Down on the Farm (Closed)

[Kali Reyes]

It wasn't exactly true. She tried to tell them that she was only there for a couple of years, that she had intended on staying there for God knew how long if it wasn't for the Ferengi, but the gag order was still in place. Her lips pressed together and let it slide.

Instead she focused on the bowl she was given and, to T'Vak's credit, it smelled pretty delicious. She played with her spoon a bit and check the consistency of the stew before trying a spoonful.

She wasn't a bean person, but it was actually pretty good which was great - she didn't have to lie for the sake of it. "It's really great," she said after a second mouthful. While Mahak ate, she dabbed a bit of it with her pinky and tried to feed some to Joffrey. It sniffed at it, took an eager lick, and then abruptly sneezed all over the inside of her hat.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

"Tlanda eat flesh," T'Vak said, pointing at the replicator with her spoon. "I would recommend raw meat, as close to the freshly slain meat of another beast our replictor has."

"Mother, the food is enjoyable," Mahak told her. "It is a welcome treat now that I am home."

"You need it in your condition, Mahak." T'Vak said, but there was a look in those hardened eyes that any mother would have if her child showed appreciation.

"Chief Reyes," She said, changing gears and addressing her directly. "How long have you and my son been coupling?"

[Kali Reyes]

It explained why Joffrey was so eager to taste her finger. He didn't expect he'd just eat bean paste. Kali thoughtfully eyed the replicator while the spoon was in her mouth and decided to play with the settings and see what they had that resembled raw meat.

That was when T'Vak dropped a bomb on them or, well, her. Kali nearly dropped her spoon at the question. "Ehm... that's uh... wow." This was definitely new territory for her. This wasn't a detention warden she could scandalize or piss off - this was someone's mother and it was kind of important not to step on those kind of toes.

She mentally tried to figure out how long. It was definitely before New Year's and Christmas, so... "We've been dating since maybe a month and a half? Time is kind of a blur when you're on a starship." It wasn't long after Mahak transferred for sure, which was kind of amusing. She looked to Mahak for a more approximate date...

...unless he was more than happy to elaborate the 'coupling' part. Pretty sure that was why she was so vague on the timeline.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

"Dating," T'Vak rooted through her stew with a spoon. "Is that what humans call it when they mate while deciding if they actually want to be together?"

"Mother." Mahak said, his spoon clattering onto his bowl audibly. "Kali and are doing more more than mating."

"Will you move back to this New Canton after you are married or here?" T'Vak asked bluntly. "We could use another two hands on the ranch. Staying in Starfleet is, of course, out of the question."

[Kali Reyes]

Marriage. New Canton. No Starfleet. It was like she was hit with a freighter ship. "You sure don't pull your punches, do you?" Kali asked meekly.

There was no way she could return to New Canton. It wasn't even a colony anymore; just a crater that was going to stay there for eons and eons and-

"I don't know if my godfather would approve of me staying at another colony either. He put me in Starfleet for a reason." It took her mind off of New Canton, for one. Why was she even trying to justify everything? Kali desperately gave Mahak a look, but he wouldn't know why.

Because she's never told him. This was going to suck.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

T'Vak listened to her explanation and took in the reaction with a calm stare. She then turned to her son.

"Why does your mate now know of our traditions?" She asked.

"They are not her traditions," Mahak said, sounding abashed.

Food forgotten, T'Vak put the bowl into the recycler.

"I am going to help Strov with the herd." She announced in her hard voice. "Chief Reyes, you will be sleeping in the main living area tonight. Mahak, your room is still the way you left it, upstairs. I will speak with you both later."

The sound of a door being slammed in a subdued fashion was what she left them with. Mahak looked at Reyes and waited for her to speak.

[Kali Reyes]

Kali waited, her jaw slack and confused, when T'Vak left the room. That did not turn out as well as she hoped. At all.

The whole separate sleeping thing, though? She expected that.

"What just happened?" she sputtered, the bowl cooling and forgotten in her hands. "What did she mean by traditions?" Because if he had 'conveniently' forgotten that she was supposed to play farmer in the future, they were going to have words.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

Mahak wanted to hold out his arms to her, to let her know that it was OK, that this was his place, and now that they were alone he could let his guard down a little.

"She only meant that when two Vulcans marry on this world it is expected that they work for either family on their ranch or farm. This is not a Vulcan tradition, but one on many colony worlds." He said. "But T'Vak conveniently forgot that I have lived in another place for a very long time. This is merely her showing her disapproval of our being mates."

Hoping that solved everything, but not knowing it didn't, Mahak resumed reaching for her.

[Kali Reyes]

Calling his mother by her first name was strange, but maybe that was a Vulcan thing. For all the problems between her and dad, it always seemed like a bigger insult to call him by his first name.

Mahak reached out for her, but she hesitated for a second before sliding into his space. "I don't think this is a job well done," she noted weakly. Disapproval, though? She totally expected it.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

"T'Vak allowed you to keep your tlanda. This means she likes you." Mahak clarified slowly. "You saw how she dealt with S'Trel. She would not have brought you here if she did not like you, the meeting would not have taken place."

"It shows you love this place," He went on. "As she does. As much as a Vulcan can love anything. My father, Avarin, is a respected philosopher on Vulcan. He is the apotheosis of my mother. Just like you and I. She sees that, and approves."

[Kali Reyes]

"But you said she disapproved of the mating," she pointed out, then she pointed to the door where T'Vak abruptly left. "Your mom is pretty forgiving, but I don't think she'd get over the idea that I can't just retire to a farm and do it again."

Kali's throat tightened at the mere idea. "Look, there's a few things you don't know about me. With the colony I used to be in. I just didn't think I would ever bring it up."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

Mahak's eyes narrowed just a bit. He had always been told that humans played games with their mates. His suspicions had been allayed for a long time with Reyes, and they still were. But this still made him feel the need to ask.

"What things, Kali? Will you tell them to me?"

[Kali Reyes]

Reluctant and exhausted, Kali wiped her palms on her knees and got up so she could casually turn away and stretch her arms behind her head. She tried for nonchalance - it helped keep her from shaking.

"I like this place. That's the problem," she told the wall in front of her. "New Canton was the same. Not as well-ordered. Actually, it was pretty bad at organization. Sometimes the intelli-crops don't go well for a season or someone accidentally ran their tractor into a communications tower. Your mom thought I was raised there - no way. The colony only lasted two years. I was eighteen when we first touched down to start it."

Kali tried not to say anything that would interfere with her gag order. If Grey was here, he would have quickly put the kibosh on all of this and tried to find the first shuttle out. She waded through the broken memories like thick molasses to drive her point across. "Politics killed the colony," she admitted. "In a very bad way. Like I lost a kidney bad. Few survivors bad. Like, there's a gag order and Federation red tape the size of a planet bad."

She reached under her shirt and rubbed the puckered scar along her abdomen. "I don't think I can do that again."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Harmony]

Mahak listened to her attentively. He had never heard of the New Canton colony, but apparently something bad had happened there. Far worse than what Reyes was letting on. He let the matter drop. If she had wanted him to know or if Starfleet thought it was his business to know he'd know.

"Do not worry," He assured her. "I have no intention of resigning from Starfleet and returning here. My duty to my family does not include bending to their wishes in this regard. For now, I suggest we get through this visit with clearheaded logic. My mother knows I will not do as she's always wished and return to this place. This was her attempt to intimidate you into asking me to."

[Kali Reyes]

"Well she's certainly intimidating," Kali muttered. The replicator made a ping sound and, thanks to her bit of ingenuity, a tiny bowl of raw meat got the attention of Joffrey, who started to snuffle and squeak for food. She put it in her now ruined sunhat and watched the baby pig-kitty eagerly try to chew through the meat.

The slight distraction helped. This hadn't exactly been a very smooth day. "You've got a game plan? I think my head is still somewhere on the shuttle."