Lt JG Vylaa zh'Tisav: Well, That Was Unexpected

[Bryce Tagren-Quinn]

@Vylaa - absolutely loved this sim! Seeing her reconnect with family after the lovely adventure that was Skarbek, and the news!! I always enjoy how you bring Andorians to life in sim. Great work! 👏

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((Market Square, Lortos City, Kendra Province, Bajor))

The transporter beam deposited Vylaa in a corner of the market square.  Her first impression was the noise; the sounds of the crowded market rushed in on her like an ocean tide.  Second were the decorations.  Judging by the buntings and other dangley shiny things hanging from the market arches, as well as the music competing with the people for the Loudest Award, she’d arrived in the middle of something, maybe a festival.  Maybe she should have done a little more research before beaming down.

Third was the heat.  Whether by natural weather patterns or by the mass of people radiating body heat, it was damn warm.  She set off, pushing through the crowd, wishing very much she had worn something much lighter.  She tugged the straps on her pack tighter to keep it from swinging into people, and checked her map.  She was staying at a hostel for the night, then joining a group for a couple days hike in the mountains.
 

The zhen was ogling her surroundings when she heard a shrill whistle, the call of a certain bird that lived in the forests surrounding her home city.  Definitely not something you’d hear on Bajor, but she knew someone who could mimic it perfectly.  She stopped and cast her gaze about excitedly.  There she was, Sallia, standing waiting for her.  And she wasn’t alone.  Riv and Sel stood by her side.  Vylaa took off running, ignoring the grumblings of the Bajorans she pushed aside, and somehow managed to wrap her arms around all three.  Had she been strong enough, she probably would have lifted them up.

When she released them, her antennae tingled.  She’d been hit with a trace, a whiff of something familiar.  She shot Sallia a sidelong glance, eyes narrowed.  The shen glanced away.  Her wife was keeping a secret, and if the zhen’s suspicions were right, it was a big one.  However the group was in the middle of a crowded market, and that was definitely not the place she wanted to ask that question.

zh’Tisav: What are you doing here!?

A familiar twinkle lit Sel’s eyes, and a half smile reached the corner of his mouth.

Sel: Well, you’ve been gone so long we decided to take matters into our own hands and come to you.

Riv eyed the Bajorans eyeing them.  He was used to the Andorian sense of privacy, and Vylaa knew it took getting used to to have a bunch of eyes on you.  She’d known that her whole life; three tall, identical women got virtually no privacy.  Her antennae curled toward each other, amused by Riv just being Riv.  She was very certain he’d been the one who’d missed her the most, and had called in a favor or two with his superiors to find out the Gorkon’s next port of call.

Riv: I wish they’d move on…

Vylaa slapped his heavily muscled shoulder playfully.  He acted gruff and gloomy, but he really was just a big kitten, mostly around his mates and children.  Speaking of…

zh’Tisav: Were are…?

Sallia, who had not let go of Vylaa’s hand the whole time, squeezed it.

Sallia: Back at the house we rented with your sisters.  And seeing how packed this place is, that was probably a good idea.

zh’Tisav: That’s fair, let’s get out of here.  I’m excited to see them.

As they pushed their way through the crowd, Vylaa asked what had been on her mind since beamng down.

zh’Tisav: Any idea what the fuss around here is?

Riv grumbled an answer.

Riv: I have no idea, but they were up all night dancing.  I could barely sleep.

((Vylaa’s Rented Home, Lortos City, Bajor))

The interior of the house was nice and cool.  It was just, well, grand.  There was plenty of space for her large (by pinkskin standards) family and then some.  There was even a huge room upstairs they could turn into a communal sleeping space.  Her mates seemed to have thought of just about everything, and that just twisted the Skarbek-sized knife deeper into her guilt.  She stepped off of the bottom step to the main floor, done with her inspection of the place.  

Her mates were waiting for her in the main room, seated around a small table playing a card game.  How could she have ever dreamed she wasn’t bonded?  She felt like her heart was being ripped out all over again  From outside, the playful cries of children playing reached her ears, occasionally punctuated by the voices of her sisters who were watching them, and the guilty feeling doubled.  She hadn’t told any of them what had happened, and wasn’t sure if she ever could.  She approached the trio and took a seat on the open side of the table but didn’t ask to be dealt in.  The zhen fixed Sallia with a knowing stare.

zh’Tisav: So, are you going to tell them?

The males wore confused faces.  They looked at Vylaa, then Sallia, then each other.  They shook their heads in unison, totally in the dark.  Sallia, for her credit, managed to look nonplussed, for all of about ten seconds, then her slender antennae curved in amusement.

Sallia: Uhhh...  Seems I’m pregnant.

You could have heard a pin drop.  Riv and Sel stared at each other, faces a mixture of confusion, excitement, and a tiny spoonful of fear.  Vylaa started to giggle, and Sallia joined in.  Their husbands were kind of cute when they were clueless.

Sel: How did you…?

 

 

zh’Tisav: Pheromones guys…

 

Vylaa’s lower back along her spine was already itching, a strong clue that she was already reacting to Sallia’s pheromones.  Kheth growth tended to be a very itchy process so it was hard to not know when it had started.  There was no doubt in Vylaa’s mind, this was happening.

 

zh’Tisav: ::Sighs:: Well, I guess my plans for awhile have changed…

 

It wouldn’t do any good to fret, so she wouldn’t.  What was done was done.  And really, deep down she was happy about the news, she just wished they could have planned better this time.

zh’Tisav: Riv?  You’re kind of quiet.  You alright?

 

 

The thaan seemed a little… hesitant, just staring at his cards.  A bit concerning, since he always seemed so sure of himself.

Riv: Well, four ankle biters is no more difficult than three.  And we can’t exactly undo it. ::A twinkle reached his eyes.::  I’ll be fine, I’m just shocked.

Vylaa rose, and patted him on the shoulder.

zh’Tisav: That makes two of us.  But hey, at least I’m not getting abducted by a shuttlecraft in the middle of survival training like the first time.

 

 

She pointed to the front door with a joking smirk on her face.

 

zh’Tisav: I’m going to go out and spend a bit of time with the five people I like best, you three can start dinner after your game. We'll tell them all at dinner.

TBC

 

 

Kheth: the temporary pouch that grows over and around the lower torso of a zhen for the final phase of Andorian gestation.

In no particular order:
Atohriv "Riv" th'Viannis
Sallia sh'Ovaarral
Sel ch'Rhekriq

 

 

and

Lt JG Vylaa zh'Tisav
Engineering Officer
USS Gorkon
C238601TB0