Missing Scenes from Season One - Vox Sola

By Alelou

Rating: G

Genres: fluff humour missing scene

Keywords: first contact

This story has been read by 914 people.
This story has been read 1548 times.

This story is number 21 in the series Missing Scenes from Season One


Spoilers: Vox Sola.

Author's Note: This little ditty was inspired by T'Pol's comment to Hoshi that, "For all we know, it was Mister Tucker's table manners that offended them." Thank you as always, reviewers!


Commander Tucker followed up his sardonic commentary on their shortest First Contact ever with something more practical: “Well, there’s still a perfectly delicious lunch in the conference room. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d just as soon finish my meal.”

“I’ve lost my appetite,” Archer said with a sour grimace, and stalked off down the corridor.

“Me too,” Hoshi said with a sigh, and followed him.

That left T’Pol contemplating her choices. She could go without her midday meal and attempt to calm their clearly disgruntled captain, or she could sit at the table with Commander Tucker and watch him shovel food into his mouth with his usual hearty abandon.

“It wouldn’t be logical to waste all that good food,” Trip suggested.

This was true. Nor did the captain tend to appreciate her notes and observations on failed missions until he’d had a suitable ‘cooling down’ period. So she followed the engineer back to the conference room.

Trip reclaimed his plate and resumed his meal. “So what do you suppose set them off?” he asked, with his mouth full.

“It is impossible to know,” T’Pol said. She carefully sliced her fruit. “But they did appear to be staring at our mouths in some degree of horror.”

You eat like you mate…” Tucker mused. “How the hell do they know how we mate?”

“No doubt they generalized from their own experience. The process of mating tends to be quite similar across humanoid species.”

“Oh yeah? You’ve seen comparisons?”

She looked up. He had a suspiciously merry glint in his eyes. “Knowledge of a species’ reproductive functions is an inescapable aspect of any serious study of exo-biology,” she said.

“Hmm. I don’t recall Mr. Velik saying anything about Vulcan mating in my high school exo-biology class. I’m quite sure I would have remembered something like that.”

“We do not speak of such matters if it can be avoided. No doubt he did not consider your class to be sufficiently in need of the information.”

“Well, at any rate,” Tucker said, “I know mouths come into it, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not the first parts of the body I think about when I think about mating.”

“No,” T’Pol agreed. “I cannot think of any humanoid species that procreates through the mouth. Digestion and insemination are generally mutually exclusive.”

Tucker had been drinking some milk and suddenly spit some of it back into the glass.

“Commander?” she asked, concerned. This was a new low in table etiquette, even for him.

His face was red. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Please, don’t mind me.” He seemed to be trying very hard not to laugh.

“I said something that amused you?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, no, no, Subcommander. For a moment there I just got this... image…” He shook his head. “You know, let’s just drop it, okay?” He cleared his throat. “You think there’s anything we can do to make nice with the Kreetassans now?”

“I don’t know. They are somewhat notoriously difficult to please.”

“Kinda prickly, huh?” He smiled warmly at her. “Maybe we’ll just have to be persistent, then.”


Comments:

TeresaM777

The only time I've seen Trip with less than stellar table manners was during Unexpected when he was eating for two.

shanjeniah

I snorted too....and then had an image of Trip's milk I'm not going to say anythnig more about...

LOVE this one. Lovethem BOTH, in this one!

ADORE the way you write them!

Starwatcher

FAVOURITE line of this chapter: "Digestion and insemination are generally mutually exclusive.” As Aquarious so succinctly put it, such talk certainly brightened my day, too! This was another good chapter, honey. And I pretty much echo what's been said here: I don't think that Trip's table manners are bad at all, they're just a lot more informal when viewed by a Vulcan.

Aquarius

I think the table manners thing was subjective--that Humans are uncivilized compared to Vulcans, because we eat food with our fingers and they don't, because we talk during our meals and they don't, etc.  So that said, I think T'Pol's remark in this episode was definitely Vulcan sarcasm.

Furthermore, I can't think of much of anything more day-brightening than an oral sex reference at the dinner table!  ;):p

Mary

Interesting view of the post Kreassan exit. I know in the show T'Pol comments that they have reacted to Trip's table manners. I don't believe seriously just in their ribbing fashion. Too many authors portray Trip as uncivilized- poor manners , flying off the handle , unable to speak correct english. The man is genius level intelligent -grammer would not be beyond him. As to manners, a southern gentleman wouls exude them. All this said, I did enjoy the reparte.

Linda

I think I got the same image as Trip.  Good thing I was not drinking a glass of milk or anything else while reading this vignette.  Again, another nice one.

Alelou

I don't have time to do a video of Trip talking with his mouth full, but I'm going to disagree with you there.  However, I don't think it's particularly obnoxious or rude --unlike T'Pol, who's a lot finickier than I am.

Doomsayer

I took it to mean that Trip's table manners were lacking by Vulcan rather than human standards. In any event very nicely done...as usual :D

Silverbullet

Agree with Panysann.  Never saw Trip with bad table manners or talking withhis mouth full.  Think he was raised with bettr table maners  than that.  This makes him look like a hick.

Good TnT in this.  Interesting discussion of mating practices.  At least T4chdpp-Pol didn't bring Trip up short for saying he did  not learn anything about Vulcan mating in his Exo-biology class.

panyasan

I can't say I ever thought of Trip having bad table manners nor seen it on the show with the Captain diner scenes - he  eats like a gentleman, but that aside, the conversation was humourful, fun and on some level insightful. Liked T'Pols thoughts about her relationship with Archer - he isn't very open for her advice - it was dead on and good to see TnT back on more friendly terms.

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