Distant Shores - Marco Palmieri [131]
That was one of her prized possessions, the lutebo, and where she did most of her composition. It’s a large instrument, very similar to a piano, but in this case its range is only three octaves. Even with so few notes, the Tahal-Isut have managed some musical pieces that I think rival some of the greats of the Federation.
It took some work, but we finally got everything moved in. Mareeza and I took the lighter pieces, while Darek’s nephews made short work of the heavier furniture, even the lutebo. I suspect the instruments will be seeing a lot more of Mareeza than I will in the next few weeks while she works on her new composition-provided, of course, that I’m still here in a few weeks.
To make a long story short, that’s something of the limbo we’ve been in since she moved. She has been busy with the composition, and I’ve been busy at the hospital. She allows me to stop by every evening to check up on the baby, and we do chat for a little bit while I’m there.
I’ve been chatting with her about the Sky Ship, and what it means for “our people.” I’ve tried repeatedly to put forth the assertion that perhaps it’s time the Tahal-Isut grew past the need to worship inanimate objects in the sky. For some peculiar reason, she found it amusing.
After her comment earlier, I obviously should consider whether or not she could handle the real story. She seems just as trustworthy as Kes, however I am uncertain of how I feel about her stand on what is, in essence, religion.
It’s been a long time since I had reactions like this. I have difficulty concentrating. Whenever we’re apart, it’s a challenge to keep my mind on my work.
I can hear Kes now. “Your program is adapting again.”
I just wish it had chosen a better time to “adapt,” as I’m not in a position to run a proper self-diagnostic to be certain.
Now that Mareeza is out of the hospital, I’ve been trying to recall the advice Mr. Paris and Kes both gave me when I was first having difficulty with the concept of dating. “Tell her how you feel.” It sounds so simple. “Tell her the truth.”
Kes, you were so wonderfully naive and idealistic sometimes. That might have worked with Danara, but that was years ago.
Unlike Danara, Mareeza is fully organic, with all of the added complications that entails. With Tahal-Isut females, hormonal imbalances are just as much a complication on their emotional state as they are to several other species in the Federation, including humans. And Mareeza’s pregnancy is convincing me that the Tahal-Isut might be more closely related to humans than I’d initially thought.
Hmm. Perhaps if there’s a local version of chocolate, that might be in order. Chocolate’s effects on the human brain are well noted, and there are many similarities in Tahal-Isut brain function. It’s certainly worth an attempt. I’ll enquire with Darek tomorrow.
One thing concerns me, however. I keep coming back to the difficulty of keeping my true nature a secret for an extended period. Fortunately, my mobile emitter’s energy consumption is holding steady, and we haven’t been in a position where eating or drinking have been involved. If that should change, however, I think Mareeza is certainly capable of keeping a secret. The question is, is she capable of keeping this big a secret? That remains to be seen.
C
HIEF
M
EDICAL
O
FFICER’S
L
OG
- Stardate 53501.3028213602
Subjective time: Day 86
Protector Baracin has failed. The prisoner’s wife was shown on the morning news program-precisely a week after her threats were made public-with the bodies of their three children beside her. From what I could see of the wounds on her body, there was no way they could be self-inflicted. Nothing in my medical research suggested that the Tahal-Isut anatomy could maneuver in a way that would allow someone to do that to