The Ashes of Winter - Part Nine

Posted on Fri Mar 20th, 2020 @ 6:18pm by Colonel Lee Antilles & Fleet Captain Coral 'Icecrown' Yamaguchi-Antilles

Mission: Mission 104: Saturn's Children
Location: Various Locations - Korvat Colony
Timeline: 1000Hrs - September 7th, 2393

Colonel Lee Antilles followed Doctor Hastings back into his office, where they found Fleet Captain Coral Yamaguchi-Antilles reading the large PADD in her hands, she had not moved from where she had been sitting. She looked up as she locked eyes with her husband, relationships between married couples were often based on educated guesswork, the knowledge that one of them could gain from the other and their body language. It was cryptic, hard to define and sometimes it was more or less educated guesswork. Hastings moved to sit down in his chair. "I will have them called for you." as he turned, he tapped the display before him. "Hastings to Jones?"

"Jones here. What can I do for you Doctor?" came a woman's voice with the sounds of children at play.

"Could you bring Khalest and Kosleht to the Staff lounge after the break, please... I have a pair of Starfleet officers who would like to see them, regarding a matter of adoption." Hastings explained the matter to his subordinates.

"Yessir, I'll bring them right away... First Break is ending in a few minutes." came the response.

Hastings nodded. "Excellent, all that sounds good. Hastings out," he answered quietly. "Shall we head to the lounge?" he inquired.

Yamaguchi-Antilles rose to her feet as she placed the PADD down onto his desk. "Sure." and with that. Hastings led his charges down the hallway to the staff lounge which was tastefully appointed, with a pleasant amount of decoration, it was painted in the blacks and reds that one normally saw in the empire, the view outside over the large playground was designed to remind the natives visually that this was a school, with large brazers scattered around, the scene was harsh looking and it could easily be missed that the natives were almost all younger children.

Lee regarded the display in silence, taking in the sights and the scents of burning wood. "Mmm... Very primal."

"Indeed." Yamaguchi-Antilles agreed with him, suddenly the door opened behind them and in walked a middle-aged female, she was preceded with two younger children. Khalest looked sullen while Kosleht looked ambivalent about being here but both held their silence.

Hastings turned to Antilles and Yamaguchi-Antilles. "Would you like me to ask the galley to send you some food and drink?"

Antilles regarded the two girls as he sat down at one of the tables. He turned to Hastings. "Could you send for a large bowl of Gagh?" he inquired with a smile. "Make sure the worms are alive." he paused. "Have a seat girl's and we shall explain why you are here before us today."

Hastings nodded before he turned to the two girls. "Are you both hungry?"

Khalest wasn't hungry but Kosleht was but both girls nodded yes anyway. "tlhingan maH!" he added loudly. The Translator in his combadge turned the words into English "We are Klingons!" he added as the two moved to take their seats at the table. Hastings nodded to his subordinate. "You can head on back to your class now... I'll look after things from here..."

"Of course... I'll ask the galley to prepare your Gagh," she commented before she withdrew.

Antilles regarded the two children before him. "I've heard much about you both... Ajal sends her regards," he commented. "It was Ajal that sent us here in the first place."

The mention of Ajal's name brought a rather dramatic reaction from Khalest and Koshlet before him. "You know Ajal?" Khalest asked quickly. "Is she alive?"

"Yes," Yamaguchi-Antilles answered as she sat down next to her husband. Hastings withdrew to the door. "I'll leave you guys to chat... Call for me when you are ready to depart... I will see that you are undisturbed for your visit." and with that, he withdrew.

"Thanks." Yamaguchi-Antilles turned her attention back to the two girls before her, they looked a tad malnourished but otherwise, they seemed to be in good health. "When was the last time you had fresh Gagh?"

"Never, the Gagh we have always had has been dead. It never tastes good." Kosleht answered with a nod. "What happened to Ajal?" Khalest inquired.

"Ajal's story is complicated and we'd let her tell it to you herself," Antilles commented.

Khalest turned to her twin. "She left with a human woman... I think." she paused. "I recall Dad ranting about it, man was he ever pissed... Saying Ajal had brought shame to the family."

"No, she didn't," Antilles answered bluntly. "Ajal has brought honor to her house... My house as I am head of House Antilles." he commented, it wasn't technically true but he needed a way to bond with these two Klingon children and this was a good way to do so. "House Antilles thrives and Ajal is a key part of that," he added. "There is more to war then martial skill girls, there are many paths to victory and many ways to find it. The fog of war will always obscure it but its always there."

There was a knock on the door. Antilles-Yamaguchi rose to answer the door where she was presented with a large bowl of gagh with the worms moving and writhing. She grinned. "Excellent, thank you." and with that, she came back over to the table where she gently placed the bowl before her husband and the two girls, before she sat down at the table.

"You're a Captain in Starfleet..." Khalest commented to Yamaguchi-Antilles, the blonde nodded. "Khalest right?" she inquired.

The small child nodded. "Yes," she answered. "This is Kosleht." she indicated her twin.

Antilles smiled. "I'm Lee and this is Coral. We're relatives of Ajal's wife."

Khalest smiled. "So Ajal did marry her intended. Good," she commented with a smile. "We met Autumn already... But I barely remember her," she added.

Antilles regarded the two children before him. "Ajal asked us to take you in if you are willing... Her house is a full one with three children, two for herself and one for her wife."

"Sounds... complicated..." Kosleht answered with a nod of her head. "You will take us away from here?"

"If you wish... The choice to go with us is yours... We are not Klingons so we will have cross-cultural issues... Ajal will be assisting us with that matter." Antilles-Yamaguchi answered with a smile. "Oh, dig in girls... This Gagh is for you." and with that, both of the Klingons began eating handfuls of serpent worms. "Bite down on the worms girls, otherwise they will bite you back," Antilles explained evenly. "You might end up with an intestinal parasite."

Khalest was busy stuffing her face as Kosleht paused. "Yes, we will go with you... We want to see Ajal... To know she is okay."

"Alright, finish your meal and we'll take you with us to go and see her." Yamaguchi-Antilles grasped a large worm before she began eating it, her teeth making short work of the worm's body, the worm screamed as it died as Antilles began eating his worm.