Lt. Alieth - desperate times call for desperate measures

[LCDR Aine O. Sherlock]

The woman, the myth, the legend. @Alieth @Alleran Tan

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(( Upper Beach, Cochtois Lagoon, Deluvia IV ... sometime after the canine arrival ))

 

With the first stages of the transfer completed or in the process of completion, Alieth had found herself in a strange state of affairs as of late.

 

She was at R&R. But not a free time, she could distract herself by taking work in the lab or marshalling files in sickbay. Nor one that she could use to spend time with her colleagues and indulge whatever emotional needs they had. Not even to work out issues from her past.

 

A new place, a new ship, and new people. Still no trouble, and still no assigned lab. She really had time to spare, and little to do except become acquainted with the starship and the planet, which was.... disconcerting in a sense.

 

It was too quiet and normal, and Alieth knew that this was when something happened: Meimei showed up. Teller crashed a shuttle. There was an "incident" with a tennis bat.

 

But for the moment there hadn't happened anything like that, so she had slipped into some civilian attire (a long, dark tunic which left her arms exposed, yet still gave her the gravitas and severity that her short stature rarely gave her) and had beamed down to one of the planet's beaches. Just to feel the sand beneath her feet since, of course, as she wasn't going to venture within five metres of the water if she could help it. Swimming was just unnatural and unnecessary. 

 

And damp.

 

 Utterly illogical, and anyone who indulged in it was certainly unvulcan.

 

For the first few minutes of their walk, she remained vigilant, half expecting that something would happen.

 

But it didn't. 

 

The wind was balmy and just a little humid. Much colder than Vulcan, of course, but still pleasant.

 

Local flora was breathtaking, an explosion of fantastic colours and shapes: purple spires, bright orange canopies, golden and black petals. Iridescent insects and swift shimmering hummingbirds.

 

And no one around.

 

Her pace became more leisurely. Her footsteps became easier and more errant. Even the stern expression on her face relaxed slightly, letting one of the corners of her mouth turn up, just minutely.

 

She could actually learn to cherish the place after all, even .....

 

Tan: Hi! Hello! Yes, yes, you—excuse me! Hello?

 

Instinctively, Alieth turned towards the voice, her flawless impassive mask back in place. Perhaps her heart had skipped a beat, with no motive, but of course it didn't take her long to slow down to the pace it should have.

 

Alieth: How can I be of service?

The words left her lips naturally. Unemotional, monochord, perfunctory, as she observed a Trill in a rather questionable outfit with a splash of something probably highly sugary dripping down his arm step towards her.

 

As was typical, as he sauntered towards her, it was evident that he towered over her and she straightened her back to look as commanding as possible, arms folded behind her back and the trademark expression of having spent the last forty years sipping lemon juice.

 

Tan: Hi, sorry, yes. Lieutenant Serren Tan, with the Gorkon. Sorry, just... ::He squinted some more.:: I recognise you. You're the Vulcan from that sign. Vulcan Science Academy. On Deep Space 224.

 

Alieth: Well, obviously I am A Vulcan, but the assumption that there is a sign in Deep Space 224 with my face is a bit presumptuous. Last time I was there, there was no sign at all.

 

For a moment, they both remained mute, an increasingly thick silence that one could cut with a knife. Eventually, Alieth shattered it, a spark of curiosity perking in her dark eyes.

 

Alieth: Can you state the nature of this sign and its content?

 

That Serren Tan who, apparently, was one of her new crewmates dithered for a second, and silence clung to the disparate duo once more. Even Alieth, more comfortable with silence than the average person, found it awkward.

 

A chunk of melted ice cream left the cone the Trill held in his hand and hurtled towards its end with a gooey, pink plop.

 

Tan: Uh, right. ::Melted icecream dripped into the sand, staining it bright pink.:: Something about noise complaints, disturbed cats vis-a-vi feeding schedules... I think. ::Frowning,:: Now I think about it, the voice on the other end was very non-specific, but the sign was... insistent.

 

A very slanted eyebrow twitched for a moment. A pair of pointed ears tinged faintly green, no doubt.

 

Alieth: Ah, I see. Whatever the content of those accusations are, I want to stress that, more than likely, they have been vastly exaggerated and that the Klingons started it all.

 

Tan: Response

 

Alieth breathed in deeply, afraid that this day would come someday, but not so soon. Not when she had not yet made her place in her new ship.

 

Alieth: Mister Tan, I can only say that it was all in self-defence and for the benefit of the quadrant. I was driven solely by the greatest good.

 

Tan: Response

 

The petite Vulcan stared at the Trill VERY intently, without batting an eyelid, a glare she had honed over the past year. One that could freeze small stars or reduce Starfleet officers to cinders. From the Trill's half-empty cone fell another droplet of pink blob which the sand absorbed greedily.

 

Alieth: Lieutenant, at this point in your career you must have realised that there are many evils in the galaxy: corrupt governments that exploit their citizens, space-time anomalies that threaten to destroy entire systems, creatures that escape the laws of physics as we understand them. By the same token, a scientific thesis like the one those Klingon scientists were trying to deliver was an outrage against reason and logic that was too serious to be allowed to spread freely, so... I took care of it.

 

Tan: Response

 

At that point a muscle in the Vulcan's jaw twitched faintly and the greenness spread softly but imperturbably to her cheeks.

 

Alieth: I used his research against him. To be exact, I hit him in the forehead with it.

 

Tan: Response

 

[Tahna Meru]

2 minutes ago, LtJG Aine Olive Sherlock said:

I hit him in the forehead with it.

ICONIC

[Meidra Sirin]

Proof once and for all that Alieth started this mess, and Meidra was an innocent bystander!!