FOUR
"I don't understand," said Travis. "Isn't the desire to be free basic to almost all life forms?"
"It is documented among most known cultures," said T'Pol. "It does not seem logical to consider a desire to be a criminal offense."
"You don't know my people," said Farris. "You see my skin color?"
It's a light yellow," said Archer.
"Yes," said Farris. "Most Tessocks are born with a noticeably darker yellow skin. Some, like me, have a lighter shade of yellow, or a variety of other colors."
"I don't understand," said Archer. "What does that have to do with it?"
"Everything," said Farris. "Because we're different, we are seen as somehow sub-Tessock. Inferior. We aren't allowed to hold a position of importance, we are limited to the level of education we receive, we can't own property, and we have to have permission to marry or have children. Basic rights that 'normal' Tessocks take for granted."
"Simply because you're skins are a different color?" asked Malcolm.
"Is that so hard to believe?" asked Farris. "You obviously hold similar beliefs."
"How do you figure that?" asked Archer.
"Ensigns Sato and Mayweather," said Farris. "Obviously human. But their skin colors are different. And yet they hold relatively low positions on your ship. Ensign Mayweather, for example, is simply a pilot. And they are lower in rank than the lighter skinned color members of your crew."
"I'm a pilot because that's what I like to do," said Travis. "As for my low rank, I haven't been in Star Fleet that long. Like anyone else, I have to work my way up through the ranks."
"So your rank and position has nothing to do with your skin color?" asked Farris.
"Not at all," insisted Hoshi. "Race is not even a consideration."
"Well, granted it was at one time," said Archer. "There was a time in Earth's past when people were judged on the color of their skin, or the shape of their eyes, or some other physical characteristic. But that was a long time ago. We've progressed past that now."
"So they aren't limited in any way?" asked Farris.
"Not on the criteria you have mentioned," said T'Pol. "They are limited only by their desire and their abilities."
"I apologize, Captain," said Farris. "I meant no offense. But I've never met anyone who held such beliefs. I seemed to have assumed incorrectly."
"No offense taken," said Archer. "I can see how it might have appeared that way to you. But surely you weren't imprisoned just for wanting to be free."
"Well, those weren't the charges against me," said Farris. "We were treated little better than slaves. As I said, we couldn't hold public office or have anything to do with the political decisions of our government."
"So what did you do that was so bad?" asked Hoshi.
"If I had taken up arms like some of my contemporaries did," said Farris, "it would have been easy to deal with me. They could have simply executed me for being a dangerously violent person. But I chose a different route. One that made me even more dangerous than a crazed madman with a weapon."
"Curious," said T'Pol. "What could be considered more dangerous than an insane individual who kills at random?"
"I ran for public office," said Farris. "I tried to get elected to a government position.