No Record

T'Pol just stood there with her arms crossed. The young stewardess moved closer to her. "I'm sure the captain will be here any minute." They looked toward the back. There was one of the other stewardess' who stopped at the end of the row of seats. The young one turned to T'Pol "Excuse me, I'll be right back." She then walked toward the other one toward the end.

T'Pol just watched her go. "Science officer, huh?"

She kept her eyes on the stewardess'. "Yes."

He smiled as he said "You the one who came up with "

She didn't care what he said as she quickly walked to where the stewardess' went. They were near the rear galley. The young one had two padds in her hand and the other was on the earpiece talking. The one with the padds turned. "Ms. T'Pol."

"What is wrong?" Looking toward the one talking on an earpiece. "Who is she talking to?"

The young one blocked her. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

T'Pol finally looked her in the face. "Is she well?" She crinkled her eyebrows. "Did something happen to her? She is injured." Without a thought she went around to the other side.

"Do you know where my daughter is?" Raising an eyebrow. "What are you not telling me" Hovering near the doorway. "Tell me please!"

The stewardess took the earpiece off her ear. "Ms T'Pol, I'm sorry but I don't think that she's here."

A look of despair crossed T'Pol's face. "What?"

"We don't..." squinting her eyes. "Ma'am, we don't have any record of your daughter ever having been on board."

T'Pol crossed her arms. "What are you talking about?"

She looked at T'Pol then at the comm then back at her. "That was the departure gate in Vega and they say that they never checked a T'Lin Archer onto this shuttle."

She looked to the side. "Indeed they did." explaining more. "She was right next to me." She gestured with her hands. "We were the first two passengers on the shuttle." She turned to the younger stewardess. "We must of walked right pass you."

"Ma'am this is our passenger manifest your daughter isn't on it." holding up one of the padds.

T'Pol looked down "This isn't logical" then looked back at her giving her a mean look "we walked right pass you."

She turned to the other one "28, row 28 I put her in the seat next to me next to me, 28A."

"The manifest lists 28A as unoccupied and I did the headcount myself." the stewardess explained.

"So you must have missed one." T'Pol raised an eyebrow "What does that have to do with finding her now?"

They just looked at her. She raised both eyebrows. "Would you like to see her boarding pass?"

"If you don't mind."

"I placed it right in my pocket" T'Pol reached into her left pocket and revealed one boarding pass. T'Pol just stared at it. "I had both boarding passes in my pocket." Waving it in front of her. She pushed pass the young one and made her way back to her seat more precisely her shoulder bag. She ran to their seats and jumped up on the arm. Opening the overhead bin, she felt her jacket for the pass. She looked at her luggage. "Her backpack is missing." She turned to them. "She couldn't have reached up there by herself...she is not tall enough." she jumped down off the arm. "Someone has her."

Both stewardesses stood near her. "That's quite an assumption Ms. T'Pol." she said exasperated.

"How else could her things vanish?" raising an eyebrow "what other logical way can there be."

"I have to talk to the captain" turning her head to the front then back at them.

"I can ask him ma'am but I can't guarantee that he'll see you."

"You are not being logical..." As she turned around she said "I need to talk to the captain." She ran fast in the direction of the cockpit.

She was in the galley when the stewardess caught her arm. "Go back to your seat."

T'Pol ripped her arm from her while turning to face her. "Someone has my daughter!" With that she turns around and rushed to the front of the shuttle.

As she ran through the first class, the head stewardess yelled. "Hey." toward her running form.

T'Pol was now at the cockpit door. She raised her left hand and banged on the door. "Captain I have to speak with you.." more banging the door "captain I have to speak with you!"

All of a sudden she feels someone push her against the door. The person twisted her arm to her back. "You're a threat to the safety of this spacecraft."

T'Pol with her face against the door said "I am not a threat..."

Still twisting her arm. "I'm a space marshal. Can I let you go?"

"Yes." she said stoic like.

He let go the arm he was twisting and grabbed her other arm to turn her around. "James Carmen. Are you hurt?"

T'Pol shook her head negative. "No..." she swallows "I simply need to see the captain."

He still held her arm. "I understand but that's his call, not yours." Still holding her arm, he guided her in back of him.

T'Pol thought, 'On Enterprise it is.'

He moved closer to the door "All clear, captain."

The captain looked at T'Lin's passport in his hands. He turns to the stewardess. "The departure gate had no record of her?"

She had her hands folded. "No, sir. I had them check twice."

He looked down at the passport. "And there's no boarding pass."

T'Pol pointed to the passport. "There was but ...it was taking from me." raising both eyebrows.

He moved to the middle of the galley and turned to the young stewardess. "You were working the access door, is that correct?"

"Yes, captain."

He looked at her eyes. "Did you see the girl?"

She fiddles with her hands "I don't..." she hesitated and looked at him "I don't remember either way, sir."

The other one interrupted. "Sir I did the count myself 28A was empty."

T'Pol thought for a moment for possibilities. "Did you tell him about the bear?"

The captain turned to T'Pol. "The bear?"

She stepped toward him. "Yes...it was under her blanket. Her Uncle Malcolm had given it to her.." she raised an eyebrow "she wouldn't walk away without it."

He stepped toward her and stood in front of her. He looked at her face. "Have you had anything to drink on this flight? Anything alcoholic at all?"

She stood her ground. "No...Vulcans don't drink."

He folded his arms. "Are you under any medication?"

She scrunched her eyebrows. "I have sleeping pills with me same as every other passenger on board." she crossed her arms "and I'm carrying Klonopin for anxiety I took a hyprospray this morning."

He looked down then back at her. "I see how long have you been on them?"

T'Pol took offence. "I'm not on them."

"How long."

"I had filled the medication a week ago... when...when my husband died." T'Pol was trying to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "My daughter and I are bringing his body back to Earth for a Starfleet burial."

The steward interrupted. "There is a casket in the hold, sir, from Vega Hospital.."

T'Pol just stared ahead. "He fell..six days ago from the roof of our building."

He hesitated for a moment then turned to the stewardess'. "Does anyone on board recall seeing her." he stepped toward the young one "passengers in her row?"

The other one spoke up. "No one has said so, sir. There are 16 children on the manifest. They've all been accounted for."

He turned and walked toward the marshal. "You were seated near her Mr. Carmen. Isn't that right?"

He was leaning against the counter. "That's right."

"Did you see her?" looking for answers at the man.

Everyone was looking at him. "No, I didn't."

The captain just stood there staring at the floor.

T'Pol walked around him. "Think about what your proposing captain...that I imagined bringing her on board and that I am now pretending to search for her." She waved her hands in the air "Does that seem logical to you...can you think of a reason why I would do that?" she glared at everyone. "I am not intoxicated...I am not looking for attention." She pointed her finger at the captain "There are protocols for this to follow." She looked to the side then to him. "If a captain has an inaccurate passenger manifest, he must drop to impulse..."

He finally looked up at her. "A teddy bear doesn't constitute an inaccurate passenger manifest."

She told him loudly "I'm assuring you it is inaccurate. That means you have to search the shuttle. Just as if it was your own child that was missing." she was still holding the tears in "T'Lin's just four years old. She is not herself right now. She's scared of everything. She got on this shuttle like everyone else here." she swallowed hard. "And I fell asleep which...which I shouldn't have done. But the fact is she was right next to me. I had buckled her in when we took off...please... you have to help her."

Silence filled the room for a moment as the captain decided what to do. He turned toward the others. "Get the lights up...get every passenger seated...no exceptions." he took a breath "look for her backpack, her boarding pass...check every closet every bin." He turned to T'Pol. "Are there anymore questions?"

She shook her head "No, sir...thank you." The stewardess' went to do what the captain asked.

TBC