Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive ^{Beam me up, Scotty.}

Chapter Text

“So,” said Will as they sat down in his quarters, “how did you find the Enterprise?”

“It was very nice,” Soren replied. “I particularly enjoyed ten-forward. Guinan is an interesting conversational partner, isn’t she?”

“That she is,” Will agreed, and then they lapsed into silence. They both felt as though there was some topic that needed to be addressed, though neither one of them knew exactly what it was or how to approach it. Finally, Will ventured as to what needed to be discussed by saying, “Earlier, on the shuttle, you said that your being a woman, it’s considered to be abnormal in your society.”

“That’s all true. Additionally, we — that is, those of us who have feelings of gender — are considered to be ill in our society.” She glanced at him. “I suppose that such people don’t exist within the Federation, given that you have gender.”

“Actually, that’s not exactly the case. While we do have gender in our society, sometimes the gender that is given to a child when they’re born isn’t their actual gender. Someone who’s assigned a girl could actually be a boy, and vice versa. There are also people assigned either gender who are something other than male or female.”

Soren considered his words. “And how are such people treated within the federation?”

“It’s considered normal, and it’s accepted among us. The process to legally change your name and gender is very easy, and medical treatments for those who want them are safe and widely available.”

“Do you have a term for it?”

"Yes. We call it...actually, on second thought, it might not translate accurately. Computer, turn off the translator," Will said.

The computer beeped and responded with something in an unfamiliar language, presumably a confirmation. At the same time, a sort of buzzing or humming noise that Soren hadn’t even noticed before disappeared. He nodded, then turned to Soren and said, "transgender"
She repeated what he said.
Will shook his head and repeated the word again."Transgender"
They went like that for a minute or so, Soren trying to say the word and Will shaking his head and repeating the word. Eventually he shrugged and said some more unfamiliar words to the computer. There was a beep and then, "Universal translator reactivated.” The buzzing returned.

Will looked at Soren, waiting for her to say something. When she didn’t, he continued.
“You might be interested to know that I’m one of those people — the ones whose gender given to them didn’t match up to their actual gender.”

“Really?” a stunned Soren replied.

“Yes,” Will responded, smiling.

“How did you figure that out?”

Will exhaled. “I was actually very young — about four or five — so I don’t remember much, but according to my father I didn't like being called a ‘girl’ or ‘'young lady’ or things like that, and would say stuff like ‘I’m a boy!’. Not that long after I started doing that, he asked me if I wanted to use a different name and pronouns, and to change my gender on official documents. I did, so he did that. That was all there was to that, and I’ve presented myself as a man ever since.”

After a pause, Soren began to speak. “In school, when we learned about how there used to be gender, but that we had risen past that, something about that idea struck me as odd. At first I dismissed the thought, but as we learned more about that period of time, I began to question the idea more thoroughly, and began to suspect that I might have gender. Eventually, I confessed my thoughts to a friend from the nets. They were sympathetic to those who had gender, and directed me to a hidden netgroup for them. There, I met more people like me and was able to confirm that I was female. I also learned that their—our—term for those who have gender is gender people.”

“Soren, do you know what political asylum is?”

She was surprised by the sudden change in topics but replied, “Yes”

“Based on what you’ve told me here, it seems likely that you’ll be able to apply for and get asylum from the Federation. That is, if you’d like to do so.”

She hesitated. “I’m not sure…”

“That’s all right. You can think about it for a while, okay?”

“I will.” She rose to leave. “I should be getting back to my quarters. I need to get some rest before we leave on our mission tomorrow.”

“You’re right. I should probably be getting to sleep soon as well. And if you do decide to pursue asylum—just tell me, okay?”

Soren nodded and left Will’s room.

At the reception, Riker was having a fascinating conversation with a fellow music enthusiast (it seemed that the J’Naii genre of kraiin bore a striking resemblance to Earth jazz music) when Soren ran up to him and said, “I want to pursue asylum.”
Riker excused himself from the conversation and gestured for them to go over to the side of the plaza, by some bushes. Once they were there Will asked, “What made you change your mind?”

“One of my friends told me that the council had somehow found out about my gender,” she said, breathless. “They said that they would put me on trial, and it’s extremely rare for the council to find someone innocent in those cases.” Soren was trying to stay calm, but Riker could see the panic that lay just below the surface.

“Okay. Do you want to leave now, or do you want some time to get prepared?”

“I think it would be best if I left now. I don’t have any antiques or anything that I’d want to bring with me, and all my friends and family can be notified of my decision via the nets. If you have the technology to do that, of course,” she added as an afterthought.

“I believe we do,” Riker responded as he tapped his combadge. “Riker to Enterprise, two to beam up.”
They were deposited in a swirl of blue lines onto the Enterprise. Riker stepped off the transporter pad and tapped his combage again.

“Riker to Picard, I need to meet with you in your the ready room”

“Alright. Meet me there in ten minutes” Picard responded. Riker turned to the ensign standing by the transporter controls. “This is Soren. I need to talk to her for a minute. When I’m done, take her up to guest quarters 5.”

The ensign nodded. Riker turned back to Soren and said, “I’m going to talk with our captain, see if he’s willing to give you asylum and take you into Federation proper. In the meantime, Ensign Porel will take you to your guest quarters and show you how to use the technology there. If you have any questions, just ask nim.”

“Alright,” Soren replied as she and Riker stepped off the transporter pad. She walked over to the ensign as Riker told nim to take Soren to her quarters. He watched as they departed for the guest quarters, then turned to leave for his meeting with Picard.

Soren was reading some of the entries in the Enterprise’s databases when Riker walked in. She immediately turned and asked him, “What does the Captain say?”

“He’s willing to grant you asylum, but he wants you to talk to him first. There’s a few complications the three of us need to sort first before he can officially offer you political asylum.”

“Okay.” She stood up from her chair and went to Will. Together, they walked to the turbolift and went up to Picard’s office. Will pressed a button on the door and Soren heard Picard say, “Come.”

Picard was sitting behind a desk that had a PADD on it. He smiled at her and said, “Greetings. I presume that you’re Soren?”

“I am. Will told me that he has already given you all the information I’ve told him about myself and how people like me are treated, what more do you need?”
“What I need isn’t related to how you are treated, I’ve already decided that there’s enough information for me to grant you political asylum. Rather, it is related to what we are here for in the first place.”

“The null space?”

“Exactly. You see, the other members of your party and I have agreed that the Enterprise will stay here for some time in order to chart the null space, in the hopes that a map of it will prevent the loss of any more ships. And if I officially grant you asylum now, it is very likely that your colleagues will refuse to continue working with us.”

Soren frowned. “But I can’t return to the surface—I would almost certainly get detained not long after I touched down.”

Picard nodded. “Which is why we need to come up with a plausible excuse for why you cannot return while we are charting the null space, without arousing the suspicions of any of your people.”

“Perhaps I could say that I need to help you with the scans, or help analyze the data that Will and I collected.”

“That sounds good. Once we are done with the charting, I will officially grant you asylum. Until then, consider yourself to be unofficially under the protection of the United Federation of Planets. I’ll send someone to your quarters in order to help you officially register as a Federation resident, and show you how to access government services. You’ll have access to the common rooms and databases of this ship. Have you been given a tour?”

“I have, but the Enterprise is so large I feel I might become lost.”

“You can always ask any of the crew or the computer for directions. Do you have any other questions?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Good. If you have any, you can look up the answers in the database or ask one of the crew. Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you for your assistance,” said Soren.

“You’re very welcome,” replied Picard.

Soren and Will left for the quarters she had been assigned. Soren was nervous, but less so than she had been earlier that day, and for a different reason. She was no longer in danger of being subjected to psycotectic therapy, and had turned her thoughts to what she would do now that she was a resident of the Federation.

[Image ID: Digital fullshot drawing of Soren from TNG. She is in a darkened ten forward, with her hand stretched out to the window and looking out towards J'naii. The planet occupies half the window and is colored with blue, pink and white]