"Shemloks"
by Lieutenant Sam
and Lieutenant (J.G.) Arthas Hex
Location: Hex's quarters; Holodeck 2.
Stardate: 57906.31, 00h05
***
Arthas entered his quarters after his shift on the bridge. He walked in
and changed into his riding gear, as he was planning to use his 'shemlok'
riding program.
The animal was very similar to a horse except that they did not require a
saddle to ride and responded to basic Trill language. Arthas had always
found it to be very relaxing and for the fourth time he was going to share
it with a friend.
The friend was not anything that Arthas had expected to like. He and
Lieutenant Sam had met for the first time in the lounge before his shift and
it -- no, he -- seemed to be very interested, if not strange to talk to.
Arthas stood in front of his mirror in his riding gear. He was wearing brown
animal skin, similar to leather but with the feel of wool and tough trousers
that were made out of a Ferengi moth and which had been bought by his father
to him before he left for the Academy.
Rick, his best friend, had given Arthas the riding program before he left
also, so it must have been an arranged coincidence.
To any human, he must have looked like one of the old 'wild-west' characters
from some twentieth century motion film and to any other species he must
have simply looked odd.
Arthas exited his quarters and headed for Holodeck 2.
***
Sam arrived at Holodeck 2 just ahead of Arthas. He was standing by the
door, reviewing the available programs in the Holodeck datastore, when the
Trill arrived. He stood up and turned to face the security officer. "I am
prepared for whichever program you will be running."
"You say that now," Arthas said. "Now the shemloks respond to basic trill
language, such as go, fast, slow, stop."
He accessed the terminal and brought up his personal file, loading the
shemlok riding program.
"You may enter when ready," the computer announced.
"After you, Lieutenant," Arthas said.
Sam passed through the open door and into the photonic creation of the Trill
landscape.
The program consisted of a large green area of land which Arthas' father
owned. Arthas had spent years here as a child - with his shemlok 'Tiadra.'
Tiadra had died not long before Arthas left for Starfleet, but Rick had
already programmed her into this program.
Arthas approached his shemlok. She smiled at him as he approached.
"Hello," Arthas said in his native language.
The shemlok smiled and replied, "Hello, Arthas."
It went down on one knee and Arthas sat astride on it.
"Hello," Sam said to his shemlok. The creature made only a snorting noise
at him, and sniffed rudely. The android cocked his head to the side and
glanced at Arthas. "Please lower yourself as your companion did so that I
may mount you."
Another rude noise followed and the shemlok just turned to face Sam with
another snort. "Perhaps the programming is flawed," Sam suggested. "Hello."
"Bah," the shemlok answered. It turned away from Sam then and lifted its
nose higher into the air.
Sam again looked at Arthas. "I do not believe this simulated creation is
amenable to me."
Arthas laughed, quite genuinely since getting his symbiont; even the past
hosts were laughing.
"When I said basic commands, I don't think that what you just said was my
idea of basic commands." Arthas got off of his shemlok and stood in front of
Sam's animal.
"Qiten, hello," he said in Trill.
The animal purred and stroked his face against Arthas' arm.
"You try," Arthas said to Sam.
Sam turned to face the shemlok, and in perfect Trill, said, "Qiten, hello."
The beast lowered itself to the ground so that Sam could climb onto its
back, but still made a noise that Sam's positronic net had difficulty
determining which organic components of the creature were involved in making
the sound. "Up," he said, and the shemlok stood. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Qiten answered.
"What sort of capacity for learning does a shemlok possess?" Sam asked
Arthas. "They are not sentient, are they?"
"About as intelligent as a household pet, but a few centuries back they
learned basic trill. You can have a conversation with them on a par with a
mentally disabled person. And best of all, they have the intelligence not
to ride into trees and to take into account the rider when jumping," Arthas
replied. "Follow my lead, Sam, I'll stop in a few seconds. To make them
stop, say halt; they don't understand stop. Ready?"
"I understand," Sam answered.
Arthas surveyed the landscape and chose a direction. He shouted so that Sam
could hear him: "Head due right toward fence. Run."
Arthas' shemlok grunted pleasantly and headed toward the fence.
"Head due right toward fence," Sam called to his shemlok. "Run."
After making another series of rude noises and snorts, followed by what, to
Sam's creative interpreters, sounded very much like a laugh, Qiten took off
after Arthas. It wasn't a very smooth ride, and it was only Sam's
unparalleled agility that kept him in the saddle. Still, he could see where
this might be considered a fun activity by many Trill.
The two of them stopped at the fence.
"So, any questions before we go for a longer sprint?" Arthas asked.
"I do not have any further questions, Arthas," Sam answered. "I will follow
you."
"Try not to hold the animal too much - it makes them uncomfortable," Arthas
suggested, noticing the look on Qiten's face.
"Head to Hideout; fast as comfort," Arthas said, again shouting a little for
Sam's benefit.
Sam gave Qiten the same command, and mimicked how Arthas was riding his
shemlok.
***00h35***
Arthas sat in his old secret hide-out on Trill. This really was a good
simulation, he thought. Thanks, Rick.
It had been ten minutes since he had last seen Sam, and he hoped that his
shemlok would be able to smell Arthas', who was eating outside.
"Arthas," Sam called as he approached the clearing. He had tufts of various
grasses and shrubberies clinging to him as he rode. The shemlok beneath him
seemed almost to be grinning. "Arthas, are you here?"
"Yes, what happened to you?" Arthas asked, suppressing a laugh.
"I believe Qiten was not appreciative of carrying me over that distance,"
Sam answered. "It was fortunate that the place where I landed was
sufficiently padded."
Arthas couldn't help himself - he laughed. "I'm sorry," he said once he had
recovered from his laughter. "I'm sorry."
"I do not understand the need for your apology, Arthas," Sam said. "Has
something happened of which I am not yet aware?"
"Uh, no Sam, I'm apologizing to you for laughing at you. Especially in
front of you," Arthas said. He smiled. "I'll allow you access to this
program if you would wish. You could make a shemlok puppy and it will grow
accustomed to you."
"I believe that would be acceptable," Sam answered, and then looked around
at the location. "This appears to be a very secluded location. Is this
also a place from Trill?"
"Yes, this is where I would hide from the world," Arthas said. He looked to
Sam who had a very confused look. Arthas guessed his question and answered
it. "Not literally but hide from the feelings in my family house. I was
very young when I first started coming out here; I was about eight."
"Emotional expression is a key part of most sentient species' lives. Why
would you wish to hide your emotions?"
"When I was eight, my mother and sister both died in a terrorist attack,"
Arthas said. "Quite unusual on Pilot for anything so drastic, but my father
had just come to office and they were trying to ruin him, I guess. It didn't
work; it just strengthened his resolve to stop terrorism on the colony. It
didn't bode too well for my youth, however. I ended up with no mother and a
father so concentrated and focused on his goals that he was never around."
"I can understand, in a situation such as that, why you would wish to seek
seclusion. It does not appear to have hindered your development as a
sentient being. Did you have friends while you were...growing up?"
"No, not really. Not if you discount Rick. Rick created this program for me
as a going away present. He was a friend of my dad's and also befriended
me. He's quite a famous holo-designer," Arthas said. "Anyway, enough about
me. What about you, how were you, um, created?"
"Commander Maddox began his work to create me shortly after his first
meeting with Commander Data. My systems were first brought on-line in the
Earth calendar year of 2368. I entered Starfleet Academy in 2370, and
graduated in 2374."
Arthas coughed in surprise. "No, I meant any stories from your history -
intriguing events. Amusing events?"
"I am uncertain what would qualify as...amusing," Sam answered.
Arthas sighed. "Alright, events when humans or another species laughed at
something that happened, maybe to you or to them. Perhaps a time when you,
yourself learned a lot. Something that has an impact on the way you think or
analyze things," Arthas tried to explain.
"There was an event where the Borg had returned. I was assigned to the USS
Ticonderoga. A multi-phasic induction grid had failed, and I was assigned
to repair it. A ruptured plasma conduit caused extensive damage to my
endoskeletal structure. I was unable to complete the repairs in time. I
required extensive repairs from Commander Maddox after that experience."
"Wow, seriously injured. It would take a lot to do that to an android. How
about close relationships with people, friends and lovers. Can androids have
lovers?" Arthas asked.
"I am fully capable of engaging in sexual intercourse," Sam answered.
"However, I do not believe I would be able to experience the emotion of love."
"That would be strange, not having any emotions, but not being able to
love." Arthas stopped talking for a few seconds. "Can you experience
friendship?"
"I do believe that I am capable of having friends," Sam answered. "A
friendship is a bond formed between two or more people. And, I am capable
of determining those people with whom I may have productive, non-duty
related relationships. I would say that one of my closest friends would be
Lieutenant Tagliesh."
"So, in your opinion, friendship is not an emotion?" Arthas asked, intrigued.
"I have not extensively studied the concept of friendship," Sam said.
"However, the research I have conducted has led me to believe that
friendship is not an emotion, though most friendships do contain an
emotional bond. A friend is typically a person with whom one has mutual
interests and is able to exist in an amicable nature. Therefore, I believe,
even though my processing does not allow for a wide range of emotional
response, that I am capable of forming friendships."
Arthas stood. "Well, Sam, I think you've made a new friend. Now, let's get
you a pup."
Sam approximated a smile and then followed after Arthas. A new friend, he
thought to himself. I wonder what Lt. Tagliesh would say.
"Most Foul"
by Captain Matthew T. Salinger
Commanding Officer, USS Sulu
Location: Bridge, USS Sulu
Stardate 57906.31 10h00
***
Captains log. Stardate 57906.31. Matthew T. Salinger, reporting.
The Sulu has departed Starbase 163 and we're now underway to Risa where we
are scheduled to pick up another new member of the crew. Ensign Andrea
Collins has a checkered past, but someone along the Starfleet chain of
command has decided to give her a second chance. Most of her record is
sealed, and while I have seen it, I am hesitant. She will get all the
chances allowed to the crew of this ship, however, despite her past actions.
Lt. Xayella Tagliesh may have a spotted past, but nothing she has done would
have landed her in a Federation prison. And, other than a few reports of
acidic retorts, Lt. Tagliesh has been performing her duties admirably since
her return to duty. As a matter of fact, I heard from Ensign Rax that the
lieutenant actually gave the Trill officer a smile the other day, a rare
thing for Tagliesh. It is my hope that soon Commander Lyrr will accept that
Xayella isn't the dead weight I sense she believes she is.
The engineering department is solid, especially now that we have an official
chief engineer again. Lieutenant Thaine is performing his job well, and
adapting to the new role as I expected he would. His team is hard at work
on some upgrades to our lateral shield arrays, work that should have been
done before we left Spacedock. Thankfully, they had the parts we required
at Starbase 163, and now we're underway.
I have caught a glimpse at what our next mission will hold in store for us,
and I must admit I'm excited and anxious. Since the end of the Dominion
War, very little traffic has been allowed into the Gamma quadrant,
especially on an exploratory basis. According to Admiral Kenyon, after our
crew transfer we're to set a course for Deep Space Nine and the Bajoran
system. An offhand comment he made indicated travel through the wormhole
and finding what secrets the Gamma quadrant was hiding.
We're not scheduled to report to DS9 for another twenty days, so I have
decided to allow a furlough once we reach Risa. It's not often a Starfleet
vessel re-routes to the vacation spot, so we might as well make use of the
opportunity.
***
Matt Salinger closed down the log recorder and shifted in his seat. In
front of him, Ensign Kit Markham sat at the flight control station, bright
purple hair bobbing along to some music heard only in the young officer's
head. Matt distinctly remembered that the man's hair had been black the
last time he'd seen it. He shook his head and chuckled softly to himself.
There weren't many people on the bridge right now. Sanchez was working at
the operations console, and thankfully not beating his fists against it this
time. Lines creased the ensign's forehead though, and Matt could tell
something was causing him stress. Every once in awhile, Sanchez would look
up and around, and then back to his station.
Matt could only wonder what would cause so much stress in a man, then he
remembered the last time he'd spoken to Sanchez. Women will do that to
you, he thought to himself. Perhaps Risa will be good for him.
He turned to the science station where Ensign Gainsborough was in mid-gulp
from her enormous mug of raktajino. In normal times, at this hour,
Xayella would be there, and he knew she'd be giving him a smile back at that
point. Monica's cheeks flushed and she quickly turned back to her station.
On the other side of the bridge, Ensign Ethan Storm stood at the tactical
station, calmly dividing his attention between his station and the forward
viewer. Matt had a sneaking suspicion that the ensign's calm demeanour
would not change if the ship suddenly went to red alert. Security officers
had a habit of doing that, and this one seemed to be less prone to showing
surprised than most.
With a smile, Matt turned back to the center of the bridge and turned his
attention to the forward viewer. I think I could use a little taste of
paradise myself, he thought. Me, and Xay, on a nice quiet beach
somewhere. Matt quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind. There would
be time for that later, and for now he needed to concentrate on duty. It
was important that he separate his personal and professional lives, now more
than ever. He glanced back over at Sanchez, and suddenly found himself
wondering if the ensign actually had it better off.
"Fleeting Moments"
by Lieutenant Xayella Tagliesh
Counselor Resanna Jhenal
Location: USS Sulu, Counselor's Office
Stardate: 57906.31, 10h15
***
Xayella again glanced at the chrono on the wall and
sighed heavily. Neither of the women had said a word
since Xayella had arrived, and she wasn't planning on
doing so either. Instead, she had her elbow propped
up on the armrest, chin resting on her fisted hand,
while she drummed the fingers of her other hand upon
her thigh. She had no idea why she required weekly
counselling sessions, especially when they would no
doubt only become staring matches like this one was.
The view, however, was rather amusing, one she
couldn't help chuckling at.
"Why do you dress like that?" she finally asked with
clear distaste in her tone. "It's far too grand and
elaborate for a starship."
"Why do you treat people as if they are your exclusive
plaything? Something inanimate to be thrown about and
cast aside when personal amusement flees?" The
Counselor gave a stern look, eyeing the woman back
with similar distaste. "You answer my question, and
I'll be more than happy to answer yours..."
Xayella gave a derisive, humourless chuckle. "I asked
first. So why don't you answer my question first,
then I'll answer yours."
"Yes, good for you. Though, it is my office."
"But, perhaps a woman who dresses as you do might have
trouble grasping rudimentary conversational
etiquette," Xayella drawled.
"This being stated by a woman who was reprimanded and
placed within confinement for assaulting a superior
officer? You might believe me to be inefficient in basic
discussion skills, but you, I believe have the
moral compass of a drunken Orion slave girl."
Resanna glared profusely, standing from her seat and
placing her palms firmly onto her desk. Lieutenant
Jhenal scowled with a fiery passion directly into her
superior's eyes and continued, "The only reason you are delegating these pointless
conversations and adolescent insults is because you
are avoiding the topic. And the reason I dress as
such is because I am Resanna Jhenal. The Youngest
Daughter of the Third House, Harbinger of the Ways of
Talyns, and Heir to the Divine Scepter of Betazed."
The Counselor took in a breath. "Which I'm sure you could care less about. My
Betazoid heritage is important to who I am. Maybe if
you found something to which you could take pride in -
besides your excess cleavage and manipulative sense of
the opposite sex - you could be more than a
self-righteous, moral-less bitch. I'm here to help you, not be your plaything."
It took much effort to avoid laughing at the woman;
instead at the end of her tirade, Xayella smirked at
Resanna and drawled, "Are you sure you're not the
one who needs a counsellor? It would appear you have
some anger management issues, Lieutenant. If you'd
like, I can sit in your chair, and you can have a
comfortable seat right here, and I can make everything
better."
Ego-displacement seemed to have little affect upon a
woman whose corner stone personality trait was her ego.
It seemed futile to help a woman who didn't want it,
but surely needed it. Lieutenant Tagliesh was a
classical case of ego-supremacy. Resanna couldn't
blame her, coming from a power house family such as
she did. A few of the Jhenal sisters' even had an
attitude problem here and there.
Sighing as she returned to her chair, Counselor Jhenal
waved for the Science Chief to leave her office.
"It is obvious, Lieutenant, that you care nothing for
bettering yourself. So, you may leave." Jhenal gave
a displeased, defeated look.
"Better myself?" Xayella repeated as she rose
gratefully. "How can one surpass perfection?" She
grinned slyly at the Counsellor and started for the
door.
With Xayella's back to her, the Counselor gave a
simple smirk. "Oh, Lieutenant. Since we haven't
gotten anywhere in this session, I'll have to update
our visits from a half-an-hour once a week to a full
hour twice a week. Enjoy your shift."
Xayella snorted dryly and stepped out of the office,
shaking her head as she went. "Strange woman," she
muttered. "Perhaps I should make a recommendation to
Matt about arranging regular counselling sessions for her."
Glad to have succeeded in curtailing her first
official meeting with the counsellor, Xayella sauntered down
the corridor with a large, self satisfied grin on her face.
"Shift Change"
by Lieutenant Mark Thaine
and Ensign Jenara Redman
Location: Main Engineering - U.S.S. Sulu
Stardate 57906.31 13h45
***
Several hours had passed since the Sulu had left Starbase 163, and the
Engineering crew were all involved in upgrading the lateral shield arrays.
Ensign Redman was flat on her back under a console, rerouting the power grid
so that repairs could safely be made on this particular station.
Barking out orders to the crewmen beside her, it was evident that she was
becoming a bit more confident than the shy girl that had beamed aboard the
Sulu not long ago.
Whistling a small tune to herself, she was totally unaware of the approach
of Mark Thaine.
"Ensign Redman, get out from under there and tell me what you're doing,"
came the gruff voice of the newly promoted Chief Engineer.
Jenara stopped whistling and peeked out from under the console to see Thaine
hovering over her. Crawling out and standing to her feet, she looked Thaine
right in the eyes as she replied, "Sir, I'm safely rerouting power away from
this station so some unfortunate crewman doesn't fry themselves while we
work on the lateral shield arrays."
"And you've checked that we've got enough capacity on the grid for the
rerouted power?" questioned Thaine.
Jenara gave a look at Thaine as if to say she was hurt he'd think she was
that incompetent before replying, "Aye, sir, plenty to spare. Only way we
can get hurt is if some poor crewman decided to turn on the warp core. I
entered the lockdown password that can only be unlocked by senior members of
the engineering crew and of course the captain."
Thaine nodded, and gave her a brief, rare smile that was gone almost as
soon as it appeared. "Good. Now, come over here." He began walking toward a
more secluded part of Main Engineering. "I need to talk to you."
As they walked, Jenara noticed that Thaine now had two full pips on his
collar. She smiled as she said, "Congratulations, Lieutenant. The promotion
was well deserved."
Thaine nodded. "Thanks," he responded, as he turned to face her, with
perhaps the faintest amount of a smile in his eyes. He gave her a quick look
over, nodded again in something that might have been approval, and said,
"And I've also just done a shift reschedule. Want to make a guess where I've
placed you?"
Jenara seemed to ponder it a minute then said, "I'm afraid I don't often
like to make guesses, sir, but I would hope that you did not place me on
Gamma." Realizing she didn't want to put down a possible assignment, she
quickly added, "Not that there is anything wrong with Gamma shift mind you."
Thaine shook his head. "Well, you can rest easy, Ensign. You're on Beta.
I've made a few arrangements to the shift structure as well, and you're as
of this moment the Beta Shift leader." He frowned. "That is...assuming you
think you're up for the job?"
A small grin appeared near the corners of Redman's lips as she tried to
contain her excitement. Nodding her head in agreement she replied, "Aye,
sir, I won't let you down, sir."
"Good," said Thaine, more pleased than he was letting on. "Now, I suggest
you let Alpha Shift finish up their work here, while you go and get some
rest while you have the chance. All clear, Ensign?"
Realizing the the change was effective immediately, Jenara quickly replied,
"Understood, sir." With a quick turn Jenara was headed out of engineering
with a huge grin on her face.