I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters. I make no profit. Mozart is long dead, so I'm not worried about stealing the name of his opera!
The Magic Flute
Nyota Uhura is running out of good ideas. She still needs a present for Spock. It is their first Christmas together as bond-mates. He has been through so much in the past year. Spock gives much of himself and asks for so little in return. She wants to give him something meaningful.
Trekell is in a desperate situation. His father had given him as many credits as he good spare for his journey, but they are not quite enough. It has taken longer than anticipated, and the expenses have run higher. Now he is hungry, dirty, and many credits short of the amount needed to book his passage to New Vulcan.
His parents were born on Vulcan. His father, Kelan, was the third son of a peasant father. There would be no inheritance for Kelan, so he took his bond-mate Soniva and homesteaded a farm on Melenia V. They had a good life there, with rich soil, a comfortable cottage, and plenty to eat. Kelan was even able to secure bondmates for his two older sons and pay for their passage from Vulcan. He had been in the midst of negotiating terms for a mate for Trekell when Nero changed all their plans forever.
The directive from the Vulcan Council of Elders was clear. All Vulcans on colony worlds were to relocate to the New Vulcan colony if possible, especially the young and the strong. Kelan had the means to send only one of his children. Trekell was the logical choice, and at twenty-five years of age, it has high time the boy found a bond-mate. There was no suitable mate on Melenia V for his son.
Kelan's instructions to Trekell were few but quite clear.
"Be careful with you credits. Do not overindulge in food. Negotiate for the best price for passage. Work your way to your destination, if possible. When you get to New Vulcan, work hard and obey those in authority. When you have income and a place to live, I will send your sisters, that they may find bond-mates. I know that this will be difficult for you, but I have confidence in your abilities, my son. Your family is counting on your success."
Trekell packed what possessions he could carry and some ration bars his mother gave him. He also packed his carving tools and several hollowed wood rods. Trekell liked to make kolchak in his spare time, a Vulcan wooden flute, similar to a recorder. Perhaps he could sell them on his way.
Kelan booked his son passage on a freighter headed in the general direction of the New Vulcan colony. He negotiated a good price, because Trekell could do basic maintainance work. Trekell did not mind this at all. It was easy work and the freighter captain was kind. The first leg of his journey passed without incident.
Trekell obeyed Kelan's advice to the letter, but luck seemed to be against him. He had to take several different transports to reach his destination. Twice he was delayed by mechanical failures. He had to pay more than seemed reasonable for food. The last freighter he traveled on didn't even have laundry facilities or a sonic shower.
Now he was stranded at Starbase 7, close to his destination but unable to attain it. Trekell sat on a bench and tried to find a logical solution to his problem.
He still had his flutes among his possessions, five in total. He would sell those.
He sat for an hour before he sold the first one. An Orion trader bought it for his slave girl, who was a musician. Trekell had bargained hard and gained twenty-three credits.
A few minutes later, a male Trill approached him, wanting to purchase flutes for his twin sons. They settled on a price of twenty credits each.
The fourth flute was purchased by a Starfleet Officer in a red uniform, a very large man for a Human. He thought it would make a nice gift for someone named Janice. The man paid him thirty credits and did not bargain.
Trekell was now up seventy-three credits. He would need over a hundred more to complete his journey. Now perhaps, he could get himself cleaned up, wash his clothes, and be presentable enough to find work. One kolchak remained to be sold.
A Human female in a red Starfleet uniform approached him. She was slender with dark skin.
"Excuse me. Are you the one selling kolchak?" She was speaking to him in Vulcan.
"Yes, I have just one remaining. Are you interested?"
"I might be. What price are you asking?" She also knew the ways of bargaining.
"I am asking fifty credits."
"It is too much." She starts to walk away
"I might be persuaded to take forty-five."
"That is still too much. I will pay twenty."
"That is too little. It is an insult. Forty."
"No. Twenty-five."
"Twenty-five is not enough better. Thirty."
"Thirty is acceptable. I will take the kolchak."
She hands over the thirty credits and Trekell gives her the flute. She places it in her large shopping tote and walks to another bench, some distance away. She pulls a communicator from her pocket and activates it.
"Spock, I am in the merchant's area. I have just encountered a young Vulcan who looks as though he may be in trouble. Can you meet me here?"
"I will be right there, Nyota."
Trekell is still sitting on that bench, planning his next move when he is approached by another Starfleet Officer, this time wearing a blue shirt. This male is a Vulcan! He did not know that Vulcans served in Starfleet. The stranger addresses him.
"You give the appearance of one who needs assistance."
Trekell considers the man. His speech and appearance are that of the thol'es, the nobility. Yet he is neither arrogant nor condescending. He merely states the fact he has observed.
"You are thol'es. I am uroshalsu. Why would you help me?
"Shiyau thol'es k'thorai ri k'ahm. Nobility lies in action not in name. I have been a stranger in a strange land. It is not a pleasant circumstance. There are too few of us remaining to concern ourselves with class. The sons of Vulcan must work together. I am called Spock. What is your name?"
"I am Trekell."
"Trekell, please relate to me how you came to be in these circumstances and why you are so far from home."
Trekell tells his tale, leaving nothing out. Spock is impressed that Trekell has gotten so far having started with so little.
"Trekell, my bond-mate and I will assist you in your journey to New Vulcan."
Spock waves to Nyota, indicating that she should join him.
"Nyota, I am going to secure passage to New Vulcan for Trekell. Can you find him a room with a bath? Then we will see about laundry and some new clothing."
"I can do that. Come with me, Trekell."
"Thank you, my Lady."
"You can call me Nyota. Do not tell Spock of the kolchak. I purchased it as a gift for him."
"As you wish, Nyota."
A hotel room is secured for Trekell for the night. Spock has booked passage for him on a transport leaving the following day. He will have a small room with a bath on board, as well as meals. He is provided with new clean clothing and his other clothes are washed. Spock and Nyota ensure that Trekell will be well-fed while he remains on the Starbase.
"I will never be able to repay your kindness, Spock and Nyota."
"No repayment is necessary. Simply remember to do a kindness for another when the opportunity presents itself. Live long and prosper, Trekell."
"Peace and long life to you both."
As he falls asleep that night in a clean, comfortable bed, Trekell remembers a tale his mother once told him. There was once a woodcarver, who worked hard all his life. He was honest and diligent, but never seemed to get ahead. A kind spirit took pity upon him and put an enchantment on a kolchak he had carved. When he sold it the next day at the market, everything changed. From that moment on, the woodcarver had nothing but good fortune.
Trekell smiled a little smile to himself. Perhaps he had just sold his own magic flute.