Among the Stars

Posted on Mon Apr 6th, 2026 @ 2:38am by Lieutenant JG T'Vei

836 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Echos on the Deck
Timeline: The Past

OOC: Happy First Contact Day.

There wasn't a child, on Earth or on Vulcan, who was unfamiliar with the first meeting between Captain Solkar and Zefram Cochrane. While Vulcan's own, true, first contact with an alien species was lost to its war-filled past, the First Contact between Humans and Vulcans was seen as a day of celebration, the first step towards the Federation of Planets they now belonged to.

T'Vei had grown up as a Vulcan among Vulcans, scarcely seeing beyond Velash for her first years of life. She recalled, as a child, asking about aliens.

"The historical archives include pictures of Humans. They appear the same as us." The Vulcan child asked. "Are they truly so different, mother?"

T'Rel lowered her padd, contemplating an answer that would address her child's curiosity while remaining accurate. "There are similarities, more external than internal. They do not feel emotions the way we do and do not have to suppress them. They are curious and bold and very young as a species. They are good allies."

"Why do none of them work here?" the child asked.

"Because Vulcan is not their home," T'Rel said. "They have their own world to work on, their own food to grow."

The Vulcan child frowned, an excessive gesture, but not surprising from one still mastering their emotions. "But we are allies. Shouldn't we help each other?"

"We do, among the stars," T'Rel said, casting her gaze up beyond the dome of their home. And the child that would be T'Vei did the same.

And she never stopped.

She recalled begging her father each harvest to come with him to the nearby city of Kir. Traveling in the transport with him for several hours while mountains and dunes rolled past. It became a ritual for them. Selvek would take her to a new restaurant, a museum, a park. Each pilgrimage expanded her world. The year he took her to the spaceport was especially notable. The Vulcans there dressed so strangely, in fabrics from different worlds, and with such bright colors.

"Could we go sometime?" The child that would be T'Vei had asked.

"Where would you like to go?" Selvek asked.

"Everywhere," the child said.

"Perhaps, one day, we will travel to one other planet," Selvek said.

It would be many years before he would be able to fulfill her dream. Difficult seasons demanded more work. Varin's health suffered and required their attention. T'Vei own medical needs after coming out led to yet another delay.

She was 16 when her family took a vacation beyond Vulcan. That first sight of her homeworld from orbit remains etched into her memory, a sense of pride and wonder that only fueled her resolve to see beyond her home. While that moment was special to each of her siblings, days spent at warp led to Soren burying himself in his studies and T'Lara to question the journey's purpose. Only Varin and T'Vei spent hours staring at the warp trails as they flew past, asking the transport's crew questions about systems, and viewing their journey's progress via star charts.

Their time on Risa was equally as illuminating. Exotic trees, vast amounts of water that covered the planet, and light gravity that made movement and feats of strength effortless. But what T'Vei remembers the clearest is the first time she met an alien, her own, personal, first contact.

In the spaceport, while waiting in line, there were dozens of different species. Some reptilian, some with antennae, others with fur. But there, not far from T'Vei was someone who looked remarkably like her. Pink, smooth skin, hair atop her head, a Human. She was with a small group of adults of her species waiting their turn. T'Vei remembered seeing the Human looking around, taking in the overwhelming newness, before her eyes settled on the family of Vulcans.

"It's good to see a familiar face," the Human said and laughed, the sound came easy to her but was surprising to T'Vei. "I didn't think Vulcans took vacations?"

"We do," T'Rel replied dismissively.

"It is not typical for us to travel so far," Selvek elaborated. "But our daughter," he indicated T'Vei, "and son," and indicated Varin, "wished to travel."

"Now that, I relate to," the Human said. "It's good to get out, see the galaxy." She extended a hand.

T'Vei had studied the First Contact recordings and knew about this peculiar custom. She had only ever dreamed about being in Captain Solkar's place; given the chance to explore strange new worlds and meet new species. She took the woman's hand, squeezed, and shook it up and down. The Human winced, but otherwise she seemed to have conducted the ritual correctly.

"I am T'Vei," she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, T'Vei," the Human said. "So, what do you think of it so far, being out among the stars I mean."

"It is....remarkable," T'Vei said. "I believe I will never tire of it."

---

Sublieutenant T'Vei
Acting Chief Armory Officer
Sentinel Station

 

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