Author: Nehal Rating: PG Summary: T'Pol experiments with art. Notes: Entry for Quills Contest More: This story saw its birth, surprisingly enough, at the Linguistic Database, and their excellent challenge in a can. I drew the following words 'Da Vinci, Awareness, Nape,' but since my Hoshi muse was asleep I decided to apply them to T'Pol.



Paint

Solutions surround her. Water. Oil. Warp Core Sealant-

There is even a small bottle of cologne sitting on the desk, it's glass stopper still encased in protective metallic housing.

She formulates them herself. Humans cannot be trusted to get the composition exact. And for this task, as all others, precision is key.

A pink rose. It stands tall in amidst a vase of daffodils. The flowers, like everything else in the room, serve a purpose.

Utility. Purpose. Precision.

The three cornerstones of logic-

What underpins them all, however, is control. And with that thought in mind, she plucks three rose petals and places them onto a petri dish in front of her.

Two drops of oil. A milligram of sulphate-

Five millilitres of hydrochloric acid, Ph 1-

Controlled, yet at the same time, strangely primal. Art, she concedes, is beyond logic. Still, she cannot help wondering whether Da Vinci would have been as celebrated had he been Vulcan. Taking a moment to deliberate, she decides that he would not. Vulcans had, by his lifetime, long departed from art as a form of expression.

Pink. A soft, pale, earthy pink that perfectly mimics the skin behind Commander Tucker's ears-

She raises an eyebrow. This is her first attempt at paint formulation. According to her book-The Science Of Art Pigmentation- it should have taken many attempts to get the desired affect. Perhaps her experience is different because she is not human. After all, the Captain had bought this book from a human colony-

Her higher Vulcan awareness must mean that she can articulate her perceptions far easier than humans. Yes. She decides that has to be the reason. Perhaps she will note her findings to the Vulcan High Commission for further analysis.

A glass vial

It is small, but suitable, and carefully, she pours the pigment inside. Then, just as carefully, she prepares a handwritten label, to aid future reference. It is in Ancient Vulcan, a language, she is certain no one aboard Enterprise understands. Secrecy, although not necessarily a fundamental aspect of logic, is tantamount to this task if she is to finish it without being discovered.

Once finished, the note simply reads nape.

-+-