Orlyanal, Sea of Lataan, Senes, Stardate 2292.287
Sarek stepped out of the ground car onto the ruined road; this was as far as the driver could take him. Pieces of what was once the sand-colored stone road, evidence of the war that had ended nearly twelve years ago, blocked further passage. Beyond the initial debris, the road buckled up about a meter from the ground. Well-worn footpaths circumvented the debris on both the right and left. Sarek chose the path on the right, which afforded him a closer view of the sea, spread out behind the grayish stone houses. He could see it as he passed between houses, blue-green water disappearing into the horizon. It was approaching dusk and he caught glimpses of the sun here and there between the buildings as it sunk in the sky. The smell of saltwater hung in the air, reminding him of San Francisco.
There was none of the noise and bustling of San Francisco here though - all was very still. It was hard to imagine that not long ago bombings and phaser strikes had occurred in such a peaceful place. How long would the debris remain as a reminder? He paused in front of a pile of rubble in a place where a house had obviously once stood, staring out at the sea beyond. Aside from this spot and two others on the opposite side of the street, the other houses remained intact, though many of their exteriors were damaged. The drab, gray houses appeared quite old and all were built in a similar style. Some had small balconies on the second floor, most filled with potted plants and flowers, a small table, and chairs. A few of the balconies were completely bare, giving the impression that they were unoccupied.
They had driven through the small town of Orlyanal on their way in and though it was tiny compared to the capital city of Undaa, from which he had set our earlier in the day, he had observed people walking along the streets there. Here there was no one. It was just as well - Sarek had had no time alone to gather his thoughts since leaving Deep Space Four the previous night. It had been thirty-three days since Losha left the station and returned to Senes. Negotiations with Ambassadors Tala and Barees had prevented Sarek from leaving sooner, something he felt a twinge of guilt about. Logically, he knew it would have been impossible for him to leave in the midst of negotiations. He could have relayed certain information to Losha but he felt it was necessary to discuss other things with him in person. Making him aware of certain things earlier would not change the outcome anyway.
He had had some time to prepare for the conversation he would soon need to have but still he did not feel prepared. He was comfortable dealing with emotional beings in his line of work, but outside the sphere of diplomacy, he felt less at ease. After almost sixty years, he was quite comfortable dealing with Amanda's emotions but this was different. Losha was a virtual stranger to him. He focused on his breathing and continued down the road.
The houses were not numbered but he knew which one to look for - the last house on the right. Beyond it the road ended abruptly at an area covered with shrubs and small trees. The heavy metal knocker on the door was somewhat corroded from the salt air but still functional. He had anticipated arriving several hours earlier but the condition of the roads leading from Undaa to here had delayed him significantly. A short distance outside the city he had lost communications service so he'd had no way to inform his hosts of his late arrival. He pulled the knocker and waited. Soon it opened and a young Seenan woman ushered him inside, taking his bag from him.
In stark contrast to the battered outside of the house, the inside was perfectly well-maintained. He followed the woman, who had not introduced herself, down a hallway containing a few tapestries on the walls and a small table that displayed a vase. There were rooms off to the sides of the hall but the woman headed straight back into a large kitchen. The kitchen glass doors led out onto a patio that overlooked a pool and beyond that, a reddish wooden fence ended in steps going down to the beach. The fence did not continue on the other side of the steps, giving a stunning view of the sea and sun to the woman who sat at a table on the patio, her back to them.
The young woman he was following called in Haka to the woman seated at the table. She replied without turning to them. The young woman responded, then smiled at Sarek and nodded towards the table as the woman finally stood and turned toward him. She was nearly as tall as he, lean, and her copper colored hair, which appeared to be nearly shoulder length, was pulled back into clip that matched her hair color.
"Ambassador Sarek, welcome. I am Malar." She said in Standard and nodded once in Seenan custom. Sarek returned the gesture and was about to speak when Malar held her right hand up to form the ta'al.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, raising his hand to form the ta'al as well.
"Please, have a seat. Losha has gone down to the beach. I'm not sure how long it will be before he returns." Sarek took the seat opposite her at the table.
"Can I offer you anything to eat or drink? Perhaps you are hungry after your long trip?" Her voice was deep and rich and though her Standard was quite good, he detected the unmistakable Hakaran accent he had heard from the crewmembers on Deep Space Four.
"A drink would be most welcome."
"What would you like? This," she said, pointing to the glass in front of her, "is called lehend. It is a fruit juice mixed with a distilled liquor. It's quite sour. I can also have Katas bring you the juice without the liquor, if you prefer, or water, or just about anything else. I'm not sure whether you're familiar with what we drink here in Hakar." As she spoke, he noticed her looking him over carefully. She was quite sly about it - someone less observant than Sarek likely would not have noticed.
"I have learned quite a bit about Hakar and Senes recently but I am not familiar with the food or drink. Water will be fine." Malar exchanged a few words with the young woman, Katas, who then turned to the house.
"You mentioned that Losha is at the beach. He is able to get around without assistance then?"
"To some degree. He wouldn't be able to make it down to the beach and back on his own though. He's with Betal now - that's the girl I've hired to help him."
"I presume Betal is not a child?"
"Oh, no," Malar snorted. "We don't have child labor here, despite how backward we are in many ways. She's just very young. She and Katas, my assistant who showed you in. They seem so young to me, I think of them as children."
"You cannot be much older than them yourself." Seenans had a similar life expectancy as humans and Malar appeared to be well under forty.
"No, I'm not old enough to be their mother but I feel like it. The war aged us all very quickly." She took a sip of her lehend. "But I don't want to talk about that. I hope you didn't come all this way to bring us bad news?"
"No, but may I first enquire about Losha?" He needed to speak with Losha before revealing any pertinent details.
"Of course. He's not doing well, if that's what you want to know. He's miserable. If he weren't my closest friend, I may have thrown him out of the house by now." She smiled and laughed softly. "No, of course I wouldn't do that. I'm sorry, I tend to make jokes about serious things. I find it makes things more bearable. It's been very difficult for him, as you can imagine. He doesn't like taking help from others; he's very stubborn when it comes to that. He wouldn't have agreed to let me hire Betal at all except that he realized it was necessary. He was adamant that Naalem return to school, even though he could have completed his school work remotely. The school was very understanding and I wanted Naalem to stay, but Losha felt that someone he views as his own child should not be taking care of him. I agree with him on that point but there is no reason Naalem and Betal couldn't both be here. I've got the room. Anyway, I apologize for rambling. Please tell me you've found a way for Losha to have that surgery."
At that moment, Katas returned to the table, drinks in hand.