Surprise (Sort of) Part 3

Posted on Mon Sep 1st, 2025 @ 1:44pm by Ensign Tenzi Sh'reyva & Petty Officer 2nd Class Zal Rixi & Lieutenant JG Leilani & Lieutenant JG Fulvia

1,582 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Menagerie II
Location: Paddy's Loft / Ten Forward, Deck 10
Timeline: MD007

As the party continued on, Samuel continued moving among those gathered, ensuring everyone was having a good time.

Off to one side of the party was Xalanth's second and fourth. The two women despite being dived by almost everything held themselves with an almost identical confidence. The two seemed to shine even before the light of their bonding bracelets shone around the room.

Tenzi nudged Rixi gently as they approached the two women standing just beyond the soft glow of the party lights. Leilani's posture was regal, while Fulvia carried herself with a subtle fire. Their bracelets pulsed faintly.

Rixi shifted on her feet, smoothing a crease in her uniform. "We see you around," she said with curiosity, "but never quite got the chance to talk. I'm Zal Rixi, and this is Tenzi." She glanced sideways at her friend, whose antennae twitched just enough to betray excitement.

Tenzi smiled, the edges of it warm and unguarded. "It's good to finally step out of the uniform. Paddy's Loft feels different tonight."

"Nice to meet the two of you." Leilani replied with a warm smile spreading over her face. " I'm Leilani and this is Fulvia."

Fulvia added her own warm smile. "Nice to meet the pair of you." Noting the looks of the girls eyes jumping to the bracelet on her arm the magna roman held it up. It was clearly home made but with a great deal of care by a very skilled hand. A bright set gem surrounded by two smaller gems of the same make. " A dragonian bonding bracelet curiosity of our husband. "

Tenzi's antennae twitched faster, a slow grin spreading like a shaft of sunlight through storm clouds. "So, Lieutenant Xalanth's got a small crowd at home, huh?"

Rixi cocked her head, one brow arching. "I'm imagining dinner time."

There was no judgment in their words--only playful teasing and curiosity.

The betazoid councilor grinned at that. "Oh it can be rather frantic at times, but we wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Helps that our red knight is a great cook." Added Fulvia. " It's going to be even more frantic when Zola and Cemet return."

Rixi blinked, the names hanging in the air like some bulletproof riddle. "Zola and Cemet," she echoed, as though testing the weight of both names. "I'm guessing they're not cats. Or, wait--are they cats? Does Xalanth collect cats?"

Tenzi elbowed Rixi's ribs in admonishment. "Zola's his third," she scolded. "And Cemet is their child."

Leilani let out a smile at that. "Correct Tenzi Zola is are third sister wife. Cemet is his third child."

"I feel sorry for her. To be growing up and your dad only exists on one end of a communications channel." Fulvia added. "All because someone in the fleet has some rather paranoid delusions about Xalanth."

Rixi raised an eyebrow. "Who has a bug up their ass about Xalanth?"

"Admiral Hari." Leilani added a hint of bitterness in her voice. "She was commandant of the intelligence cadets during our time at the academy. She started developing some bizarre theory that Xalanth is some vanguard of a dragonian plan to take over the alpha quadrant. She claims there a biological cascade and are going to over the the federation."

"Which is utter rubbish." Fulvia added. "His people are barely advancing outside of their region of space, not to mention his people's rather extreme habits regarding their eggs and dragonian hybrids lose the dragonian egg-laying capabilities."

"That's... elaborate." Rixi's mouth twitched like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or swear. "Sounds like Hari's inventing conspiracy theories."

Tenzi sipped her drink, eyes moving between Fulvia and Leilani. "Must be some vanguard--Xalanth is the only Dragonian in Starfleet, last I checked."

"She is. We've been inside our lizard's head after all." Leilani replied with a slight sigh. "Yet some people in the fleet seem to think she's onto something why I have no idea."

"You'd think they'd drop it after he won his second pike." Added Fulvia referring to the two Christopher Pike Medal of Valor the lizard wore with pride.

Rixi leaned back a little, arms folding across her chest as though bracing herself for an answer she wasn't sure she wanted. Her grin, though, betrayed her. "Okay," she said, "so help me out here. How many wives does a Dragonian usually have? Is this... a starter set, or are we talking full collection?"

Tenzi groaned into her glass, antennae tilting toward her friend like disbelieving parentheses.

"Well it varies among the population of his homeworld but among Xalanth's people a family unit is one male and eight females aligning with their belief in the shattered soul myth of their gods. It also happens to be the gender ratio. " Fulvia explained noting Rixi grin.

"So we're about half way to a full set." Leilani added with her own grin.

Rixi leaned forward, eyes bright with the kind of mischief that often preceded disaster. "Okay." she said slowly, "but, logistically--how does that even work? I mean--" she twirled her finger like she was stirring soup--"do you each have your own room and rotate like planets? Or is it one enormous bed situation?"

Tenzi almost inhaled the remainder of her drink. A strangled cough became a laugh that shot soda-water through her nose. She backed away, half-mortified, half-howling. "Rixi! Ancestors, you can't just--" She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead as though she could massage the embarrassment away. "I swear she was raised by single-celled organisms on a distant moon."

The two women grinned at Tenzi's reaction. "It's alright we're used to such questions given our lifestyle. As for what the conditions are we have a traditional Dragonian bed which we all share, but our lizard has built a few smaller rooms in case anyone needs some alone time."

"It's sounds bizarre but it's paradise compared to what I was expected my life to turn into," Fulvia added.

Tenzi, still laughing despite herself, leaned over and touched Leilani's arm in apology, antennae ducking low in contrition. "Forgive Rixi. She has no filter. It's terminal."

"Terminal curiosity," Rixi corrected, grinning.

"Same thing," Tenzi muttered, stepping back from the table. "Fulvia. Leilani. I'm so sorry for my friend. If she starts asking about mattress sizes, I'm leaving the quadrant."

As the Andorian engineer disappeared into the crowd with her drink, Rixi turned to Fulvia. "Tell me," she said, her grin disappearing. "What did you expect your life to turn into?"

"I was a gladiatrix on Magna Roma. I expected my life to be rather short unless i managed to catch the eye of one of the elites like my mother managed to. Fourthly, my father was rather generous than most of the senate. He legitimized me and helped me get off world." Fulvia explained.

Rixi sat back, her grin fading into something narrower and sharper. She toyed with the empty rim of her glass, finger circling the condensation like she was drawing orbit lines.

"Gladiatrix," she said finally. "That's... not exactly an after-school club."

Turning to Leilani, she asked, "And you grew up on Betazed?"

"Earth actually." Leilani smiled in reply though her eyes did glance over at her sister wife. "My dad was a member of the Betazoid embassy much to my mother's annoyance. She always wanted to be back on Betazed living in the family duchy. "

A Trill waiter in a crisp white jacket appeared at their table, tray tucked under his arm like a shield. "Can I fetch you ladies another drink?" he asked.

Rixi shook her empty glass in front of him. "Another one, please. And another of whatever my new friends are drinking."

The waiter nodded curtly and disappeared into the crowd.

Rixi let out a breath. "Embassy brats and gladiatrices," she said with a slight grin. "And here I was worried my party trick wouldn't measure up."

"What about you Rixi?" Fulvia inquired. "What was your early life like?"

"Me?" she said finally. "Jalanda City. Bajor. My parents still carry the war in their bones--whole Occupation baked into how they stand, how they breathe. You can’t grow up around that and not notice."

She gave a little shrug, one shoulder lifting like a bulky wing. "Youngest of six. Which means you learn to shout loud enough to be heard or keep quiet long enough to be left alone. I leaned toward the first." A faint grin, the kind that slipped out without permission. "Spent most of my time tearing apart things I wasn’t supposed to--door locks, environmental units, old replicator parts. Sometimes I even put them back together again."

"Well look at you now. An engineer in Starfleet," Leilani answered giving her a warm smile.

Rixi looked down at her empty glass. "I'm a little jealous, to tell you the truth." She sighed. "You both seem so happy and you have this wife-sister thing that's really working for you."

"We are lucky women, but don't worry Rixi you'll find someone who makes you just as happy." Leilani said jumping slightly into her counselling mode.

She sighed and offered a slight smile to Leilani.

The waiter returned a moment later with their drinks. Around them the party kept inventing itself--laughter spilling, plates clattering, someone singing off-key in the corner. For a moment it all felt suspended--gladiatrices and diplomats' daughters, engineers and counselors--all caught in the same bright, unrepeatable evening. Whatever came tomorrow, tonight was just noise and light and the comfort of not standing alone amidst it.


~tbc!

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