Don't Look Away
Chapter 3
"When you come out of the storm
you won't be the same person
who walked in."
Haruki Murakami
At 2000 hours Jim stepped in to the bridge. Spock was already at his science station peering through the viewer. Beta Niobe was on the large view screen below them. The two vast continents, the huge green areas, and the surrounding turquoise hued bodies of water looked beautiful on the viewer.
Jim feasted his eyes. There was nothing like the rush he felt every time there was a new planet to explore.
"Approaching Beta Niobe, Captain," Sulu said.
"Standard parking orbit, Mr. Sulu. Lieutenant Uhura, notify the Niobians that we've arrived. We'll beam down at 2100 hours."
"Aye, Sir." She bent to her comm and spoke softly then looked up. "Beam in is confirmed, Sir. Beta Niobe communications says welcome to their planet."
"Acknowledge and thank them, Lieutenant."
Jim got up and went to the science station. "Spock," he said softly. "Anything out of the ordinary down there?"
"Negative, Captain. A typical class M planet with technology sufficiently advanced for Federation first contact standards. At this range, it is difficult to ascertain more."
"Very well, Mr. Spock. You have the con until we get back. Keep an eye on things down there." Jim sighed, "and here too, of course." Jim hated to leave his lovely lady in the hands of anyone other than himself, but sometimes he had no choice
"Of course, Sir."
"I'm going to change clothes and meet the other in the transporter bay. We'll check in when we're down planet," he said striding out.
Promptly at 2100 hours, Jim entered the transporter room. Frank Giotto and his men were already there, and Bones came in right behind him. Scotty, himself, was at the transporter control. "Good morning, everyone. Let's get this show on the road. Are you ready, Scotty?"
"Aye, Sir. The Niobians have sent us the beam-in coordinates. Good luck, Captain."
"Thank you, Mr. Scott," Jim said, stepping up to the platform next to Bones, well aware of how the doctor hated being transported. He sent him a reassuring glance and a smile as he noticed how Bones was clasping his hands tightly together and fidgeting on his padd. The familiar tingly feeling spread over him and then he found himself on solid ground surrounded by his men.
Jim looked around and stepped forward toward the small group in front of him and waited.
"Greetings, Federation men, I am Tareem, First of Niobe." He motioned to the three men with him. "This is Marack, Second beside the First," he motioned to one of the men. "This is Soltar, Third beside the First, and this is Betram, Fourth beside the First. " They bowed their heads and Tareem looked expectantly at Jim.
Jim cleared his throat, thinking fast. "Greetings, Niobians. I am James, First of Enterprise," he said, carefully. He nodded toward Bones. "This is Leonard, Second beside the First, Francis, Third beside the First, Carver, Fourth beside the First, and Bardoli, Fifth beside the First." They all bowed their heads, mimicking the Niobians.
Tareem looked the men over carefully and then nodded apparently satisfied. "I am pleased that your entourage is large, James, as befits a First of the Federation. We welcome you to our planet and hope that your visit will prove to be beneficial to our citizens." He motioned to Marack, who stepped forward to flank him. "Which of these men is the healer?"
Jim motioned to Bones, who also stepped forward beside Jim. "Leonard, my Second, is the healer."
Tareem and Marack bowed their heads to Leonard. "Welcome Leonard, Second beside James. It is an honor to have your presence in our midst."
Leonard cleared his throat, glanced at Jim, bowed his head, but didn't respond.
Marack stepped up to him and touched his arm. "I am the assigned Niobian that will escort you to the healer palace."
Bones gave Jim a side glance; he nodded discreetly. "Healer palace?" Leonard asked. The Universal Translator vibrated softly in his arm…an indication that it was searching for the translation. "Ah," Bones said as the vibration stopped. "Our word for the healer palace is hospital," he told Marack. "I'll be happy to see your hospital facility."
Marack nodded.
"Come, James, First of Enterprise. You and your entourage have been assigned rooms in my domicile."
Jim nodded. "Thank you, Tareem, First of Niobe. May I ask you if you would dispense with our full titles? Among our people it is customary to just use the first name in the title. Is this acceptable to you and your people?"
Tareem considered for a minute. "It is acceptable, James. We will comply with your wishes. Leonard too? And the rest of your entourage? "
They all nodded eager to simplify their interactions.
Tareem looked a little surprised. "It does seem to hasten communication if we do not append the full title."
"We have found that to be true, Tareem, First of Niobe," Jim said, still careful to use his full title.
"You and your entourage may address us in the same way, James. It will facilitate our communication."
Jim bowed his head. "Thank you, Tareem; that is acceptable to us."
"Come," said Marack, "we will escort you to your places of rest."
"I have to contact my ship first, if you don't mind, just to let them know that we arrived safely." Jim flipped open his communicator. "Spock, come in, Spock." There was silence.
Tareem nodded to Marack and Jim saw him toggle something in his sleeve. "Spock, come in, Spock," Jim said again.
"Spock here, Sir." Spock spoke carefully over the comm.
"We have arrived in good shape, Spock." Jim spoke just as carefully. "I'll contact you again later. James out."
There was a brief second of silence before Spock said, "I understand, James. Spock out."
Tareem looked at him with admiration. "Is he one more of your entourage, James?"
Bones choked and coughed.
Jim plastered on his best diplomatic smile. "Yes, Tareem, he is. The rest of my entourage stayed on board the Enterprise. We're ready to go with you now." He nodded to his officers, "all of us."
"Please follow me," Marack said. He led them down a path to an imposing building surrounded by a tall hedge. They walked quickly further down the path through the open doors of the building and stepped into an entry way. Inside it was cool and dim. Tareem and the others went into one of the side rooms, but Marack continued down the hall and ushered them through a series of doors until he stopped in front of a double door and opened it. "This is your suite," he told them. "There are three sleeping alcoves and two fresher facilities for the five of you. James, the largest bed is yours; the four smaller ones are for your entourage. I will leave you to unpack now. Tareem and others will greet you at a small reception that we have arranged for all of you. Someone will come for you in one of your Terran hours. Is this acceptable?"
Jim nodded. "Thank you, Marack," he said, and Marack bowed his head and closed the door silently behind him.
The five men looked silently at each other. Jim flipped open his communicators. "Kirk to Enterprise," Jim said softly; nothing. "Bridge," he said again.
After a slight delay, he heard a cautious "Bridge."
"It's fine, Spock, we can talk. We're alone and everything seems to be going well so far. How are the bio-monitors working?"
"Erratically, Sir. The signals seem to fluctuate quite a bit." He paused, "as did your communicator signal earlier."
Jim felt a soft poke on his arm, and Bones held out his hand. "Just a minute, Spock. Bones wants to talk with you."
"Spock," Bones said. "Have Scotty calibrate the ship's sensors to each of our bio-monitors individually rather than to all of us at the same time. See if that will strengthen the signals."
"One moment, Doctor, I will ask Mr. Scott to do so."
Bones answered the silent question on Jim's face. "Every one of us gives off a slightly different electrical field. It's easier and faster for our bio sensors to distinguish us individually rather than collectively."
In a few moments, Spock's voice came back. "Mr. Spock reports a much better signal from each of you. An easy and elegant solution, Doctor."
Bones grinned as he handed the communicator back to Jim. He seldom, if ever, got a vocal compliment from Spock.
"Captain, what about the communicator signal?"
"I'm not sure, Spock. One of the Niobians seemed to have control over our signals. Some sort of dampener was lifted, maybe? We're going to a reception in our honor in an hour. Maybe we'll find out more then."
"Very well, Captain. Check in at the usual time?"
"Yes, 1800 hours. Kirk out."
Jim closed his communicator. "Let's unpack, gentlemen. We should put on our more elaborate clothes since it's a reception." He looked around in appreciation. "This seems very luxurious," he said, looking at the elaborate carved furniture, the thick silken draperies and beautiful decorations around the room.
"Looks sort of medieval to me," Giotto said. "The thick stone walls and the whole look of the place; it's like one of those medieval fortresses you see in the holos."
"Did anyone notice that we haven't seen a single female yet?" Carver asked. "That seems sorta strange to me."
"Maybe they're protective of the women when there are strangers around," Bones said. "I wonder if there will be women at the reception. I can't get an accurate read on this culture when I only have interactions with the males of the species."
They freshened up in the two bathrooms and changed into their dressier pants and tunics. Marack arrived exactly on time to collect them. He, too, was dressed in more luxurious and formal tunic and pants. "Is everything to your satisfaction, James?"
"Yes, thank you, Marack. Everything is very comfortable and we appreciate your hospitality."
Marack inclined his head. They walked down the hall until he paused in front of large open double doors and stopped; they could see many Niobians milling about and hear the loud buzz of conversation from inside. He ushered them in and Tareem came forward to welcome them. The room was filled with Niobians eating and drinking, all of them males. Conversation stopped suddenly when they spotted the Enterprise crew.
"Niobians, these are the Federation men who have come to see our planet and our ways in preparation to our joining the United Federation of Planets. Please welcome them. They prefer to be addressed by their names without titles." He pointed to each of the men as he introduced them. "This is James, Leonard, Francis, Carver, and Bardoli. I have agreed to their ways and we will call ourselves by our names without titles while they are here."
Jim and his men were quickly surrounded by genial Niobians who wanted to meet them. The Enterprise officers exchanged pleasantries and answered many questions from the curious Niobians. Tareem came to their rescue and gently steered them away from the group toward the food and drink table. "James, please partake of our refreshments. I hope they are to your liking."
"I'm sure they're delicious Tareem, and we are hungry and thirsty." He looked a question at Bones. Was the food safe for them? Bones gave a faint nod. The physiology of the Beta Niobians was almost identical to humans; the food and drinks would be fine.
Tareem handed them each a plate and utensils and got some for himself. Jim looked at his food selection and copied his choices. The rest of them did the same. With loaded plates they walked around the room. "Jim," Leonard whispered, "there aren't any women here either. I find that strange, don't you?"
"I do, and I'm going to ask Marack about it. He seems to be far more approachable then Tareem. Probably because he is lower in stature around here. Let's separate," he told his men, "and see what we can find out."
Jim walked over to Marack who was conversing with two other Niobians. Marack politely disengaged from the two men and gave Jim his full attention. "James, are you finding everything to your liking?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you, Marack. I do have a question though. Where are the females of your species? We haven't seen any women or children since we arrived."
"They are in our homes, James. Women and children do not participate in public events. We deem it unseemly for our females to be in a public gathering. Is this not the custom in your world?"
"No," Jim said, smiling inwardly, thinking how Uhura, Rand and the other Enterprise female crew would react to that. "The women of our world participate in almost every activity that men do. The children do not of course; some of our public events and activities would not be suitable for children."
Marack nodded. "That is most curious. It will be interesting to learn more about your ways," he said.
"Yes," Jim agreed. "We're very interested in finding out about your ways also."
The reception continued and Jim and his officers tried to mingle and converse as much as they could. They ate and drank of the delicious food and drinks, and finally Tareem declared the reception over. The guests came to them to bid them goodbye and politely invited them to different places in the main city. Jim thanked them, but made no promises. They had business to conduct here, and not much time to socialize.
Marack and Tareem also said good night after Jim assured them that they could find their own way to the bedrooms. Marack told them he would come for them for Morning First Meal, for them to wait in their rooms. It was evident that there would be no further discussions until tomorrow.
Back in their room, Jim checked in with Spock again and filled him in on the reception. "We're back in our rooms, Spock, and it all went well, but I can't shake the feeling that something is off here. I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out more. How is everything there?"
"No issues have arisen here, Captain. Every department is running smoothly."
"Good. That's good Spock. We'll check in again tomorrow morning. Good night. Kirk out."
The five men changed out of their clothes and into their fleet issued pajamas. Giotto came up to Jim and spoke softly. "Captain, I opened the exterior door of our bedroom and there is a guard stationed outside our door. Thought you should know, Sir."
"Interesting, Frank. I wonder if we have one also." Jim walked to the door and opened it, and sure enough there was a Niobian standing to the side of the door."
"Good evening," Jim said. "May I ask what you're doing here?" He looked the young Niobian over. Fit and strong, and armed, he thought.
"Tareem ordered us to stand here to assure your well being, James. It is customary here on our planet."
"I see," Jim said. "Very well; if that's your custom. Good night then." He closed the door and locked it
He turned to the 5 pair of eyes staring at him. "It's customary," he said. And he's armed. I don't like it." He sighed. "Let's get some sleep. I have a feeling we're going to need it in the morning."
Surprisingly, all five of them slept very well. The rooms were quiet and cool and nothing and no one disturbed them. In the morning, they took turns showering, dressed and waited for Marack.
The Niobian was not long in coming for them and they followed him to a small dining area where Tareem was already waiting for them. "Please, James, you and your entourage help yourselves to what you want."
A round table had been set for all of them, and again, there was a large quantity of food on a side table for them to choose from.
They filled their plates and poured themselves a beverage which Jim hoped with all his heart was similar to coffee. Lack of coffee was always an issue on going away missions, and every single Fleet crewman and all the Captains complained about it.
Jim took a sip of the beverage and just barely stopped himself from making a face. It in no way resembled coffee. They all sat down with Tareem and Marack; the other members of his entourage were noticeable absent.
Conversation was desultory at first, but then Jim took the bull by the horns impatient to get things started. "Tareem, we of the Federation, are very pleased you wish to join us. It is my duty as the representative of the United Federation of Planets, to find out what it is you would like from us, and what we can expect from Beta Niobe. That is the customary procedure that we follow for a First Contact mission."
"Yes, I see, James. I agree that it is good to be forthright in our exchange." He paused, looked around the table until his dark eyes stopped on Leonard. "There is only one thing Beta Niobe wants, James."
"And what is that, Tareem?" Jim asked, his gut instinct already assuring him that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"We would like for you to leave your healer, Leonard, permanently with us when you leave. That is the only thing we want."
"Now just a damn minute here," Bones said, but stopped talking when Jim placed a gentle hand on his arm.
"That's impossible, Tareem. Leonard will not be staying here. He will leave when we leave. That's not open for discussion or negotiation." Jim's face was set and pale, his voice hard.
"Then," said Tareem calmly, his voice equally hard, "you will all stay here with him."