By Commander Salvek
100316.0200
After Sidestep
-=City of Raal, Vulcan=-
100316.0200
After Sidestep
-=City of Raal, Vulcan=-
It was summer in Raal. A time of year when hot was replaced by blazing hot and only a westerly wind carrying moisture and cooler air from the waters of the Voroth Sea afforded any sort of relief.
On a cool day temperatures may have reached forty-eight Centigrade. Typically however they hovered around fifty-five. A human could not tell the difference. It was simply unbearable no matter how one tried to gauge the temperature.
To a Vulcan, it was slightly uncomfortable at this extreme. Worthy of a hood and robe to deflect the rays of the sun and provide a tiny pocket of shade. Salvek stood outside the door of the childhood home of T’Dara, daughter of Savel. His face turned to the side and obscured behind the hood, as he steeled himself against the easterly wind, which brought nothing but more heat and gritty dust down the street.
The door cracked, and Verkola, mother of T’Dara peered out through the tiny slit between the door and the frame at the figure that almost seemed to be glowing in the omnipresent luminescence of the midday sun. She squinted until her eyes adjusted, and the form of a man took shape.
“May I assist you?” She asked, raising her voice to be heard over the wind.
“I wish to enter. The wind is most unpleasant.” Salvek answered. Even for a native the turbulence in the air was more violent than usual, and Salvek was more used to the calm unchanging weather of a starship.
“You have not even told me your name, or shown me your face.”
Salvek turned into the wind, just enough for her to make out his profile, without completely exposing himself to the bite of the sand grains. “I am Commander Salvek, of the USS Serendipity. I served with your daughter.”
The door quickly shut, and Salvek thought he had been refused entry. He heard the sound of a metal chain being removed, and the large wooden door once again opened.
As he stepped inside, the word he felt best described the residence was charming. It was simple and traditional. It had antique and well-worn furniture, actual drapes in the windows rather than automatic shades, and hard bound books on the shelf. It was if he had stepped into the past, a past that no one lived in today unless by choice. He lowered his hood as T’Dara’s mother shut the door behind him.
“This is Commander Salvek, of the Serendipity,” Verkola announced. Two men, one quite young and the other of approximately the same age as Verkola, rose from the table in the kitchen, and walked into the entry area where Salvek still stood.
“You were in Command,” Savel stated.
“You must be T’Dara’s father. I am honored to meet you, sir. And you are?” Salvek addressed the other man.
“T’Far, brother of T’Dara. Do you not stand accused in the matter of my sister’s death? Is it wise to be here without legal representation?” T’Far tilted his head, clearly perplexed by Salvek’s decision to come to their home.
Verkola stepped across the room to join her family. “Forgive my son, Commander Salvek. He is studying law and seems to care little for any matters not related to such. Will you please be seated?”
“No, thank you. I cannot stay long.”
“Why have you come?” Savel snapped.
“I wished to inform you, in person, that your daughter served her ship wish distinction and skill. She earned the respect of her entire department as well as the rest of the crew.” Salvek paused for a moment to let his words sink in with the family. He knew they were waging a battle between logic and anger, and Salvek at the moment was the focal point of said battle.
“She was a valuable and respected member of your crew, yet you did not offer her the help she truly needed. Why?” asked T’Far.
“I did the best I could under the circumstances. I don’t believe you have been given an accurate account of all that took place, and while I do not expect that to come as a comfort now, I merely ask that you watch and listen to the proceedings.”
“We intend to,” Savel replied. “We will be there in the morning, in the front row. Have you come here now to plead your case?”
“I have come to plead you to be open minded. Please do not view these proceedings with preconceived notions of all that took place. I ask, not because I wish to improve your opinion of me, but because I want you to know the truth. You deserve that much.”
Verkola looked at her husband and son, then back to Salvek. “Agreed,” she said simply. It made little sense for Salvek to come here unless he honestly felt there was a truth they needed to be aware of. That alone made it a logical decision to listen to the proceedings with an open mind.
“There is another matter,” Salvek began, locking his hands together behind his back. “Before I left my vessel to travel here, I spoke with our Chief Medical Officer.”
“Doctor Hartcort.” T’Far quickly interjected, making it clear he was well aware of his sister’s colleagues.
“That is correct. As her commanding officer, Doctor Hartcort was responsible for keeping track of her duties and evaluating her performance. I asked him, to summarize all the experience she gained during her tenure aboard the Serendipity. As you are aware, she was still six months shy of becoming eligible to take the final exams with Starfleet Medical.
“At my behest, Doctor Hartcort submitted her experience and work histories to both Starfleet Medical on Earth and the branch here on Vulcan.”
Salvek reached into his robe and withdrew a leather bound portfolio. “I am pleased to announce that Starfleet Medical has accepted her exemplary academic record and experience credit aboard the Serendipity as a sufficient testament to her skills. They have deemed that her abilities not only meet but exceed those expected of graduating students during the exams.”
Salvek presented the portfolio to Savel. He opened it slowly and saw that it contained not only a diploma, but also a pip.
“By order of Admiral Freelan, head of Starfleet Medical, Ensign T’Dara is hereby granted the title of Doctor. She is also promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. It has been so noted in the archives of Starfleet as of Stardate 100307.”
Savel and T’Far each read the document, as Savel rolled the pip gently between his thumb and forefinger. Verkola bowed her head in thanks. When he was finished, Savel managed a curt nod, and a thank you. He appreciated the gesture; he was just unsure what to make of it yet.
“You are welcome, but you should thank Doctor Hartcort. It was his eloquence and impassioned plea on behalf of your daughter that made this possible. I merely delivered the message.”
“We will thank your Doctor Hartcort as well,” T’Far replied.
“I shall take my leave of you now. I look forward to seeing you in the morning.” Salvek raised his hood back over his head, as Seval personally attended to the door for him.
“We will be opened minded,” the father promised.
Salvek stepped back out into the wind, and, once clear of the home he called for a transport to the Natural History Museum where he had agreed to meet Zander.
When he arrived, he found Blakeslee with a bag of souvenirs hung over his arm, standing in front of a statue, with his voice raised, shouting into his communicator. When he saw Salvek, he slammed his palm against his chest in frustration, closing the channel.
“Is there a problem?” Salvek asked.
“Yeah. No. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve been trying to raise the Sera through the Alchemy’s subspace array for the last five minutes, but my messages are not getting delivered. Or at least they aren’t getting a reply. We are close enough to Earth for a direct connection.”
“Did you contact Starfleet command? Perhaps the ship was called away?”
“I didn’t have the time.” Zander said, with a sort of puzzled look on his face, as if experiencing déjà vu. “I was about to, then you showed up. It isn’t a big deal really, I just wanted to get a few files I left behind.”
Salvek looked down at the bag Zander held. “You’ve been shopping?”
“Yes! Gifts for the boys.” He withdrew several figurines from the bag and showed them to Salvek. “I guess these are the Vulcan equivalent of dinosaurs.”
“Indeed, unlike Humans, the Vulcans shared their world with the pol-ghat.” Salvek took one of the toys, and moved it back and forth in his hands nonchalantly as he spoke. “We were separated by an ocean on nearby continents while the primitive members of my species evolved. When the landmasses joined via tectonic drift, they hunted the Vulcans nearly to extinction.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Zander said, taking the toy back. “I didn’t know they had such a traumatic effect on the Vulcan people.”
“Do not be.” Salvek said. “Obviously we are still here, and the pol-ghat are not. Unless that is, if you believe the legends.”
Salvek began walking towards the nearby restaurant where Zander’s promised steak would be waiting. Blakeslee looked at the toy, then over both his shoulders, before jogging to catch up with Salvek.
“Legends?”
*******************************
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012