Chapter Eleven
The Desert Saga
Once at the Embassy, the first request Bettie made of Sarek was for a copy of an
enlarged satellite holo-map of the settlement. She felt it was necessary to be able to
determine the camera sites for optimum coverage for the broadcast.
Through their bond Drevi advised Bettie that the special joint trade meeting with the
Tellerites had concluded successfully. He gave her his estimated time of arrival
at the Embassy and then he sent her, a distinct manifestation of how much he was in anticipation
of seeing her again. It was his habit to send her a sensation similar to a tickle, so as he concluded
his contact Bettie jumped and started to laugh.
The women seated themselves and took out their PAADs and pulled up their
previous notes for review. The group remembered the last time they had met, Bettie
had announced that every correspondence received at her office from potential
candidates had been saved on portable drives that she then distributed to her
'sisters'. Her suggestion had been, make a copy of each 'acceptable' Candidate's letter and
then save it to your personal file. Once their selections had been completed, then they were to pass
the portable drive to their right. When finished they would compare notes. Any candidate that got three
picks would become eligible for contact with one of the males.
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So, the search had begun…
"Dear gorgeous aliens…."
"Is it true that you have green blood?...
"What language do you speak?...
"I have spent six months attempting to learn your language. Is there a library where
recordings of your language can be studied?...
"Do Vulcans like sex?"….
"What is your impression of human females?...
"Do you dance?"…
"What kind of food do you like?...
"I would love to pack a lunch for you and I to enjoy in a park…
"How old are you?...
"I am truly sorry for your loss"….
"Do you dream?"….
"Do you do nude portraits…."
"Have you ever kissed a human female?...
Some of the questions and statements were offensive, some inquisitive, some
comical. While all were probably written with a degree of sympathy and concern for
these males, some manifested such a degree of immaturity they were consigned to
the 'round file'. After a while, something similar to writer's block, perhaps it could be
called 'readers obstruction' closed in on the women. This situation had caused those
fatigued reader to be unable to string together a line of words to form a cohesive
thought.
Nyota's comment had been,
"Coffee break!"….
As if by silent command Spock appeared at the door with a tray with steaming cups
of coffee, fruit, crackers and cheese.
Nyota sent,
"My husband, the reward for good work is…"
Spock raised his eyebrow and sent,
'I alone will determine my reward once we have returned home, placed our sons in
their beds and have privacy.'
With that statement his wife sent him a mental smile and he heard her laughter.
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After the break the search continued…
"What kind of work do you do?"...
One letter whose first paragraph was written in Vulcan script simply said,
"To whomever receives my letter I wish you to know I share with you the grief of a
lost mate. I buried my husband one year ago. He suffered from an incurable
disease. I am willing to share some of my coping mechanism with any
who desire to be assisted in dealing with their sorrow. I am a licensed therapist
specializing in grief counseling."
Another very promising letter simply said,
"Grief shared is lessened."
The Embassy kitchen had prepared food for last meal that they would enjoy with their husbands and Sarek.
It was when the women had shared some of their findings that Drevi had found some of the discards and
was chuckling to himself. His commend was,
"I think some of these rejects are mere love-sick teenage human females."
There had been a nod of agreement from the wives as they had attempted to
complete their meal and get back to work. The envelopes were addressed and filled
with the necessary information. Each women had had their personal favorite 'Survivor'
and that one's reception of this information before their transfer to their
Settlement had brought a smile to each of the wive's face.
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When Sarek contacted Su'auk later on he inquired on the general progress
of the construction phase of work and all were gratified with the information that
every project was running ahead of schedule. Su'auk also informed the group that
he had interviewed all of 'The Survivors' and was fully prepared to send them the
Embassy information about the choices they had made based on the information
regarding candidates that had been distributed to them. These chosen would have to be contacted
and educated. Within seconds Su'auk's download was being printed. His wife Ellie had briefly come on the screen
and waved.
Bettie pointed to the image receiver in the corner and Sarek nodded. The womenhuddled around
the equipment and verbal reaffirmation of their initial choices were heard…'I knew it.' 'Won't they make an
adorable couple.'…
Serak, Spock, Sirin, Lo'vaak and Drevi, who could reach decisions in complete silence, due to the telepathic
abilities, decided that their wives could take their received information and retreat to their original working
space where their verbal affirmations could continue indefinitely.
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Once settled back into their 'office space', the woman made a discovery. There were
two survivors who had not made any choice at all, The Ka'thyra maker and the wood
carver. Su'auk's note at the botton of the pages containing their name were…
For the Ka'thyra maker,
'He has made acquaintance with a human female who is a musician and is most anxious to meet her. Her identifying information follows…'
For the wood carver it simply said,
'He wishes to wait since he has five years before his time, there is no need for concern.'
The next transport to The Settlement would include additional Information on the chosen candidates. Due to the
fact that some of these females would be secretly visiting The Settlement no holo-pic would be included in
these correspondences for with the Vulcans ability to remember every and anything, the sending of any likeness
would ruin the nature of these candidates visit. Immediately upon the return to San Francisco the wives agreed
that classes would have to start right to allow these 'chosen' to be educated in 'all things Vulcan'. Most of the
information convey would be based on the FIT (fiancé in training) course that Nyota had created for Lo'vaak after
he had proposed to Christine.
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That evening, in the privacy of the bedroom Nyota asked her husband,
"Spock, you said you would choose your reward."
He nodded, and voiced the definition of the word reward' as 'something given in return for good…or even evil…
With a very slight upturn of his lips he continued,
"However I will add, something offered…What are you willing to offer My Nyota. How highly do you esteem my
service to you this afternoon?"
He was barely able to finish his sentence before she had silenced him with her lips.