Episode 109. Mother T'Met and Aunt Agnes

Story

Since I took command of the Enterprise on July 22, our little family has become a true intertemporal melting pot. In addition to my original crew, made up exclusively of humans, our journey has brought us the ancient Vulcans once held captive by The Grand Tsar Putin, including Captain T'Met; Gornok and his Tellarite workers, survivors of the Zorek Spaceport attack; the Orion fugitive K'hoka Khol'a; and the Andorian Tarsi, who came straight from the 26th century to rescue VSS Schak'Irra. To think that barely five months ago none of us had ever seen an extraterrestrial in our lives now feels unreal, almost naive.

With the end-of-year holidays approaching, and sensing fatigue among the members of this motley crew, I decided to grant them a vacation on Proxima Centauri B. This planet, where we will establish a colony only if my officers decide that our journey is over, gives us a welcome opportunity for rest and reflection. It is a world with a breathable atmosphere, with landscapes that sometimes recall Earth through their vast stretches of forest and mountains. The idea of seeing the different species in the crew explore this new land together, of watching them share their knowledge and cultures in a peaceful context, feels to me like a hope of rebirth.

While everyone enjoys this regained freedom on the planet's surface, I inspect the innovations recently added to my starship. I feel a little lost, because the Enterprise is now a patchwork of technologies from different worlds and eras. Despite Tarsi's, T'Met's, and Gornok's notes, it is not very easy to find my way around. For now, however, another priority is waiting for me, and I head immediately to Lingua's Cocoon so she can give me the results of my officers' votes. That vote will finally tell me where we are headed.

On the central pedestal, Lingua's projection deteriorates more and more. Seeing her in distress, I grab the intercom...

I head toward the control interface to try to understand Lingua's behavior, but this 26th-century technology does not allow me to grasp all its complexity. Fortunately, I will not need to operate this equipment, because T'Met has just joined us.

T'Met approaches the console and operates it. On the central display, Lingua's image fades and is replaced by a fast-forwarding view of the cocoon. It looks like a three-dimensional video recording.

I place the visor in front of my eyes. Despite its transparency, I can no longer make out the outside environment. For a brief moment, I lose my balance; then lines of light appear and assemble into structures. Little by little, a child's bedroom takes shape. I stretch out my arms to touch the objects on the bed in front of me. There are teddy bears, dolls, a hairbrush, a tiara, a small necklace of wooden beads. The realism is so striking that I can feel the texture by touch. Suddenly, the bedroom door opens, and a little girl with long blond hair runs in and jumps into T'Met's arms.

Captain T'Met does not seem willing to answer me. She takes the frame and removes the photo. On the back, I can make out scribbles.

T'Met cuts the connection. Before my eyes, the little blond head waves at me and slowly fades, giving way to absolute darkness. When I remove the Synaptic Nexus, Lingua's projection reappears on the cocoon's central display.