Dinner For Three

Posted on Fri Apr 19th, 2019 @ 1:38pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Mona Gonadie

Mission: Detours
Location: Crew Quarters, Deck 8
Timeline: 2396

In the spacious and well-appointed VIP quarters of the U.S.S. Hera that she now called home, Jaeih Dox stood in front of the bathroom mirror, adjusting the dark grey tunic of her uniform. When she was transferred from custody from Starfleet Intelligence to the massive nebula class vessel, the elder Dox had very few personal effects and even fewer clothes that weren't uniforms.

As such, she sighed slightly, as dinner tonight would be in uniform for the former smuggler. The day had been long and uncomfortable as she did not yet have any work to occupy her time. So she spent much of the time thinking about everything she had told her daughter, Lieutenant Mnhei'sahe Dox earlier that morning. The painful secrets and regrets she chose to reveal, knowing it too was the only way she had left to save that damaged relationship.

Taking a calming breath, Jaeih walked over to the door as it hissed open. Stepping out, she addressed the two enormous female security guards assigned to her for the day. "Ladies... It is time for my dinner appointment. If you will, please escort me to my destination. Thank you."

While Jaeih's guards were escorting her to her destination, Mona was busy cooking dinner - one of her specialty vegetarian egg dishes with sweet peppers, cheese, tofu, and tomatoes wrapped up in a thin tortilla with a side of Miradonian egg drop soup. Her bond-mate was going to be late because of work so she placed the wraps inside the warmer and settled the soup pot onto the heater in the center of the table. She then busied herself setting the table, looking all cute in her yellow chicks apron and some semi-casual loose clothing.

Just as she finished setting the table and was looking through a few PaDDs of data she wanted to talk about with her new mother-in-law, the door chime went off. "Come in, it's open."

Stepping in, Jaeih turned to her guards and nodded respectfully as they took up stations outside the door. "Thank you, ladies."

It was said respectfully, though the lean built, older Romulan woman did think it was slightly ridiculous to be escorted the moderately short distance down the corridor on the same deck.

Stepping inside only a meter or so, the elder Dox stood with her hands behind her back as she took in the room. "Good evening Miss.... Mona..." She said somewhat awkwardly, not quite knowing how to behave around her newly discovered Daughter-in-law.

"Is there anything you require... any assistance with?" Jaeih asked as she continued to scan her surroundings. The room was warm and colorful. Far more a home than she imagined it would be if it had just been her somewhat more Spartan daughter.

There were a few large bean bags near the plush couch. A series of shelves near the door were decorated with a collection of photographs of members of her daughter's crew and two of herself. A holographic parrot sat on one end table. Purple, blue, and yellow drapes decorated the windows, and similarly, colored throw pillows were scattered about the chairs and couch, which seemed to have been somewhat modified for those with tail feathers and large booty.

Looking up from her current PaDD, Mona smiled politely. "No, dinner is ready. Minay got held up at work and will be a bit late, so it'll just be us for a little bit. Do you want to just... Talk?" Her eyebrows raised at the end, not sure how the elder Romulan woman would take that, but she did hope to build a bit of a bond with her.

Their first conversation via hologram had been a disaster, but Jaeih had been trying to be more open and less defensively manipulative now that all her secrets were finally laid bare. She wanted a relationship with her estranged daughter. And that meant finding at least a common comfort around her daughter's bond-mate.

"That... yes. We can certainly do that." Jaeih was still guarded, but it was clearly due to her own anxiety now as she stood there awkwardly.

Mona stood there for a moment before she broke out laughing, tucking the three PaDDs she held into a pocket of her apron. "I see where your daughter gets her anxiety from at least. Go sit down and I'll get us a couple of drinks. Is there anything you prefer? We have fresh tea, lemonade, paya juice, and Romulan coffee, but I can open a bottle of either Andorian or Romulan ale as well."

"Coffee will be fine. Black, if Mnhei'sahe has any Romulan brews programmed, please." Jaeih replied allowing the slightest hint of a smile to crack her facade as she found a seat at the couch. The comment about anxiety was actually comforting to hear for the Romulan mother as it showed that Mona clearly understood Mnhei'sahe.

"What is it you would like to discuss?" Jaeih asked, curious as to what the tone of the evening would be.

Pouring a cup of coffee from the small coffee maker full of Romulan coffee, she poured herself a glass of iced tea and headed into the living room out of the kitchenette, handing off the hot mug to Jaeih before sitting down. "Well... We could just talk and get to know each other... Gossip about Minay... Go over that cloak I mentioned... As our guest, it's up to you, really."

While the engineer in her was curious to discuss whatever Mona knew about cloaking technology, her head was still focused on her own attempts to rectify her parental mistakes. After a brief pause to take a sip of her Coffee, Jaeih replied. "She seems... genuinely happy when she's with you. The tension she carries in her body releases a little, I've noticed. I'm... very glad for this."

"You're a pilot as well. You met on the job?" The curious mother asked.

Mona sipped at her tea and set it aside before replying. "That's actually a funny story. I had been the Flight control Chief for years before the Captain brought her on board. But as per my agreement with Captain Telvan, the first pilot I felt could come close to my standards got the job and I got to focus more on improving how we fly."

"As her assistant chief... I wasn't sure at first, but then when her genes where fixed and her hormones went crazy..." Mona looked down at her hands in her lap and smiled like everything was right in the world. "My people mate for life and I knew she was the one." She then looked up at the elder Dox, still smiling. "The hard part was convincing her of it."

"I... Had not considered." Jaeih's eyes went wide for a moment. "Due to her repressed genes, her actual puberty was... mild to say the least. I didn't think about what that must've been like for her to go through for the first time in her thirties." The nervous mother had a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she took another sip of coffee.

" Though... I suppose I must shoulder my share of responsibility for your efforts to connect with her." Jaeih's tone shifted down slightly. "It was... safer for her that she learn how to be distant. Emotionally unattached. And I taught those lessons far too well, it seems."

"Well, here on the Hera, we're all one big family, like it or not." The brightly plumed Miradonian chuckled softly. "You either come out of your box, or end up transferring off with PTSD because of our missions. Besides, our new first officer took a liking to her and once that woman has her eye on you, you're getting some of that human mentoring and talking all the time."

"Commander Paris, yes. I know she is extremely important to Mnhei'sahe. Though I've burned that bridge quite firmly, I'm afraid." Jaeih lamented slightly before trying to change the subject. "You said your focus was on... improving how we fly?"

Mona then pulled out one of the PADDs in her apron excitedly and tapped at it to bring up a schematic of the Thunderchicken before handing it to Jaeih. "Yes! On one of our recent missions, we were able to obtain three Scorpion fighters and after rebuilding them with Starfleet tech, I started work on a fourth variable mode fighter. It works, though there are still some issues to work out."

The engineer in the elder Romulan was pulled in by Mona's excitement as she leaned forward with an eyebrow arched. "Variable mode? What do you mean?"

Mona tapped a set of mode shift buttons in the upper right and the PaDD went through the animations of transformation from fighter to walker to robot mode in sequence. "I mean it can transform while keeping the pilot inside the cockpit."

Looking intensely at the PaDD, Mona could see the wheels in Jaeih's head turning as she was clearly fascinated with this as she actually let out a harsh laugh. "Ha! I used to know three different engineers on Romulus that would kill to see how you did this. How far have you gotten? How did you circumvent the torque stress on the joints while converting? How much power does that conversion eat?"

While she had become an enforcer for the Tal'Shiar, Jaeih was an engineer at heart and was legitimately fascinated.

"We have a working prototype on the main hanger deck that can actually function in the fighter and walker modes without any trouble. Until the neural interface is done, the robot mode is locked though." Mona then tapped at the screen to pull up the SIF systems and reinforcements from the deflector shields. "The joint buffers constantly and variably reinforce every joint as needed with the structural integrity and deflector systems. The power systems are boosted a bit to compensate and when transformed the weapons systems are mostly limited to self-contained weaponry because of this, but so far stress testing has shown that even in urban settings, running it into a building isn't the end of it. Running it into two buildings... Might want to avoid that..."

"This is fascinating. You're using shielding to reinforce the structural integrity? That should, in theory, extend the life of the hard mechanics by at least..." The engrossed woman was clearly doing math in her head at a quick rate. "I would say an extension of forty to sixty percent? YOu'll need multiple, independent power generators to compensate for any system-wide power loss to maintain those fields, but... yes... it looks like you've compensated for that here."

Mona tapped another control, showing where her pride and joy was located. "This is where that little hybrid stealth tech gem slots in. It uses twenty-three percent of the power of the original cloaks used in the Scorpion fighters and uses a Miradonian Boson field to generate the cloaking effect."

"Twenty three?" Jaeih looked stunned. "With that level of power retention, this should be able to actually fire energy weapons while cloaked! At least minimally."

"My simulations estimate that I could do a full alpha strike if I wanted. I've used every trick in the book we have to try and detect it, including poking it with a stick and it works as well as any Miradonian stealth generator, but with the added bonus effects of a Romulan cloak." Mona had moved closer to Jaeih and was now speaking excitedly, pointing out the various parts of the system. It was rare that she got to talk with someone so well versed in things like this other than Dedjoy, after all.

"The internal holographic cockpit turned out to be a good idea since marrying the two techs together made the cloak visually two way. The sensors can see out just fine, but from the inside, it just looks like you're inside a big dark bubble. Not a problem for a Miradonian, but an issue for most other races." The brightly plumed aviatrix pulled out another PaDD and pulled up the cockpit schematics to show off the unique flight systems in it, including the full holographic canopy that extended around the seat.

"So the cloak extends inside? That's astounding. This cockpit holography an ingenious way around that. And frankly, this holographic interior cockpit wrap around would, on its own, be a tremendous advantage for pilots, I'd imagine. Being able to, for all intents and purposes, fly as if the ship wasn't there visually in your way." Jaeih was legitimately excited as well. "Mnhei'sahe will love this, I'm sure."

"Oh, she does. And that's not all. I've added hardpoints and integration for our armor suits so we have full HUD use as well." Mona was grinning wider now. "Every readout is fed to the suit through a protected circuit so you can aim, see sensor readouts, use every console... Right on the screen of your helmet."

Looking up from the screen of the PaDD at Mona as she continued to show the various features, Jaeih was taken aback slightly by the colorfully plumed Miradonian. Her intelligence seemed dwarfed only by her passion and heart. She now felt ashamed of herself and of her behavior upon their first meeting. And she found herself distracted from the topic at hand as a result.

"You... said that your people mated for life?" Jaeih said with a melancholy in her voice that was all too familiar to Mona Gonadie as it reflected the sadness so often heard in Mnhei'sahe's voice when she was at her lowest points. "I am glad for this. For your place in her life."

"Thank you," Mona said, starting up another thought path that was at first bright and cheery, but then a bit sad, both showing on her face. "I just wish my life expectancy was a bit longer so I could stay with her through more of hers. But that just means we have to make the best of the time we have, right? Fill in each other with as much love and happiness so that when the sad times come, they're not so hard."

The Elder Romulan woman, by human standards, looked to be maybe in her mid-fifties at the most. But, in fact, she was just shy of turning seventy-five. Mnhei'sahe herself was thirty-one and would likely look like a woman in her thirties for another couple of decades. The average Romulan life expectancy was approximately two hundred and fifty years. Jaeih had no idea until this moment what that meant for her daughters love but it was suddenly central in her mind. "What... does that mean? I apologize for not quite knowing the specifics of your people's biology. How... long?"

It was an awkward question, but Jaeih was genuinely concerned now and wasn't the best at expressing such feelings. She found herself becoming quite fond of her new daughter-in-law, in spite of herself.

"The oldest of my people live to eighty or ninety cycles," Mona replied, tapping at one of the PaDDs absently. "I'm currently thirty-five..."

"Then... it is as you said. Make the most of your time now." Jaeih said with a slight smile that betrayed her actually feeling upset for what she was feeling from Mona. Empathy wasn't a skill she was well versed in, however, and she didn't quite know how to process it.

"You described being bond-mated as analogous to marriage. But as you speak now, and as I watched you together, I am feeling that this comparison is not completely accurate. That the term doesn't exactly encapsulate what you two seem to share." Jaeih brought the conversation back around, and the trained Tal'Shiar agent began processing her observations of the conversation from earlier that very morning. "The way you touched each other... certain expressions shared too closely. Your physical reactions to her emotional states happened before you even looked at her face."

"Because bonding shares an empathic component to it. Some races like Romulans and Vulcans are receptive to the bonding, though it rarely happens." Mona smiled and searched Jaeih's eyes. "Our touch telepathy is normally with family we're close with so finally getting to experience that..."

"So this bond is... literal." Jaeih's expression was a strange mix of amazement and happiness only barely contained. She shook her head, not quite knowing how to process the information. "Touch telepathy? And Mnhei'sahe can... this bond goes both ways? She can feel you too?"

"She can. She describes the feeling as colors." Mona leaned into her mother-in-law a bit, thrumming just the slightest bit as she did so. "It would be nice if we could extend that to you someday, if you're willing."

The lifetime of training to repress her feelings came rushing back to the front of her mind as a defense mechanism that made her want to pull away. The feeling showed as a slight flinch with a look of panic in her eyes. But she struggled to push that back as best as possible as she could feel Mona's thrumming across the distance between them subtly.

"S... Someday, possibly." The elder Romulan replied with fear in her voice. It had taken her a lifetime to just be truthful with her daughter about her fears and she wasn't quite ready to try and open herself up on the level Mona was proposing. "For now... one... One day at a time, I think."

"One day at a time then," replied the brightly plumed aviatrix, smiling pleasantly.

It was at that exact moment that the door to the quarters hissed open as Mnhei'sahe Dox stepped in, her head momentarily buried in the PaDD in her hands as she was still focusing on work as she muttered to herself in her native Rihan. "Dammit, is this so damn hard, Paulson? It's a maintenance report, not a warp theory thesis."

As she stepped in, she realized that Mona and her Mother were clearly in the middle of an emotional conversation and she remembered their dinner plans that had momentarily slipped her mind thanks to work drama. "Mother. Good evening, Mother."

Resetting her head, she tossed the PaDD on the shelf by the door and let out a slightly exasperated sigh and smiled. "I'm sorry. Work was a bit difficult today." Then she walked over, putting her hand in Mona's and pressing her forehead against that if her bond mate for a moment before sharing a kiss.

It was ever so slightly awkward for Jaeih who sat back slightly. "Mona informed me you would be delayed due to work, which I understand. I take it this... 'Paulson' has been performing unsatisfactorily?"

Mona rolled her eyes at the mention of Paulson. "He's an overachieving, ass-kissing, douche on a scale that could clean a gekli's... Ahem... I'm sorry you have to deal with him, Minay. Hopefully he hasn't overcomplicated things too badly again. At least not like the time he decided to start writing his reports in Vulcan to try to get on your good side before he found out you were Romulan."

"And he calls MacNielle a brown noser. Yeah, nothing that obnoxious. He just forgets half the items on his checklist. Can you start cloning me a bunch of O'Dell's?" Dox replied with a chuckle.

Pondering the situation, Jaeih decided to chime in with a smirk that Mona noticed was remarkably similar to the one Mnhei'sahe frequently had on her face. "Was his Vulcan at least passable, Mnhei'sahe?"

Letting out a little laugh, the younger Dox replied. "Not even a little. Instead of 'runabout', he kept writing what amounts to 'diarrhea' and literally added a thousand to every number."

Changing the subject slightly, Mnhei'sahe loosened the collar of her uniform and flumped next to Mona. "Whatever you made smells fantastic, Jhu Dhael."

As she snuggled up with her love, Mona described dinner for them. "I made some of my special vegetarian egg wraps and a pot of egg drop soup like I had in the foster home. I think both of you will like it. The only thing I had to replicate was the water this time. I was able to get all the ingredients I needed from Maica."

"Well, it smells amazing. I hope I didn't keep you too long but I'm guessing you had plenty to talk about?" Mnhei'sahe replied with a smirk, knowing full well she was very likely the topic for a good bit of their conversation.

Sitting across from the pair, Jaeih looked fairly awkward but it gave her immense pleasure to see her daughter so happy. "As I'm sure you can surmise, you were definitely a topic, but we also discussed Mona's work with the Scorpions you procured and the... transforming fighter which looks quite impressive."

"It's nice talking with another inventor." Mona stood up and headed towards the kitchenette to make ready the final preparations before dinner. "Would you like to relax with a drink before dinner first? I have some Romulan coffee brewed and ready, if you'd like."

"Oh, that sounds lovely. Thank you." Mnhei'sahe replied with a warm smile before sitting back up more straight on the couch. "So, all is well? Have you seen much else of the ship yet, Mother?"

"No, not.yet. I've been settling in to my quarters and tried to familiarize myself with the various decks and systems on the ship as best as my access would allow. I've not yet been briefed on what tasks will be asked of me asof yet, but wish to be prepared to the best of my ability. I will say that the amenities dwarf those that were available at Starfleet Intelligence."

"I don't yet know what clearances I will have, but I do hope to see engineering and the flight deck eventually." The Romulan engineer said, expanding on her thoughts as Mona returned with Mnhei'sahe's coffee.

"SH5, just one step under our own clearances," Mona offered as she slipped back in the seat with her love. "Basically free reign over everything but the pod as long as you're escorted. I looked it up at work today to make sure I can share all the tech data I just showed you."

Her eyebrows raised slightly with legitimate anticipation. "Then I have... much to look forward to then. I hope that my knowledge and skills can be put to productive use here. While my classification is that of a consultant, in my heart I have always been an engineer. So, please know that you have free reign of whatever use you may need of me Mona, within the permissions of your Captain, of course."

While she initially approached Mona Gonadie with trepidation and suspicion, the brilliantly plumed Miradonian's natural warmth and open affections were infectious and Jaeih completely understood Mona and Mnhei'sahe's connection and it gave her an unexpected level of emotional comfort. Mona had walked past Jaeih's emotional defenses as if they barely existed and the normally suspicious Romulan woman was glad for it.

The elder Romulan took a sip of her own coffee, looking with a somewhat conspiratorial aire at the pair, Jaeih slyly slipped in a comment. "So, in our first, admittedly ill-fated conversation, you mentioned that a ceremony might be down the line? Is there a traditional Miradonian ceremony or would I be hoping too much for a Rihannsu ceremony?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could do a bit of both. The ceremonies between our two peoples are pretty compatible, both being based around birds." Mona sipped at her tea, also eyeing the elder Dox with a glint in her eye. "What I'm interested in though is offspring. Someone doesn't think she'd be a good mother."

At which Mnhei'sahe's eyes went wide and she almost spit out her coffee. "MONA!!! Hwiiy Kreldanni nohtho!"

"Really, Mnhei'sahe. I may have taught you how to curse, but you don't have to talk like a freighter pilot. OR call my daughter-in-law insane. It's rude." Jaeih had a smirk on her face as she replied, picking up on Mona's intention here and rather immediately decided she was on board. "Besides, you have a sterling example of exactly what not to do. You would be a wonderful mother."

"See there? I told you." Mona nudged in closer to try to help prove her point. "And I am insane... For you. And I want you to not be lonely once I'm gone and that means having children. It doesn't have to be now, but I'm not getting any younger."

"I'm... basically a child myself. I mean... I just figured out a loose life plan. And really, I'm a basket case. I don't... I couldn't... MOTHER, you're not helping here. What, don't tell me you suddenly want to be a grandmother?" Mnhei'sahe replied, flustered at being double-teamed.

"I can certainly see the appeal of the title. 'Hu'nanov Jaeih.' Yes, I could get used to that. Tell me, Mona. What's the Miradonian word for grandmother? I want to know what sounds better on me." Jaeih replied with a bit of innocent but smug satisfaction, enjoying the moment.

"Mother is Nona and grandmother is Nonala." Mona shrugged and sipped at her tea again. "Parts of Sirolon Miradonian are a bit simple, but it's pronounceable by other races. We tend to sing in Brokawk though, which is much more traditional."

"So I have options, then. 'Nonala Jaeih'." Jaeih sipped her coffee with a light smile."But in all seriousness... how you choose to advance is, of course, up to you. But I am confident that both of you have a tremendous amount to give to a child."

"Children, mother. Miradonian's have about four at a time." Mnhei'sahe added, somewhat deadpan.

Now it was Jaeih's turn to be surprised. "Well... that is... a factor. Still, I believe you would both be excellent mother's. Regardless of your own self-doubt, Mnhei'sahe."

"But... perhaps this is a topic best discussed over dinner, yes?" The elder Romulan added, changing the subject slightly.

"It is about time we ate, isn't it? Will Commander Paris be joining us tonight? Or is she otherwise engaged?" Mona inquired as she rose, pulling her Minay with her.

"Her schedule tonight was five times tighter than mine, so she had to pass, I'm afraid." Mnhei'sahe replied as she nuzzled up against Mona. She knew how important the subject of children was to the Miradonian bond-mate, but she herself was still terrified.

Of course, since they were touching, Mnhei'sahe knew that she was projecting all of this internal debating rather directly to Mona through their shared bond that was gaining strength every day.

And while she had no idea she was mirroring her mother's own words from that same night, she whispered to her love. "I'll... I'll get there, Jhu Dhael. One day at a time... I'll get there."

There was a twinkle in her eye as Mona slowly glanced over at Jaeih, then looked deep into her lover's eyes with love and affection overflowing from them. "One day at a time it is then. We'll all get there."