Flashback - Diane Carey [77]
"Thank you, Tuvok," she uttered. "Thank you for letting me share this."
"You are welcome, Captain," he said, his voice
betraying an inner warmth he would have otherwise denied. "You are most deeply welcome."
The junior officers' quarters were unoccupied, but for one contemplative Vulcan and a quiet observer. The lights were dimmed in recognition that the quarters had recently lost an occupant to death in the line of duty, more or less an in-board method of lowering the mental flags to half-staff.
Lieutenant Valtane's burial in space would be staged in the main bay at sixteen hundred.
Meanwhile, Tuvok was packing. Slowly.
The door chimed, and he hesitated before saying, "Come."
He turned and seemed perplexed when Captain Sulu strode in. "Hello, Ensign."
"Sir . . . good morning."
"I received your transfer request. I see you're packing to leave the ship." Sulu casually hitched up to sit on the nearest study desk. "I hope it wasn't over the disagreement we had."
"Only partially, sir. I have requested reassignment in preparation for leaving Starfleet and returning to Vulcan."
"After all the time you spent at the Academy?" Sulu wondered. "That's a lot to throw away. I've seen your records. You were a fine student."
"Most Vulcans are 'fine' students, Captain."
Sulu openly laughed in agreement with that, a throaty whole-body laugh that filled the cabin. "Yes, yes, they are. So, can I talk you out of leaving?"
Tuvok seemed troubled. "I doubt you can, sir.
However, I would not be so rude as to keep you from trying."
Sulu smiled and folded his arms. "Well, good. Are you sure it's not because of the incident we've just been through?"
"Not directly, sir."
"Then . . . your behavior on the bridge, maybe? You may have been a little out of line, but I understand you believed you were following regulations. After all, I was bending interstellar law."
"Yes, sir, you were."
Sulu grinned passively and glanced around the room, as if trying to think of more to say or just killing time.
"Was that incident embarrassing to you enough to make you leave Starfleet?"
For the first time since his captain entered, Tuvok stopped covering the moment's unease with packing his duffel. "Not entirely, sir. After all, I do believe I was right."
"You were. But at the wrong time. Happens to the best of us. You just haven't figured out which times."
"Captain-"
"Let me tell you what I think," Sulu interrupted. "I think we need more Vulcans in Starfleet, not fewer. Did you know you were assigned to the bridge because I personally requested a Vulcan up there?"
Pausing in contemplation, Tuvok seemed to have been genuinely take unaware by that one. "No, sir ... I had not been aware of that. I appreciate that and regret that I did not perform adequately."
"You did fine. We just disagreed. Maybe it's just
nostalgia on my part, I don't know," Sulu said openly, "but I think Vulcans bring a great deal to Starfleet. Are you sure you've given yourself a chance to find that out? I've noticed that Vulcans tend to be hard on themselves. If you'll agree to stay on board for another stint, you and I can have some conversations. I can tell you some sea stories about Captain Spock. And a few tall tales of my own. One of them involves bringing a sword to the bridge."
He bobbed his brows playfully.
Tuvok shifted uncomfortably, clearly not understanding what his captain was doing here engaging in small talk and not seeming at all ready to leave.
"I am not sure I can accommodate you, sir," the young Vulcan said. "My discomfort is most profound."
"Everybody's is, at first," Sulu told him. "You should give yourself more of a chance. You've only been aboard a short time. I realized it's a little harder for Vulcans to feel as if you fit in, but believe me, you do."
Tuvok paced a few steps away from the bunk, contemplated the wall briefly, then turned.
"Perhaps we are just not compatible. Humans and Vulcans,