Federation offices, City of
Ja’al Raiajh sat in his office and
stared at the screen before him. The
report was there but he had a hard time ‘swallowing’ the information he had
just read. After almost 80 years, the USS Arcturus just re-appeared in
Federation space. That was not the most
disturbing of the news.
He always hoped that he would one
day find his sister again. And now, the
Federation had found her, and all her shipmates, alive. The disturbing part was that she was not any older
than the last time Arcturus had been seen.
At 109 Earth years of age, Ja’al was
not considered an ‘old man’ by Deltan standards, as he was expected to live at
least another 50 years. His sister
though, who was born five years after him, was still just 26. He wanted to talk to her, but at present, the Arcturus was under orders from Starfleet
to maintain a communications blackout. This
was to give the Federation sufficient time to locate any remaining families and
notify them that their loved ones were alive, although quite younger than they
should be.
Space, the Final Frontier…
These are the voyages of the starship Arcturus!
Star Trek: Arcturus
“Transitions” By
Nadine B. Sacks
Jake Pearson, Jr. sat in front of his
cottage looking out at the peaceful
“Excuse me, sir. My name is Sulak of Vulcan. Are you Mr. Jake Pearson, Jr., born and raised
in the city of
“Yes, sir. I am Jake Pearson, Jr., and I was born and
raised in the city of
“And you are the youngest of five
brothers and sisters?”
“Yes.”
“And you had a sister named Cathryn
Elisabeth Pearson?”
“Yes, I did, but she and her
starship disappeared before I was born.
Why are you asking me all these questions?”
“As you are the only living relative
from her immediate family, you are considered Cathryn Pearson’s next of kin. We are here on behalf of the Federation to
notify you that almost two Terran weeks ago, the starship USS Arcturus was found intact and all hands still alive. However, there is one conundrum that you might
find a bit disturbing. Your sister,
along with the entire crew, is no older than the day the Arcturus disappeared.”
“You’re saying that my sister is not
only alive, but still only 25?” Pearson asked in disbelief.
“That is correct sir. On this chip you will find all the information
you need regarding what we currently know about the Arcturus, your sister, and how to contact her. If you have any further questions you can
contact Starfleet Headquarters in
* * *
Ilona Raiajh, Deltan Ambassador to
the Federation Council, sat and listened to her father’s message via subspace
link. He wanted her to use her position
to help him get a message to his sister aboard the Arcturus.
From what her father had told her
about her aunt, she knew that they had their differences, but after their
mother had died, he hoped that he and his sister could become closer than they had
been before. Then the Arcturus had disappeared, but he always
held hope that one day the ship would be found and the crew might still be
alive. That hope had faded as the
decades passed.
Now, it seemed, he had his wish, though
not the way anyone could have imagined. Her
aunt, who was born at Starfleet Medical in
Ilona knew that Federation records
had been amended to reflect the crew’s physical ages. She also knew that most of the crew’s
families had now been notified of the starship’s discovery and that the Arcturus staff would be able to receive
communications within the next 18 to 24 hours. The Starfleet vessel escorting the Arcturus was receiving and cataloging
the messages to be transmitted to the appropriate department heads for
distribution to the crew, with messages bearing priority status from planetary ambassadors
getting preference.
Ilona added a brief message for her
aunt to the message from her father, added the ambassadorial seal to the file, and
then sent the subspace communiqué on.
* * *
Starship
USS Arcturus, somewhere in deep space.
Val’ri Raiajh sat in her office
aboard the Arcturus. It has been two weeks since the crew had found
out their mission to the past had become an accidental trip into the
future. Some of the crew were having
difficulty in adjusting to the fact that they have been thrust 79 years into
the future. Raiajh’s roommate was one of
the crew having a hard time. A counselor
provided by Starfleet had been working with her for the past ten days, and she
was now beginning to accept what had happened to the crew. Val’ri was hoping that when the mail
transmissions came in there would be a message from someone in Cathryn’s
family.
Suddenly, Raiajh felt hungry and
decided to go to the main recreation room to get something to eat. Since it would be several hours before she
would receive any transmissions, she decided a diversion would be good for her.
In the recreation room, Val’ri sat
alone and ate her lunch quietly. From
across the room, she noticed one of the male counselors who had come aboard ten
days prior. Although there were several
male counselors among the group that had come aboard the Arcturus, the one Val’ri now noticed stood out from the rest. Ever since he had come on board, Sylvan Xaran
had tried to engage her in conversation.
When she first met him, she was surprised to realize that she was able
to sense his thoughts quite clearly. When
she went back to her office after that first encounter, she read what she was
able to find on the Betazoid race, having never before encountered one. She found that they were telepathic among
their own race and had empathic abilities among others. After reading that information, Val’ri
surmised that this counselor was probably able to sense her own thoughts as
clearly. What bothered her was that she
was only able to sense his thoughts and not the thoughts of the other Betazoids
among the counselors.
The visiting counselor came over and
sat down at the table with Val’ri. She
knew she could not pretend around him; so she did not. She looked up and noticed that he was smiling.
As best she could, she returned the
smile.
“Hello, Val. Finally decided to take a break from your
work, I see.”
“Hello, Sylvan. There wasn’t much work to take a break from. Truthfully, I got bored waiting in my office
for some work.”
“I can’t believe it,” Sylvan said, a
hint of mock-horror was in his voice. “A
Vulcan admitting that she’s bored.”
“It wouldn’t help me much to lie to
you. As for the being bored part, keep
it to yourself.” As they spoke, Val’ri sensed random thoughts from Sylvan. Suddenly one was stronger than any other.
‘I
wonder if she would have dinner with me tonight?’
Val’ri looked at Sylvan again and
tried to smile.
“Did I say something amusing?”
Sylvan asked.
“No, you did not. May I ask you a question?”
“As long as it is not too personal.”
“No, not personal. Sylvan, are you aware that I might have
similar empathic and telepathic abilities as you do?”
Suddenly, Sylvan’s face turned
different shades of crimson.
“I’m sorry, Val’ri. I didn’t know. I was not aware that you could sense my
thoughts. It was my understanding that Vulcans
are touch telepaths.”
“That is true, although some have
limited empathic abilities as well. My
mother, however, was a full Deltan and a very strong empath. As I am both Vulcan and Deltan, I have developed
a non-touch telepathic sense as well as a strong empathic sense. Truthfully, you are the first and only person
I have met that I was able to get clear messages from.”
“What about dinner, then?” Sylvan
asked.
“I will get back to you on dinner.”
* * *
Cathryn sat in the room that she
shared with Val’ri Raiajh and just stared at the bulkheads. Although she knew the risks involved when she
joined, she never expected anything like this. To wind up 79 years in the future, in the ‘blink
of an eye,’ was not one of the dangers she, nor anyone else aboard Arcturus, expected to face. And two weeks of ‘…getting used to the idea…’
wasn’t much help, nor comfort. She
envied the fact that her roommate, Val’ri Raiajh, had been able to take the
news so well.
She held the transmission from the
brother she did not even know she had until that afternoon in the palm of her
hand. All she had to do was insert the
chip into the computer slot to access the information. She knew that the message came from her
youngest brother. As he was 78, Cathryn
did not even know him. He was born just months
after the Arcturus had disappeared. She put the chip down and threw a foam ball
against the wall. The basket where she
had plucked the small ball from was filled with dozens of similar balls. As frustration again overtook her, she began
to sob almost uncontrollably and plucked ball after ball from the basket and
tossed them all over the cabin. After
the last ball was tossed, she cried a little longer into her pillow. Once again under control, she left the room
cluttered with balls all over the deck, and headed to sickbay to find someone
to talk to.
* * *
When Val’ri made her way back to the
cabin she shared with Pearson after sorting the last of the incoming mail, she
found the mess Cathryn had made. Picking
up the balls one and two at a time, she spent almost ten minutes tracking them
all down and tossing them back into the basket. With that completed, she finally had a chance
to listen to the message sent to her by her brother and his daughter.
Basically Ja’al, her brother, said
the same thing he did shortly after their mother had died. As she watched the image, Val’ri studied her
brother’s features, and suddenly reality hit her. She stopped the recording and then started
throwing the balls at the door. After throwing four of them, she finally picked
up the entire basket and threw it, balls and all, at the door.
Sylvan Xaran was walking outside the
door when he sensed Val’ri’s rage. He stopped
in front of the door, the door opening to let him into the cabin. He narrowly missed being hit by the basket,
but was assaulted by a barrage of foam balls.
Once in the cabin, Sylvan allowed
himself to sense Val’ri’s thoughts clearly. He knew that she would come to terms with reality
eventually, but he had believed it would come gradually and not suddenly and
all at once like this. He projected his
thoughts to her.
In her mind she heard Sylvan ‘telling’
her to relax and calm down. Slowly, she
regained her composure and sat on the floor of the cabin. Her long hair, which was usually held in place
at the nape of her neck, now flowed freely - albeit messily - down to her
waist.
Not wishing to talk, she decided to
project her thoughts back to Sylvan.
‘I
never expected to see my brother look so old, so quickly,’ she thought.
Sylvan found himself caught off
guard. He never expected that someone
who was not Betazoid could be able to project thoughts at him. Truthfully, he found it invigorating not
having to talk.
‘Val,
he is over 100 years of age.’
‘The
change in his looks is so sudden. For
me, anyway. Perhaps it would be best…’
‘…That
you sever family relationships?’
‘For
now, anyway.’
‘Why
do you think this is best?’
‘So
I can have time to adjust to the facts at hand. Perhaps, I will resign my commission and
travel from star system to star system and see the galaxy, see the new
advancements in technology.’
‘Do
you truly want to leave your friends here on Arcturus?’ Sylvan inquired.
‘I
don’t have many friends here. There is
nothing that keeps me here,’ Val’ri
replied.
‘Let
me rephrase. Do you truly want to leave the
Arcturus?’ Sylvan clarified.
‘At
this time, maybe I do wish to leave the life I have come to know here aboard
the Arcturus.’
‘Is
there any planet in the galaxy that you would like to visit over all other planets?’
‘No,
but every planet is unique in its own way,’ Val’ri
stated.
‘Let’s
get back to the matter at hand now. You
still haven’t stated why it would be best for you to sever your relationship
with your brother.’
‘I
need time to adjust to the radical differences in age between my brother and I
now. And besides, we were never very
close before. I see no reason to change
the dynamics of the relationship between my brother and me. It has worked well for us in the past, and it
will work even better now.’
‘Does
he write you much?’ Sylvan asked.
‘No,’
Val’ri replied. ‘This is the first time
since our mother died.’
‘How
come the two of you were never close? Usually
Deltans have very close family ties?’
‘Ja’al
and I are different. I find it hard to
deal with his emotions. He is a very
emotional person. Even more so than our
mother.’
‘You
deal with other Deltans aboard this ship,’ Sylvan
pointed out.
‘I
do,’ Val’re replied with her mind. ‘But
emotion is kept out of our daily routine. And my human roommate has avoided me these
past two weeks.’
‘Fine. Onto other topics then,’ Sylvan relented. ‘You said earlier that you wanted to leave Arcturus and travel the galaxy. How would you manage to travel?’
‘I
have sufficient credits in my name, from my time in Starfleet, along with the
inheritance from my mother, to put a down payment on a small spacecraft of my
own and still have sufficient credits to live upon.’
‘Would
you go alone, or with someone?’
‘In
the beginning I would go alone. Eventually,
I believe I will have a companion.’
Suddenly, Sylvan began to talk aloud
once again.
“Val, although you try to pass
yourself off as Vulcan, in many ways you are also Deltan. Deltans have difficulty being alone.”
“A person learns to live with his or
her shortcomings. I do not deny that my
need for company is a Deltan trait.”
“Are you still interested in dinner?”
“Not tonight. Perhaps another,” Val’ri suggested.
“I understand, Val,” Sylvan replied.
“Try and have a nice evening.”
“I’ll probably just rest. Thank you for taking the time to listen.”
“That’s my job. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He then walked out of the cabin and down the
corridor. Val’ri picked herself up off
the deck and returned to her bunk where she meditated for a while before
falling asleep before Cathryn returned to the room.
* * *
USS Arcturus, the following day, en route toward Earth
When both Pearson and Raiajh awoke
the following morning, Cathryn looked at the mess and insisted that this was
not the same mess that she made the night before. She had thrown most of the balls toward the
shower and most of these were near the door and out in the hall. She also noticed the scuff marks on the wall
where the basket had made impact.
“Val, what happened in here last
night? One thing I know I never did was
throw the basket. When I came in last
night you were sound asleep and I nearly tripped over the thing.”
“I admit that I threw the basket
containing the balls at the door yesterday evening. I must apologize to Counselor Xaran for what must
have seemed like me throwing the basket at him. He walked in just as I threw it. The basket missed him, but he was showered by
the balls.”
Cathryn laughed at the thought of
one of the visiting counselors being hit by all those foam balls at one time.
“Val, let me ask you something: Do
you think we will get used to living in the 24th century?”
“In time, I believe we might.”
“What is your brother up to these
days, Val?”
“From the message I have received, he
is retired from his ambassadorial position and living on Delta IV. His daughter currently holds his former
position. What about your family, if you
don’t mind my asking?”
“As far as I know, they’re all deceased,
except for one born shortly after we went missing. But I still have not listened to the tape that
he sent me.” Cathryn glanced at the
chronometer on the table next to her bunk, then said, “I’ll talk to you more
later. Right now I have an appointment
with Braacht.” Pearson then offered a
final goodbye before leaving the cabin, the doors quickly swishing shut behind
her.
* * *
A couple of hours later, the crew were
issued their new Starfleet uniforms. Val’ri
sat in her office working and nonchalantly tugged at the gold-faced top. After tugging at it for about two hours she
put the old maroon uniform jacket over the new uniform. Most of the work that sat in front of her now
had been created by the counselors, discs that had to be copied and sent to Starfleet
Medical to be included on the respective files regarding the Arcturus crew. In a methodical way, she copied all the
smaller files into one larger file to be transmitted. As there were almost 400 crew members aboard
the starship, the task took almost half her shift.
Just as Raiajh was finishing, Sylvan
Xaran walked into the office.
“Hi. I didn’t take you to be the nostalgic type,”
he said.
“Nostalgic, no. The new uniform
is...drafty.” Sylvan couldn’t help
laughing at Val’ri’s pathetic attempt lie.
“Val, you don’t lie very well.”
“The uniform is too close fitting
for my liking,” Raiajh remarked.
“They have an alternate uniform you
can wear, either alone or over pants. It
is called a skant,” Sylvan advised.
“That sounds more… comfortable. Care to help me take on the billeting officer?”
“I’ll walk with you to his office, but
unfortunately I have an appointment,” Sylvan said. “I just wanted to see if you would be up to
dinner tonight.”
“After yelling at Braacht, I will be
ready for anything. 1900 hours?”
“1900 is fine.”
* * *
Val’ri walked into Billeting alone,
where she confronted the Tellarite, Braacht.
“Mister Braacht, I want the other
uniform.”
“Is there a problem with the one you
have?”
“It is too close fitting for my
comfort. I can not work tugging at my
uniform top all day.”
“Request denied,” the Tellarite
replied with a smug look.
“Why are you so cheap when it comes
to expenditures? All parts of the new uniform
are supposed to part of our new issue.”
“Being cheap is my job. You were supposed to return your old uniform,
and the alternate you are requesting is not part of the standard uniform issue.”
“I acquired this one myself, to have
a spare on hand. As for the skant
uniform not being part of the standard issue, I checked in the data banks and
found that it is.” Of course, Val’ri had
fabricated this point, hoping to push Braacht her way.
“Since you put it that way…” Braacht punched a few buttons on his desk computer
and handed Val’ri a disc.
“Here. Just don’t tell the whole ship.”
Val’ri took the disc from the
Tellarite before responding, “You know I don’t lie very well. I’ll just tell them to ask you about it. Fair enough?”
“It will have to be,” Braacht
replied. Val’ri then turned and left the
Billeting office and returned to her quarters to change her uniform before
getting some lunch and returning to her work station.
* * *
When it came time to dress for
dinner, she tried to choose something simple that Cathryn had said was generally
liked by humans. She just hoped simple
had not gone out of style in the three-quarters of a century that they had been
missing. She undid her hair, brushed the
waist-length black locks and used the hair band that Cathryn had given her to
hold it back and off her face. She
looked in the mirror and decided she did not like what she was wearing.
She sat on the bed and instructed
the computer interface to show her something that the computer could replicate
for her to wear that was simple, yet trendy. She came across an outfit that consisted of a
long tunic and pants. Although the tunic
was close fitting like the uniform top, it had a boat neck and below the waist
it fanned out into four separate panels that went down past the knees. Underneath a pair of close fitting pants were
worn in the exact shade of the tunic and matching shoes complimented the
outfit. She requisitioned the replicator
in her room reproduce the outfit in navy and, once it had been produced, tried
it on. Val’ri liked what she saw in the
mirror.
As Val’ri finished dressing, Cathryn
walked into the cabin and sat on her bunk. She looked at Val’ri in her new
outfit.
“Nice outfit,” she said. “Braacht is going to be angry when he finds
out you used the new replicator to make it.”
“Let him be,” Val’ri replied. “It is not a waste. It is my own replicator rations I used. And I did need a new off duty outfit.”
“So who are you going out with
tonight?” Cathryn asked.
“What makes you think I am, as you put
it, going out with someone tonight?”
“The only time you wear off duty
clothes is when you have dinner with someone. So who is it?”
“Sylvan,” Val’ri replied.
“Who?” Cathryn asked, confused.
“Sylvan Xaran.”
“The Counselor? The one you hit with the foam rubber balls?”
“Yes to both questions.”
“Perhaps when we are finally
acclimated into the 24th century, they’ll find a new role for you? Perhaps something like ship’s liaison.”
“I don’t think so. Anyway, I am just having dinner with him.”
“That’s what you always say.”
“That’s all it ever is. You know I cannot do anything more.”
“Maybe once we go through
retraining?” Cathryn smiled and left the
room with her gym gear before Val’ri had a chance to reply.
* * *
USS Arcturus, two days later
The visiting counselors sat in a
small meeting room in the medical department and discussed the mental state of
the Arcturus crew. It was bothering Sylvan for several days that
he had found one of the crew had telepathic abilities and was keeping it to themselves.
Jaron was the doctor in charge of
the counselors. For the past two days he
knew that Sylvan had been holding something back. He also knew Sylvan would
tell the visiting counselors what was on his mind eventually, but he tried
prodding Sylvan again anyway.
“Sylvan, how are the patients you
have been assigned to evaluate doing?”
“Most are adjusting better than
expected. I do have some concerns. May I address you privately after this
meeting?”
“As you wish, Sylvan. This meeting is adjourned.”
As the counselors filed out of the
room, Sylvan and Jaron remained behind, where they conversed telepathically as
Betazoids normally do.
‘Sylvan,
I can sense something is bothering you, and has for the past two days.’
‘Three
days ago, I had lunch with one of the crew,’ Sylvan replied.
‘Val’ri
Raiajh. Yes I know about that. I saw the two of you together. What about her bothers you?’
‘I
believe that she might have telepathic abilities, similar to ours.’
‘What
makes you believe that?’
‘While
she was eating lunch that day, she sensed my thoughts. Later that evening, after she received the
communiqué from her brother, she was able to direct thoughts at me that I was
able to receive. Surprisingly, she was
also able to receive my thoughts.’
‘Have
you ever considered that she might be your Imzadi, Sylvan?’ the senior counselor asked.
‘Jaron!’
Sylvan thought back with shock. ‘I don’t
know her well enough to consider her my Imzadi!’
‘Sylvan,
sometimes it is not as simple as knowing someone for a time. Humans have a saying called love at first
sight. Although having an Imzadi is not
the same as for humans, there have been a few occasions when a bond has formed
between Betazoids and other races, like humans. This appears to be the first time between a
Betazoid and a limited telepath species like Vulcan or Deltan. If it makes you feel better, when I see Lieutenant
Raiajh later, I will run a test to see if she is able to receive and send
thought with a telepath other than you.’
‘Thank
you, Doctor,’ Sylvan said before leaving
the conference room. As he turned down
the corridor, the Betazoid counselor could not help but think about what Jaron
had said about Imzadi.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Val’ri was
sitting in her Quartermaster’s office when Counselor Jaron stopped by to visit.
“Good afternoon, Lieutenant. How are you today?”
“I am well, Counselor.”
“Well enough that you missed the
last two counseling sessions that we were supposed to have had?”
“Commodore Johnson never said that
the counseling services being provided to the crew by Starfleet were mandatory. And why should I sit and talk to you when I
have nothing to say?”
“Sometimes, you would be surprised by
what you have to say.”
“I have plenty of work that I have
to get through. I don’t have time for
what humans would call small talk. Please
leave so I may concentrate on my work. If
you wish, you can report my behavior to Commodore Johnson and the senior staff.
I am asking you nicely to leave. If necessary, I will call security.”
“Security will not be necessary,
Lieutenant. I shall leave. As I see you find it easier talking to Sylvan,
I will hand your case over to him. Perhaps
then you will keep your scheduled appointments?” Then as Counselor Jaron turned to leave, he
telepathically received a message from Val’ri that was as clear as the sky on a
cloudless day.
‘At
least Counselor Xaran would not schedule an appointment during my watch cycle.’
Jaron was careful not to react to
Val’ri’s thoughts. Saying nothing, he
mentally projected his own thoughts at the Vulcan-Deltan woman. The Vulcan-Deltan woman completely missed the
telepathy.
‘Imzadi,’
Jaron thought to himself. ‘Definitely Imzadi.’
* * *
Later that day, while waiting for
Sylvan to arrive, Val’ri sat in her cabin and watched the image that appeared
before her. Cathryn had been watching the
holographic projector, and Val’ri had asked her to leave it on when she left. The barbaric human game it was projecting in
the center of the room intrigued her.
A few minutes later, Sylvan walked
into the room and stopped, looking at what Val’ri was watching.
“What’s this? A study in human culture?” he asked.
“My roommate, Cathryn Pearson, is a
Canadian history buff. This is a recording
from her historic archives. It is called
a hockey game,” Val’ri explained.
“Why are you watching it?” Sylvan
asked as one of the players was slammed into the wall surrounding the ice rink.
“I was trying to figure out the
rules of the game. It seems to be something
like skatsball on ice skates, except in hockey, the players are apparently allowed
to fight.” As she explained, a fight
broke out between two of the players on the ice, quickly broken up by a man
wearing a black and white striped uniform.
“Although it appears they are penalized for it. Actually it is rather barbaric. Computer, please discontinue image.” The holographic projection immediately disappeared
from the center of the room.
“Cathryn tells me that clubs of people
on Earth still play this so-called game.
At least, back in our own time.”
“Enough about hockey. Let’s talk about you. I was reading your service record today and
found something interesting. An incident
that occurred during a shuttle trip to Starbase
35. Commodore Johnson noted in the
record that you did not give a full account of what occurred while you were
gone.”
“My fellow passenger, Ensign Isaiah Ben’tarch,
and I found ourselves on Earth, apparently in the past. It was an interesting five hours. While there I interacted with a guitar-playing
gas station attendant that, according to Cathryn, would later go on to share a
unique place in Canadian history. At the
time we arrived, I had no idea who he was. During the period we were together, he only told
me his first name and that he didn’t really like working in the gas station and
really wanted to play guitar with his band full time. If I had known who he was before I arrived
there, I would have just had the tire fixed and left. At least, by not knowing I was not able to
change history by telling him anything that he did not know yet. While I was there, I mistakenly drank a
beverage that contained sucrose. As I’m
sure you know, sucrose causes intoxication in Vulcans, and I lost control of
myself for a period of time. I can’t
tell you what caused us to go back it time or return us to our point of origin
and time once the ‘car’ was repaired, but after that day, I changed.” Val’ri paused for a minute. Until that moment, it had never really
occurred to her that she was not the same person that she was when she first
reported aboard the Arcturus. She just sat and stared at Sylvan, not knowing
how to continue. Jaron was right. Sometimes one was surprised as to what one
has to say.
“Val’ri can you tell me why you feel
you changed after that day?”
“I’m not sure, Sylvan. During the time that I was intoxicated, I was
in touch with feelings that I never felt before. Feelings from my Deltan half. Not the sexual aspects, just the emotional
aspects. After that experience I looked
at my life differently. I became less
Vulcan, and more...”
Val’ri paused, looking for an
appropriate word.
“More… human, I guess would be the
appropriate word.”
“Val, can you tell me how you feel
right now?”
Looking at the floor, Val’ri sat and
pondered this question for a few minutes before answering. For the first time in her life, she felt
scared and afraid. And there was
something else that she couldn’t comprehend. Fear was a feeling that she recognized, but
why was she feeling it toward Sylvan. She
looked up and again spoke.
“Scared and afraid and confused.”
“Can you explain why you feel that
way?”
“I’ll try,” Val’ri said. “I am scared because being in the 24th century
is something that is new and different and afraid because I am not sure that I
will be able to fit in with those around me, being 79 years out of date.”
“Why do you feel confused?” Sylvan
asked.
“It is not confusion by itself. It is fear and confusion all wrapped up in the
same package. It is a bit hard to
explain.”
“Take your time.”
Val’ri paused again for a moment
before finally looking at the counselor and saying, “It has to do with you,
Sylvan.” As she said it, Val’ri knew she
caught him off guard.
“Excuse me?”
“The way I feel about you makes me
scared, afraid and confused. I have never
felt this way before.”
“Val, let me ask you a question. Can you sense the thoughts of the other Betazoid
counselors aboard the ship?”
“If I tried, I am sure that I could.
I don’t like to use my abilities. I can however sense the collective emotional
state of this ship.”
“Would you be willing to leave the Arcturus for a period of six months and
travel with me to Betazed to find out more about the unique gift you have?”
Sylvan asked.
“It depends. In a way I told you how I feel about you,”
Val’ri replied. “You have not told me
how you feel about me?”
“There is a Betazoid word. Imzadi,” Sylvan answered. “Although there is no direct translation for
the word into Standard, it expresses a special bond between two people. It is similar to a part of the Vulcan marriage
ritual where the couple mind meld, except without the physical contact. But Imzadi don’t necessarily have to be
married.”
Val’ri could not help but smile, and
this time it wasn’t forced.
“How do you know so much about
Vulcan marriage rituals? They are
supposed to be secret.”
“I have a Terran friend who married
a Vulcan,” Sylvan replied. “Anyway, back
to how I feel about you. Part of the
reason why I want you to come to Betazed is because of how I feel about you. As you know by now, most of the crew will
remain on Earth, retraining at
“Sylvan, just having you and the
other counselors aboard makes Commodore Johnson feel uneasy now. Having a full time staff of counselors aboard
this ship will make him want to jump out the nearest airlock. He is not crazy about the idea of ship’s
counselor.”
“Like it or not, if and when this
crew returns to space, there will be counselors aboard whatever ship they are
assigned. I want you to come to Betazed
to learn to be my assistant. I also hope
that before we return to Earth, you will become my wife.”
Val’ri was surprised by Sylvan’s
sudden revelation.
“Sylvan, we only met two weeks
ago! I don’t know about marrying you. Not yet anyway. But I will come to Betazed. I was this ship’s quartermaster only because
Cathryn couldn’t get it right. She does,
however, make a great ship’s historian. And I think this opportunity will allow her to
get the training she needs to become an adequate quartermaster. It is about time that I continue my career in
the sciences field.”
“That’s the spirit! I will tell Jaron in the morning that you will
be accompanying us to Betazed when we leave.
He will notify the Commodore of your decision.”
Sylvan stood up and offered his hand
to the Vulcan-Deltan woman.
“Let’s go for a walk. I have not yet seen your ship’s arboretum.”
“That would be fine. Even I don’t like sitting in my room all the
time.”
* * *
USS Arcturus, one week later
Val’ri and Cathryn were in their cabin
for what would be the last time. Val’ri
was packing most of her personal things for her journey to Betazed. The remainder of the articles would remain in
storage at San Francisco Yards for transfer back to the new ship when the time
arrived.
“Val, I have some interesting news. I received a new position today. Ship’s historian. The entire quartermaster’s
office is being merged with Billeting.”
“I heard about that. Commodore Johnson always knew about your keen
interest in history. This is a great
chance to broaden your horizons. Learn
all you can. I know you will be happier
in this position than working under Braacht.”
“What about you Val? Why can’t you go back to the Academy with the
rest of us while you learn your new skills?”
“I wish I could stay, but right now
I have to do this. It will be easier for
me to learn what I need to learn away from the crew. The distractions will be fewer on Betazed. Understand?”
“I guess so. What about Sylvan?”
“He has been assigned to work with the
Arcturus crew through our transition.
He will be returning to Earth with me.”
“I know that,” Cathryn said with a giggle. “What about you and Sylvan?”
“Hard to say. It is going better than I expected. We both want to pursue it further. Perhaps make it permanent.”
“Well that rules out having you as
ship’s liaison.”
“I never wanted that position
anyway. I may be one of the counselors
on board the ship when I return. Some of
the crew may find it easier talking to a familiar face.”
Val’ri finished her packing and
closed her trunk.
“Take good care of the remainder of
my things while I am gone. If you wish
you may borrow some of the articles of clothing that I have left behind. Just make sure you return it in the same
condition that you borrowed it.”
“Val, I will miss you. Don’t worry. I will be a good study while you are gone. I will see you when you get back.”
Val’ri walked over to the replicator
and turned to Cathryn.
“Name your drink.”
“My usual off duty poison will be
fine,” Cathryn replied.
Val’ri told the computer the drink
order, one beer and one cola, and returned to Cathryn with the drinks, handing
the human woman the beer.
“Here’s to the future. May we find our way through it safely. And to the day when we meet again,” Val’ri
said. They sipped their drinks before Cathryn
continued the toast.
“Val, here’s to you and your future.
May you find everything you are looking
for.” With that Cathryn downed the
remainder of her drink. Val’ri had an
additional sip of her cola and placed the remainder of the drink on the table.
“It is time for me to leave,” she
said. “I must catch my transport. Live long and prosper, Cathryn.” Val’ri then turned to leave but Cathryn
stopped her.
“Val, wait! I have one request before you leave. But if you say no, I will understand.”
“A request?”
“A small one. In my family when we say good bye for a time,
we usually hug each other. I know you
are not that crazy about touching, but may I have a hug before you go?”
Val’ri looked at Cathryn and
pondered her request for a moment.
“A hug? I believe I can handle that.”
The two women moved closer and
wrapped their arms around each other.
After a couple of seconds, Val’ri stepped away and Cathryn spoke.
“Live long and prosper Val. I will see you in about six months.”
“Good bye Cathryn. I will write you when I get to Betazed.” Then, after a second’s pause, Val’ri left the
room and headed for the transport.
The End
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