Chapter 57: Hello, Earth

A/N: Tomalak, a warm welcome to you! Thanks for your review! I laughed when I read your username. Who can forget the wonderful little battles between Tomalak and Picard? I think this story will be around 65-68 chapters in length, and I've also got a sequel planned. I actually thought this fic would be half the length, but there was so much that kept cropping up despite setting up the outline of the story before I actually started writing the chapters.

Hi romulanlover, the part with Cretak and Kira Nerys was a nod to your wish that the two were actually paired up in Star Trek canon :-) Glad you liked it! The Romulan vessel on which Asha is travelling is not heading for Deep Space Nine, but on a direct route to Earth. I think being in a relationship with someone of the Tal Shiar would be very difficult unless the Tal Shiar agent defected. In my fanfic, Vreenak was always in a grey zone, burdened by the Tal Shiar, trying to escape and never really succeeding…And when he did make a run for it, he was executed…

Thank you very much for your review, Alaya! Looks like that virus is spreading, unfortunately…Let's keep our fingers crossed that it can still be contained to an extent.

From what I've gleaned from the episode recaps of Star Trek: Picard, a very diverse picture of the Romulans is shown, so that's nice to see. I believe Laris and Zhaban, Picard's housekeepers, and Elnor can be regarded as decent Romulans…at least for now! And yes, Asha is finally headed back for home, but at the loss of her other home on Romulus. It's going to be a very tough time for her. Although this is a fanfic, I felt it was really important not to make it too sappy or hunky-dory. As it is, Romulus is run by a dictatorship, and with the ensuing paranoia and mutiny, happy ends just can't be part of it…

Note: Simon Tarses is canon ("The Drumhead", TNG). His grandfather was Romulan, so I thought it would be nice to upgrade him to Captain in my fanfic and it would make sense to send him out to pick up a defecting Romulan vessel. His background would prove to be an asset.


The news of the fate which had befallen Asha's Romulan family and friends spread to the other Romulans on board, though they were not aware of the actual bond between her and Merken tr'Vreenak. Each of them sympathised with her and tried to help her and comfort her.

They decided they would hold a memorial with Romulan rites once they reached Earth.

But for now, they were still far away from Earth and on tenterhooks in case they were hunted down by the Tal Shiar. Their vessel was old and no match for the powerful ones of the Tal Shiar. Their first priority was to enter and cross the Neutral Zone, and that would take some days.

Asha dragged herself through those days on the vessel. She had fits of nausea and dizziness, and her period, which was overdue and the delay of which she put down to stress, came with a vengeance, gushing with such force that she was forced to lie down. There was one doctor on board. He was unfamiliar with Human anatomy, and all he could do was supervise her blood levels and give her an iron infusion afterwards. Asha's sense of discipline did not collapse, however. Lilou kept a watchful eye on her and would not budge from her side, and Asha remembered how Thorek had gifted the set'leth to her and the funny moments they had both experienced with her.

Kihika and Vereth managed to coax her into eating, although she had no appetite. She did what she could to help the other passengers as soon as she could get back on her feet. When she noticed how much the seven children on board liked Lilou, she encouraged them to play with her, and the sight of the little Romulans forgetting about their plight with the unique resilience of childhood comforted her. As a result, the children took a great liking to her as well. Asha, who was not at all used to a caravan of children trooping behind her, found this to actually be a welcome distraction. Letant marvelled at her courage. His heart went out to her when he saw how thin she had become and the heavy shadows underneath her eyes. He had been afraid that Asha would hate him or even accuse him of sending Vreenak to his death, but she trusted him and often sat with him when he was off duty from captaining the vessel.

Finally, they reached the Neutral Zone and were met over there by two Federation vessels. When Letant informed them that they had a Terran on board, the Starfleet officers wanted to speak to Asha at once. She was beamed over to one of the Starfleet vessels where Captain Simon Tarses received her decorously. She noticed the slight arched shape of his eyebrows and when he spoke to her in both English and Romulan, she realised that Romulans had scattered across the galaxy for much longer than even Romulans on Romulus knew. He seemed like a gentle man who understood her quandary when she explained about her citizenship.

"By Romulan law and my own volition, I waived my citizenship on Earth and am a Romulan citizen only. Or was. I don't even know what my citizenship status is on Romulus now that war has broken out with the Tal Shiar. I thought I would never see Earth again, and I accepted that I would live out my days on Romulus," she said. She had worn the necklace she had received when she had been sworn into her citizenship, and she touched the raptor pendant on her chest.

"I understand your problem. The Federation will look into the matter and find a solution. My first priority is to escort you and your friends safely to Earth in San Francisco. We will be sending word to your family," Tarses reassured her.

"Thank you. Khnai'ra," she responded, and for the first time in days she smiled warmly with gratitude.

When she gave him the information about her next of kin of Romulus, Tarses also inquired about Vreenak.

"I believe you were well acquainted with the Senator?"

Well, Asha thought, no doubt the Federation had planted their own spies on Romulus, and as she was a well-known poet on the planet and had been officially invited to Vreenak's poetry reading, it was hardly surprising that such information would reach their ears.

She raised her chin proudly. "He was my mate, just as Thorek was my mate, except that marrying was out of the question for obvious reasons, and secrecy concerning my relationship with Merken was of utmost importance. Only Thorek and my closest friends knew about our bond, and my husband in fact encouraged and supported me, as he did with everything I pursued. I loved both my mates very much, and I always will." Her lips trembled, and she brushed her hand over her mouth to hide the spasm of grief which contorted her face for a few moments.

Simon Tarses didn't bat an eyelid. He simply nodded once and entered the information on his PADD.

Afterwards, the Captain gave her a tour of the ship, and Letant joined her.

"Now that you are close to home, what do you feel like?" he asked her once the tour was finished and they were beamed back onto the Romulan vessel.

"Delon, I have so many feelings going on that I feel…numb. Like it's too much. I am looking forward so much to seeing my family and friends on Earth, but I lost my loved ones on Romulus, and that hurts so much. I don't know whether I want to live or die…"

Letant took her hand in his.

"Live, Asha. Live."

She squeezed his fingers. "You've lost so many dear to you, too."

He looked away from her for a few seconds to control his emotions; then he said bitterly: "There's no real winner in war, Asha. There's no winning without loss, grief and death of the innocent and guilty alike. Now it is up to us to move forwards, Asha. We survived the Sundering and built a new life and while you are Human, you, too were sundered from your planet. We are those who march beneath the raptor's wings, whether Romulan or Human."

"Yes," she agreed, placing her hand on her brow – a gesture which was used to indicate or emphasise complete agreement among Romulans. Letant did the same.


They arrived without incident on Earth. Asha watched with a gush of memories and feelings as planet Earth become bigger and bigger as the ship approached.

The other Romulans shrouded themselves in proud silence, aware that their arrival on Earth would be received with hostile rather than welcoming arms. They in fact looked to Asha as their guide and mediator. Kihika and Vereth were already trying to work out the logistics on Earth and discussing about replicators and proper nourishment, including for Lilou.

It reminded Asha of her first encounters with Romulan food, how she had grown particularly fond of the fish dishes, her stay in Mirek, the joy she had discovered in the arms of her husband during those nights…She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and focused on the vibration of the ground and walls of the old but trusty D'deridex, skilfully piloted by Kureth and his team. The engines began to rumble loudly as the vessel docked onto the station, then calmed down after the procedure was accomplished.

The second Starfleet vessel that had accompanied the first arrived a few hours later, moderately damaged from a Tal Shiar vessel which had attempted to pursue the refugees, ruthlessly breaching the rules of the Neutral Zone and entering Federation Space. Fortunately, it had failed in its mission to stop or destroy its targets, and its warp engine and weapons had been severely crippled by the Starfleet vessel, which bore several disgruntled Tal Shiar captives in its brig to Earth. As was typical of Romulans, the Tal Shiar crew had activated the self-destruction sequence to prevent Starfleet from getting a closer look at their mighty vessel.


Disembarking, receiving a special pass which would allow her to stay on Earth, being beamed down to San Francisco with her belongings – all that passed in a blur for Asha. Her heart was aching for her family, and she stepped onto the transporter pad with trembling hands.

When she materialised on the other end with Lilou, Kihika, Vereth and Letant, the first people she saw were her parents. Cousin Maya and her Vulcan husband Navok were also there.

Asha flew into her parents' arms with a shriek. The tears, noise and confusion were too much for Letant, who recalled that he would never know a welcome like the one Asha was receiving; at the same time, his pain was soothed as he had fulfilled his promise to Vreenak and brought Asha safely home to her Terran loved ones. He retired discreetly to a corner to give them their own space. Kihika and Vereth followed suit. Lilou, however, proceeded to sniff loudly at Navok, who raised an eyebrow.

"A Romulan set'leth," he remarked. "Fascinating. This leads me to the logical conclusion that your cousin resided on Romulus." Then he remarked: "It has become rather noisy in here."

Maya looked at him, amused. "Asha has returned after something like four years. We haven't seen her since she vanished off the planet. Humans usually become very, er, noisy when a loved one returns in this manner." She dabbed at the corner of her eye as she watched Asha sobbing in her parents' arms.

"Ah, I see," Navok said thoughtfully, petting Lilou.

"Where were you all this time, my darlingest girl?" Asha's mother Shalini was asking her daughter repeatedly. Asha's father Rahul was hugging Asha now, too lost for words, tears running down his face.

And then Asha was in Cousin Maya's arms, and even Navok gave her a small formal hug.

"Live long and prosper," he said, offering her the Vulcan greeting.

She replied in the same manner, then inclined her head and said: "Jolan'tru. I was on Romulus, and I don't know where to start! I wouldn't be here without my friends."

And she introduced Letant, Kihika and Vereth to her family. Lilou garnered many cautious stares because of her gleaming white fangs, mighty claws and size. Even the friendly waggling of her fluffy ears was received with suspicion.


It took several days for Asha to summarise what had happened and weeks to go into detail. She was unable to speak of what had happened to Thorek and Merken, so Letant, Kihika and Vereth did so.

"I don't know where Vekal is. I hope so much he's out there and safe," Asha ended her story.

It was a ton for her parents to take in. Their daughter had been kidnapped, forced into marriage, found love, a new home and the goodwill of many Romulans thanks to her poetry, and lost her loved ones to the cruelty of the Tal Shiar.

Through it all, faithful Lilou sat next to her owner's knee, ignoring the wondering stares in her direction.

And then there was André. Asha regarded him as her brother, but since he had not been categorised as family by Starfleet, he had been forced to miss out on Asha's arrival on Earth.

Asha was waiting for him in front of the library where he worked. He arrived for his evening shift on his turquoise bicycle with a box containing library PADDS fastened to the rack. His hair was short and dyed neon green, a suitably Romulan colour. With trembling knees, Asha walked towards him.

"André," she said. He turned. And stared at her.

"Asha," he whispered. "Is that you?"

"What happened to the purple hair?" she asked, grinning.

André knocked over his bicycle as he flung out his arms and lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. There were tears and exclamations again, making people turn their heads and stare.

"You're coming home with me and telling me where you disappeared to," André said.

Asha had her own cycle with her, and Lilou was sitting next to it. André goggled at her.

"Don't tell me that's a set'leth? Your set'leth?"

"André, this is Lilou. Lilou, this is André."

Lilou got up and sniffed at him. She was a big animal and reached till his upper thigh.

"Lilou? Seriously?"

Asha smiled and patted the set'leth.

"She was gifted to me by...my former husband." There was a catch in her voice.

André stared. "Husband?!"

"I was hijacked by the Tal Shiar, taken to Romulus and married off to a Romulan, whom I grew to love very much."

"Are you shitting me, sis?"

"I have such a lot to tell you about. Are you ready to stay up the whole night?"

"Yes. And the night after that."

Asha spent the evening in the library reading quietly until André had finished his shift. Afterwards, they had dinner together and cycled over to André's, Lilou keeping up with them effortlessly.

"I suppose you know that your flat was let to another person in the meantime? Your parents and I hired a storage room to keep your belongings. Where are you staying now?" André asked.

"They told me. Thank you so much. They also insisted I should stay with them, so I'm doing that now, but once the Romulan embassy is ready, I'll be moving there."

"Romulan embassy?! You're really going to have a lot to tell. I kept hoping you'd come back. In fact, I knew you would come back."

They sat down on his sofa and she told him her story. She also showed him the pictures of Thorek, Merken, Vekal and Christine, crying as she did so.

"What I would give to find out how Vekal is doing."

André shook his head, hugging her. "Those Tal Shiar agents are assholes."

Seeing Romulans and a set'leth, plus various odds and ends from Romulus, was quite something for Asha's family and friends. Quite a few eyebrows were raised when she said frankly that she had shared intimate relationships with her husband and Merken tr'Vreenak at the same time, but they had enough sense not to say anything. André was the only one to whom she showed the jewellery Thorek and Vreenak had sent her before their death. She wore Christine's necklace, as Christine had asked her to in her letter. It had been a gift from Vekal on their tenth wedding anniversary. The letters she kept to herself. They were her most precious possessions. André's eyebrows remained where they were when she told him about her love for two Romulan men.

"Hardly surprising, sis. You have a way of bringing a spark into people's lives, you know."

Asha was eager for news about André.

"The holonovel company is flourishing, but I miss your way with words. Nothing on the romantic scene. Might consider dating a Romulan, however."

Asha laughed. "I'll be introducing you to my Romulan friends. Kihika and Vereth travelled with me to Earth. They're married to each other, so no dating possible. And then there's Letant, of course. I have the feeling you'll be best friends, but he's unfortunately straight as a pole. I'm happy to share Romulan dating protocol with you, though they would call it courting protocol."

"Can you tell me now?"

"Romulans take courting very seriously. They are a passionate people who love to explore their sexuality openly, but with a specific courting code. When a Romulan courts another person, it is because they want to spend time with them and might ultimately pick them as a married or unmarried mate for life. They are usually serial monogamists before choosing a permanent partner. A bit like us Humans in that respect. One-night-stands are spurned. Anyone who indulges in them is encouraged to visit the local brothel and told they can't keep their pants up. Romulans are inoculated against sexually transmitted diseases, but before seeking a new mate, a Romulan has their blood tested out of courtesy towards their new partner, and to ensure no new strain of disease shows up and spreads."

"Oh wow. Can one date several Romulans at the same time?"

"Don't even think of it. That practice is viewed in very poor taste and would even result in blood feuds between clans. If you'd like an outraged Romulan showing up at your doorstep and yelling for all the neighbours to hear that you can't keep your pants up, be my guest," Asha warned him grimly. "They are extremely passionate."

"Good to know. Still...I wonder what it's like simply chatting with a Romulan," André mused.

"I'll give you a PADD with all the facts about Romulan culture and advice on how to actually interact with them instead of wondering. Letant is wonderful. He also saved my life and tried to help my loved ones. After he defected, the Tal Shiar wiped out his whole family." She took a deep breath to force down her tears, then continued. "You can start by chatting with him."

Then the tears did fill her eyes and spill down her cheeks. "It has been so much, André. I was ripped away from here to Romulus. I was able to make a new life over there and call Romulus home, then I was ripped away from there, too and while I'm so happy to see you all on Earth, I hardly know what to call home or who I am. And I miss my Thorek and Merken so much!" She began to sob as if her heart would break.

"You need time to grieve, Asha," André said gently, hugging her.