Personal Log, Stardate 41015.58

Posted on 12 Sep 2020 @ 1:41pm by Lieutenant T'Char Le'el

T’Char swivels her chair back and forth while she’s at her desk. Little Cloud slumbers peacefully on the cot behind her, purring contentedly as she kneads a pile of blankets. The Vulcan lets her head drift to the side to stare at her Sehlat companion, still bouncing her leg and pushing the chair to and fro. She thinks it might be nice to hop back into bed and snuggle with the large fuzzy animal, if she could bother to sit still for a moment.

Standing up from her chair, she starts pacing the length of her quarters. Her shoulders tense up for a moment as she turns to face the wall console after hearing a small chirp, walking over to it. A short tap on the screen later, T’Char’s sister H’esti beams through the subspace comm, face coated in a layer of dirt. T’Char exhales audibly instead of saying hello.

“Hey Tish!!” H’esti waves enthusiastically and wipes debris from her cheek, choosing to ignore the disapproving look her younger sibling gives her. “Didja get my homesick present?”

T’Char rolls her eyes, stepping aside to show Little Cloud in the viewscreen.
“You mean the Sehlat. I would hardly call it a simple homesick present. ”

“D’awww, you love ‘er dontcha!” H’esti has the gall to laugh heartily, clutching her tummy.
“I knew she’d bring a little light into your day! Have you found a name yet?”

“Pi’Tra-wan.” T’Char tries to hide a small smirk as she talks about her pet.
“It.. seemed fitting.”

A chorus of emotional expressions from her sister erupts out of the comm’s speakers as H’esti leans forwards to gawk at the Sehlat in delight. T’Char steps quickly into frame so her older sibling can’t vocalize loud enough to wake up the furry child.

“She has made herself at home, without any encouragement.” T’Char continues.
“Though her presence has caused a- minor disruption.” Her cheeks suddenly flush green without her realizing, and H’esti notices almost immediately. It’s not something T’Char is known to do very often, in her experience.

The elder Vulcan leans back in her chair, eyes suddenly twinkling as she thinks.
“..What kind of disruption? I don’t understand.”

T’Char inhales deeply through her nose. “There is something you are not aware of. I, erm-”
She swallows her saliva, biting her lip. Her ears are also a shade of green at this point.

H’esti leans forwards again, studying her sister's face. “..Who is it.”

“I did not say it was anyone!” T’Char responds on instinct to the inquiry, panicking. It makes H’esti burst into another fit of laughter, both hands over her gut to clutch at her heart.

“ahaHA,Y-you practically gave it away Tish! If it’s, ehAHAheh ah geez, if it was really nobody you wouldn’t be yar-kur mor! Now-now, hold on a minute!”

H’esti has to catch her breath for a moment, wheezing. T’Char suddenly wears a worried expression, furrowing her brow and tilting it upwards.

“H’esti… you should not go outside during the storms.”

The elder Vulcan grimaces slightly and waves her hand in front of her screen.
“I’m fine! I’m fine, I promise. I had to get the Sha’amii in the aushfa-kel before the glassing started. Ae’ma just had a litter, you saw.”

She sits back up, smiling happily at T’Char. “Besides, business doesn’t stop during razor season! Now don’t change the subject, who are they!”

T’Char bites her lip again, glancing to the side. Her hands go to her hips as her head bows in defeat. “...His name is Kyr.”

“OoooOOOooh! That sounds cute!” H’esti winks at her sister, teasing her.
“Don’t tell me he’s Andorian?”

“Why should that be relevant?!” T’Char’s head snaps back up to stare indignantly at H’esti, who reacts by bursting into yet another small fit of laughter.

“A-Another one?? AHAHA!” H’esti almost falls out of her chair when she throws herself to the side. T’Char is not amused.
“Tish! Oh, Tish! You’re too much! You’re just too freakin’ adorable, you know that?”

~

“Begin personal log.”

T’Char sits down at her desk chair, putting both her elbows on the surface to clasp her hands together. Little Cloud yowls softly behind her as the Sehlat readjusts the blankets again, making the Vulcan’s head turn slightly as she speaks.

“Stardate 41015.58. At the completion of the Boston’s repair work at the starbase, we have now begun on course to the Tathi system.”

She tilts her head at Pi’Tra-wan, who looks at her expectantly from her mound of sheets.

“Ra tor du aitlun. Hm?” T’Char lifts her eyebrow at the animal, who responds by yawning extravagantly and stretching her arms forwards. The Vulcan turns back to face her console.

“Of course, this was not before a short combat simulation against the prototype vessel, ‘U.S.S. Galaxy.’ Though it was perhaps a rather...illogical exercise, it resulted in the Boston tallying several points higher in damage ratios against the other starship.”

She exhales through her nose, leaning back into her chair.

“The crew referred to it as a victory, which- technically is indisputable. However, a difference of five points between a score of 203 and 207 is hardly a major success. If the scenario were not a simulation, a large portion of both crew manifests would suffer major casualties.”

T’Char flits her head back to her side as Little Cloud howls softly in the background. The Sehlat decided to knock her favorite pillow over the side of the cot, and wants her mother to pick it back up for her. Most likely so she can knock it over the side again.

“Rai. Rai, duhik aushfa!” The Vulcan scolds Cloud, ineffectually. The Sehlat huffs and prepares to launch another pillow over the mattress. T’Char is forced to get up from her chair in order to scoop the pillow from the floor, tucking it under her arm. Little Cloud wags her tail rapidly and hops up and down on the cushions in anticipation, shaking her entire body with barely restrained energy.

The pillow is tossed to the side of the bed, and Little Cloud is replaced under T’Char’s arm, surprisingly without more than a soft grunt from the cub. The Vulcan moves back to her chair, lugging the animal with some effort, and sits back down with the Sehlat on her lap. Little Cloud finally seems content to stay still for a moment as her mother begins to hug the cat like a stuffed animal.

“In any case, the ship’s counselor, a Sevran going by the name Siriinya, is being recalled to her homeworld. Apparently there was some manner of diplomatic incident that resulted in the Starfleet exchange officer being returned. Presumably, the counselor will be required to resign her commission. I am unsure of the details, but we are escorting her back to her home planet nonetheless.”

T’Char runs her fingers through the Sehlats fur, as Little Cloud purrs in approval. The Vulcan bites her lip before speaking again.

“..I finally told H’esti about Kyr and I. Her reaction was.. initially exactly what I had anticipated. But she was not disapproving.”

Little Cloud yawns and decides to lay down, stretching her body over T’Char’s legs so her front paws hang over the side of the chair. The Vulcan glances down at her pet for a moment, the corner of her mouth curling upwards slightly in a small smile.

“Though it may.. result in a certain level of undue embarrassment on my behalf, I would like the two of them to meet. They are perhaps the two most important individuals in my life at this moment. Perhaps when we are closer to Vulcan… End log.”

The computer chirps a short reply to confirm the command, the small red light on her console switching off. Little Cloud closes her eyes and exhales forcefully, readjusting in her mother's lap to lean against her so she can fall asleep. Which she manages to do within a few minutes.

T’Char can’t seem to bring herself to wake up the creature in order to get out of the chair, so she leans back in the seat to look out the window above her cot. The stars whip past at warp velocity, distorted by the subspace bubble. Something about the hum of the deck plating at warp is comforting, maybe it’s the vibrations in her inner eardrum resonating at just the right frequency. The Vulcan closes her eyes so she can listen to it undistracted.