When Tholians come to Earth
Posted on Sat Oct 31st, 2026 @ 12:38pm by Commander Rhupert Tyree & Lieutenant Commander Richard Dalziel & Lieutenant Katya Davi
1,537 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Shore Leave: Earth
Location: Palais de Concorde, Paris France.
Timeline: End of Week Two/Shore Leave
ON.
The air above the Paris and specifically, the Palais de Concorde office and residence of the Federation President on Earth felt electric. The manicured grounds and buildings had been under scrutiny for months now as preparations were laid for the arrival of the Tholian ambassadorial mission.
Levori smoothed her cadet uniform, pleased at how the tailor had gotten the cut just right. It was a heavily modified cut, to be sure but it still did resemble (mostly) her Starfleet cadets dress uniform. It just had the Betezoid’s own spin on it, which she liked very much.
The past two weeks had been interesting. She’d been assigned to serve as a Yeoman to the crew of the USS Valiant as part of that ship's continued relationship with the Betezoid government. Technically, she was part of her home world’s mission to Earth but she was due to start her studies at the Academy in San Francisco in a month. The ambassador had arranged for the brunette to don her uniform early and she’d taking a ratings rank as Yeoman, but was technically a cadet since the ship was docked for the crew’s R&R.
Levori had basically been a tour guide, trouble-shooter and fixer for the past two weeks. She’d enjoyed herself and admitted that the Valiant’s crew was an eclectic group. For no particular reason every time she was around the ships doctor and helmsman, her mind always felt like it needed a good scrubbing.
She’d learn to clamp down her mental shields when in the same general vicinity.
Today she was representing Betezoid, the Academy, and the Valiant and she had butterflies all over again at the thought.
“Hello, Cadet,” a slightly teasing rumble came from off to one side and she glanced quickly over before smiling slightly shyly.
“Commander Tyree,” Levori smiled. “Welcome to Paris.”
“Thank you,” Rhu said. “Nice uniform. Is it new. Looks like it might have been spray painted on. You sure your mother would approve?”
Levori had gotten somewhat used to Commander Tyree over the past days, even though he had kept busy away from his ship and for the last three days, away from Earth all together. “She sent me the can,” Levori joked, hand unconsciously going to the slightly shorter than regulation dress skirt in an attempt to smooth it lower.
“I can imagine,” Rhu said dryly, though there was humor in his voice.
Maybe he was getting old. He felt like telling her to go put on more clothes.
Looking over the garden, he glanced at the long tables and people gathering from the three sides that were now open to arriving dignitaries. Shuttles were arriving and he shook his head slightly. The Tholians had started a trend. They disliked transporters for reasons known only to themselves and were insisting on a shuttle to bring them to earth.
Pointedly not looking at the Cadet's uniform, Rhu double checked the suit he’d chosen for the affair. As guests of the Betezoid government, they weren’t required to be in uniform. It was a nice loophole since there were going to be more Admirals and Captains in the crowd than he cared to deal with if he’d been in dress uniform. Being in civilian clothes gave he and his crew anonymity. Though he’d been told that there were going to be a huge chunk of the Admiralty here for this in fact. Somewhere someone had been informed that the Tholians expected a show of respect from the Federations exploration and defensive arm and the senior leadership intended to make a good show.
Glancing behind him as more people moved past what Levori had claimed as the crew’s staging ground, he looked back to see her handing him a champagne flute. He took it and thanked her. Once the crew arrived, the cadet apparently intended one last group briefing before turning them loose on the unsuspecting attendees.
Katya walked into the room wearing a long-sleeved honey-colored dress with a V-neck and a handkerchief skirt that moved with each step. It made her feel like dancing--even though this was not the time or place for it. She was immediately aware of where Rhu was, but didn't immediately look at him. Instead, she went over to Levori. "Hello. How are you doing?"
"Very well, thank you ma'am," Levori said as she felt the mental shielding from Rhu and Kat equalize with hers, which was typical of Betezoids when more than two entered an area together. "I hope you've been having a pleasant shore leave?" Then she glanced at them both and said, "Mars looked like it was fun."
Kat flashed Rhu a grin. "It was definitely an experience." She paused. "Yeah, it was fun." Kinda. Mostly. But definitely something she'd do again.
Rhu eyed the Cadet and said, "You are too young to know much of anything about Mars at this point, Levori. What would your father think?," he teased. He caught a flicker from the Cadet...something.
Then he grinned and looked at Kat, "She thought about applying as a booth-hop at the Drop Zone, I think."
Levori's cheeks bloomed slightly and she set her jaw, "I just looked at it. It let me get a look at the kind of R&R you might..." Then she looked at Rhu and blushed a bit more.
"He's teasing," Kat said, hoping to save the cadet from further embarrassment. "Or should be. I will say that he makes a mighty fine...bouncer."
Rhu glanced at Kat and asked, "How would you know...we didn't make it to the fourth floo.." Then he grinned wryly, "Oh. That. Nah. I bounced unwanted people there for a while when I was stationed with one of the Sol system fighter wings. But that was just filling in.."
Levori's cheeks turned a bit pinker and her thoughts betrayed her before she got a handle on the three way interlink they'd been sharing. The Commander's innuendo had been there...and so had the Lieutenants if she was any judge.
She was very careful not to think about her slip up with the Master and Commander title he preferred.
Not again.
Unfortunately, that DID bleed through telepathically. Kat wondered what that was about. Then she told herself she didn't want to know...or shouldn't want to know.
She turned her focus to what Rhu said and chose to pounce on that. "Holding out on me?" Although, with what she did see, she wasn't so sure she wanted to know what happened on the fourth floor.
Looking at Kat, he sent ~"Fourth floor is a combination Risian themed play...with Henti fetishes. Absolutely no Cadets allowed. No Tyree's either. Not after the incident."~ His tone was only half humorous as he keeps his surface thoughts firmly off the fourth floor.
"And no Davis, either. I honestly think most of that place is unsafe for everyone but very drunk Marines. And Risians." At times like this, she appreciated being able to speak telepathically.
Richard had returned from his shore leave, visiting his family in Sheffield. He wore a simple charcoal coloured suit without a tie. He was interested to learn more about Tholian technology. From what he'd been able to discover, it utilised a lot of crystalline based tech.
He acknowledged Katya and Levori with nods.
Kat nodded back. She could tell he was more interested in seeing the Tholians, so didn't try to ask him about his shore leave.
Levori, seeking escape, went to check on the Engineer. "Welcome to Paris Commander Dalziel. Can I assist you with anything?"
"Thank you, Cadet." Richard said. "I'm alright for now. How are you enjoying your assignment?" He asked.
"It's been entertaining sir. A good chance to see something of .... how different," Levori hedges diplomatically, "Various commands can be. Did you enjoy your trip to ... Empok Nor was it sir?"
Richard smiled. "Yes, my wife, Emily is stationed there, she's a doctor. It was great to see her, it can get lonely when you and your spouse are assigned to different commands." He told her. "I also made a quick visit to my mother in Sheffield, here on Earth. The rest of my family are scattered about the quadrant." He added.
"Yes sir," Levori said brightly. "How was your mother? I avoided checking the records when you didn't indicate any need for help with travel arrangements.
"She's doing well. She complained I wasn't eating enough, then tried to fatten me up with roast beef and Yorkshire puds, followed by a tonne of trifle." Richard said. "She a civilian lawyer and runs her practice right out of the family home."
Around them, more people arrived and entered the gardens and grounds of the palace as clouds drifted above and the sound of the celebration hummed in the background. Liveried personnel moved through with more foods and servers with transporter linked drink trays circulated amongst the guests.
END
A joint post by:
Commander R. Tyree
Master and Commander
USS Valiant
Also writing: Levori
Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief of Operations
USS Valiant
Commander Richard Dalziel
Chief Engineer
USS Valiant.
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