Chapter Thirty-one
The Desert Saga
Tur'nik, the weaver stood with The Survivors as they lined up to welcome the visitors. He was wearing his 'Garment of Remembrance',* which he had not considered, would draw attention. Of cause, that was not the reason for his wearing it, He was never one that could initiate conversation, so perhaps this would as Terrans say,"jump start" some sort of communication with these visitors. The guest passed them by and all of a sudden a young woman stopped in front of him and said,
"Your garment is extremely beautiful. Does the Vulcan script contain a specific message?"
Fingering the design he spoke,
"This is my lineal geneology, first my name, then those of my anchestors, my clan and my family's oldest member. He read, Tur'nik, nei' (seed of) Xon, nei' Delvok nei' Solock, nei' Kov, Maat (clan) Ton, of the house of La'nok. It reminds me of my loss, although this garment is not a necessity for such recollection.
The woman nodded and blinked her eyes, lowered her head and said,
"Loss remains constant and severe without replacement by something of the same nature as the deprivation."
Tur'nik nodded in understanding.
"Was this the style tunic that was worn by all your family members?"
"No, this is a one-of-a-kind garment, created by myself, Tur'nik. I always carried it with me when I was away from my family, thus is was with me at Va Pak. When it was upon my body it served to comfort me in spite of their physical absence from me."
Looking him in the eye she continued,
"Tur'nik of Vulcan, I am Yvonne of Terra, I don't know how to say this in your language, but I understand the acceptable expression in this circumstance is 'I grieve with thee.'"
With the completion of her comments, she continued down the row. After the greetings the group moved to the dining room and Tur'nik noticed the female who had questioned him was seated with an empty chair next to her own. He stood above her and inquired,
"Does this chair already have an occupant?"
She answered,
"No one has claimed it."
Uncharacteristically he had sought her out and with her response he gracefully lowered himself into it, then pieced a piece of fruit on his plate and slowly brought it to his mouth, chewed slowly, swallowed and then asked,
"Yvonne of Terra, are you an unbounded female?"
Smiling she thought to herself that the warning given about Vulcan abrupt address was not over-stated.
She looked up and said,
"I had observed The Survivors' first appearance at the Fisherman's Wharf and had inquired about the possibility of interviewing one who dealt with textiles since that is my family's business for over three hundred years. I am from a part of Terra that at one time was called Thailand, which is known for the fabric called Thai silk. I was not chosen as one to have contact with a person like yourself. For that reason, I am extremely pleased that I was allowed to take this trip, and happy that you wore your tunic today, and yes, I am an umbonded female."
Tur'nik nodded and asked,
"Would you consent to a private tour of The Settlement?"
A smile and a nod was all the confirmation that Tur'nik needed and once they completed their meal he stood, pulled out her chair and they proceeded out of the dining room.
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Su'nuk, the machinist, was about to leave the dining room when a Terran female bumped into his solid chest. Fortunately he had on three layers of clothing. The female instantly started apologizing as she attempted to wipe the spilt water off his chest with a napkin.
"There is no offense when none is taken," was his summation of the events of the past few moment. He then stated,
"If you will desist from the task of removing a now non-existant liquid from my person, I will be more than pleased to clean the spill from the floor."
She stood before him with an expression of embarrassment that was unreadable to the Vulcan, he knelt and cleaned the liquid from the floor, a logical move that would prevent an accidental slip by one of the occupants of the room.
Standing, he was able to observe the female before him. She had a very pleasant round face, an engaging smile and was of an average Terran female height and weight. He decided that he should take the initiative and perhaps invite her to tour the settlement with himself as a guide. He found she was very energetic, inquisitive and extremely intuitive. Her questions indicated deep thought and he noticed that her hands' appearance indicated that they were not involved in delicate use, so he asked,
"What is the nature of your employment?"
"My father owns an auto repair shop and I am one of his mechanics. I have been working on motors and engines since I was four years old."
He had a brilliant thought, perhaps she would like to examine his workshop. Once asked, she accepted.
Their time together was educational or that was how his Vulcan logic would interpret it to make acceptable, and they exchanged contact information and then she again joined the group of visitors.
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Back in San Francisco Lo'vaak had received an unexpected but most welcome communication—from his family.** He immediately revealed the information to Christine, Sarek, Spock and Sirin. It appeared that his father was making a request to immigrate to Terra, permanently. Lo'vaak wondered what was the basis for his father's decision. Could it be that his health was compromised? Perhaps his father was in need of his services as a healer. Lo'vaak reached deep into his consciousness to see if there was evidence of the K'war'ma'khon (family bond). Although present, its lack of use had eroded its' effectiveness, there were no precise thoughts, in fact what he discovered were just life signs pulsing. Although there was a virtual disconnect, Lo'vaak was indeed extremely pleased that his father desired to be present on Terra where he could contribute to the lives of his granddaughter and soon to be born, grandson.
Initiating contact with him by having his signal bounce from ships to satellites, he placed Christine and Nytu next to him so they would fill the screen once contact was made. The screen sprung to life and his family was all present and he was able to view them all and see that even though years had passed, there was no change in their appearance. There was a theory that space travel slowed down the aging process, his family's appearance would probably give credence to that hypothesis. He could see his sister carried life and was even more beautiful than he remembered.
"My father, your son's eyes are pleasured to see your person."
His father nodded in recognition. His mother, as expected, was reduced to tears and finally took in the appearance of Christine's body and asked,
"When will my granddaughter welcome a new family member?"
Christine smiled and answered,
"Honored mother, another member of the Matt Nuk (clan Nuk) will present himself within two lunar cycles (two months). "
His father then revealed that beside the family that had occupied the vessel for years, their vessel had picked up twenty-two Vulcan males from colonies they had visited. These also were seeking asylum on Terra with a view to joining The Survivors at the settlement. Loi'vaak was truly amazed at how networking within space travelers had revealed the establishment of the Vulcan settlement on Terran. How many more Vulcans in isolated areas would eventually be pulled to Terra so as to be surrounded by more of their kind, would reveal itself in time.
Sarek would have to contact The Federation's Immigration, Settlers' and Political Refugees Department to insure that Lo'vaak's family and the other Vulcans would be able to dock and gain admission to Terra. It was not as yet understood if his sister, her husband and her in-laws would likewise be seeking a place on Terra among The Survivors. Of course, Lo'vaak knew his father's services would be welcome at The Settlement, not only for healing but also for performing the marriage bonding services for couples.
The contact ended with his father giving him his estimated time of arrival and Lo'vaak's assurance that he whould make certain that docking space was available and his relocation was assured. It was with a deep feeling of satisfaction that the contact ended and Lo'vaak left to visit Sarek in order to insure the truthfulness of his promise to his father.
*See The Continuing San Francisco Saga Chapter 14
**See Christine's Story ChapterTen.