A/N: I wont be updating again for at least a week, but I wanted to get this out today. It's going to be a bit of a slow burn and build up for everything, I hope. Vulcans coming soon. Thank you all for reading. As a complete aside, I don't edit or anything, what you see is what I did in real time. I have always written fanfiction this way, I suppose to make myself more mentally disciplined. LOL I am a total weirdo...anyway...Hope you enjoy!
To more completely perpetrate the ruse that he was Commander Jonas Jones, and not Saru, Kovick had him dropped off on a small space station the Federation was attempting to bring back online. Saru had arrived there a week ago, and while he did help with some repair work, he kept mostly to himself in his room. He was giving himself a crash course in human body language, facial expression, and movement. He had not noted any of this in his personal logs, but the whole thing was rather fun. It felt like wearing a costume, sure, more than that though he felt like he was starting to have a deeper understanding of humanity.
He had even learned how to shave his human face, which was more challenging than he had first thought. By the end of the week he felt comfortable that he could pass for human and had discovered a strange kind of admiration for their bodies. It was shocking.
Today he was going to have his first real challenge. Lt. Tilly was coming in a shuttle today to pick him up and give him any additional orders. He and Tilly had served for many years together. Now he had to fool her into thinking that not only was he not Saru, but he was a human. He did not like deceiving her at all. He would have felt the same, he supposed, about any crew member, but this felt even more wrong. It was Tilly, he trusted her above all other people he knew, Kelpian or human.
As he checked himself in the mirror before shouldering his pack he made a pact with himself. One day, when he is able, he will apologize to Tilly or make it up to her, whether she knows why he is doing it or not. He turned and looked over his room. Nothing left behind. He then made his way to the airlock where Tilly was already waiting on him.
Saru saw Tilly standing in an "at ease" stance outside the airlock. She was smiling, but he knew her well enough to know that the smile was a front for intense nerves. Even if he had not known her personally, the bit of fidgeting she was doing, and rocking on the balls of her feet would have given it away. She looked cute and he couldn't help but grin. With a long sigh, he shouldered his pack again and started to walk down the hall.
He cleared his throat, "Excuse me, are you Lt. Tilly?" He gave her his best smile, the one that touched his eyes, and hoped it looked as good as when he practiced it, " I hope you are, because I have been wandering for a bit trying to find you." He fibbed just a little to hopefully bring her a little ease.
Her eyes widened, "You look like…" she gaped for a moment, and then stood straighter, "I'm sorry, Sir."
"No, no," he waved her off, "As you were. You were saying I looked like someone?" he asked with a cock of his head.
"If I didn't know better, you look like the human version of someone…"her mouth went a bit dry, "Who I am friends with. But, I mean, it's obvious you aren't him...You are" she waved her hand up and down, "Totally human, and he's...well, not." She smiled and blinked and then shoved her hand out, "Lt. Sylvia Tilly, you must be Commander Jonas Jones."
He returned the smile as he took her hand in his, "Yes, You can call me Jonas."
She shook his hand, "Please call me Tilly, the name doesn't inspire much, but all my friends call me by my last name."
"Well then, Tilly," He said, with a small grin, "I am honored to meet you."
"Likewise." she replied letting go of his hand, "Can I stow your pack for you?"
"No, it's only a 12 hour warp to Ni'Var, I'll just hang it under my seat." Saru said standing to the side to allow her to enter before he did.
"So, Jonas, we got lucky and we are going to Ni'Var! The first off-world and Federation humans since the Vulcans pulled out of the Federation." She said, as she took her seat to do pre-flight checks.
"It's an honor." Saru replied, "Are you interested in the Vulcan and Romulan people?" He said stowing his pack under a seat and then sitting next to Tilly.
"My best friend grew up on Vulcan." She answered with a shy smile, "She says it's hot and has thinner air. I've already been treated for the air, I have an implant that will help with that, " Tilly blinked, realizing she said two random and almost unrelated things and didn't answer his question, "No, not really. I think I tend to get on Vulcan nerves….The one thing I can't figure out is how they could just drop humanity after centuries of being allied." She shook her head, inwardly cursing at herself for being so random, "How about you?"
"Not particularly," he said with a soft smile, as he looked over the co-pilot section, readying himself for the flight.
Tilly sent a message to control, "We are ready to leave, Commander Jonas."
"In your own time." Saru said, leaning back into his chair. It was going to be an interesting mission.
Tilly made her way back to the sleeping compartment where her new commander had gone a couple hours earlier. She stared down at him for a moment, reminded of something her mother used to say. Her mother said that when someone was sleeping you could see their true face, and where their heart was at any given moment. By the look of Jonas he seemed bothered, but he also had a kindness that shined through even the bother. For an older man, she thought he was strangely cute. He moved in his sleep and she jumped. Tilly realized she had better wake him before he woke up and saw her creeping on him in his bed. Tilly cleared her throat very loudly, and then said, "Excuse me Commander Jonas!"
Saru's eyes snapped open, "Y-yes?"
"We are an hour from Ni'Var and Federation HQ has a communication for you. Do you want me to route it here?"
"Yes, please, Lt. Tilly, and thank you."
Saru waited for the door to close behind Tilly before he brought up the communication. It was Kovich as he suspected, "Yes, Sir."
"You will be met at the shuttle landing by two vulcans who will be taking you into the sanctuary and staying with you. There will be a sandfire storm two days after you arrive that should give you plenty of time to investigate, after the storm clears I will be sending you the coordinates of three other human clones you will need to check on as well. You will be posing as a married couple on sabbatical from Starfleet. You want to aid in the care of the rescued animals and do research on Vulcan Fungi." He cleared his throat, "And be careful, there are some credible threats to the woman's life. Keep your eyes open."
As soon as the screen went black the new orders went through for Tilly as well. Tilly's orders were slightly different and focused on them playing a married couple and her fungi research.
Saru sat on the bed trying to orient himself for a moment. They had little less than an hour before they arrived on Ni'Var. With a long sigh he stood. He had to change out of his uniform. Just as he started to unzip his uniform the door opened.
"Are you on some kind of secret mission, because it's weird we are supposed to pose as a married couple." She said barging into the room and then gasping and turning around when she saw her commander's bare chest.
"Yes, as you are. Command has placed us in this position as a protection. Apparently, there is some unrest among the Vulcans and Romulans, and if we appear to be married, command believes we will be seen as less of a threat and the whole visit will be seen as more informal." It frightened Saru how easily the lie came to him, and he felt horrible in the pit of his heart.
Tilly's head bobbled back and forth for a moment, "Oh, ok, so I am being paranoid. It's just that I don't know you that well and this my first assignment outside of Discovery. I guess I'm a little amped up."
Saru turned so she could not see his bare chest and he started to rummage through his bag, "Before we arrive we should agree on mutually acceptable things that married couples say or do." he took off his uniform shirt, "For instance, do I call you a pet name and do we hold hands in public?"
"C-Can I just leave while you change clothes and think about it?" she said, trying not to die of embarrassment.
"Of course." Saru said and remained with his back facing her as she grabbed her pack.
By the time Saru had changed Tilly was also changed into civilian clothes. Her hair was down over her shoulders, and it contrasted the dark blue and silver tunic she was wearing, reflexively he smiled, "You look lovely." he said in all earnestness.
Her cheeks pinked instantly, "Thanks." she said shyly, "You remind me of a guy I know...umm, well, a Kelpian." she said with an awkward chuckle, "If I didn't know better I'd call you...it doesn't matter, it's not, it's just he is very handsome too." she mumbled and swiveled in the pilot's chair.
It was Saru's turn to blush. She thinks I am handsome, he thought, feeling his cheeks heat, "in both forms." He then realized he couldn't use that knowledge in any way given that it was obtained in less than forthright ways. He sat down in the co-pilots chair, "So we are a married couple, can I call you darling?" He asked more than he stated.
"I suppose, Sweetie." She said, rolling her eyes for her own lack of imagination, "Look, I think we should just wing it, you know. I think if we try and plan things it's just going to make us sound weird and stilted. I do think we should hold hands though. Vulcans think we are sex maniacs with all our touching and emotion so let's give them what they expect."
"I find that to be wise and accurate." Saru said, and he could feel himself smile. He looked away, self-conscious that his expressive face made him look silly at times. Such varied facial movements made Saru uncomfortable. The earlier smile was a practiced one, the facial expressions that popped up naturally bothered him. They looked good on other humans, for him-even though-they almost felt like a caricature. He didn't want Tilly to see that, for whatever reason deep within him, he wanted her to maintain the perception he was handsome.
Tilly tapped in their landing sequence, "I was given a tri-ox implant," she said nervously moving the subject along, "So I can handle the thin atmosphere of Ni'Var." She smiled, "You know what, that's awkward. Ni'Var" she said with emphasis, "Niiiii'Vaaar." Tilly said again with more flair, "No, it's always going to be Vulcan to me." she said, staring at the controls.
Saru started to say he agreed and then remembered he was supposed to be from this time where Ni'Var would have been the normal and not a radical change. "Why is that?" He opted to say instead, also grateful for the change in subject.
"That's what it was where...when...I came from." she looked up to the screen as the planet Vulcan came into view, "They weren't joined with Romulans, it was just vulcans. The planet's name was vulcan. Ohhh." she thought with her eyes wide, "I wonder if they preserved Sarek and Spock's Katra…."
Saru blinked. That wasn't something he had considered, but it was curious. Michael might be interested to know such information as well, it might bring her comfort in this new timeline. "We could research that, if you like, in our downtime." Saru offered, not wanting to appear overly eager.
"Really?" Tilly said, a bright smile flashing over her lips, "Thank you, Jonas. That would mean a lot to someone I really care about. See, my best friend, she was raised by Sarek. She told me about having a part of his Katra and all that. I don't know much about it all, the way Michael talked about it and the effects, I think it's a big thing."
Saru understood better than Tilly realized, "I will go with you to find out about their Katras. I find vulcan spiritual and logical practices fascinating. Plus, it sounds like a fun side-adventure." he leaned back into his chair, "Especially for a newlywed couple." he added as a tease.
Tilly blushed, "Entering the atmosphere of Ni'Var."