T'POL
Scientific Log, Subcommander T'Pol, 15th October 2152, Personal Supplement
At this time all experiments are on hold as Commander Tucker is currently still in sickbay, where he recovers from the injuries he sustained while he was marooned on a desert planet with an initially hostile Arkonian. Quite surprisingly he managed to find an understanding with the alien and although he has sustained serious injuries, his first contact with an alien race was significantly more successful than some of Captain Archer's attempts.
On the matter of my research.
The Reversals of Experiments 1 and 2, respectively registered in the supplemental data as E-1B and E-2B have meanwhile been concluded using archived footage of the Commander's unclothed physique. Apparently, the ship's chief engineer is significantly less inhibited than many of his human crew mates and often removes all clothing when he is forced to use the decontamination chamber alone or in company of like-minded humans, like Lieutenant Hess.
The decontamination chambers are in fact supposed to be entered without clothing, but due to the limited space aboard the ship there was no option of installing separate chambers for males and females. Since not all human crew members share commander Tucker's lack of inhibitions the compromise of wearing underwear had been implemented, even if that made the procedure less effective.
Especially for experiment E-2B the commander's uninhibited nature proved fortuitous, as I suspect, had he been physically present, he would most likely have been less than impressed with the quality of art that ensign Sato and I had produced. Both of us do not possess the same talent for producing realistic paintings that the commander seems to have.
It is not a conclusion that I am inclined to add to my official documentation, but I find it increasingly difficult to separate the scientific elements from my personal desires. In fact, I am forced to admit that I am still looking for a method to style experiments 3 and 3B in a way that allows me to receive personal comfort while still being scientifically accurate. I will need to increase my meditation or perhaps I shall ask if Commander Tucker is willing to repeat some of the experiments. The pretense of needing extra data for statistical viability, if perhaps not entirely truthful, would be a suitable way to conceal my entirely selfish desires behind a believable scientific explanation.
Doctor Phlox has reminded me that so far my experiments have been entirely limited to sight and are therefore less than conclusive. He cited the sense of touch and the olfactory sense as equally if not even more important to human sexuality.
Since touch is a difficult topic for me as a Vulcan, I decided to limit my experimentation to Commander Tucker and Ensign Sato, as there are only three male crew members I would have been comfortable enough with to perform such an intimate routine. Captain Archer has declined to cooperate, citing that he would be unable to uphold the necessary professional distance between us if he were to be involved in such intimate endeavors. I believe that the attraction he felt towards me, and which became obvious during our first contact with the Kreetassians, has not entirely subsided.
Lieutenant Reed also does not wish to participate. I respect his explanation that he is not able to reconcile intimate contact with another female with his conscience in regard to his apparent attraction to Ensign Sato.
It was surprising to hear that the ship's communication officer would not have perceived the Lieutenant's participation as an act of betrayal, but she explained that it would take an inordinate amount of time to overcome the tactical officer's inhibitions. It took me a certain amount of time to decipher her metaphor of removing a lengthy wooden pole from the Lieutenant's rectum, mainly because it was entirely unrealistic in anatomical terms. Strangely however, Lieutenant Reed was not troubled by the thought that Ensign Sato would be participating in the experiment herself. I cannot discern a logical connection in Mr. Reed's decisions, but considering the intimacy of the topic, I chose to accept his reasoning without questioning it.
I have assembled and transmitted an encrypted message with early results of my studies to my esteemed mother. To say that our relations in recent years have been somewhat strained, would no doubt be classified as 'the understatement of the century' by Commander Tucker. I do however have the hope that our joint scientific interests will open a way to reconnect with my maternal ancestor.
Phlox
Now that the Arkonian had been returned to his ship, I wondered if my Pyrinthian bat would have the time to devour its evening meal before the ship's science officer would appear for the umpteenth time to inquire about Commander Tucker's condition. I could not help but smile when I realized I had not even been able to finish the very thought before the inevitable happened.
The door swooshed open and the resident Vulcan marched in purposefully. Since she would now be more comfortable without the Arkonian nearby, I expected that she would need a plausible excuse to stay longer than during earlier visits and I had prepared one. I had also no doubt that the Commander would definitely prefer to have the burn ointment applied to his skin by the Subcommander's capable hands.
"Ah, excellent timing, if you would be willing to help me, Subcommander?" I said, pretending that she had come in at a fortuitous moment, as opposed to entirely foreseeably. "If you could take it upon yourself to apply this ointment to the Commander's torso? It would be a big help."
"Do I need a nasal inhibitor?"
I had to smile again, but tried to keep it to a rather modest one. She had not for a second debated whether or not to take on the task, merely inquiring about the technical details.
"It is odorless, Subcommander. Oh, and between neck and waist-line is sufficient," I added, just for the case that the two officers had progressed a little further in their research than I had been privy to through my assisting role in some of the experiments.
T'Pol
Our conversation had been conducted with lowered voices, but so far my hearing had registered that Doctor Phlox had kept himself occupied at the opposite end of sickbay, most likely to give us the necessary privacy – a most thoughtful measure.
"Aw, that's so much better when you do that."
The Commander's appraisal of my technique was confirmed by his obvious contentment. His eyes were closed; his face was a mien of comfort despite the likely still painful and widespread sunburn of his skin.
"There is only one viable technique to apply ointment to another individual's skin, commander," I corrected him, but he opened his eyes and looked up to me.
"Lesson one, T'Pol: Touching a Human. It's not how you touch me, but that it is you doing it. Wasn't that the idea behind your next experiment?"
"I have not yet finalized a conclusive experimentation setup. Do you have a proposal?"
"Sure," he replied and sat up. I indicated him to draw back his shoulders in order to make it easier for me to anoint his chest and abdomen.
"You need two blindfolds. I think Phlox should have some for patients with eye injuries. That way your results won't be influenced by visual clues. Then you and your test subject, I volunteer most enthusiastically of course, take turns explorin' each others body just by touch and smell. You can then compare it to the results of the visual experiments.
I did not comment on his 'enthusiastic volunteering', as that was in essence what I had hoped for the most.
"Since it involves smell, wouldn't that necessitate foregoing the application of deodorants?" I asked.
"Certainly does," he confirmed. "Obviously for us humans it means taking a shower right beforehand and you might want to lower the temperature to save us puny beings from sweating like pigs. Although, no, in fact perhaps we should even sweat a bit, just not too heavily."
I looked at him with a curiously raised eyebrow. I knew this would be enough for him to understand that I desired a more elaborate explanation.
"Remember when you told me that you don't know why my scent doesn't bother you?"
I answered in the affirmative.
"Humans are not too different from Vulcans in that regard. You might wanna ask Hoshi, but I think it is German, where the phrase for two people, who can't stand each other, is 'They can't stand each others smell', and in Standard we sometimes say 'The chemistry between them isn't right'."
"Two humans who have no reason for antipathy based on their visual appearance and character might be antagonized by their body odor?"
He nodded. "I'm just tryin' to remember my biology lessons."
I gave him the time to think, realizing that I was still rubbing my palm over his musculus rectus abdominis, or 'sixpack' as he had named that particular arrangement of muscle mass. Since the Commander was giving away no sign of discomfort, in fact he seemed to cherish it, I continued the movement despite a growing self-consciousness about my decision to maintain the overly intimate touch much longer than was necessary to finish the task the doctor had given me.
"Ah, got it," he said after a time of contemplation. "Everybody has a specific body odor and when it comes to intimate matters, we subconsciously look for a partner who smells differently, because close relatives smell similar and that way we can avoid inbreeding, even if we wouldn't know that we're close relatives. However, it can happen that you meet a partner who looks gorgeous, is funny to be with, but if you end up in bed the buck stops, because the smell isn't right."
"I understand," I said, but left unsaid that the Commander's explanation had left me thoroughly unsettled. I already knew that even when he was transpiring, his scent was agreeable to me, even arousing at times. But if I was to conduct the experiment the Commander suggested; what if a close olfactory exploration of my body would lead to the finding that 'the chemistry was wrong' between the two of us? I found the very thought thoroughly unacceptable.
Unseemly frightened by the thought, I thanked the Commander for his help and under the pretense of having to document my findings, I hurriedly left sickbay.
-=/\=-
Somehow I could not shake the impression that Ensign Sato had seen through my reasons for inquiring about human intimate hygiene. At least I had now a quite logical explanation for my observation that all human females who had taken part in the first experiment had reduced their pubic hair to very minimal remnants, which they referred to as a 'landing strip', or had removed it altogether, like Ensign Sato and Lieutenant Hess.
It had been a thoroughly humiliating (and also fairly painful) process to have ensign Rao, a certified cosmetologist, apply a therapy called 'Brazilian Wax', but at least I was now no longer at a hygienic and aesthetic disadvantage to the human females aboard.
The worry about a possible olfactory incompatibility to Commander Tucker was still unsettling me, but at least I had done all there was to do and I could now concentrate on the answer from my mother that had arrived during my duty shift.
My esteemed daughter,
I was positively surprised that you have decided to use your obvious adaption to life among so many humans for scientific purposes. However, I must admit I would have preferred that you had chosen a different facet of human interaction as your field of scientific endeavor. There are countless of non-satisfactory studies that you could have extended upon by using your extensive experience in interacting with our still immature allies.
Of course I do not wish to be accused of possessing a double standard, considering that I dedicated most of my professional career to the studies of our own intimate practices, but what possible purpose does it serve to research mating practices between two races that cannot naturally interbreed?
I do have the hope that you might reconsider the scope of your research and to help you with that, I attach a recent study by Professor V'Narek. It deals with the concept of human romanticism, and I find it thoroughly unsatisfactory, full of unfounded and poorly researched theories. Perhaps you would consider basing a project upon his work?
Greetings, your Mother.
It was the expected reply, but I had to admit that I had expected much stronger censure from my mother. In that regard the first communication had been a relative success and I decided to continue the exchange, but I also decided to challenge my mother's preconceptions.
My revered mother,
It was agreeable to notice that the censure in your latest communication was fairly limited by your standards. However, I must respectfully disagree with your dismissal of my field of research. Even though I'm still fairly early in my research, I have already found several aspects of human intimate practices that would well apply to mating among our own kind, if one looks beyond the purpose of procreation.
Perhaps a practical demonstration would make this obvious to you. If my calculations are correct, the yearly drought and heat wave should soon arrive in our home region, and if you have not changed your customary behavior, you still have a predilection for disrobing in the midday heat instead of risking a heat stroke.
What I dismissed fervently in my youth due to a false sense of shame (and I paid for it with two substantial heat strokes) I have, somewhat belatedly I admit, found it to be a most invigorating activity. But the really enlightening discovery was that this sense of invigoration is even amplified if you find yourself under visual scrutiny of someone who is attracted to you.
So if you should still possess the temerity of your youth, I challenge you to 'forget' to raise the additional privacy screens the next time you tend to the Na'ru vines in a state of undress and therefore expose yourself to the risk of being seen by our widowed neighbor, Excellency V'Dor, who, as far as I remember, shares your strategy of coping with the oppressive heat at the height of summer.
You always made a conscious effort to suppress any outward sign of it, but to me as your daughter it is fairly obvious that both of you are attracted to each other. As a Vulcan you might expect that he is scandalized by being exposed to the sight of your unclothed physique, but I am confident enough in my findings that you might be faced with a result that you donot expect and it will be a finding that resulted from studying our human allies, who are not as immature as you obviouslypresume.
Respectfully, your daughter.
-=/\=-
220 year later, USS Maverick
"Jeez, they really didn't skimp on the details, did they?" Mayumi Sato giggled, her face adorned with a slight blush from the very intimate reading material.
"Indeed," Commander T'Lara agreed. "However, at least we now have reliable accounts of our surnames. This Commander Tucker could perhaps be Charles Tucker III, although it would mean that both his son and grandson must have had their respective offspring at a fairly advanced age."
"Well, dad was one-hundred and twenty when I was born and I never met grandpa because he was already dead, despite the fact that he had lived to a hundred and seventy-seven. That's at least two centuries between the birth of Charles Tucker IV and my own," Lieutenant Commander Tucker supplied.
"Do you think these are the three women responsible for our existence?" Mary-Jane Sato asked. "He was obviously falling in love with whoever T'Pol was. He also seemed to have a thing for Hoshi Sato and we found a Vulcan named T'Pau."
"There are inconsistencies and uncertainties," T'Lara said. "First there is the existence of this Lieutenant Reed, who apparently shared a mutual attraction with Hoshi Sato. T'Pol of Vulcan was a fairly well-known scientist. She was born in 2088 and the last confirmed record of her is from the year 2270 according to the human time-scale. I recognize parts of these accounts. They quite obviously describe the genesis of a paper called 'On human intimate practices and their application to Vulcan society'. It is still mandatory reading for Vulcan exo-biologists to this very day."
"So we definitely know who she is," Charles Tucker chipped in.
T'Lara nodded. "She would appear to be your second fore-mother, as your genetic profile does not match the female's DNA we harvested from the remains on the planet. T'Pol was part of humanities first deep space mission, but only a few years after the founding of the Federation she practically disappeared from historic records on Vulcan. It is my theory that her apparent disappearance means that she lived on this planet. Using your DNA we can try to find samples that would prove that either Charles Tucker III, Hoshi Sato or T'Pol of Vulcan have been here. The presence of their logs is not sufficiently conclusive evidence."