Chapter 86 - Vulcan Space Central

Space Station in Orbit Around Vulcan

Mimi and Sordd walked side by side along one of the connecting corridors from the Ych'a into Customs and Immigration. The corridor opened up into a large room, which serviced a number of docking bays in the space station. Although the room was busy it was not noisy, everyone respecting the Vulcan protocol of making as little noise as possible. Separate groups were forming orderly queues at the different gates. Mimi spotted a small group of humans, who must have just arrived on another ship, joining one of the lines for those who did not hold Vulcan citizenship. Without thinking she started to walk towards them.

"T'Sai Margaret," Sordd quietly called after her. She turned to look at him. "This way." He pointed his hand toward the Vulcan citizenship line. Mimi swallowed nervously before following after him.

The area that catered for those who had Vulcan citizenship tended to be busier than for those who did not. It was therefore logical to have more gates available for processing. Everyone lined up quietly waiting his or her turn, the only noise coming from some young children. Mimi smiled when she saw T'Aria and her family, pleased that things had fallen into place for them. T'Aria gave her a little wave. Mimi gave her a mischievous wink back.

Mimi turned so she was facing Sordd and made discreet skin contact with him, partly to ask him a question through their bond and partly for reassurance. "Why is this side so busy when Vulcan citizens can travel straight to the surface using their cruisers or shuttles?"

"Not all Vulcans have personal cruisers or shuttles," he replied while they slowly moved up the queue. "Some prefer to use public transportation out of choice."

Mimi nodded her head. She had never owned a cruiser or shuttle; quite frankly she could not afford one. The transportation network on Earth was outstanding, so really there was no need. If you wanted to travel to more obscure regions it was easy enough to hire one... For some reason she had just assumed that all Vulcans would have their own personal transportation… She recognised how illogical that conclusion was. She had observed the various ships with Vulcan registry numbers flying in and out of Space Central; the majority of them were 'top of the range' by Earth's standards. She had also noted that Sordd's and Sarek's cruisers were in a league of their own, sleek and modern, even by Vulcan Standards.

Sordd maintained the skin contact. He was picking up that Mimi was experiencing a complicated mix of emotions all at once. Currently the most dominant emotion was fear. Specifically fear that she would not be allowed onto the planet. Totally illogical! He endeavoured to feed her some reassurance. "Relax Mimi." She turned and gave him a slightly nervous smile.

Mimi was next to be called forward. She smoothed out her dark blue outer robe and took a deep breath as she approached the Immigration Desk. The Vulcan Border Force Officer behind the screen was an austere looking Vulcan with dark grey hair and light brown eyes. She handed over her personal data chip that contained all the appropriate documentation.

"Kup tu sanu snem-tor fash?" he asked.

Flustered a little, Mimi quickly removed the hood. She watched as he looked her up and down. For reasons only known to him, he raised a single eyebrow. "Thank you," he replied in highly accented standard. Mimi gave him a small smile, his face remained impassive.

He scanned the chip and Mimi's information came up on his console. He pressed a few buttons, swiped up, down, left, and right… Mimi stood patiently waiting. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Sodok passed through a security gate almost unchecked. He then stood at the other side waiting for his family. T'Lir was currently at an immigration desk dealing with T'Aria's documentation. Mimi then looked on as Sordd approached the desk next to hers. The dark maroon coloured robe that he was wearing, which just happened to be one of Mimi's favourites, billowed as he walked along. The fabric had a ribbed textured look and feel. It had a small stand-up style collar, which left most of his neck exposed, as well as long sleeves with open hem cuffs. Sordd looked very handsome indeed... Mimi suppressed her smile. The officer at that desk he was standing at, a grey haired Vulcan with light blue eyes, who was wearing a similar, although not identical, grey uniform to the Vulcan in front of her, scanned Sordd's chip card and spoke some brief words to him. They were obviously acquainted. Sordd said something to him and the security officer turned to make eye contact with Mimi. She quickly looked away, slightly embarrassed that she had been staring at them both. When she looked back, she saw them both raise ta'al's before Sordd was let through.

Mimi turned to pay attention to what was happening at her counter. The Vulcan in front of her was still swiping, scanning and pressing various buttons before reading the information that appeared on the screen. Mimi could feel her nerves beginning to rise. She thought her neck might be flushing slightly, the same way her sister Rachel's did when she was agitated. Fortunately, her high collared robe would hide the outward manifestation of her inner turmoil.

The security officer looked at her sternly. "What is your date of birth?"

He obviously knew the answer to this question as he had just read her supporting documents. Mimi replied nonetheless, with that unavoidable nervousness in her voice that you get when passing through security even though you have done nothing wrong, "23rd of September 2204."

"This is your first time visiting Vulcan?"

Again, he knew the answer to this question, but Mimi played the game, "Ha, yes." She nodded her head, while managing to refrain from fidgeting with the strap on her bag.

As well as noting the swiftness of the T'Sai's response and her body language, the security officer, Vorik, was particularly interested in what was taking place in her iris, a very deep blue colour that was highly unusual on Vulcan. He was looking for anything that would indicate that she was telling lies or acting suspiciously. "Where will you be staying while you reside on Vulcan?"

"I am staying with he who is my husband, S'chn T'gai Sordd." She pointed over to where Sordd was standing. "His residence is in Shi'Kahr District." Mimi had spent so much time practicing saying Sordd's formal name that she managed to get it down to a tee. She started to fumble in her bag. "I can give you the exact address if you give me a moment…"

"That is unnecessary," he replied flatly. "Do you have anything to declare?"

Mimi looked him in the eyes and shook her head. "Nirsh, no."

He nodded his head. The reality was, it was not worth anyone's time and effort trying to smuggle restricted items onto Vulcan. They would be apprehended. The consequences of the misdemeanour were known across the quadrant to be particularly unpleasant for those who were not used to a life of deep meditation and solitude. "Please take the retina scan. Your right eye first."

Mimi complied and allowed him to scan her right eye.

"Your left eye please."

She immediately obeyed.

Satisfied that all requirements had been met Vorik, handed Mimi her data chip back. "S'chn T'gai T'Sai Maragret, Na'shaya tor T'Khasi, Welcome to Vulcan." Mimi hesitated for a moment, not realising that she was allowed to proceed. Vorik noted that hesitation. "You may proceed," he said while pointing to the gate.

Mimi bowed her head. "Shaya tonat, thank you," she replied in a respectful tone before quickly making her way through the gate to the waiting area where Sordd was standing beside Sodok, T'Rel and T'Aria. She could hardly believe it had been so easy to get onto the planet...

*'*

Notes

Many thanks to Kehlan for the Beta :-)