As much as she appreciated the honor of Shar’s being matched with a bondgroup, Charivretha found herself wishing, not for the first time, that Shar’s DNA might have been compatible with one less volatile than Shathrissía zh’Cheen. Yes, Thriss’s willowy fragility, unusual by Andorian standards, suited Shar’s tendency for appreciating the unconventional. He enjoyed being unique, embracing the less obvious choices, and Thriss certainly embodied that. Together, Shar and Thriss brought out the best and worst in each other. At the time she met Thriss, a scrawny, wide-eyed thing of seven, Charivretha had no idea what a force to be reckoned with was sweeping into her life.
It was during Shar’s Heritage studies. The students were learning the first forms of an ancient festival dance, one they’d be called on to perform at the Time of Knowing. Sitting in on her chei’sclass, Charivretha had remembered her own Knowing ceremony—the subsequent celebration after she’d learned the names of her bondmates; her life had been redefined during those hours. She had recalled her own youthful excitement while observing her cheiand his classmates, including Thriss, standing off to the side in the shadows. Considering the group as a whole, Charivretha had noted how Thriss’s plainness, her homeliness, distinguished her from the rest. And then, on her cue, Thriss had assumed her place in the form, had risen up onto her toes and had curled her arm over her head with such delicacy and loveliness that Charivretha’s breath caught in her throat. Dozens of pairs of childish eyes had focused on the ethereal Thriss, each wondering if she would someday belong to them.
Subsequent years brought Thriss official reprimands for misbehavior in class—mostly for inappropriate displays of temper—but she had remained well liked by her peers, gaining a folk-herolike reputation for speaking out against perceived injustice. All her peers valued her opinions and desired her approval as they copied her hairstyles and the clothes she wore. When she staged a sit-in protesting Andorian communities encroaching on animal habitats, half the students joined her.
Except Shar.
Shar’s seeming obliviousness to Shathrissía ought to have been Charivretha’s first clue that he felt differently about her than he did about his other bondmates. He never sought out her company, never invited her to study. For her purposes at the time, Charivretha found Shar’s disinterest a relief: it decreased the likelihood that her cheiwould find the trouble that followed Thriss wherever she went.
When, five years later, Shar received Thriss as his bondmate, Charivretha still refused to worry because the bondgroup was a strong one. Shar instantly adored Dizhei, as everyone who met her did; with Anichent, he found a kinship of minds unlike any he’d ever experienced. Anichent and Shar quickly became inseparable. Charivretha often saw Shar and Anichent shyly holding hands during study time; Shar’s tender displays of affection warmed Charivretha as few things did.
Though he treated Thriss honorably, Shar appeared indifferent to her company. Because Shar tended to run counter to whatever trends and fads existed among his peers, Charivretha assumed he ignored Thriss because of her popularity. Thriss tried, but failed, to provoke any substantive reaction from him. In retrospect, Charivretha could see that Shar had conscientiously avoided Thriss, taking deliberate steps to assure their school schedules, their extracurricular hours and mealtimes didn’t intersect. As hiszhavey, I should have known intuitively why he behaved the way he did: Shar ignored Thriss to avoid confronting the powerful attraction he felt for her. Years, I wasted years that I might have used to derail what proved to be the inevitable explosion between my chei and his lover…if I could have stopped them, if I could have foreseen what they would do and how irrational they could be…
Knowing all of the situation’s complexities, Charivretha had played a dangerous card in bringing Thriss to Deep Space 9. Ideally, Thriss’ ability to insinuate herself into Shar’s emotions should have given him an incentive to bow out of the Gamma Quadrant mission. Instead, Thriss’s appearance had reinforced the very decision Charivretha hoped to reverse. Shar had accurately perceived that his best chance at pursuing his misguided quest to find an external solution to the Andorians’ spiral toward extinction—as if he, brilliant as he was, could solve a problem his people had struggled with for so long—was to go as far from Thriss as possible, as fast as he could travel. The Gamma Quadrant certainly meets those criteria,she thought bitterly. Now what to do with Dizhei? If Thriss’ outbursts threaten Dizhei’s equilibrium, we might face losing more than Shar.…
Thanis discreetly crouched down beside Charivretha, informing her that the trade agreement transitioning session would be resuming shortly. Did she need to ask for more time from Ambassador Gandres? Charivretha shook her head no. With all the tenderness she could muster, Charivretha gathered Dizhei in her arms, cradling her against her shoulder. Beneath her own trembling hands, Charivretha felt the labored breathing that marked Andorian keening. Resisting the impulse to give into her tumultuous feelings, she focused her energy on reassuring Dizhei, cursing her selfish offspring. Where had she failed in conveying to Shar the seriousness of his obligations? “I will do what I can,” she whispered into Dizhei’s hair. “I promise.”
As Ro prepared her end-of-shift report, she noted grimly that while the Cardassian presence on the station hadn’t produced a marked increase in security problems, the imposition of yellow alert protocols had. One of her corporals had just been admitted to Dr. Tarses’ care. The Klingon captain of a vessel loaded with Cardassian humanitarian aid had charged the security officer with a d’k tahg,when, under orders, the deputy prevented the J’changfrom launching. Other than reissuing her earlier statements about changes in station security, adding random, full-body scans, and making certain that all pilots arriving at or departing from the station were aware of those changes, Ro felt there was little else to do until everyone adjusted to the new rules. People typically hated change.
A beep from her console alerted her to the approach of a visitor to the security office. Ro recognized her through the door windows immediately: Councillor Charivretha zh’Thane.
Ro rose from her chair as the councillor entered, but zh’Thane quickly indicated she expected Ro to sit down. The councillor took her place in the visitor’s chair, sitting regally straight, hands folded in her lap; she exemplified poise.
Before today, Ro had spoken to zh’Thane only a handful of times, and on all those occasions she found the diplomat to be pleasant enough, but imperious. She could only imagine what Shar must have felt growing up with such a formidable presence to contend with. Even now, in her office, Ro felt zh’Thane was holding court.
“I bring the accolades of Admiral Akaar, Lieutenant Ro. He’s pleased with Colonel Kira’s decision to increase security. He also admires how swiftly and capably it’s been handled,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice.
Knowing Akaar’s reservations about her competence, Ro foundzh’Thane’s words to have little more substance than polite pleasantries. What intrigued her was the crack in zh’Thane’s perfectly composed veneer when, for an instant, she showed vulnerability. In good time,Ro thought. Not wanting to offend her guest, she offered a half-smile.
Zh’Thane replied by deliberately closing her eyes, allowing her long gray lashes to flutter politely. “I’m sorry to hear of your corporal’s injuries. I hope it’s nothing serious.”
Ro was impressed with how in-the-know zh’Thane appeared to be: the incident with the J’changhad occurred in the previous hour. “Dr. Tarses will release him to his quarters this evening. Just keeping him under precautionary observation for the time being. Thanks for asking.” Assuming zh’Thane had more pressing concerns than passing on Admiral Akaar’s compliments, she made the opening move. “Now, what can I do for you, Councillor?”