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"Whips, Chains, and Plomeek Soup"
Rating: PG-13 Two “Buoys are prepped and ready to go, Commander.” Commander Travis Mayweather, First Officer and Science Officer of the Enterprise, nodded and swiveled around in the command chair. “Launch on my order, Commander Phlox.” “Acknowledged,” said Phlox from Engineering. The Denobulan sounded more cheerful than usual and for good reason. Travis smiled and glanced at Lieutenant Rostov, who sat at Phlox’s station on the bridge. “Two minutes, Mike, and give me a twenty-second tick for reference.” “Yes, sir. Two minutes starting—now.” Travis brought his attention to the beautiful nebula in front on him. The Enterprise remained a safe distance away from it, for Travis’s scans had found a surge in its radiation levels. He had suggested launching warning buoys for the various cargo ships that traveled past the Urathan Nebula. Captain Sato had heartily agreed and Commander Phlox had arranged the launch of the buoys. The hiss of the lift echoed loudly over the bridge. Captain Hoshi Sato nodded at Travis, but said nothing, only gestured for him to complete the launch. He nodded and waited for Rostov’s cue. “Twenty seconds, Commander.” “Thanks, Mike. Engineering?” “Standing by...Buoys show green.” “Armory?” Trip Tucker’s voice came through loud and clear. “All ready down here, Commander.” Travis watched as the timer approached zero. Then he ordered, “Launch buoys.” Four spheres streaked towards the nebula on various vectors, slowing until they reached their target coordinates. Lieutenant Archer nodded as he listened to his earpiece and reported, “Warning buoys are running, Commander. No problems with the message.” “New data coming in,” reported Lieutenant Varianis from the science station. “Scientific sensors are working at full capacity.” Captain Sato moved to Travis’s side. “Excellent launch, Commander. Get some rest; you’re earned it.” Before he could object, she added, “You can analyze the nebula’s data after at least four hours sleep. I’ve already warned Lieutenant Varianis that if she sees you in the lab before then, she’s authorized to knock you out and drag you to Sickbay.” Travis’s face fell in mock disappointment, then he turned and glared at his departmental XO. Lieutenant Ellen Varianis only shrugged as if to say, “Sorry, Commander. Captain’s orders.” He sighed and said, “Understood, Captain.” “Go on, get out of here. And Gamma shifters, you’re relieved of duty.” With those words, the officers and crewman on Gamma shift turned over their stations to the incoming Alpha Shift personnel. In moments, the shift change was complete. Hoshi glanced over at Jon Archer, who still sat at the communications console. “You too, Lieutenant. I can see Crewman Rheinstein hovering over your shoulder.” Jon nodded and unfolded his tall, lanky frame from the chair. “Captain, may I have a few words with you in private before I go off-shift?” “Of course. Lieutenant Varianis, you have the conn.” “Yes, ma’am,” Varianis replied. After Hoshi and Jon were settled in the Captain’s Ready Room, she nodded for him to continue. He handed her a PADD. “Ensign T’Pol received a communique from Ambassador Soval at zero-three-twenty hours this morning. It was on a channel used by the Vulcan High Command, Priority Two.” Hoshi frowned at the information. “Wouldn’t Soval have used the channel from the Consulate in San Francisco instead of the High Command?” “He would have, if he was still in San Francisco.” “Soval’s on Vulcan?” “He has to be. Of course, he has enough clearance to use the Priority Channels from the High Command. It wasn’t Priority One, so it couldn’t have been a dire emergency.” Jon shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, which was unusual for the normally calm and collected lieutenant. “Maybe it was family business. Isn’t she Soval’s niece or something like that? I know Vulcan families are complicated—“ Jon made a face. “His mother’s sister is married to T’Pol’s father’s brother, so I believe that actually makes them cousins. Sort of, since Soval’s aunt was actually adopted from another clan into his family when she was a child, and...” “And I thought my family was complicated,” she groaned. “You didn’t listen in on their conversation, did you?” “Lord, no!” Jon shook his head. “Vulcans hold their privacy sacred. It’s just that this is the third such conversation this week. I know Soval...he isn’t the type of person who just says ‘Hi, how are you?’ that often. And if he’s talking to T’Pol...I wonder if it isn’t a family-related problem.” Hoshi was silent as she considered that. “She wouldn’t let that affect her job performance and I doubt she would tell us even if we asked her directly. All right, we’ll keep an eye on her, make sure she’s all right. I’ve invited her to the Captain’s Mess for dinner; maybe I can find something then.” He looked relieved. “Thank you, Captain.” “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Jonathan. Now get something to eat and some sleep.” “Yes, ma’am. Oh, and those Luran speeches—“ She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I looked them over before I went to bed. I’m going to need your help later on a few passages, but I think I got most of it.” “Just let me know when.” “I will. Thanks.” Jon smiled and left the ready room. Hoshi brought up one of the Luran texts on the screen. She was supposed to make the same speech in three different dialects...and crack a Luran whip at certain points during the speech to “keep her admirers at bay”. She nearly choked at the prospect of using a deadly weapon on a first contact mission. Luckily, Ensign T’Pol was skilled in the ahn-woon, the Vulcan version of the whip and had offered to give Hoshi lessons. “Hmmm...I wonder...” she thought aloud. She switched screens and brought up Ensign T’Pol’s personnel file. Of course, Hoshi had reviewed all of her bridge staff’s records when Enterprise was launched a year ago, but she hadn’t looked at them much since. A certain detail nagged at her. She scrolled down T’Pol’s service record until she found it. According to the file, T’Pol had been assigned to the Vulcan Security Ministry after her initial training. After eighteen months, she had requested a transfer to the Vulcan Space Operations Ministry, where T’Pol concentrated her efforts on navigation and helm systems for Vulcan ships. She had stayed with Space Operations for twelve years before a brief stint at the Vulcan Science Academy with her mother, T’Les, and her posting to the new Enterprise. Her performance reviews were impeccable. She had earned many awards and accolades from her peers. “So why is she only an ensign?” Hoshi murmured. “You’d think that Starfleet would have made her at least a lieutenant, if not a lieutenant commander. You don’t make someone with that kind of space experience a mere ensign.” Had T’Pol been demoted at one time? There was no mention of a demotion in her official record. Another thought occurred to Hoshi: She was the first Vulcan to serve on an Earth Starfleet ship. Was there some prejudice involved? Hoshi winced at the idea, but unfortunately, it was possible. Earth was still new at space travel, and its people still adjusting to the possibility of meeting new races. I’ll try to find out something during tonight’s dinner. It just doesn’t make any sense. Hoshi sighed and with an effort, switched her screen back to the Luran text. Before she plunged back into Luran verbs and prepositions, she added, Travis was right. T’Pol is an enigma. |
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