Calling Home

Posted on 15 Feb 2024 @ 3:16pm by Commander Zekru Krelossi

Zekru sits at the computer terminal in his office, now that there's actually a hull patch holding the air in. The room is in rough shape, with all of his personal belongings either fused to the remains of his furniture or gone to where only the Great Bird can find them. Still, he fusses with his communicator, making sure it is sitting just so as the call connects.

When it does, an elder Saurian female peers across the lightyears at him. Her scales are a rich purple color, but the spots dotting her scalp resemble those of the first officer... not that those things matter as she breaks into as brilliant a smile as any Saurian can. "Zekru! Hello!" she clicks at him in the native Saurian tongue as her eyes soften into a fond expression. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you today. I thought you were still out on the other side of Romulan space!"

For his part, the younger Saurian looks chastened for a moment. "Apologies, Mother. We have been busy and I have not had time to call. We are at Starbase 234, near the Klingon border."

"Klingons, eh? You know what your father says about the Klingons - keep their bellies and cups full, and they're as gentle as a sleepy rillax." There is a keen intelligence about her, and her eyes narrow thoughtfully at her son. "We've not heard from you since before that Borg business at Earth. You haven't been mixed up in that, have you? Such a dreadful thing. So many dying so far away from home, where they belong."

"No, Mother." Zekru glances about the remains of his office with a slight frown. At least the chair is newly replicated. "We were crossing Klingon territory on the way here when the battle happened. They crossed Federation space so fast that we couldn't respond in time. We were quite fortunate, indeed."

"You don't believe that." Sitai's eyes narrow a bit further. "You've never been able to lie to me, hatchling." She folds her arms over her chest as she studies her son with her luminous eyes, although the brief edge of suspicion they held melts away to fondness. "What rain has dimmed your sunshine?"

Zekru swallows, looking off to the left as if he could see out where his viewport used to be. He sits silently for a few moments as he tries to choose his words, then turns his attention back to his mother. "Do you remember why I joined Starfleet?"

"You? You saw one of their giant starships at one of their starbases and never looked back." She warbles in fond amusement as she loses herself in the memory. "Valdemar was its name, I think. A massive chunk of duranium glittering in the starlight, and we could not tear you away from the viewports even to eat. Why?"

Zekru smiles slightly as he watches his mother remember the moment more than thirty years in the past. "No, not that, although you are not wrong. V'Lanav encouraged me to apply to the Vulcan Science Academy and dedicate myself to the study of space as an astrophysicist, and I was tempted... but Starfleet allowed me to push myself beyond the frontiers of knowledge and see what was out there that we did not yet understand." His expression fades away into neutrality, and he studies his hands for a moment. "But I never expected to use what I have learned out here in the ways I have, and I fear that I have lost an important piece of myself in the process."

Sitai is quiet as she watches her son, concern etching itself onto her features. They sit in heavy silence for a few moments, and then she delicately asks, "Zekru... beloved. You knew that putting on that red uniform would change you. You said so yourself when you did it. What could you have possibly done that would fill you with such thoughts?"

"I designed a... terrible weapon, and we used it to destroy a Borg ship. One you have not heard about, yet." The commander fidgets with his fingers, unable to meet his mother's gaze. "V'Lanav taught me that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and I was prepared to do whatever was necessary to make sure that the Borg could not escape from us. The problem is that there is not any solace in the logic of it all."

"You're not Vulcan." It's a quiet, simple statement. "You never have been, for as much as you've tried to be."

"No, Mother. I am not a Vulcan." Zekru looks up to meet her gaze. "This is not what we were meant to do. We are to encounter new things and study them, not use the knowledge we've gained to kill them. These Borg, though? They are a dark reflection of us, consuming knowledge by consuming technology and people. We are the same, but our methods are radically different, and so... and so we are forced to fight them or be consumed ourselves. But in holding off our destruction, we betray our greatest value: to do no harm."

"Perhaps you are looking at this the wrong way." The elder Saurian is uncomfortable in this conversation and has no idea how to assuage her son's despair. "It seems to me that the Borg are a disease, weakening the body of the galaxy, and you are working to ... cure the infection, or at least delay the death of the patient."

A frown works its way across Zekru's face. "I'm not sure it's so simple, Mother."

"Probably not, but nothing ever is." Sitai watches her son quietly. "I am sure that whatever it is that you've done, you did it with the best intentions. Your heart has always been in the right place, and you are our most gentle hatchling... even if you hide it behind those pips on your collar. A nose stuck in a book and eyes on the stars. We are proud of you, even if your father still wishes that you'd come home and help bring in the harvest."

"How is father?" Zekru asks, thankful for a change of subject.

"Excited. The Ferengi have expressed an interest in signing a distribution contract with us, and I think he enjoys the negotiation process with them because they are always trying to swing the terms in their favor. He was telling me about it last night, but honestly, I've no interest in all that. I've been experimenting with grapes from Earth, but the genetic resequencing to make them compatible with our fruit stock for hybridization has been challenging."

Zekru warbles in amusement. "Perhaps someday I will encounter a Romulan wearing a hat advertising the family vineyard, then."

"If the Ferengi have their way." Sitai reaches out to touch her screen. "Do come home when you can. Your scales are dull, and you seem tired. A little bit of rest may do you some good. Are you eating enough?"

"Yes, Mother." Zekru touches his screen as well. "Please give Father my regards. I'll call again soon."

"We love you. Be safe." Sitai smiles once more before closing her end of the connection, leaving the seal of the Federation on the screen.

"I will try." Zekru pushes himself out of his chair and tugs at his uniform. "Computer, what's next on my schedule?"