It's Okay, I'll Kill You Later... [Ilana/Jiseth]

"I doubt they'll take much interest it me, but I will be cordial."

The runabout began to nose down into the planet's atmosphere and soon the forward view ports became enveloped it purple and orange plasma. There came a loud roar and no small about of shaking inside the cabin. Jiseth deployed the control sticks and began to fly the craft in manually.

"This is fast for atmospheric entry. Should we slow with thrusters?"

"No. We want to get down there as quick as possible."

"...In one piece would be preferable too, my lady."

"I've got it."

The shaking only intensified until it reached at maximum with the Romulan holding the nose up amid stall warnings going off, using the blunt underside as a the craft's own airbreak. As their altitude plummeted, the fires that encased Mon's exterior subsided into thin whips of smoke. Jiseth once again lowered the nose as two loud booms could be heard for hundreds of miles as it traveled well beyond the speed of sound. Soon after they broke through a thin layer of icy cirrus clouds and could see the image of their landing zone blurred in the heat distortion.

"We're too fast! Air density ISA+50!"

"We'll spiral down on top of them, bleed off speed that way and use the breaking thrusters to just before landing."

"Thrusters ready!"

"Beginning roll."

After overshooting the target, Jiseth pulled hard to the right and back on the stick. The runabout in a nearly ninety degree bank as it circled around during the descent. The intertial dampeners were working extra hard to keep them from being slammed back into their seats. Jiseth's eyes jumped between the view ports and her altimeter making sure both were properly synced, waiting for the right moment.

"...Fire!"  

The runabout seemed to slide through the air until it was over the landing pad and righted itself, descending softly onto the pavement a few seconds later. Jiseth was panting a bit and then let out a sigh of relief as she began the shut down procedures. Midway through her checks she looked over to make sure her copilot had not had a heart attack.

"Not very graceful, I admit, but very efficient wouldn't you say?"

Ilana wanted to snort with mirthless laughter at the thought that her mother wouldn't take much of an interest in Jiseth since she knew that her mother could be very nosy and want to know everything about the Romulan because of the simple fact that Jiseth was associated with her daughter.

She didn't get to articulate this, however, as the shuttle suddenly plunged down into the planet's atmosphere. She let out a yelp, grabbing the seat's safety harness and clipping it in place. She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to see what maneuvers Jiseth was going to put this ship through if this was the start of her landing.

While the inertial dampners were working, they couldn't compensate for all of the force pressing the Cardassian back into her seat, something that told her that they were going far too fast for what they were doing. It was certainly enough to tell her that they had missed their first attempt at touching down.

When the shuttle finally touched ground, Ilana was clinging on to her seat, her eyes squeezed shut. Faint whimpers emanated from her throat and she seemed so tense that if you so much as poked her, she would probably shatter into a thousand pieces of terrified Cardassian.

After a few moments, she finally cracked open one eye to assure herself that they were, indeed, on solid ground. A shaking hand reached up to release the safety harness. She tried to say something, but all that came out were a few unintelligible syllables. She gave up, staggering to her feet and moving to the rear of the craft to retrieve her med kit and pack.

In the arrivals area of the tiny shuttle station, an older female Cardassian held out her arms as soon as she spotted Ilana walking through the facility, scooping the younger Cardassian into a hug as she ran into the outstretched arms. Looking over her daughter's shoulder, Kattell spotted Jiseth following and smiled welcomingly.

"Greetings," she said as she finally released Ilana from her hug. "I trust you're the pilot who brought Ilana back to us."

"That I am."

Jiseth bowed her head repectfully and stood upright after a short pause.

"It was the least I could do for the woman who is betrothed to my best friend. I am to be the Tawi'Yan at their wedding and it is a great honor, especially to assist in her father's time of need. We may have our differences, but on Romulus, we too believe family is all."

She smiled pleasantly and savored every moment of discomfort from her passenger. The satisfaction of twisting the knife after plunging it into ones back.

For a moment, both of the Cardassians stared at Jiseth. Ilana let out a quiet sniffle which lead to Kattell automatically gathering her daughter back into her arms and murmuring something soothing while she shot a poisonous glare at the Romulan.

"Obviously, you've been misinformed," Kattell replied coldly. Releasing her daughter again, holding Ilana's shoulders gently, the mother wiped away a tear from her daughter's cheek. "Come, little one, your father needs you." She nodded to Jiseth and her voice cooled a little. "I have arranged rooms for you at our home. Follow me."

Keeping a comforting arm around her daughter, Kattell left the shuttleport and headed off down the street outside.

So it would seem... Did he leave her to return to the Klingons? I always figured him for a romantic. A little more prying and I'll know where he's gone off too.

Moving in behind them, the Romulan said nothing. Information was more important to her than the feelings of the young girl, but there was a lingering sense of contempt. She tried to place it as she walked down the rather warm street.

It was not the heat. It was not the dry desert air. It was not even all the faces of a former enemy staring at her. Raynor leaving and seeing this girl's misery. It was little different than what Jiseth had done to Zero. Then she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the ground in front of her as Gavin's voice rang clear in her mind.

"...You weren't there!"

Back off, Oddball... You've done enough already.

The Telak residence was inkeeping with Cardassian architecture: large and open, geometric in design, and with plenty of benches strategically placed for a lounging humanoid to soak up the sun's rays.

Kattell glanced down at her daughter and placed a gentle, motherly kiss on the young medic's forehead. "Your father is in the sunroom, Ilana. Don't take anything he says to heart, you know what he's like when he's not feeling well. I'll go an start on dinner while you tend to him." The mother's cool gaze then turned to Jiseth. "You had best come with me. Vonar doesn't take kindly to strangers seeing him when he's not at his best."

Kattell turned, heading down a different corridor to the one Ilana had headed down, ending up in a large kitchen, most of which seemed to be built around a large, open fire pit.

Though quietly following as instructed, Jiseth felt less and less comfortable as the seconds ticked by. She looked around the kitchen and then to her host. Once again she bowed her head.

"I wish to apologize for my impertinent behavior. I have been a poor guest and worse escort for your daughter. I envy greatly what she has here, a loving family. Raynor and I are hardly best friends, but I do hope he returns swiftly. It would not be an affront to your generosity if I were to spend the rest of the time here back in the runabout. This is a beautiful place that does not need to be sullied by my presence."

Kattell, who had picked up a knife at this point in preparation for starting to prepare what appeared to be a small pig, pointed the blade at Jiseth with a frown.

"Now, you just stand right there, young lady," she growled, displaying the fierceness characteristic of a mother defending her offspring. "You may have terrified and upset my daughter, and you had better hope to whatever deity you believe in that Vonar doesn't catch on to that fact, but having you stay in your shuttle would be an affront to the hospitality my species pride themselves on. Now, I don't know how long you're scheduled to stay here, but I suggest you make the most of it before you have to go back to those cold Starfleet installations."

"T-two nights, at the least."

Ilana's mother reminded Jiseth of her own. The knife-pointing especially. Certainly got one's attention. It seemed the Romulan would have to suffer through their kindness. They warm and loving tenderness. The thought of a happy family was about to make her ill in the stomach. Perhaps she had fallen so far that she would never be able to feel the light. The knife would be a blessing and she suddenly knew why Captain T'Koris sent her of all people. The most devastating of polite pranks.

"...Would you like any assistance? To show my gratitude?"

Kattell nodded once, withdrawing the knife and setting about gutting and then skewering the pig-like creature on a spit. "Gratitude is unnecessary, young lady. All we generally ask is that our guests display a minimum of manners while they stay with us." She turned to look at the Romulan over her shoulder. "If you could get a fire going in that grate, it would greatly help."

Vorta Vor, she sounds like Aunt Toreth...

Setiing down her bag against the wall nearest her, Jiseth moved toward the storage bin of the fire pit. Neatly stacked where dry pieces of well-chopped wood and many small mounds of kindling in rows and columns. So neat and orderly it was surely neurotic by other race's standards.

Taking some of the kindling, she placed it in the center of the pit. Next came four strips of wood over the mound already there in the rough shape of a pyramid. With the small lighting instrument, Jiseth placed the small flame between each piece of wood until the kindling began to burn. She took a step back and watched as the fire spread, content with this modest achievement of civilizations as it consumed the dead, dry fuel.

"What is next?"

With the carcass prepped and on the spit, Kattell quickly cast a glance at the fire, nodding once in approval before placing the spit onto the two prongs set into the stone floor for just the purpose of taking the roast.

"We have to make sure to turn it regularly and baste it. In the meantime, you can help me prepare the vegetables," the maternal Cardassian stated. She pulled out several pots and pans from a cupboard and, after filling them with water from a tap, arranged them around the fire. "I realise that this way of cooking is probably quite amusing to you, but I've always preferred a hands on approach to feeding my family," she said with a faint smile before finding a short, smoothed piece of wood and a sharp knife and pointing Jiseth toward a neatly stacked pile of vegetables. "If you could chop those for me, that would be lovely."

With the knife and cutting board in hand, the Romulan set her tools an the nearest counter and began to take the blade to leafy greens first. Well, some were green. There was a variety of color among all the edible plants. He cuts were precise and clean. Cooking was a secret hobby of hers.

"After I joined Starfleet, my mother sent numerous cargo containers filled with real food so I wasn't living solely off replicated stuff. I rarely get an opportunity to do this for anyone other than myself. My partner has only this nutritional supplement and rarely indulges in anything aside from that. Sometimes it's like I'm living with a Jem'Hadar and not a Human."

Pulling herbs from various hanks hanging around her kitchen, Kattell was putting together the gravy she needed to baste the meat currently roasting over the fire. She smiled softly as she listened to the Romulan.

"I taught my Ilana to cook. I would have sent her fresh produce as well, but I know that she doesn't eat properly, nor even sleep as much as she should," she replied with a motherly concern. "Raynor was good for her in that respect. He made sure that she looked after herself."

As she continued about her work, Jiseth glanced up to the woman when she mentioned Raynor. He was rather sweet and caring for a Klingon. She always wondered if that was their equivalent to a rebel. Rather than be a loud, brutish warrior, one would snub their nose at such things as a prim and proper gentleman.

"What did you think of him when you met?"

Kattell smiled fondly at the memory of meeting the young Klingon during the time that her daughter had brought him back to visit as she stirred a pot on the fire. "He was very patient with my husband, despite Vonar's attempt to phase him. It was obvious that he and Ilana had some very deep feelings for each other, which I was delighted to see. She does have a tendency to work herself far too hard and not allow any time just to enjoy life."

She looked up, contemplating the Romulan for a moment. "You mentioned that you had a partner as well. Tell me about them?"

There was a moment's hesitation as she continued chopping and moving the pieces into orderly piles. She took a deep breathe before going further as she gathered her thoughts. How to tell a stranger that she was in a vested relationship with a genetically engineered superwoman and had a baby growing in an artificial womb?

"Doctor Zero Alpha, Ilana's superior. We met... by accident really. It's been a long bumpy road since then. We love each other, that much I'm certain. She was orphaned and I'm no longer able to directly contact my family. My father sees me as a traitor. Zero is the only real family I have now. She's due to have our child in a little over six months. I'm... quite excited."

Jiseth stopped cutting as her hands began to tremble slightly until she tightened her grip on the knife and vegetable being reduced to pieces.

"Ah yes, I've heard a little about this Doctor Alpha in Ilana's letters home," Kattell said thoughtfully. "It sounds like you're starting to carve out a life for yourself, making your own family." She paused, wiping her hands on a cloth as she observed the Romulan. "Yet there's something else, isn't there? Something about making that life that you're afraid of, or nervous about."

The Romulan was about to speak then stopped short. She quickly finished what was left and set the knife down. Suddenly there was no longer a use for the walls she kept up.

"The umm... Pregnancy was not entirely consensual. I know how that sounds, her and I being females, but she's good with genetics. Impregnated herself with my DNA because she wanted to prove her love to me. It's like a Borg cube landed on top of me. I truly do want the kind of life you have here. Family... But I'm the result of one of my father's conquests with a subordinate. I have no idea how to live up to this or even if I will be a good mother. I only have a handful of months to figure it out."

The scales around Kattell's eyes shifted slightly into an expression of faint surprise, but it was quickly replaced by one of deep thought as she carefully basted and turned the meat.

"You don't figure it out," she said slowly. "Having a family isn't something you understand, it's simply something that you do, and you do anything for it. Vonar threw away everything he had earned with the Union, his rank, the position he held on Bajor, the respect he commanded, everything, because he knew that he couldn't keep his family safe there." She looked up at Jiseth with a faintly pained expression. "If you want a family, it sounds like you're already well on the way to having one."

The knife now became like a shepard dog, corralling the flock of vegetable chunks into the center of the wooden board. Then it was used to brush all the pieces into the boiling water of the pot. Jiseth made sure not to leave any behind. With a ladle she stirred the contents amid the furious white bubbles.

"Yes, and Zero and I have promised to make sure our child has a better life than we did growing up. She deserves so much better than that, our little Callion. It's funny... Most grandparents wish for grandkids, but she will wish she had grandparents."

The maternal Cardassian smiled kindly at Jiseth as she looked up from stirring another pot. Her only hope for grandchildren came from a now broken-hearted daughter. The idea of not having any grandchildren was an alien one to the Cardassian, but she pushed those thoughts away.

"Ilana never knew her grandparents. They were killed by a Bajoran resistance attack when she was only a year old, but she lives well without having that contact. She was curious, yes, but she accepted that she would never know them when we told her why."

There was suddenly a massive topic not to even attempt to broach. The Occupation. A white washed word for years of brutal oppression and genocide. Klingons did similar, so did Romulans, but the voices of Bajor were heard throughout the galaxy when the wormhole was discovered. There was a sudden interest in the affairs of Cardassia that went previously unknown or uncared for. Jiseth wondered how many felt that the Dominion had given the just desserts for Bajor against the Cardassians. One genocide after another lead by one king after another. History in a nutshell.

"We have a canine at least. His name is Ghost. Remarkably friendly ball of fur."

Kattell's smile turned fond as a memory surfaced in her mind. "Pets are wonderful things, especially for children. They can teach so much. Vonar had a riding hound imported to our home on Bajor for Ilana to grow up with and ride when she was old enough. We had to leave it behind when we fled though."

Taking a spoon from a drawer, she dipped it into the pot she had been serving, tasting the thick, gravy-like sauce. She then took a clean spoon, taking another sample and holding it out to Jiseth. "Please, our spices are sometimes overwhelming for non-Cardassians. Is this ok for you?"

There was a curious look on the Romulan's face as she took the spoon and took a quick smell of it. Potent indeed, but not enough to keep from trying a taste. There were several of her own recipes that contained a large amount of kick to them.

Slipping the spoon into her mouth, she was suddenly hit by what seemed to be disruptor blast to the taste buds. She coughed slightly through her nose, but managed to swallow the sauce. It very much reminded her of Indian food on Earth, something she would have to get Zero to try if not simply to see her face turn red.

"This would go excellent with a glass of kanar I think."