It's nice to see so many people reading this story, even if not reviewing. My ego is fragile where this story's concerned, so if you think it sucks I'm really glad you're not telling me!

Anyhoo! On with the next chapter!

4 — Changes

Several hours later, I followed Setal onto the bridge of the T'Plana-Hath, having taken in all the sights and sounds of the strange vessel. My stomach growled and I pushed at it. "Guess it's time for me to take off," I said. "I doubt you have any human food on board."

"Of course we do not," Setal said, sounding almost … indignant. "Vulcans do not eat the flesh of animals."

"I know," I replied mildly. "I'm vegetarian, too. But what about allergies? Something harmless to you could kill me."

Setal quirked an eyebrow. "Your logic is impeccable," he said.

"I have my moments," I shot back with a reluctant grin. We'd gotten used to each other over the last few hours, and his unease around the odd human had receded. We'd even traded stories from our childhood, although his had been much better than mine.

I looked out of the forward viewscreen and watched as Zee stumbled out of the Crash & Burn, Lily dragging him almost by the collar. She had a preternatural patience with him, that one, and it made me wonder what she saw in him. Although hardened by the privations of post-war life, she was a lovely woman, with rich dark skin and huge chocolate eyes. "Oh, geez, he's wasted again," I grumbled.

Setal nodded. "He does appear to have an unfortunate predilection for alcoholic beverages," he agreed.

"He's an alky," I grunted in annoyance.

The eyebrow shot up again. "I believe I said that already."

This polite bluntness — an undeniable oxymoron — was very refreshing and I chuckled. "You're a riot, Setal."

He appeared confused. "I was not attempting to be humorous, Charlotte," he said. "However, if you choose to ascribe that motive to my words, that is your prerogative."

"I'm not trying to insult you, or ascribe human feelings to your words," I said quickly, my face flushing as I realized my quite innocent gaffe. It was funny; I'd avoided strong emotions all my life and now, when interacting with a people who controlled their emotions strongly, I felt them bubbling out of me. "And I'm sorry; this is all pretty new to me."

"I understand," Setal said. He regarded me steadily. "You appear to be handling this new chapter in your people's history with extraordinary equanimity."

"Well, you either cope with things or you run away," I replied. "Besides, considering how this first contact business could have gone, this is a day at the beach."

His quizzical look prompted me to explain, "Over the last century and a half, writers and movie-makers have made billions from fiction about alien invasions. And there's a lot of prejudice in humans — we tend to assume people who think differently to us are some kind of threat." If nothing else, the war against the ECON brought America, Australia and most of the Europeans together. Our common enemy united us like nothing else could.

By this time, Lily and Zee had disappeared — presumably Lily had persuaded him back to his hut to sleep off the hooch. The doors to the bridge whispered quietly open and Sutak entered. "Setal," he said, dipping his head to his young colleague.

"Commander," Setal responded. "I have done as you asked."

"Then you may go off duty," Sutak said. "I will answer any of our guest's questions." As the young Vulcan left the bridge, Sutak returned his attention to me. "It has been several hours — do you require sustenance?"

"I am hungry," I admitted, "but I can wait. Your ship's so amazing — it makes me wonder if humanity will ever catch up."

Sutak did not respond to that, correctly interpreting it as a rhetorical question. During the first days of our … friendship? … he'd been relentlessly literal, but he'd gotten to know my style better. He produced a small item from his utility belt — he'd removed the ceremonial robes upon his return to the ship — and pointed it at me. It whirred and clicked merrily. "Scanner?" I asked.

"A medical tricorder," he replied. "Your human physiology will not be able to tolerate Vulcan coffee, but you should be able to cope with our other products." He put the gizmo back on his belt. "Would you care to join me for the midday repast? I believe it would interest you to learn more about my people."

"You don't have to sweeten the deal, Sutak," I commented with a grin. "You already know my opinion of you and your colleagues."

His eyebrow shot upward. "Indeed," he replied.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The mess hall of the T'Plana-Hath was as restrained and decorous as the rest of the ship — the only difference being the delicious smells that wafted out of the galley. My nose twitched in delight. "What smells so good?" I asked.

"Plomeek soup — a common foodstuff on Vulcan," my friend replied. "Would you like to try some?" He regarded me thoughtfully. "Coffee is usually the proper accompaniment, but Vulcan coffee would kill you."

"That's okay — I don't like coffee, anyway," I said. "Good old H2O will do for me, thanks." I accompanied him to the galley and accepted a bowl of a steaming orange-colored broth from a very young Vulcan. "If this is as good as it smells, I'll be in heaven," I told her.

The Vulcan woman looked over at Sutak. "T'Pril does not speak English, Charlotte," he said. He addressed the young woman in Vulcan and she dipped her head toward me.

She raised her right hand in the split-fingered Vulcan greeting. "Live long and prosper," she said in Vulcan — by now, I'd learned the Vulcan for this salutation.

I raised my own hand. "Peace and long life," I returned in the same tongue. I felt both Vulcans' surprise, suppressed quickly, but still there. "That's all I know how to say," I told Sutak. "I just thought it was time someone on Earth learned a bit of your language. We can't travel out into the galaxy and expect everyone to speak English. It wouldn't be logical," I added, wishing I could raise one eyebrow.

"Of course," he agreed, not reacting to my teasing. He led me to a table near a viewport; as we passed the tables, I couldn't miss the speculative glances that came my way.

"We don't have to do this if I'm making them uncomfortable," I said. "It's one thing for us to interact out there, but this is your home away from home. I don't want to intrude."

"You are not intruding, Charlotte," Sutak contradicted. "Many of us have had difficulties adjusting to Zefram Cochrane's exuberant nature, and have found that most of the humans we have met have been similarly … emotional. But you are different — in some ways, you are quite Vulcan."

We sat down and he passed me the bowl of soup and a spoon. As he did so, our hands brushed and I was made aware of the dry heat emanating from him — Vulcan blood was much hotter than that of humans. I dipped the spoon into the soup, trying to ignore my growing awareness of Sutak's magnetism, his charisma, and took a cautious sip. I couldn't begin to compare the taste to anything, but it was delicious nevertheless. "This is good," I said, taking a larger spoonful.

"T'Pril is an adequate cook," he returned, sampling his own soup. I smiled in agreement — this was high praise coming from a Vulcan.

Suddenly the deck shuddered and warm amber lights flashed. "Tactical alert," Sutak said. "We must curtail your visit."

"Just a second," I said. I took another swallow of the soup, then got to my feet. "Thanks for the soup and the visit, Sutak. I can find my way off the ship — you go do your job."

"As you wish," Sutak said above the thrumming of the deck. He went over to an intercom unit and activated it. "Sutak to the bridge."

There was no response, and the shuddering of the ship increased. "What the hell …?" I muttered. Something told me this wasn't a drill.

I made my way out of the mess hall and heard the unmistakable sound of weapons fire. Geez, the ECON haven't detected the Vulcan's arrival and come in to take their technology, have they?, was the thought that shot through my paranoid brain.

That thought was immediately wiped out when I saw Setal and some other Vulcans charge along the deck, brandishing weapons. So much for pacifists. "Setal? What's going on?" I asked.

I didn't even see it coming. His fist shot out, catching me right in the jaw. I cried out with the shock and the pain combined, and lashed back at him. Although Vulcans were stronger than humans, he hadn't expected me to retaliate and he staggered backward. "Get this human filth off the ship," he snarled, spitting out blood and a tooth. The blood was green, which startled me. Although I knew Vulcan blood was copper-based and not iron, I'd still been expecting red blood.

Two tall Vulcans grasped me by the arms — not Vulcans, I thought hazily; their body temperature was cooler. "You're not Vulcans," I managed to get out through the pain in my jaw.

Setal and his cronies exchanged glances. "She knows too much — we cannot let her go," the female said. "Put her in the holding cell with her Vulcan friends."

"What are you?" I asked.

Setal stepped in front of me. "Ask one more question and I will kill you, Earth creature."

"You know something? I believe you," I said as the two not-Vulcans dragged me away.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hours had passed — God knows how many — and the ship was in flight. There were no windows in the holding cell, but my guess was we'd left the solar system and were on our way to 40 Eridani A — the Vulcan solar system.

I sat by Sutak in our holding cell — I'd yet to see T'Pril or any of the others, but presumed they were being held elsewhere — allowing his head to rest in my lap. He'd been beaten badly by our captors, and had yet to regain consciousness. His handsome face was swollen and bruised, and a vicious cut had closed his right eye.

I passed my hand gently over his brow. "Hang in there," I muttered. "I didn't survive the war with the ECON and the last ten years just to fall prey to some pseudo Vulcans."

As if on cue, his eyes opened and he stared up at me. "Charlotte?" he said.

"That's my name; don't wear it out," I quipped. "We left Earth a few hours ago; Setal and his goons have taken control of the ship." He sat up rapidly, his skin whitening in obvious pain. "Here, carefully," I said. "I know Vulcans don't like physical contact, but at least lean against me."

"I thought you had left the ship," Sutak said, doing as he was ordered nonetheless.

"I was on my way out, but I learned Setal and his friends aren't Vulcan," I told him. "They weren't thrilled when I rumbled them, and they chucked me in here with you. Apparently, I know too much."

"Not Vulcans?" Sutak repeated. "Then … what?"

"How would I know?" I said. "Vulcans are the only aliens I know. But their body temperature was quite a bit cooler than yours."

"Rihannsu," he said, his mind evidently no worse for the beating he had taken.

"How's that?"

"They are a distant cousin species," he said. "We were once one people, but we become sundered at the Time of Awakening."

"Oh, the splinter group," I said, recalling our earlier conversation. "They didn't accept Surak's philosophies, right?"

"They chose to leave Vulcan and colonized two planets in another part of the galaxy. They retained their warrior heritage, and take great pride in it," Sutak returned. "They are not a logical species."

"Their actions may seem perfectly logical to them," I argued. "If they are proud warriors, then they wish to do battle. Your pacifist philosophies will be complete anathema to them."

"Well spoken, young human," came a voice from outside the holding cell.

"Oh, geez; Setal," I groaned. "I didn't think eavesdropping was your style."

He raised an eyebrow — for me, that was immutable proof these Rihannsu were still related to Vulcans, however superficially. "It is surprising what you can learn by operating clandestinely," he said. He scowled at me. "And I will no longer answer to that name. I am Sub-Commander K'trall of the Romulan Star Empire."

"I wish I could say it was nice to meet you," I said. "Tell me something, K'trall; what d'you hope to gain by stealing a Vulcan ship?"

"I will not answer your questions," he snarled.

"Didn't think so," I shot back. I felt my jaw tenderly. "What the hell did you hit me with, by the way? Were you packing a brick or something?"

Setal … K'trall, dammit! … smiled savagely at me. "You humans are an interesting species. I was surprised when Sutak chose to make contact with you. Your people are too … savage for these soft-bellied Vulcans."

"Pacifism and cowardice aren't the same thing, K'trall," I said. "You've spent over a year on this vessel — you must admit that."

"I admit nothing," he said.

I glared at him. "You know something?" I said. "I consider myself a pretty good judge of people, and that's why I don't like most of them. But you … you slipped right under my radar, and that just pisses me off." I could feel myself getting madder and, for once, chose not to suppress it. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't chuck you out of an airlock."

He moved rapidly and pressed the ray-gun to Sutak's temple. "Try to kill me and your friend will die, human," he said, all pretense at civility gone. "You are interesting, but you are not worth the effort." He swung out with a long arm and the last thing I heard was his laughter as I fell to the floor.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I awoke and gazed blearily around at my surroundings. This wasn't my Quonset hut. And who was I with? I'd never been with anyone in my life, preferring to avoid physical contact, so who was I leaning on?

"Charlotte," a male voice said firmly.

"Damn," I muttered. "Can you scream a little quieter?" Then I recalled where I was. "Oh, hell. So it wasn't a really twisted dream, then?"

Sutak's eyebrow crawled up his forehead in his usual Vulcan fashion. "Indeed not," he said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Just peachy," I grumbled, moving away from the warmth of his body reluctantly. Then, recalling his injury, "How about you? If I recall, they knocked seven kinds of shite out of you earlier."

If Sutak was puzzled at this expression, he gave no evidence of it. "I placed myself in a deep healing trance," he informed me. "This enabled me to deal with the worst of my injuries, and my health is naturally excellent."

"D'you know what's happened to the rest of the crew?" I asked. "Could they be dead?"

"Unlikely," Sutak replied. "Although the Rihannsu consider themselves our enemy, they find no honor in killing unnecessarily."

"All death is unnecessary," I commented. "Besides, what's so honorable about posing as Vulcans to steal a ship?"

"That's a very good question, my dear," K'trall's silky voice said. "Sometimes, however, it is necessary to operate covertly to achieve one's aims. For instance, you can claim a significant advantage over your fellow humans simply by not telling them you have empathic abilities."

"How'd you find out?" I said. "I thought the Rihannsu had sacrificed the Vulcan mind powers for the warrior ethic."

"Always searching for answers, hmm?" K'trall asked mockingly. "I see no harm in telling you; some Romulans are being born with varying telepathic abilities. After all, the diaspora was a very short time ago, in terms of evolution."

I was no student of evolution, so I took his word for it. "That seems … logical," I replied maliciously. "How come you didn't slug me again simply for asking a question?"

"It was a question worth answering," K'trall said. "Do you believe you are typical of your people, little one?"

Ignoring the patronizing tone, I shook my head. "Well, I haven't met all of my race, but I doubt it. You can't meet a few representatives and judge the whole race. For instance, I could assume all Rihannsu are thieves, spies and butchers, but they won't be. Most of them will have families, children playing in the streets, leading normal lives. It's the same with humans."

K'trall smiled — an odd thing to see on such a Vulcan-like face. "You will have the chance to find out soon enough," he said. "We will be entering Romulan space within seventy two of your Earth hours." He stepped into the holding cell and came up to me. "I understand you have never left your own planet before."

"I wish this was under better circumstances," I replied. "I've always been interested in other cultures, but you're just pissing me off. Don't try to be nice to me; it doesn't suit you." I stood up, using Sutak's shoulder for leverage, and glared at the Rihannsu.

K'trall laughed softly, chillingly. "I admire your fire, young human, although I would prefer to be addressed as Romulan, not Rihannsu." He glared at Sutak, who stared back impassively. "That is the Vulcan name for us."

"Bite me," I shot back. Not the wittiest remark I'd ever made.

"An appealing — and arousing — idea," K'trall commented. He ran his ray-gun down my bare arm. "You have excellent spirit — you will make an admirable consort."

"Be someone's whore? I don't think so."

He smiled. "Do not worry, my dear. Romulans can be tender, especially with those who share our beds. You would be fed, housed, and dressed beautifully." His eyes ran lustily over me. "You would look well in jewels and silks."

I bared my teeth. "I'll see you dead first," I said.

He laughed again. "I doubt that," he replied. "Romulans are much stronger than humans. I could kill you right now with my bare hands."

"Of course you could," I agreed readily, causing his eyebrows to shoot upward. "Doesn't mean I wouldn't try to fight you. I'm not a good fighter, but it's amazing what desperation can do."

He expelled a short burst of air through his teeth and glanced over at one of his goons. "Perhaps we should hand this one over to the Tal Shiar," he said.

I recognized those Vulcan words; the tal shaya was some kind of strangulation or neck-breaking used before the Time of Awakening for assassinations. "You think I'm scared of your secret police?" I said, bluffing for all I was worth. Any society as bombastic as the pre-Awakening Vulcans would have retained their strong military and policing ethos.

Amazingly, he fell for it. "How do you know of the Tal Shiar, human?" he asked. "Even the Romulan people do not know of it."

"Of course they don't," I said reasonably. "It wouldn't be much of a secret if the general public knew about it. My guess is you actually work for them, and not the military."

A gleam of admiration appeared in the Rihannsu's eyes. "You are good, Charlotte," he said. "Your empathic skills have strengthened immeasurably over the last ten days. I am Major K'trall of the Tal Shiar."

He turned swiftly to his goons and leveled a burst of laser fire at them. They fell to the floor, dead instantly. "No!" I yelled, sick of death. "Why did you do that?"

"No witnesses, Charlotte," he said coldly. "As you said, it would not be much of a secret if the general public knew about it."

"Then you're spying on this military operation?" Maybe I was suicidal, I mused. I certainly seemed determined to get a blast from his ray-gun.

He did not deign to answer my question, instead tugging a com-con out of his pocket. He barked some orders in what was presumably the Rihannsu tongue, and I felt the deck thrumming with the force of the engines. "We've picked up speed," I said.

K'trall stepped out of the cell, nodding to two new goons who had materialized silently, then strode away. "Thanks for the answers!" I yelled sarcastically, then turned back to Sutak, who had watched the entire exchange in silence.

"The guy just offed his own crew," I said, breathing hard. "Is he right in the head?"

Sutak dipped his head. "If he truly works for the Tal Shiar, then he is an enemy of the military," he said. "Like any covert organization, the Tal Shiar works outside of the law."

"What's happening now? Why have we picked up speed?"

Sutak appeared reluctant to tell me what was going on, then he gave in. "We are currently passing through a region of space claimed by a race called the Andorians. We have an uneasy neutrality, and they will not be pleased to see the Vulcan flagship in their space."

Suddenly the ship was buffeted from all sides and I yelped — I was hardly a seasoned space traveler, after all. "Are we under attack?" I said, recalling the attack on the missile silo by that unknown faction.

"We are," Sutak replied. "Andorians like the Rihannsu even less than they like us. They consider it a matter of principle to shoot down any vessel with Rihannsu life signs in it." He had not finished being admonitory, though. "I must question why you are being so … provocative, however."

I smiled. "It's as near to warrior psychology as I can get," I said. "Snarl first and loudest, and never let up, and the alpha male will fall over and show you his throat. And certain aspects of K'trall's psyche suggest pack behavior isn't far off the mark."

Sutak still looked dubious. "You were showing dangerous signs of enjoyment."

I laughed slightly. "Of course I was. Anger can be a good release of stress. For species that experience stress, of course." Sutak looked at the ceiling and I smiled. It would be a really bad situation if I couldn't tweak him, even a little.

The ship was buffeted again, accompanied by a peculiar wrenching noise. "Did we just lose some of the hull?" I said.

"We did," Sutak responded. "I estimate we have forty three minutes until hull breach occurs."

That was an estimate? I'd hate to hear pedantry from this guy. He probably thought in decimal places. "Great," I grumbled, pacing around the cell. "My first trip in space is going really well."

"There is nothing we can do whilst trapped in this holding cell," Sutak told me calmly — does nothing get to this guy?, I wondered grumpily. "Therefore, there is no logic to your pacing."

"Nervous energy, Sutak," I told him. "I don't deal well with confinement; I'll be climbing the walls pretty soon."

If Sutak had been human, I'm sure he would've grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me down onto the floor by now. However, Sutak was extremely polite … or extremely forbearing. He merely said, "I can teach you a basic Vulcan meditation that will help you focus your energies away from your current situation."

I wasn't usually so nervous, and was therefore pleased at the opportunity to deal with my unusual attack of nerves in a productive way. I sat down next to him. "What do I do?" I asked.

I felt a flash of reluctance from him and wondered what this entailed. "Sutak; what does this involve?" I said cautiously.

The flare of emotion was buried quickly and he looked as cool and composed as ever. "It requires our minds to be in contact. A number of Vulcans practice a ritual known as a mind meld …".

"Say what?" Images from the old two-dees flashed into my mind; aliens sucking out human brains and zombies walking around in the dead of night. "Is that what it sounds like?"

"It is," he said. "If you do not wish to undertake this, I will understand. However, to allay your fears, I will admit to some … trepidation myself. No Vulcan has ever melded with a human."

"Considering you've only known our species less than three weeks, that makes sense," I replied. "But if you're a touch telepath, why would you voluntarily come into contact with me? I'm not exactly in a good place right now."

"Vulcans strive constantly to control their emotions," he said. "I believe you would benefit from learning some of our meditations."

"Maybe I would, but is it logical to expect non-Vulcans to act Vulcan?" I said, looking around at the walls nervously. "Is it me or are those walls closing in on us?" I added.

"It is your imagination, Charlotte," he said. "Do you suffer from claustrophobia?"

"When … my dad was drunk, he used to lock me in the closet so I couldn't run away to my aunt's." I shook my head. "He died a few years ago, but I can't get over the fears he inspired."

I shuddered and looked down at my hands. "I felt … his anger and … his hatred for me — he blamed me for my mother's death. She died giving birth to me," I added, feeling a tear lurking. Why on Earth was I telling this to an unemotional Vulcan of all people? A good thing shrinks were a thing of the past — they'd have carted me off to a psych ward by now.

"Charlotte." Sutak's voice dragged me back from my dark musings. "Whilst I do not pretend to understand what sort of impact your childhood experiences had upon you, I do know you are a very brave and strong young woman. In less than three weeks, you have met another sentient race, learning you are not alone in the universe, and you have accepted our differences with dignity and grace."

I gazed into his calm black eyes, wishing I could simply fall into them, and smiled slightly. "You're a nice guy, Sutak. You have a far greater heart than you'll ever admit."

"It is only logical for you to know the truth about yourself," Sutak said. "Nice is …".

"Oh, for crying out loud, go count electrons or something," I grumbled with a grin. "Why can't you take a compliment gracefully?"

"Pride is an unnecessary emotion," Sutak said. "And an overabundance of pride can cause severe problems."

"An overabundance of any emotion can cause problems," I shot back. "That's why I admire Vulcans so much — you've learned to get past your baser instincts from a culture even bloodier than Earth's, and you've become an intelligent sophisticated people."

He raised an eyebrow. "Your logic is flawless," he said.

Suddenly, I realized that the buffeting at the ship's hull had stopped. Sutak had succeeded in distracting me from my panic. "What's happening now?" I asked.

"It appears that the warp drive has been damaged," he replied. "I am not detecting any movement."

"What's going to happen to us then; if the ship can't get them to …". I paused, realizing that I didn't know the name of the Rihannsu home planet.

"In your tongue, it renders to Romulus," Sutak said. "Based on the known actions of the Tal Shiar, which is admittedly very little, we will be deposited on the nearest habitable planet and left to fend for ourselves. Then Major K'trall will forcibly board a passing ship and take it back to the homeworld."

"Charming," I grumbled. "Remind me never to take a trip with Vulcan Airways again."

"It is illogical to blame anyone but the Tal Shiar for what has happened, Charlotte," Sutak said. Was it my imagination, or was he starting to sound testy?

I grinned slightly. "Sorry; just a little joke. Very little, obviously." His blank look prompted me to add, "Stillborn, in fact."