The S31 Stork [Archangel/Jiseth/Zero]

[USS Phoenix]

The shuttle that dropped her off would have been remained undetected by the ship's sensors as it came alongside the Nebula-class. After all, there was no point in going to great lengths to be secretive and covert if they could be detected by normal sensors, would there?

Archangel materialised in her quarters, as was generally arranged when she hadto go on assignments. In her hands was a small briefcase which was held as if it contained the most precious of all cargo which, in a sense, it did.

She only paused long enough to strip off the mask she had been wearing, a strange cloth that seemed to muffle and conceal all the contours of her face until one couldn't be certain even to which species she belonged. Part of her wanted to strip off the vile black ops uniform she was wearing, or loose her hair from its tight knot at the base of her skull, but she refrained, opting instead to leve her quarters with a purposeful stride.

She didn't pause in that stride until she stood outside a set of quarters, where she pressed the chime, hoping that the occupants would answer quickly. She had sent Jiseth a message before she had left the previous day, just one line to tell her that the exercise they had discussed would be taking place that night, and that she predicted her return that day.

[Quarters]

Bolting from the couch, Jiseth's hand reached out to hit the open button while her other braced against the wall as the rest of her collided into it with a thud. Her head peaked around the open doors while she slipped her hand down to the handle of her disruptor.

It was T'Koris standing there and she gave a nod to her superior.

"Welcome back."

Archangel raised an eyebrow at the muffled thud that sounded on the other side of the door just before it opened. It went up even further as she noted that Jiseth seemed to be hiding to the side of the door rather than the standard greeting position of actually being able to see the host.

"Thank you," she replied, her voice a little tired. "It's been a long night, but I brought you back a present."

[Quarters]

"I imagine so... I trust it all went well?"

Gesturing to the dinner table for T'Koris to sit, Jiseth moved to the replicator and created two cups of tea. One was hot for her Captain and the other simply warm for herself, preferring things like drinks a bit cooler when consumed. She eyed the case on her return trip and set the cups down between herself and the other Romulan.

Inclining her head to the other Romulan, Archangel made her way to the small table and took a seat. There had been a catch in her step, a hesitance an jerkiness of gait that suggested pain, but nothing in her expression gave such a thing away. With great care, she set the case on the table.

"It went as well as expected," she replied to the question, accepting the cup of tea but setting it aside. Her stomach wasn't quite up to taking in anything quite yet. It always took her a day or two to settle back into a normal routine. Her fingers lingered on the catch on the case, unable to decide whether to open it now or wait until Zero turned up.

Unclipping the belt on which the holster was attached and setting it aside on top of a drawer, Jiseth crossed her arms with a faint sigh. They had completely circumvented all legal proceedings. No one would know about what Starfleet Medical was doing or had already done. Perhaps it was better this way. No attention brought to them. No threats of violence against the "unnatural". A lifetime of secrets that she hoped could be buried and forgotten.

"Inter arma enim silent leges..."

It took Archangel a moment to dust off her rusty latin and remember the phrase that Jiseth had spoken. Once she had, it brought another eyebrow raise from the captain. In her opinion, it was a curious reaction to have given the fact that there had been so much trouble already.

"When all legal avenues have been closed, sometimes you have to go down lesser-known streets," she pointed out quietly. "If it helps, they broke the law in the first place."

"Sometimes I feel like I never left Romulus. I knew after she initiated the pregnancy I couldn't go back. There was a chance for a better life here, the risk of a termination not withstanding. So much of a fuss over so simple a wish..."

Taking her cup to her lips, Jiseth took a sip.

"If you ever need a pilot for one of your midnight excursions..."

"I won't subject you to the life I have to live with those 'midnight excursions," Archangel replied, her tone slightly sharper than normal. She had been pulled into the life before she had taken the time to understand exactly what it was that she was going to be getting herself into. She refused to let anyone else in her entourage make that same mistake.

In a softer tone, she continued: "Jiseth, if this isn't the path you want to take, then don't. Don't go through with something just because you don't think there's another way out."

There was a sudden discomfort in her stomach. Memories of Gavin's words in this very room. Zero could act very much like a child at times, but she was growing quickly. Adapting. Jiseth sat down and steepled her hands, the tips of her index fingers nestled between her lips. First her attention was solely on the case.

"...I can't decide unless I know how she feels on the matter. It was her declaration afterall. Between you and me, I've tried to do so much because I felt I had to repay her for what you have there. What is there to give that can even come close?"

Sitting back in her chair, Archangel observed the other Romulan for a moment, tapping her fingers on the surface of the table as she mulled over the words Jiseth had just pronounced. As far as she could see, there was a massive miscommunication between the two of them that needed to be solved, but there was only so far Archangel could meddle in their relationship.

"Answer me these questions as truthfully as possible, Jiseth: Imagine that what is in that case doesn't exist and never existed. Do you love Zerl? Do you want to spend the rest of your life at her side, protecting and being protected? Does the thought of leaving her behind and never seeing her again chill you?"

Jiseth's emerald eyes hovered over the case in silence before trailing up to meet Archangel's. She had her doubts at times, but what couple did not? She had to be prepared for the day, if it did exist, that Zero would no longer find the Romulan's company stimulating and be cast down into the same lot as all the other inferiors she saw around her. That did not change however, the joy felt whenever she saw her even on the worst of days.

"Yes... To all of those."

"Then that's all the repayment Zero needs," Archangel replied. "However misguided the attempt was, she seemed to be trying to show you how much she loves you. If you had those feelings for her even before the baby came on the scene, then you shouldn't need to concern yourself with trying to prove anything else."

Coughing suddenly, there were clenched teeth as Jiseth wiped her eyes of several tears. With a deep breath she regained her composure though right now her single desire was for Zero to come through the door. The pale Augment would actually have a clue of what to do from here in terms of care for their daughter.

Almost as if she had heard Jiseth's thoughts, Zero walked through the door into their shared quarters, her damp hair pulled back into a ballerina bun and pale skin flushed from her workout on the holodeck. Immediately realising that something was happening, the Augment's eyes widened at the sight of Archangel sitting at the table with Jiseth, and the case sitting between them, still locked and sealed.

"The mission was successful?" she asked, her voice soft as if she didn't dare hope that it could have been.

"It was. Please join us, e'lev."

She stood and pulled out the other chair next to her's. There was a keen urge to tackle and squeeze the day lights out of her beloved, but that would have to wait. A smirk became a soft smile as a wave of relief began to wash over her. It was literally moments now that ticked by until they could have their child returned.

Smiling slightly at her beloved, Zero took the seat next to her, reaching over and pressing a gentle kiss on her cheek, ignoring the fact that she was still somewhat damp from her workout. Her attention then turned to their captain and her eyes dropped to the case and her mind went to what was contained inside it. She barely breathed, waiting for Archangel to release the locks.

Once Zero was settled in her chair, Archangel pulled the case toward her and pressed her thumbs into the locks, her thumbprints being scanned. The locks clicked back and the Romulan lifted the lid.

There, carefully packed in the dense black foam, was a small stasis tube and inside that tube was a tiny form, not much bigger than a kidney bean, but definitely humanoid in shape.

With eyes wide open Jiseth leaned forward, almost coming out of the chair. On hand took hold of Zero's with a gentle squeeze while the other slowly traced over the tube. So small and delicate. In a career that had seen genocides and tragedies for paltry ideals, this little mote of life seemed all the more precious.

"Our daughter... What shall we name her?"

Zero looked at the stasis tube for a long moment, at the tiny being that had been pulled out of her womb before her pregnancy had had a chance to even show. She looked up at Jiseth, taking in the expression of wonderment on the Romulan's face.

"I have not given much thought to names," she admitted quietly. "I did not wish to, what is the human term? 'Jinx'? Yes, I did not wish to jinx her return in any manner with my expectations."

"You won't. If anything she'll be jinxed by inheriting any of my clumsiness."

As Jiseth stroked the tube with her thumb over the slightly disported image of the embryo, she considered a name. Something that she could not think of having a meaning in some language. A simple name would suffice. They were after all but doors by which memories flowed from. Each one creating a unique experience when recalled.

"...Callion. Our little daughter Callion."

"Callion," Zero murmured, turning the name over in her mind. "A greek name signifying perfection. It is fitting." She smiled slightly, laying her hand over Jiseth's on the tube. "Our daughter has not been crafted genetically, but she will none the less be perfect."

The Romulan who was now a mother tilted her head to Zero and smiled at her warmly before kissing her forehead. Looking back to T'Koris there was a sense of jubilation. Vindication even. Ethics aside, her counterpart was right. Nothing compared to seeing one's child for the first time.

Jiseth slipped up from the table and moved to the kitchen. From a cupboard above the counter she pulled three ornate glasses and a bottle she had been saving for a special occasion. While similar to Human champagne, it was significantly more fizzing and sweeter though as potent as most Romulan drinks. She poured the glasses about half way full and set one down in front of each of the other women after holding her own.

"To Callion..."

Archangel smiled slightly at the couple. There were likely to be bumps in the road for the pair of them as they adjusted and learned each other's limits. There would be arguments, she was sure of it, but they would get through it.

She took the glass and lifted it in the toast that Jiseth had proposed before taking a sip, just one, to be polite, and set it down. Inclining her head to the pair, she quietly said her goodbyes and left them to it, slipping out of the quarters to return to her own.

Zero picked up the glass, remembering the very humanoid tradition of toasting anything of significance. Under normal circumstances, she would have scorned the tradition, but their daughter was too special for that.

She noticed Archangel leaving discreetly and was secretly glad. It meant that she could put down her glass and sneak up to steal a gentle kiss from her Romulan's lips.

"We should place Callion in the incubation chamber."