Chapter 5

Chapter Five

While Omal’s aides were putting everything away that they brought, he walked over to the comm and put in for a call to Betazed. He was pleasantly surprised by the lovely woman that came up on his screen when he asked to put the call through. His heart actually skipped a beat at the sight of her. He had lost his bond mate before they could wed at their majority. He still grieved for her but knew that life moved on. “Greetings, I take it you are the Lieutenant Uhura that the Captain mentioned?”

“Yes, I am Ambassador. How can I help you today?”

He shivered at the sound of her voice, it was slightly husky and very sexy. This was a woman that he wanted to get to know better. If anything, Betazoids were known to go on their instincts and by their emotions. “Could you please put a call in for me to the Betazoid Ruling Council?”

“Of course, Ambassador. Have a good day.” And with that her image went off screen and the Betazoid Ruling Council came on it.

“Greetings Ambassador Nexi.”

“Greeting Council member Ograi.”

“What brings you to call us? Did you not just arrive on the Enterprise?”

“That is what brings me to call. I arrived on the Enterprise and met the Captain and First Officer. I sensed that something was off with them and that they gave off the psychic aura of a Betazoid.”

“That is not possible. We would know if either of them were of Betazoid heritage.” Council Member Itaada said.

“I understand that Council Member Itaada. I approached them on the matter and they were able to offer me some explanation. I will get more information tonight when I dine with them. They were apparently kidnapped and experimented on. Their DNA was altered, Betazoid and Kintzi DNA was added to it.”

“How is this possible? Who would dare?” Council Member Etrim slammed his hand down on the table in anger. “You must get more information. If they are indeed part Betazoid then we must welcome them into the fold. Captain Kirk and Commander Spock would be a great asset to our people.”

“I understand. From the brief interaction I had with them, they are in full control of their abilities. They were dampened and gave almost nothing away emotionally or mentally. I did not even hear them when they were obviously conversing with each other.” He felt put out by this. He was one of the stronger telepaths on the planet and usually he was able to hear others, even when they tried to be discreet. He found out a great many secrets that way, sometimes those secrets saved him.

“We can understand the Vulcan have excellent control, but not the Human. Find out what you can.”

“Understood.” No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, then the screen went dark. He kept his shields up as he cursed the names of those he had to deal with on the Ruling Council. In a Matriarchal Society, he was a mere male. He had almost no family left and what was left was not very high up in the nobility class. He sighed, maybe he should see what he could glean from the ensign assigned to them without them knowing. “Legel, could you call on the ensign assigned to us. Perhaps they could assist us in getting what we need for the evening's meal. I know that Vulcans are vegetarians, they might know what the Captain likes.”

“As you wish, sir.” He went to the comm and called their ensign for assistance.

**********

Ten minutes later, the ensign that was assigned to them for the duration of this mission, came to the door of their quarters. Legel opened the door and let her in. She was pretty little thing, but very young. She looked to be fresh from the Starfleet academy and eager to prove herself.
“Might I have your name, ensign?”

“My name is Ensign Rodriguez, sir. How can I help you?”

“I am dining with the Captain and Commander tonight and am unsure what the Captain would like to eat. Would you be able to help?”

“Yes, I can. As I am sure you know the Vulcans are vegetarian and will not touch the food with their hands. They use utensils for everything. So I would not recommend finger foods. Now the Captain used to be a hardcore meat eater but ever since he came back from the kidnapping he will not touch the stuff. According to his Yeoman, he eats a lot of fruits and vegetables. He also gets these intense cravings for Plomeek soup.”

Plomeek soup?”

“Oh yes, it is one of the traditional foods of the Vulcans. Can't seem to get enough of it lately.”

“So no meat or finger foods?”

“Definitely not. If you want I can program your replicator with some of the different foods they like?”

“Please,” he said as he watched her go over to the replicator. He did a surface scan of her thoughts and picked up a few interesting tidbits. She did not seem to know much or just knew what not to think about around telepaths.

He thanked her when she had finished and she left. This was not going to go well. He did not want to this but they needed to know what had happened and how the kidnappers were able to obtain the DNA. He may as well put on his cards on the table and hope they will work with him on this matter. Meanwhile, there was nothing stopping him from getting to know the Chief Communications Officer better. He smiled at the thought of her exotic looks and intelligent eyes. Nope, nothing indeed.