DISCLAIMER: The Star Trek characters are the property of Paramount Studios, Inc. The story contents are the creation and property of Mistress V and is copyright (c) 2008 by Mistress V. Rated PG.

When You Dream...

Postscript to Winterludes

By Mistress V

It's twenty years or so after that first sportscamp....

The figure skating grand finale of the Calgary games was about to come to a close, and as reigning ladies' singles gold medalist, Kanou would be the last performer, doing her second and final piece. Her first number, a farewell of sorts, was a dramatic one done to the old standby that Klin women loved, "Memory." What made it unique was the felinesque costume Kala designed and the song itself. Lak'Sha had done a special recording of the hit from "Cats" in the Klingon language. It brought down the house.

As she waited for her next costume, the double champion reflected back on the past few years. She had fully intended to retire after the Arctica games when she won her first gold medal. After all, she now had a full set: a bronze from her second games at Portillo in Chile, and a silver from the next at Temoria. But the Arctica silver medalist, that pest Kristina Se'Peya from the Martian Colonies, had made such a stink about one bobble on her last set of jumps "causing her to lose the gold." Kanou was bothered and left wondering if she was merely the gold medalist by default, not in her own right.

Ms. Se'Peya retired after Arctica to pursue an as yet unsuccessful singing career and Kanou finally took a deep breath to consider her own future. That meant she now had time to have a break. Somehow she'd known that handsome Klingon goalie for the Rangers, Thak, would be waiting, and he was. They fell in love, married both on the homeworld and at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, then took a month's honeymoon to Risa. Except when they got back and the run up was beginning to the next SportsFest, Kanou felt like she was missing something. And so she dusted off her skates, as many a quasi retired skater had done before her, and started back onto the ice in earnest.

This time there had been no doubt. Instead of getting older and softer, she'd become more mature and stronger. Her quads came almost as a second nature now, leading her coach to wonder if a quint toe loop was in the grasp of the next skating generation. She blew the field away at Calgary, a field in which the top four competitors skated all out and made not a single noticeable mistake. Kanou won outright and this time it wasn't because the silver medalist had a bad day. The press on the homeworld called her "Our Warrior Goddess." There were now a half dozen new talented ladies waiting to show the galaxy what Qo'noS was capable of producing. That was good.

She'd be retiring soon, because it was time to be thinking about a family. And coaching, commentary, that training holovid she wanted to do. Heck, Somm and T'Annu were talking about making a feature film of her life! But all that she really wanted right now was to spend time with her husband, go yell like a Klingon warrior at some hockey games, and plant a garden with him at their Montauk home.

"Kanou?"

She turned to see Kala holding out her dress. "It really is exactly the same, isn't it?" she asked softly. For it was the same costume she debuted in, essentially.

"So is the woman who is wearing it. Just the years have changed."

A few moments later Kanou looked at her image in the locker room mirror. For a second she saw the timid little girl who had found her wings on the London ice and announced to all who saw her performance that skating was her life. So long ago, yet it could have been yesterday.

They walked together to the entry tunnel and shared a quick hug. "Knock 'em dead, my sister," Kala said with a grin.

"Always." Kanou gave her mentor and business partner their special knuckle salute. Then she skated out to center ice, bobbed a curtsy, and took her position as the music began.

As soon as "Storms in Africa II" started up, the audience went crazy, clapping along to the original short program that was her letter of introduction to the galaxy on that London afternoon. The only difference was that her jumps now included a quad salchow/quad flip sequence and an equally impressive quad axel/ triple loop/double loop combination.

Kanou began her final spin series, her face glowing with the knowledge that all the years had paid off, the years that really started when another girl had offered her popcorn and friendship.

After she acknowledged her applause with kisses and waves, Kanou skated over to the sidelines and performed another graceful curtsy. Then she rose and gave a flawless ta'al and accepted a bouquet of Vulcan fire flowers from her best friend in the universe.

T'Mara.

* * *

"She's beautiful."

"Yes, she always was, even when she was a tiny little thing." Christine smiled as she recalled that long ago meeting.

"What was she like when you met first her, Mom?" Teresa looked over at her mother, who was gathering up their things.

"Shy, curious, a quick learner. And so talented we all knew she'd be a champion someday. I guess we were right!" She stood and put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. For a fourteen year old, she was tall like both her parents. Volleyball was her favorite sport, especially the beach variety which she played as often as possible. Fog or no fog.

"So did you manage to communicate with her when you first met?"

"Yes, we talked about skating injuries and got to know each other. I gave Kanou her very first taste of jellybeans. Then I noticed her and T'Mara watching my own skating workout every morning. So we spoke a little more each day, and practiced our language abilities."

"Quite adequately," Spock added.

"T'Mara's so amazing. I loved her in 'DragonMine'. What a talented dancer." Teresa had grown up with both the Vulcan ballerina and the Klingon skater being regular visitors to the family home.

"You'll see her and her husband at the party."

"I can't wait to see Kanou's husband! Or her brother! Two IGHL players in the same room? That is so ultra cosmic." Teresa's brother Jim was full of sixteen year old male energy. "Let's move it, huh?"

"Relax, son, the celebration will not start for at least an hour yet, Miss Kanou must still meet her press for a final interview. She has already stated this would be her farewell performance." Spock was as placid as ever, but also looked forward to discussing hockey, still a favorite sport of his, with the two Klingon players. He'd begun refereeing in his son's junior leagues a few years back and now worked with the academy team when time off from his administrative duties permitted. Jim was taking the Starfleet entrance exam next month.

They made their way out of the crowded arena into the frosty Alberta twilight. The sky was a deep lavender blue with a crescent moon hung low amidst the early stars. A snowball fight between the siblings quickly ensued. Spock and Christine stood and watched their children scamper across the plaza, pelting each other with the icy spheres.

"Teresa has clearly learned from T'Lara, has she not?" Spock remarked as he watched their daughter's volley hit their son square on the noggin with pinpoint accuracy. He put an arm comfortably around his wife, despite her being buried in a puffy winter coat. "This has been a most enjoyable week, my love. I am so glad we could attend."

"Me, too. And no cracks about Kala and me sneaking off to skate in the morning, OK? If we get out the door at all it's a miracle, with the kids clamoring to come along as well." Christine giggled.

Their two, Kala and Greg's two, Stark and T'Lara's four plus Sierra III made for an extremely fascinating tribe, ranging in age from sixteen to five. The party tonight, a grand reunion of sorts, would be quite an event. Stark, the host, was providing vidgame diversions for the younger members.

"I promise, my wife. We shall simply endeavor to be awake long before you need to prepare for your skating date." His eyebrow raised up in that special way.

"No sleep again," Christine sighed. "Some vacation."

"I recall another vacation a bit south of here," Spock began as they started after their offspring before a window was broken. He took his wife's gloved hand in his. "We did not get much sleep then either, but it was still extremely enjoyable."

"You are insatiable, you know that?"

"Although you still insist on stating the obvious, yes, I shall agree with that illogically unnecessary statement. I am always insatiable for you, the woman I love."

They laughed softly together in the dusk, a private moment of shared happiness, then continued across the plaza.

* * *

Part [ii]to follow. Who was at the party? We'll find out soon enough.

The progression of the Winter SportsFests has been Polaris (where Stark won the first time, as did the Klingon hockey players, and our couple began courting), Lake Tahoe (where Stark won again and Kanou debuted), Portillo in Chile, Temoria, Arctica and now Calgary.

So. Who else was at the big reunion party? Here are some updates on folks we've all gotten to know over the, er, years.

T'Mara and her husband Strumm beat Spock and Christine in a highly contested game of dom-jott, by one point. Strumm, who plays a modern version of the Vulcan harp in a jazz style, claims it was all in the wrist. Spock was extremely skeptical of this and stated it was purely luck.

S'omm and T'Annu dropped by to visit with everyone. They were in the midst of filming a documentary about the Vulcan curling teams, Ice Logic. Their daughter T'Ann, a choreographer, accompanied them and spent time reminiscing with T'Mara and Kanou about some adventure they'd all had in Paris years ago. T'Ann's brother Strumm was very curious about this adventure, which apparently involved chocolate filled profiteroles, pink champagne, and the Saurian polo team but the ladies refused to divulge any details. T'Mara will be premiering the role of Odille/Odette in T'Ann's important new production of Swan Lake, to be debuted at the Paris Opera House in the spring.

Thak and Kando discussed (quite vocally) the current intergalactic hockey standings with a group of interested males and females. Coach Kluth, who refuses to retire (though he is now largely, and happily, in an advisory role) listened attentively but did not give an opinion. His daughter (Kanou's mother) more than made up for that. The IGHL stars continued to maintain that the Andorian hockey win at Arctica was a fluke, and that the Klin would once again be atop the podium as champions at the final the next day. Unfortunately, the Gorn surprised everyone and the Klingons and Andorians finished second and third. The Gorn were led by their twin captains, BoCla and RobArk.

Mogh and his wife Josta brought pizza for everyone. Mogh took the bronze medal in snowboard cross at the Portillo games where Kanou won her bronze. The press on the homeworld went absolutely wild with speculation on whether the couple would take the oath, but Mogh's heart was already with a young woman from his home neighborhood whose father worked as a computer diagnostician at the KDCA. Mogh is now an assistant winter sports coach of the KDC team and runs a pizza cafe with his wife at the KDCA, which is a very popular hangout. It's rumored he also caters to some High Council events, though no one will officially comment. Azetbur is a connoisseur of his pizza, especially when watching hockey games.

Worf and his wife, who were at a large scientific gathering at an Empire colony, could not attend but sent a vidgreeting. They are still busy agriscientists on the Klingon homeworld, though they look forward to retiring at some point. Their daughter skated for many years but now aspires to be an actress in the national opera company. K'a'tya pesters Mogh endlessly as to when she will be a grandmother, though it's all in fun. She also has a hugely successful side business in the capital city, producing seductive lingerie for a select clientele (word of mouth only, including Azetbur, who obviously appreciates fine things!) and her staff cannot make the styles quickly enough.

Lak'Sha is the dramatics mistress for the national opera company, having semi retired from performing. She still does character roles on occasion as a mezzo soprano, to great critical acclaim. Much as she wanted to accompany her son for the festivities, she could not as she was involved in final rehearsals for a new production of "Kahless and Lukara" to be premiered at the next Kot'baval festival. She did eventually remarry to B'asso, a revered senior member of the company. The vid of The Seduction of Kevin Riley regularly makes the rounds at celebrations. K'a'tya's side business received quite a boost a few months back when the main female character in "For the Par'Mach of My Warrior and the Homeworld" sang her pre-oath taking aria while clad in a glamorous nightgown. Lak'Sha, who played her maid, wore an equally beautiful robe. K'a'tya, the designer, had to hire two more seamstresses the next day.The first inquiry came from Azetbur herself.

Commander Loki is a flight instructor at the KDCA but managed to get enough time off to make a quick trip to the celebration. His wife Masht was already in Calgary as a visiting sports journalist. They have a daughter, Kamio. Masht, now retired from competition, is a sports commentator for the Klingon Empire's media service and was the first ever female halfpipe snowboarder for the KDCA team. She learned to snowboard at the initial sportscamp on Qo'noS, where Stark claimed the girl would go far. She did, winning a gold medal at the games on Temoria, which followed her impressive fifth place debut at Portillo. Loki's friend Mogh encouraged him to ask Masht to a hockey match and the rest was history. Masht and her fellow competitor Kanou happily serve as role models to the young women of the Empire and beyond.

Commander Ellat is first officer at the starbase in his homeworld's system. Prior to his assignment, he did a five year tour aboard the USS Yorktown as its physicist. In addition to his scientific duties, he also gained quite a reputation as an intergalactic ladies' man, something he probably learned from his mentor, James Kirk. He's been named the galaxy's most eligible bachelor and women from Ferenginar to the Martian Colonies to Qo'noS (and, it's rumored, Romulus) send him fanvids. His date for the big party was his mother Elaan, who never did remarry. She claims she is no longer interested in such things, but was seen having a quiet drink with Admiral Kirk, who was also in attendance.

Lcdr. Benny Childress (Retired) now runs the geological research station on the Martian Colonies and takes part in mining survey missions for the private sector. He's married to a very pretty Vulcan doctor named T'Nicca. The couple met during his two tours of duty aboard the new USS Intrepid, which has a mixed crew of Vulcans and offworlders. He requested the assignment specifically. His wife claims her husband fell in love with all things Vulcan during the first sports camp, and Benny is quick to agree.

Ben and Evie Childress retired to Amelia Island, Florida and made the journey with their son and daughter in law. Ben spends most days fishing or in his workshop and tending his chili peppers in their garden; he's won awards at the county and state fairs. Evie teaches at the local community college. Their other two sons live nearby. A person resembling Harry Mudd allegedly visited them some time back but no one knows why. He did not stay long, according to neighbors.

Jimmy Sanchez and his girlfriend Sabine are artists in Berlin. Jimmy painted the famous portrait of Kanou which graces the ice arena on the Klingon homeworld, and the equally famous one of T'Mara that adorns the main entrance gallery of the new Shi-Kar Cultural Palace. They brought that old party standby, Jagermeister.

Despite his mother's misgivings, the Teer of Capella IV, Leonard James Akaar, attended the reunion with his wife Cilshu. Eleen still worries that her son might overindulge in non nutritional food, something he did on a regular basis while at the Academy and then on board the USS Enterprise during his two tours. In addition to his duties as Teer (which are largely ceremonial, as the prime minister is the official head of government now), Leonard does research at the large observatory on his planet's moon and coaches hockey during the winter. Although his mother despairs that he eats the wrong things, Leonard is still lithe and handsome and also turned quite a few heads in his Starfleet days.

Silok works for a private starship design firm in New York City whose owner is Greg Dillon. His aerodynamic flitters are highly sought after and the company specializes in custom models for celebrities, government officials and the like. They have pleased, well-heeled customers from across the quadrant, including the Teer of Capella IV and the Dauphin of Troyius. Silok's not sure when he'll get married. He was featured in 'Young Designer InterGalactic' a few years back and enjoys all the feminine attention he gets, in particular from the models that grace his designs in ads. His parents regularly visit with his sister, who is also enamored of New York. Silok brought a surprise guest to the party. Special cultural envoy of the Romulan Star Empire, Chula.

Ginny and her husband, Alasdair (Fiona's formerly repugnant brother)flew in along with her sister and brother in law. Ginny coaches figure skating on New Inverness Colony and weaves beautiful woolen shawls from the fleece of the local highland sheep when she's not piloting starliners for a commercial transport firm. Fiona and her husband run a bed and breakfast in the highlands there, close to the slopes where they both still snowboard. Ginny flew them all to the celebration.

Ambassador Sarek and Lady Amanda attended with T'Sai TSer, her bondmate General Stoick, and Ambassador and Lady Ajax of Bolarus. The Bolian team had a surprise gold medalist in the women's downhill, so Ajax was extremely pleased. He still plays poker and loses regularly. Sarek and Amanda divide their time between Vulcan and Terra. The Ambassador has semi officially retired though Amanda insists he still works too hard. Sarek, his son and his grandson attended several hockey matches during the sportsfest which they enjoyed very much.

Ambassador Kl'o'rox passed away a few years ago and his widow, Lady Kl'o'rox, was too frail to attend, but she sent a vidgreeting from Qo'noS where she resides with Lak'Sha and her family. Lady Kl'o'rox still fondly remembers the trip to New York for Kala and Greg's oath taking and is godmother to their son Geoff. The new, though still as yet unofficial liaison to the Federation is none other than K'e'flex, who finally fulfilled his dream of taking his son to a baseball game during his presentation of ambassadorial credential visit to Terra. It's rumored the KDCA now has a team of its own. K'e'flex happily made the long journey in the hopes of seeing a Klingon victory in hockey; he ended up settling for a win---finally---at poker.

Valery and Liudmilla Daragan moved to Sochi on the Black Sea, where it almost never snows, but are still active within the coaching community. Kanou trained for her comeback at the popular resort and taught her husband to windsurf when he visited. They spent most of the competition observing the skaters with their colleagues Selek and T'Lea, coaches of the Vulcan national team. All of them agreed the field of competition was now very diverse and subject to many surprises, which was a logical thing.

Kala Dillon runs an activewear business with Kanou, MySport, that produces ethnically inspired sporting clothes for the women of the galaxy. They recently opened a boutique, with spa, in the Klingon homeworld's capital city which had lines of eager customers queuing around the block. Kala owns three very successful day spas as well, one attached to Starfleet Headquarters. She's also still helping her parents with the Klub Klin, now a trendy watering hole despite being the comfortable spaceport dive it always was. And she and Greg are busy raising their son Geoff and their daughter Katy Christa. They live in Montauk, just down the road from Kanou and Thak, when they're not in the city at their Chelsea loft.

Assistant Communications Minister of the United African States, Nyota (Theresa) Uhura and her constant companion of the past twenty years, Dr. Ade (Geoff) M'Benga made a surprise visit to the celebrations. Nyota performed some songs to the accompaniment of Strumm's harp. The couple reside on the island Republic of Zanzibar, where Ade is chief of staff at the University Hospital. Nyota also raises exotic carnations, long grown in the region, for the perfume Kala markets exclusively at her spas, African Dreams.

T'Safa and her husband attended then headed off to Hawaii to pick up their son, who had been at a botany study camp there. For her pioneering research in the area of fertility, T'Safa and her research staff were awarded the Vulcan Scientific Legion of Honor. They discovered and developed the treatment which helped negate the more unsavory aspects of ponn farr and make the cycle more controllable, for those who wished such an aid. Her clinic at the Science Academy helps couples with fertility issues, especially those of mixed marriages. She and T'Lara founded the important charity, Silent No Longer, which educates and counsels those who seek the knowledge about all aspects of pon farr. The T'sai T'Ser is patron of the charity, which, along with the treatment, has raised eyebrows on Vulcan, but is nonetheless accepted as a logical elective option. S'milar, T'Safa's husband, is busy as an orthopedist, dealing with sports and dance related injuries of all kinds; he regularly travels with Vulcan's sports teams. T'Safa's grandmother, doing well, was very pleased and yes, proud, of her granddaughter's achievements. She still refers to her T'Safa's husband as an illogical fool, but only in jest.The couple continue to laugh with each other in private all the time. Their son is named for TSafa's brother, Savant. He will be taking the Starfleet entrance exam next month and hopes to serve as a botanist. The trip to Hawaii was his idea, what with all the exotic flora and fauna to be studied. He is quite Terran in his demeanor (which his parents claim is from watching too many holos) but they are allowing him to find his own way.

Stark and T'Lara have four children, two boys and two girls. They spend most of their time in Lake Tahoe but visit Vulcan and Delta regularly. Vulcan Heat still continues to generate millions of credits profit each year, much of which is reinvested in their charity, Sport Belongs to Every Child. Stark also helped Kala and Kanou launch their activewear line. He's been approached more than once with a view to the diplomatic service as a career option but feels he's still too young for that, though he might consider it in the future. In honor of his grandfather, Stark now sports a long ponytail. With the gradual, cautious thawing of relations between the Romulan Star Empire and the Federation he hopes for a visit to Romulus someday soon, though nothing is guaranteed. Chula has been instrumental in the establishment of preliminary pre-diplomatic ties, never forgetting the man who sent the shipment of Vulcan Heat items to her homeworld.

Out there in the galaxy's far reaches, the rumors Ambassador Kl'o'rox brought to Kirk and Ambassador Sarek are now thought to be more than rumor. Spacers tell increasingly more disturbing stories of a people called the Borg, but a new name has caused old enemies to see how foolish their animosities might be. Cardassia.

That's the summary of the guests at the party. There's another chapter coming up---then we'll go back to the present, after the sportscamp.

Enjoy!