It was morning when Stone's shift started. If anything, he preferred to be watching reruns of General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, and what remained of the old syfy 'natural disaster/alien encounter/animal attack' classics that still remained. He didn't like to be around others. It made him uncomfortable but he did like caring for them. He had a low whistle to himself striding his way to sick bay. He had to expect, tomorrow, by the latest, a whole host of patients. He suspected it had to be someone he met during his time out in space in the medical corps. He was the kind who was observant to others. To be wary, cautious, or to be friendly due to how they were physically set up.  Federation standard boots, small pistol phaser, and matching attire that fit their build were  more than likely federation agents. The pistol phaser was favored for those in Section 31 or so the rumors said. He met a agent once during his time at the academy and was offered to be a part of it. Stone declined. Our attention turned toward Riez who passed by Stone.

"Good morning, Mr Riez!" T'Plass greeted  Riez with a short wave.

T'Plass was the friendliest Vulcan on the Enterprise, period.

"Good morning, Mr Plass," Riez said.

T'Plass followed after Riez taking a steering right turn curving his path away the direction that he had been going in to come  by the human's side.

"What planet were you born on?" T'Plass asked.

"You don't need to know," Riez said.

"I am interested,"  T'Plass said.

"It is not relevant," Riez said.

"It is if you have an allergy that no one knows of and has a life  saving treatment," T'Plass said.

"I don't have an allergy," Riez said.

"What if you did," T'Plass said.

"I don't," Riez said.

"Come on," T'Plass plead.

"No,"  Riez said.

"Aw, you are not interested in finding out if you have an allergy, doctor?" T'Plass said, walking backwards while facing the human.

"Not interested," Riez said. "and the laboratory is not big enough for a nosy security officer."

"Why it is," T'Plass said.

"Why don't you go mind your own business," Riez said. "like say, go to security headquarters."

"There are no threats what so ever against the Enterprise so therefor I have plenty of time," T'Plass said, as Riez took a turn.  Riez felt annoyed. Was this Vulcan ever going to stop following him?

"I can't really tell you," Riez said.

"Why?"  T'Plass asked.

"You would not believe me," Riez said.

"Try me, Mr Riez,"  T'Plass said.

"Under the pacific ocean," Riez said.

"You were born in the first national underwater colony?" T'Plass repeated, in disbelief.

"Yes," Riez whistled.

T'Plass raised an eyebrow.

"But Gangorians wouldn't go underground," T'Plass said. "you are lying to me."

Riez sniggered.

"Over my dead body will you find out." Riez replied.

"Come on," T'Plass said.

"You are never going to tell the captain because you are curious," Riez said. "otherwise, if you tell him then it won't be fun annoying me."

"Well, I am not interested in annoying you," T'Plass said. "I like to hear the truth."

Riez was amused.

"You can't handle the truth," Riez said.

"Yes, I can," T'Plass said.

"My grandmother once said to me, 'Jur gun lemur handur ze pruthe, kurkit'," Riez quoted. "and that applies to you."

"You don't have to speak another language to say I cannot handle the truth," T'Plass said. "Your Gangorian is excellent. . . You didn't live on the Gangor planet, did you?"

"No," Riez said. "like I said, that is what my grandmother told me. Often."

"Your grandmother is a Gangorian," T'Plass said.  Riez rolled an eye.

"That is amusing that you say that but she wasn't," Riez said. "she had Romulan ancestry. Ooh, I think I think that was three generations ago?" the Klingon-like man shrugged, unsure. "Blended in quite well without a problem on Vulcan. Still around to this day at one of those nursing homes that treat the elderly."

T'Plass raised an eyebrow as he came in front of the man stopping Riez in his tracks.

"I won't leave until you talk." T'Plass said.

Riez folded his arms.

"Well," Riez said. His eyes brightened and a smile grew on his face. "I will be damned, I actually caught a fish that is hounding me."

"You are not leaving until you tell me,"  T'Plass said, his hands locked behind  his back.

"I was born on a space station, raised and grew up on Andoria in a street full of Gangorians," Riez said. "that is where I picked up the language from. It was a very turbulent childhood." Riez tilted his head. "Happy now?"

"If I believe you. . ." T'Plass said, unable to finish the sentence as the human straightened his head.

"Good!" Riez said, cheerfully.  "Now get the hell out of my way."

T'Plass stepped aside.

"Zank ju," Riez said, going down the hall.

T'Plass, the black Vulcan, turned in the direction of the walking human appearing to be suspicious. A part of him that the human had lied to him, again, regarding where he lived in for the beginning of his childhood.  A part of him believed that it was the truth. But his gut was screaming "that was a clear lie". T'Plass shook his head.  He had to report to the security head quarters and begin his shift. He took a turn in the direction that he had been coming from and went down the corridor.  It made sense on how Riez knew how to speak the two languages referring to them as his mother language. But what he did not like is how it bothered him. Supposedly it was the truth.  He continued walking down the hall until he came to a turbo lit. He slid his hand into the door stopping it from closing. There stood Brackett.

"Good morning, Plass," Brackett said.

"Greetings," T'Plass said, entering the rounded turbo lift with her. The doors closed on him.

"You look well today," Brackett said.

"Thank you,"  T'Plass said. "I shaved my new brand layer of head hair."

"Your head is so shiny," Brackett said.

"Thank you," T'Plass said.

"Did you hear the rumors regarding Captain Spock?" Brackett asked.

"Negative," T'Plass said.

"The grape vine said that he is really going there for a long lost son," Brackett said.

T'Plass looked over, raising a thin eyebrow.

"I do not believe that a son of Mr Spock would be at a Romulan colony," T'Plass said.

"And some think that he has a long lost sibling there who is a doctor who was genetically changed to sneak inside and make sure that they carried the colony out well years ago," Brackett said. "Which is reasonable with all things considered."

T'Plass hit a button along the side of the newly installed console. The turbo lift stopped with a jolt knocking Brackett down to the other side almost to the ground if not for the rail support behind her. The room turned dark. T'Plass turned in the direction of the tall woman. His eyes sending a withering and pissed off glare. His face showed a calm, collected  Vulcan standing before her but his eyes and eyebrows said the opposite. His eyebrows were hunched together.

"They may appear to be undergoing mental disabilities but it does not mean they are not capable of sustaining a population of their own," T'Plass said.  "They have survived for hundreds of years without going extinct in the process to be emotional beings. They are the counterparts of Vulcans who express emotions not control them. And just because they are different from you does not mean they are insane. In fact, they are much like you."

"How do you know that?" Brackett asked.

"My parents defected from the Romulan Empire when I was a child and I went with them," T'Plass said. "I may look Vulcan but I am not."

Brackett gasped

"Does Decker know?" Brackett asked.

"It is on my file," T'Plass said.

". . . That is risky," Brackett said.

"Risky as going around being insulting about another race,"  T'Plass said.

"It is the truth," Brackett said.

"Not all Romulans are pure evil," T'Plass said, sounding insulted even though he did not show it.

"But you are different," Brackett said.  "I mean with your paranoia, you might need pills to make sure that you don't . .  ."  She waved her index finger in a circle. "You know. . . get yourself on the operating table and three officers being tended to by the other nurses and I."

"I go by the Vulcan way," T'Plass said.  Brackett appeared to be startled. "I do not need to take medicine for that."

"A Romulan living a Vulcan's life. . . . that's . . . odd," Brackett said.

"Not as odd as you think," T'Plass said. "it is relatively common for defectors to turn to Vulcan ways."

"To think you were assigned on this ship as a Vulcan," Brackett said, with a eye roll.

"The captain requested me for this assignment, Miss Brackett," T'Plass said, then he turned in the direction of the panel "My skills in engineering were well sought for," He glanced back toward her. "At least four other captains were competing for me. All of which he was familiar to. They resolved their argument over a game of poker to send the assignment request to me."

"You were requested," Brackett said, in disbelief.

"Not assigned," T'Plass said, with a nod.

"Just how well did he know you?" Brackett asked.

"I met Captain Decker last week when rock climbing on Earth," T'Plass said, then he hit a button on the control panel. "He is a moderate climber."

The turbo lit turned on and began going up as Brackett stared at the Romulan. 

"You rock climbed with Decker?" Brackett asked.

"Of course I did," T'Plass said. "shouldn't be a surprised with this athletic human."

The doors finally opened.

"So the captain is attractive," Brackett said.

"I do not know about you but he has not moved on from his previous relationship," T'Plass said.

"Oh," Brackett said.

"I hope we talk together regarding a better subject," T''Plass said.

T'Plass went in the direction of the left passing by several Luccieve who had ant like heads with human eyes that were blue with black x shaped pupils. Long strands of light brown hair with black markings that appeared to be thorns at first sight. Lucciev had one thumb on each hand with small thick nails but they had two claws alongside the thumbs that were relatively large at first glance. At first sight it looked like they had a beak similar to a bald eagle or that of a pushed inwards dragon nostril. They had long thorny neck hair poking from the back of their uniform.  Among them were a pair of Loche officers with contraption like hands on the side of their heads. Their skin a mix of brown and Caucasian lacking eyebrows as there was a ridge that started from the nose then went up to the hand appendages. Loche had five fingers that were long with sharp claw like fingernails unlike their claw contraptions that did not have fingernails while the Loche themselves had a very human build.