Okay this is my first shot at a Star Trek fanfic so please be nice but all kinds of reviews are welcome. I did my research and hopefully I am correct and if not please ever so kindly tell me what I can do to make this story better…
Disclaimer: erm is it even logical to presume I own dis?
On wit ze story!
"So Miss T'kel I have reviewed your records and you definitely qualify for the job" The man known as Captain Kirk stated as casually as possible between bites of his apple. T'kel knew it wasn't her place to judge her superiors but this ..guy didn't seem to have the same professional attitude of her past Captains and commanders and it struck her odd that this was the guy whom had saved the world by destroying the Romuleans was that one man.
"Thank you sir" The vulcan replied with a more serious tone and could tell that the captain seemed particularly bewildered by her, even better attempt than Spock, at suppressing her emotions. Her lips twitched upward slightly as if to aid in this awkward situation but no words were able to make it past before Kirk decided to speak first.
He leaned back even further, balancing the apple in his right hand "so you are now promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant T'kel as the chief science officer is that clear?" his voice quivered between relaxed and professional and even being an emotionless vulcan T'kel could sense he had a very hard time distinguishing between the time to be playful and the time to be serious. "Congratulations" he added with a smile that probably would have been enough to seduce any human female but she was not one to fall for it "and feel free to get yourself situated and acquainted with any of the crew members before we dock out"
T'kel raised a slanted eyebrow before standing up "I will…keep that in mind Captain am I excused?" she was never one to be socially active amongst anyone but her own kind and due to the fact that what was left of her kind were scattered throughout the universe that time didn't come too often.
"yes you are Lieutenant" he made a slight shooing gesture whilst spinning slightly in his chair but at the same time keeping that eye-catching smile on her which made her twitch uncomfortably. K'tel had talked to a few people about him before her coming here, they described him as quite the womanizer which only lowered her respect a few notches but she didn't dare show it. Though, his gullible attitude made her feel a slight sense of ease. T'kel had been run by formalities her entire life and a break from constantly having to keep ones back straight would be most desirable. She never really wished to be as laid back as him though, the slender female was always on edge and kept her attention at a sharp focus when it came to a career.
The vulcan stepped bristly into the corridor, her bright green eyes narrowing due to the excessive amount of light, on Vulcan it was never this light it was always a beautiful shade of red and yellow that cast glows over the rocky terrain. Inside that emotional barrier of her mind K'tel felt a strange sensation of desolation that did not need to be there. She stopped her mid reminiscing for the sake of hidden emotions and rounded the corner only to be knocked slightly off course by the sturdy shoulder of a passing officer.
"excuse me" she quickly applied after regaining herself but then her thoughts abaded her before she could say anything further. It wasn't no mere officer that had clumsily caused the escapade it was in fact the half vulcan known as Commander Spock. It appeared she had knocked him out of a very thoughtful trance and a slight tint of irritation could be accounted for until he saw who and what she was he seemed to pause in time and so did she. Quickly they both retaliated their odd silence "I believe I am the one to be at fault, I was not wary Lieutenant" his professional voice did not hinder his suspicion. It was..odd this day and year that another vulcan would enter the academy or in an even rarer occasion that they would even be on the same ship. She must have been one of the ten thousand that managed to escape, or she had been there while he was teaching but that was not correct because even out of thousands of students he would be able to classify another vulcan.
T'kels' eyes flickered with a hint of wonder, it has been so long since she has seen another vulcan but he was the commander and obviously had better things to do than to fraternize with a lower ranking officer so she quickly retaliated her manner and was about to walk past him after sparing a respectful nod.
"I have not seen you on this ship prior to us docking, have we not been acquainted?" he questioned the slender female, his voice an emotionless void whilst he spoke.
T'kel immediately straightened and was mentally punishing herself for not introducing herself to the first officer "I am Lieutenant T'kel your new chief science officer sir" Spock took this moment to study his lower ranking acquaintance. Her vulcan features were stronger than his by far. Her brows where thin and slanted, high cheek bones seemed to overlook her face that made her skin glow a distinct color and stretch tightly to cause the hesitant forest green eyes to slant upwards. Light brown hair which was no longer than her pointed ears curled slightly and definitely defined her heritage. Spock could also sense that even if she wasn't showing it she was a very wary and watchful woman, the way her eyes shifted and her throat tightened only gave away that much.
T'kel watched him cross his hands behind his back in a professional manner "you have to forgive me lieutenant, I was not aware of any new officers aboard this ship but nonetheless I look forward to your reports in the future" with a slight and descent nod she continued on her way with persistency.
Spock thought for a few moments and scanned the sudden feelings of relief it brought him that he wasn't the only one on board that was vulcan but that also brought up thoughts that consisted of how she would treat him despite the formalities. Recalling the previous encounters with a full blooded vulcan remained to be a dark place in his mind. How the others treated and looked down to him wasn't something he was particularly longing for again.
"Yes mom I know, I've already taken care of that" Captain Kirk rolled his eyes at him mother on the view screen whom had been continuously lecturing him about making sure he was fully prepared for this five year journey into the unknown and man was this woman a bag of tart when it came to saying goodbyes, they lasted literally an hour, a long, agonizing hour of talking and crying.
"O-okay son, has the doctor gave you all your vaccinations I head that there are some nasty viruses floating around out there ?" the blond haired and swelled red eyed woman barely stuttered through her tears. He could tell she has been dreading this day since they had arrived back from their previous encounters.
Kirk rolled his head around with disdain until a beep at the door caught his attention "yep done did that, goodbye mom have to go do….captain business" the screen was clicked off. It didn't matter he could always contact her tomorrow anyway it didn't really make a difference his mom always had a soft heart, not that he blamed her he knew he was all she had left after the accident and it saddened him that after losing such a great man the woman married a bastard like his stepfather, oh how he hated that man. James realized his fist were balled up so tight it began to hurt before he quickly released them when the door beeped signaling someone was waiting outside.
"Come in" he answered with slight irk.
The door slid up quickly as his new friend and first officer stepped in and from the looks on his face, not that he gave much away, he had something important to discuss "captain" the hybrid greeted.
"Please Spock you can drop the formalities when it's just us, call me Jim off duty" he stopped spinning in his comfy leather chair to face him. They hadn't known each other long but that seemed enough for him to consider Spock a best friend.
Spock flittered his eyes away and across the room in what Kirk would consider an 'eye roll' "Captain" he said anyway after stiffening "I was not made aware we had acquired a new science officer, why?"
Jim returned to the apple he had been previously working on and gave him that 'why not' look "our previous chief science officer was killed during our last brush with the Romulens and T'kel met the qualifications I didn't see a reason to involve you in it since it was..'the logical choice'" he shrugged his shoulders "besides I thought you would be happy there's another vulcan on board".
"It is not a matter of whether I am happy or not Captain" the hybrid stated matter-of-factly "I would simply wish to be involved in further additions because I would like my first encounter with a bridge officer to be appropriate"
"Alright, alright I'll keep you informed but I think she's the only new one aboard so you won't have to make anymore 'inappropriate' welcomes" he added sarcasm to the last few words with a grin that was only meant to provoke Spock in his vulcan solitude. The other however was used to his impaired attempts to probe his emotionlessness and gave him a slight nod while his lip twitched in an attempted smile.
"So while I'm stuck here reading reports after reports what have you been doing just strutting around the corridors?" Kirk picked up one of the PADD's and started examining the engineering progress that has been made and raised his eyebrows slightly when he had realized they had gotten an entirely new warp core installed and it was up to date and ready for use when tomorrows time comes.
"I am making final adjustments in preparation to taking off Captain, there are a few…assigning matters that need treatment"
Kirks didn't seem to be listening all to well as his face twisted into a series of expressions from surprise and displeasure whilst reading the PADD in his hand but eventually snapped to attention "oh yea, assigning ok well..that's good keep it up commander" Kirk tossed the last of his apple core into the nearby trash bin with a clatter while not once taking his eyes off the screen. Being the new Captain of an exploration starship wasn't as easy as neither of them thought it to be and for Kirk there was hardly time for his daily 'women searching' he had become accustomed to at the academy but that hardly ruled out the possibility he was still 'active' with the opposite sex even though most women saw him as 'big headed' and 'arrogant'. Which is exactly the way Spock would describe his newly found friend down to the point.
"then if you will excuse me Captain" Spock bowed his head only slightly, a habit of Vulcan customs "I will return to my duties, hopefully you will keep my advice in mind".
T'kels' footsteps quickened and echoed along the empty corridor, other officers and lieutenants were busy attending to matters aboard the space station before docking but yet the occupation of the halls were not on her mind. In fact what was on her mind should have been the last. An image of the commander lingered in front of her eyes and from the moment she first saw him she felt a sudden familiarity strike deep down. She has never served on this ship before and has not even met him prior to their previous engagement but yet she felt like she had known him her whole life. It was puzzling to her but she decided it was best to keep her contacts to him a minimum if possible, these feeling unacceptable and unwanted.
Brushing her fingers along her cheek and through her light brown hair she let out a sigh of contempt and began to feel a certain pain the center of her forehead. A headache, she dismissed the trivial pain as such. It wasn't surprising neither for almost a week had the vulcan been preparing for departure dealing with the vulcan council for placement as well as the undesirable words from her sister whom rejected the idea of her leaving into space after such a abhorrent event that took place only months ago. T'kels eyes darkened with the thought and memory of it all, there was so much earth , fire..and destruction.
After a few hours of adjustment in her new quarters almost all the officers were now aboard the ship, making the halls cluttered with occupied workers that were either analyzing new information of the ship on their PADD's or moving to situate things at their station. Her headache only worsened slightly from all the noise and even considered going to sick bay but soon dismissed the thought and decided not to bother the chief medical officer.
"Hey Lieutenant T'kel!" a rather thick and odd accented voice caught her attention as she was making her way to the lounge. A rather young looking Lieutenant squeezed his small and twitchy frame through the bustle of people, he looked to be no older than eighteen and she was surprised to see this man searing a yellow collared uniform.
"Sorry I believe I have not met you" K'tel inquired after he had finally caught up to her and the two of them were now walking side by side. He was about the same height as her with curly dark hair and a pale face that looked to have not seen sunlight in years.
He offered a excited smile to her "I am Pavel Chekov the current chief navigator of the ship" T'kel found it difficult to make out words he was saying but with difficulty she was able to understand he was making a friendly introduction "and I believe you are our new chief science officer "Lieutenant T'kel am I correct?"
The corner of her lips twitched up into a half smile as she nodded "you are correct Lieutenant Chekov I am to be your new chief science officer" she saw a twinkle in his eyes one that had her wondering.
"it will be a pleasure to work with you Lieutenant, do you mind if I ask where you are headed?" an officer walked between them for a brief moment as Chekov had to squeeze his way around him and stumble back on path.
"I am currently going to the mess hall for a break, I believe we have a few hours before departure it will give me sufficient time to gather myself" she turned quickly around a corner that thankfully was less crowded.
"Do you mind if I join you, I am headed there myself" she raised an eyebrow at his suggestion and wondered if this human wanted to engage in a friendship with her. She had never had a human friend, even in the academy and did not know how to react around such emotional beings but since there were only two vulcans on board T'kel was not in a position to decline if she wanted to 'get to know' some of her crew members.
"if you wish Lieutenant"
When they were both in the mess hall T'kel ordered herself an earthen beverage known as coffee and sat down at a small table in the corner. Chekov soon joined her with a glass of the classic Coke. Not a lot of people were in the mess hall mostly because they were too busy getting on their way with preparations and left the area in a quiet blanket save a few hushed words by fellow officers scattered across the room. T'kel pulled a PADD out of her knapsack and started reviewing the materials she had requested being brought on board for scientific research, her green eyes flickered across the screen as they both sat in awkward silence.
"It is odd to see another vulcan in Starfleet" she lifted her eyes up slowly from her pad after he spoke.
"there are so few of us left Lieutenant I am not surprised you find it 'odd'" she took a sip of the hot drink in her hand before setting down the PADD "you have served aboard the Enterprise prior to this ship docking am I correct?"
He nodded
"then before Vulcan was destroyed did you not find it 'odd' that Commander Spock was your first officer?"
He nodded again and took an uncertain gulp of his Coke "I heard the vulcan council disagreed with him and he basically defied them but I never then thought it odd a vulcan was in Starfleet before".
"before our planet was destroyed" she quickly finished for him. Her piercing eyes watchful of his expressions of nervousness. The thing that puzzled Chekov the most about these vulcans was that you could never tell if they were angry or not.
An unsettling wave of uncertainty clouded his voice when he decided to continue "Well like you said since-"
"-there is no need to explain yourself Lieutenant Chekov you were merely making an observation, that I do not blame you for" T'kel took another drink of her coffee as if just blowing the subject away and continued to search through her science files on the PADD.
Which didn't give her much of a chance to notice another male walking up to their table "hey Chekov I missed your return where the heck have you been?" T'kel looked up to see an oriental man giving the Russian accented Lieutenant a rough pat on the back. He was older than Chekov but from the looks not by much. His bushy dark hair and eyes gave him that look of intelligence as it were darkened by the rest of his features and T'kel hadn't had the time to look into the files of the senior staff so she was at a disadvantage of knowing his name.
"And who's this?" he sounded stoutly surprised just like every other human she has encountered to see another Vulcan on board.
"Lieutenant Sulu this is Lieutenant T'kel our new Chief Science Officer" the Russian introduced with a polite gesture between.
Sulu chuckled and extended his hand "it's Hikaru Sulu" a few seconds passed before T'kel returned the greeting. Vulcans normally didn't shake other peoples hands but from her time spent on earth she knew she had to give up that certain aspect to attain friends among humans.
"and you are the chief helmsman and I correct?" she questioned as he invited himself to join the small group and ordered a glass of cold water from the replicator. His uniform color told her that much about him but the aspects of his personality were a bit difficult to decipher. He seemed more on the quiet side of things which was good on her part.
"yep you are correct" he inquired with a polite smile.
"I heard of both of your deeds aboard the Enterprise prior to docking here, I have to say I am impressed" she recalled to the time she read on the personal profile of Chekov and how the young officer was able to beam Captain Kirk and Sulu aboard the Enterprise while falling through thin air and Sulu's magnificent piloting and hand to hand combat abilities were definitely not left unheard of.
"it comes with the package but thanks" the oriental replied with a cheeky grin.
"What fields did you major in T'kel?" Chekov asked trying to get her attention again after she has looked down at the PADD with disinterest. These humans were certainly persistent in the social aspect.
Giving up on getting her analysis completed she tucked it away in her knapsack and focused on her company "I majored in Astrophysics, Biology and Quantum Chemestry, I took almost everything available in the science fields"
They both rose their eyebrows stupendously "that's a lot of majoring, it must have took you a while to graduate".
"Vulcans are put in school from a young age, my career path was decided for me from birth".
"decided for you?" Chekov leaned his elbows against the table in interest "you mean you didn't get to decide your field?"
"Since my mother was a member of the Vulcan Science Academy my father saw it was the logical choice I follow in her footsteps. I have no complaints of the matter for I am said to be 'talented' in that specific area" a hint of a smile crossed the vulcans face until she quickly concealed it by taking a drink of her coffee. The hot beverage was finally starting to stir up her insides with warmth and since caffine didn't affect vulcans like it did humans the warmth was basically the only reason she drunk it.
"Well that's good to hear" for the next few hours they sat chatting although Chekov and Sulu were doing most of it they were able to include her in for the most part. They asked her casual things and they were wary to stray from her heritage seeing it was a disclosed subject to her. Only on rare occasion did T'kel ever ask them anything due to her lack of confidence in the social area. Sometime during their conversations her attention was caught when a familiar commander walked in but someone else, a lithe woman striding behind him. Her skin was that of dark chocolate and smooth to cover all her gentle features. The hair on that human was long and tied back in a smooth ponytail, a shimmer of blackness against everything. Dark eyes that were large and round, slightly tilted up and had too much dark makeup on for T'kels taste and they were directed ahead to the male vulcan in front that was leading the both of them too a table.
She watched them for a while with fascination, how the both of their eyes twinkled in the lighting above. It didn't take an expert to see that the two were fascinated with each other, her lazy way of saying in a relationship. T'kel's pupils dilated when she tilted them down to narrow her thoughts on what they were saying. She didn't know why she was curious, maybe the vulcan was just simply bored or…something else it was an odd feeling that compelled her. The hushed words floated to her sensitive ears with ease but they were harsh and aciculate, not really the words of two people in love.
For a moment just a moment her eyes and Spock's met, those dark eyes that were purged of all emotion broke away when T'kel lowered hers onto the table and tapped her nails on the coffee mug. There was something…strange about him.
Few seconds passed possibly minutes and when her green orbs decided to look back up. The dark skinned woman had a hand over his as if she was explaining something.
"T'kel?" lieutenant Sulu noticed that she had been spaced out for more than a few minutes "you alright?"
Her eyes broke like a shard of glass as she shook her head away from the scene "yes of course, what were you asking?"
"It was nothing you were staring off to god knows where for a while" Sulu said rather boldly and chucked before taking a drink of his spring water "kinda reminds me of Spock".
T'kel cleared her throat and stared into what was left of the black coffee "have you met the commander yet?" Chekov asked breaking her attempt on trying to hear what the couple were whispering about.
"Yes I have" was all her reply while the two of them just stared at her.
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