Old Friends With New Faces [Deacon/Kaz]

Leela laughed. "Now that is something I can relate to. Yelling and screaming... Trying to convinvce you of how much they hate you... One of Preta's once wished her death. You can only be certain of one thing when it comes to teenagers, and that is uncertainty. No thank you. I would rather fight off a Borg cube with an escape pod than deal with that." She laughed as the Ferengi placed a fresh drink in front of her.

"I think I would have preferred the yelling and screaming, but no, we sent her to school with the other Vulcan children. She just sat there and didn't say a word," John replied, shuddering slightly. "If I wasn't damned sure neither Valery or I have any Vulcan heritage, I would have thought that Rachel was one. Both of the boys had their rebellious teenage phases, but neither of them did anything like this."

"Sounds like she put you two through the ringer." She chuckled and took a sip of her drink. The alcohol was beginning to take a hold of her. "Maybe its time to let that go, John. She's all grown up and what's past is past. Why are you reliving this again and again?"

"Oh, she did, even when it wasn't her fault," John replied with a quiet chuckle. His expression of mirth soon turned serious again as Leela questioned his continuing hovering parent actions. "Because every time I see her, she's just come out of a very dangerous situation, or she's having problems with that VISOR again. Of course I worry about her looking after herself. I'd rather she give all this up and come back to Vulcan where she's safe."

"She's an Admiral and she's still alive. She'll be okay." Her face lit with a warm smile. One would have to be forgiven for mistaking the smile for that of Juval's. "Don't you think if she was going to get hurt it would of been more likely to happen when she was a young officer? Although, I can understand why you worry. Vulcan is a very safe place compared to the unknown out here. But Vulcan isn't without its own dangers? Political movements are quietly gaining strength. But hell, you know that better than me."

Seeing the smile on the young woman's face was a little strange for John. It was so similar to the one that Juval used to give him while they were working together on Vulcan, but he was seeing it again in this young engineer.

"I might have thought that this was a safer assignment for her until I found out on the news nets that she was stabbed at a diplomatic function here." He shook his head. "The situation on Vulcan's well under control. T'Pau's got everyone under her thumb, but you know how the media likes to gossip."

Leela took a sip of her drink as John began to speak of the political turmoil on Vulcan. "T'Pau, that beings back some memories." She set her glass on the table and leaned forward. "Tough as nails, that woman, she's something else. I bet she's got her thumb foot and everything else keeping that paticular movement at bay." The sarcasm in her voice made it clear she was discussing the reunification movement.

"She's still as tough as you remember," John replied, swallowing the last of his drink. A Ferengi immediately replaced it with another. "There's still some support for the reunification movement and a handful of Romulans have made the journey to Vulcan to learn more about the culture though. T'Pau's, as far as I can tell, it wary but otherwise seems happy to let it happen."

"The movement started, much to Juvals chagrin. I don't think she will ever be able to get that particular genie back in the bottle." Leela pondered the political implications of the movement. "You know, Juval had strong feelings regarding re-unification, as you likely recall. It got him in unite a bit of hot water. Hell, I'm still paying for it. T'Koris hates me." She sighed as the alcohol had loosened her tongue and removed the filter between her mind and mouth.

"No, it's not something that can be reversed," John mused. "I do remember Juval's stance on it. He made sure that everyone knew his stance on it." It was interesting that the young woman brought up her commanding officer. Apparently Leela couldn't hold her drink as well as Juval had been able to, but then again, she did look as if she was about half of his weight. "T'Koris? The Phoenix's captain? Well, I have to admit that I'm not all that surprised given her lineage, Leela."

"I know I shouldn't have been surprised, John." Her head sank slightly and her eyes shifted to the table. "I just didn't expect her to take any sentiment about Juval out on me. Hell, I've never even been to Vulcan. But they sure do have a good brandy." She chuckled.

John smiled slightly at the young woman, hoping to be somewhat reassuring. "I'm sure you have all of Juval's knowledge concerning the Romulans, and I've met one or two who have made the move to Vulcan. They're a rather understandably paranoid people. Captain T'Koris should be able to separate her paranoia from her dealings with her crew, but apparently that's not so."

"Perhaps she should be able to separate the two." She swirled her drink around in the glass. "We had to work together on a project on the Phoenix, that was six hours of my life that I'll never get back." She chuckled at her own joke. "John, it turned into a full blown argument. I think if it wasn't for the uniform she would have screamed at me." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "Juval was a lot of things, but he loved the Federation and that damned planet. Vulcan... Its a mystery wrapped in an enigma."

John couldn't help the wry smile that crossed his face as he took another sip of his drink. "That it is," he agreed. "I have to admit that sometimes I leave meetings with no idea what just happened." He copied Leela's gesture in swirling his drink around his glass. "Romulans are never very easy to work with, that much I know."

"I wouldn't know. Juval avoided Romulans like you or I may avoid the Teroca Virus." Leela laughed at the assertion. "The Vulcan certainly do have an odd love affair with their bureaucracy. But tell me, how do you feel about the Re-Unification movement? The news service keeps downplaying it but somehow I think its larger than they let on."

John sighed quietly, pondering the question. It was quite the barbed one, one that no doubt kept several diplomats on both sides awake at night trying to find the answer.

"I don't think they're ready for it yet," he replied. "It's a project for the, hopefully, near future, but it's not for today. The Romulans are starting down the path that the Vulcans when they first split off and I don't think we should deny them the resources to make that step. They just need more time."

"More time." The Trill shrugged slightly and then let out a slight laughter. "That's all you diplomats ever need. Its a game. And a slow one at that. Engage. Calculate. Adjust. Retreat. Re-Engage. Its enough to give anyone a headache. Now I remember why I opted to avoid the diplomatic route."

"That's not the way Juval saw it, but things change from host to host, as far as I can understand it," John replied quietly, wondering whether or not he should move her glass away from her. By the looks of things, Leela was starting to fall victim to the Vulcan brandy and he'd lost track of how many she had had so far. "Diplomacy's always been a game of chess, even more so when it comes to species like the Vulcans and the Romulans, and the Vulcans are easier to deal with if you have a basic grasp of their logic."

Leela nodded along with John. "Chess what a good way to look at it. And you're right. Juval saw it as a much more thrilling pursuit than I do. For as loud and boisterous as he could be. He enjoyed the subtle nuances of the game. That's all it really was to him." She looked at her glass. She had already had seven or eight drinks. She finished the last one and set the glass to the side. "Nonetheless, sounds like you have your hands full on Vulcan."

John couldn't help but smile as he remembered the number of times Juval had beaten him at chess. The only one who had come close to beating him who wasn't Vulcanoid had been Rachel, and that was only because Juval himself had taught her how to play.

He was relieved to see that Leela had apparently decided for herself that she had drunk enough, meaning that he didn't have to try to take the glass from her. Certainly Juval had never appreciated that and he wasn't sure if that trait had been passed on to this host.

"Not any more so than before," he replied with a slight shrug. "Of course, you'll understand that I can't discuss the details. But he was right in a sense. Diplomacy is a game. It has to be. It's just unfortunate that millions of lives hang in the balance of that game."

Rama had been quietly tending bar while the pair discussed all kinds of events both of a personal and professional nature. It was those professional conversations that interested him the most. He wasn't quite certain, but her knew if he could manage to learn some of the diplomats secrets the dividends could pay handsomely. He stepped towards the table and looked onto the pair. He noticed two empty glasses and promptly filled them both. "This one is on me." He smiled.

"I... I really shouldn't..." She began as the Ferengi filled her glass. But before she could complete the sentence he had already finished. "Far be it for me to turn down free drinks. Thank you." She picked up the glass and moved it towards Rama in a gesture of a toast and took the first sip.

As the Ferengi approached, John looked up, raising an eyebrow at the drinks being poured for them, and the fact that Leela had picked hers up. Before she could take a sip of the rather potent Vulcan alcohol, he slipped his hand over the rim of the glass, preventing her from doing so.

"I think you've had enough, Kaz," he pointed out gently as he tried to discreetly pry the glass from her hands. He glanced up at the Ferengi. "Thank you though."


Having finally managed to wriggle free of the other diplomats in her father's party, Rachel had made her way to Rama's drinking establishment in search of her father in time to see Rama himself attempting to ply both John and Ensign Kaz with alcohol. Why else would he be offering them drinks without exacting a latinum payment from them?

"Good evening," she told the Ferengi, her tone a little cool.

Leela took back the glass from the diplomat. "It would be rude not to accept this kind gesture." And with a single fluid motion she downed the entire beverage. "Didn't you used to be more fun John?" She laughed at her own joke.

"Admiral Rachel!" The Ferengis eyes lit up as she entered the bar and approached the table. "What a pleasurable surprise." He brought his wrist together and gave her a slight bow. "Looking as lovely as ever. Will you be joining the group? Can I get you anything at all?