Star-Crossed is the lengthy tale of the Vulcan T'Ori and chronicles her time in Starfleet Academy, subsequent Starfleet career, and her return to Vulcan to take up a supposedly less-adventurous career. But T'Ori is a magnet for trouble, and even if she doesn't go searching it out, it tends to find her.
Because of the timeline this story spans (30 years or so), it can somewhat be broken into 3 and sort of considered a trilogy. It explores themes of belonging, friendship, love, duty, identity, and good vs. evil. It is also most definitely for mature readers.
T'Ori is, as one expects a Vulcan to be, introverted, scholarly, and far too honest. However, she managed to dissatisfy several family members by choosing a Starfleet career path in tactical analysis (with xenolinguistics on the side), and from there, moving into politics. Due to her human upbringing, she tends to have no problem grasping the "illogical" nature of Human emotion... at least, as an observer. Also due to her Human upbringing, she herself has the tendency to take risky decisions - which she calls "diplomacy" - and can be a magnet for chaos at times. She has a strong sense of justice and will not hesitate to be disruptive if she believes it will result in the correction of an injustice. She enjoys music (she sings), learning about different cultures, history, and strategy games. She tolerates the hard sciences. She does not like raccoons. T'Ori partially transitioned to male for several years and then detransitioned. Maiek is not exactly what we have come to know as a typical Romulan. He is charming and polite and has the special talent of making everyone feel comfortable. However, in typical Romulan fashion, he knows this and uses it to his advantage. He also happens to be quite handsome, and he knows that and uses it to his benefit as well. Maiek comes from a famous military family, so no one knows why he gave up his command and went into the Church of Hanaj. However, he has climbed his way all the way to the top of the clerical hierarchy, and is now the Grand Priest of the Church. He is a wonderful orator, captivating the flock easily with his sermons. He is also incredibly treacherous and Cardinals and Bishops who disagree with him have routinely disappeared in the past. Maiek enjoys music, poetry, and painting. He also paints models of Romulan warships, past and present. He has an affinity for Vulcans. He absolutely despises paperwork. He is very bisexual. Martin is the younger cousin of T'Ori by four years. Despite the age gap, he still managed to bully her when they were in their teens; he was a jock, and she, of course, was a nerd. Although he never struck her as the intellectual type, he somehow passes the Starfleet Academy entrance exams to begin at the same time as she does, owing to her two years in standard university and her two years out of it. Martin is a golden boy; loved by his parents and grandparents and the oldest of three, he manages to win the hearts of those around him by being a loveable goof. Except to T'Ori, of course, believing her to be their grandmother's favourite, and also envious of her intellect, which is a bit futile. Martin is an athlete and enjoys all kinds of sports, but in smalltown Canada, his favourite is hockey. He's a big fan of the Habs, enjoys fishing, hiking, and camping, and the occasional video game. He dislikes T'Ori, and is not good at being humbled. Somek is one's ideal Vulcan man: logical, fit, culturally aware, and never with a hair out of place. He is a fourth year when T'Ori begins at the Academy and, unlike T'Ori, enjoys the hard sciences, majoring in astrophysics with a minor in warp technology. Despite being a glowing example of a Vulcan, he has a big soft spot deep down, and T'Ori often says he is "soft like a sehlat"; this comes from being the older brother to three sisters. He is also highly curious about people like T'Ori - Vulcans who do not behave quite like he has come to expect Vulcans should. He tends to treat her as a specimen whom he wishes to study, at first, but gradually comes to see her as a person. Somek partakes in routine physical exercise such as running and stretching and the Vulcan martial art Suus Mahna. He also frequently meditates. Somek plays the Vulcan lute and appreciates music, like T'Ori. He does not tolerate seeing others hurt very well, and unlike T'Ori, avoids confrontation.R'Nan T'lthk T'Ori
Maiek tr'Khellian
Martin Bouchard
S'Trik K'Rln Somek