Amethyst Skies: Ch 4 (Briefing)

Briefing Room
5:25 PM

Lieutenant Z'rol gazed thoughtfully around the Briefing Room as the meeting prepared to begin. All Tkarites were taught from earliest childhood to learn as much about the people around them as possible.

'Knowledge is a basic key to power and to gain it one must observe.'

So as she silently gazed at the other members of the team, her mind supplied information.

Lieutenant Commander Pablo Rodriguez, Head of the Saratoga's Botany Department. A quiet mannered man, but highly intelligent and with a spine of steel.

Good traits to have. Strength is vital and hidden strength is often the best to have as your opponent might underestimate you. That combined with intelligence and a quiet manner can make you difficult to read and that could give you further advantage.

He was consort to Lieutenant Harmaya Rodriguez and that marked him as Forbidden to her.

A pity, because he's quite handsome.

Lieutenant Sarah Richards, Rodriguez's assistant, sat beside him. Her focus was ecology. Intelligent and sharp-minded but also instinctive. Good natured with high integrity. Very independent and outspoken.

It's important to know what you want and not be afraid to say it. And it's important to rely on oneself, because sometimes that is all you have to depend on.

Petty Officer Danek, who sat on the other side of the table, had transferred to the Saratoga's earlier that year. His focus was the study of soil. He excelled at soil chemistry and had in interest in archeaology as well. He was intensely curious and enjoyed experimentation. He was laid back, slow to anger and like all Saurians, enjoyed being around people.

He'll find plenty of things to experiment with on Tkara, Z'rol thought with amusement.

And then of course there were the two Nlians who sat beside each other.
Crewman Tuskaro Alyen was another male Forbidden to her. Although with his soft brown hair, large soulful blue eyes and innocent bearing he definitely had an appeal.

He was a skilled paramedic and an asset to any medical department. He was soft spoken and gentle with a touch of shy, but had tremendous inner strength. That was something that any Tkarite would respect, even admire.

He had gained the close friendship of their Captain. A commendable achievement in itself, made even more impressive by the fact that he had such a low rank. And he was also completely devoted to his lifemate, Crewman Shylea L'Naym.

She gazed at the Botanist. Crewman L"Naym was a skilled botanist with a deep love for all flora. She was happiest when surrounded by plants and gifted with an almost childlike wonder. She was cheerful and sweet natured. But not weak… never that.

She recalled the first time the two of them had spoken.

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*Flashback*

1/2/2259
Mess Hall
8:00 PM

Z'Rol sat in the Mess with several of her friends. The Saratoga, after months of being refitted and after receiving a new Captain, was now underway for its newest mission. They would be arriving at the Hymer Gas Cloud tomorrow and everyone on all duty shifts had been busy in preparation. She and a few other friends from Beta shift were now taking a quick break during what for them was lunch period and catching up.

She smiled. It was always good to go back home, but from the time she had been a child she had longed to see the stars beyond the ones that shone down on Tkara and being back on the Saratoga again was a thrill.

It was also good to see her shipboard friends again, who sat with her now. She had often thought that Lieutenant Justin Ballard from the Physics department would have made a worthy Tkarite. He was quiet, calm and practical but very cunning and enjoyed planning and implementing complex schemes.

Petty Officer Mark Tracker from Engineering was self-confident and charismatic, as well as a sly scoundrel who was adept at getting in and out of trouble.

Biomedical researcher and medical technician Lieutenant Geoffery Flanders normally preferred Gamma
shift but today he'd switched shifts with Lieutenant Minil. He was intelligent and keen witted as well as possessed of a wicked sense of humor.

And then of course there was Lieutenant Keisha Powell from Operations. Calm, self assured, determined and ambitious, she was good to have as a friend, dangerous to have as an enemy. While the others were her friends and frequent bed-partners, Powell was a friend who leaned more toward rivalry.

But rivalry was good, it helped to keep one sharp and on one's toes. And over the years their rivalry although it had often looked like it might harden into outright enmity, somehow never quite did. That fact and their mutual amusement over it, kept them in each other's circle.

The four friends were in the middle of laughing over an amusing story that Flanders was telling about some of his exploits while on Earth when two newcomers approached their table.

As soon as Z'rol saw them her lighthearted expression instantly vanished and she motioned for the others to be silent.

Her amethyst eyes took in the newcomers. They were Crewmen Tuskaro Alyen and Shylea L'Naym, two of the new crewmembers that had arrived on the Saratoga only the day before. They both hailed from Nlia, located only eight light years away from Tkara, and were a Bonded couple.

She slowly pushed back from her chair and gracefully rising to her feet, moved to stand directly in front of them. At 5'11 she towered over the Nlians, who stood at only 5'1 and 5'3. For their part they both were looking very nervous but determined. They completely ignored everyone in the room and focused solely on Z'rol.

At length the female, L'Naym, spoke. "Greetings Daughter of Tkara," her voice was low and solemn.

Z'rol nodded and spoke equally solemnly. "Greetings, Daughter and Son of Nlia." Her gaze took them both in. "You are two who walk together?" she asked quietly.

"Yes." L'Naym squeezed the male's hand. "He is my heart and he is mine."

The male, Alyen, spoke for the first time. "She is the air I breathe and I am hers."

They both were then silent, the air tense with waiting.

Z'rol nodded, her expression still solemn. "May your walk together be long and may none come between you." She paused then continued. "You have my word that I will not." Her expression grew even more solemn as her eyes met Alyen's. "Upon you shall no hand be laid…" her eyes went to L'Naym's..."save hers."

Both Nlians let out the breaths they had obviously been holding. "Thank you," L'Naym whispered, the gratitude in her large sea-green eyes heartfelt. The couple both nodded one last time and then quietly turned and left.

Z'rol returned to her chair and to her staring friends.

"What was that all about?" Tracker asked.

"Its tradition," Z'Rol answered. "The Announcement and the Acknowledgment. It's been performed from
the time that our two species first came in contact. Whenever Bonded Nlians encounters a Tkarite who they know will be spending any length of time around them, they 'announce' or introduce themselves.

"If the Tkarite in question is female the female will announce herself and her lifemate and make known her claim to him. If the Tkarite is male the male will announce make the claim. The Tkarite must then acknowledge the claim before there can be any further interaction between them."

She nodded toward the door that the Nlians had exited. "Those two, no doubt, began preparing for this the second they learned that a Tkarite was going to be on the same ship as them. And I expected it the moment I learned that we were getting two Nlian crewmates."

Flanders gave an amused chuckle. "So basically she was letting you know that he was hers so hands off. And you were promising to stay away from him."

The grim, almost angry look that she turned on him cut his laughter short. "That is exactly what we were doing Geoffrey and I assure you it is no laughing matter. If I hadn't acknowledged her claim they would have requested a transfer rather than stay on this ship. And I would have faced severe consequences from my own people."

She paused. "My people are not monogamous by nature; we take frequent partners and even if we have no intention of forming a permanent bond with someone, we see nothing wrong with indulging in acts of the flesh for simple pleasure. But from the time we first encountered other species we have always respected the ways of others in matters of the flesh."

She once again glanced at the doors. "And for Nlians the preservation of their Lifemate Bonds are literally a matter of life and death."

*End Flashback*