Summary: Chris and Vina live their interesting new life on Talos IV experimenting with creating real food and helping the Talosians.
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Paramount. Except for the fruit, I made that fruit.
Talos IV Chronicles: A Proposal
By Marie Nomad
It was a typical day on Talos IV as Chris was in the kitchen preparing food. He and Vina had been testing out the plants to see if they were safe for humans to consume. They wanted to start creating real food. One fruit that looked interesting was called the Talosian Harmony fruit; it looked like a Terran peach but came in different colors. There were areas on the surface where this tree could thrive. If the tree could flourish, more wild animals could live off the wild fruit.
Vina watched as Chris sliced the fruit and put them into different bowls. Vina hadn't really gotten used to eating real foods and was content with drinking protein mixtures, but she was curious about Chris's cooking. He had 'cooked' using illusions, and now he was using real ingredients. Chris was still adjusting to the fact that his illusion hands could move things. The Talosians said they had given his illusionary body a form of telekinesis that made it look like he was moving objects with his hands.
"And here we are, testing out the Harmony Fruit. According to the database, it bears fruit for several months a year and was popular before their wars," Chris noted.
"You really love experimenting. I never really thought about trying to eat them," Vina admired.
"Part of being an explorer. There are all sorts of alien cuisines out there. Vulcans follow a vegetarian diet. Klingons love to eat their food while it's alive. We'll still need to figure out the seasonings. Maybe have the drones mine for some salt," Chris mused.
"Oooh… you could be a Talosian food innovator."
"Yeah," Chris sighed. "Sadly, I still can't really taste anything that hasn't been tasted before."
"I'll taste things and share them with you. One of the benefits of living on a planet full of telepaths," Vina offered.
"Thanks. Well, as my taste tester, we have four versions of the fruit: green, purple, yellow, and brown," Chris said.
Vina tasted the green fruit. "It's really sour," she said, pursing her lips.
Chris shook his head at the sour taste. "Yeah, that's really sour. We could maybe use that version for recipes that require sour fruits like lemons."
Vina picked up the purple fruit. "I'm not used to eating real foods that I can't control the taste of. Kind of exciting," she said, taking a tiny piece. "That's spicy," Vina noted, asking the Talosians to mask the spicy taste.
"Woo!" Chris stumbled at the strong spicy taste. "Didn't expect that. Maybe that stage of the fruit has capsicum in it?"
After the spicy taste left her mouth, Vina looked at the yellow fruit cautiously. She took a bite and smiled. "This one tastes sweet and soft. Really good. Good for dessert or as breakfast."
Vina went to the brown fruit, but it turned to mush. "I think this one is too rotten."
"We might still try to turn this into alcohol. I’ve heard that rotten fruits can be fermented to make alcohol on Earth. As the best and only chef on Talos IV, I declare that the Talosian Harmony Fruit should be eaten when yellow," Chris said, tapping on the yellow fruit as if he were knighting it. Vina wrote it down in the database.
"This will go great with the other information. Maybe we can have the Talosians try some different foods; they might like real food," Vina suggested.
"We'll still test out the bark and leaves to see if there’s anything we can do with them," Chris said. "The tests show that the bark has some sort of medicinal properties. And we can even make tea out of the leaves."
"Hmmm… if the fruit is this varied, how will the tea turn out? Can we take a break from that?" Vina asked.
"Yeah. The Talosian flora are very different," Chris acknowledged. "Oh, I was thinking. I love this compound; I really enjoy it here, but it's just too big for me. Even with the drones helping to maintain it and you here, it just feels too lonely."
"I'm sorry. We were aiming for something much smaller, but Leonardo wanted something grand. You know how Renaissance artists are," Vina explained. Vina had used past historical figures as illusions to inspire her to renovate Talos IV for Chris after she found out about his fate. According to her, these figures developed their own personalities and were borderline sentient. Chris had met a few, and he was astounded by how lifelike they were.
"No, not at all. I was thinking we could build something a little smaller, like a cabin with a farm. We can move in together," Chris suggested. "I know that we're the only two humans on this planet, and I want us to be committed to each other."
Vina's face turned red. "Are you suggesting we become boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Or maybe even husband and wife," Chris smiled. "Wait, no, we need something more romantic than sitting at a kitchen table."
The two found themselves at the statue of Zefram Cochrane on Earth, surrounded by the night sky. Chris was dressed in his Starfleet dress uniform, and Vina was dressed in a long, flowing gown.
"Vina, will you marry me?" Chris asked as he knelt in front of her.
"Yes," Vina replied, taking him in her arms and kissing him. She loved it when Chris used the Talosian illusions to surprise her. She knew they were living alone together on a planet, but it felt special. Now, they felt like pioneers, exploring a planet and a civilization for a species that had forgotten itself.
"We can have our own place and still use the compound for our experiments," she added.
They found themselves back at the kitchen table.
"True," Chris said, taking Vina's hands. "We could have the Magistrate officiate the wedding."
"Do Talosians have weddings?" Vina asked aloud, and Keeper appeared.
"No, we haven't had pairing ceremonies in centuries. In fact, we thought you two would simply mate," he answered. "But we can perform a ceremony in accordance with traditional Earth standards."
"I can perform the ceremony in whatever setting you desire," the Magistrate stated after he appeared next to Keeper.
"We can build the cabin, have the wedding there, replicate a nice, cozy ceremony, and have an amazing honeymoon. We can even replicate the rings, you could create a wedding dress, and I can wear a nice dress uniform. I'm not even sure if I'm still part of Starfleet but I don’t think they would mind," Chris proposed.
"Sounds like fun," Vina smiled at him.
And so the day continued.
The End
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Paramount. Except for the fruit, I made that fruit.
Talos IV Chronicles: A Proposal
By Marie Nomad
It was a typical day on Talos IV as Chris was in the kitchen preparing food. He and Vina had been testing out the plants to see if they were safe for humans to consume. They wanted to start creating real food. One fruit that looked interesting was called the Talosian Harmony fruit; it looked like a Terran peach but came in different colors. There were areas on the surface where this tree could thrive. If the tree could flourish, more wild animals could live off the wild fruit.
Vina watched as Chris sliced the fruit and put them into different bowls. Vina hadn't really gotten used to eating real foods and was content with drinking protein mixtures, but she was curious about Chris's cooking. He had 'cooked' using illusions, and now he was using real ingredients. Chris was still adjusting to the fact that his illusion hands could move things. The Talosians said they had given his illusionary body a form of telekinesis that made it look like he was moving objects with his hands.
"And here we are, testing out the Harmony Fruit. According to the database, it bears fruit for several months a year and was popular before their wars," Chris noted.
"You really love experimenting. I never really thought about trying to eat them," Vina admired.
"Part of being an explorer. There are all sorts of alien cuisines out there. Vulcans follow a vegetarian diet. Klingons love to eat their food while it's alive. We'll still need to figure out the seasonings. Maybe have the drones mine for some salt," Chris mused.
"Oooh… you could be a Talosian food innovator."
"Yeah," Chris sighed. "Sadly, I still can't really taste anything that hasn't been tasted before."
"I'll taste things and share them with you. One of the benefits of living on a planet full of telepaths," Vina offered.
"Thanks. Well, as my taste tester, we have four versions of the fruit: green, purple, yellow, and brown," Chris said.
Vina tasted the green fruit. "It's really sour," she said, pursing her lips.
Chris shook his head at the sour taste. "Yeah, that's really sour. We could maybe use that version for recipes that require sour fruits like lemons."
Vina picked up the purple fruit. "I'm not used to eating real foods that I can't control the taste of. Kind of exciting," she said, taking a tiny piece. "That's spicy," Vina noted, asking the Talosians to mask the spicy taste.
"Woo!" Chris stumbled at the strong spicy taste. "Didn't expect that. Maybe that stage of the fruit has capsicum in it?"
After the spicy taste left her mouth, Vina looked at the yellow fruit cautiously. She took a bite and smiled. "This one tastes sweet and soft. Really good. Good for dessert or as breakfast."
Vina went to the brown fruit, but it turned to mush. "I think this one is too rotten."
"We might still try to turn this into alcohol. I’ve heard that rotten fruits can be fermented to make alcohol on Earth. As the best and only chef on Talos IV, I declare that the Talosian Harmony Fruit should be eaten when yellow," Chris said, tapping on the yellow fruit as if he were knighting it. Vina wrote it down in the database.
"This will go great with the other information. Maybe we can have the Talosians try some different foods; they might like real food," Vina suggested.
"We'll still test out the bark and leaves to see if there’s anything we can do with them," Chris said. "The tests show that the bark has some sort of medicinal properties. And we can even make tea out of the leaves."
"Hmmm… if the fruit is this varied, how will the tea turn out? Can we take a break from that?" Vina asked.
"Yeah. The Talosian flora are very different," Chris acknowledged. "Oh, I was thinking. I love this compound; I really enjoy it here, but it's just too big for me. Even with the drones helping to maintain it and you here, it just feels too lonely."
"I'm sorry. We were aiming for something much smaller, but Leonardo wanted something grand. You know how Renaissance artists are," Vina explained. Vina had used past historical figures as illusions to inspire her to renovate Talos IV for Chris after she found out about his fate. According to her, these figures developed their own personalities and were borderline sentient. Chris had met a few, and he was astounded by how lifelike they were.
"No, not at all. I was thinking we could build something a little smaller, like a cabin with a farm. We can move in together," Chris suggested. "I know that we're the only two humans on this planet, and I want us to be committed to each other."
Vina's face turned red. "Are you suggesting we become boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Or maybe even husband and wife," Chris smiled. "Wait, no, we need something more romantic than sitting at a kitchen table."
The two found themselves at the statue of Zefram Cochrane on Earth, surrounded by the night sky. Chris was dressed in his Starfleet dress uniform, and Vina was dressed in a long, flowing gown.
"Vina, will you marry me?" Chris asked as he knelt in front of her.
"Yes," Vina replied, taking him in her arms and kissing him. She loved it when Chris used the Talosian illusions to surprise her. She knew they were living alone together on a planet, but it felt special. Now, they felt like pioneers, exploring a planet and a civilization for a species that had forgotten itself.
"We can have our own place and still use the compound for our experiments," she added.
They found themselves back at the kitchen table.
"True," Chris said, taking Vina's hands. "We could have the Magistrate officiate the wedding."
"Do Talosians have weddings?" Vina asked aloud, and Keeper appeared.
"No, we haven't had pairing ceremonies in centuries. In fact, we thought you two would simply mate," he answered. "But we can perform a ceremony in accordance with traditional Earth standards."
"I can perform the ceremony in whatever setting you desire," the Magistrate stated after he appeared next to Keeper.
"We can build the cabin, have the wedding there, replicate a nice, cozy ceremony, and have an amazing honeymoon. We can even replicate the rings, you could create a wedding dress, and I can wear a nice dress uniform. I'm not even sure if I'm still part of Starfleet but I don’t think they would mind," Chris proposed.
"Sounds like fun," Vina smiled at him.
And so the day continued.
The End
