Disclaimer: Star Trek belongs to Paramount. I own nothing but the original characters. No copyright infringements intended.

This is my very first fanfiction of any description. I have enjoyed Star Trek for years, however, I am in no way an expert on the subject so if things are not correct, then please forgive me. I have not studied literature, so there may be things that upset the purists, that is not an insult! Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but please be nice. I'm willing to learn!

Chapter 1 - Sorrd

Sorrd put on his outer robe and stepped out onto the veranda to watch the sunrise over the ocean, it was 5.00am. He had awoken two hours previously to meditate, this was his routine first thing in the morning and last thing at night. He had been taught the art from a very young age as part of Surak's doctrine of logic, it aided him in maintaining an inner peace and calm and of course it helped to keep, what could sometimes be very turbulent, emotions under control.

He was a medical officer attached to the Vulcan embassy on Earth, he had been assigned the position two years ago, so he had brought his young family to Earth where they had been residing at the embassy ever since. The new post had brought dramatic changes to his family on top of everything else they had gone through in the past three years, however, finally they were beginning to adjust to a new norm.

Over the last 6.5 standard days they had been staying in apartments close to the coast. Staff and families from the embassy were arriving on rotation, staying for seven standard days, before returning to the embassy. It was yet another attempt to improve friendship and understanding between Vulcans and Terrans. There were going to be six rotations in total and Sorrd had been given the responsibility of maintaining the staff's health and fitness during their stay.

T'Shahel, his daughter of eight, and Avarak, his son of five, were currently sleeping in their rooms, he would give them another thirty minutes before waking them up for the day. Meanwhile he would spend the time sitting, listening to the surf rolling up the shore. This had a particularly calming effect upon him which he had to admit had come as a pleasant surprise. Vulcan was a harsh, desert planet with barely 25% of its surface containing water, so he was not at all used to it. In contrast about 71% of Earth's surface was covered with water, the oceans holding the vast majority of that precious resource. Generally speaking Vulcans did not know how to swim, it was unnecessary where they lived, a tinge of fear arose up inside, to get caught in the ocean and not be able to swim… his fear was not logical, he would not be in the ocean, so that emotion was pushed away.

Fifteen minutes had passed, in the distance some humans were swimming out from the shore, he had noticed them the first morning after he had arrived and had been quietly impressed with their skill. He noted that everything about surfing stemmed from basic laws of physics. On enquiry he had been informed that they were surfers, apparently the ultimate goal of their pursuit was to ride and progress along the wave using a surfboard, it was great fun the human had said! Sorrd had simply raised an eyebrow.

He heard someone opening the door of his room and quietly walking across the floorboards, well they were endeavouring to be quiet! He turned around and saw that it was his sa-fu Avarak. He was dressed in his sleeping robe, his silky black hair, which at the best of times was hard to tame, was ruffled from his nights unconsciousness. Sorrd allowed the edges of his lips to rise slightly to show him that he was pleased, it was 5.28.5am and Avarak had managed, without any assistance, to awake himself early.

"Ha'tha tl'lu Avarak" Sorrd said

"Ha'tha tl'lu a'nirih" Avarak tilted his head.

Sorrd and Avarak both looked out at the ocean, the upper limb of the sun was breaking upon the horizon bathing the earth and sea around with a golden hue of light. There were streams of pink, purple, orange, yellow and red across the sky. Sorrd never tired of the beauty of the universe, and he had to admit the terran solar system and earth could put on a spectacular show.

He looked back at the surfers. "Avark can you tell me why the surfers need to paddle out to sea to catch the waves?"

He thought for a moment and then replied "The Vulcans wuhkuh-to-gav-tor-tal, first law of physics, states that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force. The waves of the sea tend to stay in motion, while objects at rest, for example the surfboard, tend to stay at rest. In order to move the board the surfer has to oppose the motion of the wave by pushing against it, that is why a surfer has to paddle out to catch a wave."

"Well done Avarak, you have answered well. So, can you explain how they make a turn on the board?"

Avarak thought again and then said "the rehkuh-to-gav-tor-tal , the third law of physics, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the rider pushes down one edge of the board by shifting their mass, that edge pushes into the water, which then pushes back up against the board due to upthrust and as a result the board turns. The way the surfer distributes their mass on the board will have an effect on their direction and speed over the water."

"Another good answer Avarak, you are progressing well in your studies."

A broad smile began to form on Avarak's face, Sorrd gently raised an eyebrow. "School yourself Avarak!"

He endeavoured to put his face into a more neutral position.

"We can study this further later in the day. Let us go and wake your sister up, it is time for your morning mediation and then we will have asal-yem, perhaps you can partake of some Plomeek soup!"