Star Trek: Starbase 777 - lor′vela

Tucked away in one of the housing developments of the underground city of Lor’vela was the residence of the Evhalen family; a metallic, oval-shaped building of joint Aenar and Andorian architecture. It was largely the same as the others nearby, all connected to other areas of the settlement by tunnels and sections of hollowed out caves. What set this residence apart from the others was the fact that it went largely untouched throughout the year due to its owner being far away on whichever posting Starfleet sent him to. The property could go months at a time without anyone coming or going from it – until now. The Evhalen residence should have been ready for the return of its owner, just as he had left it… Except from that the lights were on, the door was unlocked, and there were faint sounds of movement coming from within.

Shore leave was looking well for the two travellers as they had made their way from Starbase 777 over to Andoria, Ezran and his son Shyrhr were now heading down the street towards his old homestead, the young child holding his father's hand as he skipped alongside his dad as the two made their way towards the homestead. The smile on the man's face slowly came to the realisation that his house was now... Occupied? The name on the door would indicate that they still owned the property... Moving up to the door, he reached out and found it unlocked... Nervously, he stepped forward, turning back to Shyrhr. "Hey buddy, wait out here for a minute... I'm going to go warm the house up a bit. Why don't you check the garden out and see how you like the place?" Leaving Shyrhr for a moment, the man stepped into the house, slowly moving his way up the corridor, avoiding the one or two creaky floorboards until he made his way up behind the figure standing in the end of the nearby room, grasping hold of them from behind and pinning them up against the wall in a swift maneuver.

A’aehrel t’Evhalen – that was, the wife of the Starfleet officer who was in the process of pinning her against the wall – had arrived only half an hour ahead of Ezran and Shyrhr. She had planned it out meticulously, finding the best travel routes and formulating back-up plans in case transport went off-schedule. It wasn’t often that she was able to find the time to take shore leave – Starfleet Intelligence was always busy – and so she was determined to make things perfect. Huddled in the kitchen, she had been in the process of neatly putting together a vase of flowers from numerous different planets (all colour-coded to complement one another, of course), when she heard the doors to the house slide open. Not finished with her project, she had began to work faster with deft movements, hastily sticking flowers into the vase and trying to rearrange them… And at the sound of the floorboard creaking she stood in front of the countertop in an effort to hide the vase from view. x_divider

22:51

Ezran’shral had always been affectionate. Upon the placing of a large, firm hand on her shoulder, she had expected herself to be drawn into a hug. What she hadn’t expected was to be spun and pushed against the wall, both hands around her wrists, pinning her there. Ah - the downside of having a partner who one, relied on telepathy for sight so could miss small details when working quickly, and two, was a former presidential guard. Most people would have been stuck there helpless, but A’aehrel’s lithe agility had always worked to complement Ezran’shral’s burly form. It was if they had been drawn into some sort of adrenaline-fueled dance as she moved; sinking her weight into a sitting stance so she could duck under one of the Aenar’s arms, elbow over his forearm. In a short movement she forced one elbow inwards to break his grasp, putting her body weight into the effort – and a moment later, the same had been done to the other arm. In seconds their positions had been switched: she may still have had her back against the wall but this time it was Ezran who was subject to the grasp, A’aehrel’s fist gripping the front of his collar despite the height difference. “That is not the correct way to say hello to your wife,” she hissed – although beneath the stoicism that had been learned from an upbringing on Vulcan, there was a slight hint of amusement that betrayed her Romulan half.

The man defensive tensed up as the panic began to clear slightly, his vision focusing on the outline and familiar aura being given off by the smaller woman currently grasping the front of his shirt. "I- What- A'aehrel? What the hell are you doing here? What are you doing in our house of all places?" The man stepped back slightly, heart racing a little, but pleased that their house was not currently being invaded by an intruder... At least, not one that was unwanted. "Have you been spying on us? Tracking down our travel plans to come here? Like, how did you know we were going to be here?" He said, with a gentle chuckle, straightening up the front of his shirt slightly. "Not that I'm not glad to see you that is. It's just unexpected."

”’What the Hell am I doing here’?” A’aehrel quoted in response, letting go of the tight grasp she had on the man’s collar as he took a step back. Looking up at him she fixed the Aenar with an unimpressed look, one eyebrow raised. * “As you have just stated, this *is our house. Given that I am listed as one of two owners of the property and that I have the electronic key to get in, I believe that I have the right to be here as much as you do.” The response was flat, blunt, and just typical of her. Even if she had gone out of her way to be here for Ezran’s sake as a surprise, she was still going to respond with hard logic in reiteration first. “And no – I have not been spying on you, nor tracking your travel plans. I knew that you were going to be here because you told me that you were going to be here. On our last call you advised me that you were taking shore leave and were eager to show Shyrhr your home planet. You told me when and where you would be travelling. I simply remembered.”

"-Oh. Right yeah so I did." He said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he did so, as he leaned back against the counter. "Sorry, I was just a bit shocked to see somebody else in here, I thought you were a burglar. I'm relieved you're not, just a little shocked that you're here, that's all." He glanced down the corridor towards the front door again. "Right, that's enough time outside Shyrhr, you'll catch a cold if you stay out there too long!" A lie, of course. His aenar biology would mean he would be perfectly happy and content in the sub-zero temperature of the outside, but now he was less concerned about the prospect of a burglar, he was happy to let him inside. "There's somebody in here who's excited to see you."

”If I was a burglar then all of your most valuable possessions would be long gone by now.” It was another frankly factual statement given as she turned back to the vase that was propped up in the middle of the sink, going back to arranging the flowers that thankfully Ezran’shral hadn’t noticed – this time, him being Aenar was a benefit. It was easy to guess that her statement was likely truthful, too. She had stories upon stories that she could tell from working in Intelligence, and theft – stealing the likes of important documents or valuable evidence, of course – was included in that list. “Additionally, Shyrhr is not ‘outside’, given that we are in a geothermally-heated cave system, and the cold is not something that you acquire from being cold in temperature. Please do not teach our son incorrect information.” At the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps she picked up the vase and turned back. It was promptly deposited into Ezran’s arms with a brief comment of “I acquired these for you.” Before she crouched down, letting Shyrhr run directly into her arms.

He smiled as she deposited the flowers into his arms, taking a quick smell, since the visual appeal of the flowers was null and void. "They smell wonderful, A'aehrel. Thank you, and apologies again for my earlier mistake." He smiled and glance towards Shyrhr and A'aehrel who were wrapped in a hug beneath him. "Look who it is buddy, isn't this a surprise? Mum's come to join us on our holiday. We can have a little family get together for a week or two." He said with a grin as he sat the flowers down before leaning back against the countertop again. "I'm surprised you managed to get time away, I'm sure we can squeeze you into our incredibly packed father and son intinerary." He said with a chuckle as he knelt down alongside the two. "What do you think? Can mum come with us on our holiday?" He said as a happy shout of 'Yeaaah!' followed by Shyrhr promptly giving his mother a very large hug. "Looks like you're invited too then."

Upon Shyrhr wrapping his arms around her neck (and subsequently almost strangling her with his grasp until she adjusted his arms,) A’aehrel hoisted him up so she was carrying him balanced on her hip. Looking down at the hybrid, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at how she had underestimated just how much he weighed. Generally speaking it wasn’t much more than a few months that she went without seeing him, but it seemed that he always outdid her expectations with how much that he had grown. “What do the two of you have planned on said itinerary?” She enquired, seeming to ask it more to Shyrhr than Ezran considering how that was who she was looking at… But when she thought about it, it was unlikely that he would know what the word ‘itinerary’ meant. With her having been brought up on Vulcan it meant that she had a strange expectation of what children should know, including her own, and it had taken time for her to learn otherwise. “I hope you are free on stardate 90542.1. I have arranged for us to see a Tsunkatse match in Laikan – the participants have travelled all the way from the Delta Quadrant. I thought it would fit your… Style.”

"Well, there was a number of things I wanted to do. I was considering taking him to the Aenar-Andorian History Museum, there's quite a few both intellectual displays and fun facinating things I think he'd enjoy." He said with a smile. "There's also this really nice sort of hot springs, heated area that we can go too, it's a nice relaxing area. Although it's not really designed for somebody of your particular... Thermal range. It might be a little cold by your standards." He gave her a gentle chuckle, and pulled a chair over to save himself leaning up against the worktop. "But I think they do thermal wetsuits, for those who might need a little extra heat boost. As for the Tsunkatse match, that sounds wonderful, I did have something in mind that I was considering, but I've not gotten seats for it yet, I think your suggestion is probably better actually."

A museum was a logical choice; not only was it informative in general, but it was also wise to introduce Shyrhr to the somewhat complicated shared history of the Aenar and Andorians. So far, their son had been exclusively brought up aboard Starfleet ships and starbases, all of which offered a large overview of the culture and history of species – but it never went into detail. A’aehrel – a hybrid herself – was well aware of the importance of understanding your origins and learning all aspects of what made you… You. Shyrhr may have been young, but it was never too early to start learning. Next on their list would be taking him to Vulcan. “The idea of going to a museum is wise,” she stated, looking to Shryhr who nodded sagely in return. “And I shall accompany you to this ‘hot springs,’ although your concerns are correct. I may freeze.” That was the downside of her being from an arid desert, and Ezran being from a frozen moon.

The man smiled and nodded to her, glancing over at Shyrhr. "He's been really excited about this for weeks now, so I'm sure it'll be a good time for all of us. If you have any ideas I'm sure we can easily fit it into our schedule. We've got plenty of time off." He smiled and moved over to both her and Shyrhr, wrapping his arms around them to pull them both into a hug as he leaned down and gave A'aehrel a kiss. "I've missed you, we both have. It's great to have you back with us again, A'aehrel. I'm glad we get to enjoy our shore leave with you too." He said, with a soft smile on his face, as he held his family in his arms, the three all huddled together in the kitchen of their family home. Reunited yet again.