Refugee
by Kathy P.
Part 6
When Larin and Marrett arrived at Ops they headed over to where Captain Sisko was standing with Chief O'Brien and Major Kira.
"Captain, Lt. Dax said there was an incoming message for us?" Larin asked puzzled. He was not expecting any communications to come in for him yet. The rest of his people in the badlands were maintaining radio silence so that The Dominion would not be able to locate them.
"Yes there is Gul'en. The chief picked up a message around ten minutes ago. It is coming in quite garbled. We are trying to clean it up now," the Captain replied.
Larin looked down at the view screen, static obscured the image. "Who is it coming from?" he asked.
"Captain, incoming ship approaching the station," Major Kira reported. "They should be in visual range in thirty seconds."
"Identification?" Captain Sisko inquired.
"It seems to be a Cardassian ship," Major Kira replied. "And it's badly damaged."
"Captain," Chief O'Brien said. "I've cleared up the communication. It's coming from the Cardassian ship."
The view screen flickered one more time, then the image cleared. A young woman of obvious Cardassian and Bajoran origins appeared. Her brown hair had been pulled lose from her ponytail and there were dark smudges on her face. The station she sat at was spitting sparks and there was an alarm going off in the background.
"Deep Space Nine, this is the star cruiser Daerle. Do you copy? We need to make an emergency docking at your station," the young woman said.
"Oh my gods!" Larin exclaimed. "Kalie what's going on! Is everyone ok?" He quickly glanced over at another screen that showed the ailing ship. It had been heavily damaged by laser fire but was holding together in one piece.
"Gul'en, thank the spirits!" Kalie replied hurriedly. "I wasn't sure if our communications were up yet." She turned and shouted an order to someone behind her. "We are fifteen minutes away from the station. Can we dock there?"
Larin turned to look imploringly at Sisko.
"You can dock at upper pylon two," Sisko said. "We will have some medical and engineering teams waiting there for you."
Kalie looked relieved. "Thank you captain."
"What happened Kalie?" Larin asked.
"The Dominion found our convoy in the badlands. There were only two Jem'Hadar ships so we decided to split up and make a run for it," Kalie raked her hand through her dishevelled hair and looked at Larin sadly. "One came after us. We managed to destroy it but we were heavily damaged. The other went after The Marlet," she paused for a moment, "I'm sorry Larin, but The Marlet was destroyed. I'm not sure about any of the other ships."
Larin staggered back into Marrett's arms. "Oh gods, no! Marin, Megwyn, are they.." he couldn't finish his sentence.
"No, No." Kalie replied quickly. "They are on board with us. So are Tremane and Larinea. Everyone is fine. We have them all down in sickbay for protection."
"Thank gods," he breathed as he sagged down into his husband's arms. "I'll meet you when you get docked."
"I'll see you then. Kalie out."
Captain Sisko slapped his comm badge. "Dr. Bashir meet me at upper pylon two. We have some incoming wounded."
"Aye sir." Julian replied over the comm.
"Captain can you please have someone bring Mirell as well?" Larin requested. He was shaking a little with shock over the news.
"Of course," Sisko replied. He order a security guard to escort the Hebitian doctor to the site.
Motioning for Chief O'Brien to follow him he left Ops with Larin and Marrett.
When they reached their destination Larin began to pace nervously as he waited for the ship to dock.
Marrett walked over to the distraught man and embraced him. "Everything is going to be fine," he said. He leaned his head down and rested his forehead against Larin's.
Larin closed his eyes and tried to absorb his husband's comfort. "I can't believe The Marlet was destroyed," he whispered mournfully. "All those people, what if our friends..."
"I know," Marrett replied softly. He kissed Larin's forehead and held him tighter. "We'll make The Dominion pay my love," he promised.
They turned as one as the docking bay dock slowly rolled open. The security guards came to attention as a figure stepped out into the hall.
The young woman, Kalie limped over to where Larin and Marrett were standing.
"Gul'en," she started to say but was stopped when Larin stepped forward and embraced her. She hugged him back tightly then moved back.
Larin looked her up and down. "Kalie are you all right?"
She waved her hand dismissing his concern. "I'm fine."
The Hebitian doctor Mirell stepped forward with Dr. Bashir. "We'll be the judge of that young lady," she said with a smile. "Who many wounded do you have?"
Kalie started to answer when a high pitch scream interrupted her.
"PAPA!!" a young boy of around five yelled as he hurdled himself at Larin.
Larin knelt down and hugged the boy fiercely then held him away to look him over for injuries. "Marin are you hurt?" he asked with concern.
Marin waved away the question and squirmed out of his grasp. "Father," he said as he jumped at Marrett.
Marrett leaned down and picked him up. "Yes scamp?" he said affectionately.
"We were on a ship, then it started shaking all over, and there was smoke in the halls, but I was brave, and Kalie sent us to sickbay, and Megwyn.." Marin stopped to draw a deep breath.
Marrett laughed at his son's rambling. "Where is Megwyn?" he interrupted before his son could continue.
Marin craned his neck around to look back at the docking bay doors. "Alie has her. She's coming," he replied simply. Turning back he looked over his father's shoulder, his eyes grew wide as he leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Is he a Changeling father?" he asked.
Marrett glanced behind him and saw Odo standing with Captain Sisko and the others, watching the proceedings with astonishment. "Yes he is Marin," Marrett said, chuckling at the men's look of surprise at his son's arrival.
His amusement dropped when he saw them raising their phasers. Quickly placing his son behind him for protection he spun around to see what had alarmed them.
Marrett was shocked to see Larin jumping in front of the figure emerging from the docking bay. He cursed himself for not being prepared and yearned to have a weapon with him. He prayed silently that Larin would be fine.
"Don't shoot!" Larin yelled as he raised his hands as if he could block phaser firer with them.
He saw Marrett's look of horror and Marin's expression of fright at his situation. He had to block them out as he focused on the threat in front of him.
As Captain Sisko's barked orders the security team reluctancy lowered their weapons.
When Larin saw that the danger had passed he started to shake in a heated rage. "How dare you raise your weapons on one of my people!"
The figure stepped out from behind him. She was a young Vorta female, her eyes wide with fright at the scene happening before her. In her arms she held a tiny, squirming bundle.
Larin reached over and gently took the bundle from her. He lowered the cloth and revealed a tiny face.
Holding the baby gently he glowered at the security guards. "Do you realize that you almost shot my daughter and her caretaker? How can you be so blind!"
"But, but she's a Vorta," one of the security guards started to say before Captain Sisko's glared shut him up.
"Why is it that you assume, because she's a Vorta she must be evil!" he Larin said, shaking his head in disgust. "I would never of thought that members of the Federation would fall for such stereotypical garbage like that."
With a frown at his blushing security guard Sisko answered. "I'm sorry Gul'en. I can only give the excuse that this war has been hard on everyone and we are all a little hair triggered. Why didn't you tell us you had a Vorta in your group though? This could have all been avoided if we had been informed."
Closing his eyes briefly Larin sighed. "I was planning on telling you Captain but I did not expect this situation to come up for a while. We don't like to spread news about Alieana's existence you understand. If The Dominion knew that she was with us they wouldn't spare any effort to destroying us to kill her. They don't appreciate traitors' among their kind," he said as he smiled gently at the Vorta.
Alie grinned back at him, relaxing now that the danger to her had past. "I think that is the understatement of the century Larin," she said sagely. She pale blond hair flowed to the middle of her back. Her pale blue eyes looked tired, and she stood still as Mirell scanned her for injuries.
Giving her the all clear she turned to Larin and the baby. She scanned the child throughly, relieved that no injuries showed up.
Marin crept out from behind his father and made his way cautiously to Larin. He kept a watchful eye on the security team as he walked over. He placed a hand on Larin's leg and gazed up at him earnestly. "Is Megwyn ok papa?" he asked softly, showing his brotherly concern for his little sister.
Larin crouched down and showed him his sister. "She's fine Marin," he said gently. He felt his heart swell with love at the reunification of his family. So many things could have gone wrong, yet here they all were, safe on a Bajoran station. He sent up a little prayer of thanks to whoever was watching over them.
Marin, satisfied that Megwyn was fine returned to Marrett, holding up his arms in a plea to be picked up. He quietly watched as Julian came over to scan him for any injuries. He smiled hesitantly at the doctor when he gave him a clean bill of health.
He turned into his father's chest hugging him tightly. Marin was troubled over the strange men's reaction to Alie, his friend. Moving closer to Marrett's ears he whispered sadly, "How come they wanted to hurt Alie father?"
Larin closed his eyes briefly as he overheard his son's sad query. Walking over to his husband and son he answered, "They were afraid Marin. They thought that she was going to do something bad." He was desperately trying to think of a way to calm his son's fear.
Marin turned too wise eyes onto Larin. "Because she's a Vorta?"
With a hard look at the security team he sighed at his son's accurate assessment. "Yes Marin, because she is a Vorta."
"But why?" Marin said, trying to understand what that really had to do with anything.
"Well, they've been fighting The Dominion for a very long time and the Vorta are a part of them. They don't trust Vortas and they were surprised to see Alie come off the ship. They reacted to what they thought was a threat to their security," Larin explained, not really feeling as generous with his forgiveness just yet, but wanting to explain the men's reaction from their point of view.
"But she didn't do anything," Marin pointed out. "All she did was come off the ship with Megwyn."
"We'll talk later," Marrett promised his confused son. He looked over at Kalie. "You said Tremane and Larinea were on board? Where are they?"
"They are in sickbay helping with the wounded," the young woman replied. "They told me to tell you that they will catch up with you later."
Alie stepped forward shyly and looked at the two doctors, "If you'll follow me I can take you sickbay. They could really use your help down there."
Julian hoisted his medical bag onto his shoulder, "Lead on," he said kindly to the young Vorta.
Kalie looked to Captain Sisko inquiringly, "You said that there would be someone to help with repairs?"
Sisko turned to Chief O'Brien, who was still visibly shocked over the revelations of the past few minutes. "This is our Chief Engineer. If anyone can help you he can."
Kalie nodded her head. "Thank you. Chief O'Brien if you want to take a look around now, I can show you some of the worse damage."
"Kalie, what about your leg? Shouldn't you take it easy?" Larin objected. The Bajoran-Cardassian woman looked very tired and was still favouring her left leg.
Kalie waved away his concerns. "Ahh, I'll be fine. I really want to get started on repairs."
Larin looked up at her sternly. "All right, you can give Chief O'Brien and quick, and I mean quick tour but them you are going to get some rest..and that's an order," he said firmly when she started to object. "I know your ship is your child, but I am not going to let you harm yourself trying to fix it in record time!"
She gave him a cocky wave as she headed back into the ship with the Chief. "Whatever you say Gul'en," she said cheekily.
Larin rolled his eyes. He hit his newly acquired communications device. "Larin to Mirell," he said over the comm.
"Mirell here," came the reply.
I'm giving Kalie twenty minutes to show Chief O'Brien the damage to the ship then I want you to find her and her and make her get some rest. Sedate her if you need too."
Mirell laughed. "You got it Larin. By the way Tremane and Larinea say hi."
"Say hi back for me and tell them to meet me at my quarters when they are done."
"Acknowledge," Mirell said signing off.
Larin turned to Captain Sisko. "Captain I don't think you have been formerly introduced to my family."
Marrett swung around to face them. "This is Marin," he said introducing his suddenly shy son to the Captain.
Captain Sisko smiled at the young boy. "It's nice to meet you Marin. I have a son too. He is a lot older then you though."
Marin looked shyly at the Captain. Then his eyes started to snap with curiosity. "Hello," he said. "Your the Captain? Have you been in any space battles? We were!" he looked quickly at Odo again, "He's a Changeling! He looks nice though, even though he keeps rolling his eyes. Have you seen him change shapes? Can he become a vole? I like voles. Will he talk to me....."
Marrett laughed and juggled his son on his hip. "Breathe Marin. You can ask the Captain all your questions later."
Marin looked a little disappointed at not having his curiosity satisfied, but was relieved when the Captain promise to chat with him later.
Larin stepped forward with their daughter. "And this is Megwyn," he said gently, smiling down at his now sleeping daughter.
"She's four months old," Marin whispered, not wanting to wake up his sister.
"And she's very tired," Larin said. "If you don't mind Captain I think we will head back to our quarters now."
"I take it this is why you asked for three rooms," Captain Sisko said indicating the two children. "Why didn't you tell us that you had children?"
"We had to make sure that it was safe for them to be here," Larin replied.
"We will do everything we can to ensure their safety Larin," Sisko said earnestly.
Looking steadily at him Larin replied, "Thank you. Nothing is more important to me than my family. I will do everything in my power to protected them."
******
Larin sighed softly and leaned up against the wall as the door closed to his son's room. "He's asleep finally," he said quietly to Marrett. Pushing himself of the wall he briefly entered their room then returned, with a brush in his hand, to sit in a chair near his husband in the living room.
Marrett looked at him as he settled himself. "Did he have a hard time falling asleep?"
"Yeah, he was full of questions, like normal," Larin chuckled. "He told me that we weren't allowed to go anywhere without him from now on." He reached behind him and started to unwind his long black braid. Pulling it out of its confines he started to brush it.
Marrett watched him for a moment then laid the computer padd that he had been scrolling through down on a table.
"Come over here," Marrett said as he patted a spot beside him on the couch. "Let me do that for you."
Larin padded over and handed him the brush. He sat down and turned his back toward his husband. He sighed contently as Marrett started to gently pull the brush through his long hair. "That's feels so good," he purred in contentment.
They sat there in silence just enjoying each others company and the reality that their family was here with them, safe.
Clearing his throat Marrett began to speak. "I was going through the list of casualties from the
Marlet."
Larin shook his head slightly. "I don't want to talk about that right now," he said sorrowfully.
Putting the brush down on the table he drew Larin into his lap. "I know Larin, but we can't pretend that it never happened."
Larin turned into his husband's embrace, circling his arms around his neck. He laid his head on his shoulder and sighed. "I just don't want to deal with it now," he glanced up and saw the compassionate look on his mate's face. "I don't want to talk about, but I know I should."
He reached forward to grab the padd with the list of dead but was stopped by Marrett.
"Don't," Marrett said softly. "I've already looked through it."
Settling back against him he closed his eyes. "Tell me."
Marrett's arms came around to hold him securely. "There were eighty-four people on board." He started to gently stoke Larin's hair when he felt him stiffen up. "They were mainly from the outer districts of the city."
Larin swallowed his unhappiness. "Anyone we know?"
"Your cousin Trey and his wife and a couple of your students, Helon and Jori, were on board. The rest of the names do not look familiar," he knew there was no way to soften the blow of his news, but wished that he could take his husband's pain away.
"Any children," came the broken reply.
"Ten," Marrett said sadly.
He turned Larin around in his embrace when he felt him start to shake. He held his head to his chest as Larin silently cried out his grief for their people. A few tears fell down his face as they shared their sorrow.
Larin wiped angrily at his eyes. "Damn it Marrett. We are going to make those bastards pay."
"You bet we are love," Marrett agreed. "I wish we could be there when they learn that Star Fleet knows the location of all of their goddamn bases."
"I hope they wipe their asses out," Larin said angrily.
"Nothing less then decimation," Marrett said.
Larin looked up at him again. "Revenge is good."
Marrett grinned down at him. "Revenge is life."
They shared a bitter laugh at their plotting.
Larin rested his head on Marrett's chest again, content just to be held by his mate.
The door chime broke the silence.
"Come in," Marrett said, still holding onto Larin.
The door opened and two older Hebitians stepped through. The woman had long silver-grey hair that reached to the back of her knees and the man had short black hair that almost reached his shoulder. They were both dressed in elegant black and silver clothes.
Larin jumped up from the couch, hair flying behind him, and embraced the couple. "Mother, Father, thanks the spirits your ok!"
They embraced in a three-way hug, holding on tight to each other. Exchanging comfort they revelled in the fact that they were all together now.
Larinea took her son's face in her hands and look at him. She noted the tear stains on his face. Leaning forward she kissed him on each cheek. "You've heard about the Marlet," she stated tenderly.
She led him over to where Marrett was still sitting and urged him down. She placed him between herself and Marrett on the couch.
Tremane sat down in a chair near them. "Marrett," he said with a nod for his son's husband.
"Dearest Marrett," Larinea said. "How is Larin dealing with the news?"
"He seems to be dealing with it well Gul'ena," Marrett replied.
Larinea pierced him with her gaze. "Marrett, how many times must I tell you to call me by my name?"
Marrett held up his hands defensively and laughed. "Sorry, sorry, it's a hard habit to break," he said to his husband's mother.
Tremane laughed in his chair. "Take it easy on the boy Lar, you're quite a force to deal with."
"Me? I'm harmless," she said with a feral grin.
The two men just chuckled at her response.
Larinea turned back to her son and started to stroke his long hair. "Are you really ok Larin?" She knew that her son had a tough exterior, but he felt things very deeply and tended to hide his true feelings.
Larin gave his mother a sad smile. "I'm dealing with it mother," he said firmly. "Marrett and I have already plotted our revenge."
Larinea chuckled and embraced her son. "I knew I brought you up right," she said. "Of course your going to include me in the plan?"
"As if we could leave you out," Marrett replied. He loved his in-laws deeply and was always amused to see the Gul'ena in action. She was a couple of inches shorter than Larin but exuded the same force as her energetic son.
His father, Tremane, was the calming force in their marriage, just like Marrett was in his. Tremane was a tall man but Larin had inherited his mother's size. They both brought out the protective instincts on the two men even thought they were more than capable of watching out for themselves.
"Are the children asleep?" Larinea asked curiously.
"Yes. Marin finally drifted off a little while ago," Larin's eyes shone with love for his son. "You know how he is. He had a million questions. He wanted me to promise to never leave again," he said lightly.
Larinea eyes narrowed when she saw the guilt that lurked behind his eyes. She grabbed his chin and turned his face toward her. "Listen here Larin," she said firmly. "You did not abandon them. You had a job to do and you did it. You know that it was not safe to bring them here right away."
Larin closed his eyes so that his mother could not see the conflict going on behind them. "I know," he said softly, "but I've never left them before and Megwyn is only four months and.."
He felt Marrett's hand close over his shoulder. "Larin," he said softly, "we did not abandon them," he repeated. "Stop the self-recriminations right now."
Breaking free of his mother's light grasp he turned to his husband. "I know the we didn't abandon them. I just feel," he cast around for the right word, "guilty that we weren't there when they were attacked. Marin put on a brave face for us, but I could tell that he was scared stiff."
Tremane leaned forward in his chair. "Marin will be fine Larin," his father said. "He has the famous Darheel resilience after all," he said wryly. "So tell me, have you contacted Elim yet?" he said in a sudden change of topic.
"Yes I have," Larin said. "We had lunch with him and his husband Julian this afternoon."
"Ah yes, Dr. Bashir. I met him earlier in sickbay. He seems to be a wonderful man. Tell me, does Elim remember anything? Have you been able to getting any readings on him?"
"No, he has remarkably strong shields. I can't get any emotional impression from him at all. As for remembering anything my guess would be that he doesn't. He hasn't given me any reason to believe that he had met any Hebitians before."
"Well, if anyone can get through to him it will be me," Tremane leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "Can you arrange for us to meet him?"
Larin nodded his head. "It should be no problem. Julian seems to like us and Garak will do anything to keep him happy. How about if I invite them over for dinner tomorrow. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great. That way it will give me sometime to prepare for our meeting," he looked at his son curiously. "Speaking of meetings, when is the next one with the Federation?"
"Tomorrow," Larin answered. "We should find out if there is a planet available for us to resettle on then. Did you want to come along?"
"No I don't think so," Tremane replied. "This is your mission and I might undermine it if I tag along. I know you'll do your best."
Larin smiled ruefully. "Sometimes I don't think I'm cut out for this. I'd rather just be teaching my Ten'han courses. I think that I am much better at physical fighting than verbal fighting."
Larinea smiled reassuringly at her son. "Don't underestimate yourself Larin. You're a wonderful teacher but you are more than capable of handling these talks." She reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Larin shrugged his shoulders. "I appreciate that, but I am looking forward to the day when I can hand the responsibility off to someone else." He looked at his father and grinned. "And with your help that day may not be too far off."
***********
Heb Kirat stalked down a corridor on the station in a foul mood. He was disgusted over the fact that there were even more Cardassians on the station now.
*Why don't we just give the station back to them?* he raged. *Maybe the Minister will hand over Bajor as well!*
He stormed into his quarters and flung himself down on the couch. Crossing his arms he brooded over the situation.
*I can't wait to for tomorrow's meeting,* he thought sarcastically. "I think I'll be physically sick if I have to sit across from those bastards again. I can't believe the Minister is so blind!*
Throwing himself out of his chair he started to pace around his quarters. *I have to find a way to expose them, to stop them.*
Walking over to his computer terminal he started to key in some commands. *Yes, I need to stop them, and I think I know just who to call.*
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