Eriecho - Star Trek Kelvin Timeline fanfiction

Across the Universe - 5 - Twist and Shout

Well, shake it up, baby, now (Shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout (Twist and shout)
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, baby, now (Come on baby)
Come on and work it on out (Work it on out)

"Is this seat taken?" There was an empty seat next to Eriecho, in the big dining hall, where everyone in the Martian sanctuary took their evening meal. This was not an uncommon occurrence. What was more uncommon was that it was the newly arrived Sybok who was doing the asking.

"Uh, no it is not." Sollastek was on the other side of her. Across from her was Saddik and, across from Sollastek, was Valeris.

"Good! The accommodations are better here than at my last lodging," announced Sybok.

"This sanctuary is superior to the others? The Colonel will wish to hear that. It will please him, I imagine," Saddik remarked.

"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about the other sanctuaries. I meant that godforsaken corner of the universe known as Nimbus III."

"I have never been there," Valeris stated. There was an elderly matron seated on her other side, on the long bench at their table. The older woman sniffed disapprovingly. "Well, I have not," Valeris added, a little more loudly, "I plied my trade under more congenial circumstances."

"Trade?" inquired Sybok.

"I am a Pon Farr comforter. My services are in rather high demand."

"That is only because so few of our people have bonded," Saddik added, gesturing, "Not like Eriecho and Sollastek here."

"Oh?" asked Sybok. He turned to Eriecho. "Are congratulations in order?"

"We will wed in about a month," Sollastek interjected.

"Why the delay?" asked Sybok.

"There are very few of us who are marrying," Eriecho said, "and there need to be new sleeping arrangements made. Hence the MACOs are building us a new home, and they are taking a great deal of care. It is of double the size of the standard Quonset hut homes." She could not help it, even though she had been practicing her suppression techniques, for a little bit of pride to creep into her inflections.

"It sounds very nice, but aren't those prefabricated dwellings? They most likely only take an hour or two to be constructed, even taking the utmost of care."

"It is my understanding," Saddik offered, "that there are several extensive modifications being made. It is all in accordance with the strong urging by the administrators to have us all wed each other." He shot a look at the matron. "At least, for those of us who are younger and fitter than the norm."

Sybok's eyes darted from one face to another and he smiled, and there was a twinkle in his eye. He addressed the matron directly. "And you don't approve, eh, madam? Tell me, for I'd be willing to wager a great deal of coin that you've got some degree of personal pain." He brandished a spoon and leered just a little bit at her. "I could assist you in unburdening yourself. And I suspect you'd change your mind about a few things." He winked a little, at her, but also at Valeris.

The matron's eyes flashed for just a second, and whether it was anger or desire or disapproval or something else was hard to ascertain. Then she saw someone she knew, another one of the crop of matrons at the sanctuary. She took her bowl and left, in order to sit with the gaggle of matrons.

Sybok laughed a bit. "See, this is why I voluntarily absented myself from oh so proper Vulcan society. A lot of it's terribly tedious." He tasted his food. "Not to mention bland. Please pass the salt, will you?"

When Eriecho passed the salt shaker to him, their hands touched for a fraction of a second, and he saw the interior of a cell at Canamar Prison. Flustered for just a moment, he blinked his eyes a few times. "Huh. I suppose I'm not the only one who's come here from a worse situation."