Vieil Amour

Posted on Nov 19, 2016 @ 9:51pm by Lieutenant Cantor Von
Edited on on Nov 19, 2016 @ 9:51pm

Mission: Aftermath

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"Vieil Amour"
(cont'd from "Sins of our Fathers")

- Translation from French: "Old Love"

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LOCATION: Earth, San Francisco
SD: [2.16]1119.1905
SCENE: Office of the Secretary of Starfleet

Lieutenant Cantor Von brushed imaginary dust off his new uniform as he stepped onto the plush carpet of the Secretary of Starfleet's outer vestibule. The smell of sweet lavender hit him, which caused him to involuntarily smile.

*Lavender. Of course,* he thought to himself.

Out of the double faux wood doors that led to the Secretary's office proper walked a regal Vulcan who Cantor immediately identified as the new President of the Federation, Sardak. As if on queue, the five people milling about the vestibule stood and followed the Vulcan out. In a bit of too much curiosity, Von reached out and skimmed the surface of Sardak's mind delicately. He detected what he always detected from Vulcan's that were "unhappy" (for lack of a better term): the intense self control that pressed down deeply on the racial passions of the Vulcan race, seeming to be harder at work than normal.

*There walks an extremely unhappy Vulcan,* Cantor laughed at the concept. He noticed the young Starfleet yeoman sitting at the administration desk next to the door.

"Hello, I'd like to see the Secretary."

The young human looked up from his console, taking in the Betazoid. "Do you have an appointment Mr..."

"Von," Cantor replied. "Cantor Von. And, no, I don't. But I believe she's expecting me."

"But, you don't have an appointment," clarified the human.

"Yes,"replied Von, his tone one of complete normalcy.

"But if you don't have an appointment-"

"Exactly," the Betazoid looked about. "I'm not here and you've never seen me." Von narrowed his eyes. "This has to do with the Council."

"Oh," replied the Yeoman, blinking. "I see. Please go right in."

Cantor Von nodded, looked about for good measure, and than made his way through the faux wood doors. Marie-Claire immediately looked up as the color drained from her face. Von nodded gently toward her.

*Imzadi,* he thought, the mental word conveying so much more than the word itself. Feelings and memories flooded both him and Martine as their minds connected for the first time in a very long time.

*I-* Marie began mentally, but then cleared her throat and forced herself to speak with her voice. Von felt the ice form in her mind almost immediately.

"What are you doing here, Cantor?"

"I wanted to check in on you. I heard on the news that things have been going pretty badly-"

"That's an understatement," she retorted. "Six years, Cantor. You disappeared-"

"I don't believe you failed to keep track of me during that time, Marie. I know you. And I was on a Starfleet op." He paused, letting her drop the pretense. "Listen, I apologize for what happened back then. I was young." He smiled. "I was entranced by such a mature beauty-"

"Quit it, Cantor," replied Marie without baring a trace of emotion. "You subjected me to an emotional bonding I had no understanding about."

"It would have never taken if the feelings weren't consensual, Marie. You know that."

She looked up, tears in her eyes - such a departure from her calm public image. "And then you left me. You left me and left the Quadrant, Cantor Von." She took a deep breath. "You shattered my heart."

Tears filled Von's eyes as well as he felt the waves of sadness wash against him. He walked to the large oak desk and knelt down in front of it, placing his hand over hers. "I made a mistake, Marie. I was young and I was afraid you were too old for-"

Martine pulled her hand back from under his. "Really. My age? That's your excuse?"

"Marie-"

"Don't Marie me, Cantor! What you did to me was horrible! You can apologize all you want, but you've emotionally scarred me for the rest of my life!"

The doors to the office opened and the Yeoman poked his head in. "Madame Secretary, can I-"

Marie cleared her through and waved the human back. "I'm fine, Liam. You can go back to your desk." She refocused on Von. "Yes, I looked up where you were going and what you were doing. You purposely went as far away from me as you could get. The **GAMMA** Quadrant, Cantor! Was the Delta Quadrant too inconvenient?!"

"No, I - listen-"

"No, you listen," interrupted Martine. "You come back when my life, my role - hell, Earth's role - is up in the air with regards to the rest of the Federation. I just had as close to a verbal fight as you can get with a Vulcan, who hasn't asked for my resignation yet because of the optics. I'm doing everything I can to reach out to the other member worlds to secure our election to the new non-permanent seat. And in the middle of ALL that, you decide it's time to come back?!" Marie slammed her PADD down on her desk, standing up. "You have extremely poor timing, Cantor."

The Betazoid blinked, trying to mouth some words. "Admittedly, I do have horrible timing. Listen, Marie, I wouldn't have come here if I didn't care. All of what you said - all of it - is right. You have every right to feel the way you do." He dropped his hands to his side. "My excuses are poor and irrelevant. I'm so sorry, Marie. So sorry."

The older woman slowly took her seat and arranged the various PADDS and papers on her desk, organizing it all. "You," she looked up at him. "Should be, Cantor. You should be."

Silence passed between them until the Betazoid spoke. "I should be going-"

"Wait," Martine halted Von as he turned. Her voice was much more subdued. "I accept your apology, Cantor. I'm not sure," she paused, forming the words. "I'm not sure I will ever forgive you. But-" She paused again. "I need you to do something for me. Something I can only trust you with."

Von nodded, his expression unreadable. "Always the professional, Marie."

Martine shook her head. "Listen, if you don't want-"

"No," Von cut in. "No, go on."

Marie switched to the bond that was still there between them, her thoughts and emotions flowing over Von's mind. *I need you to go retrieve someone for me.*

Von frowned. *Retrieve? Surely, Liam out there-*

*This is too sensitive to be done by regular channels.*

*Is that why we're not talking aloud?*

*Let's just say that I'm a little paranoid as of late. I need you to go bring Captain Michael Turlough Kane to me. Deliver orders that I want to see him and escort him back to this office. He's currently on Luna. I'll cut orders to clear you to do all that without hindrance.*

*Marie, what's going on? Paranoia is one thing, but this is the Federation. Are things really-*

*I don't know, Cantor. But despite the hurt you caused me, you're the only one I can trust without doubt. I wouldn't ask if there was someone else.*

Von huffed. *Nice.*

*I don't-*

*No,* interrupted Von. *I'll do it. It's the LEAST I can do.*

Martine gazed into her former lover's ebony eyes. *In that, Cantor, we are in agreement.*

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NRPG: Alix, TAG, you're it.

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Marko J. Sertic
aka
Lt. Cantor Von
On assignment, Secretary of Starfleet's Office