A little talk with dad

Posted on Wed Aug 28th, 2019 @ 4:35am by Hak & Commodore Jane Saulitis

Mission: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Location: Jane's Quarters
Timeline: tbd
1038 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

"Enter," Hak replied from the workstation in Jane's quarters. He had been able to get a little work done remotely, but by and large, most of his responsibilities in his everyday life had been put on hold since the beginning of his leave to meet up with Jane and the Majestic.

The door to the corridor slid open and Hak rose to his feet, the workstation went black and logged out. "Come in, Alta. Jane's on duty, but I thought we could talk."

"Oh the dreaded talk . . . Am I in trouble?" Alta had always liked Hak, not because he had bothered to get to know him very well, but because Jane had always been treated very well by him. "Sure," he said being more serious. "What's on your mind?"

"No one's in trouble," Hak said, though the tension in his tone contradicted his words. He uncorked a bottle of something amber-colored and poured a small amount into two short glasses. "I just thought we should talk. How is your stay on the Majestic going so far? Meeting anyone interesting?"

Hak's stare was a bit intense on the man as he handed off one of the glasses.

"In my defense Hak, I don't remember a thing, and neither does she. We don't have an explanation, we just woke up together and decided to have breakfast." Alta held the glass in one hand but didn't drink it. He figured someone would find out and Hak being a telepath, of course he would know sooner or later.

"There's nothing that needs an explanation, Alta, you're both .... mature, consenting, adults. Whatever happened between the two of you, is... entirely not my business," Hak took a drink, even if his father-in-law did not. "Just, for the love of everything sacred, use protection. I don't need a half-sibling slash neice or nephew to worry about. You know Betazoid women are fertile far longer than Terran women...."

Alta chuckled nervously. "I always make it a habit, not that I go sleeping around with other women. Umm, but as I'm not even sure I was conscious for this . . ."

"Not helpful," Hak shot back immediately and sunk down into an plush winged chair and rested his hand with the glass easily on the arm. He leveled the man a look. "You really don't remember what happened?"

"Not a thing. Last thing I remember I was walking with the flight control officer and somehow I ended up back in the lounge where Marianne showed up. We've pieced this together since."

Hak took a deep breath and nodded. "Do you have history of binge drinking, Alta? Memory losses? Maybe Dr. Adamson should check you out."

"No, I rarely drink and I only had one last night that I remember. So unless someone slipped me something . . . I don't know how I ended back in the lounge where Mariame was. But yes, it's probably a good idea to get checked out. Mariame too as she told me she doesn't remember anything about our night together either." He still felt guilty about dumping her on the floor after finding her in bed next to him and wondered if she'd gotten her wrist looked at.

Hak wasn't as strong of a telepath as his mother was, but he definitely didn't detect any deception on Alta's part. "There are a lot of unusual things going on lately. It wouldn't hurt for the doctor to check on both you and mother. Are you... uh... going to see her again later?"

Alta gave him a wide eyed look. "I have no idea. I mean we did have breakfast together and talked. It was . . . nice. But I seriously doubt anything will come of it. One night of supposed passion that neither of us remember, I mean there can't be any attachment there right?"

Hak pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment, fighting off the urge to wretch at the idea of a night of passion with his mother. "Maybe we should change topics. Did you see the Jalanda Hera Cats game?" Hak was into Bajoran Springball, but he hadn't seen the game nor was really all that interested in it right then other than something else to talk about.

"No, I haven't sat down to do much of anything lately. Seriously Hak, I seriously doubt anything will come of this thing with your mother." Knowing he was trying to be distracted Alta asked, "Why don't you and Jane and have dinner with me tomorrow? How are you two by the way?"

"We're... we're okay," Hak replied, though honestly a bit unsure. There was a lot going on in the background on the ship, some he knew about and some he didn't, but rumors were rumors. "Probably, though. She'd probably be up for that. Why don't we just invite Mom along and we can just be a big, happy family."

"If you're comfortable with that. It would give everyone a chance to talk. Which I think might be what we all need at this point." he rubbed his face. "We can all buy drinks . . . or not as that seems to be what got us into this trouble in the first place. Anyway, I'll make the arrangements with everyone. Don't worry about a thing. And don't worry about Jane, she's a strong woman, she'll be okay."

"I'm... I'm not worried about Jane," Hak said, nose wrinkling. If he trusted anyone on this ship, it was her. "Just... if you want to have a relationship with my mother, just don't go sneaking around. We'll all be better off for it."

"I'm not," Alta said in a half exasperated laugh. "We went out to breakfast the next morning, in public. Look, I don't know what's going on anymore than you do but I'll talk to her." He stood up, there wasn't any need to keep rehashing things. "Thanks for the drink."

It would have been a lie to say Hak wasn't still concerned, but now it was more about the fact that Alta had no recollection of the event and likely the same was true for his mother. "Yeah.. you're welcome," he replied tersely.

Alta Saulitis
Jane's Dad
PNPC by Saulitis

Hak
Son-in-law