Selok and Rash'al

"We're not supposed to be. Recently Gargov made it a point to know as much as possible about your scientific projects, because he was suspicious that you were building bio-weapons under the surface of your discoveries," Rash'al said, prattling on as he took more drinks from his cup. "He was having anyone who worked under him get ready to do something great and catastrophic 'for the good of science.' I was supposed to take after Mor'dok - or, even better, get assigned to the group who was supposed to go after Ambassador Sarek."

"Sarek?" Selok asked, now frowning. "Why would you go after him? No Vulcan has ever strode for such peace as he has."

"I didn't see the reason in it, either," Rash'al admitted. "Gargov thought that Sarek was going for too much communication with the humans. He thought a lot of things that, of course, ended up being suicidal." He took a gulp of the liquid again. "The operation was completely ridiculous. Mor'dok and I were sick and tired of it. Of course, I was the only one who ended up being foolish enough to back out of it. And now - here I am."

"And where did you expect you would go?" Selok asked, watching him. "Surely you could not have expected to find a place among the Federation."

"No. I was going to get lost in the Gammas - possibly find some of the tradeships where my relatives work," Rash'al said with a shrug. "It was either that, or stay on Romulus and do the job I'd been assigned, on top of marrying Iri'ona. Personally, I'd rather risk the emptiness of space." He looked at Selok again. "...so you were just heading back from Genesis, then? What about a family? Are you married?"

Selok nodded, taking another sip of his drink. "Yes. I had a wife and a daughter."

"Had?" Rash'al looked up at him again. "What happened to them?"

"They were killed." Selok replied, looking at him from above his glass. "They were on my ship."

Rash'al frowned, looking at him again. "...on your ship? You mean - that ship?" He lowered his cup slightly. "...and you just haven't said a word about it? What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I did not believe it to be a suitable cause for conversation." Selok replied, taking another sip of his drink.

"Hey," Rash'al gave him a deadpan look. "You don't just lose your wife and daughter and then not talk about that. That's beyond unhealthy." He sipped his drink again. "And you're very sure that they're dead? I mean - you said there were shuttles. How do you know they didn't get out, too?"

Selok shook his head. "There was only one shuttle. The ship was made to be hard to detect, and therefore there was only one shuttle that would be used to evacuate the most important scientific personel and the scientific information that was being transported. They could not have survived. There was too little time."

Rash'al stared at him for a few seconds longer, before he looked away again. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said, sipping the last from his cup again. "It's astounding how those things can just...happen. I lost both my parents and my sister in a raid, but I had enough time to get past that." He sat back again. "You don't feel it at all?"

"Vulcans are not like Romulans in the emotional realm," Selok replied, scooping him yet another helping. "We deal with things logically. I will not see them again, and there is nothing I can do about it. How I feel will not change things, therefore it is irrelevant."

Rash'al scoffed. "And that is where you all go mad," he said, taking his cup back and sipping from it. "It's not good to keep those things to yourself. Every once in a while you've got to do something to process it and let it go. Dealing with it the way you do is like pretending it never happened - like they never existed. Is that really the best way to remember them?"

"It is necessary for other races to deal with their emotions because they have not mastered them." Selok replied, sitting back. "I do not expect you to understand."

"No. You probably shouldn't," Rash'al said gruffly, glancing away at the entrance of the cave for a moment. There was silence for a while once more, before he spoke again. "So what do you plan to do, then? If we get off of this sandy rock?" He sipped his drink. "Are you going back to Genesis?"

"I must return to Vulcan." Selok responded. "I will report to them my research, and they will recommend my next course of action." He took another sip. "And you?"

"Hopefully get where I was going in the first place. And if that doesn't work, I'll join the Borg."

Selok raised an eyebrow at him. "The borg?"

"Mm-hm. I'll be assimilated if it means freedom," Rash'al chuckled darkly - before he paused and glanced at Selok. "...you do know who the Borg are, right?"

"It is common knowledge among those that worked on Genesis." Selok replied, still not looking amused at the idea of assimilation. "We modeled some of our technology around theirs."

"Smart," Rash'al said lazily, taking a gulp from his cup. "They're technology is just about the best their is. I don't know a single species that knows about them that hasn't stolen at least something from one of their designs. But what do you use it for on Genesis? Making techno-people to run the place?"