Chapter 58: Homecoming
A/N: First of all, sorry about the delay! Everything is fine over here. It is currently a very strange time and anxiety-inducing time because of the coronavirus, and it has taken a bit of time to adjust to the new regulations concerning the effort to stop the virus from spreading. I hope all is well with you and you're all healthy. Stay safe!
romulanlover, thanks for your review! Asha's homecoming was difficult to write because she is absolutely heartbroken after the murder of Thorek, Vreenak and Christine, and at the same time, she had loved ones to come home to. Such a ton of emotions! Now she has tons to sort out, including her citizenship and resuming her life on Earth…
Alaya Karangalan, thanks for your wonderful review! My favourite part in the last chapter was finally writing about André again. He is just as mischievous as Letant. As for Navok, it was really funny writing that scene where Maya has to explain to him like he's a child why Humans react in this way and that way. As for Lilou…it's going to be tough for her, as you'll see in this chapter!
Guest: everything is okay over here so far. Hope all is fine with you, too! Thanks for asking :-)
Finally, I'm glad you both enjoyed the introduction of Simon Tarses.
Notes: Annika Hansen is the Human name of none other than Seven of Nine, the former Borg from Star Trek: Voyager. Artaleirh is a planet in non-canon Star Trek from the Rihannsu Novels and a colony for the Romulan Star Empire.
Letant, Kihika, Vereth and several Romulans moved into the spacious quarters of the deserted Romulan embassy near the Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco. Letant offered Asha to move in for as long as she wished. Her parents, however, were overrode his invitation.
"But you just came back! You are our daughter. Do stay with us for as long as you want with that...with your pet," her mother said, eyeing Lilou suspiciously.
Lilou was fully aware that Asha's parents found her presence uncomfortable. They also tried to treat her like a Human domestic dog, buying dog treats for her which she disliked and speaking to her in doggie language, which the set'leth disliked even more. As a result, she took to ignoring them completely and sticking demonstratively to Asha. It made the whole atmosphere in the house uncomfortable, and Asha realised that she was fighting a losing battle. Even worse, whenever Lilou encountered Terran dogs, nasty scuffles would break out, resulting in the latter rushing back to their owners howling with fear and pain, for Lilou's long front teeth and claws were formidable, to say nothing of her thick coat which provided her with excellent protection. It was not surprising that Asha's parents regarded her with even more dislike than before, especially when she trashed the neighbour's dog.
Lilou finally solved the problem by rebelling openly and peeing on the rug in their hall, after which enough was enough. Set'leth pee was an oily, greasy, evil-smelling substance, and the whole house began to stink after her stunt.
"Asha dearest, as you know, we're so happy to have you home and we missed you so much. But your pet is a nuisance, and we really don't want her in the house," her mother said finally.
"She has ruined the carpet. It was an old Indian carpet, and the stain won't come off," her father added. "The carpet cleaners tried their very best. We'll have to throw it out."
Asha sighed. "I know. She doesn't like it here. She misses Romulus and…and…Thorek. I'll move into the embassy building. I'll contact you each day and I'll visit you on weekends."
She had known that although seeing her family again would be one of the happiest things she would experience, reintegration would be a challenge. However, she hadn't expected it to be so difficult, seeing that Earth was her home and she had a family to return to, while the Romulan refugees were completely sundered from their home and loved ones. She had to learn the hard way that returning to her family was not going to be peace and harmony as she had imagined it would be like.
Then there was her citizenship to sort out. She was officially a Romulan citizen, and her documents stated clearly that she had waived her Terran citizenship. On the other hand, she had no idea whether it had been revoked in the meantime on Romulus. She decided to lay the matter before the Federation. She explained her circumstances and that she had expected that she would never return to Earth and her family again, and she had decided to make as much of a home of Romulus as she could.
She was granted dual citizenship, but it would only be valid on Romulus if signed by a Romulan who was not a refugee – which was currently impossible; the Romulan embassy was now run by Romulans who had defected, and the original staff had clandestinely deserted the building for the next vessel to Romulus, with probably the Tal Shiar headquarters as their destination.
The dual citizenship was valid in Federation space, signed by the Federation and Letant, and it was good enough for Asha. She felt deeply grateful.
And last but not least, there was Christine's family – an older brother, and no one else. Starfleet had notified them about Christine. When Asha and Letant reached out to him, they were rudely rebuffed.
"I have had no contact with Christine since she was eighteen. I was recently informed about her whereabouts by Starfleet. I am not interested in corresponding with any associates or acquaintances of my deceased sibling. Any further correspondence will not be answered. Thank you for your understanding."
Asha was horrified and Letant outraged.
"What a...what a...thing to say!" he exclaimed.
Asha shook her head in disbelief. "Christine never told me about her family. Whenever I asked, she would shut down. I think I can see why. Her brother at the very least seems dysfunctional. I wonder if she told Vekal."
She looked sadly at him. "If only I knew where Vekal is and how he is. You saved his life."
"I hope I did," Letant said. "It is good that your friend Christine found love with him."
Asha smiled. "Yes, they were a devoted couple. I used to envy them so much at first, you know. I wanted my marriage to be like theirs. Their relationship looked so perfect. Relationships often look perfect from the outside, don't they?"
"Yes. The imperfections, if you want to call them that, are part of what can make a relationship grow and thrive," Letant stated. Asha smiled a little. Letant, for all his nonchalance and flamboyance, was very wise in his own way, and his congenial, charming nature put most people at ease.
After all this had been dealt with, she truly found time to grieve.
The nights were particularly tough without Thorek or Vreenak next to her. She would wake up crying bitterly, missing them so much she was convinced she would die of heartbreak.
Asha's family and friends supported her unfailingly, and Letant visited her regularly. Kihika and her wife set about seeing to the establishment of the little Romulan community near the embassy and checking in on Asha, to whom they were fiercely devoted. While Asha mourned the death of her Romulan loved ones, they encouraged her to express her grief in writing.
She couldn't stop writing when she started. It was therapeutic. She also sought the assistance of a counsellor, what Romulans called a mind healer, stating that someone professional and objective who was not a friend or family member was necessary. She also followed Romulan tradition and only a few days after arriving on Earth, she had had the names of her loved ones tattooed into her arm with ink which would fade after two years.
And very slowly, after around a year, she struggled back to life. And every day she would wonder what had happened to Vekal, Rhian, Doctor Metak and all the others dear to her. Throughout this time, more Romulan refugees arrived on Earth, while others tried to settle down on other planets. Civil war was raging on Romulus, the Borg had grown to become an extra threat to the Romulans in the wake of the failed attempt of the Tal Shiar to generate an army fusing Romulan and Borg genetics, and finally, the Federation became involved. They dispatched a former Borg by the name of Annika Hansen to Romulus on a secret mission on a just as secret a star ship – so Letant, who was in exhausting talks and negotiations with Starfleet, told her. Asha understood better than ever why Letant had become a Senator. Behind his nonchalance, he was a leader, grim and stern when the circumstances required it.
In the meantime, the Romulan refugees were granted asylum and worked very hard on the establishment of their new community. They were confused, torn between their innate pride and their status as refugees and nomads. They, who discriminated so quickly against other species, now found themselves on the receiving end. People would give them a wide berth or poke fun at their Romulan features.
They were made of stern stuff, however, and rallied quickly. In their hearts, they were warriors and raptors. After the Sundering, they had been similarly homeless, destitute and lost. Asha realised that the roles were reversed: she was on her home planet, and they had been forced to leave their home; ironically, thanks to the same people who had forced Asha off Earth: the Tal Shiar. She helped them as much as she could, and they showed their gratitude in many ways.
With the help of the Romulan embassy, Letant had arranged the renovation of a small building for Asha in the proximity of the Romulan community. He watched over her as a mentor and saw it as a duty to his executed friend to see to her wellbeing. Asha used half her funds she had earned with her book, and the embassy insisted on paying the other half for the renovations and supporting her as an acknowledgement of her courage and literary contribution to Romulus. Asha, however, wanted to be independent and work for her living. The embassy was happy to employ her as their teacher and mediator for the Romulan community as Asha, with her multilingual skills, excellent mastery of Rihan and continued studies of the language, was ideal for the position. She taught Federation Standard to the Romulan children at the new little school in the Romulan community. She discovered that she enjoyed teaching them, and she would go beyond her teaching tasks to help them and their parents integrate into Human society. The children grew fond of her, and she chose two of them, a girl and a boy, as assistants and class speakers. When the weather was beautiful, Asha would organise excursions to teach them the English names of flora and fauna.
Over the last months, several vessels from Romulus arrived on Earth, one of them bearing none other than Doctor Metak and Rhian on board. Doctor Metak's parents, husband and children had managed to flee to Artaleirh, but it had been too late for Rhian's family. Her husband and daughter had been arrested and murdered. Some vessels had been bound for Artaleirh, others for Earth, as these were the two safest destinations for Romulan refugees, with Artaleirh having strong cloaking and trapping systems around the planet and a powerful shipyard. The shock and grief at their loss was etched in the lines of Rhian's face. Gone was the arrogant tilt of her chin, her habit of looking down her nose at other people. Asha, with whom she had often butted heads, was so happy to see her that she threw her arms around her former tutor. And prim austere Rhian burst into tears and sobbed against Asha's neck as if her heart would break.
Asha's parents remarked that she spent more time among Romulans than her fellow Human beings, to which she responded: "I'm a Romulan, too."
But even Letant, who noticed that she preferred to be with them, told her: "Asha, you have a life apart from ours."
"Delon, I am homesick for Romulus, for..." her eyes grew bright, then she said: "I find myself having to get used to Earth again. The climate, food, people...I seem to be in limbo. And I want to do this. I want to do this for Thorek. For Merken. For you. For so many who gave up their lives for me. Besides, I'm Romulan, though my DNA might say otherwise."
Letant touched her cheek. "Asha, you are so much more than Terran or Romulan or Human. Live for yourself, not only for us, no matter how much we appreciate it. Your parents are sad because although you are back, you still spend time away from them. Come home to them truly."
She nodded. "My mind healer told me as much."
"You might fall in love again, Asha. Do not deprive yourself of the opportunity of meeting new people."
"I will never fall in love again," she announced, eyes flashing.
Letant was silent, but he smiled a little. Asha seemed unaware of her charms, but he was certain it wouldn't be long until someone (he hoped it would be a Romulan) became aware of them and expressed their interest in her as a suitor. He himself regarded her as a sister and while she had been Vreenak's mate, she had been like his sister-in-law.
Two years later found Asha gardening. She was wearing two cuff bracelets on her left wrist, that way Thorek's memory would always be with her, and Christine's necklace. The tattoo had faded from her arm. Her parents had been quite nonplussed about her loving two men at the same time, but they had refrained from comment. André had simply said he was not in the least surprised.
As she watered some roses, she heard a commotion at the garden gate. She raised her eyebrows and wiped the sweat from her forehead, setting down the watering can.
Lilou was barking, then she broke out into a high-pitched whining – something she only did if she knew the person and was very fond of them. Asha removed her gloves and went over to the gate, which she had left open. She gasped, her eyes widening. A Romulan was standing at the threshold. The gentle face, the kind brown eyes, the black and grey hair...Taller than Thorek or Merken, and memories of Christine…And as they looked at each other, his eyes became bright with tears.
"Jolan'tru, my dearest Asha," he said.
"Vekal..." Her voice trembled. She stretched out her hand and touched his face. "Is that really you, my eneh?"
He placed his hand over hers. "Yes, my paenhe."
She threw her arms around him with a sob and buried her face into his neck, wetting his skin with her tears. He pressed her tightly to his chest, kissing the top of her head repeatedly in his affectionate manner.
"Asha, my darling," he kept telling her in English and Romulan; and she laughed and cried with joy at the same time, saying his name repeatedly. Vekal, too, was crying. Lilou rushed about the garden, barking happily and whisking around their legs. They stood there for a long time, breathing each other's presence in, not wanting to let go.
