Shared Blood
Posted on April 8th, 2002 by T'Kirr

T’Kirr and Taev tr’Tei

Ensign T’Kirr stepped into the Atlantis’ Ten Forward lounge, her trusty PADD in hand, looking to get some research done on the scans of the Troy. Ensign Taev tr’Tei was sitting in a small booth in the far corner of the room, sipping a cup of tea, unaware of T’Kirr’s presence. T’Kirr made her way to the replicator and ordered an herbal tea, and with a hum, it appeared in front of her. After a few moments, she spotted the Romulan, and pretended to read her PADD.

Taev gazed at the bar for a few seconds, then to the barkeep, Cahalan, and finally spotted T’Kirr as she walked by the bar. “Hmm..the Vulcan woman,” he thought to himself, and stood up, making his way over to her. T’Kirr took a seat at an empty table, and a few moments later, Taev arrived.

“Greetings, T’Kirr.” tr’Tei said, as he came to a stop at the booth.

“I really should at least acknowledge him,” she thought, and, after a few seconds of deliberation, T’Kirr looked up at Taev. “Ensign.” She then turned back to her PADD, gazing into it as if she was burning a hole through it with her eyes.

Taev curiously leaned over her shoulder, looking at the PADD. “What’s that?” he said, as he squinted in the pale lighting.

T’Kirr perked her head up, staring off across the room. “Details concerning our readings of the Troy.”

Taev cast a quizzical look at her, surprised that she would be doing work here. “Don’t you ever concern yourself with anything besides your work?” he said to her.

After a few seconds of silence, he added, “…I apologize. I’m being rude. Would you care to join me?” He turned back to his table, and motioned back to it. T’Kirr turned her head, and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded stood.

“You were not being rude, as it was a simple question.”

Taev took a step back to let her step out, then turned to walk back to his booth. “It might’ve been a simple question, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was the right one to ask.” He grinned and winked, not exactly the best thing to do around a Vulcan.

TKirr hadn’t noticed, and followed Taev to his booth, where they both sat down. She threw up mental shields, preparing for anything this Romulan threw at her.

“Meditation, eh? You’re the typical Vulcan, not to sound offensive. Taev brought his cup to his mouth, taking a sip from it, then placed it back on the tray.

T’Kirr looked at Taev. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t exactly meant to be a compliment, but you’re welcome…”

T’Kirr looked at his cup. “What did you wish to speak about?”

“Nothing in general. Light conversation, really…”

T’Kirr waited, slightly irritated, but managed nto to show it by lightly blinking her eyes.

Taev slowly stirred the tea with his spoon, then lowering his eyes. “So, what inspired you to become a science officer?”

“It is a common Vulcan career.” T’Kirr took a sip from her cup.

“All Vulcans appear to have everything in common to me…” T’Kirr responded by merely lifting a brow. Taev muttered under his breath, holding himself back, not wanting to appear offensive.

“I really should say something, as it would be socially logical…” T’Kirr thought, then asked, “I am curious, what is it like to be bred of two different species?” She wondered if she should have started with a less personal question.

“To tell you the truth, I actually enjoy talking with Vulcans. They seem unbiased compared to the other species.”

His response seemed accepting. “We do strive to appreciate diversity.” T’Kirr hesitated, then added, “Yet we are not completely unbiased.”

Taev nodded, then leaned back in his side of the booth, placing his arms behind his head. “How so?”

T’Kir suddenly found her cup fascinating. “We are not perfect beings, and cannot escape the ethnocentric views every culture has of others. We do believe we are more aware of this concept than many other species, and work to lessen our biases.”

Taev leaned forward again, and he took another sip of his tea. “Personally, I always say Vulcans as fascists of some sort. However, Vulcan egoism isn’t as bad as being ridiculed because of your heritage every day of your life.”

T’Kirr raised both brows, but then lowered them in concern. “Explain.”

“Well, take an event that happened in the security office just recently.” T’Kirr cocked her head as Taev mentioned this, then he continued on. “When I mentioned I was half Romulan to Lieutenant Smith, the conversation became overly awkward. He became tense, began mumbling under his breath, and asked me not to bring it up again.”

“The concepts of heritage are great in both Human and Vulcan species.” T’Kirr replied, gazing evenly at tr’Tei.

“Indeed. Fortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to meet my Romulan relatives. Only my mother.”

“Your mother was Human?”

“No. My mother was Romulan. My father let her keep the name of tr’Tei, as well as passing it on to us. I guess it was to make us aware that we were different.” Tr’Tei appeared to grow a bit more passive as he discussed his lost family.

“Lieutenant Taryn is also half Romulan, is he not?” T’Kirr said, and Taev looked up from the table, seeming to have come out of his daze.

“I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to speak to him yet… Tell me, what of your past? It’s all right if you don’t wish to answer.” Taev picked up his cup, and downed the remainder of his tea, placing the empty cup down.

“It is not customary for a Vulcan to speak of one’s past, but I did ask of yours…”

Taev’s gaze slipped to the side for a second, then it turned back to his cup. “As I’ve said, you don’t have to answer. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

T’Kirr watched tr’Tei as he did this, then replied, “It is all right.” Taev smiled in response, then his eyes traveled to T’Kirr’s cup.

“You haven’t even touched your drink yet.”

T’Kirr looked down at her cup. “I have.” She then turned to watch the bartender for a moment. “My parents own an estate in Surkanar, a province on Vulcan. I lived there for many years, then moved to the underground compound of Retral.”

“I see..I apologize if I’m prying. Vulcan culture fascinates me, though. My mother didn’t let me have much interaction with Vulcans as a child…I never really understood the difference between the two peoples until I was an adolescent. Seeing as how my ancestors were once Vulcan, I want to know as much about the Vulcan people as possible,” Taev replied.

T’Kirr was fighting the anxiousness of revealing her past, telling herself he had a right to know, as she had initiated the talk of personal matters. “Why have I done this? Perhaps I, too, have an interest in *his* culture?” she asked herself. “I’m sure the Romulans have an adequate library.”

Taev chuckled, as he found that comment somewhat amusing. “Was that a sense of humor I just detected there?”

She responded with only a small movement of her head, indicating neither yes nor no.

“Heh..so, tell me, what is it like to see an image of your species without advanced logic?” Taev questioned, as he took the conversation up a notch.

T’Kirr stared at him, quite alarmed. “Excuse me?”

“What is it like to see something that resembles a Vulcan with emotions?”

“Vulcan children often display emotion.” T’Kirr took a sip from her cup after responding.

“You seem a bit tense…have I crossed the line, so to speak?” He sighed before continuing. “But, I am not a child.”

“No, you are not.” T’Kirr looked tr’Tei up and down.

“Seeing a Romulan completely contradicts Vulcan ideology, does it not?”

“Romulans are not Vulcans.”

“No..but their ancestors were. They seem to have evolved nicely, although they tend to be a bit…violent, at times.”

“Yes, their ancestors were.” The conversation was now turning into a nice little debate.

“Now? Of course. My point is, that once, they were not different at all.”

“Early Romulan culture must have been very chaotic, having abandoned logic, just as ancestral Vulcans were.”

“And that points out at least one major flaw in Vulcan logic…in my personal opinion.” By this time, he was turning somewhat red. “That’s speculation.”

“Yes, it is.” T’Kirr responded calmly.

“Although, I must admit, they don’t appear very….friendly, now.”

“Vulcan logic is not flawed, merely a sustaining code by which Vulcan culture can function and prosper. It was the early Romulans’ choice to deal with the nature of our species in a different way.”

“Well, this is certainly progressing into an interesting debate, T’Kirr…”

T’Kirr quieted her mind as she spoke. “Indeed.”

“Well, it was nice to get away from the stress of duty, but it is getting a bit late.”

“Yes, I must return to my analyzing.” T’Kirr scooted out of her seat, PADD in her hand, and picked up her half empty cup.

Taev nodded, stood, and took his empty cup in his hands. “Good luck with it.” Taev placed his empty cup on the bartop, gave a final wave, and stepped out of the lounge, walking to his quarters.

T’Kirr watched him leave, then thought to herself, “I must meditate on this,” and shook the feeling from her mind, moving to the exit and to her duties.