Goodbye Vulcan

Posted on Mar 17, 2017 @ 1:44am by Ambassador Xana Bonviva
Edited on on Mar 17, 2017 @ 1:45am

Mission: Aftermath

"Goodbye VULCAN"



=/\=



Location: VULCAN

Scene: Councilman from EARTH (Karimi) -- Councilman’s office

STARDATE: [2.17] 0317.0028

TI: Several days ago

“Explain this to me again,” Hussein Karimi ordered.

Xana Bonviva walked around the office as she stared up at the ceiling. “If you recall, back when I started for you, I had asked about investigating the Fund for BOLARUS--”

Hussein Karimi waved that off. “I’m not asking about your extracurricular activities.” As Xana continued her pacing around the Councilman’s office, past where the rest of the Senior Staff was sitting, the Councilman glowered, “You’re now telling me your extracurricular activities are taking you out of here and off to do work for the Bolian delegation and not for EARTH.”

“I assure you the Bolian delegation does not want us to investigate this,” Xana pointed out. “The last thing they want brought to light is how funds were mismanaged.” Waving at the Senior Staff for assistance, Xana tried to look for backup, knowing she was getting nowhere.

“So why are you pissing on the Bolians,” Karimi all but yelled, a thin sheen of sweat appearing on his brow.

Marie-Claire leaned in. “Sir, EARTH is already building up a portfolio of standing up for the ethical choice, even when it’s hard.” When Karimi looked unimpressed she pressed on, “Now you can be building upon that reputation by having EARTH leading an Internal Investigation for possible mismanagement of Federation resources.”

Karimi grunted at that. “We still have *that* bill to push through and now you want to have EARTH lead discussions on an Internal Investigation,” he mused.

Marie-Claire nodded. “We’ve prepared the research and--”

“Who’s going to do the work on this?” he asked bluntly. When the staff looked at him, Karimi gave a moue as he held up his hands, “I mean I’ve just recovered so between physical therapy and my speeches on the floor, this all sounds like very intensive work. Besides if Xana is out on BOLARUS investigating someone needs to be keeping everything here running…”

The remaining staff all seemed to share a mind of saying “Not it” before M-C inhaled and said, “I will take lead here on VULCAN.”

Karimi then waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Very well then. You’re all dismissed.”


=/\=

Scene: Bonviva Household

TI: Next day

Xana had woken up many ways over the years. For years as a Starfleet officer, she awoke to klaxons blaring. Frequently it had been with a dog breathing in her face; but with the passing of her beloved German Shepherd/Rotweiller last year those times were long gone. Although their times were short, especially considering the many days of a lifetime, the azure woman still had many mornings where hazy dreams of remembering waking up in her estranged husband’s arms. Being a mother, there were times when a stray sound led her to wake up straight up out of a deep sleep convinced that one of her kids was sick or calling out for her.

But most mornings she did not wake up like this: to face a squad of three sets of eyes staring her down.

Blearily rubbing her own violet eyes, Xana pushed herself up and murmured, “Uhm, buon giorno? What’s going on?”

“Why are you going to BOLARUS IX?” Erika demanded. Sitting down on the bed, tilting her head so that it was so much like Daisy Bonviva she said, “Look if it bothers you so much we’ll make sure that Ben goes to school.”

Ben scowled at his sisters and hissed, “I did not promise that!” Looking over at his mother he gave his best “baby” face with his light eyes and still slightly round blue face, “Look, mom, *I’m* willing to go with you to BOLARUS IX. That’s the sacrifice I’m willing to make.” Giving a look to his sisters he said, “Unlike them.”

Dahlia -- who yesterday had gone through 3 different names and by the end of the day no one could remember what to call her -- sighed as she shook her neatly shorn blonde head. “That’s not going to work. Either of you.” Giving her mother a look she said, “Did you at least call Jake?”

“I sent him a message,” Xana nodded. Holding up a hand before she said, “And when I didn’t hear back I asked around, the PHOENIX is unavailable. I doubt I’ll be able to get you to them.”

Leaning forward she tried her best to wrap her arms around her kids. “Look, I always said that I’d be with you, or Jake would. But Jake and I knew that if we couldn’t be with you, we wanted you to be with people who loved you. Just remember that.”

=/\=

TI: That afternoon

Xana cast a critical eye over her house. It still wasn’t ready; with a sigh she wondered if she’d ever think it was ready.

“We never clean this much,” Ben groaned as he carried another armful of toys away to shove under his bed. “Who is coming over?”

“No one we know is this neat,” Erika pointed out as she flopped on the couch from having dusted under places she didn’t know existed. “And let’s be real we’ll mess it up anyway.”

Dahlia neatly stacked up the PADDs on the table, enjoying the challenge of figuring out who it was. “It’s not Grandma and Grandpa Crichton, they’re too far out. Gran and Pop McInnis can’t leave the farm. The Byrnes would have us come to them,” she muttered. “Uncle Horatio is deployed too, maybe Aunt Iphie but she wouldn’t make us clean…”

Before Xana could see if Dahlia would guess, the doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath she walked over to the door to open it. In the mid-afternoon sun stood an elderly bald, blue, bifurcated Bolian woman, dressed in swirling gray Bolian robes leaning on a black cane. Her loud ringing voice easily carried even if she hadn’t been trying (and she was trying):

“XANA! Your marriage is in the toilet, and I liked Jacob. I think you ruined your marriage to spite me. Your children -- MY beloved grandchildren -- lack all direction. Your career, which you mismanaged into oblivion, and somehow you got back, you will now ruin as go running off onto some harebrained scheme.” Shoving a large piece of luggage into Xana’s arms, the elderly Bolian woman harrumphed, “THANK THE GODS, you sent for ME!” Giving a glare she said, “I will see what I can do, but you all may be beyond me.”

“Hello Mother, lovely to see you too,” Xana said quietly, trying very hard not to roll her eyes.

With great sighs, Yanthe Bonviva went harrumphing into the living space calling for her grandchildren to come say hello/pay homage (Xana was never sure with her mother). Behind the Bolian woman, was an elderly Human man with white hair, twinkling blue/violet eyes. “Ciao, bellissima,” Marcus Bonviva smiled. “Look at it like this, she’s only been practicing that since you called us.” After he kissed each cheek he asked, “By the way you did stock up on chocolate right?”

“The kids get enough sweets, Papa,” Xana chastized as she gave her father a hug and kiss.

“No that’s for me, if I live under the same roof as your mother as she does all that,” Marcus sighed as he walked into the house while watching Yanthe who was already on a roll with her grandkids. Winking at her he said, “I’ll share with them too.”

Patting around his pockets, Marcus found some hidden chocolates and started tossing it to the kids, yelling out in Italian it was a reward for listening to their crazy grandmother, which then caused Yanthe to yell in Bolian (and wave her cane for good measure) to not listen to the crazy old Human man. The kids started to cheer at the ruckus and chocolate, and even Xana got in on the fun as she snatched a chocolate out of the air and smiled as she enjoyed the last few hours with her children before traveling.


=/\=
NRPG: Yes, Xana is leaving VULCAN but life there will still go on! For now she's off to BOLARUS IX again to do some investigative work.


=/\=


Sarah Albertini-Bond
~writing as~
Xana Bonviva