Genre: StarTrek: The Next Generation

Title: New Civilizations

Summary: D'Jang explains the facts of life to two lovesick pups.

Chapter17

Captain Picard stood quietly on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, ruminating on the events of the day so far. Abruptly he said, "Mr. Worf, please hail the Romulan vessel.

A moment later Worf reported, "Visual on screen, Captain."

The Romulan face looked closer to an eruption of violence than usual. "I see you're faring no better than we."

Picard tugged at his uniform blouse. "Oh? Are you experiencing some difficulty?"

Closer to violence yet, the face came. "We were abruptly told to leave! They have the same ill manners as Klingons." The eyes flicked for a fraction of a second to the figure on the upper bridge behind Captain Picard.

Picard ignored the remark. "Did they give any reason for their behavior?"

"None."

Picard didn't need Deanna's sensitivity to tell him the Romulan captain was lying.

"We're beginning to suspect their purposes in luring all of us here."

"Luring us? It is we who requested the meeting and, to my knowledge, you came here of your own accord."

The Romulan, with a brief flick of his eyes, dismissed Picard's words. "With two entire planets rich in ore, who would not request a meeting? We believe this talk of trade is a ruse. They are very likely not as naive as they seem. I think the first encounter with you was likely no happenstance."

Picard maintained a guarded attitude. "Oh?"

"The Romulan Empire and the Federation have exchanged many messages, to say nothing of the communications among ourselves. Surely, considering the proximity to Romulan space, they have encountered some of our talk."

It was Picard's turn to dismiss the words of Captain Lareth. "They don't have subspace technology."

As if annoyed with Picard's intransigent stupidity, Lareth said, "There is always some leakage from subspace. And don't be too sure of their lack of technology. They could well be keeping their fires shielded. They may well know how large and rich the Romulans are. They could be courting you to help them attain conquest over us."

Picard was about to lose patience. "Bosh!"

The Romulan hooded his eyes under heavy lids. "Every civilization is rife with tales of a wily being enlisting the help of a gullible passerby to attain a sought after prize. They pretend to welcome us, but then, become, oh, so righteously offended at a small act, so they can then claim to be on your side." Lareth raised his cold, hard stare directly into Picard's grey eyes. "But we are not so gullible."

"And how do you explain their animosity towards us?"

"There are always variations to the tale. I assure you, we intend to stay here and uncover them. Thus, I am in the strange position of possibly having to help you if they should attack."

"How so?"

"Surely you recognize that should they fire on you they could well endanger us?"

"And surely you have recognized that none of their weapons are capable of doing either of us the slightest harm if we merely maintain our shields."

Again the negligible motion of dismissal from the Romulan's hand. "You think they aren't hiding powerful and likely dangerous weapons? They have them cloaked in some way, we are positive. I assure you, Captain Picard, we are determined to maintain close surveillance of this planet in hopes of finding those weapons before they have a chance to use them. If, however, they make any sort of aggressive move, do anything more than aim those bows and arrows they now display so obviously, we will be forced to fire our weapons."

Captain Picard frowned in alarm, but before he could frame an answer, Lieutenant Worf spoke up.

"Sir, we are being hailed by the Ferengi."

Picard had no doubt what the call was about. "Put them up on the screen as well, Mr. Worf."

The screen view split so that both the Romulan and the Ferengi captains could be seen simultaneously. The Ferengi was obviously in near panic. So much so, he could not keep still, jerking and pumping his hands ferociously.

"You maniacs! Don't you see what they are up to? They have failed in their attempts to strike a bargain with the Kronatina and are looking for an excuse to destroy them! They will undoubtedly 'accidentally' fire on you and destroy you and then where will we be? Fire on them now before they do it to you!"

Picard lowered his head and growled at the two images on the screen. "None of us will be firing on anyone! Captain Lareth, I want your assurance that you will make no aggressive move under any circumstances. This is not Romulan Territory; it is Kron space. We are here at their invitation and you are here under the sufferance of a trial 'freedom of trade' agreement."

The Romulan's his face flushed darkly, "We have a right to protect Romulan borders."

The Enterprise Captain's face turned to stone. "Not from this side you don't. Any aggression in Kron space will be considered aggression against the Federation." Picard almost turned away as if done but whirled back and hammered his assurance, "And you know it!"

The Romulan glowered a moment and cut the communications link. The screen was now filled with the agitated Ferengi.

"Picard, you're a fool! Not only have you bungled the chance for trade with the Kronatina, but you should have blown that Romulan excrement out of the sky and you didn't! We're helplessly trapped now, no thanks to you. Further, the Kronatina will not answer our hails to them. You have very likely ruined our chances with them as well as your own!"

Picard was nearly at the end of his tolerance. While trying to think of a way to ask patience from these impatient aliens, the Ferengi leader babbled on.

"The Kronatina think we are friends of yours and they have no wish to deal with us. We cannot break orbit for fear the Romulan dogs will fire on us. We are traders, Picard! And what sort of trading can we do now, no thanks to you? You are keeping us from our livelihood!"

Captain Picard tried to generate a smile but it seemed he was all out, at the moment. So all he could do was keep himself from sneering while he said, "We will get back to you. Enterprise, out."

&&&&

As the dancing green-eyed girl in Ten Forward came closer to the tall, dark-haired veterinarian, her face broke into smiles, and still dancing, but to a quicker beat than the music counted, she wriggled towards the stunned woman. When she reached the doctor, she continued dancing, but only for her. Only when D'Jang reached out to the girl's cheek did the happy child stop her gyrations, eagerly grabbing at the hand and nuzzling it, giving it little playful kisses.

Only a few noticed that the girl had stopped dancing, Guinan, behind the bar, among them. She also noticed the look on D'Jang's face, and came up quietly to ask, "Something up, Doc?"

The vet began frisking the girl's ear and lightly rumpling her hair to her apparent delight. Keeping her eyes entirely on the girl she said, much in a fashion one talks when also playing with a puppy, "Oh, yeah. I'd say there's something up. Oh, yes." The girl began playfully batting at D'Jang's hand, hitting it, grabbing it, and putting the fingers in her mouth and sucking on them. "I'm going to take this cute little bundle to the Menagerie. Just as soon as you can, I'd like you to get both of the, uh, husbands and the other girl, all right? I'd like you to bring them, do not send them, bring them to the Menagerie. Okay?"

D'Jang slowly stood up, took both of the girl's hands into both of hers, and looked steadily into the girl's eyes, pacifying her into relaxed stillness. Then, taking the girl's hand in her own right hand and placing her left hand on the back of her head, just above the neck, gently cradling the occipital bulge in her palm, she guided the complacent girl out of Ten Forward.

Ten minutes later, Guinan the two young men and the other rainbow-skinned girl were being ushered into one of the small examining rooms of the Menagerie. Doc D'Jang and the first girl were already there, the girl sitting on the metal exam table. As the door opened, the vet patted the table beside the girl, looked meaningfully at her, and said, "Stay, right here." She turned to greet the four newcomers.

The second girl, on seeing D'Jang, reacted much as her sister had, smiling and grabbing at the vet's outstretched hand, cuddling it to her face. D'Jang led the girl to the table and patting it with her free hand, indicated that the frisking child should get up on it. This, at first, posed a problem in communication since the girl wanted climb up, feet and all. D'Jang had to hold her at the waist, back her against the table, grab under her thigh, lift, and push. Standing back a bit, looking at both girls, one to the other, not turning around she said, "Would you gentlemen take a seat please? Guinan, could you stay for just a moment?"

Guinan had already installed herself into a corner. "I wouldn't miss this explanation for anything."

Staring at the veterinarian's back, one of the men asked, "Ma'am, is there something wrong?"

By this time, Commander T'Shing seemed lost in thought. The girls beamed at her, occasionally making small grabs at her. She tenderly disengaged from them each time, not breaking her gaze from their faces. "I'll talk to you in a moment," she said softly.

Silence reigned for a full two minutes, broken only by the sound of the girls playing patty-cake with the good doctor and the men shifting nervously in their seats. Then, patting the girls on the legs, D'Jang said, "Stay right here." Walking slowly to the end of the table, she turned and gazed at the two men with a look on her face that clearly questioned how to begin. The girls' large, deep green eyes had very small pupils making them seas of a single color in a myriad of colors, which never left D'Jang's face. They hadn't once looked at their husbands. Abruptly D'Jang said, "How did they come to be on board?"

The man who had questioned D'Jang a moment before, answered, "I found them on Brandar, where we last stopped. I was down on an overnight pass in a bar when this guy offered to sell them to me. I was in civvies, so he didn't realize I was a member of Starfleet. Plain and broad as daylight, he was trying to sell them! I called the ship, he was arrested and is being held on Brandar for violation of people's rights. Captain Picard said, after this mission, we'd be taking the girls to the nearest alien displacement center where Federation people would return them to their home planet."

Staring at the men, and apparently not seeing them, making them feel very uncomfortable, D'Jang asked, "Do you know where the man got them?"

"Well, he mentioned a star system name, but we don't know if he was telling the truth."

"Have either one of them spoken since they came on board? Have they said any words?"

"No. They make sounds but nothing that the translator has been able to make any sense out of. Ma'am, please, I don't get it. What do you want with us?"

D'Jang was now staring at the floor, her arms wrapped folded at her waist. "A couple more questions and then I'll answer yours. Have they had free run of the ship?"

"Well, they're at liberty to go anywhere except restricted areas, of course, but they're too shy. I kept checking on them, and almost every time I'd find them at the open door, just standing there, looking out, really cute like. Word about them got around in my section and everybody all began to help them. The girls didn't even know how to work the replicator and they still don't." The man looked lovingly at his bride. "Some of the women began help them, showed them how to clean up and had dresses made and went for walks with them and stuff."

D 'Jang perked up and asked, "Walks? Did they, by any chance, take them to the Arboretum, the Garden Room?"

"Yeah," the man replied. "They just seemed to be able relax there. Two of the women I work with said they'd just take off, disappear into the bushes. Once they were late on their duty shift because they couldn't even find Tameena and Jonina for a couple of hours."

"And you two fell in love with them and got married today?"

Both of the men, oblivious to the fact that neither girl had so much as glanced at them yet, broke into smiles, staring with pride and joy at their new brides. The first man continued to be the spokesperson, "Well, what's not to love? I mean they're both so sweet and quiet. Jonina took to me right off. She just lights up whenever I walk into the room. Tameena seems to feel the same way about Chris here. They're affectionate and seem to want to spend their whole life just pleasing us."

D'Jang looked up and gazed softly at the girls. She smiled gently and held up her hand, palm facing the twins, and said, "Now stay there." Both stayed put though they looked like they would have cheerfully gotten closer to the doctor. Then D'Jang looked critically at the two men. "How did you get them to say yes to your proposal of marriage?"

The two men looked at each other and grinned. The speechless one looked down at his hands in his lap. The other one looked around at the walls and ceiling, smiling as if trying to find words to humor these childish questions. "Well, Ma'am, since they don't talk, they didn't exactly 'say' yes. They just seemed to understand and were so willing to do what we want. They seem to want to be with us all the time. One evening, the four of us were together in my quarters, just relaxing, you know and, I don't know who brought it up…"

Chris bumped him and mumbled, "I did. You thought it was a good idea." He went back to examining his hands.

"Yeah, okay. Anyway, we'd shown the girls how to kiss. Tameena is better at it than Jonina is. Well, we each kissed our girl and asked her to marry us and they both got that wide-eyed, 'I'll do anything you want,' look and we both agreed that that was a yes." The young man looked extremely proud of himself.

D'Jang was back to staring at the men. "So, you set a date, put through all the necessary computer work, set up the works for married quarters, extra pay, all that and here you are."

Both of the men's faces darkened, and Chris said sharply, "You're making it sound like we did something underhanded or something." Both of the girls became alarmed, making inquisitive cooing noises and fluttering their hands. D'Jang walked over and caressed their spiky furred heads, calming them.

"Do you know who I am?" The men looked sharply at D'Jang, their eyes taking in the commander's buttons on the collar and the science blue of the uniform. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Gentlemen, I am the ship's veterinarian, Doctor T'Shing D'Jang. I'm an Intergalactic Veterinarian. Does that tell you anything, yet?" Lack of comprehension veiled their faces. "You know Deanna, the ship's counselor, yes?" Finally, something they knew about. Both men nodded. "You know she's a Sensitive, yes? You know she can read people's emotions, sense how they're feeling about something?" They nodded more vigorously. "I'm also a Sensitive, but of an entirely different sort. Instead of people, I read animals. I'm the one they call when they can't tell if a being is an animal or a sentient." She'd lost them again. But she couldn't help but notice in the background that Guinan's face had changed from curious interest to interested cognizance. D'Jang thought fast, trying to find some easy way to explain this. "Did you know that there are some animals that look like humanoids?"

The man who had done most of the speaking stood up suddenly. "What? Do you think these are animals? No! They're both as human as me. You think just because they got odd colored skin and their hair feels like fur, that they're animals?" He reached out to take Jonina's hand. "C'mon Chris, get Tameena and let's get out of here. This lady's crazy!"

D'Jang quickly stepped between the men and their spouses. The girls had already become alarmed pulling back, lifting their legs up out of harm's way. Speaking quietly, D'Jang said, "Sit down, gentlemen." Ignoring her, each man tried to reach around the matronly figure, trying to reach his respective mate.

Suddenly the room rang, "Sit down, now!" They both reacted so fast that the thumps as their rear ends hit the seats were plainly heard. Realizing the order had come from Guinan, everyone looked at her, but she only shrugged her shoulders and said, "Continue, Doctor, I'm finding this very intriguing."

Looking a little abashed and grateful, D'Jang thanked the dark lady and continued. "Aside from the fact that yes, these pretty things are animals, not sentient beings, there is also the fact that they have no concept of love, that you can in no way build a decent relationship with them. Also, I may very well have saved your lives."

The two men were now trying not to look disrespectful of a senior officer, were trying not to raise their lips in a sneer at the older woman and neither was very good at the attempt. They sat stiffly in their chairs, their eyebrows knotted almost as tightly as their jaw muscles. Their eyes kept darting to their brides and back to the face of the woman they obviously considered to be insane.

Aware of fighting a losing battle the veterinarian waved back a wisp of hair from the side of her face, and spoke on. D'Jang talked fast, now, getting as much information out in as short a time as possible before another outbreak from these lovesick pups. "Their planet," she gestured towards the girls, "was discovered just five years ago, Felshaw IV. It has no sentient population. Your salesman apparently got in before any regulatory agency had a chance to set up perimeters. He saw these lovely creatures, disregarded every animal protection regulation in the book, and picked them up. Aside from the fact that he neglected to mention to you that they're not human, he wasn't breaking any people's rights laws, so when I message the information back to Brandar, he'll likely be set free with a stiff fine as his only sentence.

"Now, let me tell you something about this species; the male isn't nearly so attractive. Where the skin on the female is soft, as you've no doubt found, the skin of the male is more like a grayish green armor. It covers not only the body, but wraps around the face and head in layers," Her hands made descriptive moves as she spoke, "and rather makes him look like a cross between an earth rhinoceros and a boar. He's squat with prominent fangs and two horns like knobs on the side of his head just above the ears. Pretty obvious why only the females were taken. Now, when the two mate, they do it face to face, as humans do, but the female, during coitus, bites, scratches and kicks viciously. As far as has been determined, this natural behavior stimulates the male to ejaculation, and probably also stimulates ovulation for her. The only reason the male survives the sex act is because of the armoring.

"I wonder if you noticed how their teeth are pointed, not flat. Those nails on their fingers that someone has painted so prettily are actually talons that can slice through leather. It's only in coitus that she behaves this way, so you wouldn't have known until too late. Did you know that your pretty little brides so strong that can literally rip the hide off of a living animal? During the sex act, they become even stronger. Your wedding night tonight would have been the last night of your lives." She had bent forward in her effort to communicate. Now she stood up straight and was immediately being caressed and patted by the two female figures behind her. "They make fun pets, but they are not wife material."

The two men in front sat staring at her, unmoving. "Now," she continued, "if you don't mind, I going to take these babies to a place a little more suited to their needs." She saw the look of alarm developing on both men's faces. "Don't worry, it'll look like the nests of their own planet, they'll love it. And then I'll be back and we can talk some more."

She turned and motioned the girls off of the table. She whirled back before the men could move. Smiling humorlessly she said, "Stay seated, please." It was an order. Then, putting each hand behind one of their heads, she gently directed the two girl-like creatures out of the room.

When she returned a few minutes later, both men were sipping a beverage from glasses. It was obvious that Guinan had ordered something from the replicator. D'Jang leaned against the examining table, first folding her arms in front of her, and then opening them to support herself against the table. "Well, how are you doing?"

Chris looked up at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'm not so sure I believe you. I'm pretty sure Kilfar doesn't at all." He took another swig of his drink.

D'Jang looked away from the jaundiced glare and shook her head. "Guinan, why is there only one ship's counselor?"

Guinan, who had returned to her corner, didn't reply.

D'Jang said, "Look, uh, Kilfar, Chris, I'm not sure how to convince you of this. You can read what records there are for yourselves if you like. I can't prove that I can sense they're animals, I can only tell you that for me it is as plain to me as the color of their skin is to you. The visual records only show what looks like a rainbow skinned girl in coitus with a man-pig creature and it'll look like she's battling for her life, only when they're done and he lets go, she doesn't run away, she hangs around. Twenty minutes later, they wind up together again with her scratching and biting." She paused. "Whether they're animals or no, I've saved your lives today. You wouldn't have survived your marriage bed. Do you believe that?"

The two men, holding empty cups, looked up at D'Jang. Chris just nodded and Kilfar said, "Yeah, okay."

Noting the sudden change in attitude, the vet looked at Guinan.

Guinan said, "I think they've had quite a shock. Would you like to go get some sack time, Chris? Kilfar? You've got time off."

Looking thoughtful, both young men stood up. Kilfar, always the spokesman, said, "I think I'll take some prone think-time on this." Chris just nodded. They put their glasses on the empty examining table and left the room.

Gazing after them, D'Jang raised an eyebrow and asked, "What was in the cups?"

Guinan came out of her corner and picked up the containers. "Did you know that there is a rather harmless combination of herbs found on a planet, the name of which I cannot remember right now, that helps calm disturbed nerves and makes people mildly open to suggestions? I say harmless, because it can't be overdosed and it has no after or side effects."

"But it has a hypnotic effect. It alters consciousness."

Guinan nodded serenely.

"What are the herbs?"

Guinan's smile broadened a little. "I don't recall, right now."

"How long will it last?"

"They'll get a good night's sleep, and then some, and by that time Deanna will have time to help them sort things out." Guinan turned from the disposal chute.

D'Jang asked, "You use this stuff often?"

Guinan pursed her lips slightly and looked at D'Jang. "I've never used it before, and I may never use it again." Before she left she said, "Which is not to say I don't have other recipes or herbs that I use on occasion for various non-medical ailments."

"Like catnip tea?"

"Among others. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have a conference with a wedding party."

"What are you going to say?"

"I wish I knew."

"I'll go out with you. While I was hustling my new charges into their quarters, I got a call from Beverly. She wants me in Sick Bay."

"Did she say what it was about?"

"I was too busy with those cubs to inqu—Yellow Alert? Is this a drill? I thought this was a peaceful mission?"

Guinan looked at D'Jang out of the corners of her eyes.

"You mean you just noticed? We've been on Yellow Alert since before you came into Ten Forward. And it's not a drill. I'd also say that a Yellow Alert on a peaceful mission is just about par for this trip. So far as I've been able to determine, nothing is what it has seemed to be."

TBC to Chapter 18

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