Tripp stepped into sunlight that might be blinding and the heat was something else. He grew up in the south of the North American continent, so he knew heat, but this was something different. He wondered if T'Pol could take this heat. He glanced to T'Pol to see that it was hotter than what she was use too.
Tripp saw an older man step out of the crowd of Olzots. "Welcome to Gistea. I am Minister Phornins Guds, and this is my family," He waved in front of everyone that was standing in front of Tripp and T'Pol. Tripp thought there could be a hundred or more here. He wondered if they were going to meeting everyone at this dinner tonight.
T'Pol stepped forward. "I am Commander T'Pol of USS Enterprise, and this is my husband Charles Tucker the Third," T'Pol waved her hand to Tripp.
"Good evening, Minister," Tripp bowed his head.
Three women came forward. "These are my wives, Crelkoix, Eimirs, and Scroslot," T'Pol and Tripp greeted his three wives. "Come dinner awaits us at my estate," Minister Guds led the way off the landing pad. Tripp and T'Pol followed him first with the others following them.
On their walk Tripp took in the plant life and some of the animals that were here. He would point things out to Charlie, who didn't lift his head from Tripp's shoulder. It didn't take long before they came to set of gates. Tripp traded a look with T'Pol, something felt off here. Tripp didn't know if they were going to make it home to the ship. The Minister was the first one to enter. Tripp and T'Pol followed.
They entered an oasis. There was stream running through the garden. There were little square gardens with different plants on them. In the center of the oasis was a huge house, it was bigger than any house that Tripp ever seen. It reminded him of the Taj Mahal back on Earth. He wondered what the inside looked like.
Guds turned around to them. "This land has been in my family for five hundred generations," He stood with is arms wide open for five seconds waiting for T'Pol and Tripp to be impressed with the land.
Tripp spoke up. "It is a beautiful place," Guds smile widen. He turned around and led them into the house.
Tripp was worried that it was going to be hot in the house, but it was cool. He looked around and saw open windows everywhere. He could smell the flowers coming in from the outside. It gave the place a nice welcoming place.
Guds led them through the house to a central hall. There were tables set up all over the place. The tables were low and instead of chairs, there were pillows as seats. Guds led them to the long table on a dais. Tripp watched as the rest of the family took seats around the hall.
"Please take a seat," He held out a hand to three pillows. Tripp watched as Guds helped T'Pol sit. Tripp put Charlie between them before taking his own seat. Guds took his own seat and let out a clap and servants came out with large serving platters.
Tripp thought that the food smell delicious. The platters were placed in front of them. Tripp could see grilled vegetables and fish. Tripp watched as everyone at the other tables took what they wanted. Tripp took some vegetables and place it on Charlie's plate. Tripp took a piece of fish and cut it small enough so Charlie could eat it. Tripp just hoped that Charlie would eat some of the food because this was something that he wasn't used to. Tripp knew that his son was used to human and Vulcan food. Tripp glanced over and saw that T'Pol had only taken vegetables.
Tripp put food on his own plate when he heard Charlie. "Papa, I don't like it."
Tripp looked over to Charlie. "Can you please try it?" Charlie shook his head. "Papa, going to try it," Tripp took a bit of the vegetables and almost cough because of all the heat. Tripp had tasted spicy food, but this was spicier than that. He picked up his glass and took a drink of a sweet milk. It helped with spice.
Tripp watched as Charlie took bit of his food. Tripp didn't know how Charlie was going to like it. He was worried that Charlie was going to spit it out, but he didn't. He went and took another bit. Tripp glanced over to T'Pol to see how she was taking to the vegetables. He watched as she ate the food.
"Please tell me about your family," Guds shouted to T'Pol.
Tripp could tell that T'Pol didn't like the shouting but the way she flinched. Guds didn't notice. "As you met my husband," T'Pol glanced over at Charlie. "This is our oldest, Charlie," She pulled the wrap back. "This is our daughter, T'Mir," She put the wrap back in place so T'Mir could continue to sleep.
"Do you have any family that helps out?" Guds asked.
"No, my family is back on Vulcan and Charles family is on Earth," T'Pol told him.
"You and your husband are not the same species," Guds stated.
"No," T'Pol took another a bite of her food.
"Who helps you take care of your children because I heard that you are first officer? Does your husband take care of your children?"
"Sometimes, yes, but we have a nanny that watches our children because my husband is Chief Engineer on Enterprise."
"So, you have someone else take care of your children while you both work," Guds frowned.
"Yes," T'Pol didn't like where this was going. "Charles and I care for our children very much."
That statement brightens up Guds' face. "Are there other children around your children age on the ship?"
"No, they are the only children on the ship," T'Pol thought that she might have lost him again. T'Pol could tell that he was thinking. "Please tell me about your family?" She asked. Trip knew that they were doing this so often that T'Pol knew what questions to ask.
Guds couldn't resist and started to talk about his family. T'Pol found out that he had twenty children from his three wives. That all his children who were old enough were married and giving him grandchildren. He was head of the family and his own siblings lived with him with their own families. Since he was head of the family, he could marry three times where his siblings could only marry once. Guds told of his siblings and their families. This culture was all about family. The bigger your family was the better off you were.
The meal was over, and the servants came and gathered the dishes. The women started to stand. Guds turned to T'Pol. "You and your children can follow the woman. I would like to talk to your husband." T'Pol nodded, stood, and took Charlie's hand. T'Pol gave Tripp look before walking off. Tripp watched his son for moment before turning to Guds. Guds smiled at him. "Please come with me," Guds stood, and Tripp followed him.
Tripp followed him to the center of the hall. The tables were moved away, and the pillows formed a circle. Guds took a seat in the center and patted the pillow next to him. Tripp took the seat. Guds was handed a bottle of something. Tripp wondered if it was alcohol. Guds poured it in a long thin glass before handing it to Tripp. Tripp didn't take a drink until Guds had a glass in his hand. Guds waited until every male had one before saying. "Family," Guds took every down in one drink. Tripp followed him. The alcohol burned down Tripp's throat. It was a taste between rum and vodka. Tripp enjoyed it and held out his glass for another. He wondered how T'Pol was doing with the women.
T'Pol entered a room with the other women. It smelled very sweet in there. T'Pol couldn't tell what the smell was, and it bother that she couldn't figure it out. She looked around the room to that the sun was setting out giving the room a yellow glow. She watched as women took seats around the room.
Someone touched her on the back. "Please follow me and your son can play with other children," T'Pol looked over and it was one of Guds' wives. T'Pol nodded, look down at Charlie, who had a tight hold on her hand, and followed the woman.
The place that was for children was a huge space with a lot of toys. There were kids already playing in there. Charlie let go of her hand when he saw a toy that he wanted to play with. T'Pol stood there for a moment and watched as another young child came up to him to start playing with him. T'Pol thought that he might refuse to play with her, but Charlie held out the toy.
"Come, I think that your son is just fine," One of the wives said. T'Pol looked at her son for moment before following her to the other women.
T'Pol took a seat and pulled the wrap back to check on T'Mir, who was still sleeping. T'Pol knew that she would be up soon to eat because T'Pol's breasts were getting heavy. T'Pol put the wrap back in place and looked at the other women.
"I know my husband introduced us earlier, but I will reintroduce myself and the other wives. I'm the first wife, Crelkoix," She placed a hand on her chest. "This is Eimirs, the second wife," She pointed to the woman next to her. "And the last is Scroslot," She pointed to the woman that was next to Eimirs. T'Pol greeted each of the woman.
"Does your husband have other wives?" Eimirs asked.
"No," T'Pol said. She didn't think that she could handle if Tripp had other wives. They all looked confused. "My husband and I come from cultures that only have one spouse, not multiples."
"Does your husband find pleasure in other women?" Scroslot asked. "You just had a baby. In our world men usually take another wife when their wife can't help them. If you know what I mean."
T'Pol nodded she understood. "No, he doesn't. He doesn't have time to find pleasure in other women because we are taking care of our children."
"He helps," Crelkoix sounded shook.
"Yes, does your husband help you because it seems that you are all about family?" T'Pol asked. Before the women could answer T'Mir let out a cry. T'Pol pulled back to wrap to see that T'Mir was up and ready for a feeding. T'Pol looked at the women. "Is there a place I can feed her?"
"Yes, right here," Crelkoix waved a hand, and someone brought a dark, but light blanket. They placed it over T'Pol. T'Pol didn't want to be rude, but she was used to feeding her children in private. She pulled the wrap back and took out a breast for T'Mir, who latched on right away. T'Pol watched her for a moment before looking back at the women.
All three wives smiled. "It has been so long since we had our own babies," Eimirs said. "And to answer your first question, our husband does help take care of the children when he wants too." T'Pol didn't know what to say as she checked on T'Mir, who was done. T'Pol lifted her up and burped her.
"Can I hold her?" Scroslot asked. T'Pol handed her T'Mir.
Crelkoix laughed. "What our husband cares about is how many children he can have to help him run the family business. When you kept it in the family, you don't have to pay them because you make sure that they are fed and have a place to live."
"Oh," T'Pol said.
"Yeah, even those we take care of the family business," Eimirs said.
"You do?" T'Pol asked. All three women nodded.
"We think that you would understand," Crelkoix said. "As you are the first officer of your ship. You most run the ship."
"I take care of the crew, but the captain runs the ship. I am in command when he is not there." T'Pol saw that T'Mir went from Scroslot to Eimirs.
"I heard that your husband is Chief Engineer, so you are his boss. How does that work?" Scroslot.
"We try to keep work and our private lives separate," T'Pol took a glance to see how Charlie was doing. He was playing with some of the other children. T'Pol knew that it was something that Charlie was missing being on a spaceship with no children.
"It doesn't work very well," Crelkoix stated.
T'Pol sighed. "We can let our feelings get in the way of work and argue about it. Or we are thinking more about work than our family. We try to find a balance that works for us. I must remind him that he has a family and sometimes he must do the same thing for me." The wives were giving her a look. "Charles and I balance each other out and that is why we work so well together. It was what attracted me to him." The wives smiled.
"You care for your husband very much," Eimirs smiled.
"Yes," T'Pol glanced out of one of the windows and saw that the sky was dark. "I should probably grab my son and husband and we should get going. We would like to leave before it gets too late."
Crelkoix smiled. "I don't think that you are leaving tonight because if I know my husband, he is getting your husband drunk and he isn't going anywhere until this morning."
T'Pol sighed. Tripp didn't drink much since they got together because he knew how she didn't like it. "Okay," It was all T'Pol could say because she couldn't handle two children and a shuttle at the same time.
"Come, I'll show you our guest quarters," Crelkoix handed T'Mir to T'Pol and stood. T'Pol put T'Mir back in the wrap, stood and headed for Charlie. Charlie smiled when he saw her.
"Time for bed," She held out a hand and Charlie took it. T'Pol said goodnight to the other women and Crelkoix out of the room.
Crelkoix show T'Pol a multiple room quarters. T'Pol put the kids down in one room and went to the other room to lay down. She knew that they would show Tripp this room at the end of the night.