Meeting of the 3/4 Vulcan Minds

Posted on Mon Oct 6, 2025 @ 5:43am by Lieutenant T'Lul & Lieutenant Bronwyn P’ril

2,871 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Time After Time
Location: Chief Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD 10 - Morning

Since Maritza had left, T'Lul had noticed something distinctly interesting: there were a great influx of Vulcans and half-Vulcans coming to Deep Space 5. A non-rational being might ascribe the influx as divine providence. However, T'Lul believed that this was no more than random coincidence. Regardless of the reason, she considered herself fortunate to study so many to assist her in making a logical decision once pon farr overtook her.

Nonetheless, there was duty that had to be completed. In this case, it was completing the routine psychological evaluation that was required whenever someone new came to the station. Having this time set aside and having messaged P'ril in advance, she awaited for the half-Vulcan at the appointed out. T'Lul wondered how prompt P'ril might be.

P’ril was, of course, very prompt. She arrived exactly at the appointed time, pressing her thumb to the chime to announce her presence with exactly seventeen seconds to spare.

Somewhat predictable, T'Lul thought to herself. Vulcan training is rather rigid and from what I read, she was raised on Vulcan. "Come in," T'Lul called in a neutral voice.

When P'rill did, T'Lul stared for a moment. T'Lul was not certain that she ever met a Vulcan with anything other than black hair. So, it was interesting was that P'ril had blond hair. Blond being a recessive gene, it was not common for it to express in Vulcans or their offspring with humans. "Thank you for coming," T'Lul said politely. "You are new to the station and I am attempting to stay on top of the incoming crew, especially Chiefs for their psych evals. I determined that it would be most efficient and logical to introduce myself to you and complete the eval task simultaneously."

It was, of course, logical to P’ril as well. Both tasks needed to be completed, and so it stood to reason that they could be done at the same time. After only a moment’s hesitation- she did not meet many Vulcans anymore and had nearly forgotten about the traditional greeting- she held up one hand in solute and said, “Live long and prosper, Lieutenant. It is indeed logical.”

T'Lul answered back by raising her hand in the traditional "V" greeting. "Peace and long life." She opened herself to the room and asked, "Would you like to sit?"

“Thank you, replied P’ril, entering at the invitation and choosing one of the chairs. She wasn't sure what the counselor had in mind- it seemed nearly everyone had their own way of conducting psychological evaluations- so she simply awaited further instructions.

"Please make yourself comfortable," T'Lul told P'ril, trying to inject some semblance of lilt and pleasantness in her voice, rather than the traditional Vulcan neutral tones. While it was natural sounding, T'Lul knew that it was well practiced. "There has been a great influx of Vulcans and half-Vulcans on this station as of late. It gives a vague familiarity of home," T'Lul said conversationally as she could.

P’ril gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, but her family had left Vulcan when she was still very young, so home to her was Earth. Still, she could appreciate the familiarity for the other woman. “I had noticed there are a lot of us,” she replied. “If one believed in magic, one would assume a spell brought us here. However, it is a large station. I would estimate our numbers are proportional when the whole population is taken into account.

"That depends on how you determine proportionality," T'Lul replied logically. "Even so, we have higher proportions of Vulcans and half-Vulcans on this station than most of Starfleet." She changed the topic slightly. "Your name is not traditionally Vulcan. It does not begin with a 'T' for a woman and you have two names. Is this due to your human parent's influence?"

“My mother chose P’ril,” P’ril answered. “I believe it is an ancient Vulcan name, from before we found logic. It was also her idea to give me two names, though my father chose Bronwyn. Both names are unconventional, but then, so are my parents and so is my entire life.”

T'Lul leaned forward. "Please tell me about your parents and your life," she offered and yet instructed simultaneously.

“My mother taught alien sociology at the Vulcan Science institute,” P’ril started. “Specializing in humans and Vulcan human hybrids. I credit her with my ability to balance control and expression of my emotions. My father was on Vulcan studying Vulcan meditation techniques. He believed they could help his patients as a psychologist- he was correct. When he was offered a position with the Toronto Psychological Institute, my mother believed it was in my and my brother’s best interest if the whole family went to Earth. She thought we needed to be around humans for awhile, too. I made exactly one friend on Earth, but it was she who introduced me to the piano. I have been playing since I was six years old.”

"Who was your mother?" T'Lul asked, her eyes widening and voice quickening. "And tell me about your balance." If T'Lul was not Vulcan, it could be said that she was getting excited.

“Her name is T’prin,” answered P’ril. “She taught me that if I feel like crying or laughing, I should allow myself to do it. The control comes when I have a task to do and cannot afford the luxury of reacting emotionally. Such as an emergency. I cannot panic if there has been an accident, nor can I cry for a friend who has sustained life threatening injuries. At that point, I must do what needs to be done to save a life. But if I receive word that a friend has died, I allow myself to mourn the loss.”

"Interesting," T'Lul commented. "I believe that I have read your mother's publications. I wonder if she has read mine." She switched back to the topic of expressing emotions. "So, she encouraged your human emotions? That is rather bold and rebellious of her. Does she follow kolinar? Do you follow some modified version of it?"

“The answer to both questions is yes,” answered P’ril. “Humans need to show their emotions, otherwise they all build up until they come out all at once- what they refer to as a blow up. My mother believes that as I am half human, I may be in danger of these blow ups, so she advised that I express my emotions when they feel overwhelming.”

Idly T'Lul considered, "I wonder if your mother would consider pon farr a 'blow up,' for Vulcans, as a natural result of suppressing emotions. I hope that I have not made you uncomfortable talking about that taboo topic. Though, as a half-Vulcan who has allowed her emotions out, have you even been subject to pon farr. I have learned that many mixed Vulcans never or rarely experience it."

P’ril afforded the counselor half a smile for half a moment. “I think you will find it is difficult to make me uncomfortable,” she replied. “But to answer your question, no, I have not experienced it. At least not from the side of one going through it.”

"Never been through it?" T'Lul asked in a musing tone. "When you say, not from the side of the one going through it, I assume that your Vulcan parent experienced it and you witnessed it. Would that be correct?"

“A friend, actually,” replied P’ril, her tone indicating a much closer interaction than her words betrayed.

"Your tone does not tell the same story as your words. This friend of yours, was there a romantic relationship, as well?"

“No,” answered P’ril simply. “He was just a friend. But he needed help, so I helped.” This was a very awkward conversation even for Vulcans. P’ril’s human side was slightly amused by that knowledge.

"I see," T'Lul answered, not completely believing P'ril on this subject. However, it was irrelevant at this time. "Tell me more about yourself. Also, how should I address you when not on duty or here?"

Oh good. She was leaving that line of questioning alone. P’ril didn’t want to get into it any farther than they already had. The ‘just friends’ label had turned out to be one-sided and letting him down had been much more difficult than she would have ever thought. But it was done and she hoped to never have to do it again. “Either name, or any variation you may discover, is fine with me,” she answered. “My brother calls me Bron, Bronny, Bronno, Brondie, and many other nicknames.”

"That is because you have a first name and a last name, unlike traditional Vulcans. Do you prefer your first name or your last? What do your friends call you?"

“While it is not a rule, per se, my human friends refer to me as Bronwyn and the Vulcans refer to me as P’ril,” she replied. “Other species tend to use Bronwyn with the exception of Bajorans, who favor P’ril.”

"So, you have no preference? Is this a case of 'you can call me anything you want, but not late to dinner?'" T'Lul asked with a rare show of humor.

P’ril afforded the other woman half a smile for half a moment. “Especially if you are serving enchiladas,” she replied by way of a response.

"I cannot say that I have ingested this food of which you speak," T'Lul answered. "Why is it that you prefer these enchiladas?"

“Because they are delicious,” replied P’ril. “They are spicy and full of cheese. I am certain the replicator has many varieties, though I am equally as certain they will not really do them justice.”

"Logically spicy foods would be useful because they would induce more saliva, which is necessary on a dryer planet like Vulcan. Though, I have learned that there are humans that prefer spicier foods, such as in the Asian continent. Perhaps their environment is dry as well," T'Lul wondered aloud. "You do not appear to have that human descent in you, though."

“I do not,” P’ril replied. “My father is Irish. He does not enjoy spicy food, so I must have gotten that particular trait from my mother.”

"Food aside, tell me more about your childhood and your interests."

“I began playing piano when I was six years old and I still play to this day,” answered P’ril at once. “I may have to plan a recital,” she added thoughtfully.

"Is there something that you particularly enjoy playing? How often do you practice?"

“I’m fond of Beethoven Sonatas,” P’ril answered. “Especially the Appassionata. I practice every day, even if only for ten minutes.”

"I should have to listen to you play some time. Though Beethoven struggled with math, he had an intuitive understanding of it, as demonstrated in his music. Much of it had geomatic triads and precise portions in duration and section lengths." Audibly T'Lul hummed in thought for a moment. "I wonder how he could do that when he did not understand basic concepts. It is fascinating and warrants further investigation now that I consider it."

“Possibly dyscalculia,” mused P’ril, who had mulled over that very question many times. “It is the only logical reason I have been able to think of.”

"Perhaps," T'Lul answered. "There is anecdotal evidence that it may have been dyslexia, as well. Barring time travelling and being able to run the appropriate tests, I cannot say. That said, I am impressed that you know of the condition...."

“A very close friend suffers from it,” P’ril replied. “She has ways to work around it, like reading the numbers backwards or turning it upside down.”

"That is unfortunate," T'Lul answered. "It never ceases to amaze me that in these modern times that we cannot cure these known ailments."

“There are still many things about the brain we do not understand,” agreed P’ril.

"So, why did you choose Starfleet? And how does an accomplished pianist end up as a Chief Engineer?"

“Piano is an outlet,” replied P’ril. “It is meditation and relaxation. As much as I enjoy playing and even performing, if it were my job, I do not think I would enjoy it as much. As for how I fell into engineering, my Academy entrance exam indicated that I would excel at it.”

"There was no other reason that you chose this career path?" T'Lul asked raising an eyebrow.

“I will admit knowing how systems work has always been intriguing to me,” P’ril replied. “I suppose I should have realized engineering would be the best option for me before taking the entrance exam.”

"What makes them intriguing to you?"

“That which we understand, we also control,” quoted P’ril. “I do not remember who said that, but it is true. The more we understand about something, the more control we have over it. Being in control of something brings a sense of stability. It is comforting.”

T'Lul thought about that for a moment and after a moment decided, "I disagree with your logic. We can understand many things but that does not mean we can exert more control over it. This is especially true in relationships. I think a more apt saying would be the more we understand about something, the more that we can work with it."

“I would argue that no one can really understand a person,” replied P’ril. “We cannot even fully understand ourselves. But, the more we understand ourselves, the better able we are to control ourselves. And we should never strive to control another person. Not only is it futile, it is rude at best.

“But if you consider how much better we understand health than even one hundred years ago, it is easy to see how much more control we have over it,” she continued. “The control is not complete, of course, but that is immaterial. And of course, doctors have far more control than you or I have because they understand more. More understanding gives more control. I do not believe, however, that we can ever control anything completely; there will always be some unknown factor we cannot quite grasp.”

"I still disagree with your use of the word control; however, I concede that your other points are mostly correct. So, tell me what brought you to DS5. You could be an engineer anywhere. Why here?"

If there was one thing Vulcans were better at than any other species, it was agreeing to disagree. So P’ril easily put the subject aside just as T’Lul had. “The challenge of a station this big was intimidating, but also appealing,” she replied. “As humans are fond of saying, it was a deal I could not refuse.”

"I am familiar with that human phrase. If one did not know better, one would think that with such a saying that they were Ferengi," T'Lul commented, intending it to be humorous, but delivering the line dryly. "As you are new here, who have you met thus far? Have you made any friends?"

“Not yet,” replied P’ril. “But I have not been here long and there has been a lot of repairs to make. I am certain friends will come once I have more time.”

"Your shift is only so long. It is well established fact that those who work past their appointed hours on a regular basis suffer psychological harm. I would recommend that you take that fact into consideration or else your performance will decline."

“I do not typically work more than my shift,” P’ril replied. “I do not mind working extra from time to time, but I do not make a habit of it. Now that vital repairs are caught up, I am back to my normal schedule.” Perhaps, she thought, an extra day off for the engineering staff would not go to waste. She would have to look over the schedule to see if it could be done. It would be a sort of thank you for all of their hard work.

T'Lul nodded. "That is a wise choice." The Vulcan paused and asked, "Are there any problems that you wish to discuss or anything that I can do to assist you in any regard?"

“Not at this time,” replied P’ril. Like most Vulcans, she was well able to work out her own problems. Although, being half human, sometimes having someone to talk to helped a great deal.

"If you are not opposed, I desire a social engagement with you in the near future. would that be acceptable?"

“I believe it would,” agreed P’ril. After all, she could definitely use more friends. Who couldn’t?

"Very well. I shall endeavor to contact you in the near future. Unfortunately, I have a large backup of paperwork that I must attend, unless you require something further."

“Not at this time,” replied P’ril, standing and offering the other woman a Vulcan nod of respect. “Thank you.”


Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
Deep Space 5

Lieutenant Bronwyn P’ril
Chief Engineer
Deep Space 5

 

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