Review – The Tribe
What is your tribe?
Background
I wanted to cover a moment where unlikely allies would work together.
Before Days
The end of Mary Reed’s first day at work proved a great backdrop. I also had wanted to revisit her new job, and so this prompt made for a great opportunity to do just that.
Mary would be needed – and that can sometimes be an issue for people with grown children. How do you find a new purpose so that you can feel needed again? For this little story, Mary was absolutely indispensable.
Plot
As Mary takes the maglev train home to Kota Baru after a long day at work, the train suddenly stops. Briefly, the lights go out, which is a little scary but not a lot. This is her first day on the job, and she was asked to start on the day of her interview, so the whole thing has been even more unexpected. Nearly as importantly, her husband, Stuart, has not been fully supportive of her working outside the home, even as a part of the Earth-Romulan War effort. And now she is going to be late, and his supper will be delayed. It is hardly an auspicious beginning to her working career.
When the power comes back on, a heavily pregnant woman sitting across the aisle from her looks mighty uncomfortable.
A young Tellarite male comments, and it becomes obvious very quickly that the pregnant woman’s water has broken. Except for the young Tellarite, all of the men in the train car leave. Two Vulcans come over and begin timing the contractions. A few women donate sweaters or the like to create an impromptu pillow. Mary’s job is to talk to the woman, whose name is Penda (this is a reference to a possible canon name for Uhura).
When the train finally starts moving again, the people are not friends. But they have shared something all the same. And Mary, like the pair of Vulcans and the young Tellarite and others, returns to her life.
Story Postings
- The Tribe on Fanfiction.net
- In addition, The Tribe on Fictionpad
- The Tribe on Wattpad
- The Tribe on Wattpad (second posting)
- Finally, The Tribe on The G & T Show forums
Rating
The story is Rated K.
Upshot
I liked this little slice of her life, and how even in the future something like a birth could have the potential to truly go wrong, or at the very least get messy.
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