Forced Labor Stardate 2259.344

The Lorentus system though uncharted had showed them signs of a warp-capable race. They were even able to track one of their ships but they kept their distance. The planet was Lorentus 3 but there was a moon on Lorentus IV that Spock wanted to check out. There was a faint, Starfleet signal that came from there and Kirk decided to send a shuttle to investigate that while the Enterprise went to make first contact.

McCoy held onto Elyse as she tried to step away from the bed. She had slept in the nude last night and they had gotten up too late for an encore. She sat back down on his lap and she could tell that he could be ready for her with a little effort on her part. His hands Messaged her pink nipples and she had turned her head to kiss him as she wiggled her bottom on him.

“Oh you are a tease!” He said and pushed her off. They were really late and she had to get to the shuttle bay soon. He laid on his side as he watched her get dressed.

“You will be careful won’t you Commander?” he asked.

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Kirk lifted up as Amara shook from what he was just doing to her. Her center was on fire for him after that but she didn’t have time to take care of him the way she wanted to. Kirk fell back onto the bed as she sat up on the edge of the bed. She was still feeling it even when she sat up. Kirk had gotten really good at turning her to jelly doing that.

“I’d have kept you on the Enterprise if you hadn’t already decoded their language for us,” Kirk said. “Thank you for that,” he said as she turned and looked at him. The way she sat he could see the profile of her left breast. “My gorgeous wife,” He said.

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Scarlett and Spock were up and already dressed. They both had tea and crescent rolls with butter and jam. Both of them were looking at their PADDs, figuring out all they’d have to do for the day to come.

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Fiona was so excited she couldn’t sleep much. By the time Kal woke she was already dressed and packed for the trip. She watched him shift up and plant his feet on the floor. He was a tall, strong man. The way they made them in Ireland. He always slept naked and she paused as a wave of fresh desire fluttered up in her as she looked him over.

“Did you sleep at all?” he asked.

Elyse's parents had learned about what she had done on the Constitution and she had gotten quite the earful from her father on their last call...although at the end he had told her how proud he was of her. He had also been extremely pleased to learn about Leonard's promotion. 

Elyse was due in the shuttlebay soon, but Leonard was proving to be...distracting. She finally managed to get up and start to get dressed and she saw him watching her as she dressed. She grinned over at him.

"You too...Commander," she teased. She knew he didn't like being called 'Commander.' He preferred being called 'Dr. McCoy.' 

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Amara desperately wanted to be back in bed with James that morning. She wanted them to just shut out everything else and to just spend the entire day alone in their quarters. However, they both had things to do and so she had to get up and start getting dressed. Amara always wore black, lacy bras and panties underneath her uniform and she saw James watching her as she put them on. She was quiet a moment as she dressed before glancing at him.

"You said earlier that I was talking in my sleep again last night?" 

Lately, James would be awoken by Amara in the middle of the night talking in Romulan in her sleep.

---------------------------------

Scarlett and Spock liked their morning routine. They were both naturally early risers and they usually got a lot done in the mornings before their shifts even officially began. This morning they had already made love, practiced Yoga and meditation, showered, dressed, and were now having breakfast. 

"Have you heard from your parents recently?" Scarlett asked as she took another sip of her tea.

---------------------------------

"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Sofia asked for the third time as she re-checked his bag. They were unofficially sharing quarters, with Sofia spending nearly every night in Scotty's now that they were back together. Sofia had talked to Jason and apologized to him, and though they weren't exactly friends, he didn't appear to hate her either. Things between Sofia and Scotty were stronger than ever...although they did still fight like an old, married couple when they were working together.

---------------------------------

Fiona was beyond excited that she had been chosen to participate in this mission. She didn't really get chosen for missions so getting to go on one thrilled her. Fiona had gotten up early and dressed and packed. Kal had spent the night in her quarters and looking at him in her bed caused a wave of desire sweep through her.

"A little," she replied with a grin. "I'm just excited is all."

Kirk looked at her. "Well, I don't know Romulan. I think it was Romulan," he said as he watched her take the injection that the Doctor had made for her. They enhanced her body's ability to fight the Nanobots effects but lately, they weren't working very well. He had been changing them up now every week. "Are you finding yourself thinking in Romulan? Or thinking about your time among them?" Kirk asked as he sat up.

----------------------

"I have, they are doing very well. They asked about you and I told them we were both well," he said. "Mother is...anxious for a grandchild," he said and heard her clear her throat. "More than one if she had her way," he said.

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"I've got everything and more. Whatever this thing is, I'm certain I could rebuild it!" Scotty said. "I think we'll be all right. I'll be back before ya know it," He said.

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Kal got up and came up to her. He was much taller than she was and he put his hands on her face and kissed her...well. Kal shifted his hands and touched her breasts and then rubbed her bum as they kissed. "You best get on, before I throw you back on the bed and make you moan so loudly they'll hear you from the hallway," he threatened. "Enjoy your away mission my love," he said and stepped by her toward the shower. He felt a sharp slap on his bare behind and turned to see her watching him step into the bathroom. He winked at her.

Amara continued to do the injections Dr. McCoy gave her, even though it seemed hopeless at this point. She sat down and put on her boots and looked over at James. "It's hard for me not to think about my time on Romulus. It was a huge chunk of my life." She was quiet for a moment before she looked at him. "Is it terrible of me to say that I miss Nemal?"

--------------------------------

Scarlett had just taken a sip of her tea when Spock told her that his mother was anxious for a grandchild. She inhaled a little and had to clear her throat as she put the cup down. "What did you tell her?"

--------------------------------

Sofia grinned at Scotty. "Don't worry. I won't change too many things while you're gone."

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Kal had a way of kissing her that would make her knees feel like jelly. Fiona was petite compared to him and he was tall and strong. Looking at him naked like he was, walking away from her, she bite her bottom lip and had to force herself not to go after him into the shower. She picked up her bag and left her quarters.

"Your memories are you're own. And in the end, he gave his life to save you, did he not? I think that might be a man...a father worth missing. But I can't forgive him either for what he let them do to you," Kirk said as he stood and hopped into his small clothes. He looked for a pair of pants and then started to put them on.

"If there is a language that we don't know, they'll need your help. But I still don't like leaving you behind. What if something goes wrong?" Kirk asked. "We might be a few days getting back for you," he said.

------------------------------

"I told her that we were working on that...wait with patience," Spock said. "It was the truth...more or less," he said.

-----------------------------

"You better not lass! I I've told Keenser ta keep an eye on ya!" Scotty said with a grin as he picked up his bag. "Well, I'm off! Give me a kiss!" he demanded and he held out his arm for her.

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The shuttle was already fueled and ready to go. When Fiona arrived, she was the first, there was plenty of room to stow her gear. Apparently Spock was interested in throwing her into situations she wasn't used to. Taking the Con that one time was the start and he had not let up since. Today he wondered what he was going to have her do.

Amara had strong, mixed emotions about Nemal. She truly believed he had loved her, but he had allowed the Romulans to use her and mold her into what they needed. It didn't change the fact though that he had given his life to save her.

She double checked her bag and smiled at him. "Almost dying a few times aside, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself...and everyone else. I'm more worried about you getting into trouble," she teased.

-------------------------------

Scarlett was rather relieved that he had not shared with his parents that she had been pregnant and had then lost the baby. She nodded and then looked at the time. It was about time for him to leave. She began to clean up the table while he got his bag. He set his bag down for a moment and embraced her and she kissed him. It was a deep, loving kiss and as their lips parted she rested her forehead against his for a moment. "Please be safe."

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Sofia smiled and moved over and kissed him. The kiss quickly started to get out of hand and she had to pull back. She laughed at him. "Go!"

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Elyse arrived a few minutes after Fiona. She grinned at her as she stowed her gear. "Excited?"

Everyone had finally arrived and the inner seats had been replaced by storage compartments for gear. There was extra food, extra oxygen, Space suits, weapons, tools, rations, water and medical equipment. Just about everything they needed. Spock turned to Fiona. "Lieutenant Moran, Please do your flight checks," Spock said basically announcing that Fiona would be piloting the Shuttle. She was pretty decent of a pilot but she hadn't piloted a shuttle in almost 2 years. Once again Spock seemed to dig into her and pull out things she had not done often. "Commander, you are co-pilot," he said to Elyse.

Amara took a chair near the front behind Elyse and Spock was behind Fiona. Scotty took a seat in the back and Diana Young finally arrived, stowed her gear and buckled herself in. Spock turned to her. He considered talking to her about her tardiness but decided to let it go.

"So Commander, I've decided that you will command this away mission," Spock said to Elyse.

Fiona was a little nervous. She knew how to pilot a shuttle, but it had been nearly two years since the last time she had done so. However, she took her seat and Elyse sat next to her. Elyse gave Fiona an encouraging smile. She had noticed that Spock had started to take her under his wing and challenge her a little. Clearly, he saw potential in her and Elyse saw it as well. Fiona began her pre-flight checks as everyone else got settled.

Amara was wearing her Section 31 uniform. It had been decided that she would do so on all away missions. Amara sat next to Spock and she gave him a little smile. Amara was well aware that Spock had not trusted her back when she was going by the name 'Kaia Fox.' However, since she had proved herself several times now they had become closer. They weren't exactly friends, but she felt he would trust her with his life.

Diana knew she was late. She had had her first real date with Nathan the night before and things had gone...very well. She blushed and smiled a little as she thought back about it. She had woken up a little late as a result and had been rushed to get ready. She had grabbed a medical mission bag from sickbay on her way to the shuttle. She stowed her gear and took a seat next to Scotty.

With everyone settled and the pre-flight checks completed, Fiona contacted the bridge. "Galileo to Bridge, requesting permission for takeoff."

"Bridge to Shuttle Galileo, permission granted. And good hunting," Kirk said. Fiona lifted the shuttle off of the deck and she moved slowly forward through the force field. The shuttle zoomed out of the back of the Enterprise and pitched down toward the moon. "Full impulse Kal toward Lorentus III," Kirk said and the ship shifted and headed away from Lorentus IV. From the shuttle they could see the Enterprise pull away.

There were a few asteroids that Fiona had to avoid but Elyse had pointed them out early enough to avoid them. Elyse was using the Shuttle's short range sensors to stay with the Starfleet signal.

---------------------------------

Kirk twitched as Doctor Mirialis knelt down and opened his left eye. The Lorentians looked alot like humans but they had flatter faces with small noses with long, thin nostrils and their bridge of the nose was much more profound than the other features of their face. They were thin and wiry and not usually tall. The Doctor row spectacles and had short, black hair. "What race are they?" A tall man in a dark gray military uniform asked. "Different races, this one is human," he said. "Good, heart workers," he said. "Take them, take them all and prepare them for the power plant," he said. "They are in the most need right now," He said. "Yes sir," he said.

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The moon was not populated but there was an atmosphere much like Earth but with a slightly higher gravity. They had all taken shots to counteract the added radiation from the system's older, orange star and their muscles from the added pull of gravity on them. Fiona felt the gravity as soon as she got closer to the moon. She had to react to it in order to bring the shuttle in at a good angle.

Elyse pointed out a clearing only a couple of kilometers from the signal and Fiona eyeballed the landing. Spock looked over at Amara and Fiona brought the shuttle down though she misjudged the ground a bit so the touch down was just a bit harsh.

Amara was the only one on the shuttle that didn't need the shot to counteract the radiation as it was already known she could survive extreme levels. Elyse used the short range sensors on the shuttle to guide Fiona towards the signal. The closer they got to the moon, the more they felt the pull of the gravity. Elyse found a clearing near the signal and guided Fiona towards it. Fiona decided to eyeball the landing. Amara seemed to know what was going to happen and she braced herself. 

Even though the moon wasn't populated, they had brought phasers just in case and Spock had a tricorder. As they exited the shuttle, Elyse looked over at Spock. "The signal was fairly close from what I could tell on the sensors. Are you picking it up?"

“I am,” Spock said as he shifted it around him. “This way,” Spock said and headed in the direction the signal was coming from. Scotty had a large backpack on his back with all of his tools.


“I could live without the humidity,” He said as he looked around them. He had a phaser as well, after the last couple of away missions, Kirk had just about everyone carrying one. Even Diana had one. The air was also somewhat thin and the gravity was punishing as they began to walk toward where the signal was coming from. There was vegetation but it wasn’t so thick as a jungle. There were large dark brown rocks and in the distance a small mountain range. Far more distant than where they were going.

Amara noticed something though. Where they were was sort of like a small valley of some sort. Overgrown like the rest of the landscape but definitely the sides were sloped up like maybe long ago a meteor hit there and created a large runnel in the ground.

Diana was not pleased about having to carry a phaser. Nathan has given her a tutorial on how to use it, but she planned to keep it holstered as long as possible. Amara carries one in addition to her other weapons. However, it didn’t look like she would need them. There was no one around.

As they walked towards the signal, Amara looked more closely around them and saw that they appeared to be in some sort of valley.

“Looks like a meteor struck here at some point,” she said as they continued to walk. Her suit regulated her temperature so she did not feel the effect of the humidity like everyone else.

Spock moved up to one of the side of the small valley they were in. Small if 50 meters across was small. “No, not a meteor,” he said as he stepped up to a mostly buried piece of metal. “A ship of some kind,” Spock said. Scotty came over a look at the metal. “ Federation ship judging by the Duranium alloy,” Scotty said. “It’s been here for at least 50 years,” Spock said. “Hmm, 50 years ago...I recall several ships that were lost around that time but this could be any one of them,” Fiona said. “I...loved history,” she said.

As they continued there were other pieces that jutted out from the landscape. They found part of a warp nacelle but it was so badly damaged, Scotty wasn’t certain of what kind of ship used it. He was certain it was a Star fleet ship though.

Namal stood on the path ahead of Amara. He was dressed as he had been when she was just a child. He was younger like he had been too. Nemal was extremely patient with her while her foster mother was not so patient. As she looked around she knew no one else was seeing him. Nemal taught her how to speak Romulan and discovered how intelligent she was.

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Nemal held her on his lap as Saehir sounded out the letters of the Romulan alphabet. “Very good Saehir, now the numbers,” he said as she began on those. After she had counted to ten he interjected more complicated numbers. They had a board with Romulan numbers and letters on it and he re-arranged them. He did this next one wrong and Saehir picked up on it pretty quickly. He chuckled. “You are quite right Saehir, I did place them incorrectly,” he said.

“You should just kill her Nemal,” Rukal said and Nemal turned and looked at his wife. “I will not have that kind of talk, she is just a child,” he said. “When the Tal-Shiar get their hooks into her, she won’t be a child for long. You’re compassion will be your undoing,” she said warningly. Nemal shook his head and ignored the woman then continued his lesson with Saehir.

Saehir didn't understand what had happened to her parents. She knew something bad had happened to them and that Nemal had taken her in. When she asked about them, Nemal would tell her that the Federation didn't care about her and that he was her father now. Nemal and Rukal didn't have any children of their own. Rukal was unable to conceive and so Saehir (as she was now called) had become his child. 

Saehir proved quickly to have a knack for languages as she began to pick up on the Romulan language fairly quickly. She was intelligent and inquisitive. Nemal had showed her kindness and so she had latched on to him.

Rukal paced and she turned and looked at Nemal again. "We will be outcasts among our own people if we keep her. No matter what you do, you won't be able to turn her into a Romulan. She's a human. She doesn't belong here."

Nemal set Saehir up with a study PADD. It was programmed with children’s games and learning for her age level and a bit higher depending on how well she did. He placed her on the couch with it then gestured for Rukal to join him in the study. He put his hands on her arms. “Rukal, because of who we are, no adoption agency will work with us. Saehir is a chance for us to have a daughter. I know the last few years have been hard. But she’s here and she’s ours. If you give her a chance...if you take her into your heart you will see what I see. In annocent, intelligent child who needs us,” Nemal said.

“Who are our real friends anyway? We can have the family we always wanted. She is a human but we can raise her as Romulan,” he said as he looked at her. Rukal had had surgeries and augments. Years of pharma therapies to try and conceive. But nothing had worked and this last loss had been particularly brutal. The fetus had survived for several weeks before it died. “Give her a chance, that’s all I ask,” Nemal said as he kissed his wife.

Rukal sighed and followed her husband into the study. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from Nemal as he spoke. They had been trying for years to have a baby and this last time she had truly thought it was going to finally happen for them. However, a few weeks in and she had lost it. Although it had happened almost a year ago, the pain still clung to her heart. 

She wiped a few tears away from her eyes and nodded. She then looked at him. "She will have questions as she gets older about why she's here. What will you tell her?"

Nemal’s gaze hardened suddenly. “That Starfleet...that the Federation left her to die,” he said coldly.

-----------------------

“Amara? Amara...you coming? Elyse asked with a chuckle. When she looked into Amara’s eyes her eyebrows drew up. “Well where were you just now? A long way from here I think,” she said. “I miss McCoy too. Sometimes he’s all I think about but don’t tell him I said that,” she said. “It’s difficult enough to win an argument with him. I won’t give him more ammunition,” she said as they started walking. “I never thought I’d even ‘be’ married until later in my life...if at all. Career officers usually aren’t,” she said. “But now that I am, I can’t even begin to think about living life without him in it,” she said in hopes Amara would share as well. She was trying to get closer to Amara but it wasn’t always easy to do. The others were up ahead, pausing here and there to examine another piece of wreckage. Fiona was driving that now with the prospect of finding something that would tell them which ship this wreckage belonged to.

Amara blinked at Elyse's voice and realized that she had stopped walking. The others were way ahead by now and looking at the wreckage of the ship. As she looked around her she didn't see 'Nemal' anymore. She sighed and considered lying to Elyse and telling her that she had been thinking about James, like Elyse thought she had been, but she decided to just tell her the truth.

"I wasn't thinking about James. I...I've had a lot of memories of my time on Romulus come back to me recently. James says I've been even speaking in Romulan in my sleep. I suppose it's because people have been talking about their families. I spent more time on Romulan with Nemal and Rukal than I have anywhere else and despite everything I still miss Nemal."

Elyse looked at Amara for a moment to consider what she had just said. She knew that Amara had been taken by the Romulans and brainwashed. Manipulated into thinking her own race was her enemy but that had all changed soon after she met Captain Kirk though he had not been a Captain then. She really didn’t know that much about all that had happened and she was glad that Amara told her the truth about it.

“Oh...Well that’s understandable but I don’t think forgiving him for brainwashing you was right. He may have thought he loved you but do you really think he did Amara? They weren’t interested in you or where you came from unless it involved using you for espionage. Romulans, from what I know are a xenophobic and paranoid race but if you felt love from him, perhaps this Nemal did love you, in his own way,” Elyse said. Elyse was more or less pragmatic in her views. “A sensible realist when it came to most things. Just not so much with Leonard who could make her lose all sense sometimes.

Amara sighed a little. "I know that he did love me. What he did was wrong, but he gave his life to save mine in the end. I can't forgive him, but I also find that I can't hate him either. I don't even remember my real parents...but I remember him. I guess what I'm saying is, is that my feelings surrounding them are...complicated."

Elyse smiled and put her hand on Amara’s shoulder before she pulled ahead of her to catch up to the others. They continued to move and in this terrain they made decent time. A little more than an hour later, once they cleared the trees that had grown high and thick over the years, there was the ship. Or what was left of it. There were no tracks, no smoke or signs of life. Just foliage and the few animals that lived there. A small reptile, a larger mammal that resembled a fox and other creatures and insects. Nothing that wanted anything to do with them though. Fiona stepped quickly ahead and her foot landed on something metallic. She looked down and then used her hands to pull off the weeds and grasses that had grown over whatever it was. It was a nameplate, badly worn over time but she could still read it. “The USS Dakota,” she said.

“An older Constitution class,” Scotty said. “Reported missing over 50 years ago and never found,” Fiona said. “Starfleet’s first 5 year mission and this is where it ended up,” Fiona said. “So they made it at least, this far and with only warp 6.5,” Scotty said.

“Well, I’ll report in at least since we have something to report,” Elyse said and she stepped away as everyone began to move toward the wrecked ship. They were looking at the back of the saucer section, more than half buried in the ground.

Elyse came back. “I’m not getting anything, could us being in a valley cause interference?” Elyse asked Scotty. “Possibly, if the rock around here…” he began but Spock cut her off. “Elyse, can you patch through the shuttle’s comm system?” Spock asked. “I can,” Elyse said and went ahead and did that.

“Enterprise, this is Commander McCoy, please come in,” she said and stepped away again and she repeated her hail.

“There’s probably alot of bodies in there,” Diana said and Fiona turned to face her. “Uh, bodies?” she asked. “Well sure, the whole crew most likely, especially if they had no inertial dampers when they crashed,” she said. “Ok so not a ship but a tomb,” Fiona said ominously. “If we can get the logs, it could answer a 50 year mystery,” Spock said when Elyse came back.

“Nope, nothing. I think we’re getting through but its like there’s no one there,” she said. “It could be anything stopping the signal though, couldn’t it?” Fiona asked. She definitely wanted to go inside the ship and get those logs. Spock turned to Elyse.

“You’re mission leader Elyse, what will we do?” Spock asked.

Elyse looked over at Amara because she was their communications officer. "There's a number of things that could cause the signal to not go through."

She didn't like not being able to communicate with the Enterprise, but they had come this far. "Alright, let's get the logs and then get back to the shuttle," she said.

They managed to get inside and as a group they made their way towards the bridge. As Diana had expected, there were the skeletal remains of the crew littered throughout the ship. It was unfortunate that there was no way to get them back to Earth for a proper burial, but at least their families would now know what had happened to them.

When they reached the bridge, Amara moved over and located the Communications station. However, they needed power. "Scotty, can you get some auxiliary power to this station?"

Scotty smiled and set down his pack. “I have a battery pack right here,” he said and pulled the large, white case out of his pack. He ran a cable that extended from it down to the auxiliary input near the base of the panel and connected it. He turned it on and the panel came to life. The dead, emaciated bodies were in various states of decay though mostly just bones and a bit of hair now. Amara gave Fiona her holocamera and she began to take holo photos of everything. Spock with Scotty’s help found the beacon and were working to dismantle it. Diana really didn’t have much to do, everyone was dead here and Elyse had told them not to go below decks. If Starfleet wanted to send an expedition back here they could but that was not their mission.

Amara was able to find the logs and she began to copy them onto a data disk Scotty had given her. It would take some time to download it all. Her thoughts drifted…

Saehir was 12 and she was at the Tru-antru Academy. A Middle school for the most part though designated for Tal Shiar children and those of inner party members and dignitaries. Thelai, the son of Senator Jirshon kept looking at Saehir. Classes just began for grade 6 and he had never seen a human before. Her wavy, dark hair and brilliant blue eyes and pale flesh were exotic to him and he...felt a desire to talk to her. Possibly more than talk though such a thing would be considered indecent or perverted. Katram was the daughter of Sub-Commander Tutik, a high-ranking Tal-shiar officer and she ‘hated’ Saehir and liked Thelai. After class in the hall Thelai stopped and turned to face Saehir as she stepped out after him. He was a typical looking ROmulan with coppery flesh, dark eyes and jet black hair cut in a bowl style.

“You will speak to me Saehir,” he said in a commanding tone and Saehir knew better than to arbitrarily deny him. One thing Nemal had taught her. ‘Know those around you and what harm they could do if they become an enemy, and what good if they became a friend’. Thelai moved to the side of the hall and waited for her to come before him.

For the past 6 years Saehir had lived with Nemal and Rukal. She had been privately tutored by them until she had fully learned Rihannsu, the Romulan language, then she was enrolled in school. Saehir was already being trained by the Tal Shiar. She hated the Federation and Starfleet and she wanted to do her part to bring them down. 

Being the only human on Romulus meant that Saehir drew attention wherever she went. Some were curious looks, while other's were much more threatening. Nemal had instructed her to know those around her and what harm they could do if they became an enemy, and what good they could do if they became a friend. Saehir knew that Thelai was the son of Senator Jirshon and that meant that it would probably be beneficial to her to befriend him. She didn't like the commanding tone of his voice, but she approached him and stood before him. 

"What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

Thelai touched her face and lightly took her chin into his fingers. He looked her in the eyes and turned her face to the side and brushed her hair back away from her ear to see that it wasn’t pointed. She felt him touch her ear, the rounded top of it then let her go. Behind her Katram seethed as she watched the boy’s fascination with Saehir’s human features. “You’re eyes are...agreeable to look at Saehir. And you...smell different,” the boy said. “Like a lagge (a flower),” he said with a small smile. “I wish you to hnafirh'rau (let me see) more of you, under your clothes,” he said.