Logic, Squared

Posted on 19 Oct 2024 @ 6:30pm by Lieutenant Commander Stovek

761 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Stranded
Location: Starfleet Academy
Timeline: Current

Xon, the only scion of Stovek and T’Lana, was mildly concerned.

Being a Vulcan, he was not predisposed to emotional outbursts. However, it was not like his father to miss an appointed comm transmission. On the contrary, it was not like Stovek to miss much, period. Xon’s father, for all of his flaws, was an efficient and precise individual that was laser focused on punctuality. So if Stovek was ever late, it was worth looking into further.

The young Vulcan Sophomore Cadet sat down at the communication terminal in the quarters that he shared with Pheylin…a quirky but actually quite likable Bolian. With a bit of manipulation of the panel’s control interface Xon located his mother, Starfleet Lieutenant T’Lana of the USS Monarch sciences division. After a long moment of waiting, T’Lana appeared on the screen.

“My son,” she said flatly. “It is agreeable to speak with you. But it is also unprecedented for you to contact me outside of the appointed times.”

“Do I need a reason to want to talk to my mother?” said Xon carefully.

“No,” she deadpanned. "You do not need a reason. That does not change the fact that you always have one.

Xon pursed his lips slightly. Of course she would see through him. "You are correct Mother, as usual."

The corners of T'Lana's mouth turned ever so slightly upward. This was as close to a smile as she would get, and only for her son. Anybody other than a Vulcan would have not noticed."

"Have you spoken with Father recently?" asked Xon pointedly. He knew that, despite his Father's objections, his Mother kept relatively close tabs on his Father. Stovek's safety was important to his son, so of course T'Lana would do everything within her power to monitor that.

"I have not spoken with him directly since before he departed from Deep Space Nine eight days ago," said T'Lana calmly. "Although I have attempted to reach him on three separate occasions. Twice I left messages, and the third time the Monarch computer stated that his vessel was out of range of the FedCom network buoys. Why do you ask?"

"It could be nothing," said Xon. "As you said, you were told that he was outside of the FedCom network. But I was scheduled to speak with father this morning at 0630, and he was not available. Typically, if he will not be available he will leave a pre-recorded message informing me as such."

"I am certain that, as I said, he is out of network and unable to receive a signal."

"Did he know where the Cygnus was heading for their mission?"

"He did not discuss that. However, the tracking algorithms I devised and planted into the ship's mainframe suggested that they were headed into unclaimed space, near Son'a controlled territory."

"Tracking algorithms, mother? Please tell me you are not serious."

"I am serious, Xon."

"That is at best unethical. And at worst, it is a violation of Starfleet privacy policies. You of all people should know this, since your specialization is Computers." He paused for a short moment. "The fact that you are my mother does not excuse the fact that this is an egregious violation of my Father's individual rights."

"No harm has come to anybody in any way, Xon. There is no need to escalate any further."

Xon's face flushed slightly green as blood rushed to his face. He was not nearly as skilled at concealing his emotions as his Mother. "Irrelevant. You are violating policies that are in place for the protection of privacy. After I locate my Father, I will be contacting the Starfleet Judge Advocate General's Office."

T'Lana's eyes narrowed to slits. "You would not do that, not to your own mother."

"That statement proves one again that you know me, and do not know me simultaneously. Goodbye, Mother."

With a simple keystroke, Cadet Xon closed the channel with his mother. He had known that his mother kept close tabs on his father, but had not had any idea that she was violating protocol in the process. Despite Xon's tendencies toward emotionless reactions, this made his blood boil. Privacy and individual rights were written into the Federation charter, and were at the core of Vulcan civilization's most cherished beliefs.

T'Lana's day in court would come. but right now, Xon needed to locate his Father.


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Sophomore Starfleet Cadet Xon
Starfleet Headquarters
Earth


Written by:

Lieutenant Commander Stovek
Chief Operations Officer/2XO
USS Cygnus

 

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