Chapter 42: Confrontations

A/N: Hi romulanlover, you're so right about Christine's reaction! She's going through a rough patch (further described in this chapter), and now the roles are reversed. At first, Asha used to envy Christine for what she considered was a perfect marriage and life. Now it's Christine who is comparing herself with Asha to her own detriment. I love your wise and insightful comments!

Alaya Karangalan, I just had a look at the Deep Space 9 outfits again and while the military Romulans still suffer from those square-shouldered costumes as in The Next Generation, the Senators have far more comfortable-looking outfits without those crazy shoulder pads, so at least they got lucky :-D The Nemesis Romulan costumes are very elegant. I'd pick those as my favourites. Senator Cretak's orange robes with the silver pin are really nice, too!

As for Christine and Asha, I've got a dialogue between them in this chapter, and I've got one planned between Thorek and Vreenak for later. That one's going to be quite something to write…

I think most friendships have their rocky parts and Asha and Christine's friendship is no exception. The way things are going for Asha, it's a learning experience for her to see that jealousy can raise its ugly head precisely among her loved ones.

And finally: a new Star Trek series called Star Trek: Picard will be launched in 2020. It features the Borg and the Romulans! Yays! There's a trailer, too!

Vocab lesson: "ghachein" means "prostitutes".


The first few weeks post-publication were fairly quiet, but they carried a promise of busy times. Asha cooperated with Rhian as she started to go for book presentation events. In contrast to her cousin Maya, who had always enjoyed the limelight, Asha was uncomfortable being the centre of attention, especially as a self-described lowly Human among Romulans. Rhian would grow very irritated when she heard Asha's self-deprecating comments, and Asha soon realised that Rhian was not after the spotlight herself, but was genuinely concerned about Asha and getting her poetry read outside Asha's self-imposed writing closet. This realisation made her become less stand-offish towards Rhian, and their working relationship improved.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for her friendship with Christine. Corresponding with the only other Human she knew on Romulus had become awkward.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Christine wanted to be needed by Asha. Asha's growing confidence and independence were a double-edged sword for Christine.

Things became stiff and formal between them. Vekal refused to get involved, saying it was none of his business, that Asha had not done anything to offend either him or Christine and that Asha was his friend as she had been from the start.

As for Thorek, he said wisely: "A disagreement rooted in jealousy can only be resolved if the jealous person admits their resentment." He had never been close friends with Christine. He regarded her as a person who was conceited and liked to boss others around. He also disapproved about her present behaviour towards his wife and he had to restrain himself from driving the flitter to the Jo'rek residence and giving Christine a good upbraiding. Like Vekal, however, he decided not to get involved. It was none of his business, and all of them were adults.

Finally, Asha had had enough. Christine's cold behaviour was grating on her nerves and she thought it would be best to talk about the issue openly. With Lilou for company, she drove the flitter to visit Christine. She was cordially received by Galan, who knew her as a close friend to both Vekal and Christine. He was unaware of the real state of matters between her and Christine, and he greeted her as he usually did.

"Is Ihhei Christine available?" Asha asked.

"I'll check. If you will please wait for a minute?" he replied and went upstairs. She soon heard Christine's footsteps. She went towards her and gave her a hug which was not returned. Her heart sank, and she looked into her friend's hostile grey eyes. Lilou rubbed her head affectionately against Christine's knee, but she ignored the set'leth. Lilou's fluffy ears drooped, and she slouched off to sulk near a chair.

"Christine," Asha said, "I love you like my sister. I don't know what's going on. So I'm here to find out what's going on."

The other woman stared at her. "Please sit," she said at last.

They both sat down diagonally across each other and glanced at each other uncomfortably.

"What's going on, Christine?" Asha prodded gently.

"I missed my period twice. I thought that just maybe...Pregnancies can still happen to some women at my age. Well, it turned out to simply be a false alarm. I am about to enter perimenopause, after all." She shrugged.

"I'm so sorry. I know you would have loved being a Mom. Why didn't you tell me?" She reached out to touch Christine's hand, but Christine withdrew it as if she was about to be touched by something contaminated.

She shrugged. "What could you have done about it?"

"Listened. Been there for you."

"You were busy getting your book ready. I didn't want to encroach on you."

"You're my friend. What's this about encroaching? Didn't you help me when I was at a complete loss on this planet and in my marriage?"

Christine stared at her again. "Still, it has come to you so easily, hasn't it?"

"I don't understand."

"Success. Friends. Attention. Even Senators are interested in you," she observed flatly.

"It didn't come to me overnight, Christine."

"And Senator Vreenak is keen on you, isn't he? Do you love him, Asha?"

"What? But I don't want to talk about this-"

"Do you love him?"

"I do."

"And Thorek knows?"

"Yes. He is in fact encouraging me to...well..."

"Thorek may tolerate your having another lover, moreover a Senator, as one. But will other Romulans be so indulgent? Good luck with that," Christine said coldly.

Asha drew a deep breath. "I'm not here to talk about myself. Does Vekal know that you had hoped you'd be pregnant?"

"No. He has gone through enough."

"Vekal loves you so much, no matter what. When he mentions you, he always smiles."

"He would have been a wonderful father."

"He would have been, but he got to be a great husband with a great wife."

Christine laughed harshly. "Oh my. Everything you say is such a perfect little sentence, isn't? Look, you're wasting your time over here."

"Why are you so angry with me?" she asked gently.

"It's incredible how you've got everything you want, with people fawning over you. Even my husband spoils you as if you were two years old, giving you swimming lessons back in Mirek. You're a complete Mary Sue."

Asha got up slowly. "You're right. I had better go. I'm here for you whenever you wish, though, Christine."

"Thanks, but I don't like running to sluts or whores for advice."

Asha froze. "What did you call me?"

"You're fucking your husband and you want to fuck another Romulan at the same time. It's disgusting. Only ghachein do that."

"That's my business. Besides, Mary Sues aren't sluts or prostitutes, and prostitutes are people, too. Bye, Christine, and please take care of yourself."

She raised her hand to pat Christine's cheek in a genuine gesture of affection, but Christine backed off and walked away.

"Asha?" Vekal's gentle voice was behind her. She turned. Vekal had just come home. Lilou got up and nuzzled him, and he patted her head.

Asha's eyes filled with tears. She swallowed them down, but Vekal noticed and took her in his arms.

"I heard the last part," he murmured. "You're not a slut or whore for loving two men."

"Thank you. I needed to hear that. Eneh, why does Christine hate me so?" She stifled a sob.

"She doesn't. She often gets like that when she thinks she's pregnant and it is not so."

"You know, then?"

"Yes, even when she hides it from me. She would have loved having children. We spoke about adoption and fostering, but she didn't want that. She's furious with herself and you're her punching bag."

"I love her like a sister. I just told her so."

"I know you're like sisters, but she's going to need time."

She nodded. "I hate seeing her so miserable."

"You also have to understand that one of the reasons she's angry is that you voluntarily chose to forgo children while she was forced to."

"In other words, I was able to choose and she couldn't choose. But that's no reason for a personal attack."

"I know and I agree with you, but emotions are rarely rational. She's very anguished and the time of childbearing is running out for her. She has visited four reproduction specialists, all with the same result."

Asha raised her face. "It's like she's trying to force herself into having a child. Why?"

Vekal sighed. "I would have enjoyed becoming a father, but hers is a yearning, a desperation which even I don't understand. I have accepted life as it is and I am content."

"I hope she comes around soon. She'll waste her life by trying to force another life into being. I wish I could be there for her but she has made it clear that she doesn't want me around. So the best thing I can do is give her room."

"Yes, my paenhe. I agree that it's the most reasonable step."

"I'll leave, eneh. I'm glad she has got you."

She went on tiptoe and kissed him on the forehead, and he returned the gesture.


"Oh! My dear friend, I am so very flattered!" Letant exclaimed. "I received a most polite message from Asha t'Darak containing a custom download link with my name in it!" He puffed out his chest proudly. He was lounging around on the sun-washed balcony of Vreenak's main residence.

"Asha is very correct," Vreenak remarked. "I mentioned your wish to her and I gave her your coordinates."

"I owe her my most cordial thanks. By the way, is she so correct that she refuses to mate with you?"

"That is between her and me," Vreenak said sharply.

"You have become shockingly cagey! What exactly is going on between you two?"

Vreenak pursed his lips. "We are friends. And yet…" he rose slowly and looked at the view from the balcony, his hands clasped behind his back. Then he turned around. "Have you read 'The Flowers of Mirek'?"

"I have. I consider it one of her most beautiful poems."

"That is what I want with her." His eyes darkened. "Yes, she is happily married. Even if she felt the same way about me, her husband is foremost in her heart and thoughts. She has loved him longer. I have no intentions of…disposing of him."

"I certainly hope not!" Letant actually looked alarmed. "That would be a most dishonourable thing to do, and knowing her, she would find out and you would have her hatred instead of her love."

"It is not in me to do soil my hands and mind with such ruthlessness, though I have a reputation for such. I would have been the Chairman of the Tal Shiar by now otherwise. I believe, my friend, that you are often my conscience which speaks when I try to silence it."

Letant tsk-ed through his teeth. "Hm," he said, taking a sip of kali-fal. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"By all means do, it was intended as such. Asha believes in the best of me. She is not afraid of me. At first I regarded her as innocent verging on naïve, but it is not that, either. She told me once that I was married foremost to my career and that I oscillated between my love for the Empire and my friendship for her. She also said that my biggest love was given to the Empire. And always she brings that set'leth along."

Letant smiled. "She does well to remain on her guard around a Senator, especially one like you."

"I will try to take your statement as a compliment."

"Please do, it was intended as such," Letant quipped mischievously. Vreenak looked half amused, half exasperated.

"So, what you are trying to say is that you have fallen for her?"

"Harder than if I fell from this balcony and shattered on the ground," he confirmed.

Letant whistled softly. "Oh dear," he murmured.

"Indeed. How eloquent you are. Well observed," Vreenak said bitingly.

Letant decided to change the topic.


Reviews about Asha's book were starting to trickle in. The first official one was an absurd article titled: "Federation spy trying to win Romulans' hearts with nonsensical poetry".

A few days later, the author suddenly resigned from his post, and Thorek marched about with an odd triumphant glint in his eye. When they went to bed, Asha addressed the topic. "E'lev, that author of the Federation spy article..."

"Yes, Ashaya?"

"What happened to him?"

"He's probably mining dilithium."

Asha snuggled up to him. "How did you do it, my deyhhan?"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Do what?"

"Encourage him to mine dilithium."

"How did you know?"

"The way you pointed it out to me this morning. In a very bland manner. Besides, you're my deyhhan."

Thorek laughed softly. "I did my research on him. He has a second wife without the knowledge of the first one. No children, fortunately."

"A bigamist? Seriously? How did he pull it off? The Romulan Empire keeps minute details on every citizen."

"A false identity, and he's no longer a bigamist. Both his wives received a message from an...unknown...sender. So did the local security office, except the sender was known."

"Oh, Thorek, I love you so!" she proclaimed dramatically.

He laughed. Then he said: "I hope you are not discouraged by the first review of your book. Other comments will follow, and I have the feeling they will be very different."

"I hope so. You can't have all the reviewers working in the dilithium mines," Asha chuckled.

"I suppose not," Thorek agreed.