Settling in

[Sovak 0]

Sovak stopped once again at the place he had come to know as simply "The Point." The long, grassy protuberance rose high above the coastline, affording a most spectacular view of the ocean, a magnificent panorama of the coastline, and particularly stunning vision of the evening sunsets. For these reasons, the location appealed to Sovak, who had spent many of the evenings of the last month here, sometimes alone, and often with his wife, Claire. But he also appreciated the spot for one other reason.

 

The ocean, far below, continually spent its energy crashing against the rocks that formed the foundation for "The Point" which stood proudly and defiant against the continuous onslaught. The continuous battle for supremacy in nature, in what was otherwise such a serene setting was, for him, a lesson in illogic that called to him at some deep level at which he had been heretofore quite unaware. In his meditation sessions, some of which he had taken on this very spot, he usually purged such dangerous and illogical thoughts, but he had found this particular bit of illogic to fascinate him, for some reason, and so had retained it to ponder upon.

 

Meditation had, for a fact, become more difficult for him, since their forced sojourn on this once-thriving world. The month they had spent here, so far, had been uneventful. The problems of settling in had been minimal. The crew was able to apply the technology they had brought with them to adequately feed and house themselves, resources were plentiful, and there were no predators here of any kind. The fuel production facilities were being constructed, albeit slowly, since any heavy equipment needed for the task had to be constructed, as well. The time spent, was of little significance, however, since they really (and literally) had all the time in the world. Perhaps this very lack of the stress which had permeated his life in Star Fleet was his difficulty, but he had found the need to meditate less and less.

Perhaps he lacked the motivation he once had. His goals, and indeed those of the entire crew, had changed significantly over the last month. Once, they had expended all their energy in duty to the Fleet and the pursuit of the next mission. Now, most were intent on completing whatever tasks that would expedite their return to their own time. This meant that the massive repairs to the ship would need to be completed with no support from space docks or, indeed, anyone but themselves. Communications aboard the Manticore had already been repaired, but they had found that there was simply no one with which to communicate. It seemed that whatever disaster that had destroyed all life here, had affected all the other planets in the sector as well. The Manticore was on her own.

Perhaps it was this fact, more than any other that affected him so? The fact that there were no other Vulcans left, but the few in the crew. Was it possible that one of the reasons that the telepathic race had once thrived as it did, was due to an unrealized racial link they had with each other? Could his recent difficulties in meditation be tied to that fact, or was it simply a more personal problem? Perhaps he should discuss it with the other Vulcans in the crew, though meditation was a very personal thing and not discussed easily amongst them. He filed the thought away for consideration.

Sovak watched the sun slip over the horizon, brightening the clouds with brilliant hues of orange and red. He turned and surveyed the now-familiar location once again, taking note of the nearby trees. “This would make a good location for a cottage,” he thought. “And we could be here for some months to come. I’m sure Claire would like it. I wonder if it would be possible to surprise her with it?”

Once again the fleeting thought that this was much too emotional thinking for him flitted across his mind, but he quickly dismissed it when he thought of the smile that it would bring to her face.