"We haf come into orbit around Wulcan," said Chekov from the control panel. Uhura was busy talking to some Vulcan over the communications board, while Kirk was lounging in his chair, staring intently at the screen before him, stroking his lower lip.
"You look-- god forbid-- nervous, Spock!" came a voice from behind them, Bones, who was leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, remembering the last time when they were here, the time when they were nearly murdered by rampaging Klingon pirates. The Vulcans had actually helped that time, and together they drove the Klingons back to their border, but it had been Spock who had assured the crew there was nothing wrong before approaching the planet. Kirk was doing the same, remembering, and by looking at Spock, it seemed as if he were as well.
"You alright, Spock? You don't look okay--"
"I am fine, Jim. Simply... remembering. Old times."
"We all are, Spock," said McCoy. "No need to blame yourself."
Spock cleared his throat, but Uhura spoke up before he could.
"Just got clearance from Vulcan. The shuttlecraft is on it's way."
"Good. Let's go meet our transport. Sulu! Man the bridge!"
"Yes, sir."
Choice crew-- Kirk, Spock and McCoy-- rose and left the bridge. They weren't wearing their formal uniforms, as this was not a 'special' pickup, they were only transporting a Vulcan from the planet to Starfleet. She was a Lieutenant Commander, and she had just finished mandatory personal leave on her home planet before being assigned to a starship. According to Starfleet, when they had informed the ENTERPRISE of their transport mission, the Vulcan was stubborn and extremely good at arguing.
"Much like another certain Vulcan we know," McCoy had commented, raising his eyebrows to look at Spock, but Spock had not understood what he meant.
The three crewmembers that had been assigned to welcome the transport aboard walked quickly down the hallways, until they slid to a stop at the shuttlecraft landing pad. After a few moments of waiting, the white space box flew into view, and landed neatly on the pad it was assigned.
When the door opened and everyone was surprised to see a young woman stepped out. She looked around eighteen, nineteen at the most, with waist-length, perfectly straight black hair and thick bangs, pointed ears that just stuck out from underneath her hair, and dark, slanted eyebrows over big amber eyes.
The Vulcan stepped out of the shuttle and onto the landing platform. She wore an all-black jumpsuit, and black boots with a small square heel. Picking up her bag, she walked up to the group of waiting officers and stopped, facing the Commanding Officer.
That was when Spock spoke, before Kirk could get a word in. They began speaking in Vulcan, speedtalking back and forth with more emotion than inquired for a couple of Vulcans. Eventually, the girl stopped, took a deep breath, and nodded at Spock. Spock nodded back, and they shook hands. Kirk wasn't sure-- he must have been hallucinating-- because he thought he saw a small smile on both the Vulcans' faces as they gripped hands.
The girl then turned to Kirk and held out her hand, which he took.
"My name is Lieutenant Commander Zhi'Rev," she said, in vaguely-accented english. "But most call me Rev. I can tell by the look on your faces that you're surprised-- yes, I am related to Mr. Spock. I am his younger sister."
Then, in a huge lapse of Vulcanism, the right side of Rev's mouth quirked up in an amused smile at the audiences dumbfounded faces, a smile that she wasn't even trying to hold off. It disappeared in a few moments, however.
"I agree with my brother, and all other Vulcans, when they say that emotions are illogical. But my human side insists upon displaying them. They are not logical, but humans somehow find them useful, and they sometimes are. Thank you for welcoming me aboard the ENTERPRISE."
It was a few moments before Kirk got his voice working again, and when he did, he could say nothing more than a quick "follow me," and turned to lead the way to her quarters. Rev picked up her bag and followed him, easily manhandling the obviously heavy object.
"So..." McCoy spoke up after a moment, watching the siblings walk next to each other amusedly. "You're Spock's sister..."
"Yes," Rev responded, as unemotional as her brother. "I do not understand why you must restate it, as I said those exact words a few moments ago."
McCoy shook his head, used to Vulcans' lack of understanding when it came to sarcasm and other forms of Human language. So he was a bit confused when Rev's mouth worked its way into a small smile.
"Are you smiling? You're smiling, Vulcans don't smile!"
"I am Vulcan, Doctor, but I am not nearly as daft as you'd like to think. You must remember that my mother is Human, and she is quite an emotional woman."
"Well. My name is Leonard McCoy. That's Captain Kirk, since he didn't bother to introduce us all."
"Thank you, Doctor."
"Can I help you with that?"
An officer in a red shirt came jogging up to Rev, who stopped.
"Excuse me?"
"My name is Ensign Lucas Parsons, and I was wondering if you needed help with your bag."
Rev glanced down at her duffel bag, which she gripped easily in her right hand. Looking vaguely amused, Rev held the bag out.
"I do not require help, but if you are sure..."
The officer nodded, and gripped the handle next to her hand. Spock stood next to them, and even he looked moderately amused, as if the two Vulcans shared an inside joke, something they knew about the bag that nobody else did.
That was when Rev let go of her side, and the bag thumped against the ground, much too heavy for the Ensign to lift. Embarrassed, and flushed several shades of red, the man tried his best to lift the bag, but didn't succeed in in lifting it even a quarter of an inch off the ground.
"Are we done here?" Kirk suddenly announced from a few paces down the hall, though he was obviously attempting (badly) to cover up a smile.
"Yes, sir," Rev answered, and grabbed the bag from the shamed Ensign, lifting it easily and resuming her walk down the hallway.
"Thank you."
Rev watched over her shoulder as Kirk nodded and left the room, the door whizzing shut behind him. She dropped her bag at the foot of her bed and looked around, inspecting her room. There were three rooms: the living quarters, the sleeping quarters, and the shared bathroom. In the living quarters, which was the room she first walked into, there was a swivel chair directly to the left of the blue sliding door, and which served as the seating area next to the ship's services panel. In the middle of the room was the main desk, and chair, with a small computer and slide players. A wainscot cabinet lined the entire back of both the bedroom and the living room. The bedroom was separated from the living quarters by a simple room divider that left a middle part open. A double bed sat in the middle of the sleeping quarters, a lounge chair sat next to it, and a circular wardrobe sat on the other side of the archway through the rooms. On the other side of the final door was a simple bathroom that she shared with the room next door, with nothing more than a toilet, a vanity, and a shower-bath.
Noting the holes in the ceiling at the four corners of her bed, Rev inwardly grinned, and knelt down to unzip her bag, pulling out her toolbox that she kept beside her clothes. Flipping a wrench in her hand, Rev slipped her shoes off and stepped onto the bed.
"I am getting your sister, Spock. We have a minor assessment from Starfleet for her."
It was four hours later, and Kirk and Spock were standing outside of Rev's new room. Spock grasped his hands behind his back and nodded curtly. Kirk rapped on the door with his knuckles.
"Rev? Miss Zhi'Rev? Could we come in?"
There was no response from inside the room.
"Zhi'Rev--"
"Allow me, Captain."
"Yes, Spock."
"Zhi'Rev--" he started to speak in Vulcan. There was still no response from behind the door.
"We're coming in!" Kirk said after a few moments, and opened the door.
Rev was asleep above her bed, suspended in the air. Her limbs and hair were floating around her. She was still wearing the clothes she came aboard with, but she was now shoeless.
The small holes at the top of each corner on the ceiling were now alive with electricity, rays of bluish-purple connecting to the corners of the bed in a rectangle, and there seemed to be a clear wall of nothingness boxed around it.
"Did she-- did she build and anti-gravity tank?" Kirk inquired, and turned to Spock, who nodded curtly.
"She always did have a knack for mechanics."
Kirk nodded absently, walking forwards to inspect the anti-gravitational chamber.
Rev opened her eyes, and looked sideways at Kirk. Her mouth quirked quickly before she gracefully rotated herself in the air so she was facing him through the wall of nothingness. Easily, Rev stepped through the air and onto the ground beside her bed, smoothing her hair.
"I feel the most at home in zero-gravity. Is there a problem, Captain?"
Kirk looked at the girl with mild fascination. Spock bumped him gently, which shook him out of his daze, and he regained his posture.
"Ah. Yes. Um... Miss Zhi'Rev, could you please report to the Sciences Division as soon as possible? We were asked by Starfleet to assess your abilities."
Rev nodded, glancing around.
"I will report there as soon as I am changed, sir."
Kirk nodded, then turned on his heel and walked out the door.
"Captain, sir?"
Kirk turned around, halfway down the hallway. Rev was leaning out the door.
"Call me Rev. Everyone does."
Kirk was rarely spoken to by his crew with such surety, unless it was Bones. Bones could do anything, including curse at the Captain, and not get in trouble. But this girl-- Zhi'Rev-- was not part of his crew, and could therefore not get in trouble, unless she did something drastic. And he rather liked the change.
So he smiled, and nodded.
"Rev."
Rev gave the Vulcan-equivalent of a smile (a very small, but noticeable one), and nodded back.
"Captain."
With that, Rev disappeared into her room with the soft whizz of the door.
A/N
Hi!
Okay, so, I know an anti-gravity tank is probably not possible, even in Star Trek, but I thought it would be interesting to write about.
I hope you liked this part! Please comment your thoughts.