Tie A Yellow Ribbon

Posted on Fri Sep 20th, 2019 @ 9:11pm by Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Sonak

Mission: Family Detention
Location: USS Hera, Deck 8, Commander Paris & Mr. Sonak's Quarters
Timeline: 2396

It had been a very long day for Commander Rita Paris, the first officer of the USS Hera and her resident ‘golden girl’. Being recalled to active service on their Vulcan vacation with her husband Sonak and her extradimensional charge Az’Prel, the Vulcan vessel had insisted on beaming her up, then beaming her across to the Hera rather than dropping down to shuttle speeds. Which was something Rita was willing although hesitant to do. In the case of the Vulcans, they seemed to take a strange satisfaction in ignoring the fact that she was transporter phobic, and for good reason- transporters simply did not behave properly when she was involved. While the beam up to the starship from the planet had just resulted in some weakness and vomiting, the beam at warp 9.2 between two starships of matched relative speeds had resulted in something new.

Rather than materializing on the transporter pad of the Hera, Rita had found herself on an alien world, with no constellations she could recognize, no stars to guide her, and under that alien sky, she had found herself embroiled in a battle for the freedom of a slave caste against the god-king Sodam Yat, As the hours had stretched into days, then weeks, she had continued on, fighting for her survival and for the freedom of her newfound friends, But through it all, she never lost her faith that it was a temporary state of being.

Because Sonak was out there, and he would not rest until he found her and brought her back.

At the height of a climactic battle, wherein she had stayed the hand of the conqueror and given a speech that she hoped would sway those hot bloods of vengeance to one of cool compassion and mercy, she had felt the familiar tug of the transporter beam, and she had vanished from the world of Kathoom, likely never to be seen there again. And after 74 days, her patience had been rewarded, and there indeed had stood Sonak, just as he had looked when they had parted- sharp, crisp Science blue, a neutral expression on his face. Well, neutral to most- in it she saw relief and surprise, given that she’d beamed out seconds ago in her uniform, and returned with surprisingly little of it intact or present.

While he was concerned, she was just happy to be home. She had been calmly collected in the transporter room, blasé about her extradimensional escapade, and mildly surprised to find that no time had passed while she had been gone, despite the passage of weeks to her perceptions. Now, the shower taken, uniform redonned, meetings attended and people reconnected, at the end of the long day she was still tapping away at her PaDD as she entered their shared quarters. There was no reason to look up- she had long ago programmed the sensor to open far in advance of her entry, as she tended to walk quickly, and as she entered their spacious quarters, she looked up to take in the sight of her handsome husband.

Square jawed, atheletic build with dark, straight hair and piercing steel-grey eyes, she’d been fascinated by him the moment she’d met him, although she had expected someone else entirely to be behind those eyes. Instead, she had found a student of the universe, awed and fascinated by the forces which they tended to confront, yet unflappable in his resolve and impeccably logical. Strong, fast, able and fearless, he was dedicated to her safety and well-being in a way she could never have anticipated, and in him she found her life completed. A logical man was ever calm and reasonable, and he valued her highly- her understanding of emotion and how it could be incorporated with simple logic never failed to fascinate him, and he celebrated their differences, as diversity was infinite, and through it came infinite combinations.


For now, she had a puzzle, and if there was one thing to which she was always ready to cede to his vastly superior intellect, it was a conundrum.

A smile spread across her face as her eyes drank him in, and the longing and distance and time all came to the forefront. On duty they were professional- here, they were behind closed doors, and they owed nothing to professional comportment and setting examples to the other officers. Here they were no longer first and science chief- here, they could be just two people in love. As she approached him, she eschewed the traditional two fingers. Instead, she opened her arms and embraced Sonak fully, holding his lean muscular body tightly to hers, breathing in his scent, and letting the stress of the weeks apart leave her as she felt his strong arms about her.

“I have missed you terribly,” she said aloud, although her thoughts and actions declared it far louder and clearer.

''Your absence was equally significantly felt,'' answered Sonak, putting his arms around her, as he knew as much from perception as from habit, that she needed him to do so. And to tell the truth, he had become not just accustomed to but appreciative of this most Human type of behavior.

Indeed, the mere seconds that elapsed between her disappearance and her return had felt as long as the weeks she had actually experienced in her absurd, unexplained transdimensional shift. Well, absurd because unexplained... as yet.

He already had a hypothesis about what had happened; and with that hypothesis, a possible path to finally solve this peculiar displacement problem of hers.

He had to find a solution. Her life, her career, her future, depended on it.

Her presence in his life had become as indispensable to his well-being as breathable air. For just as air filled his lungs and supplied life to his body, she filled his katra and supplied life to his mind and soul.

He did not ask her how she felt. Not because he didn't care, of course. Because he knew, linked as they were with their mating bond and his growing telepathic ability, most evident between them. He had still perceived her life essence across time, space and realities when the transporter had whisked her away; far and feeble, but there still. And that had, in fact, given him a clue to his hypothesis.

But that would be for later. Now was the time to be, completely, with Rita, she who is his wife.
Wrapped in his impossibly strong arms, the faint scent of sandalwood that she always associated with him, she let out a shuddering sigh. It had been nearly 75 days since she last beheld him and felt him close to her, and in that moment, she let go of all of the tension, the fears, the insecurities and the stresses of her extradimensional adventure.

Here, safe in his arms, reunited at last, she could relax. Here, she could be just a mortal woman, no larger than life figure, no leader, no crusader, no officer of the line who needed to face all adversity with a smile and a laugh in the face of death. Here with Sonak, he who is her husband, at last she could let it all go, and be merely the human girl from Earth who traversed the stars, exploring strange new worlds.

It took a moment for her to let it all go. But she knew that in sharing with him, he would know of her adventures, of her trials and tribulations, and he would appreciate them. For now, she was simply content to be here, with him, together.

“The universe does love to split us up from time to time. I think it’s so I will never stop appreciating you,” she joked as she pulled back, her light blue eyes searching out his steely grey gaze that she dreamt of when they were apart. Lifting a hand, she gently caressed his cheek and her lips curled in a wistful smile. "Not that I ever would…”

''We are in agreement,'' he replied, ''except in assuming a willfuness of the universe. Despite countless beliefs on countless worlds across time, despite the obvious influence of actual beings with powers beyond our current comprehension, there is no evidence of any will to the universe itself. But there is much evidence of numerous phenomenons that still surpass the mind in their intercomplexity. This universe is estimated to be at least thirteen point forty-eight billion years old; life itself existed but for a tiny fraction of it. It will logically take time to figure out much about it.''

His grey eyes went into hers.

“It will logically be faster and easier to consider one problem at a time.''

“Your logic is, as ever, indisputable,” the human girl grinned, happy to hear such things again. Months where the most logical voice in the crowd was her own made her appreciate her logical spouse that much more. Logic was pure, after all, and one could always see the simple beauty of it. And Sonak was a master of logic, as a Kolinahr who had studied it his entire life.

“So, I sensed your consternation at the illogic of my experience, and I have a very, very loose theory as to what may have happened, and how it came to pass. Now mind, you have to remember that I lack your scientific background and understanding of many of the fundamental forces of the universe. Buuuuut I have an idea that might just explain what happened, if you would care to hypothesize with me?” While she made it sound fun and flirty, few would see logic exercises as a fun experience upon reuniting with a spouse. But then, Rita and Sonak were far from the typical couple, even in the wildly diverse universe in which they lived.

Sonak nodded.

''It is a well-established fact that Humans have a unique capability to go beyond logic. And logic is but the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it. You hold facts from which no doubt you can make a sound hypothesis. Both may very well guide mine. This will be a fascinating discussion.''

Parting from their embrace, she moved to the kitchen to wash her hands and begin preparing a meal while they talked. This, too, was a ritual; one they both found familiar and fulfilling. Having been absent for so long, it would make her happy to return to their established patterns, and Sonak was literally raised on traditions- thus he was always prepared to follow one. Particularly one such as this, which held personal meaning for them both- a blending of their cultures which had ever been a cornerstone of their relationship.

As a Kolinarh since a very young age, Sonak was not the typical Vulcan, bound to tradition because it was logical to follow tried ways. Logic dictated that no premise was exempt of scrutiny and questioning, ergo any tradition. Following a way just because it was tradition was not logical; it was mindless. Thus, what ritual they had established between them had been deliberately and thoughtfully fashioned out of their mutual needs and personalities to best fuse their vast divergences into a cohesive whole.

Rita liked the security and simplicity of traditional domestic roles, while Sonak had been raised to fend for himself in all things. He would normally have not accepted her cooking for him and serving him as if she were his servant; but he knew how comforting and satisfying it was for her, particularly emotionally. It was an anchor of normalcy against the wild weird tides that seem to constantly try to sweep her away. For the sake of her well-being, he thus accepted gracefully to comply to what others would superficially see as an outmoded traditional family relationship.

If there was something Sonak never cared about, it was how others would see them. Truth is what mattered to him; and he knew the truth about their behavior and partnership... and that, at it's core, was his concern for her.

She was happy. he could not relate to such a feeling; but he could understand that this was what made their union valuable, for the both of them.

While she prepared the meal, he, as usual, set the table and prepared their refreshments, all the while pondering his own data and hypothesis about what they would be discussing over the meal. These were moments he found especially... gratifying.

As the flash-frozen vegetables were thawed and tossed into a pan with a small bit of oil to stir fry, she replicated the rice and began explaining her theory to arguably one of the most brilliant minds in the universe. She did so with no fear- for while his intellect was vastly superior to her own, still he listened and valued what she offered in such times, as her unconventional thinking was respected by him for it’s occasional accuracy and the fact that while she trusted her intuition and instincts, she supported them with logic whenever possible, and ceded ground to logic as well.

“So I had a lot of time to think about this on Kathoom, and my best guess is that we hit a bump in the road, so to speak. Since both vessels were moving at warp 9.2, that means in the 3.2 seconds of a standard transport, we actually covered roughly 2 billion kilometers in that three seconds. We’ll leave out the time dilation effect that I tend to have on transporters for some reason, and just focus on that standard beaming. My best guess is that there was a very small hint of an energy ribbon, like the one the El Aurians were rescued from by Picard? That would explain the drag on the signal, as well as how I ended up in another dimension with a different flow of time. Why it did not affect you and Az’Prel’s beam in, and how you managed to still beam me back out of there is a bit beyond me. But, that is, as promised, my ‘vague idea and very loose theory. Thoughts?”

As she did with many problems, she approached this one with an open mind. If she was wrong and he said so, her ego would not be bruised nor her confidence diminished- she was not the brilliant scientist, she was the explorer, after all. Thus science often contradicted her theories, but it was illogical to become upset at facts.

Sonak simply nodded.

''I have studied your... difficulties with telportation quite thoroughly. I have devised new transporter protocols to account for the unique variables that are personnal to you. And we identified the source of the problem as coming from the very nature of the artificially created universe we both came from; now corrected completely with the restoration of the multiverse. And then, after all known parameters having been fully under control, this new incident occurs.''

He paused as if thinking a bit more about the matter before continuing.


''Your hypothesis is therefore quite sound. The only logical explanation of your latest displacement is indeed that another external interference came into play.''

He looked at her, nodding again.

''I checked the transporter sensor logs from both the Shavok and the Hera. I found that a cosmic string intersected the beam out and was amplified by the warp field of both ships at the very moment we were beamed aboard. This normally is of no consequence and thus why Az'Prel and I materialized as expected. But with your particular condition built up over years of previous displacements, it affected you again the same way the old link with our former universe used to do; a distorted quantum resonance occured and sent you accross the multiverse.''

So that she could reason it for herself, he made a pause before finishing.

''This is where your hypothesis and mine converge. Of course we would need further testing with some of your genetic material and a quantum resonator to validate them, but logic suggest that this is essentially the correct explanation.''

It was silly to take pride in the fact that her dirt drawings on Kathoom and her inspection of the transporter logs had actually borne a reasonable hypothesis. But a wide smile split her face as she felt it well up within her. For once, she had figured out how something had gone wrong with her, and she had been able to present it to her somber scientist in a manner that was logical and sound, and he had agreed that it was a reasonable working theory. Which again, she knew she should not be so happy about.

Yet having been gone so long, and having so much time to consider it all, his approval of her hypothesis meant more than it should have, and it genuinely made her joyful, and rather proud of herself. As she entertained all of that internally, she let it process and flow. He knew her, knew her process, and knew her emotions, and while she silently beamed for a few moments, she knew he knew why, but there was no need to belabor it.

Instead, once she was through being full of herself, she scooped out a serving of rice, and swirled the stir-fried peppers, onions, mushrooms, green beans and cilantro together in the pan with a dash of teriyaki sauce. Skillfully depositing them atop the scoops of rice, she turned everything off and turned to he who was her husband, still wearing a merry smile. “Dinner is served… and… thank you. I don’t know if I am getting smarter spending my time with you, or if being apart just makes my brain work harder because I can’t ask you questions. But I feel better knowing there was a logical explanation, rather than just ‘the universe being out to get me’,” she chuckled.

''You give yourself too little credit,'' he admonished with a little hint of sternness. ''You are an intelligent person with excellent training and more first-hand experience with such phenomena than most researchers on the subject. It is only logical that you build sound hypothesis, even if influenced by human feelings and emotions. My personal experience has shown that these are not always a hindrance to effectiveness; just as you demonstrate here.''

He poured both of them a glass of Altair water.

''That being said, emotional beings, especially intelligent ones, do tend to perceive the patterns making up our reality, even if imperfectly; and at the same time, perceiving patterns where there are none. This can extend to the point of believing there is some agency or intent within the universe. But in truth there is none; only a wide set of self-balancing factors that allows this universe to exist as it is.''

As always, the logic of the Kolinahr could not be argued, which was a cornerstone of her reality that she had missed in her absence. Wise while allowing for the unknown, intelligent beyond brilliant yet lacking the arrogance that usually came with such knowledge, Sonak was far and away the best man she'd ever known, or ever would. While she never claimed any sort of prognosticational capacity, Rita Paris lived secure in the knowledge that she would never meet his equal in her eyes, and in that supposition she was correct. In the many years they would be together, she would never be tempted by another, nor would she ever meet anyone who made her feel the way he did. Thus while she respected his logic, in her heart of heartsd, she still believed that perhaps the universe sis have some sort of sentience, and that it was not unkind.

For it had brought them together, and though time and space and relative dimension might separate them, they always found their way back to one another. In that, while Sonak believed in empirical data and fact, Rita was given to the flight of fancy that perhaps there was more to heaven and earth than were dreamt of in their pholosophy. Reaching across the table to take his hand in her own, she smiled, that smile that she saved only for him, of all the smiles she wore and gave to others. It was a smile of devotion, of admiration, of appreciation, and of deep and abiding love for the one person in the universe who made her feel like she truly was someone special.

Peering deeply into his grey eyes, that she could always recall as clearly as any memory that she held, no matter the time nor distance apart, she felt another hunger within her. A hunger that had been denied for months for her, which was no less urgent than her need for food to fulfill her. As she contemplated acting on it, her stomach gurgled and reminded her that some needs were more necessary than others, and she giggled as with her free hand she took a forkful of her dinner.

The sharing of their minds, bodies and souls could wait. For now, she was content to be here- sharing a meal of her homeworld, spending time together, and simply enjoying being reunited once more.