Bump In The Road

Posted on Mon Jun 4th, 2018 @ 1:58pm by Johnathen Anderson Jr & Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*)

Mission: Ishimura
Location: Vulcan
Timeline: Pre Ishimura - 2241
2266 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

The transport had been long and hard and for the time of Cassie she couldn’t understand why she was so distracted. It was a feeling that she hadn’t expected, something was drawing her home despite not being back to Vulcan in over a decade. “This is the visitor area of Vulcan.” Cassie said as she opened the door to the hotel room surprised at how easy it was to forget how hot Vulcan was and how much heavier the gravity was compared to earth.

Johnathen was taken aback by just how hot it was. He had never been to Vulcan before, however, he had told Cassie that it was important to come. He had a question that he wanted to ask her, however, first, he needed to speak to her father.

Looking around the hotel room they were going to be staying in, Johnathen nodded in satisfaction. While it wasn't overly plush, (which he couldn't afford, even if he wanted to), it did contain a certain luxurious flair. "This will do nicely, sweetheart." He moved deeper into the room and placed their luggage down by the dresser. Turning to face Cassie, the young cadet pilot smiled. "So, should we do some sightseeing first? Or should we go say hi to your dad instead?"

"I want to just enjoy being together for a few more moments before I have to visit my father." She hadn't really spoken to him since she had seen him at her mother funeral but he had said he would be interested to see her again seeing that she had been the one suggesting it. "I am glad I can show you some of my other homeworld." She admitted despite how drawn she suddenly was to this place.

Walking over to Cassie, smiling softly as he approached. Taking her hands in his, he responded. "I'm glad I was able to get up here. Ya know my finals start next month. Hopefully, after I graduate, we can be stationed together."

"I know... I am thankful that you could come with me seeing I had the urge to show you around." She said still finding it odd that she had been so insistent on coming here. "We can... they take things like that into account." Cassie hadn't had her assignment yet but as a biologist at the top of her class, she had her pick.

Johnathen nodded. Though he was still in the Academy, he was in his junior year, and had started to gain an undetstanding on how the fleet operated. As a founding member of Red Squad, he, and his teammates, had been given certain allowances by the Academy Cadre. Four months prior, they had spent a few weeks on a Starfighter Carrier, learning first hand how real pilots lived and worked.

"Okay," he began. "What should we do, before we go to see your father?"

Cassie smiled softly at him as she thought this might be their last time together for awhile. “You don’t have to come to meet him you know.”

Johnathen dipped his head down slightly, and gave Cassie an incredulous look. He even arched his right eyebrow for effect. "When are you going to stop doing that, sweetheart?" Moving over to the young Vulcan hybrid, he wrapped his arms around her waist, interlocking his fingers at the small of her back. "Your father has only met me once, and that certainly wasn't the best of times." He, of course, was referring to her mother's funeral, a couple years prior. "I'd like for him to get to know me, get to know the kind of man that his daughter loves." He gave Cassie a mischievous grin as he spoke. "You know, if you're nervous, I know just how to relax you." He leaned in and kissed her, softly at first, and then more passionately.

"Oh you do, do you?" The woman said with a smirk at him as she tried to not think about her mother's funeral and the last time she had seen her father. Her Father had always been a difficult man, not cold but aloof and not always there always trying to get her to learn logic. It had been hard for her mother to see her daughter struggle with some of it sometimes.

Johnathen nodded, gently leading Cassie over to the bed. So much time had been lost, after she had graduated from the Academy that, whenever the opportunity presented itself, the young human would be with the young Vulcan hybrid. He just hoped that she never got bored of him. He was well aware that Cassie was well above his level and could have anyone if she so chose to.

Cassie was sure that his distraction methods were the only thing that calmed her down enough to go meet her father. A few hours later, after a sonic shower and a change of clothes, she was ready to go. She wore human clothes, but they were loose and modest, no need to thrust it in her father's face what not only had she been up to, or the fact she chose human clothes over Vulcan ones.

"Ready?" She wondered.

Finishing tucking in his shirt, Johnathen looked up and grinned at Cassie. "Yes, Ma'am. Lead on." He followed her out of their room, and within moments, the couple was out on the street, Johnathen attempting to flag down a cab that could take them to their destination.

It took a little time but they soon found a shuttle that would take them to the required compound. "This was where I grew up as a child." She said as a set of buildings came into view. There was one large building and a few small ones dotting around inside the wall.

Johnathen looked out of Cassie's viewport as the shuttle began to bank towards the compound and lower in altitude. "Looks like a good sized property. Definitely a polar opposite from your cabin in Scotland."

"I think it was why Mum chose it." She admitted softly, thinking of her mother and the cabin for a moment, before she looked away and waited for the shuttle to land. As soon as the shuttle finished it's landing procedures, the side hatch opened, Cassie suddenly raised an eyebrow, surprised at the Security that was now around the place.

Johnathen noticed the burly Vulcan males standing outside the gate to the family's estate. "Wow, what's the added muscle, huh."

Cassie shook her head. "I don't know. We never used to have this much security even when my mother was here." She truly didn't know but the men moved aside to let her pass without a single word.

Johnathen followed Cassie, or at least tried to. Before he could enter the property, both guards blocked his path with the large, vicious-looking, blades each was holding. While most of their faces were covered with a diamond-shaped cloth, the look in their eyes was unmistakable. He was not allowed entrance. "Uh, Cas?" He called out to the young hybrid.

The woman whirled around and barked something in Vulcan at the men but they didn't move. "Um..." She said clearly confused as to why they wouldn't listen to her order. They wore her father badge so as a daughter from the house they should and listened to her.

Johnathen gave the guards a nervous smile. "Heh, come on, fellas. You heard the lady. Lift your blades up and allow me to enter." His eyebrows rose up, pleading. "Please?"

A male voice spoke up and the guards moved aside to let him past. Cassie turned around and saw her father standing there, watching the pair. "Father." Cassie said cooly.

Johnathen quickly moved up to Cassie's side, just in case the guards changed their minds. When he realized that Cassie's father was present, the young Human swallowed hard, suddenly quite nervous. Remembering his manners, he raised his right hand in the customary Vulcan salute. "Peace and long life, Sir."

V'Laliath looked at the man and nodded politely. This was unexpected, to say the least, he hadn't expected the human his daughter seemed to be with to have come with her. Was she going to challenge? Her human would die and she would blame herself. "Same to you Mister Anderson." The man said before looking at Ka'see again. "You look well?"

Cassie nodded. "I am well." She said wondering what the strange expression on his face was.

"You look just like Sorcha." He said softly in Vulcan knowing full well that the Human didn't speak it.

Slightly confused, Johnathen lowered his hand. While he didn't understand what her father was saying, he was beginning to get an uneasy feeling about what was going on.

"Come inside... Come inside." The Vulcan repeated the second time in Federation Standard as he took in his daughter and led the pair into the common room.

Johnathen stole a quick glance at Cassie as he followed her inside her family home. While he couldn't put his finger on it, he felt that something was amiss.

Cassie walked slowly the same worry following her as she followed her father. She stopped as she saw more people inside the common. "Ah what is going on?" She wondered softly as she saw familiar female family members.

"She doesn't know." An older lady said looking at Johnathen amused that her human boyfriend was there.

Johnathen felt his ears start to grow warm as he past the older Vulcan women. He realized that he really needed to learn more of the Vulcan dialect, especially if he wanted to get into the good graces of Cassie's father. "Cas," he whispered as he moved up to her right side. "Do you have any idea about what's going on?"

"No...." She replied quickly as things started to dawn on her pretty quickly that maybe she did know what was going on and why she had wanted to come home. "Maybe..."

"Of course you know what is going on Ka'see." The oldest woman in the room said from her chair.

Johnathen looked from Cassie to the old woman, and then back again to Cassie. "What is she talking about, Cas?" He was really starting to worry now that things were about to take a turn for the worst.

"You know why you wanted to home little one." The Vulcan said making Cassie go pale even more.

"Koon-ut-kal-if-fee." She whispered before looking at Johnathen grabbing his hand tugging him away. It explained everything but Johnathan wouldn't understand. What type of person was she to drag him to Vulcan to dump him here and now to marry. "We need to leave now." She said firmly to him.

Johnathen nearly yelped in pain when Cassie grabbed his hand and practically yanked him back outside. Once they were clear of the house, and the prying eyes, he forced Cassie to stop and release his, now bruised, right hand. "What the hell was that all about, Cas?!" He flexed his hand as he asked the question emphatically. Thankfully, none of his fingers seemed broken.

Cassie was shaking with emotion by the time Johnathen made her stop. "I'm getting married." She blurted out not sure how else to explain it to him. It was a shame they still bore not known to the wider universe.

A confused look crossed Johnathen's face. "Married? What are you talking about?" He was starting to become agitated as they stood there. He felt a strong desire to protect Cassie, however, a small part of his mind was starting to believe that he was the one who needed protection.

"Well yeah... My bond mate has entered his time and..." The woman shook her head. She hadn't actually ever believed it would happen so early in her life. She thought she would have had years to sort this out and part of her secretly hoped it had been done wrong and would never happen.

Johnathen couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Your... your bond mate?!" He shook his head, trying to clear the screaming in his mind. "Are you... are you telling me... you're already married?! I can't believe this! Just how long has this bonding been in place?"

"I'm not married...Since I was seven... I haven't seen him since then" Her face flushed as the man yelled at her. She could tell he was fuming over this revelation and she couldn't blame him. "I didn't know..."

"You didn't know?!" Johnathen interrupted, feeling betrayed and used. "You didn't know what? You didn't know that this was something you should have told me at the very beginning? Or you didn't know that by keeping this secret screams that you never truly trusted me! Well, fine! I know that I've been nothing but completely honest with you. I know that I gave you my full trust, and what's more, my heart." He turned away and started to storm off, only to spin back around and fire off some more angry words. "Something else I know, I know I'm glad this all came out before I spoke to your father today. I was going to ask for his blessings to marry you. Guess that's not happening now! I hope the two of you have a great life together!" That said, he turn and left, leaving Cassie standing there, as he reentered the shuttle that brought them to her family home, and left.

OFF::

Ensign Cassie McAvoy
Geneticist
Starfleet
(PNPC Gregnol)

Cadet Johnathen Anderson Jr
Junior Year Cadet
Starfleet Academy
(PNPC Robertson)