T'Nir was checking the settings on the irrigation system when she heard the chime announcing the private transporter pad was in use. She completed the work, then turned to walk into the house, a low-lying complex of interconnected domes, painted a cool blue-white.
Stiak was in the entrance hall, taking his luggage from the pad - including, T'Nir noted, the insulated container that held the katric ark. "Welcome," she said. "I had not expected you so soon."
"T'Nir." Stiak held out his hand and they touched fingers. "My ship made good time from Romulan space."
"The discussions went well?"
"They were broadly successful." Stiak shook his head. "It is easy, as an outsider, to become cynical regarding politics. However, when one realizes the amount of work involved in building a consensus and agreeing the requisite courses of action, one understands that a political career is the province of dedicated persons only. I shall not be unhappy to return to the academic world once this is over."
T'Nir smiled faintly. "Is this an appropriate attitude for the Hegemon?"
"It is an honorary title only," said Stiak. "Valikra, as the Hegemon of Romulus, is engaged in most of the actual work - as Hegemon of Vulcan, my role can only be titular and ceremonial." He gestured at the insulated casket. "Sometimes, it feels as though the katra of Bresar is jealous of Valikra. The knowledge and will of Bresar chafe at their enforced inactivity... and, I think, Valikra is too like Bresar in temperament for the two to be comfortable together."
T'Nir sighed. "It is not logical," she said, "but I too sometimes feel jealous of Valikra. She sees so much more of you, now, than I do."
"You need have no concerns on that account. As a potential mate, Valikra is too formidable a prospect for me - or, I suspect, for anyone. But she has ideals, and a political vision. I feel it is, in some sense, my duty to assist her."
"There have been reports of fighting, attendant upon Valikra's ambitions."
"They are accurate. There will, I fear, be more." Stiak shook his head. "The Romulan factions will not respond to logic unless it is backed by armed force. However, Valikra's goal of a united Romulan political entity with formal ties to Vulcan is a laudable one. It is my hope that, once the Tal Shiar and other Imperial remnants are subdued, D'Tan's Republic will be amenable to a peaceful settlement. Once that is achieved, the prospect of Reunification... actually seems achievable."
"In such a case," said T'Nir, "your ceremonial role would be likely to expand, to a position of genuine authority."
"In that event," said Stiak, "I would naturally resign it to some person of more definite political ability. I have interviewed several leading members of the Council, and helped them commune with the katra... one of those might prove a suitable candidate."
"Let us leave this matter for the moment," said T'Nir, "so that you may refresh yourself after your journey."
–--
A little later, sipping fruit juice in a parlour overlooking the garden, Stiak said, "There was another matter I wished to discuss with you."
"Speak freely." T'Nir came to stand beside him. "You know you can discuss anything with me."
Stiak turned to face her; his face was grave. "I know, and I value the knowledge highly. I would speak with you regarding our relationship. It is my wish that it should become officially recognized."
"You are asking to marry me?"
"Yes."
T'Nir looked into his eyes. "I accept, with great gladness, choice of my heart."
"I am gratified." Their fingers touched.
T'Nir smiled. "I hope I will not be inconvenienced by the ceremonial aspects," she said. "The wife of the Hegemon was a person of some importance...."
"You have derived this from the data records?"
"94.2% of the records are now converted to modern formats and translated. Of the remaining data, perhaps half is subject to corruption, the rest is encrypted beyond our current capacity to access it. Both problems will yield to painstaking analysis and reconstruction, in time. The historical picture presented is an intriguing one. I sincerely trust that you and Valikra do not intend to model your political vision too closely upon Bresar's."
"There is no danger of that! The katra, of course, containing as it does Bresar's emotional matrix, has all his ambitions and his... historically appropriate... moral value system. However, there is no possibility that it will impose its attitudes upon ourselves."
"I understand there is a psionic amplifier system within the katric ark?"
"There is; a kironide-based device. Crude, though, by modern standards, and it presents no hazard."
"I am glad to hear it. Bresar's moral values are decidedly not those of our time."
"True. From what I have learned thus far, I think even Valikra would shrink from some of Bresar's methods." Stiak put his arms around her. "Let us, please, turn to more pleasant matters."
T'Nir held herself close to him, enjoying the feeling of his embrace, of his body next to hers. "I could wish," she said, softly, "that it was your time of pon farr. To shed logic and decorum, to unite with you in pure animal joy...."
"That time will come," said Stiak with a smile. "Let us, in the meantime, see what may be achieved in that direction...."
"You are not too tired, after your travels?"
"Never."
---
Much later, T'Nir lay beside Stiak in the bed, watching him sleep, in the dim starlight of the night sky. My heart has chosen well, she said to herself, silently.
Slowly, carefully, so as not to wake him, she slipped out of the bed and stood. The night air was cool, but not unpleasant; still, she slipped on a robe before padding out of the bedroom on silent feet.
Something was nagging at her. She paused in the doorway of the bedroom, ordering and marshalling her thoughts, identifying the source of her disquiet.
The katric ark. That was it. Had it been properly secured? Crime was a product of undisciplined and illogical thought, it was very rare on Vulcan - but possession of the relic of Bresar's consciousness had a political dimension, now, and it would be wise to take precautions. Stiak had left his luggage in the entrance hall... it would take but a few moments to transfer the ark to the house's secure storage....
T'Nir did not turn on the lights; the starlight was enough to see by, in this house that she knew so well. She went to the hall, and found the container. It was heavier than she had expected - shielding, no doubt, to prevent any unauthorized scans. She carried it into the room that had been her father's private office; the safe in there was proof against any intrusion she could imagine.
She turned on a desk light to tap in the security code on the safe's door; it unsealed itself with a faint gasp of released air. The safe was a man-sized, metal-walled cupboard, built into one wall of the office; it was empty - it had not been used since her father died.
She put the container inside, and then frowned. Logically, she said to herself, I know that the ark cannot have been interfered with... but, security procedures dictate that I should be certain what it is that I am securing.
Stiak had once told her the security passcodes he used - an act of trust, one of many which bound the two of them together. She entered the code on the container's lock, and swung open the lid.
The katric ark lay in a foam-lined hollow, gleaming softly with its own light.
"So," T'Nir said aloud, "this is you, Bresar. I have read so much about you... and it seems we are both jealous of Valikra...."
This was foolishness, she thought. After a few more moments, looking at the glittering crystal of the ark, she closed the lid, and sealed the container inside the safe.
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