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Gratifyingly, it showed a tiny speck returning from the planet's surface, and the comm signal came in clear. Alex was relieved it carried a familiar voice. "Aegeus, this is Discovery. You are cleared to land, all lanes open. Welcome home."=/\=

[Aegeus]

Normally the approach was done under minimal thruster input, but Jiseth was coming in at near full impulse and gave little regard to the amber caution lights on her display. In terms of relative velocity the Discovery may as well have been a stationary object no different than any other landing on a planet.

It was not until they had passed under the roll bar of the secondary hull that she began to decelerate. The forward viewport grew partially obscured from the sudden release of gases from the thrusters. The shuttle came down to land in the center of the runway along the axis of this ship. In her current mood, she cared little to park it herself. She was already standing by the time the landing struts made contact and hopped down the boarding ramp before it even fully opened.

[Shuttlebay]

There was a small gathering of personnel glad to see they had returned safely, but their smiles disappeared swiftly when they saw the enraged Romulan stomping towards them.

"Fall in! I SAID FALL IN, ALL OF YOU! I don't know what you've heard about me, but when I take a shuttlecraft I like knowing it'll get me home in one piece and not end up in a ditch on a planet going through the Klingon equivalent to puberty! The CSO and COO have informed me that the cause of the crash was caused by a faulty circuit board and I have absolutely no patience for finding out who did the last inspection because it could have happened to any of you. Any of you could have let this happen! You all have brought dishonor to the squadron as well as the ship! And if you don't want to be stricken with the uncomfortable sensation of my robotic foot forcibly entering your lower digestive tracks, you will assist the crash investigation and that will be your highest priority because as far as I'm concerned YOU OWE ME FOR ONE ARGO SHUTTLE! DISMISSED!"

She turned and stormed off towards the nearest set of orange doors. Her office was to be her destination when she entered the corridor, but she did an about face swiftly and made way for Zero's quarters. There was a small child that needed to know her daredevil mom was still quite alive.

Flight officer grouchy pants here. No planned LOA. *grumble grumble grumble*

Edit: I lied, going LOA 7/26 to 8/7

Sabotage! Suddenly everything Leela had a better understanding of the rumors and clamor she had heard on the bridge. "I was on the bridge before we departed the Discovery; I think this may be part of something bigger... And yes, you were lucky to have one hell of a pilot." She looked to her left and flashed a slight smile towards Jiseth. Leela had had the privilege of serving alongside Jiseth aboard the Phoenix and had a front row seat to her impressive level of expertise.

[Aegeus]

When I find whoever did this I'll be sure to leave them a pool of their own blood to drown in...

She could feel someone's eyes on her and it was not a particularly pleasant feeling for a Romulan. Humans were fickle in her mind. One moment someone could be a treasure and then the next trash. At the very least no one questioned her abilities, though she was predominantly good at one thing and one thing only. The bane of being a specialist.

Jiseth looked over her shoulder and saw the Trill's smile. She in return could only offer a blank stare and a most convincing monotone declaration.

"We're going to have to go back. I left my helmet in the buggy..."

After a few moments a button began blinking and chirping on her LCARS display, the proximity alert going off that they had entered the controlled zone of the Discovery.

"...Just kidding."

Turning back, she could see an oblong shape in the star field as they cleared the atmosphere. It was currently almost a hundred kilometers away, but it would not take very long to catch up. Zero would be furious to know that she had crashed another shuttle and that imagine in her mind brought a trace smile to her lips.

Aegeus to Discovery. All Theseus crew are aboard, recovery successful. Requesting permission to land immediately.

Can we at least have a full active roster on the Disco before everyone runs off to a new ship?

The Vulcans...

Of all the species she detested, the one closest to her own genetics she hated the most. Logic as sharp as theirs bent into a sickle and carved through lives with contemptuous ease. All in the name of a greater good. It's how so many Starfleet admirals went bad. A bigger picture being lit up by throwing people into the fire.

Jiseth's head went back against the mattress as she cradled Callion in her arms. She took several long deep breaths with here eyes closed and eventually a tear ran down her right cheek. They were far from out of the woods. It was bad enough Zero had an implant, but now their daughter too. At this rate, she may as well have one too. If she were going to help in any meaningful way then perhaps the extreme measures that Gavin had always loathed in the Romulan might have some positive outcome.

"I want you both to know, I love you very much... With all my heart."

For now, there was little else she could give. That and time.

With the signal sent Leela brought down the hatch and awaited the teams response. The Trill couldn't help but to hope that the renown Discovery pilot would volunteer to take the helm. In eight life times Kaz had been many things, unfortunately a pilot was not one of her symbionts former occupations.

Nevir was unable to really explain what was going on until he heard the sound of a phaser behind him.  Jiseth was evidently restless.  He bit his tongue and calmly watched the shuttle get close.  As soon as the door was open, Nevir climbed aboard.

"You guys are insane, you've entered the eye of a strong storm, and the back wall is already crossing over the ridge.  I'm not sure if you'll have time to take off.... plus... we've run into a disturbing revelation as to what happened to our shuttle.  Jiseth.. its your call, but as Chief Science Officer, I highly recommend we all hunker down until the storm passes."

It was a mad dash to the shuttle, or at least what the Romulan could muster against a quite fit Vulcan, from the cave entrance. She at first attempted to keep up with Sukal, but after a fall into the brown water and mud it became apparent she would not win that race. There was an annoying sense of gratitude when he helped her up and on board the Aegeus.

Taking the copilot seat, she adjusted it back to suit her stature as the rear ramp door closed. Filling out the paperwork for a cleaning crew seemed to be a welcome relief as she wiped her mouth with her right shoulder. Glancing briefly to Eli, she looked him over and whatever meter that was in her head that measured the worth of another person ticked a touch higher. They were still getting used to each other yet insofar as their expectations of each other were concerned, neither had disappointed.

"We're going."

At her behest, the shuttle jerked into the air as the landing struts raised and wings folded out. The inertial dampeners took most of the fun out of flying. All the feedback from shifting air currents and subtle nudges away from the desired course were gone. Even the rather enjoyable feeling of being pressed back into the seat was dulled to essentially the weight of a piece of paper on her chest.

The impulse engines were at 110% and the craft following a long arch to port, coinciding with the counterclockwise rotation of the storm, as it climbed. There were hints of vibrations, but they faded away once past the sound barrier. Heat building up on the outer hull was well within limits and the plasma coolant reservoir near full capacity. In her mind, all they had to do was sit back and wait.

"Nevir. Sukal. Thank you..."

The Romulan wrapped her arms around her daughter and squeezed firmly. Leaning her head to the side, she kissed the top of Callion's though her eyes were still on Zero. Though her breathing was slow and controlled, her heart beat like an ancient war drum.

In war there were limits, rules one was to never break. Killing of civilian populations for instance. Torture. Rape. Yet all these things seemed well within the comfort of some brass. In her previous encounters, Jiseth vowed to kill the man, but with a daughter now it was much less likely to be the solution she needed. After all, the dark-haired mother was a role model just as the snow-capped one was.

"...Callion, what happened?"

[Cavern]

Jiseth's patience was running thin, tapping away in what seemed futility. What loathsome fool is flying around in a pattern when we're right here next to the shiny, metal space truck, she thought. She looked back into the tunnel and for a moment stared at the habitat she had built. There was nothing inside it that could really help now. Then it hit her, the tool that helped her set it up in the first place.

Dropping the transmitter, she dashed as best she could to the buggy and leaned in, admittedly without a shred of grace or shame. Reaching for the center console, she took the hand phaser she had used before and checked the charge. Though not ideally at full, she could manage with 60%. The trek outside seemed slower, but she had a rather precious cargo in hand.

Fully outside, about a third the distance to Nevir, Jiseth aimed the phaser skyward and fired. After several seconds she let go and waited for the emitter to cool before firing again. She hoped this would be enough of a beacon without actually having to aim it at the shuttle to get their attention. She would, since it would barely put a scratch on the hull, but there was the risk of spooking off whoever was flying it. Or worse, having them shoot back.

"Come on, come on! Look at the orange light! It's brighter than bright, you putrid excuse for a pilot!"

Jiseth's hesitance regarding her mobility seemed more a hindrance than her legs actually were. Her right hand slid off the mattress and extended down as the rest of her went over soon after, slowly lowering herself with her left hand until the other made contact with the floor. She felt like a shuttle descending onto a barren moon the way the floor and the walls were colored.

Her legs were essentially dead weight now and quite in the way. She imagined this is what a mermaid would feel like if they were to find themselves on land and while it was not one of her hobbies to lure sailors to their deaths, mainly because she never learned to sign, there were a couple of that particular gender she would not mind seeing drown. A couple admirals came to mind.

Scooting closer to Zero, Jiseth lifted one leg with both hands so it was in front of her instead of off to the side and then moved the other. The whole process took longer than she would have liked, but hopefully her daughter would have enough time to calm down just a touch. Both of her parents were home together finally, at least for the Romulan, the greatest fear was to lose that. Even Ghost she missed terribly. Slowly reaching over, she gently trailed her finger nails up and down her daughter's back.

"Callion, what specter of the night dares haunt my precious child, hmm? Your mother and I make a pretty formidable team so there's little I can think of we couldn't accomplish together. For you we'll do anything, you just need to ask."

[USS Aegeus]

"Damn!" Leela muttered under her breathe, echoing Jiseth's sentiment. "There's our people. As the clouds cleared the ground came into focus through the viewport. "Reversing thrusters and stabilizing the decent." The craft quickly decelerated and leveled out. Hovering above the ground, momentarily, while Leela finalized the landing coordinates.

A gust emitted from a shuttle as the landing procedures gently set the shuttle on the surface of the alien world. With a slight jolt the team had arrived to their destination. "Everyone in one piece back there?" She said with a smile as she secured the vessel. "Guess its time to take a walk into the great unknown."

"The eye is coming over us now.  I doubt anyone is coming right now, but it wouldn't hurt to try." he said, grabbing a pair of binoculars and walking to the mouth of the cave.  He brought up the sights and began looking, trying to find their own shuttle.  He thought he spotted it in the distance, but then something caused him to look back at the craft.  There were figures over there... Starfleet figures.  Either they just beamed, or that was a second shuttlecraft.

"Jiseth, I think I see something.  By the Prophets, someone braved the storm... there is another away team over there.  Are they crazy?  There isn't time to take off... we need to get over there quickly.  Sukal, watch the cave for now, we'll need a guide if visibility gets low." he said, climbing into the Argo.

"Let's get them before the backside of the storm hits."

[Planet - Cavern]

The Romulan's attention went skyward as she heard the twin sonic booms of the shuttle and a few moments later saw a dark speck in the grey sky streak down and land.

"I refuse... He's not staying here alone. If you're keen on driving out there, go on your own and have them fly back. We don't have time to ferry back and forth across this wet terrain in a wheeled vehicle. I can still hear the engines spooled up from here, they can get airborne in moments."

If anything went wrong, she was not about to leave someone stranded solo. The odds of survival went into single digits, but were immensely greater by comparison with another there. Her scowl only landed on Nevir for a moment before she began tapping the wires together again.

... --- ... / .... .- ...- . / ... .... ..- - - .-.. . / .. -. / ... .. --. .... - .-.-.- / .-- . / .- .-. . / .- -... --- ..- - / ...-- / -.- .. .-.. --- -- . - . .-. ... / ... --- ..- - .... . .- ... - / .. -. / .- / -.-. .- ...- . --..-- / -. . . -.. / . -..- - .-. .- -.-. - .. --- -. .-.-.- / ... --- ...

[SOS Have shuttle in sight. We are about 3 kilometers southeast in a cave, need extraction. SOS]

"To be honest, it's better if we sit put and wait for them to come to us. We'll get barely any traction out there and a mudslide will end this venture for us real quick, don't you think?"

The pitter patter of tiny feet followed by Ghost's swift departure jolted the Romulan from her dream. Her head rolled to the side and her rather blurred vision caught the doors closing to Zero's room after the canine had gone through. Rolling her head in the opposite direction, she could somewhat make out what time it was. AM, very AM. Her neck seemed to be made of wet noodles and her chin went down to her chest as she briefly considered going back to sleep.

No, wake up, stupid! WAKE UP! The little one probably had a nightmare. Go be a mom!

There was a groan from Jiseth she took a deep breath and lowered the foot rest before tossing her blankets to the far side of the couch. After rubbing her face with both hands, she began blinking fairly rapidly until the itching to keep them shut went away, or at least was enough to tolerate as she squinted. Standing slowly, she took a step after awkward step around the furniture and to the Augment's room.

As the door hissed open again, she called for the computer to turn on the lights, but not too bright. In the dimness she could still clearly see mother and daughter together. A bemused Ghost stood near them and if she was quite honest with herself, she felt much of the same way at the moment as she wondered if this was a normal thing for them.

Moving to the bed, she sat on the mattress closer to the far end. She still felt uncomfortable getting on the floor with her legs the way they were and the last thing she wanted was to have Callion, let alone Zero, see her struggle with just basic mobility. Jiseth leaned forward with both forearms on her knees and observed the two through half open eyes.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

Well... I guess that's not so bad.

There was a long smirk tugging at her lips as her eyes kept focused on where Zero had previously been in front of her. For the smallest, most fleeting of moments it felt like what they once had. That feeling she let sink beneath waves of several things. Pity. Regret. Remorse. She wondered what it must seem like from Callion's perspective and hoped that come morning their child would be too distracted by a sugary breakfast than to take notice of the intricacies adults being adults.

Drifting toward the couch, Jiseth took the bottle she had tossed, and from the kitchenette found herself a small glass. She filled it about halfway before closing the bottle and taking a sip. A long one at that. The quarters were so alike to when she had first left that it almost was uncomfortable, however, it did make the items belonging to their daughter standout more as if jewels on a plain band.

After finishing the contents of her glass she stowed the bottle away in the pantry far out of reach of the little one. The effects were coming swift enough, both good and bad, but mostly the former. Getting the blankets and pillows were easy and coming to the couch she decided to share the space. Taking the section closest to the viewport, the Romulan leaned back and reclined as the leg rests deployed. Her arm nearest Ghost stroked the side of his face slowly and scratched behind his ear as slowly and quite peacefully Jiseth drifted off to sleep.

Way to go, moron.

That was Jiseth's initial thought, but the idea of staying she had previously marked as a bit too much for the first night. Then again it was Zero who offered although she was not sure if her brief movement had guilt the Augment into it. Even when she without trying there was some manner in which she was manipulating others, for better or worse.

There was a slow exhale from the Romulan as she took a step forward and leaned in to kiss the top of Zero's head. She lingered only briefly, taking in a scent that had been beyond her for far too long. She savored it knowing there would more than likely days if not weeks before her partner let her guard down again.

"...I would love to. Thank you."

As if she fired off her own small array of maneuvering thrusters, Jiseth backed away ever so slowly from Zero. There was a deep, and rather wet, inhale before she cleared her throat softly.

"No... No, it's fine. I better go... At least while the mood is still good."

Jiseth rubbed her forehead in small, circular motions with her finger tips. She hoped she would be able to get out of here before either overstaying her welcome or shoving a carbon fiber foot in her mouth. Or both.

"I um... I could come by in the morning... Help make breakfast for Callion. Would that be allowable?"

morse code being sent, feel free to not disregard it as i don't want to be the dead red shirt on the away mission