Chapter Six - Diplomats, Oi...

The new time-travelers had only been on the Yel'Hal-tor for about six months when the call came in. StarFleet was requesting Yel'Hal-tor to drop off two Vulcan representatives from their crew on the planet Embryian. A telepathic birdlike species called the Cerioa and another native species, non-telepath insectiods called the Kitrack, were in a dispute over land use. The Cerioa wanted the entire planet to use for growing trees and other delicate plants which required very stable soil. The Kitrack wanted the land to be used for building tunnels for mining the very minerals which made the Embryian trees grow so tall and thick. Naturally, this caused a problem.

The Kitrack had requested two Vulcans, known to be honorable touch-telepaths, as mediators of the dispute. They were taking no chances that the Cerioa would lie to them and take 'their' land unjustly. The Cerioa had agreed to this, but only to ease the fears of the Kitrack.

Allison read the report and snorted in disgust. It was obvious that two such species co-existing on a planet would argue over land usage.

It quickly became obvious to her that the Kitrack wouldn't appreciate StarFleet sending any half-Vulcans. So, there were only two people she could possibly send on this mission.

She hit an intercom button. "Captain to Lieutenant Beresford, report to my quarters immediately."

~~~~~~~

"I'm an Aussie, not a diplomat!"

Allison laughed at Damian's remark. He glanced at her oddly, not knowing what he'd said that was so amusing. "Sorry, Damian. But you and I are the only full Vulcans on board. Hell, we're the only full Vulcans in this entire sector. And...well...orders are orders."

"Why can't the Enterprise do it? They've got some Vulcans on board," he argued.

Allison shook her head. "They're busy with the Nimbus III hostage situation. Besides, I don't think that ship is quite....together. They need everyone they can get. Plus, the ship just got sent into service last week. You really think they'd be ready for a challenge so soon?"

Damian held up his hands. "All right, I get the picture."

"Good. Pack up anything you'll need. We're leaving tomorrow at 0850 in a shuttlecraft, and we may not be back for a while."

"Why can't we take the whole starship?" he wondered out loud.

"Because while we'll be off with the birds and the bugs, the Yel'Hal-tor has to deliver some much-needed medical supplies on Faragos. That's almost the exact opposite direction that Embryian is in, and the systems are too far away from each other for a simple drop-off."

"....ah."

~~~~~~~

The next morning, Allison and Damian were stepping into the shuttlecraft Igen'Zahelsu. Allison sat down in the pilot's seat, which was on the left side of the craft. Damian sat on the right.

Allison triggered the comm. "Mega Shuttle Igen'Zahelsu requesting permission to disembark."

"Permission granted. Have a nice trip," Kristian responded from the bridge.

"Will do. See you in a few weeks." She closed the channel and turned her attention to the controls. Moving with the ease of a born pilot, she launched the small ship out of the bay. Once the craft was cleared of the Yel'Hal-tor's shields and warp field, the massive starship jumped into warp.

"Well, it looks like we're on our own," Allison remarked as she lined up the Igen'Zahelsu to point in the direction of Embryian. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Allison punched up Warp Two and engaged the engines.

~~~~~~~

Kristian sat in the command chair, uncommonly quiet. Jessie noticed this and came over to stand next to him. "Something wrong?" she asked quietly.

He looked up at her, startled. "What? Oh...yeah. I dunno, I've just got a really weird feeling about those two going off to Embryian. It's probably nothing."

Jessie looked at him sideways. "Suuuuure. You know as well as I do that if there's any trouble out there, they'll be able to find it. At least, Ael will."

Kristian reluctantly nodded. "Yeah. And that's what bothers me."

~~~~~~~

A few days later...

Allison sighed and put her head in her hands as the Cerioa representative once again began screeching his beak off at the Kitrack ambassador. This had been going on for several hours straight.

"You wish to kill our trees and maim our land!" the Cerioa was currently screaming. "How dare you dishonor the land in this manner?"

"Trees are of no use to us in times of turbulence!" the Kitrack clacked. "Our finances must be reinforced in case of another emergency! Does not the planet have enough trees already?"

"Do you not have enough marqs already? Marqs are just leaves pretending to be worth something! Trees will preserve our races for generations!"

"Do they do this often?" Damian mumbled to her, well below the range of the aliens' hearing.

"Constantly."

The Kitrack ambassador finally glanced over at the two Vulcans, who immediately made it look like they'd been listening to the entire fiasco. "What is your suggestion, Captain? And yours, Lieutenant?"

Allison glanced over at Damian with a look that clearly said "I'll handle this." He gladly let her. "Ambassador Sytrel, I believe that you have a very unique situation, and I can not give a solution until I have telepathically scanned you both. If you have no objections...?"

"I have none," Ambassador Sytrel said quickly. He looked over at the enraged Cerioa.

"I will allow you to scan me," the Cerioa finally said. He managed to look offended and compliant at the same time, somehow.

"Good." Allison stood up and moved over to Sytrel. The insectiod did not even flinch as she placed a hand upon his clawed "hand" and probed his mind. His multifaceted eyes did not even look at her, but remained facing Representative Tchan.

Once Allison was done, she turned to Tchan. The birdlike creature twitched as if to move away from her, but allowed her to lay a hand across his golden crest. "Lower your barriers," she ordered him before delving into the avian mind. He reluctantly did as he was told.

After several moments, she lowered her hand and opened her eyes. "I will consult with Lieutenant Beresford before I will give you my suggestions. This session is closed. I will meet you here tomorrow at the same time."

Tchan nodded his birdlike head. "As you wish, Captain." Then he spread his wings a little and walked out of the building.

"It was an honor to be with you, Captain," Sytrel said respectfully before he too left, though he used a different door than the one Tchan had used. Interesting.

"Well, THAT got us absolutely nowhere," Damian remarked.

"No kidding. I really don't see a way out of this one yet."

"I'm sure you'll find one sooner or later."

She glanced over at him. "Har har."

~~~~~~~

Late that night, Allison stayed awake and looked up at those unfamiliar stars, wondering which one was her Earth. "I can't do this alone," she said softly, hoping that the Preservers were listening. "I can't think of a solution. I thought you were supposed to manipulate things so that we could do this 'great mission' of yours."

Her eyes scanned the stars as she spoke, and for some odd reason her gaze seemed to be attracted to one of the Embryian moons. It was the largest moon of the four, and it glowed a soft blue color. It was called Shardi.

Suddenly getting an idea from the mind-melds, she turned and walked toward where the Igen'Zahelsu was resting.