Title: Being Born a Family
Author: Paradox
Category: Adventure
Rating: PG
Summary: RS friendship mostly, T. Who is the weakest member of the team as Sato, Reed and T'Pol must demonstrate family bonds to achieve a diplomatic objective. 5/5 chapters. Written during Season1/2 hiatus (i.e., pre-Minefield).
Disclaimer: The Enterprise characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.
BEING BORN A FAMILY
CHAPTER 1: FOREPLAY
Day 1
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed contained a sigh as they settled on the second ferry of the day that would take him, Ensign Hoshi Sato and Sub-commander T'Pol to another island on Evanai. The planet consisted of a series of contiguous islands spread on a wide ocean. The Enterprise crew had a simple offer: desalination technology to enhance the planet's supply of fresh water in exchange for mining rights.
Reed had been assigned to the team because of his familiarity with seafaring and because of his insistence that security should be on each away team. Sato was to provide linguistic support and Sub-commander T'Pol was to have borne the onus of the mission in providing the details of the technology being offered to Evanai. The away team had been informed that the mission was likely to be futile and Reed now understood why. The inhabitants of this waterworld were painstakingly slow about opening negotiations.
Reed looked at Sato as she again blinked her eyes slowly and stifled a yawn. She had been sent on the away team after completing three days of exhaustive negotiations on the previous mission. The Ensign had reluctantly joined the away team thinking that after the first day when she got the UT, her skills would be superfluous to the mission.
Soon after their arrival it became apparent that although the UT was providing adequate translations, the Vulcan did not have the social skills that the Evanais responded to. The Armory Officer certainly didn't think he would fare better than the Vulcan in this regard, so the weight of the mission had fallen to the shoulders of their youngest colleague who was already exhausted from her previous mission. Reed had noticed Sato yawning all morning.
"Ensign, you need to quit pretending you're not falling asleep. Find a comfortable position and get some rest. The ferry ride is two hours, so you should have time for a nap. That's an order," Reed ended.
Sato rubbed her eyes, her lolling head having snapped her awake from the microsleep that had overtaken her. Fine, she thought grumpily. Bully. I'll show him what getting comfortable means. The Ensign grabbed Reed's arm to use as a blanket and leaned her head against his shoulder, rubbing against him until she found just the right spot and fell immediately asleep. Her legs were drawn up onto the seat so she looked like a child who had been out too late the night before.
My job is to see to the welfare of my crew, Reed told himself as Sato settled against him.
Reed would just have to tolerate his current working conditions. His job description now included having a beautiful woman pressed against him for hours at a time while she got her much needed slumber. He thought of the irony of having a well-trained Armory Officer reduced to tending to the comfort of his crewmates on this mission.
After two more ferries, their first night on the planet was spent at an outdoor party complete with a feast and dancing. Ensign Sato was quite refreshed and enjoying the attentions of the entire male population of the islands, Reed thought.
Most the humanoid males were no taller than the Lieutenant. Sato was actually tall compared to the typical Evanai female, so he understood the attraction. Still, Reed finally ordered that Sato stay by his side given the increasing interest she had generated in the indigenous population. After all, he had to see the safety of his crew.
------
Day 2
My job is to see to the welfare of my crew, repeated Reed to himself. They were now on a seventh ferry that would take them to yet another island. He assumed the position that Ensign Sato found most comfortable and soon heard her soft breathing as she fell asleep against him. This had been the pattern on each ferry ride. He looked up to see Sub-commander T'Pol gazing his direction.
"Ensign Sato appears to be the weakest member of the team," T'Pol observed without rancor. She merely stated a fact as she saw it.
"At the moment, she appears to be the only one of us who the Evanai accept. I'd feel very drained if I had to deal with their deliberate approach to negotiations."
Reed understood T'Pol was not trying to insult Sato, but knew better than to label their comm officer as weak. Sato had a fiery spirit that she could manifest when the need arose. Of the three officers, she had gone to the greatest lengths to make this mission work despite the expectation of failure from the onset. No species had been able to negotiate with the Evanais; the humans were expected to fare no better.
It was Ensign Sato who had insisted they be patient and board whatever ferries the Evanais indicated rather than call Enterprise with an aborted mission. At least they were getting a quick tour of the islands. Her grace and charm had made a positive impact on the Evanai dignitaries. Further, Sato had adopted the island fashion, a multicolored dress that was very flattering to the young woman. Her colleagues remained in their light tan colored uniforms, although Reed had long abandoned his jacket.
They spent another day on three more ferries until they arrived at a remote island that was being used to hold the annual meeting of Evanai Island delegates as part of their Solstice celebrations.
"I think I have a smile permanently etched into my face! My cheek muscles are starting to hurt," said Sato as she rubbed her face with her hands when they arrived at their assigned cabana.
Reed saw to getting a glass of water for them all, fervently wishing they had something alcoholic instead. While T'Pol presented her usual detachment, Sato was clearly getting frustrated and Reed's own temper was being stretched by his inability to offer anything constructive to the situation. Diplomacy was obviously not his strong suit, although he supposed he was gaining experience at being an English butler. This thought did nothing to lighten his mood.
"I'm going to change and take a walk on the beach. Don't worry about waiting up for me," said Sato as she headed to her room. Perhaps a nice sunset would make her feel better.
"I'll go with you, Ensign." Reed saw Sato roll her eyes. "T'Pol, will you join us?"
"I must do my mediation. I also do not find the ocean particularly interesting."
The two humans changed into t-shirts and shorts and began their barefoot walk along the beach in silence. They continued walking, alone with their own thoughts, and only encountered the occasional Evanai native. The sunset was nice, but low clouds hampered its beauty. Great, thought Sato. Even the sun won't cooperate today.
"You don't have to be my escort, you know. I'm a big girl, Lieutenant." Her frustrations were building to the point that she began her verbal attack on her companion. She was aching for an argument, for a chance to vent her disappointment at not having made more progress. She certainly couldn't show negative emotions toward the delegates.
"Yes, I know you can take care of yourself, Ensign, but the welfare of the crew is my responsibility and right now you're the only one who has a chance at making this mission succeed. I'm not letting you wander off on a beach in an alien world unaccompanied."
"Men! If I were Trip you wouldn't think twice about letting me go out alone. No, you have to come out here to appease your masculinity," countered Sato.
Reed sensed her frustrations at the Evanai generated her verbal attack on him, but his own humor was no better. Reed deliberately baited Sato by making chauvinistic remarks that would have made his father proud.
"Women are incapable of foreseeing all the hazards they could encounter. They typically think a warm smile and a flutter of their eyelashes will be sufficient to escape any predicament. But when faced with a real problem, it's the men they immediately turn to for help. It's little wonder you're called the weaker sex."
Sato stopped her progress and gave her superior officer a quick shove into the water. The splash was quite satisfying! She squealed when she felt a strong arm grabbing her and felt herself getting dunked under the water in retaliation.
Spewing saltwater from her mouth, she threw her hands over her face as if she were crying. When Reed quickly came over, apologizing profusely for his behavior, Sato was able to grab him for a quick dunking as well.
Her self-satisfied smirk soon turned into a shriek when she caught the determined look in his eyes. He soon caught her leg, but Sato splashed water at Reed, suddenly laughing as the ridiculous nature of the situation struck her.
Reed returned the splashes with a gleam in his eyes and Sato knew he would give no quarter, so she submerged then flipped her hair up and over her face to give Reed the maximum splash. Reed shook off the water and soon had his arms around Sato's shoulders, holding her gently immobile.
"Alright, alright. Let's call it a draw, Malcolm. But you have to take back what you said about women."
"No problem. I just made the remarks to irritate you, Hoshi. I suppose I was just needing a fight to unwind. If Trip had been here, we probably would have drowned each other before we came to our senses," said Malcolm as he helped Hoshi onto the beach. Their clothes were soaked through and they had no towels, so they sloshed back to their cabana in genuine good humor.
T'Pol looked at the humans, both of whom were dripping wet. She merely raised an eyebrow and returned to her meditation when they entered. She paid no attention when they went out again sometime later with a blanket.
Hoshi slept well using Malcolm as a pillow as they fell asleep after talking under the stars. They had intended to come back inside to their respective beds, but before they knew it sunrise was upon them.
------
"Hoshi? Hoshi, wake up."
"Hmmm."
"Hoshi, you have my arm pinned down. I can't move."
Yawn.
"Hoshi, there are three Evanai children looking down at us."
"What? Why didn't you wake me! Come on, we need to get inside before some adults see us. They'll get the wrong idea."
So another day with the Evanai began.
*****
Author Notes:
Written August, 2002, and posted at LD during season 1/2 hiatus, so Reed's aquaphobia and indifference to sports had not become canon.
No reviews are necessary. Thanks for reading.
Author: Paradox
Category: Adventure
Rating: PG
Summary: RS friendship mostly, T. Who is the weakest member of the team as Sato, Reed and T'Pol must demonstrate family bonds to achieve a diplomatic objective. 5/5 chapters. Written during Season1/2 hiatus (i.e., pre-Minefield).
Disclaimer: The Enterprise characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.
BEING BORN A FAMILY
CHAPTER 1: FOREPLAY
Day 1
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed contained a sigh as they settled on the second ferry of the day that would take him, Ensign Hoshi Sato and Sub-commander T'Pol to another island on Evanai. The planet consisted of a series of contiguous islands spread on a wide ocean. The Enterprise crew had a simple offer: desalination technology to enhance the planet's supply of fresh water in exchange for mining rights.
Reed had been assigned to the team because of his familiarity with seafaring and because of his insistence that security should be on each away team. Sato was to provide linguistic support and Sub-commander T'Pol was to have borne the onus of the mission in providing the details of the technology being offered to Evanai. The away team had been informed that the mission was likely to be futile and Reed now understood why. The inhabitants of this waterworld were painstakingly slow about opening negotiations.
Reed looked at Sato as she again blinked her eyes slowly and stifled a yawn. She had been sent on the away team after completing three days of exhaustive negotiations on the previous mission. The Ensign had reluctantly joined the away team thinking that after the first day when she got the UT, her skills would be superfluous to the mission.
Soon after their arrival it became apparent that although the UT was providing adequate translations, the Vulcan did not have the social skills that the Evanais responded to. The Armory Officer certainly didn't think he would fare better than the Vulcan in this regard, so the weight of the mission had fallen to the shoulders of their youngest colleague who was already exhausted from her previous mission. Reed had noticed Sato yawning all morning.
"Ensign, you need to quit pretending you're not falling asleep. Find a comfortable position and get some rest. The ferry ride is two hours, so you should have time for a nap. That's an order," Reed ended.
Sato rubbed her eyes, her lolling head having snapped her awake from the microsleep that had overtaken her. Fine, she thought grumpily. Bully. I'll show him what getting comfortable means. The Ensign grabbed Reed's arm to use as a blanket and leaned her head against his shoulder, rubbing against him until she found just the right spot and fell immediately asleep. Her legs were drawn up onto the seat so she looked like a child who had been out too late the night before.
My job is to see to the welfare of my crew, Reed told himself as Sato settled against him.
Reed would just have to tolerate his current working conditions. His job description now included having a beautiful woman pressed against him for hours at a time while she got her much needed slumber. He thought of the irony of having a well-trained Armory Officer reduced to tending to the comfort of his crewmates on this mission.
After two more ferries, their first night on the planet was spent at an outdoor party complete with a feast and dancing. Ensign Sato was quite refreshed and enjoying the attentions of the entire male population of the islands, Reed thought.
Most the humanoid males were no taller than the Lieutenant. Sato was actually tall compared to the typical Evanai female, so he understood the attraction. Still, Reed finally ordered that Sato stay by his side given the increasing interest she had generated in the indigenous population. After all, he had to see the safety of his crew.
------
Day 2
My job is to see to the welfare of my crew, repeated Reed to himself. They were now on a seventh ferry that would take them to yet another island. He assumed the position that Ensign Sato found most comfortable and soon heard her soft breathing as she fell asleep against him. This had been the pattern on each ferry ride. He looked up to see Sub-commander T'Pol gazing his direction.
"Ensign Sato appears to be the weakest member of the team," T'Pol observed without rancor. She merely stated a fact as she saw it.
"At the moment, she appears to be the only one of us who the Evanai accept. I'd feel very drained if I had to deal with their deliberate approach to negotiations."
Reed understood T'Pol was not trying to insult Sato, but knew better than to label their comm officer as weak. Sato had a fiery spirit that she could manifest when the need arose. Of the three officers, she had gone to the greatest lengths to make this mission work despite the expectation of failure from the onset. No species had been able to negotiate with the Evanais; the humans were expected to fare no better.
It was Ensign Sato who had insisted they be patient and board whatever ferries the Evanais indicated rather than call Enterprise with an aborted mission. At least they were getting a quick tour of the islands. Her grace and charm had made a positive impact on the Evanai dignitaries. Further, Sato had adopted the island fashion, a multicolored dress that was very flattering to the young woman. Her colleagues remained in their light tan colored uniforms, although Reed had long abandoned his jacket.
They spent another day on three more ferries until they arrived at a remote island that was being used to hold the annual meeting of Evanai Island delegates as part of their Solstice celebrations.
"I think I have a smile permanently etched into my face! My cheek muscles are starting to hurt," said Sato as she rubbed her face with her hands when they arrived at their assigned cabana.
Reed saw to getting a glass of water for them all, fervently wishing they had something alcoholic instead. While T'Pol presented her usual detachment, Sato was clearly getting frustrated and Reed's own temper was being stretched by his inability to offer anything constructive to the situation. Diplomacy was obviously not his strong suit, although he supposed he was gaining experience at being an English butler. This thought did nothing to lighten his mood.
"I'm going to change and take a walk on the beach. Don't worry about waiting up for me," said Sato as she headed to her room. Perhaps a nice sunset would make her feel better.
"I'll go with you, Ensign." Reed saw Sato roll her eyes. "T'Pol, will you join us?"
"I must do my mediation. I also do not find the ocean particularly interesting."
The two humans changed into t-shirts and shorts and began their barefoot walk along the beach in silence. They continued walking, alone with their own thoughts, and only encountered the occasional Evanai native. The sunset was nice, but low clouds hampered its beauty. Great, thought Sato. Even the sun won't cooperate today.
"You don't have to be my escort, you know. I'm a big girl, Lieutenant." Her frustrations were building to the point that she began her verbal attack on her companion. She was aching for an argument, for a chance to vent her disappointment at not having made more progress. She certainly couldn't show negative emotions toward the delegates.
"Yes, I know you can take care of yourself, Ensign, but the welfare of the crew is my responsibility and right now you're the only one who has a chance at making this mission succeed. I'm not letting you wander off on a beach in an alien world unaccompanied."
"Men! If I were Trip you wouldn't think twice about letting me go out alone. No, you have to come out here to appease your masculinity," countered Sato.
Reed sensed her frustrations at the Evanai generated her verbal attack on him, but his own humor was no better. Reed deliberately baited Sato by making chauvinistic remarks that would have made his father proud.
"Women are incapable of foreseeing all the hazards they could encounter. They typically think a warm smile and a flutter of their eyelashes will be sufficient to escape any predicament. But when faced with a real problem, it's the men they immediately turn to for help. It's little wonder you're called the weaker sex."
Sato stopped her progress and gave her superior officer a quick shove into the water. The splash was quite satisfying! She squealed when she felt a strong arm grabbing her and felt herself getting dunked under the water in retaliation.
Spewing saltwater from her mouth, she threw her hands over her face as if she were crying. When Reed quickly came over, apologizing profusely for his behavior, Sato was able to grab him for a quick dunking as well.
Her self-satisfied smirk soon turned into a shriek when she caught the determined look in his eyes. He soon caught her leg, but Sato splashed water at Reed, suddenly laughing as the ridiculous nature of the situation struck her.
Reed returned the splashes with a gleam in his eyes and Sato knew he would give no quarter, so she submerged then flipped her hair up and over her face to give Reed the maximum splash. Reed shook off the water and soon had his arms around Sato's shoulders, holding her gently immobile.
"Alright, alright. Let's call it a draw, Malcolm. But you have to take back what you said about women."
"No problem. I just made the remarks to irritate you, Hoshi. I suppose I was just needing a fight to unwind. If Trip had been here, we probably would have drowned each other before we came to our senses," said Malcolm as he helped Hoshi onto the beach. Their clothes were soaked through and they had no towels, so they sloshed back to their cabana in genuine good humor.
T'Pol looked at the humans, both of whom were dripping wet. She merely raised an eyebrow and returned to her meditation when they entered. She paid no attention when they went out again sometime later with a blanket.
Hoshi slept well using Malcolm as a pillow as they fell asleep after talking under the stars. They had intended to come back inside to their respective beds, but before they knew it sunrise was upon them.
------
"Hoshi? Hoshi, wake up."
"Hmmm."
"Hoshi, you have my arm pinned down. I can't move."
Yawn.
"Hoshi, there are three Evanai children looking down at us."
"What? Why didn't you wake me! Come on, we need to get inside before some adults see us. They'll get the wrong idea."
So another day with the Evanai began.
*****
Author Notes:
Written August, 2002, and posted at LD during season 1/2 hiatus, so Reed's aquaphobia and indifference to sports had not become canon.
No reviews are necessary. Thanks for reading.