CHAPTER TWO

Trip had found it very hard work to refrain from getting as much mileage as he could from the situation. The chancellor's comments could only be taken as a snub against T'Pol. During the transmission he sidled up behind her, invading her comfort zone, and whispered into her delicately pointed ear.

"I don't think he likes Vulcans, Sub-Commander."

She could feel his warm breath on her sensitive ear and tried to quell the sensation that that evoked within her. Instantly she recalled their first mission and the time they'd spent together in the decon. chamber, afterwards. When she closed her eyes, she could feel his strong hands gently rubbing the gel over her back, the nape of her elegant neck, her ears…Mentally berating herself for her distracted thoughts, she moved away from her tormentor and spoke to Jon.

"I will be perfectly happy to remain on board, Captain."

Jon had signalled for Hoshi to put the transmission on hold during their conversation and immediately after Ardl's comment. He looked at T'Pol for any sign that she was offended by the Solan's words.

"I don't like being told that one of my crew isn't welcome. Maybe we should just give their invitation a miss."

"Captain, whether you accept his invitation or not is your decision, but I wouldn't want you to base it on his comment. You will discover that not everyone out here will like your species. Vulcans have already discovered this and we did not allow it to hold us back from space exploration. If you still wish to visit Solan, I will not be offended."

Jon weighed up the facts and acknowledged the words of his Science officer. The greeting directed towards him and the rest of the crew had been cordial and had seemed genuine, and given the planet's history with Vulcan, perhaps Ardl's reaction was understandable. He nodded to Hoshi to re-establish the link.

"Very well, Chancellor, I'll be happy to accept your invitation. We'll be with you shortly."

The image faded from the main viewer as Jon rose from his chair.

"Trip, Malcolm, Hoshi, report to Shuttle bay one. Sub-Commander, you have the bridge."

"Aye, Captain, and might I once again recommend that you exercise caution. Do nothing to offend these people. They may have even less control of their tempers than Commander Tucker."

Jon's lip twitched as he caught what he imagined was a gleam of humour in T'Pol's dark eyes. Trip was ahead of him, heading for the turbolift, and swung round as he heard T'Pol's parting shot.

"Hey, I heard that!"

"Ok, Commander, you've a shuttle to prepare, keep moving." Jon tapped him gently on the shoulder.

As they exited from the turbolift and moved towards the shuttle bay, Jon slowed his walk and indicated for his friend to match his pace.

"Trip, ease off on the Vulcan-baiting a bit. T'Pol must be feeling a little miffed by Ardl's attitude, no matter what she says. And anyway, I thought you and she were getting on much better?"

"We are, Cap'n, but sometimes I just can't help myself. It's like somethin' inside me wants to see her emotionless façade crack. Somehow it would make her more…I don't know, human, I guess."

"But she's not human, Trip, that's the whole point. And if what I've read about the pre-Surak Vulcans is to be believed, we should be only too happy to let her keep her emotions completely under control. I don't think you'd like being on the receiving end if she lost her temper."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ardl stepped forward as the access hatch opened and Jon stepped out into the warm sunshine. He was followed out by Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Security and Armoury officer. Malcolm was constantly suspicious of all new contacts until proven wrong, and had had to use all of his persuasive powers to get the captain to include a security detail on all away missions. The number of times things had gone awry on previously unprotected missions was uncomfortably high. This time, he was determined that they'd all come back unscathed, and he'd be keeping an even closer eye on the next two out of the shuttle.

Hoshi stepped out cautiously. She still didn't feel comfortable about space travel, even after so many months on board, but this was what she lived and breathed: learning and speaking new languages. She held a doctorate in Linguistics, and had the captain not persuaded her to join their mission, she would have been teaching languages to willing students anywhere she chose. Instead, she found herself sometimes the only common denominator between the Enterprise crew and a hostile species.

During the transmission from Solan, she'd employed the UT, and it had easily learned the language, updating from the Vulcan database. She had it with her now, and she was along in case they met new dialects.

Trip leapt out of the 'pod, firmly sealing the hatch behind him. He'd notified T'Pol that they'd arrived safely and then shut down the engine. The engineer had featured in more than his fair share of trouble on away missions, taking up a good deal of Dr Phlox's time, and the resources of their well-equipped sickbay, more often than he cared to think about. But, in spite of that, his natural enthusiasm for exploration meant that he became sullen if he was excluded from visiting new planets.

Jon introduced them one by one and Ardl greeted them all with a firm handshake. Face to face he was a tall, well-built, handsome man with a healthy outdoor complexion.

"Welcome, friends. Come, my home is yours. I want to hear all about your ship, and your planet. And I will answer anything you want to know about us."

He took Hoshi's small hand and tucked it under his arm, escorting her in a most gallant fashion, leaving the three men to bring up the rear.

They followed Ardl into the impressive building in front of them and found themselves being ushered into a large, luxuriantly furnished room. The Chancellor indicated for them to make themselves comfortable and waiting staff brought them tray after tray of exotic foods. Trip, always a little dubious of alien cuisine, sniffed at the plates suspiciously. Hoshi stifled a giggle as she leant across to him.

"Commander, you'll offend our host. Just eat, it won't bite you." To set her senior office an example, she lifted a delicate morsel to her lips and chewed.

Trip grinned sheepishly and followed suit. "Hey, this tastes like prime rib. Cap'n, this is really good; you gotta try some."

Jon had been engaged in conversation with Ardl, allowing his officers to partake of the proffered food, but at Trip's interruption, both he and the Chancellor joined them.

"My compliments to your chef, Chancellor, this is indeed wonderful fare. When we visit new worlds, we're never sure whether we'll find the local cuisine…um, compatible." Jon had on his diplomatic hat, remembering T'Pol's advice against annoying these people. Once before, memorably, they'd insulted an alien race because they ate in public.

Ardl smiled. "We pride ourselves on our foods. It's as much to do with the preparation as the presentation. Eating is a social activity for us, and great pleasure is to be gained from having guests to share it with."

"You ought to meet the Kreetasans. They'd freak out at your ideas of social activities," Trip couldn't help but add. He, too, had remembered the strange aliens who'd stormed off Enterprise, leaving behind a slimy creature that had caused all sorts of problems for the captain and himself.

"We weren't always like this, as no doubt your Vulcan crewmember has informed you." Ardl sounded bitter, and Jon trod carefully.

"Sub-Commander T'Pol gave us a brief insight into your planet's past. It's nothing to be ashamed of; all worlds evolve from their less civilised origins. Our own planet had to do the same. It's not too many years since our last great war. The very fact that you have moved on is a testament to your strength."

"Speaking of strength, Captain, that's one of the ways we did…evolve. We were a warrior race; even our women were fighters. We fought each other, killing off the weak to become as strong as possible. Very few other races visited Solan because they feared us. We even feared ourselves, such was the in-fighting. Vulcan came through its own darkness and wanted to evangelise Solan."

"Oh, they love doin' that," Trip slipped in when Ardl paused for breath. Jon shot him a look.

"I hate to admit it, but the first few Vulcans didn't fare too well," Ardl continued. "But they're nothing if not persistent, and they kept sending more. After many attempts to curb our savage nature, a way was eventually found."

The four members of the away team were completely transfixed by the history lesson unfolding before them, especially when it involved Vulcans.

"Go on, sir, what was it?" Malcolm enquired politely, but as much agog as the others.

The Chancellor smiled at their rapt faces. He had fed them a lure, and now was reeling them in, hook, line and sinker.

"We regularly release our…desire for fighting by holding games, feats of strength and endurance. This satisfies our bloodlust to a degree, and whilst it's still the survival of the fittest, nowadays, only the unfortunate few actually die."

TBC