Tau Eridani I-IV
Major Tucker found planetfall had at least proven uneventful, other than jostling him around enough that he needed another hypospray on the sly when they finally landed. Not that any of the Vulcans failed to notice, since the stitches had dissolved and Garcia had to go ahead and give him another dozen hypos to finish off the dermal regeneration…well, all hell, he ended up getting poked and prodded for about ten full minutes before Garcia would even let him off the damned shuttle.
At least he could move a little without wanting to whine about it. So there was that, he supposed.
By the time he did break loose and get solid ground under his feet again, Sergeant Reed had at least done a fine job of keeping things organized out there. None of the Vulcans had run off into the wild to take pictures or have a picnic anyway, as he'd pretty much expected they would.
T'Sen and her gaggle of engineers were busy cutting a path along the mountainside to what he figured must be the "logical" place to start tunneling in earnest. Taylor and Wilson were gone, so he figured Taylor had grabbed the only un-busy MACO in the area and dragged him off on recon with him. Clemmons was making himself happy scanning everything to death and Garcia was still fretting circles around him, trying to conduct medical scans and poke at him some more.
Reed himself was sticking close to the Captain, since she didn't have anything to do but supervise everyone. Which meant she was the most likely to get a wild hair and go gallivanting through the wasteland until she stumbled over whatever it was that was down here waiting to eat them all.
Because there was damned sure some kind of trouble around here just waiting to jump on them. That much he was sure of.
So by the time he got off the shuttle, shrugged Garcia away and assessed the situation, he'd already forgotten his firm resolution to stay clear of the Captain and hang around with the engineers instead. Until it was too late and he'd walked right over to Reed to receive the report confirming everything he already knew. And so found himself standing next to Captain T'Pol with nothing to do but supervise, either.
Because of course Sergeant Reed took the opportunity to dump T'Pol off on him and go find something productive to do instead. Damn it.
He got a good look at the pretty miserable environment, though. How the hell it still supported any kind of breathable atmosphere he couldn't fathom. Maybe Clemmons could explain it later. Other than the huge rocky hill they were standing on, which barely qualified as a 'mountain' of any kind, there was nothing but a light brown expanse of sand, pebbles and the occasional black rock as far as the eye could see. If there was anything alive enough to pose a threat, it wasn't making itself obvious. Sure wasn't popping up to offer a smile and a handshake, anyway.
He had cause to reflect that maybe the Captain must figure they were all on shore leave or something. Because it didn't take her more than those few seconds before she found something to entertain herself with. Other than keeping an eye on their surroundings, like she should've been.
"Major Tucker." She said.
Aw, hell. Here we go…
"Yes, Ma'am." Tucker said. Stiffly. Distracted. Paying attention to the environment and all. Like she should be doing.
"I am gratified that you seem to have recovered from your injuries to a satisfactory degree."
Okay, so…what the hell was that? Was she trying to be a smart ass or something? They had just had some kind of fight to the death out of no-damned-where just a few hours ago. Was she trying to pick another fight? Was she really such a crazy-ass Vulcan that she thought being polite about it right now was appropriate?
Seriously, what the hell?
Tucker took a deep breath, trying to stall for enough time to figure out an appropriate response…
"Yes, Ma'am." He said.
Really. What the heck else was he supposed to say here?
"That is good."
Oh. And, well, gee golly, thanks. And this isn't awkward at all. Let's chat a little more, what d'ya say?
"I am curious regarding your impressions so far, working for an extended period with a Vulcan crew."
Aw, you've got to be…
"Ma'am, with all due res-…" Tucker said. Then sighed. "Excuse me, Captain. But I've got to say it. With all due respect, I'm not interested in another fight, thank you."
T'Pol, to his utter bewilderment, actually grinned at that. Like he was being funny or something. On purpose.
"We have had our contest. I do not believe that will be required."
Like it was required to first time?
"Still, Ma'am. I'm not sure…"
But…then again…well, hell, she asked for it. So fine.
"Okay." He nodded decisively. "My impressions so far? You all need to go back home and wait another couple hundred years before you leave your planet."
Surprisingly, she actually didn't start screaming hysterically…
"Why do you say that?" She asked. Seeming for all the world to be honestly interested.
Well, he was doing pretty good so far…
"Because you're all nuts." He said.
Hell, she wanted an honest assessment here, right?
T'Pol thought that over for a moment.
"You suggest we are insane, by Human standards."
"I suggest you're insane by any standard." He corrected.
T'Pol's eyebrow leapt to position and that was all it took to get him going in earnest.
"Look." He said. "We've really only been out of the cargo bay twice now. The second time to be briefed on the mission and come here. So maybe I haven't had enough…interaction with your Vulcan crew for a workable assessment…"
"That is part of the reason you were included in the mission team, Major."
"Right. Okay." He said. And really, there was a lot to be said about this mission and how it was being conducted so far. None of it was right or okay. But let's just stick to one topic at a time, please.
"Fact is, that first little foray to the mess hall was our only real interaction with the crew." He said. "Can't say I was impressed."
"If you are speaking of the incident in the mess hall…"
"Not just that, Ma'am." He said. "We ran into a couple of your medics in the corridor on the way to the mess hall. They were treating two of your crewmen, who seemed to have gotten into a fight. Lots of laughing and joking. Really having themselves a good time. Even when the two went at it again right in front of us."
"That is hardly uncommon, Major."
"Kinda my point, Ma'am." He said. "And then there were the two crewmen groping each other at the table next to my men before you arrived. Which no one seemed all that concerned about. In fact, seemed they found the whole thing pretty entertaining, cheered them right on. Up to the point where they started shucking their clothes and security ran 'em off."
"Again, that is hardly a matter for concern…"
"Well, I have to wonder how the hell you expect to run a starship with a crew like that, Captain." Tucker said, scowling. "It's not exactly a structured environment."
T'Pol frowned, then gestured at their surroundings. "And yet we seem to have arrived without incident, Major."
"I just referenced three incidents, Captain, if you include the incident in the mess hall. All in the course of our one and only attempt to interact with your crew."
"None of those incidents hampered our ability to arrive and begin our exploratory survey, Major Tucker."
"Not the point, Ma'am." He insisted.
"Then your point is irrelevant." She answered. "Our mission was to travel from Vulcan to here, collect sensor information from orbit and conduct a ground survey of anything notable that might require it. We seem to be accomplishing that."
"Ma'am, if you honestly can't see the issue here…"
"Major, if your objections are reducible entirely to the fact that we are not Human, then perhaps you should simply say that."
"It's not that you aren't Human. It's that you're Vulcan."
"Yes, of course. We are more passionate than you are. We are physically stronger, live significantly longer and possess much greater average intelligence than you. So of course you must object because you are aware that our ascension into space signals the inevitable decline of Human dominance in this sector."
Tucker took another deep breath. And ran his fingers through his hair before slapping his cap back on again. Then stood there for a minute with his hands on his hips, glaring off at the engineering team over there. Where he should be right now, instead of here picking another damned fight.
"Captain…"
"Excuse me, Major Tucker." She said.
And, damn it, did she have to keep interrupting him like that?
"It was not my intention to provoke aggression again. I had hoped we could participate in a more productive discussion."
Well, she at least seemed sincere that time. So…he bit his tongue and managed to actually shut up for once.
"Understood, Ma'am." He said. Once he was sure whatever was going to come out of his mouth wasn't going to start another argument.
They were politely, appropriately and very intensely quiet for a while. Which was oddly uncomfortable and kind of nice at the same time…
"Major Tucker." She said. Again speaking carefully and with some deference. "Perhaps we should attempt your initial suggestion and refrain from interacting for a time."
"Yes, Ma'am." He said. Because that was a grand idea.
"However, if you will allow me to speak unhindered for a moment…"
Aw, dammit…
"…I would illustrate the point you seem to be failing to grasp."
God, they really were going to end up smacking each other around again, weren't they?
"We are not Human, Major Tucker. We are Vulcan. And we are indeed more passionate, both individually and as a people. We have weaknesses and shortcomings, as any species does, but this is easily both our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. It requires that everything we do be rooted first in mastering that."
She had his attention at the surprising admission that Vulcans had any weaknesses or shortcomings to begin with. That she seemed to be addressing them kept his attention.
"I believe that you continue to compare us to Humans, and so find our culture and our individual behavior lacking. Because we consistently fail to behave in a Human manner. But this is because you fail to perceive the necessities required by emotion. As a Human, you neither require nor seem to devote any special attention to your emotionality. It rarely extends beyond your control. And even when it impacts your decisions or behavior, it rarely conflicts with reason in the process. So you have little need to exercise mastery of it. You can even allow it to master you instead, without concern that it may lead to your destruction. Whatever destruction your emotions may wreak, it is typically mild and not worth the effort of exerting control over it at the onset."
T'Pol was quiet for a moment, considering how best to continue. And Tucker listened with interest.
"I will provide an example for your consideration. Concerning the incident in the mess hall."
"Once provoked by the improper behavior of your MACO, I was forced to grasp firm control of my aggressive response to the situation. Had I not, I would have been compelled to attack them. But because I am not Human, I could not simply ignore this impulse. The drive to remove the perceived threat was a Vulcan drive. Too powerful to ignore or suppress. So I redirected it. To you, when I chastised you concerning your men's behavior. And to the food tray, when I struck the counter with it."
"But these were reasoned acts. They were not driven by emotion. I made the rational decision to do these things and thereby expel some of the emotion threatening to rule me. Just enough that I was able to gain control of the remainder. Following that, when I sat at the officer's table, I employed the disciplines I had been taught as a child, and that I have diligently maintained into adulthood, to channel those aggressive demands to more appropriate and useful areas. Dedication to work, ambition to succeed, resolve to defeat those that might oppose our mission. Among other things."
"Even when you intruded upon that process, my behavior toward you was likewise determined and implemented rationally. I seized the opportunity to expel further emotional excess. The emotion inherent in my behavior being released precisely in order to achieve the desired result. Your discontinuing to interfere with the needed exercise of discipline."
Tucker thought about that for a while.
Then sighed.
"Okay, I guess I kind of get what you're saying. But I have to wonder…what does it matter? How is anyone supposed to tell when you're rationally expressing emotion and just plain losing your temper? Because I sure can't tell the difference."
"If I were to behave emotionally, that is allowing emotion to dictate my actions and behavior, rather than making and implementing these determinations rationally…it would be quite obvious, Major."
"And how's that?"
"I would behave in a manner even a fellow Vulcan would recognize as insane."