandfather? He was curious what this meant, did that mean his father was still alive? He wanted to believe that was the case-- that somewhere Sulai was looking for him. He did not dwell on the thought for too long as it awakened too many emotions for him and emotoins were illogical.

Lun's remark had no effect on Lalisa and she walked over to her desk in the opposite corner of the room. She did not care what Lun did, as long as he cleaned up and Lalisa could bully him some more, obviously. It was pay back, he deserved it. She pulled out a PADD and began reviewing her notes from her visit to 777.

1

A few hours into writing her article on Satok, Lalisa got a message on her PADD. Curious as ever she read it over and her eyes widened. Now this was a scoop. She stood up and walked over to the pile of papers still on the ground and gave them a good couple of kicks. Can't make things easy for Lun apparently. "Lute, I'm stepping out. Message me if Jarok shows up," She called to the kitchen where her cousin was still trying to clean up. Really, how long did this guy take? Was there a speed setting on him? Without even waiting for a response she darted out the door.

Lun, who was still in the kitchen, heard Lalisa loud and clear. He did not even bother asking her what she was doing or chase her. In fact, he would be content if they never crossed paths again. Perhaps it was a mistake asking Mokut to use the kitchen. All he wanted to do was cook without his family's eyes of judgment on his back. Living in the Rylov household felt like a prison. He was walking on eggshells everywhere he went. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, remembering the teachings of Surak to help guide him through this stressful time. If it wasn't for his job and the fact that he was in love with Valleka's brother, perhaps he would have already moved to Vulcan. He could become a scientist or hell-- even a barber sounded like fun right about now. But alas he was stuck as an interceptor. Not a bad job, but the people around him were.... Distasteful.

1

[D] After a short but probably still too long and boring of a trip for Eshen, he arrived on Mol'Rihan! Bags bursting with stuff, probably. He'd get to the Torre'vnau household in a bit, but for now, he had business he wanted to take care of as soon as possible. Having not had time to make a totally new outfit, he was doing somewhat of a rehash of one he'd worn once before: a minty green dress shirt with a pink cherry blossom pattern on it, and rose quartz cherry blossom earrings to match. His jeans were white, tight and spotless, and his thick-heeled boots and long opera gloves an opposing black. He wore bracelets of little rose and cherry-shaped gemstone beads and rose gold thread, and rose gold ear-cuffs to match. His eyeshadow was a soft, subtle pink to match the blossoms on his shirt, and his hair was tied up with a pink ribbon, but he'd left his lips bare so the green of them would coordinate with his shirt, though they were a much darker shade. The theme for today was 'arizona ice tea in the spring'.

Lun untied his apron and hung it on the little hook in the kitchen area. The kitchen and in turn the main room was filled with the scent of fresh berries, mocha, and flour. Right as he was about to bring out his tray of bread and mocha out to the main room to eat he heard the front doors open. Was Lalisa back? When he didn't hear anyone shouting some new bastardisation of his name he deduced that it must have been a client or someone looking for either Lalisa or her business partner Mokut. He walked out into the main room to see quite a sight. Dark skin, triple forehead ridges, pink eyeshadow, silky hair--. They were a newspaper, not a fashion magazine. Oh he would have to tell this handsome stranger they were not into the entertainment business. They wrote articles about entertainers, but they were so small it was highly unlikely someone like this beautiful stranger would just 'stumble' into their office. "Jolan tru," He greeted the stranger with the pretty green dress shirt with the cherry blossoms. It was not uncommon for them to have aliens on Mol'Rihan, in fact the planet had become quite the tourist destination. The pointy ears matched with the forehead ridges-- Vulcan and Klingon. Or Romulan and Klingon? He was going to try and speak Rihannsu to them anyway after all it was the national language. "The owners are not here at the moment but I am willing to take a message," In contrast to Eshen's flamboyant get up, Lun had a more muted appearance. He had a white collared shirt with a black tie, dark green blazer with slim fit trousers and matte black oxfords with rather high heels. He stood just shy of seven feet, incredibly tall even by Romulan standards. His blue hair was long and covered his neck, curly and fluffy with his fringe concealing his forehead ridges. He looked almost identical to Alizati, same dark eyes, shaking subtly, feminine features too.

"A message? No, no, I'm here for you, Lun e-Kota Tr'Rylov!" Eshen said in perfect Rihannsu, looking the man up and down. Spitting image of Alizati, really, which meant he was also hot. That sounded both flirtatious and ominous - a bit of a power play, honestly, since it meant Eshen knew more about Lun than Lun knew about him, but he didn't want to get Tal Shiar'd, so he clarified, with both palms up: "Not for anything sinister, I assure you, dear. Smells lovely in here! Is that Kreyla bread with R'larra berries and tiantian fruit? Oh, and a mocha?" He was acting a little too much like Dion for a Vulcan, but somehow these days he felt more compelled to deal with anything remotely Romulan as him. It'd gotten him this far, after all!

He showed no reaction when the other said his name. After all many people knew who he was, he was listed on the Mol'Rihan interceptor database after all-- but what was surprising is that this man came here to find him. He had an office after all, so who told him? Lalisa certainly wouldn't have said anything, perhaps it was Valleka? Would an alien even know who she was? There were too many questions and unfortunately for the stranger his flirty and ominous tone coupled with his opened palm gesture dud nothing to ease Lun's paranoia. "Yes, I made it for myself, however you are welcome to have some. Please have a seat," He said as he gestured over to a rather old looking couch in the corner, away from the piles of papers and messy desks in the middle of the room. He shuffled away to grab the tray he had prepared with the bread and two cups of mocha. "Since you know may name, may I ask yours?" Despite the more emotion filled tone of the stranger, he kept his calm Vulcan speaking style. His voice had a similar cadence to Alizati's although it was much deeper. He appeared completely Vulcan especially with the way he carried himself and the bunches of hair covering his forehead ridges.

Eshen - no, Dion took a seat. "Oh, thank you, don't mind if I do!" Should he be accepting food from a stranger, especially a Romulan, especially one who used to be Tal Shiar? Probably not. But Dion was bold. And also, stronger-willed. It was strange, actually. Usually he'd switch to Eshen in the company of Vulcans, but right now he wasn't sure he could stop being Dion even if he wanted to. He was just... So much more enjoyable to be. He was going by Eshen less and less these days. "My name is Eshen K'Tann, but you may call me Dion," He said. No point lying about his real name, but he wasn't going to use it. "May I call you Lun?" Though he didn't know it, he was the only one willing to!

Lun set the tray down on the coffee table and took a seat across from the stranger-- Dion was his name? He kept an aura of calm the whole time, very un-Romulan, but Lun was a follower of Surak and believed he could get what he wanted without emotions. After all emotions are what caused the downfall of the Romulan Star Empire. "Dion. I see," He said as he picked up his cup of Mocha and took a small sip to show the other that it was not poisoned. It was common for Romulans to suspect poison in their foods, especially when offered by strangers, but Lun did not believe in such sneaky ways. If he wanted someone killed, he was not going to resort to underhanded tactics. In many ways the truth was often scarier than the lie. "Yes, you may," Lun said, hiding the fact that he was relieved someone actually wanted to call him by his name. He did not understand what was so hard about three letters, really. "Seeing as you know my name, may I guess that you are here to seek my legal counsel?" He asked as he placed the cup back down on the table and stared at Eshen. He had dark eyes that dropped downwards, like a puppy dog and had the same nystagmus as the rest of his family members. It was less obvious with him though, but he shared a lot more traits with Alizati-- they even did their make up the same way (strange coincidence).

Dion also had droopy eyes, which looked sleepy on other people, but on him just looked like he wanted to sleep with someone else... which was quite often true, to be fair. He sipped his own mocha after seeing Lun sip his. That wasn't always a guarantee, but in this case the mocha hadn't even originally been made for him, so presumably it would be pointless to poison them anyway. "Indeed! Have you heard of Akuvek's trial?" Dion asked. Chances are Lun already had, hopefully, so he wouldn't have to explain too much.

1

Lun watched Dion closely, observing every detail of the man's person. His eye shadow, the way his trousers clung to his legs, the sound his heels made when he moved his feet. They had similar puppy eyes, how unique! But Lun's eyes had seen the destruction of worlds, the murdering of hundreds, and the blood of thousands. "I have heard about her, yes," Oh no, was he asking him to get involved with a Reman? Lun did not hold any prejudice towards the former slave species, however he treaded with caution when dealing with them. The Rylov family was a known Reman sympathiser family so it wasn't uncommon that he rubbed shoulders with the rock people, but he always felt on edge. Or maybe it was just he felt on edge whenever he was around his new 'family'. The only reason he was there was to frick frack Valleka's brother but waws it really worth it? "I heard she was extradited to Mol'Rihan for her sentencing."

"She was. And I'd quite like it to be a fair sentencing. The Rylovs have a vested interest cases involving Remans, don't they?" Dion said. His eyes had never actually seen and real death apart from the sea of corpses during the nebula mission. Perhaps that was why they seemed to contain such a warm sincerity even when he had his own agenda.

"We do," Lun replied, blinking a few times to try and settle the shaking in his eyes. He pushed the plate of Kreyla bread towards Dion and took one piece for himself. He nibbled the fluffy bread slowly as he contemplated his answer. Despite claiming to be more Vulcan than Romulan, he had more than a couple of strange ticks. He ate like a squirrel, nibbling the bread slowly, his green lips contrasting wonderfully with his pearly white teeth. "Your tone implies that you do not trust that her sentencing will be fair?" He raised an eyebrow at the man before nibbling more bread. it was hard to believe this man was nearly double Eshen's age and a former agent. He seemed much more... Domesticated for lack of a better word. No malice in his voice, not even the typical Vulcan judgmental stare.

Lun reminded him of Men, he thought. Blank, polite... And something else about the vibes. Oh, and Alizati, of course, but that was to be expected. Dion picked up the kreyla bread and took a large, yet graceful bite, no crumbs spilled. "She's a Reman. And as I said to someone else, even if the system isn't biased, the people running it will be. I say this as a person from the station she blew up. Or tried to. This is good, really good, by the way." Not that Dion had been there at the time. "You have quite the history of taking on challenging cases, I've heard."

'From the station she blew up', ah so he was from 777. Now things were making sense. He didn't think some random alien would have the boldness to waltz onto Mol'Rihan asking to speak with a Romulan interceptor. No, even the bravest of the brave would certainly think twice before coming to someone like Lun. What Dion said next impressed Lun, so much that he raised both eyebrows just a little. Hardly noticeable to anyone who wasn't perceptive, especially with his long and fluffy fringe covering the tops of his eyes and obscuring his slanted eyebrows. Not only was Dion seeking him out specifically, but he also understood the complex relationships between Romulans and Remans and seemed to have considerable knowledge about him. He had to find out who Dion's informer was. "I appreciate your compliments," He replied as he finished his piece of bread and took another sip of Mocha. "I do. May I also ask how you came across such detailed information not just about our government but about myself? Perhaps you know another one of my family members, either Kota or Rylov?"

Dion did notice the eyebrow raise, but tried not to get too much of an ego boost from it. He may know a lot, but the most important thing he didn't know was whether or not this guy was actually still in the Tal Shiar or not. He'd still act the same either way, though. Healthy sense of fear? Don't know her. Dion smiled in amusement. The hilarious thing was that, technically, he knew a three Kotas, two Rylovs, and three Torre'vnaus to boot! He was collecting all the Romulans. "I know a lot of people. To be honest, I think you'll find out eventually if you ask Lalisa who the fabulously homosexual personification of an arizona ice tea can was." Then he could infer from her answer that it was probably either Valleka or Alizati he knew of Lun from, neither of which would be correct, because he actually knew from Cerrub. He just wanted to keep the Torre'vnau name out of this as much as he could. "Do you have any interest in taking on the case?"

1

"Lalisa," He repeated the name, recognising it instantly of course. That was his cousin whom he had the displeasure of running into not too long ago. He grabbed another piece of Kreyla bread and nibbled it slowly, in his little squirrel like fashion just like before. It was amazing how a man who had never met Alizati in his life shared so many similar traits and mannerisms with the android. "I am not on speaking terms with her at the moment," He said flatly, looking up from his bread to see Dion's sparkling pink eye shadow twinkling under the light. This guy was something. "You're asking me to work on Akuvek's behalf during her sentencing? I will need more information from you, Dion. What is your interest in the political affairs on Mol'Rihan?"

Dion languished back on the chair, legs crossed, like he was the emperor of this run-down place, and ate his bread like it was the finest bread in all of Mol'Rihan. In this moment, he looked more expensive than everything in the room. "What are you doing in her office, then? Oh, and my interest is that several witness accounts on the station saw her being handled quite roughly as she was extradited. It was a microcosm of how she might be handled by the Romulan government, I thought. Quite unfair, don't you think?" All the truth, kind of. He had thought it was unfair. He just left out the part where it was Renakir who'd brought it to his attention in the first place. The secret to lying is to never actually lie. "Also... I'm a Vulcan who quite likes Romulans."

Lun straightened his posture and scanned over Dion's rather incongruous fit against the dusty atmosphere of the newsroom. Dark eyes scanning over the Klingon-Vulcan man in front of him, what a fascinating blend of genes. And and even more fascinating personality. "I needed a quiet place to cook. I do not stay in my house very often because as you may or may not be aware, the Rylov family can be very exhausting," Was a horrible understatement. Each second he spent in that house he felt like he was mere centimetres away from breaking his calm Vulcan persona and just going full Shinzon on all of their asses. Really, he had a lot of rage that he hid incredibly well. "A Vulcan who quite likes Romulans? Well I'm also part Vulcan-- who happens to have no particular preference when it comes to attractive men," He said, still monotone but this was his attempt at trying to flirt back at Dion to see what happened. "While I cannot speak for how Akuvek was treated on your station, I could pull a few strings to ensure she gets fair accommodation during her sentencing here on Mol'Rihan. I have a tight schedule though, but maybe if someone could provide me with information it would save me time and effort on my end so I could focus on the case?"

Funnily enough, Dion was not flirting, just accurately describing himself, though technically he was fabulously bisexual. In fact, the closest he'd gotten to flirting with a Vulcan before was telling Alizati he found him attractive the other day. Was with an ex(?) Tal Shiar agent a weird place to start? Yes. Was he going to do it anyway? Hmmm... Well, he was handsome, and a proficient interceptor to boot... ...Fuck it! Aim high! "I understand. I quite like to cook myself, actually. Maybe, if this all works out, we could get together and do it sometime during my stay here." By do it, he meant the cooking, of course. Nothing else. "What kind of information do you need?"

"It has been a while since I have been able to share my Vulcan culture with one of my countrymen," Lun said with seemingly no issue accepting this Dion as a Vulcan. In fact, Lun would be the last person to judge someone's Vulcan-ness. Joining the Tal Shiar and doing some war crimes was definitely not Surak Approved™️. Despite all this, Lun claimed to be a pacifist. Odd, really. "I would like some information about Lalisa. I want to know who she spoke with on your station and what sort of information she has. She mentioned someone by the name of Jarok coming for an interview. It would also be nice to know her work schedule, you know so I could schedule a good time to meet with her," He said in a calm and unassuming tone. He was just going to talk with Lalisa, his beloved cousin, of course.

'My countrymen'. Well, that was oddly validating coming from a war criminal. "I'm unsure why you're asking me all this? I know you're not on speaking terms, but surely this is fairly basic information - you can just ask Lalisa when she comes back here, or Jarok when he comes for the interview. You'll actually have better luck, since I most certainly don't know Lalisa's work schedule or anything like that, nor do I know who she spoke to on the station - I only met her... Twice, while she was there? I'm just very good at making friends." He did know who Jarok was, though, obviously.

"I would like someone else to get the information for me. I do not want her to know I know such things and even if I were to ask her I doubt she would be truthful with me," Lun said as he picked up his cup of mocha and sipped it slowly. The steam from the mocha was causing his eyes to twitch, but it only lasted a few seconds. Once he set his mocha down he pressed on his eyelids to try and keep the shaking down and also not to smear his perfect make up. Gotta look good, as always. "I do not know this Jarok's intentions or why he is being interviewed. I would prefer to not have to cross paths with Lalisa until it is time for our talk. You are good at making friends, I am sure if you two have already met it would be easy to get her to warm up to you," He said, his face returning to the resting bitch face as before. "If you cannot help me I understand, I can get the information through other connections and I am sure the Romulan government can assign Akuvek a suitable interceptor for her sentencing."

Ah, so that was the price. Sneaky. A very Romulan move to pull - but then again, this conversation between two Vulcans was turning quite Romulan indeed. It felt... Exciting. Lalisa was definitely right when she called him a thrill-seeker. Dion picked up his own mocha and sipped it as he weighed the costs and benefits of going along with this. It was, essentially, a choice between helping Renakir out or keeping Alizati out of this. What finally decided it for him was that, in the grand scheme of thighs, getting Akuvek a good interceptor was probably the right thing to do, and even Lun himself said he could find out what he wanted to know through his own connections, so it was actually kind of better if Dion did it considering he probably had Lalisa and Alizati's best interests at heart along with his own, unlike whoever the hell Lun was thinking of. Besides, the information he wanted was fairly innocuous... As far as Dion knew, anyway. Plausible deniability. "Alright. So you want to know who Lalisa talked to and what information she has... And her work schedule? Is that it? Hmmm. Hold on a second." Dion opened up his PADD and started drafting a message to Lalisa.

To: Lalisa T'Kota From: Eshen 'Dion' K'Tann Hey, I popped by the Mol'Rihan National Enquirer today like you said I could, but didn't see you. Mind telling me what times you're there so I can catch you around? -

He didn't send it yet, though. "And what did you want to know about Jarok, specifically?"

It was a complete bluff. In fact, Lun did not know anyone he could ask to get such information about Lalisa without tipping her off to her tricks. Everyone he knew who could possibly supply such information was friends or on good terms with her and knew Lun was not a man to just want to 'know' information for the hell of it. It was a good thing his bluff worked because Dion seemed to be onboard. "Yes, all of that. And I would like to know Jarok's full name, occupation, and purpose for coming for an interview. If it is who I am thinking of, I would like to see him before Lalisa does," Lun told Dion, unaware that the two of them were thinking of very different Jaroks. It was not a common name, but it was also not uncommon to know two people with that name. The other Jarok that Lun was thinking of was another high profile Romulan. Someone in the senate who had some deep pockets and some nasty cases that needed covered up, more business, obviously.

It hadn't occurred to Dion it might be a bluff. This was an ex-Tal Shiar agent, after all. Who knew who he knew? Ironically, he was overestimating Lun because of what Lalisa had told him, and that was coming back around to bite her. "Alright, I'll get that for you," Dion said, as though he didn't have most of the information Lun wanted already. Alizati had told him once that Jarok's full name was i-Shi'Kahr tr'Kota. Then there was Alizati Dzharok, which was an Uyghur name, though from what Eshen knew as a polyglot he was pretty sure it was an anglicised version, and he didn't know the original. Occupation: Chief of Engineering. Purpose for the interview: see his grandkid/s and talk about Jarok killing(?) himself and his kids in a shuttle. He knew a few people Lalisa'd talked to - Renakir and Allan were the ones he knew of, but there may have been others. He knew more or less what information she had because he was the one who'd told her most of it after her interviews hadn't been very successful. The only reason he wasn't giving it all away right now was because he wanted to buy time to figure out why he wanted this information. Besides, better to keep his cards close to his chest so he could play them next time he met Lun. He still needed to figure him out. Dion ate some more of his Kreyla bread. "Who do you think it is, then?"

"Thank you, Dion," Lun did not smile, but he showed his gratitude with a polite bow. How Vulcan of him. When the ohter did not reply with any more information Lun assumed he did not know it and was going to get it for him. He could believe Dion knew Lalisa and perhaps someone-- that's right, there was another romulan onboard 777. Saren Morvar! The one who looked eerily like Irok Tr'Lareth, he had a suspicion this man could have been in cahoots with him. Plotting what exactly? Probably nothing, but Saren was an obvious choice for an informer, the Kotas and the Lareths were not exactly friendly to each other. "Someone who will open up many doors for me if I should ever get an audience with him. Someone who would be a great ally to me, but only if I can reach him before Lalisa, Lun said, careful not to reveal too much just incase they were not thinking of the same guy.

Not to roast Alizati, but that didn't sound like him at all. The only doors he would open were to the jeffries tubes. And Lun couldn't be talking about dead Jarok, because dead Jarok was fucking dead. Even with his memories, Alizati didn't have the kind of status or influence in Romulan society that Lun spoke of. And there's no way Jarok could have been secretly alive this whole time for a number of reasons, up to and including that Alizati had the hair and nails of his corpse, so this must be some other guy called Jarok. "How admirably ambitious of you!" Is all Dion said, with a benign and charming smile. "Well, I think we've reached an agreement. Unless you'd like to do anything interesting to close the deal, my business here is done." That was pretty forward, but he had to get that out before he left and he was curious how Lun would react. Dion drank the rest of his mocha. "Thank you for the Kreyla bread and your company."

1

Dion's response did not confirm or deny that they were speaking about the same guy. He was pretty good, was he actually a diplomat himself? Half Vulcan half Klingon, but his image did not fit completely into either. Could he possibly be a third worlder? Not that Lun had much experience with that, he was Romulan and Vulcan, but always lived in one society or the other. The next sentence do anything interesting-- was he implying something? If they weren't in his cousin's newspaper office perhaps he would have suggested something. "Interesting? Not here, unfortunately. Perhaps we can plan a time to meet somewhere else," Lun put his empty cup on the tray. "You get the information and I will speak with Akuvek to volunteer as her interceptor. It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Dion."

That wasn't a no! Woo! First ever attempt at flirtation with a Vulcan didn't go terribly! Dion's pointy ears perked up a little as he made no secret of how pleased he was to hear that. He was by no means a simple man, but he did enjoy simple pleasures. "Perhaps when we cook together! I'll message you, if you'll allow me." Probably a good idea to get his contact info so they could actually meet up again for the information exchange, anyway. After getting Lun's contact information, presumably, he stood up to leave. "Jolan Tru, Lun, and live long and prosper." Then, with a flourish of a ta'al, he left for more Adventures In Mol'Rihan!

"Jolan tru, live long and prosper," He retuned the little Vulcan salute before Dion was out the door. Now Lun had to clean up, but this time it was actually his mess. It was still weighing on him who this Jarok was. Maybe Dion would get info, that guy seemed to have quite a lot of connections for being an alien.

1

[PADD] To: Dion

From: Lalisa

Oh you came? I'm there every day, but right now I'm searching for a lead on a case atm. The Torre'vnau boy was kidnapped! - Lalisa

[PADD] To: Lalisa

From: Dion

Oh. Shit. Is there anything I can do to help? Also, does that mean you won't be at the HQ for a while? - Dion

(edited)

[PADD] To: Dion

From: Lalisa

Not until tonight because I need to interview Jarok. I think he should be here tonight but I haven't heard anything. I'll follow the Romulan police as long as I can for the Torre'vnau boy. - Lalisa

Allan had been having a lot of fun hanging out with Kianarix lately, but recently he'd learned that Kianarix was straight up being ignored by Lun? Apparently they shared a room but Lun just had been straight up NOT delivering, so Allan figured they'd go right up to the man and demand some answers. Dressed in one of the nicer tops he'd brought and black shorts with a belt, he knocked on the door of the building, hiding any of the residual anger in his face and just keeping it Neutral... for now.

Kianarix had been having an equally fun time with Allan. His first friend who wasn't a coworker or family member! Honestly it had been so long since Kianarix went outside and actually spoke to someone. Well-- Allan was the one who grabbed his hair, but he was glad he stayed. It was tough being born without a shred of confidence, but Kianarix stood tall behind Allan when they approached the HQ. He was actually seven feet tall now when he stood with good posture. He wasn't going to let Lun see he was nervous. He'd probably get scolded for being 'emotional and illogical'. He wore one of Brokuk's long shirts with a pair of shorts and his Romulan Gucci flip flops, very expensive. He would never misplace them like his other clothes because Lun gave them to him!

Lun was in the tiny building cleaning up some papers that Lalisa had thrown about earlier that day. Still no word about the mysterious Jarok fellow and with the Remans at the beach house not giving up their property, his buy out was looking less and less likely. The motion sensor camera picked up something outside the building and then he heard a knock. Lun shuffled over to the entrance and pressed the button to open the door. It's that Starfleet human from before-- the one who mistook him for someone else? And... Kianarix? This was odd. "What is your business?" Lun asked the two, crossing his arms and looking :[ as ever. He was dressed in a very sharp looking mahogany coloured suit with a black button down satin shirt. He had very shiny heeled dress shoes on and as always his dark blue hair was fluffy.

"My business? Oh, my business is actually your business, or lack thereof," Allan said, walking into the room and placing a hand on the table or desk or whatever there was. "Aside from trying to buy my friends' house, which, I was like, okay maybe this is just this guy's job, but no, apparently your job is ignoring your boyfriend?" He frowned at the other, raising an eyebrow in judgment. "At least, that's what Kianarix tells me. He claims you haven't really paid attention to him in -years-. Years, Lun! That's a lot of fucking time to not be giving your boyfriend love and appreciation, you know!"

Lun immediately backed up when Allan walked into the room. He was going to keep stabbing distance away from this guy. He scrambled to try and clear away the papers so the human wouldn't make the mess any bigger. This office was much too small for even a single person let alone three. He caught Kianarix ducking under the doorway and shuffling to the side of the room, away from where Allan and him were. He was not surprised, the man was was coward and afraid of confrontation. He did not say anything nor show any emotion on his face. "Boyfriend? You mean trust bond?" The terran terminology was very confusing to him, but he thought he understood what Allan was saying. "I have a job and responsibilities. Perhaps he wouldn't feel so lonely if he wasn't such a deadbeat."

Kianarix stood in the corner picking at his ash coloured fingernails. He watched the two men, Allan being emotional and Lun being Vulcan. It was not his place to say anything nor did he have anything to contribute. Lun was right, he was just a freeloader. The only reason he was useful was his name and his race as he was the Rylov's token Reman.

1

"Whatever you want to call it, but Kianarix said the word boyfriend so that's what I'm going with, yeah?" He said, and then he gasped aloud as he just blatantly insulted him! "Are you fucking kidding me, dude? Deadbeat? You have a job and responsibilities, sure, but have you considered that in dating him some of your responsibilities are literally involving him? You've been dating for years and you haven't even gone on a single date?" He put a hand on his hip, other hand still on the table as he looked at the other. "You are so not calling him a deadbeat when you're the one who's been ignoring him for literal years, dude. Come on."

Lun was no stranger to emotional outbursts like this. If he had known some human was going to come into his comfort place and yell at him he would have just stayed home. At least there he could get yelled at in his native language. He glanced at Kianarix who kept avoiding eye contact with him. Despite the other man trying to look tough, he really wasn't. ”Perhaps I would consider it if he actually took a shower," Lun replied, now his eyes on Allan. It was, in fact, not a spacist comment as it may seem. True Kianarix was half Reman, but he did have incredibly greasy hair. Lun needed to keep up appearances and it was clear Kianarix did not feel the same. "Why do you involved yourself with this matter? You do not understand the situation Kianarix and I are in. He is Reman and without the Rylov's I would be houseless and would lose my job. I know humans regard relationships as romantic in nature, but that is simply not the case for Vulcanoids."

Allan rolled his eyes. "I don't understand your point, that's extremely rude of you to say, especially since he took a bath just this morning." He looked back at Kianarix, who was a clean guy! "I'm involving myself because Kianarix told me about all this and frankly, I think it's bullshit and so I'm here on his behalf. But go ahead, tell me what I don't understand. I'll wait." He simply sat down in whatever chair was probably nearby the desk in the office. Patient for a response.

Kianarix gave a soft smile and flipped his hair when Allan pointed at him. Yes he was very clean! Somehow his hair still look greasy, he just had a lot of skin oils, he couldn't help that he was half Romulan and thus was capable of sweating. Despite acting more Reman than Romulan, Kianarix expressed more Romulan genes. His eyes weren't sensitive to light and he had pretty prominent forehead ridges too.

He did not mention that Allan was sitting at Lalisa's desk because he did not care and also it would be amusing to see her reaction when he told her a human was at her desk. Lun decided to let Kianarix stand in the corner like the cave gremlin he knew he was. It was dark in the corner and away from the two of them. "I need to keep my position in the Rylov family and I can only do that by staying with Kianarix. Our bond has been political since day one, it is none of my concern if he chose to develop romantic feelings," Lun sighed, his eyes shaking ever so slightly. He gave Allan the look of Vulcan judgment, very similar to how Alizati looked at him sometimes. "Tell me, Allan. Are you and Kianarix friends?"

1

Oh, and the fact that this guy was somehow related to Alizati - well, Dzharok - sort of made him even angrier. Like, Alizati was cool! And this guy was somehow the exact opposite. Still, though, he kept relatively calm on the outside as he listened to the explanation Lun gave him, crossing his arms. "Right. Why do you have to stay with Kianarix to keep your position in the family, and why is that so important? It seems like you have a pretty good job with or without them," he said. A lawyer was a great job, really. "And yeah, I'd say so. We've only known eachother for a few days now, but he's chill and actually nice, so yeah. I'd say so."

"Because Valleka and I do not see eye to eye and without the Rylov name, I would lose all respect. However maybe you are right. I am treating Kianarix unfairly, I should just call off our wedding and any other plans and just return to Vulcan," Lun did not seem angry in the slightest. In fact he had an aura of calm, much like Alizati when he spoke. He did not comment on Allan and Kianarix being friends, in his mind he was still doubtful that Kianarix was capable of making friends.

"Don't leave," Kianarix finally spoke up and shuffled over to Lun. He kept a good stabbing distance apart, not wanting to scandalise the poor human by attempting to be affectionate. "Umm.. I will be sad if you leave. I'm.. .Sorry for Allan. He just... Cares about me, he doesn't mean it," Kianarix spoke softly and tapped his toes on the ground, hands behind his back now. He was a soft spoken boy, almost the exact opposite of Lun. (edited)

"You're thinking very black and white here, you and Valleka already don't see eye to eye. In fact, I've yet to meet someone who does see eye to eye with her, if anything it seems like she's the one everyone doesn't like here. But also," he sighed, he really did seem like he was genuinely trying to understand the situation here. "Why would returning to Vulcan, or otherwise leaving the family, mean leaving Kianarix? If you actually care about him so deeply..." It was probably that moment when Kianarix came over and begged the guy not to leave. Interesting. "... he will be sad if you leave, I do care about him, but that just means I mean everything I say tenfold." He shrugged. He meant what he said like, 99% of the time! Why would he ever say things he didn't mean?

"She is a difficult person to get along with, but she is the head of our family," Lun said, no change in expression, but there was a hint of frustration in his voice as he was trying to deal with this human. He did not like Allan, especially because he was here on behalf of Kianarix. "And Kianarix can barely survive on Mol'Rihan, he would be nothing but dead weight on Vulcan. Can't keep a job, can't even keep our own bedroom tidy. The only thing he is good at is hitting rocks," Lun said and turned around to straighten out some papers on the desk he was sitting on. He couldn't look at Allan or Kianarix, not right now, he had too many emotions and he needed to keep his Vulcan calm image.

"Allan, you don't have to fight for me anymore," Kianarix said in the softest voice, shuffling over to Allan and touching his shoulder ever so slightly. "It's okay, I'm not mad anymore. I don't want Lun to go to Vulcan, I'll be lonely," He said as he shook his head and pushed some hair from his eyes. "And Lun isn't a bad guy.... You know the reason he wanted to buy your friend's beach house is because the investor promised he'd give him some land so we could have our own house there..."

Allan was really being calm here again, trying to understand the situation, speaking to Lun without anger again and then - then Lun had to go and insult Kianarix again. That sounded insanely rude. "What the fuck?" He let the words out of his mouth, but he was just staring at Lun in disbelief, standing up as Kianarix really touched his shoulder and said he didn't have to do this anymore and he wasn't mad anymore. "I know that already, we already established that, but - I mean, if you want to be with a guy who insults you like this every day, fine. But believe me when I say you can do a whole lot fucking better than this asshole." Was that a rude thing to say about Lun, maybe. But in his mind Lun had more than earned it at this point. Insisting that Kianarix was only good at hitting rocks felt like an extremely low insult in particular, but he wouldn't say that. He just looked at Kianarix now, he genuinely meant his words still and hoped this man could realize that this was not a great situation - he could do better - but at the rate things were going, well. It seemed like this was all just circular.

"Allan don't be loud," Kianarix held out his hands and then looked away, suddenly very nervous. He understood what Allan was saying, but he also... Just couldn't let Lun leave. This boy was very much in love and after two years he had gotten very used to his routine with Lun. Even though they rarely interacted except when necessary (mostly Lun telling him to clean up), he still held onto hope that one day Lun would come back to him and they'd live a wonderful life together. "He doesn't mean it, it's alright."

This human was incredibly frustrating to deal with and Lun had to focus on getting Akuvek's paperwork together. He wanted to wait to see if Dion delivered the information though, but time was of the essence and he needed to have everything settled. He took a deep breath and turned back to look at Allan and Kianarix. "E'lev (Darling)," He spoke, his demeanour changing almost immediately. It was night to day, his expression and voice both softened. He put the papers he was organising back down on the desk and walked towards Kianarix. "If you are unsatisfied with our arrangement I can cancel our wedding and tell Valleka that you are going to move back to her wing of the house," He stood in front of both Allan and Kianarix now, leaning on the desk. "It would also be a shame because I am currently working on a case to help a Reman woman, all to progress Reman equality. It would be nice to have an expert on Reman culture help me with this case, but perhaps just Kaiidth. ("What is, is.")" Lun was an excellent manipulator, incredibly good. Kianarix frowned and then looked at Allan, wondering how to respond. Lun knew very well that Kianarix would fall for his tactics, but what would Allan do?

"Okay," Allan said, sighing again and choosing to speak more softly - for Kianarix's sake. "But the thing is," he looked back at Lun, then back at Kianarix. "He definitely means it. You don't just say things like that, especially such illogical things like that, because you don't mean them." And then, of course, Lun decided to put on a spectacular performance. Or, at least, that's how Allan saw it. As a performance, and if it wasn't one, well - Allan would have to take the blame for being the asshole here if it wasn't one, but he thought he knew acting when he saw it. After all the people he'd been with, many of them had put on such 'performances' in similar ways, and many of them were just plain manipulation. So he couldn't, really, be convinced that this was anything but. "Wow," he said calmly, honestly the will to act angry had left him at this point - at this point, the tone of his voice was a bit dry, as if he was just Very Unimpressed, "I can't tell if this is emotional blackmail or just straight up coercion, but.. one, there's no advantage to have a wedding that you may or may not ever plan and that's to a guy you're just going to continue to ignore for the rest of his life. Using a case to help a Reman woman to try and convince him to stay with you is... you're acting as if he's the only expert on Reman culture that could help you. In reality, there's plenty of other people for you. For both of you. I don't know why you're so insistent on being with him despite the fact that you clearly don't like him or what he does, but my guess would be some kind of political or social clout?" Allan didn't even know, but he just was so upset with the entire situation. Not even going to adress them bringing up Valleka again either. Ugh.

Kianarix sighed, knowing that this was no going to end well no matter what he did or said. So instead of saying anything he just shuffled over to Lun and gave him a pleading expression. He wanted to believe that him and Lun could work, even if Allan was right about everything he was saying.

"We both need each other. I need the Rylov name and he needs a companion. And I do honestly care about him," Lun did not touch Kianarix, but they were standing close enough their shoulders were barely touching; Almost scandalous. "But you are right, Allan. I will be nicer to him and pay more attention to him," Lun was fully aware of what eh was doing and how he had been treating Kianarix and Allan was right; he had no plans to change that. However if Allan kept fighting him he was sure Kianarix may start to stand up for himself. "I will take Kianarix on a date and be a better boyriend as you call it," Lun said, his gaze going back to Allan's. His eys shook the same as Alizati's, but his deceptive ways were very unlike his android grandfather. Alizati would never.

2

"Okay, so you're selfish for political clout purposes. Got it. That's why you want him," He said, in his mind he didn't need the Rylov name at all. There were plenty of people on this planet without it and they seemed to get on just fucking fine. "You want power, and he wants someone to give him attention and love. But you seem incapable of offering either," he sighed at the other's promise. "You can say that, but haven't you also been saying you'd do that for years? What's changed? What's going to change?"

"I gave him more than enough love already, isn't that what a mind meld means?" Lun looked at Allan briefly and then at Kianarix. "Kianarix can stay here with me. All day. Come, e'lev, we can cook redspice soup or Reman chilly," Everything was fine, the human could leave. He had work to do and they had spent enough time arguing.

"If he's mean again I'll tell you, Allan. M-Maybe I'll visit that family you talked about umm.. Torre'vnau? They have a lot of Remans?" Kianarix wasn't sure if it was possible to switch families but if he could he certainly would. He just had no idea how he could pull it off and stay with Lun.

Allan took a deep breath, looking at Kianarix closely to try and determine if he was being honest about that, but then realized that's all he could really go on here. "Yeah. Do.. please do tell me, you have my contact info," he said, smiling softly at him. "Yeah, the Torre'vnaus, specifically Renakir," He should probably go visit soon, actually. He wanted to see the pool! "Just, yeah, just keep me updated?" He asked of him, before turning back to Lun as he stepped towards the door. "Sorry for ..." Wait a second, he wasn't sorry. He smiled. "Well. Have a good day, the both of you."

"Rena... kir. The other half Romulan half Reman boy. Yes well... maybe I'll ask if they need another halfling in their family or something," Kianarix said actually only half joking. He did considered seeing if the Torre'vnau's would... adopt? Marry someone? To him to get him away from the Rylovs.

1

Lun said nothing nor did anything to stop Allan. At least if him and Kianarix were alone they could actually talk. He didn't want Kianarix with those "friends" anymore. They were giving him too much confidence.

3

1

After Allan had left, Lun kept to his word and went into the kitchen with Kianarix to show him how to make Vulcan redspice soup and some Kreyla to go with it. He explained slowly with simply steps so Kianarix could follow along. He was well aware that his boyfriend was slow to digest information, but being Vulcan he welcomed to slow paced style. In a surprising twist of events the whole interaction was without any problems and enjoyable for both men. Kianarix also seemed happy to help. He was a flaky boy but he always made an effort to give Lun his undivided attention because times like these were scarce.

Soon, Eshen arrived! Very much Dion today, though, in black leather pants, a leather jacket (ripping off Mo's style) over a black silk dress shirt with black jeans and knee-high leather boots, long black silk gloves, silver metallic eyeshadow with heavy eyeliner, silver rings and earrings with amethyst gem studs, and somehow he'd found the time to dye the ends of his hair purple. He looked like he could ride a hoverbike, but he could only ride other things. Like regular bicycles! And public transport. "Luuun?" He called, stepping into the enquirer. He also brought macarons! When did he find the time to make them? Who knows, but he was inspired by Chadrix who was inspired by him. All part of the circle of macarons.

3

Lun was helping Kianarix pour the soup into bowls when he heard the front doors to the tiny office open and a familiar voice. It was Dion, hopefully with the information he wanted. He whispered something to Kianarix before taking his apron off and shuffling out to the main room. The kitchen did not have a door, but instead a semi-transparent curtain, so perhaps at a certain angle anyone would be able to see Kianarix's fluffy green kelp-like hair bouncing as he continued to work on preparing the food. "Dion, welcome back," He said as he bowed his head and look at the man who was dressed quite peculiarly today too. The dyed hair was unsurprising, although his outfit seemed edgier than before. Still, Lun's expression did not change. He still wore his mahogany coloured suit with black satin dress shirt and shiny shoes. He looked ready to do some hardcore lawyer'ing.

"Thanks! I hope you like macarons." Dion handed a neatly decorated box of them to Lun. Nothing too fancy, mostly just a sketchy watercolour doodle of a beach with absurdly neat calligraphy of the words Macarons (for Lun) on them. He had more in a shoulderbag for everyone else. "You look very sophisticated, as always. Someone else in here?" (edited)

Lun gestured for Dion to sit down on the sofa like before and took the box of macarons. If he were an emotional being he would be touched, but he was Vulcan and thus showed no change in expression when he received the gift. He sat down on the chair across from the sofa and held the box in his lap. "I appreciate your gift," He said plainly as he opened the box to see the macrons tucked neatly inside. "I am an interceptor, it would be in poor taste if I did not dress this way," Lun stated as he picked up a macaron. "You look... Nice," Was the best compliment Lun could give without sounding too illogical. Truth be told, he thought Dion was very attractive. When he flirted with him earlier, he meant it. "Yes someone else is here, but I can tell him to leave if you would rather the privacy. He does not have anyone to gossip to so anything you say will be kept between you and me."

'Nice' was actually a pretty good compliment from a Vulcan. Also, it felt good to be told that by a Vulcan. Approval! "Oh, no, invite him! The more the merrier. My keen Klingon nose smells Redspice soup - were you guys making dinner?" Dion asked, as he sat down on the sofa. How oddly domestic. Was this Kianarix?

"He isn't good with people," Lun said as he popped the macaron into his mouth. He chewed slowly and thoughfully. It wasn't bad and Dion was an excellent chef. He closed the box and placed it on the coffee table between them. "The macaron is good, you are a skilled chef, I would be interested in the recipe," Lun said. He wasn't too into sweets but he did enjoy learning how to cook various things. After all cooking was a life skill and one had to know how to make a variety of things in the event that they had to serve other guests with different tastes. "Redspice soup, yes. With Kreyla bread. It is one of my favourite dishes," Lun said, his eyes shaking ever so slightly as he looked at Dion. "Have you got the information I wanted? I have Akuvek's case prepared if you do."

"Thanks again!" Wow, the Vulcan compliments... The Validition.... Trauma: eliminated. Therapy: unneeded. Attraction: magnified. "I'll message you the recipe. It was inspired by a Reman who was inspired by me who was inspired by a Vulcan. Isn't cultural exchange wonderful? Also, that's okay, I'm good enough with people for the both of us." Redspice soup and Kreyla bread. Hmmm. Weird. He sort of reminded him of Men if Men was kinda shifty. Dion leaned forward. "Alright. How about you ask me your questions and I'll tell you what you need to know?"

3

Dion was very forward and enthusiastic, but it didn't seem to bother Lun. After all his family was also equally emotional. "That would be appreciated, it does sound like quite the cultural exchange," As expected of a Starfleet officer. Sometimes Lun wondered how his life would have been different if he had enlisted in Starfleet instead of the Romulan military. Probably much better, so he didn't dwell on those thoughts too long. He chose to ignore the comment Dion made about still wanting to see Kianarix. This matter did not concern him and he was not going to let the half-Reman boy embarrass him when he was working. "Tell me who Jarok is and why Lalisa wants to interview him."

"He's actually Alizati Dzharok. You see, once upon a time, there was an android and some kind of, I don't know, human with a Vulcan fancy..." Then Dion explained the whole Alizati situation to Lun. Dead guy's memories connection to Lalisa and him, the whole shebang. "...And so it's actually a family visit! But you didn't hear that from me."

Suddenly everything that the human had said to him before made sense. Lun could not hide his emotions at this moment and his eyes widened. After a couple seconds he finally blinked again, trying to calm the shaking in his eyes. It just so happened he was wearing dark eye shadow so he couldn't rub his eyes either. 'He's your grandfather but you don't know it yet'. Jarok was.... His father's father. Lun had never been interested in his family history, mostly because he thought it was illogical to dwell on 'what could have been', but this was... Shocking. "Alizati Dzharok," Lun said as he grabbed a PADD that was totally on the table the whole time and pulled up the Romulan database. "I had no idea anyone from my Vulcan side was still alive," He looked up at Dion with a glint of sadness in his eyes. "I was taken from Vulcan as a child. I barely knew my biological parents, it was... Some sort of revenge from my Aunt. I grew up with Lalisa, but unlike her I chose to follow Surak. I never considered my Vulcan family because I know it would just cause me to feel homesick which would be illogical," For once Lun had dropped his strong and confident interceptor image and he was speaking honestly. He put the PADD down on the table to show Eshen Alizati's photo. The resemblance was obvious, the two had the same dyed hair colour too. Same green lips, dark eyes. Perhaps if Lun cut his hair they would even have the same forehead ridge pattern.

Oh, wow, lore. "Yes, you're both quite handsome. And I understand, in a way, for reasons I'm sure you can speculate upon if you wish to. It's that peculiar sense of... Estrangement from a family that was almost yours." Dion glanced towards the seat next to Lun. He actually kind of wanted to comfort him with a pat on the shoulder or a rub on the back, since he seemed unusually sad, but he wasn't sure of his boundaries. "You know, if you'd like, you could sit next to me instead of opposing me. That chair looks less comfortable than this sofa."

"Estrangement, that is the word," Lun looked down and pondered Dion's words. He could hear the soft clanging of pots from the kitchen where Kianarix was still cleaning up and the sounds of running water. So his Vulcan grandfather was alive-- half Vulcan half Romulan. That he didn't know. "I thought my father was fully Vulcan, but I suppose that was another detail lost through time," He knew Alizati could not speak for Sulai, but he did have a lot of questions for him now too. Dark eyes stared at the Starfleet officer when Lun heard Dion's invitation. Sit.. Next to him? Lun didn't respond with words, but with a swift motion standing up from his chair. The next thing he knew he was on the sofa sitting shoulder to shoulder with the eccentric man with the leather boots and silky clothes. "What is.. Alizati like? Does he act like me?"

This close, the height difference was more obvious, which hardly displeased him. Not that Dion was short, at six feet, but this guy was taller even than that. Dion's ears twitched at the sound of clanging. It didn't bother him, that was just natural Vulcan body language. He spoke softly, though still clearly and confidently. Dion ASMR time. "Oh, yes. You have lots of little quirks in common. The eye thing is the most obvious, but the way you carry yourself, your voice - not the pitch necessarily, his is higher, but the rhythm of it." (edited)

Why did the way Dion speak make shivers run down his spine? Why did his cheeks suddenly feel warm? Lun blinked a few times and tried to stay still. Logic, yes, he had to stay logical at all times. He was not going to let himself get flustered by one of his clients. Well, someone he was doing business with. Technically Dion was not his client. "I look forward to meeting him," Lun managed to speak in his perfect Vulcan monotone, he sounded just like Alizati except for the pitch. "N-Next question, Lalisa's schedule," He said as he was attempting to regain his composure and keep out all illogical thoughts. The sounds of running water stopped and there was a bit of soft rustling. Kianarix was curious about the guest at the office so he poked his little grey head out from the kitchen to see Lun and Eshen sitting together on the sofa. Lun had friends? This was great, Kianarix thought as he gripped onto the curtain as if hiding behind it made him invisible or something. Kianarix was tall and Reman, there was no way a thin curtain could hide him.

Did he just stutter? That was weirdly cute. "Ah, I'm afraid I couldn't get that. You see, she isn't going to have much of a schedule. She's chasing down a prince, you could say." Sort of a half-lie. She had actually been running around looking for Renakir until recently. "You did say that was optional last time, but if it's not enough, I can certainly think of a few other things I could offer you instead, if you're still interested." He looked over to Kianarix hiding behind the curtain. Wait, was that an even taller person? "And your friend, too."

"A prince?" Lun was unaware they had royalty on Mol'Rihan. Surely if there was some sort of person of noble birth on the planet he would have known about it, right? He did not pursue the detail any further as it was unimportant to the overall picture. "I care most about the information on Jarok. Thank you. I will take the Akuvek case as agreed," Lun wanted to ask about what other things Eshen could offer but he was still shook from the Jarok ordeal that he didn't think of it.

As soon as he heard the tall Klingon-Vulcan boy acknowledge him, Kianarix came shuffling out of the kitchen. His once neatly combed green hair was now messy and frizzy. As for his attire he wore some Gucci slides with shorts and a loose t-shirt. He looked like a typical NEET, here for comfort, not style. "Yes, did you call for me?" Kianarix said, his sensitive Reman ears heard the whole conversation.

Dion Surak'd away the incredibly strong urge to brush this man's hair. "I did indeed! Come, sit." Dion patted the spot next to him, hopeful that he might end up between two very tall men. "Your friend here's just agreed to take on a case for me. Would you like a macaron?"

"Kianarix, I told you to stay in the kitchen and wait," Lun glared at the tall grey skinned man who was making his way over to the sofa. It seems like his serious Vulcan stare of judgment was doing nothing and the lanky Reman plopped down beside Eshen. “Do not offer him sweets he--"

"Yes I would love one!" Kianarix grabbed the box that was on the coffee table and took out a macaron. He opened his mouth, sharp teeth fully visible and chomped on the macaron. He ate a lot less gracefully than Lun and with a lot more emotion. "Mmm!! This is really good, did you made it?" He asked, his bright blue eyes looked like they were sparkling under the lights from the room.

2

He did not like this person's... Lack of hygiene, but he did like his enthusiasm. And his shiny teeth and blue eyes that shone with a life that a follower of Surak's didn't. Speaking of, he looked over at Lun. "Well, the cat's out of the bag. Care to introduce me?" Dion asked, as though he wasn't already pretty sure who this guy was.

"He's not a cat," Lun replied, not understanding the idiom at all. He watched as Kianarix chomped on the macaron and sighed. As expected, Kianarix was going to embarrass him and he didn't know how to explain this to Dion. In an attempt to keep his emotions from controlling him, he closed his eyes and rested his hands on his knees.

Before his boyfriend could say anything, Kianarix spoke up first. "I'm Kianarix of the house of Rylov," He introduced himself, Reman style. He was pretty sure this stranger wasn't Romulan so he would save him the long ass name. "Umm.. I’m Half Romulan, half Reman," He said almost as if he was apologising. "I'm Lun's... Umm.." Kianarix hesitated and waved his hands around, trying to think of a word. He looked at Lun for some assistance but it seemed like he was on his own for this one. When it looked like his boyfriend was not going to back him up he looked at the nice stranger. "Boy... Friend?"

Yup, there it was. "Ah, nice to meet you!" Dion said, wondering what was with Lun's attitude if he was dating this guy, and also how he was always running into Rylovs. Maybe he should try and squeeze in a Valleka visit before he went. Best not to abandon his rapport with her for no reason when she was still seemingly so tangled up with everyone he ever met even now. "I have a boyfriend back home, too, and a girlfriend. I'm leaving soon to go see the former." Dion looked at Lun again. "Better make the best use of me while you have me, you know."

”I am aware that many other cultures practice polyamory. I believe such a practice is logical as it ensures that one always has more than one other partner that can verify their trust bond," Lun did not look at Kianarix and kept his eyes focused on Eshen. "You are leaving soon? That is logical seeing as you have already completed your task here," Lun said with not a single shred of emotion.

"Lun and I were going to have dinner and he said we could touch fingers afterwards," Kianarix said, not realising what he was saying was very scandalous for Vulcans. He didn't understand why Vulcans and Romulans denied themselves even the smallest bit of physical contact, but he was always happy when Lun agreed to it. "Lun wants to you join, I can feel it," Kianarix said with a knowing smile. He was half Reman and Remans could be telepathic, who knew if this was really telepathy or if he was just good at reading Lun.

This was... A bizarre conversation. Lun was talking to him like Kianarix wasn't even, like, there? Maybe they had an argument recently. How were they going to proceed any further than this if he was just going to ghost him the whole time? Considering Lun had either not picked up any of his intentions or was ignoring them, and he had no idea what was going on with Kianarix and had no interest in being the third wheel between a lovers' dispute, he was getting close to just giving up and clearing off, were it not for Kianarix's Lun-sense or whatever this was. Wait, did he say - "Touching fingers is off limits, I'm afraid," Dion said, blushing slightly, "But anywhere else is fine, for the both of you." Weird, he said something similar to Allan a while back. Actually he said it to a lot of people. It was kind of a specific boundary, he supposed. "And I do enjoy the ol' soup and Kreyla. A classic combination."

"You are welcome to stay, in fact I was looking forward to enjoying your company longer before you left," Lun admitted, knowing very well it was impossible to cover up his true intentions when Kianarix was right there. He wasn't going to bicker with him in front of their guest, he had keep up his image and he knew if they were fighting Dion would surely leave.

"No fingers? Okay,“ Kianarix said, respecting that Vulcans did not touch like that to just anyone. He scooted over so he was sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder with the nice Klingon-Vulcan boy and gave him a curious look. "I made extra soup and Kreyla too" Kianarix said as he gave Dion an affirmative nod. "And what can I call you?" He asked as he pushed a long strange of long green hair from his face. He bathed that morning but for some reason his hair was still a tangled mess.

"Dion. I'm delighted to hear that, Lun! And delighted to stay. And..." He couldn't do it. He had to ask. He had no idea if it was a very attractive thing to say, but he couldn't stand this any longer. "Kianarix, may I brush your hair afterwards?" [D] And presuming Kianarix said yes, they spent the night eating soup, brushing hair, and doing everything except touch fingers.

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After what could only be described as a restful night, Alizati took Men with him to the Ekhaem district to see Lalisa. This was the purpose for their visit after all. He just hoped this interview would be brief. He walked slowly up to the building that looked very incongruent with the rest of the wealthy neighbourhood. "If Lalisa is rude, we will leave," Alizati turned to Men to tell him. He would not tolerate any disrespect to him nor Men during this visit and made that very clear to Lalisa when they arranged the interview. Alizati pressed the buzzer and waited for Lalisa to answer.

Right on time, Lalisa opened the door. Today she was dressed in a nice purple suit, with high waisted trousers. "Alizati and Men, I appreciate you taking time to see me. Please step in," Lalisa spoke softly and slowly, doing her best to keep up her logical Vulcan image. She stepped aside so the two men could enter the tiny office space. Once inside she gestured for both of them to take a seat on the sofa in the corner. "Do you two want anything to drink? Lun made Vulcan redspice tea," Lalisa told them. Apparently off screen her and Lun had a talk and things were supposedly fine. Lun was in the office that day as well, working at one of the desks in silence with Kianarix sitting right beside him. It seemed Lun was helping to teach Kianarix how to read, how sweet.

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Men nodded and followed Alizati right in. He was in black trousers and a plain white dress shirt, very boring, but his cufflinks were shaped like cactuses. "I would accept tea," Men said, sitting on the sofa with his hands folded in his lap. A very polite lad. He looked around at the office, thinking of ways he would spruce the place up if he could. If the restaurant didn't work out, he'd be a decent interior designer.

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"Bio lubricant. If you can replicate that," Alizati responded immediately after Men. His joints were feeling incredibly stiff and it was almost too painful to walk. He hid the discomfort well, but now that he was in a place he could ask he wasn't going to waste the opportunity. He took a seat beside Men, not touching him, but their knees did brush together for a split second. It was important to be mindful around his grandchildren as they did not know his and Men's relationship.

"Bio lubricant? Wait a moment," Lalisa said as she walked over to where Lun and Kianarix were. She spoke softly to them and then made her way to the chair across from Alizati and Men. "Tea and bio lubricant will be here in a moment," She picked up the PADD from the small coffee table and looked at the two of them. Curious that Alizati would bring someone else with him. She had her suspicions but she was going to hold her tongue, at least for now. "This interview will be about the shuttle accident. Do either of you have any objections or questions before we start?"Lalisa looked between Alizati and Men. "Oh and my name is Lalisa T'Kota. I'm Jarok's granddaughter. I assume you know who Jarok is right?" She looked at Men. She wasn't going to be interviewing him, but she did want him to be on the same page. Perhaps he knew about Jarok, or Alizati? There must have been a logical reason for him to be there.

Men nodded again. "I am aware and have no objections or questions. My name is Men." Of course, he had a first name, but it was unpronounceable even by Romulans. Sometimes keeping it hidden almost felt like he had a True Name lime they did sometimes, but it was more of a convenience thing, really.

"Alright, Men," She said, deciding not to press him about his full name. Lalisa knew how Vulcans were and even if she considered herself part Vulcan it was obvious she was easily out-Vulcan'ed by everyone the room aside from Kianarix.

Speaking of Kianarix, the half Reman boy walked slowly to where the trio were sitting, carrying a tray of tea with a small plate of biscuits. "Here is your tea and bio lubricant, and we had some biscuits. Please enjoy," Unless everyone else in the room, Kianarix wore his heart on his sleeve and wasn't afraid of showing some warm hospitality to their guests. He didn't really know much about what was going on, but he was clearly excited about helping. After he set the tray on the table he bowed his head politely and shuffled back to Lun's desk to resume his studies.

"He's useful sometimes," Lalisa said with a shrug. Alizati shot her a very obvious look of Vulcan judgment. It was clear he was not going to tolerate any rudeness, towards anyone. Lalisa reached for her tea cup hesitantly when she realised what she had just said. "I mean, that's Kianarix. Your future grandson in law. He and Lun are engaged," Lalisa explained. "And you and Men," She looked between Alizati and his 'friend' once more. "Are you two involved? I promise this is not part of the interview, you can tell me."

Men thanked Kianarix, who seemed like a polite lad himself, then looked at Lalisa. Asking personal questions? Hmmmph. He was trying to be polite because this was Alizati's granddaughter, but he still didn't like journalists. He put on his most Stoic Surak face and said, "No, and if we were it would be irrelevant." Then he sipped his spice tea. Decent. Could have been steeped for longer.

"I see," Lalisa sipped her tea quietly as she tried not to show her suspicion on her face. Truth be told, she definitely thought there was something going on , but so far there was nothing to back up her theory and Men was right; such details were irrelevant. "Well then, I will ask the question you came here to answer. The shuttle incident, do you know why Jarok did it?" Despite her initial rude attitude, Lalisa was surprisingly respectful of the fact that Alizati considered himself different from his predecessor.

Alizati didn't say anything, agreeing it was best to keep their relationship secret from the reporter. He slowly reached for his bio lubricant and sipped it slowly. It tasted a lot less flavourful than the redspice tea that he had grown accustomed to, but he had to drink it if he wanted to relieve his discomfort. "It was because of your mother, Suruka. She killed his son Sulai in cold blood," As soon as Alizati said that, Lun looked up from his desk and grabbed Kianarix by the arm. Alizati did not notice this action and continued to speak. "In his emotional state, he told Suruka to turn the shuttle around and he shut down life support. She decided to call his bluff and she was correct. However Jarok was unable to turn on life support before it was too late. Or so I presume. Suruka was a murderer and she is the one who kidnapped Lun as a way to get revenge on Sulai who stood in her way. Jarok has and still regrets his actions. I am here to speak to you today to offer the transparency that Jarok denied his children. By hiding their Romulan heritage, he caused them great suffering. I never want you or Lun to feel like you do not have a home on Vulcan."

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"Stood in her way? What were her ambitions?" Men asked, privately musing on how Jarok's situation reminded him of his own with V'Lilyn, except his and V'Lilyn's relationship seemed much more healthy. That's not to say he did a completely perfect job parenting - it was difficult to, in the tense environment he raised V'Lilyn in - but they were on more than friendly speaking terms.

"Sulai, Jarok's youngest son was-" Lalisa began to speak before she was interrupted by Lun who seemed to have suddenly appeared behind her.

"My father was in the Vulcan V'shar. He was investigating Suruka. She kidnapped Sulai's only son and brought him to Romulus, he would never see his family or Vulcan ever again," Lun explained, his eyes shaking ever so slightly as he spoke. There was strong wave of sadness and loneliness that seemed to wash over the three Kota's. None of them were directly involved in the incident, but the way Lun spoke made it feel like they were.

"I'm.." Alizati stared at Lun and then looked at Men. He wondered if his beloved could see the similarities between the two of them. Lun and alizati shared the same eyes, hair colour, even their cadence in their voices was the same. "I'm sorry," He turned to look at his two grandchildren who were watching him closely. Why was he apologising? Apologies were illogical, they showed remorse which was illogical but for some reason he felt compelled to do so. "I am not Jarok, but as the keeper of his consciousness I will take responsibility for his actions."

"No you will not," Men said bluntly. "You are here to offer an explanation, as far as I have discerned, but you, Alizati, were not even created when Jarok did these things. I am sorry that happened to you all, but Alizati is not responsible for murder." Tea! Speaking of, he sipped his drink.

"Then what was the reason of him coming here if he is not to answer for the actions of Jarok?" Lun snapped back at Men, his dark eyes watching as the man sipped his tea. Lalisa may have respected Alizati's independence from Dzharok, but it seemed Lun was not so understanding. He was more Vulcan than Lalisa, but it seemed he was in the group of Vulcans who did not have respect for artificial life, especially when said life was supposedly an extension of another person's.

"An explanation. As I said." Men stared blankly and yet sternly at Lun, like a disappointed Vulcan dad, and hit him with the single eyebrow raise. "Which he had no obligation to give and yet chose to do so regardless. But if you are to treat him like he is not his own person, perhaps we shall leave without further generosity."

"No, don't leave," Lalisa said quickly as she scooted her chair forward and looked at Men. "That's all I want. An explanation," She remembered Alizati told her that if she was rude, he would leave. By the way Men spoke it sounded like he was also in agreement with Alizati. "I have the story now, but I just have one more question. Do you regret it?"

As soon as Men shot him that Vulcan father look of disappointment, Lun looked away and took a step back. Men wasn't his father, but why was his stare so cold and intimidating? He gently rubbed his eyes in an attempt to hide any expression he could have been making. When he had regained his composure he looked back at Men, now ready to stare him down. Lun did not speak, but it was clear through his gaze that he he disliked Men speaking in defense of the android.

Alizati ignored Lun, he was here to speak to Lalisa. He did not know either of them very well, but Lun did not respect his autonomy or independence and he would not tolerate that. He may have been an android with another man's memories, but just as Men said, he was wholly himself. "I am not Dzharok, but I will give you my thoughts. It was a very trauamatic event, so traumatic I locked it away for 27 years. I hope this interview provides some closure for both of you and I offer my support in any way I can, but only as Alizati."

Men made no effort to stare Lun down in return. Instead, he simply looked away from him like he was no longer relevant to the conversation, which, as far as Men was concerned, he wasn't. Much like Alizati, he simply ignored Lun in favour of Lalisa, as though he weren't there at all. "I am sure you can infer some residual regret from Jarok from that, if it brings you satisfaction to do so."

"I undesrtand, thank you, Alizati," Lalisa said as she realised she had not been taking notes this whole time. Thankfully she was recording the whole conversation, but it appears she had let herself become distracted. "And I'd like to make you an offer. I would like you to join our house. If it suits you, I have no problem with you dropping Jarok's name," Lalisa looked at Alizati in an almost pleading expression. "I lost my family after the Sueprnova and for the longest time I thought I was the lone survivor. I am not sure what your citizenship status is on Vulcan or in the Federation, but I could-- Lun could handle the paperwork here," Lalisa said, looking at her cousin who looked slightly displeased when she said it. "Would you, Alizati? With Romulan citizneship you could visit as you please and bring you friend as well," Lalisa gestured to Men, giving him a respectful nod. She still was skeptical the two were just friends, however she hoped that by being respectful towards him could win Alizati's approval.

Alizati seemed to have been caught off guard by this. He blinked a few times, looking at Lalisa, Lun, and then finally at Men. Did he really want to join Dzharok's house? They were a messy duo, however Alizati couldn't deny he felt some sort of family obligation to them.

"I am not Romulan and thus cannot offer an adequate opinion on what you should do, Alizati," Men said, "But I do know it was helpful for my son to connect to both sides of his heritage." That's what the memories were, in a way, weren't they? A heritage.

Alizati remained silent and looked towards his cup of bio lubricant that he had already finished half of. His mind was hard at work weighing the pros and cons. There was a lot to think about. He didn't want be treated as Dzharok, however Lalisa did say he could drop his name. He picked up his cup and sipped slowly. Being an android, he did not possess telepathy, however he felt as if he could sense Lalisa's thoughts through the silence. Her words resonated with him, 'I lost my family'. Alizati had his Vulcan father, Sorn, and his baby sister T'Lhai... but the rest of his Vulcan "family" was unpleasant to say the least. He was no more than a mchine to them, perhaps having a Romulan family as well wouldn't be a bad thing. "If I am afforded the same rights and independence as an organic life form, I will accept," Alizati replied as he placed his cup down on the table.

"Of course, you would be an individual. How does Alizati ir-Okinawa Tr'Kota sound? Or would it be ir-T'Rukhemai?" Lalisa tilted her head, unsure of Alizati's actual birthplace. She was pretty sure it was the Daystrom Institute, but he also had spoken about the Vulcanis Lunar Colony as if it were his homeworld.

"I will settle the paperwork," Lun replied dryly, hiding all emotions from his voice and face. "Would you like some more tea, Men?" If Alizati was going to be an official member of their house it would pay to be on good terms with his friend. Besides, Lun considered hismelf Vulcan and thus disliking anyone who showed him no disrespect would be illogical.

Men, who had finished most of his tea, drank the rest and then nodded. "Yes, thank you." He was very tempted to mention that Alizati might have to double barrel Tr'Kota with Men, but refrained. Then he looked curiously at Lun. "Do you know of V'Lilyn?" He wondered if his son had made a name for himself. He would be very proud of him if so.

As soon as Men had set down his tea cup, Lun reached to take it. That's when his ears picked up a familiar name. V'Lilyn? He looked at the Vulcan man curiously, very confused why he would know the name of a Romulan interceptor. "I am acquainted with him," He answered honestly. They were both half Vulcan and interceptors, interesting how Men knew him. "How do you know his name?" He inquired as he carefully picked up the cup and pushed the plate of biscuits closer to Men. Kianarix worked hard on the biscuits so of course Lun wanted their guests to try them.

Ah, so Lun knew of him? That must mean his career is going pretty well! Nice to know, since V'Lilyn didn't like to talk about his job much. Not that he hated it or anything, he just preferred a strong work-life division. "He is my son," Men answered plainly. "Non-biologically." Then he tried the biscuit. "I would have left them in the oven longer, but the a balance of gespar extract is good."

".. I see, we work in two differnet jurisdictions so there is rarely overlap," Was Lun's response to that. So this Vulcan had an adopted half Romulan son? Very interesting. Perhaps Lun should get in contact with V'Lilyn, he thought. "I appreciate your review. They were actually made by Kianarix, my.. T'hy'la," Lun was grateful that Vulcan had such an easy word to describe what sort of relationship he had with Kianarix. "He is learning how to read, I wrote the recipe down for him and he made them," Lun explained.

Initially Alizati had a very underwhelming impression of Lun. The man clearly did not respect his sentience and individuality, however it was nice to see he was giving someone respect. Still, Alizati had his doubts that Lun was really the refined and logical Vulcan he pretended to me. "I hope you treat him with more respect than you have shown me during this interview."

"Yes. T'hy'la is not a word to be taken lightly. Alizati is mine, and I treat him with the utmost dignity." T'hy'las could be platonic, so that was fine to admit, probably. "The tea is also nice, if a little weak." Nobody asked for your food criticism, Menchelin.

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"You and Alizati, I see. I will get you more tea," Lun said as he straightened his posture and walked to fetch Men more tea. He did not ask Alizati if he wanted more bio lubricant, something the android immediately noticed.

"Now that the interview is taken care of, you two are welcome to stay and relax. I will need Alizati's signature on some documents as well," She said as she slid a PADD across the table to Alizati.

As if he already predicted the future, Kianarix appeared with a cup of bio lubricant for Alizati and tea for Men. "Here are your drinks," He said in a soft and polite tone. "And umm... could I read you a story? I want to practice reading aloud, it's my first time," He said with a weak smile as he pushed some long strands of hair from his face.

2

He noticed that Kianarix did remember to bring him more bio lubricant and appreciated the gesture. He picked up his cup and gave the tall half Reman boy a nod. [D] And so the rest of their stay was peaceful. Kianarix did s wonderful asmr-like reading of the Romulan translation of Le Petit Prince. He stumbled over some words but was able to get through it. Alizati didn't even mind the slowness, in fact he preferred listening to stories read slowly. It was calming and Kianarix had a gentle voice. He was definitely a good grandson in law, he thought. Although he was a bit worried Kianarix was involved with Lun, he did not think Lun was treating him right and would certainly be checking in with the two of them often.

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