I do not own nor profit from Star Trek or Gene Roddenberrys creations
A/N: Alright, I hope this doesn't seem too rushed of a chapter. I was going to put out the last chapter, but I thought there needed to be a little more. Just a little bit more.
Ebony and Trick had been pivotal in tracking the wildlife herds, especially with the aid of a good shuttle. All of the information they had brought back proved invaluable. Ebony had managed to chip a few of the deer like creatures, bringing them up on a tracking monitor. By spring and summer, they'd have a good idea of their seasonal migrations, and perhaps find other predator pockets along their migration route.
Time was wearing on, and Safiya had to realize that her leave of absence had made a seemingly permanent dent in the relationship with her family. They were cordial, and they obliged by her requests, but the tender feeling of family that had been prevalent before was barely there. This was obvious at family dinners, when they would all gather in the temple. Khan would sit at the head of the table, she on his right, but those who sat closest had little to say to her. Sometimes the seat beside her would sit empty. Essex, Ren and Trick still loved her dearly as family. Ebony liked Safiya, and enjoyed spending time with her and talking to her, but the emotion stopped at a friendly level.
Khan seemed to notice this as well, watching his wife when she would look dejected, and the word pariah would come back into his mind. But in a way, this was the path she chose, and she would have to reap the consequences. Perhaps in time, the feelings would return, but Khan wasn't going to push the issue, nor was he going to make bets on when that would happen. It wasn't a sense of anger that they felt, really. But he knew it was a feeling of abandonment that came with her absence that they could not shake, nor forget.
The sun was out that day, not a single cloud graced the sky. The intense sun reflected off of the snow in blinding fashion. This signaled the end of the freezing winter, heralding the reprieve of spring. The trickling of snow melt broke the silence, day and night. "It's good that the winter is breaking." Essex nodded, noticing the icicles that dropped beads of water from their tips. Randomly they would break off, either splintering upon impact, or sinking right into the snow. Ebony was there with Essex, watching the scene changing before them.
"We can bury Erin soon, when the ground is thawed." Ebony squinted against the bright reflection of light.
"No, she is getting a pyre. Safiya already said so." He shook his head thoughtfully. She had been kept in the morgue on the ship since that day until the weather was clear enough to have a pyre. Any fires outside for too long were extiguished by the heavy snow and whipping winds, but things looked up, now that the weather was calming down and the days even seemed to get longer.
"Do you think she will actually follow through on that?" Ebony glanced over at Essex.
"Yes. I trust she will do as she says. Do you not?"
"I am reserved." Ebony inspected her fingernails as she continued. "As much as I like her, I have lost some trust in her. In our family, Essex, we are honest with one another, are we not?" She eyed the younger one with interest as he nodded. "And has she been entirely honest with us? Leaving without a word? Making plans for us without our knowledge or consent? While I appreciate the outcome of her actions, I can not be comfortable with the deciet that preceded them." Ebony crossed her arms over her chest.
"But don't they balance out, Ebony? I mean, in the end wasn't it worth it for her to go?" Essex had fully turned towards her, their hot breaths fogging in the frigid air. "A lie for our lives? That is what we got, or do you forget? If you knew everything, perhaps you'd be more appreciative." He stepped back inside to warm is pale hands by the fire.
"Appreciative?!" Ebony squatted down next to the fire to warm her palms. "I'd appreciate it if she hadn't come back." She muttered. "Either stay as family, or leave and don't bother looking back." Ebony rolled her eyes.
"Why do you seem to hate her so much Ebony? What has she done to you?" Essex scowled at his comrade, who sighed and sat back on her heels.
"It's a female thing, Essex. I don't expect you to understand." She rubbed her hand vigorously together.
"Seems more like a wolf thing if you ask me. And if that is what you women have been deduced to, then I say throw you two out in a locked barn for a few nights, and we will move ahead with the survivor." This drew a jovial laugh from the woman, who could only imagine how that would play out. A fight to the death over rank and station. It would be foolish to outwardly go against Safiya, simply because she had Khan on her side. But that didn't mean she couldn't harbor resentment and a seed of loathing covered in a shell of civility and friendliness.
The fortnight before first shipment from Earth, Erin was finally burned on her funeral pyre. On the opposite side of the river from where they were, in a clearing, Essex applied his torch to the dried wood beneath her linen-wrapped corpse. Gavin had done a wonderful job in preserving her, and wrapping her. The others helped to build her pyre, and some had traveled far to collect flora. Bundles of flowers, some wrapped in twine and others spread freely, sent a sweet perfume in the air as they were the first to succumb to the fire.
The world in those hours was silent. Only the cracking and sizzling was audible for a long while. One by one, the others approached Essex, placing a hand on his shoulder before walking back towards home. It was a silent gesture of condolence from a comrade and friend to another. To Augments, words in times like these were meaningless. Humans, they noticed, always had something to say in these times, but it meant nothing. Just words.
Essex was the last one standing there, watching a part of his world burn. The time he finally returned to his home, all of the lights in the homes around him were dim or off. In some windows, the flickering light of a lit hearth could be seen. Like the wavering light of life itself, it danced, brighter and dimmer, strong then weak. Essex turned his head downward, stuffing his hands back in his pockets as he continued home.
Two glasses were set out on his table upon his arrival, next to a bottle of fine aged brandy. He shook out his jacket and hung it up next to the door, before plopping down before the fireplace. Even though it was warming up, the nights were still bitterly cold, as he blew on the embers that were left clinging to life. Within a few breaths, the embers glowed bright. After adding a log and some dried coniferous needles, the fire came to life. It wasn't blazing or roaring. No, it was much like him. It was existing in the moment, not hot and wicked, but not cool and shy either. It was simply there. Warm, and strong but seemingly independant of all matter around it.
Satisfied, Essex grabbed the glasses and the bottle, sitting down in his chair before the fire, setting the items down on the little table between his chair and the other that was there. He poured brandy into one glass, and turned the other upside down, almost ceremoniously. He gave a soft smile, toasting the empty glass with a clink, and emptied his own glass into his throat with an inward hiss as the liquor burned going down.
Nobody had really seen Safiya, as she was stuck in meetings with Akkare going over the intel they had picked up from Pollux. It was a long process, as Akkare had a sort of fascination with everything that was presented. As best she could, she held her tongue, remembering this as the stipulation for their food and supplies. But did it have to be so long? Couldn't he have read it without her? She sighed as he asked about weather systems there. She answered as best she could, but admittedly, they weren't exacly focusing on weather patterns.
She did outline her annual goal however, of exploring further south towards the equator and discovering new species. Perhaps this world, like Earth, had thick jungles and rainforests. Or many it was more deserted further south, who knows. She skipped through her padd, looking at the pictures of small rodents they had found living in the plains nearby. They were like ginger-haired prairie dogs, but a little bigger, with thick long tails. Already they had identified 437 species nearby to them, including birds, mammals, insects and some plants. The Flora around them was still coming out of hibernation, and wouldn't be fully observable until later in the year.
"So, how are things, being back there?" Akkare asked. It threw Safiya for a loop as it was so far from his line of questioning he had been on.
"Sir?" She asked, looking at the screen.
"How is everything, being back?" He asked slower. "It's a simple question, really." He smirked.
"It's not as I thought, but it isn't so bad." She shrugged.
"Did he sign the papers yet?"
"Yeah, the papers are signed, I'll make sure it gets sent to you when the supplies are dropped off." She yawned, curling her feet under her.
"Do you miss home?" He had to ask.
"Yes. And no." She admitted. "I miss you, and mom, and the missions. You know, the best part of going on a mission, was becoming someone else." She smiled.
"Like Cyan Tracks?" Akkare arched a brow amused. Safiya chuckled and nodded. He remembered that mission very well.
She spent time on a black market planet looking for a wanted man. But to get any information from criminals, you've pretty much gotta be a criminal yourself. That was where she met Cyan Tracks, actually, in a little backwater tavern. Their near identical looks is what got Cyan to approach Safiya. Cyan was already an intimidating force, and well known on the black market. Ek'Neth was one of the lackeys that worked far under Cyan. It would seem now, over time, that he came into his own ruling, probably taking many of Cyans other lackeys with him.
She hated to have to kill her, it almost felt like commiting suicide. But her reasons were just. The only things she took away from Cyans death, was a renewed sense of appreciation for life, and a pair of icy blue irises that she kept safe in case she needed them later. Later came when she needed the Bradbury, of course. A chance to screw Cyan over, was no doubt what Ek'Neth was hoping to do. Take the files, strand the ship, then take it back, possibly kill her. But that day, he couldn't be bothered with the menial details, sending his excitable little sycophant instead, who fucked Ek'Neth's entire trap.
"Like Cyan Tracks." Safiya finally nodded, speaking softly. She thought back to her, of wearing Cyans irises as contacts when she needed to pass as her. Though she never really went to those lengths to take over someone's identity. She usually had a spare identity assigned to her, and that was where the fun was, like an acress, she was someone else, if only for a little while.
"I miss mom, and Abydos. I miss you." She looked up to the screen to see him give a soft smile and nod. "But this is something that I can't just pass up." She shrugged.
"Do you think you made the right choice?" Akkare flipped through the infor she gave him.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I did. Only time will tell if this will be a happy ending, or if this will be a tragedy in black." She smiled hopeful.
They finished their transmission with Safiya notifying him of everything that they would need for the upcoming year, a list that was compiled by all of them. Another two weeks later and they were offloading the large delivery from Earth. It was like christmas, seeing what had come in. The weather was warming up, and the snow was almost melted on the paths they walked along . There were still large banks of snow, especially in the shadier areas, but it wasn't as frigid as it had been, and for that they were thankful.
"So, are you ready for the next stage?" Khan asked, as she looked out of the window of their bedroom, stepping towards her.
"Of what?" She looked up, snapping out of her reverie.
"Of us. Of your exploration, of anything." He leaned against the stone wall before her.
"Yeah, I am ready." She nodded, unsure. "I will send a few groups south. I think I'll have Essex to a compositional scan on the Bra-"
Khan stopped her with a hand to her cheek.
"And are you ready for the next stage of us?" He tilted his head. He didn't want to discuss her work right now. He would be listening to it later.
"You mean, like what?" She shook her head, wanting him to stay the words and clarify what he meant.
"Like a son, perhaps?" Khan murmured as his lips rested on her neck.
"Already? But, Khan we are just getting into this... life." She didn't pull away from his embrace, but her eyes searched the room as if it would somehow give her answers.
"And we can have this life, but we can have it with a son." He nuzzled. She gave a gentle laugh, and shook her head.
"Khan, of all people, you, are asking me for children?" She finally pulled back to look at him, interest plaguing her features.
"Should I not ask? Is it not natural for a man to ask his wife for an heir?" He narrowed his eyes.
"It is natural, I just, didn't expect it from you. You don't exactly strike me as paternal." She smiled thoughftully.
"Well, then perhaps I should be unexpected more often." He smirked, giving her a smoldering look that brought a heat to her cheeks.
"Khan, we are going to have a lot going on, with these explorations. Are you sure you want to start working on a family right now?" She was growing worried. "I mean, it would take a lot of time and energy."
"But I am willing to do that." He assured her. "If you would rather wait, then I will wait for you, but not too long now." He warned playfully.
"No, but you know, we could always, you know, practice?" She offered with a smirk. Khan wouldn't argue with this, she knew.
An evening of intimacy was ended with Safiya tucked close to Khans side, while he laid awake, staring at the ceiling. He never thought, back in the 1900's, that he would ever find the one for him. Through the Eugenics war, it never even crossed his mind. But the day he was awaken, he couldn't have possibly thought he would ever come across Safiya. And he decided then, that everything that happened was worth it, to be with her, and his family, far from Earth in their own little world. And if he was asked to do it again, he knew he wouldn't change a thing.