Author: Christy Anderson
You can contact me at kittyunlimited@go.com.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Paramount minus Ensign Christy Anderson and a few selected insignificant characters
Sorry, this part is a little late. Enjoy!
Stars of Night (Sterne der Nacht): Part 4
I sat in Stellar Cartography mapping the region of space we had passed through in the past two weeks. The job was time-consuming and tedious, and there were four others assigned to the same assignment. "Ensign Anderson, do you have Section 31 Alpha, Subsection 10 completed?" Lieutenant Stanfield asked.
"Yes sir, I just finished."
He smiled, "Good, I can tell that your speed is progressing, Christy. Begin mapping out Section 52 Gamma, Subsection 4."
I nodded. "Right on it, sir," I said.
The doors to Stellar Cartography swished open and Chakotay stepped in. "Lieutenant Stanfield, if I may have a word with you," Chakotay said as he motioned Lieutenant Stanfield outside of Stellar Cartography. The doors swished shut behind them as I tried to concentrate on my work. "81%… 92%… 100%…" I said softly out loud. "Ich werde beendet… I am finished."
"Computer, confirm the current time," Ensign Saadlan said from behind me.
The computer beeped. "The current time is 09:45 hours."
I could hear him sigh, and I knew I shared his thoughts. I had an hour and fifteen minutes left on duty. The door swished open again and Lieutenant Stanfield walked in, his face firm. "Ensign Anderson, could you join us outside for a moment," he requested irately.
I stood up from my console and followed him quietly out the door to where the Commander stood with Tre'kent. The Commander's face was kind and alleviated all of the apprehension I had experienced. "Christy, I would like to request that you would kindly show Tre'kent around Voyager. You will be relieved of your duty shifts today, to accommodate your needs. Dr. Migfay left orders that Tre'kent be at Transporter room two no later than 22:00 hours. Can you handle it?"
"Yes, sir," I said confidently.
"All right, then, I'll leave Tre'kent in your capable hands," Chakotay replied as he turned and walked off down the corridor.
Lieutenant Stanfield cleared his throat. "Ensign Anderson, before you leave, perhaps you could give me the last data you collected."
I handed him the PADD and watched him enter Stellar Cartography again, unsure of why he seemed so angry at me. I looked up to see Tre'kent staring at me inquisitively. My observation of his handsome features from the previous night resurfaced. "So what would you desire to see first, Tre'kent?" I asked shyly, feeling the blush creep into my cheeks.
"Dr. Migfay said that the Science Lab would be most beneficiary," Tre'kent answered without emotion.
"Of course, that's one of my favorite places. I'll take you there immediately."
After five minutes, we approached the Science Lab. I opened the doors to find that the Science Lab had been closed. On Voyager, the Science Lab was not always open. There were at least four different periods in three separate days that it was closed. "Computer, increase the lighting in this room to 80% and activate the Science Lab."
The Computer beeped in recognition and immediately you could hear the soft whirring of the machinery. "Look's like we have the place to ourselves," I said quietly.
"Yes, it does," Tre'kent answered backed. He circled around the room several times observing all the consoles. "Would you show me what they do?" he asked suddenly.
I smiled. "Of course." I pointed to a console of the right side and directed him over to it. I proceeded to give him a detailed explanation of how it worked. I incorporated some of my lessons in and showed him how to use it. I could tell he knew much about science and had worked with similar instruments, because when I would translate the readings, he could tell me what I was scanning.
We went around the room in a similar fashion. He was a fast learner, and always interested. Sometimes he'd stop me and ask me questions, other times he would stop me to figure out the process for himself. By the time we had gotten around one half of the room, my brain was tired, and Tre'kent seemed to possess all of what I had taught him. The more we talked, the more relaxed he became, as well as the more open. He began to talk about the moons of his world, and began to point out several interesting things on my scans. I began to feel more comfortable around him, and I was finally able to release the tight breath I held in my chest.
The last console we came to was the console I frequently worked at. It was the one that was interfaced with Astrometrics. After I had satisfied his curiosity, I reached down in a drawer and pulled out a PADD that held the information from the extensive scans I had taken of his home world. I showed him an irregular element in his planet's vegetation that I had been unable to identify. I showed him the confusing readings and asked him if he could identify it.
"Christy," he called me by my first name, "this element is triiceraliite. It is a native element found frequently in the vegetation here. Some say that it is present no where else in space, but I am unsure of that. Tomorrow if you wish we could collect samples, I know where some of the thickest vegetation is. It is not that uncommon once you study it."
He sat down with the tricorder he had picked up and began to tap around on it. It buzzed a few times at him in complaint, but eventually he held up his finished product with a proud smile. "I cleared up your scans, look at it now. You see the unique thing about triiceraliite is that it produces its own radiation to change the DNA appearance. Once you cut through the radiation streams, you have a normal plant."
I looked down at the tricorder. "That's amazing…" I said slowly.
The doors swished open to reveal crewman and ensigns filing in for their duty shifts. I turned to Tre'kent. "We have to leave now," I told him. We walked out together and stopped outside the doors. "Computer, what is the time?"
The Computer beeped. "The current time is 12:00 hours."
I looked at Tre'kent and gasped. "We've been in there over two hours!" I exclaimed. My stomach growled and I looked over at Tre'kent. "Are you hungry?"
"Very," he said with a smile. "Would you show me to the Mess Hall?"
I laughed, "Yes, some other time. We can have dinner there, but for lunch, we're going to join a friend of mine."
He raised his eyebrow and followed me as I lead the way. We stepped into the turbolift together. "Deck Three," I commanded. As it jolted to a stop, Tre'kent took a step backwards and gestured his arm forwards.
"After you," he said politely. I took him around the corridors until we ended up in front of Samantha's quarters. I punched in the entrance code, just in case she was asleep.
"Shh…," I said to Tre'kent, "She might be asleep." The doors swished open and I walked in. Samantha jumped back startled.
"You frightened me…"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Samantha, I had no idea if you were awake, but I can see you have been studying your German."
Samantha smiled, then looked behind me. "You're right. And who is this?" she asked coyly.
"This is Tre'kent from the Moheelean home world. I am taking him around Voyager for the day. I hope you don't mind if he eats lunch with us."
Samantha shook her head. "The more company, the merrier. I was hoping you would come for lunch. The only person I've seen today was the Doctor. He called me down to Sickbay to give me a cortical monitor that will transport me to Sickbay at the moment I go into labor. He said it could be any day now."
"The more reason for you to have lunch," I said as I pulled up a chair. "Tre'kent, you can sit here," I told him softly. I walked over to the replicator. "Computer replicate 3 meals using the specifications of the file Anderson 5. Charge credits to Ensign Christy Anderson, authorization Anderson 3-3-2."
The computer beeped and instantaneously replicated one of the hot meals. I picked it up and set it before Samantha. "Thank you," she said shortly before I turned back to retrieve the others. When we all had our food, we bowed our heads and I gave a traditional German meal blessing that I had always said at home with my family.
Tre'kent turned to me, "That was not English," He said perplexed.
"No," I replied, "It was German, my first language. Many people do not speak it; I have been giving Samantha lessons."
"Which I should thank you for. I found them on the table this morning. They have really helped me keep my mind off staying in here all day," Samantha suddenly interjected.
"Well, what are you going to name your little girl?" Tre'kent asked out of the blue.
"Name? My girl?" Samantha asked confused.
"Isn't that your culture, that you name an infant at birth?" Tre'kent asked.
"How did you know my baby is going to be a girl?" Samantha questioned.
Tre'kent laughed. "Oh, I see why I have confused you. My species has a special gene that allows us to determine to sex of other species. We pick up on their brainwaves, as I picked up your unborn child's. At the point of conception, a mother will already know what her child will be. This gene also allows us to be more in tune with the emotions of others, but I can't read minds. Although, I have heard of species, Telepaths, that can. It is something that has fascinated our species for years. Some scientists speculate that we were once a quadrant wide trading species and this gene developed to aid us in our dealings with foreign cultures, but that is far from being proven."
As we took a moment to digest what he had said, Samantha spoke up. "Can you sense my baby's emotions?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "She feels safe and secure," he said. "What will her name be?" he asked again.
"I think I will name her Naomi," Samantha said.
Tre'kent smiled. "That is a wonderful name."
"How old are you, Tre'kent?" Samantha asked with her pleasant tone.
"I'm am 104 in Moheelean segments. However, in your culture I am 19. How old are you?" he returned.
Samantha laughed listlessly. "I don't give out my age," she joked, "but Christy is 17."
I gave her a dirty look. "So how old does that make me in Moheelean segments?" I asked.
"It makes you 93, you would be preparing for the Cumleitah," Tre'kent mused.
"The Cumleitah?" I inquired.
"Yes, it is the time that you are on an individual study in isolation to decide your life's future. It begins when you are 100 to when you are 110. After the Cumleitah, you announce your plans at a party in your honor, and you choose a name."
"But you…" I began.
"Let me explain," Tre'kent interrupted, "I requested if Dr. Migfay would train me in science. Instead of studying on my own, I could have a mentor, a tutor. It was against tradition, but Dr. Migfay agreed. Most of society shuns us, even my own family. No one like breaking tradition, but several others have followed my example. That's why when I showed up at the banquet, the Ambassador was disturbed. According to tradition, I should be in isolation, not attending social functions. When we began, Dr. Migfay decided to call me Tre'kent, the name of his deceased father. I am unsure of whether I will keep it when the time comes."
"That's horrible," Samantha said sympathetically. "You should have reign over your own life. I bet it has been tough."
Tre'kent smiled. "Tough, but rewarding."
I looked at him with a newfound wonder. His culture was so different from our own, yet we looked so similar. He faced obstacles, and the darkness of doubt, everyday to expand his knowledge, and I had it all here at my fingertips. He had a brave, unwavering spirit that he faced towards his oncoming opposition. May God bless him as he travels under the stars of night, under the shadow of doubt…
I looked down at my empty plate, and picked it up to take it to the recycler. Standing up I grabbed Samantha's and placed it on top of my own. I reached out for Tre'kent's but he grabbed my arm. With his other hand he seized the plates I held and hauled them over to the recycler for me. "Computer recycle," he said.
He returned to the table and we all talked some more. Realizing that Samantha was retiring, I excused Tre'kent and myself and promised to stop by later. She gave me a thankful glance and accepted my offer to help her to her bed. Once she was situated, I turned off the lights and left the room with Tre'kent.
"So what would you like to see next?" I asked.
He tilted his head from side to side. "How about Astrometrics?" he suggested.
I stared back at Tre'kent. "We shall go to study the stars of night…"
To be continued…