Chapter Three
Traditions

A short while later, after Phlox had completed his exam, something Elizabeth was completely willing, in fact anxious, for him to do in private, the two women resumed their informal 'tour' of Enterprise. Elizabeth, however, could not get her mind off what she had learned.

She knew virtually nothing about her new friend beyond what Hoshi had told her, and Hoshi had extracted a secret promise from Liz to make Tia her new 'best friend'. Certainly, there was no problem with that; the vivacious girl was quite endearing, with a joie de vivre that was infectious, but she was still a stranger and the more Liz learned the more she wanted to know … and did not want to learn.

In the meantime, as they walked, Tia wanted to see everything, to touch everything, as if hardly believing it was real. She greeted everyone they passed with an uninhibited joy that was infectious, and they made little real progress about the ship because she wanted to talk to everyone, and her unalloyed joy made others want to respond in kind.

But eventually they reached a passage of corridor where they were alone.

"Tia," she began, unable to look at the girl, "when you were … well… that is, when you were a –."

"Miktriz. A 'slave'." Liz looked, but Tia was smiling brightly at her. "Say you may it. What I was it is." She paused, smiling sadly. "Before come the Silurians did, 'miktriz' a word was not. We them from learned it. It word Auran nyasi."

"It's just, well, on my world we don't keep slaves." Even as she said it, Liz felt a stab of guilt. She could not remember ever having told so monumental a lie. "That is," she fidgeted, trying to amend it, "we don't anymore. We used to, but … well, I just …" The moment died, and the two women were left walking in silence.

"Elizabeth, please do feel shamed not. A miktriz, a 'slave' I was. Am a slave now not. Wrenaouq … no, Captain Archer says free I am. I know what to be free it is do not, but learn I try."

And it was clear she intended to try by throwing herself completely into whatever situation came her way. She looked everywhere, greeted everyone with a joy that one would usually find among old but long separated friends.

Having left the most recent one, they kept walking for another few meters before Liz finally found the words to say what was on her mind. "Your whole planet, they were kept by the Silurians?"

Tia nodded. "Before born was I they came. Before then, we into space launch had tried to, but could nyasi – could not. After they came, we … still could not."

"Why did they come?"

"Simple it is. What on our world common is, on yours and theirs is not. On our world … sometimes I it hard find to believe you without gold live can, but for you iron is what for us gold is. But, to carry oxygen, klinasy we need."

"Klinasy?"

Tia shrugged. "In your … mouth?"

"Tongue?"

"Tongue translation there is nyas. Klinasy gold and oxygen links, but binds it not. Without it is life not."

"'I see, said the blind woman'." Tia looked at her, baffled. "Nothing. It just means that as a Biologist I should have figured that out on my own."

"Do not … weep. On this ship, there much is I 'figure out' do not." She smiled in delight, however, when she saw Hoshi Sato step into the intersection of the corridor just a few meters before them. "Hoshi, hello!" she exclaimed, hurrying forward. Before the Linguist could get more than a word of greeting out, Tia stopped, reached out and placed both her hands, palm down, upon Hoshi's breasts. "Wonderful news it is! Dr. Phlox all my scars healed has!"

"That's … that's great," Hoshi said, a bit uncomfortable with this greeting and trying not to offend by showing it. Tia removed her hands from Hoshi and turned to Liz, who had come up beside them. "And you!" she exclaimed and placed her hands on the woman as she had done with Hoshi. "If your insistence nyasi, have it done I would still nyasi!"

"You … you're welcome." Liz tentatively raised her own hands, placing them lightly upon Tia's endowments. Seemingly satisfied, Tia turned again to Hoshi, but as she raised her hands Hoshi thought she had caught on to what was expected in that greeting, but something of her reluctance couldn't be kept from her face. Tia stopped; her hands about half an inch from Hoshi.

"Wrong something is?"

Hoshi forced herself to push the feeling away, reaching out and placing her hands upon the Auran's body, allowing her to do the same. She reminded herself it was nothing more than a cultural difference. "No, nothing's wrong. You just caught me off guard, that's all."

"Why? A greeting this is, when two friends to see each other happy are." She looked from one officer to the other. "Or it is this way between two women not?"

"No, really, it's fine. We're going to have to get used to your ways. It's just that you never greeted me like this before. It surprised me just a bit."

"Well, before last night, know I this did not," Tia explained brightly. She felt Hoshi go still under her hands.

"What?" she asked in a voice that was absolutely flat, removing her hands from the girl's breasts.

Tia shrugged. "Told I was that this how humans who happy to see one another greet."

"Tia?" Liz spoke up, her tone as flat as Hoshi's. "Who taught you this greeting?"

"Crewman Harry Sanders." They both remembered him from the Mess Hall that morning.

"And was he very happy to meet you?"

"Oh, he very happy was! Last evening he –." Their expressions finally cut through her good spirits and she froze, then just moving her eyes looked down at her hands upon Hoshi's breasts. She very carefully drew them back. "Something wrong I have done?" she asked meekly.

Hoshi took her right hand. "No. Something wrong HE has done!"

x

"Li did dresnaqu nyasi – did know not!" she insisted in wide eyed apprehension. "Told me …"

"Don't worry about it. No harm done. Just, please, in the future, ask one of us if you're not sure about anything."

"But sure about this I was! Trinasli, um, 'understand I' did. Explained in detail he did."

"And just what did Sanders explain?" Liz asked, her tone hard; but Tia looked from one angry woman to the other, unable to answer. She would have backed away, but Hoshi was still holding her hand.

"It's all right," Hoshi assured her, patting her hand, trying to ease her growing fear. "Liz, would you take this? I have something to do," Sato said, and she turned and stalked away.

"Hoshi?" Cutler called. "Where are you going?"

"Sandfishing!"

x

When she was gone, Tia turned to Liz, no less nervous. "Dresnaqu, um, know … I did not. Believed him I did. Told me a human ligina … tradition it was he did."

"I'm sorry. He lied."

Tia was shocked. "Why?"

"Just like this morning, at breakfast …" Liz shook her head. It hurt to think that anyone in the crew could be so … warped as to take advantage of her naïveté. To tell her would not help anything, and she didn't want to say it, no matter how true it seemed to be. She was disgusted that anyone she knew would do such a thing, but….

She had hoped, and still did, that the incident this morning had been an isolated case, an example of male bonding that should have gone out with college age, but it was clear that she was wrong. Then she realized the three she had seen were not all that far removed from 'college age'. She wondered if it was necessary to bring this to the Captain. She prayed it was not.

"Trying to learn I am," Tia said bitterly. "Confusing … so confusing your customs are! But how learn can I if lie your people do?"

Liz stared at Tia's golden eyes and wished she had an answer.

x

"Good evening, ladies." A voice from down the junction of the corridor came unexpectedly. They turned, seeing Commander Tucker practically next to them.

The change in Tia was startlingly quick as she turned to him with an exclamation of delight. But she had her hands half raised, partially ready to give the greeting she had learned until she'd learned that it was a lie, hesitated, reached out and was left completely confused. Finally, she turned to Liz, her expression one of helpless appeal.

"What would you do on your planet?"

"I –!" she exclaimed miserably. She turned to Tucker. "It is…" She turned back to Liz. "I am – he is…." She stopped, trying to express herself in words she did not have, becoming more flustered by the moment.

"What's wrong?"

Cutler turned to him, not sure what to say. "Oh, Commander, we're trying to work out how to greet someone. It's just not as easy as it sounds."

"You had no problem yesterday," he reminded the girl.

"What did you do yesterday?" Liz cut in before Tia could answer. The younger girl shook her head.

"That not! Said I 'hello Shar-les'."

"See, that wasn't so hard." He smiled disarmingly. "Why don't we stick to that until you work things out?"

"I – k." She turned to Liz. "She –." She looked up at Trip. "Crewman Sanders –." She couldn't look then at either of them. "Oh Aura, I know do not!"

x

"Let's not bury ourselves in a bog. Things will work out."

Her distress transmuted instantly into confusion, but… "You are wise, Shar-les," she whispered, eyes downcast. She could not look at him. Hours before, she couldn't wait to see him, but now she was so confused, so embarrassed, she barely knew what to think, or how to express it even if she did know.

"Well, I'm glad someone thinks so. Look, the reason I was looking for you: there's going to be a movie this evening in the Mess Hall. A really, really old one, but I think you'll enjoy it. 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askobar' or something like that, I never could pronounce it. Would you like to see it with me?"

His voice fell off as he realized she was staring up at him, eyes wide and gleaming, but not saying anything. For a long moment she stood there, unable to answer, and finally Liz said "She'd love to."

Tia started at the older woman's voice, looking at her in stunned surprise.

"Pick you up at Nineteen thirty."

"It's a date," Liz supplied for the mute woman.

He smiled at Tia and walked down the corridor, his smile more than just at her obvious surprise. He heard her say to Liz as he turned the corner;

"What happened?"

"I just got you a date." She glanced at her chronometer. 'Uh oh, nineteen ten. This is going to be prep time with a vengeance. Do I have to train Trip too?'

x

"Date. Date." Tia tried the word; it made no sense. She shook her head, as if trying to clear it. "What date is?"

"You'll find out. Come on, we'll get you fixed up," she said, tugging on Tia's arm, drawing her down the corridor. "Got something sexy?"

It was getting worse by the moment. "What 'sexy' is?"

Liz stopped, looked at her closely. "Boy, Hoshi was right, you really need a big sister."