Teelia: The Vulcan-Human-Klignon
By Kat Monroe
I do not own Star Trek TNG.
One
Teelia lay across her bed in her quarters. She could hear someone approaching and remained still. The door buzzed and she still remained still, as if it would make them leave. Nonetheless, the door slid open.
Teelia threw the covers over her head as they walked in.
"I'm sorry to disturb you." said a gentle, accented voice.
Still she remained still and hidden. Deanna walked over to the bed and sat down. She pulled off the blanket and Teelia turned to her and quickly covered her head.
"Teelia, please look at me. We can talk." she coaxed.
Teelia lay immobile for a few seconds before sitting up and staring directly into Deanna's face. Her expression went from firm to unemotional to deep sadness. She kept her eyes from tearing up.
"Teelia, I can feel your sadness. Talk to me. Maybe it will help." she said and all at once felt frustration and anger from her.
"Leave." she ordered in her sweet beautiful voice.
"No. I will not. You have to talk to me. Or else you can go back to Terra." Deanna informed firmly.
Teelia growled slightly and looked away before speaking. A klignon trait Deanna was familiar with. However her voice was calm and unemotional. Her subtle facial movements gave her away, at least to Deanna, that and her strong emotions right at the surface.
"I do not wish to go there. It is not my home. The logical place is aboard a vessel, where I no longer need to designate myself to one place and risk dishonor." she said and Deanna felt mild confusion from her but overall she felt what was said was good enough.
"Why do you have to belong anywhere? Make your own life." Deanna suggested.
"Alone!" she said flabbergasted, once again in Klignon form. "That's easy for you to say, anyway. You have a place of origin. I can't just stake out a place as my own. It would not be the same." she said and blew air out hard.
"Isn't that what you're doing here?" Deanna pointed out.
"No. This is different. No. A vessel can't..." she stopped and tried to pull back her again tearing eyes.
"Why not pick a heritage to follow and call home?" Deanna suggested.
"What would I choose?" she said emotionally, like a human.
"I don't know. That's your decision to make. Only you can make it." Deanna explained.
Teelia stared ahead for awhile in silence.
"I do not want to choose. But... I know I am not a human." she answered after a moment.
"That's a start." said Deanna sympathetically.
"It will be difficult. They may not accept me anyway! I'd be a dishonor to Klignons and Vulcans alike. I am nothing. I am merely an outcome of a meaningless encounter." she said all upset.
"I see, but you are wrong. You are more. You are a wonderful being. Also I'm sure the encounter was not meaningless. That alone can be determined by studying the two species." Deanna smiled meekly.
Teelia sighed.
"You are relentless. See me again and we shall see what happens." she said with little emotion in her words but plenty inside.
Just then the door buzzed.
"Come in." Deanna said after glancing at Teelia.
The door slid open and Worf stood there. He waited patiently to enter. Teelia went to grab a sheet to hide but Deanna stopped her. She shivered in her grip as Deanna spoke.
"Enter Worf." she said and Teelia clenched her eyes closed as he entered.
He stopped a couple feet away and breathed out.
"I did not mean to disturb, however there has been a problem concerning Alexander and Maree." he said and Deanna turned and smiled at him.
She sensed it wasn't anything too serious, though Worf always made it seem that way. She also sensed how much he wanted to kiss her. She released Teelia who still sat turned away from Worf and eyes clenched.
Deanna stood and kissed Worf who accepted graciously. She released and stood with a hand on his chest.
"We'll deal with that in a moment, however I think it would be beneficial if you would talk to Teelia for a few minutes." Deanna asked.
"Deanna, I-" he began and she sensed his negativity and stopped him.
"Please Worf, for just a minute." she said and he sighed.
"Only a minute." he said and she kissed him thanks.
By now Teelia had eased a bit to look at them in curiosity. Worf blinked once and seemed to clear his throat.
"You wear the Klignon crest." he stated.
"Yes." she surprised herself by saying.
"Who is your allegiance?" he asked.
"I have none." she said confidently, but still with that attractive voice.
"You will. If you would like to know more about Klignon heritage you may talk to me and perhaps you can tell me your story as well as hear mine. I must go now, family matters." he said and nodded to Deanna.
She smiled and nodded back. Then she turned to Teelia.
"I will come back again soon. If you need to see me beforehand, feel free to see if I'm available." she smiled honestly and she left with Worf to deal with family matters, a dispute between brother and sister.
"K'tagh!" she shouted after they left.
She lay on her bed again but soon grew restless. She made herself a drink and sat in front of a computer and began researching Klignons. After about an hour of that she firmly decided that she was not a klignon. She stood frustrated and decided she was hungry for something real and not processed from a replicator. She tried to remember what was being served for lunch in the mess hall.
She left her room and started down the hallway, rather quickly. She turned a corner suddenly and ran straight into a young man. She looked up slightly into the face of Wesley Crusher. He seemed not the least bit shaken, but intrigued by her look. She darted around him desperate to get as far away as possible. She ducked into an empty turbo-lift and cried slumping to the floor.
After a moment she composed herself and exited the turbo lift. She headed towards the mess hall passing an increasing number of crew. She entered the crowded room and headed for the nearest counter. After accepting the human based food dish she sat down at a small empty table. She ate in silence even though she could not discern what it was that she was eating. After she had finished she looked up to see that someone had taken the seat across from her and was staring down at a digital pad. He was reading something. Had he asked to sit and she not heard him? He glanced up at her, noticing she was done.
"Hi, how are you doing? I'm Lieutenant Caravin." He said a veneer smile appearing on his face.
"I'm fine, I guess. I'm-" she replied.
"I know who you are High Ensign Teelia. I read up on all the new crew assigned to my staff." He said taking a sip of his drink.
She was a little taken aback, but remained silent. Teelia took a closer look at him and noticed the slight point in his ears. He must be part Vulcan or Romulan, she thought. He was attractive and several years older than her. He still seemed a bit too young to have a staff already.
"You have quite an interesting history." He said still with that almost non existent smile.
"Is that what you're reading? I have a right to some privacy!" she snapped at him.
"Woah!" he said holding up his hands. "This was just some preliminary work assignments I was sorting through to assign the newcomers, like you." He said almost defensively, but more like a statement than anything.
"So, you still read up on me. Maybe I don't want you to know about my past. Maybe I'd rather forget it." She said standing up.
He looked at her for a moment as if deciding something. Then he marked something on his data pad before speaking again.
"Hey, feel free to read up on me if you like. I don't hide who I am." He said still looking at the data pad.
"I'm not… uhhg!" she growled in a high pitch before turning and forcing herself not to stomp as she walked out of the mess hall.
She headed back towards her room and paused in the hallway outside the turbolift she had just gotten off. She listened to what she was picking up on. It was interesting and not something she'd expect on a ship. It was nature like, it was spiritual. It was a good feeling but she knew she shouldn't be feeling it, not here at least. She wanted to go check it out, but she couldn't, she had to report for duty and she didn't want to be late for her first ever shift.