Deep Space Four, Stardate 2292.244
Deep Space Four was located in a part of the Beta Quadrant that was not unlike the Wild West of old Earth. Situated between the Typhon Expanse, an as yet unexplored region of the galaxy, and the Romulan Neutral Zone, there were were few reasons for anyone to venture there. Aside from the Norkan and Tarod solar systems, there was little else there on the Federation side but empty space. It was relatively close to the Nimbus and Devolin systems but as those were inside the Neutral Zone, Federation ships were prohibited. The exception was the planet Nimbus III, the so-called Planet of Galactic Peace, which was home to citizens of the Federation, the Romulan Star Empire, and the Klingon Empire.
The most frequent visitors to Deep Space Four were the Seenans, who inhabited the planet Senes in the Norkan system. Though not Federation members, the Seenans did a great deal of trade with the Federation and it was trade negotiations that brought Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan to Deep Space Four for the first time. He brought with him his human wife, Amanda, aide Selar, and Dvir, a Vulcan healer. As Starfleet medical personnel on Deep Space Four consisted only of one Chief Medical Officer, one nurse practitioner, and one medic, none of whom were accustomed to treating Vulcans, it had been advisable that Sarek bring his own healer as a precautionary measure. They were close to the Neutral Zone, after all.
In preparation for their arrival, Amanda had read as much as possible about Senes. She, of course, wouldn't be involved in the negotiations but she wanted to understand the situation her husband was dealing with. One reason that Senes was not a Federation member was that it was not a unified planet. It was divided into twenty-seven different states, ranging in size from quite large to quite tiny. Planet-wide peace was something that had yet to be achieved. Though there were no major wars taking place at the moment, there were constant uprisings, incursions, terror attacks, and general hostilities even in the areas considered relatively safe. For this reason Starfleet had chosen to have the talks on Deep Space Four, rather than on Senes itself.
The ambassador representing Senes in these talks, Tala, was from Hakar, the largest and most powerful state on the planet. Following eleven years of civil war, Hakar was now in its eleventh year peace. Hakar was rich in natural resources, including many plants valued throughout the galaxy for their medicinal properties. Though sixty-three different languages were spoken on Senes, Haka, the language of the Hakarans, was considered the lingua franca as it had the most native speakers. Federation Standard was unknown to most of the planet's inhabitants, the exception being those who lived in and around Hakar's capital city of Undaa, who had frequent contact with the aliens who came to there for trading purposes. Undaa had been built upon an ancient river that led to the inland saltwater Sea of Lataan. The river had long ago dried up, leaving Undaa about 50 kilometers from the Lataan, the nearest body of water. The climate in Undaa was considered mild and "Mediterranean" by Earth standards.
The Seenans were humanoids whose skin tones ranged from what on Earth would be called "olive" to much darker tones. With rare exceptions, their hair was copper colored and, most strikingly, all had amber eyes. Though she had seen pictures, Amanda could not help but be struck by the intensity those eyes seemed to reveal the first time she saw them in person. She and Sarek had just arrived at Deep Space Four and were being shown to their quarters when she passed some Seenans, crew members of a ship docked there, in the corridor. They wore gray uniforms with red stripes around the legs just below their knees and around the arms just above their elbows. The drab gray color of the uniforms seemed to accentuate their eye color. They nodded to her and smiled as they passed.
After settling into their quarters, Amanda left to take a walk around the station while Sarek prepared for the negotiations. There was an observation area that faced the Typhon Expanse that she was keen to see. Upon entering reaching the area, she had her second encounter with a Seenan. A Seenan boy, perhaps fourteen years old, stood motionless against the glass, staring out into the expanse. He was so enthralled that he didn't hear Amanda approaching. Not wanting to disturb him, she remained a few paces back. Minutes passed and the boy did not move. Though she was unsure whether the boy spoke Standard, she decided to take her chances and approach him.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The boy jumped back, startled, but then laughed at his reaction.
"I didn't hear you," he replied in Standard that was accented but nonetheless intelligible.
"I'm sorry I startled you."
"Do you work on the station?" He asked her.
"No, I'm just visiting. What about you?" She smiled.
"I'm here with my uncle. His company has transported Ambassador Tala here to conduct trade negotiations with the Federation."
"Ah, I see. Well, my husband is the Federation ambassador who will be conducting the negotiations with Ambassador Tala. His name is Sarek and I'm Amanda."
"Nice to meet you Amanda," he said, nodding his head. Amanda realized this must be the standard Seenan method of greeting. She was about to nod her head in return when the boy looked as if he had just remembered something and held out his hand to her.
"I'm Naalem."
"Nice to meet you, Naalem."
"Are you from Earth?"
"Yes, though I've lived on Vulcan for many years now. What region of Senes are you from?"
"From Undaa. I've met Earth people there before. There are a lot of aliens there. Have you ever been?"
"No, I haven't but I've read that it's a very beautiful, ancient city."
"Yes, there are a lots of old building though a lot of them are falling apart now. They got damaged in the war."
"That's a shame."
"Yes, I was born during the war so I never got to see what the looked like before. Only the pictures."
"Perhaps one day they will be rebuilt and they'll look like the pictures again."
"I don't know. It takes a long time for anything to get done in Hakar."
"Hmmm, well, have you been to Deep Space Four before with your uncle?"
"No, this is the first time I've been in space. I wasn't old enough until now. But now that I'm old enough-"
"Naalem!" Naalem turned around upon hearing his name.
Amanda was taken aback when she saw the man who had just entered the observation area. From his gray uniform with red stripes she recognized him as member of the same Seenan starship crew they had passed in corridor but he had not been among that group. He was not, in fact, a Seenan at all, but a Vulcan.