In the Family
Chapter 3
"A step taken to a new idea is a step taken to a new world!"
Mehmet Murat
After his briefing with Admiral Boyce, Jim called Spock in to the briefing room. "Sit down, Mr. Spock. I want to fill you in on what Admiral Boyce had to say. I must admit, I was taken by surprise by what he told me, and I think you will be too once I tell you." Jim then proceeded to tell Spock all that Admiral Boyce had shared with him.
Spock was indeed surprised, and admitted it freely to Jim. "It is highly unusual for my father to invoke personal privilege about anything of anyone, much less anything of a personal nature. My mother, as well as my father, must think the situation on Nara is serious enough for my father to make such a request of the Admiral.
Captain, I was unaware that my mother's maternal cousin was on Nara. My mother has kept in close touch with her paternal and maternal sides of her family and values those familial relationships, but since I left Vulcan many years ago, the occasions to speak about her extended family have been few. I have not seen my mother's cousin since I was a child and have had no further contact with her since that time. My mother has no siblings, so her extended maternal and paternal family members are second degree or even more distant. As I recall, Doris Stemple was a few years younger than my mother and my mother thought of her as a younger sibling. Until my mother married and went to Vulcan, I believe they saw each other frequently."
"Yes, I see. Well this will be a good opportunity for you to reconnect with your mom's side of the family, Spock. I'm about to brief the command crew, but wanted to tell you the details of the mission first."
"Thank you, Captain. I must confess I am curious about what we will find on Nara."
Jim called in his Command crew for the meeting. After his initial meeting with Dr. Stemple, he'd decided on using Bones, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, and Sulu as his investigating team. Each had their own specialized skill sets Jim felt might be needed on Nara. Scotty, because of his engineering expertise if they were able to inspect the mining procedures and equipment, Spock, because his cousin was in charge of the Terra Forming Department on the planet, Uhura, because of her expertise in communication, body, and spoken language, Sulu, because he was the botany expert on the ship, and Bones, because of his medical expertise and psychology specialty, and because Jim wanted him on the planet with him.
To the delight of his young Navigator, Jim also decided to leave the con in Chekov's hands. "All bridge officers need con time, Ensign Chekov, and this will fill the bill nicely for you."
"Thank you, Sir, I won't let you down," the excited Chekov told his Captain. He'd never had the con except for a few short minutes here and there. To think he'd have it during Alpha shift for the entirety of this mission, filled him with joy!
Jim gave the order to continue at a leisurely warp two to the planet Nara. No use stressing the warp and impulse engines when there was no emergency. The Dilithium crystals that powered the warp engines were hugely expensive and not easily come by, and stressing the warp engines never led to anything good, as Scotty was fond of telling Jim. They should baby the engines whenever they could, and Jim tried to follow his CE's sage advice whenever he could.
They proceeded without incident to Nara, and when Enterprise arrived to the Tau Zeti system, Jim nodded to Uhura to contact Nara Space central for orbital permission. As the flagship of Star Fleet, it was not strictly necessary for Jim to do so, but he viewed it as a curtesy when his ship visited any Federation planet. He likened it to someone coming inside your fenced back yard without asking permission.
Chekov requested their vector for a parking orbit and Sulu guided the ship in. Enterprise would maintain a high orbit as long as the crew was on the planet. Uhura politely asked if the crew would be allowed to rotate down to the planet for shore leave. She assured Space Central the number of crew sent down would be staggered and not too many would go down at one time.
Permission was granted and Jim gave the order to the department heads to make shore leave schedules. He reminded all departments to make sure crew members behaved appropriately with each other and with the locals.
Uhura contacted Nara University where Dr. Stemple had her office. A young voice answered the comm. "Doctor Stemple's office, Mayri speaking."
"This is Lieutenant Nyota Uhura of the Starship Enterprise. Captain James T. Kirk is requesting an appointment with Dr. Doris Stemple on behalf of her cousin, Commander Spock. We were in the neighborhood and Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk would like to pay her a visit if she has time to see her cousin."
"Oh!" The excited young voice said, who hadn't heard of the famous, handsome, Captain Kirk, and his equally famous First Officer, Commander Spock! "I'm sure Dr. Stemple would make time to see her cousin. Please hold while I inquire, Lieutenant."
In a very short time the young voice was back on the comm. "Dr. Stemple says she would be delighted to see Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk."
"Our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leonard McCoy will be joining us down plant, Mayri. Mr. Spock invited him to come along and meet his cousin. Also, our crew will be beaming down in small groups by turns to enjoy a few hours of shoreleave."
"Come one, come all," said the merry, excited, young voice. "We don't get many visitors on Nara, Lieutenant Unura, and it's wonderful your Captain and crew will be here. I can't wait to meet everyone!"
Uhura restrained her laughter as she swiveled in her seat to face Jim. Mayri was definitely excited.
Jim who had been listening intently, shared her grin. "It seems we're an exciting novelty, Lieutenant."
"It seems so, Captain."
"All right, Mr. Chekov. You have the con."
The young Ensign leaped from his station to the chair. "Aye, Keptin." Jim stood and Chekov sat down. "You know, Mr. Chekov, I think we should take a holo of this occasion to send to your mom and dad, don't you?"
Chekov beamed. "Oh, tank you, Keptin! My mama will be so happy, my papa too."
Leonard who stood a little apart, came forward. "Let me do it, Jim. I'll send it to your comm, Pavel, and then you can send it to your mamma and daddy. Now sit up straight and look Captainly," he said, and snapped several pictures. "There, I've sent them to you."
"Thank you, Doktor." Chekov looked happily at his holos. He'd send them right after his shift.
"Bones, Mr. Spock, let's get this show on the road. Lieutenant Uhura, keep a close ear on the planet chatter. I want to know how our visit is perceived. You, Scotty, and Sulu remain on standby. I'll let you know when I need you."
"Yes, Sir."
Enterprise beamed them down to their designated coordinates, which was the Nara University complex where Dr. Stemple's office was located.
Once beamed in, they looked around trying to get their bearings. The University of Nara was an imposing, impressive complex. Obviously a lot of credits had been spent in its construction, which implied to Jim that education was deemed a big priority on the planet.
The University consisted of several stone fronted long buildings linked together by glass walkways. The stone which had probably been locally quarried, was a pale mellow cream color. The Nara yellow sun, much like Earth's, shone brightly this morning, and the creamy stone glowed softly making the entire complex look inviting.
There was also plenty of green spaces to see, trees, bushes, blooming flowers lining the walkways, no doubt a tribute to the terra forming that was constantly being done on the planet. To the right and across a narrow street were the myriad small student and faculty hovers parked in neat rows all across the parking area.
Close to their beam down point, there was an interactive sign with a map of the University complex's many classrooms and offices. Spock quickly found the location to the Archaeology, Geology, and Natural Sciences (each department had its own floor) building, and the location and number of Dr. Stemple's office. Now, as they walked closer to the actual buildings, Jim could see the large number of students walking about, mostly young people, but a few older ones too. They were all dressed casually, similarly clad in long tunics with loose casual pants under the tunics, carrying heavy padd bags and rucksacks. A few of them gave the three officers curious glances, but for the most part the students ignored the trio as they hurried to whatever classes they were going to.
"Like most students, they're probably running late to get to class," muttered Bones under his breath, amused at all the mad scurrying going on. "Reminds me of wild geese scatterin'."
Jim grinned, recalling his own Academy days when getting to class on time was often touch and go. Spock, on the other hand, had probably never been late to a class in his life.
The map showed them the walking path to the Natural Science Department, and when Leonard touched the screen, the map changed to show the locations of the classrooms with their designated numbers flashing brightly. There was also a long list of offices with the names of the faculty and researchers who occupied them. Dr. Stemple's office was on the third floor of the west side of the building.
They entered the large double doors to the Science building foyer where there were several lifts as well as two stairwells. The three men looked at each other and decided to take the lift to avoid the large numbers of students running up and down the stairs.
Once on the third floor, they exited the lift and went directly to Dr. Stemple's office. The door was propped wide open and they saw a young woman sitting at a desk with an earpiece in her ear. Mayri, Jim supposed, from the look of her excited, animated demeanor as she talked. She held up a finger to indicate she'd be with them in a moment.
Jim saw she was very young and quite pretty, with sparkling dark eyes, and a creamy dark complexion. Her hair was dyed a bright, startling pink. The bright hair color which she wore plaited and wound around her head like a crown, suited her, enhancing her complexion. She wore a demure dark blue upper tunic with a lighter blue long skirt in what looked like homespun, and the small feet that peeked out from under her desk were clad in sandals.
The girl pulled out her earpiece and jumped up. She came around the desk and held out her hand. Her small slim body was practically vibrating with excitement. "Hello, I'm Mayri, Dr. Stemple's assistant and receptionist. We're delighted you've arrived." She gave them a handshake and a brief formal bow, then grinned widely, dimples flashing making her look even younger. "You must be Mr. Spock. Dr. Stemple told me her cousin was a Vulcan. I've never met a Vulcan before," she admitted guilessly, looking up at him in fascination. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Spock."
"Likewise, Miss Mayri."
"Just Mayri, please, Mr. Spock." She turned to Jim. "You must be Captain Kirk. Even here on Nara, we've heard about some of your exciting missions. It's an honor to meet you, Captain Kirk."
Jim smiled. "Thank you, Mayri, I'm happy to meet you also." He nodded towards Leonard. "This is my Chief Medical Officer, Leonard McCoy."
"Ooooh, Dr. McCoy." Mari promptly forgot Jim and Spock and turned wide, admiring dark eyes on Leonard. "I've read all about you, Dr. McCoy, about some of your brilliant surgeries, drug discoveries, the life saving techniques you've pioneered on the Enterprise, how you've saved countless lives on different planets. I'm studying medicine myself, I'm in pre med classes right now, so as you can imagine your biography and medical exploits are riveting to read! If I may speak frankly, Doctor McCoy, you are one of my personal heroes and I would love to speak more with you about some of your most interesting cases!"
Jim was amused and delighted to see a faint pink color of embarrassment stain Bones' cheeks.
Jim glanced over at the mute Bones, and gave him a subtle nudge with his elbow. "I'm sure Dr. McCoy would be delighted to speak with you, Mayri, when he has a little time. But now, if you don't mind, I think Dr. Stemple is expecting us."
"Oh, of course, Captain. I'm sorry for the delay, but Dr. Stemple is in a student conference. Let me go check to see if she's free now. Excuse me, please, I'll be right back."
Jim grinned, looking after her. "Looks like you have a fan, Bones. You heard, riveting is what you are! Looked to me like plain ole' rampant hero worship. In fact, Mayri seems quite enamored of you, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Spock?"
"Indeed she does. I completely agree with the Captain's assessment." Spock nodded to Leonard, dark eyes gleaming. "She seems quite taken with you, your credentials, and your medical exploits."
"Shut it, you two." Bones' face was now a deep red. "You're embarrassin' me and you're both being ridiculous."
"Nope, not ridiculous. Spock and I agree that you've got a fan," Jim teased. Well he knew that Leonard McCoy's medical reputation was renowned across the quadrant. Bones was so good at what he did, he could have any posting he might want in the entire Alpha quadrant. Jim never took Bones desire to stay on his ship for granted and truth be told, Jim didn't know what he'd do without Bones by his side.
Mayri came bouncing back. "Dr. Stemple is still with the student. She'll be a few more minutes. She asked if you would like to wait for her in the conference room and I'm to being you refreshments. We have freshly brewed coffee. Earth coffee beans were brought in and are now grown and ground here in Nara, and there's also fresh apple pie in the cafeteria. One of the students is bringing it. We also grow the apples here ourselves," she added proudly.
"That sounds great, Mayri," Jim said. "It's a treat for us to drink real coffee, on the ship most of the time we can only get replicated coffee, and it never tastes the same as real coffee."
"You can say that again," Leonard agreed. "The pie sounds great too, Mayri."
"Please come this way, then." Mayri, walking at a fast trot, led them to a room adjacent to Dr. Stemple's office area and ushered them in. "Please make your selves comfortable and I'll bring in the coffee and pie."
Leonard sat and gently pushed at the back of the chair. "Pretty comfortable furniture, Jim, real nice place. I'm lookin' forward to the coffee and pie. You can pretty much judge the mental health of a place inhabited by humanoids by the quality of their coffee and pie," he stated, stretching his legs out comfortably.
"Doctor, that is a completely illogical statement," Spock rebuked him.
"Really, Bones?" Jim looked quizzically at him, knowing Bones had a reason behind his statement.
Leonard nodded. "Not just coffee and pie, of course, but the quality and preparation of their food in general. The higher the quality of the food consumed, and the care taken with its preparation, the more it shows that those in charge, the leaders of the society, care for the health and welfare of their citizens."
"You have made a valid point, Doctor, at least concerning humans. I have noticed that in our visits to planets with humanoid species, when we have eaten at their gatherings or receptions, there is a marked sense of pride when the food is good and presented for our consumption, and there is also the expectation of praise for its quality and presentation."
"There you are then," Leonard nodded, pleased. It was rare when Spock agreed with him about almost anything. His blue eyes met Jim's hazel ones and he saw a twinkle in their gaze.
Mari came back into the room pushing a small trolley. On it were cups, saucers, a carafe of hot coffee, cream, sugar, spoons, forks and dessert plates. She uncovered the domed pie plate with a slight flourish. "May I serve you and pour your coffee?"
"Please do, Mayri," Jim answered, "and please join us while we wait for Dr. Stemple."
Mayri looked pleased. "Thank you, Captain, I'd like to. Just let me forward Dr. Stemple's calls to my earpiece so I can answer them here." She pointed to a comm unit sitting on a small table in the corner.
The pie smelled delicious and Mayri cut it into 4 equal generous pieces, then poured and handed them their coffee cups. She caught Bones' eye and grinned, flashing her one dimple. "I don't usually get to eat pie and drink coffee with Dr. Stemple's, guests. I'm going to enjoy this moment to the fullest," she admitted. "I just hope there aren't any comms until I finish my pie." Her pink head bent over the pie in obvious enjoyment.
"How long have you been Dr. Stemple's assistant, Mayri?" Jim kept his smile to himself at her guileless comment. How well he remembered always being hungry when he was Mayri's age. He'd been lucky that his mother had sent monthly "care" packages to the Academy with snacks and delicious baked goods which he'd speedily devoured.
"Oh, a long time, since I started University here. It's part of my scholarship requirements. I work 20 hours a week for Dr. Stemple and take four pre-med classes."
"That must keep you pretty busy," Leonard said. "I remember all the studyin' I had to do in my pre-med class days."
There was the sound of booted feet coming down the hall, and suddenly a tall striking woman stood at the door. The men rose politely to their feet and Spock came forward.
"Cousin Doris Stemple, I presume?"