Maddi woke up the next morning on her new bed. To be honest though, it was more of a bench than anything. Her back was sore. ‘How did anybody ever sleep on these for any long period of time?’ She thought. ‘I'll definitely have to refurnish the living quarters.’ Her mind continued.
Much of the furniture had already been removed. Just the bare essentials were left. Among them was a built-in wardrobe with a mirror and the hard utilitarian style bunk. The fixtures in the communal bathroom were broken down from age. Forcing her to forgo showing for the day.
It was difficult to get ready considering there was no power. She brushed her hair in the dim glow of a portable lantern. Once she had finished she made her way down to the mess hall.
The mess had a small basic food replicator on the wall, and a small kitchen at the back with basic appliances for cooking and storing ingredients. A box of rations sat on one of the four tables. She grabbed a package labeled ‘Ham and Cheese Croissant’ and pulled the self heating tab.
With breakfast in hand she made her way up the bridge. Evidence that Val had been hard at work was scattered across the room.
“Morning!” he called, coming up from underneath the main console.
He continued to speak with a piece of jerky meat sticking out of the side of his mouth. “Now, I've got a list of supplies needed that I have started. It’s mostly just the basics. I've got quite a bit of stuff in my storage unit not too far from here. I'll see what I have first and I'll make a list of any other items I might need.”
“Go ahead and bring over whatever you want. The ship is going to be stuck here in the hangar for quite awhile. Speaking of, I was thinking of installing new sonic showers to replace the old water system. Hopefully we can install them soon. I have a feeling that fixing up the ship is going to be messy business”
“No problem. I am currently working on auxiliary power so that we can have lights and basic control systems up and running.”
“Sounds like a plan! I'm going to the market to buy some groceries. Is there anything you want in particular?” She asked.
“Hmm, I don't know, Could you pick me up some more targ jerky? Otherwise I'm not too picky when it comes to food.”
The Rigel system was a hub for trading. Open air markets were common places. Stalls and shops filled with products from across the galaxy littered the streets.
She meandered around taking in the sights and smells of the various vendors when she heard a merchant yelling at some of his employees.
“This is the last time I told you that's not how we do things. Now, you either listen and follow orders or else you're getting fired.” A loud voice boomed.
“I would listen if I thought you knew what you were doing, but you don't. Everyone's always questioning your decisions behind your back so why shouldn't I just ask them to your face?” A tall woman spat.
“Oh, this is the last time you little... If you don’t learn to respect your bosses you'll never be able to keep a job. Especially with that attitude of yours.” The large man growled, his face growing bright red.
“Well, maybe I don't want this job, or any job. At least not anywhere I have to suck up to an incompetent superior. Only those who show me deserved my respect will get it.”
“Fine, so be it! You're fired! The both of you!” he yelled. “I’m glad to be get rid of green-blooded freaks like you.” He muttered loudly as he stomped away from the pair.
“Damn it!” The woman said under her breath. “That’s just great, jobless again. And what are you still doing here?”
“I was unaware I was to be elsewhere.” A man who looked extremely similar to the woman replied.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant here in this dingy corner of the quadrant, jumping around from job to job. Seriously, you don't need to keep following me around. You don't have to keep working the same jobs as me. You could be doing anything you wanted, but you'd rather be stuck with me. It’s… It’s illogical!”
“It is logical to be here to assist because you're my sister.” He replied in a monotone fashion.
“logic my ass! whatever! I need a moment to cool off. just… I don't know!” she keened, storming off.
The man didn't show much emotion, if any at all. The pointed ears, the perfectly cut straight back hair that ran to his shoulders were clear sighs that he was Vulcan.
The man turned and caught her staring at him. Their eyes met for a brief instant. When he looked away she realized she was holding her breath. Her ears started to burn with embarrassment. She looked down at her PADD to remind herself why she was there.
Despite the fact she didn’t have a working food preservation unit she figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some fresh fruit around. She made a mental note to herself to have Val work on the kitchen once he got the power back on.
A small curiously shaped fruit caught her eye. She went to grab it to inspect it closer when her fingers brushed up against someone else’s. A shock of static electricity caused the hand to drop one of the fruits it had grabbed onto.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, only to look up and see the man from earlier. She froze as their eyes met again. He pulled both his arms behind his back in a swift motion, snapping her back to reality.
“No apology is necessary when no offense has been taken.” He replied in a standard Vulcan manner.
“Right.” She managed to squeak out.
She looked down at her feet and shifted awkwardly. They both stood in silence for a moment before she spoke again.
“I should apologize for earlier.” Her voice managed to crack. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation earlier.”
“Eavesdropping would imply that one was listening in on a private conversation. To which this conversation you are referring to was not, due to the fact it happened in a public location and at a volume that was audible to bystanders." He expressed matter-of-factly.
She blinked. ‘This man was most definitely Vulcan. Then what about the woman he referred to as his sister? The exchange between her and the merchant was anything but.’
“I believe from your reaction that you are questioning the relationship between me and the woman you saw earlier. She is my twin sister.” He relayed.
“I didn’t mean to pry.” she sputtered.
“I did not indicate that you had. Your body language expressed curiosity of that which you observed. It is a natural consequence of your humanity.”
She felt a knot form in her chest. ‘Was that an insult?’ It was impossible to tell what went on inside the head of a Vulcan. She pushed down her annoyance. Assuming anything farther would only make herself look more like a fool.
They continued to peruse the produce in silence until she yelped, dropping a melon on the ground.
“One must be careful when handling yelg melons,” said the voice next to her. “They have sharp spikes on their exterior.”
“Yeah. No kidding. Why don't they cut them off before selling?”
“That would require removing the outer layer which would affect their ability to stay fresh.” He said blatantly. He continued by citing something about chemical processes she knew nothing about.
“I see What else can you tell me about it?” Maddi inquired.
“It originated on the planet Gaia. It is commonly eaten raw but can also be used in a variety of dishes” He then started listing off different characteristics and methods of cooking them.
“All right, all right, sorry I asked. You're like a walking encyclopedia.” She submitted.
“I was responding to your query. Was that not the intention of your question?”
She laughed “I don't know what I was expecting from a Vulcan. Though I didn’t expect to hear such a heated exchange like your sister had earlier. I thought Vulcan had no emotion.”
“That is a common misconception. We have emotions, it is only that we use logic to control and suppress them. Logic is a skill that can be developed by following the teachings of Surak.”
“Oh…” she realized that had put her foot in her mouth again. Why did she feel the need to run her mouth whenever she was around a Vulcan? Something about them just put her on edge. Was it the air of pompousness around them, the fact that they loomed over her with their tall figure or could it be the pointed features that threatened to cut her down to size?
“So… I’m guessing that you and your sister might be in the job market.” she asked hesitantly.
“Well, if you are open to it I might have a job if you guys are interested.”
“What are the details of this position?”
“Um… so you see, I just acquired a ship that is in need of repairs. I have an engineer already but a couple more sets of hands wouldn’t hurt. I can’t pay much right now but I can provide room and board.” Maddi took a second to catch her breath before continuing. “So, are you interested?
“Yes, but I must confirm with my sister and see if she shares interest before I state our availability.”
“The name's Maddison, by the way.” Sticking out her hand. ‘Idiot Vulcans don’t do handshakes.’ She scolded herself before retracing it.
“I am S’yell and my sister is named T’Yon.”
“Cool, cool… Well, I have some more shopping to do so why don’t you meet me at my hangar at 1400 hours? It’s number 28 at dock 14.”
“That is acceptable.” S’yell remarked before he turned to walk away.
What in the alpha quadrant had she just done. Did she just willingly ask a Vulcan to work with her? Her past track record for getting along with Vulcans in any capacity was non-existent. ‘Hopefully this T’Yon will be smart enough to decline.’
By the time she made it back to the hanger Val had already moved a wide assortment of tools and equipment in. His work bench was already littered with random parts and schematic.
“Looks like you have already made yourself at home.” Maddi observed.
He looked up from the PADD his nose had been absorbed in.
“I hope you don’t mind the mess. I figured it would be easier to just bring everything from my storage unit over instead of going back and forth.
“Makes sense. This place is your home now as well, so don’t worry about making it feel more comfortable.”
“Thanks! I appreciate that.” he replied happily.
“So, I met an interesting pair of siblings at the market and they are looking for some jobs. I was thinking of hiring them to help with repairs if that is okay with you.” She asked.
“The more mussels the better” he stated with enthusiasm.
“I told them to come by around 1400 hours if they were interested.” She continued.
“Looks like I should go get cleaned up before our interview.” Val said looking at the time on his PADD.
