Mktek

Mktek was born to enslaved parents who belonged to an Ale brewery. He grew up learning the trade from them, fully expecting to live out his life in service of this same brewer. He worked hard to learn the trade well and ensure that he was indispensable to his masters so he would not be separated from his parents.

He met S'vekuk when she was sold to his masters when the both of them were in their early twenties. She had been causing trouble for her previous master, and had hoped that separating her from her family would mellow her out. As their masters threatened to sell her to someone else when she didn't settle down, Mktek offered to intervene to help her settle in. As a result, the two of them bonded quickly and soon became mates.

After working hard to save to buy their freedom, at S'vekuk's suggestion, they left the brewery. His parents refused to let them also buy their freedom, insisting that he and S'vekuk would need the currency to forge their new life, and they were old and relatively comfortable where they were. He reluctantly agreed, and the money he would have put forth for their freedom was instead used to purchase a small lot of land. S'vekuk had been convinced they wouldn't be able to make anything of it, but Mktek was determined to — especially since it was unlikely they would find anything better in a society that looked down upon them as monsters and nothing better than enslaved labor.

Just as he felt they'd reached a point where they could relax and enjoy the hard work they'd put into building their Ale and Whiskey business, news of the pending nova spread across Romulus. Aid and evacuation efforts were understandably tiered, with the best resources being allocated to the upper class Romulans, and everything else being left for those of lesser standing to scramble for. He managed to secure them spots in a Romulan evacuation ship by shrewed and desperate bargaining, even as S'vekuk tried to get them aboard a Federation evacuation ship instead, in hopes of bringing more of their belongings with them. In the end she only admitted defeat when she and Mktek had to board the Romulan evacuation ship.

He spent the trip to Federation space trying to determine where they'd have the best chance at resettlement, eventually selecting Earth away from the places the Romulans were largely headed for. S'vekuk was skeptical, concerned that the Humans on Earth and other Federation species would not be welcoming to them.