AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Although I do not own Star Trek itself, or any of the original characters, those characters which I have developed myself, and those situations which I have written about, and the story names I have created, belong to me, and may not be used by anyone else without my permission.

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Maat S'chn T'gai Vol 2

Chapter One - Plans for This and That

New Vulcan

May 2270

Tarel

It was time to prepare the plans for next year. He called a meeting of all the department heads and discussed the various items that had been presented to him. The list of classes for the next year was discussed and approved. The nominations for new instructors was discussed. They would need to hire three off-worlders, as they had not been able to find anyone here on New Vulcan to fill those particular slots. He received recommendations for all three positions, and contacted those people immediately after the meeting was over. One refused outright, saying he would not uproot his small children. The other two asked for the full package of information to be transmitted, and said they would respond as soon as they had had a chance to read and reflect on it. He went to the second recommendation for the third position, but was unable to reach that person directly, leaving a message and hoping to get in touch before the day was out.

They would have another hundred students in the fall. Many of them would be living in the new dormitory. He had already hired four elderly dorm parents. They would reside in special apartments, one on each floor. He would have preferred couples, but none had answered his advertisements. So instead he had two men and two women, but all seemed very well suited for these positions. All the furniture for the dorm rooms was under construction, right here on New Vulcan. As well as the curtains for the windows, and the sheets and blankets for the beds. The Academy was helping Vulcans to earn a living. It was synergy in action.

The second meeting of the week involved the textbooks for the new classes. There was much discussion here, as was to be expected. But agreement was reached by the end of the meeting, and he began to make arrangements with the publishers immediately. He really wished someone would start a factory here to manufacture PADDs. It would make his life so much easier.

He filled the last of the new instructor slots. They would all arrive in two months time, giving them time to wrap up their affairs wherever they were living now, and pack and ship their belongings. He must prepare a listing of available lodgings. He made himself a note, for there were too many details to keep track of now. He wondered how many empty houses were left in the settlement. Surely not many.

He ordered new nameplates for the new instructors, and the classrooms that would be used for the first time next year. He also ordered more of that special coating for the front walls of the classrooms. The one that allowed the instructors to mark on it and then clear it off with the special cloth. They all seemed to like that. It wasn't high tech, and it required no electricity or special electronics. It saved money for other things. He always had to consider the money.

He wondered whether he could get Sarek or Selek to teach a class in computer hardware. He would have to ask. He made himself another note. So many things to keep track of!

And then he remembered the kitchen and dining room in the new dormitory. He had not ordered cooking utensils, or pans, or dishes, or hired the staff. He groaned. How had he let that slide? Immediately he left his office and headed for Elinor's newspaper office. She would help him with the advertisements, he knew. He was astounded at her idea that he hire students to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen and dining area. This had never occurred to him. She said Terran universities did it all the time. Sometimes students had a hard time raising the money to pay their tuition, and these kinds of jobs helped them out. He sat down and drew up the requirements right then, with her giving him advice. He posted the flyer outside his office door the next morning, and had all the job slots filled before he left that afternoon. And the ad in the paper for cooks was answered by six different people, so that he had to hold interviews to select the four that he had the budget for. One would be in charge of first-meal, and one in charge of end-meal, and the other two would handle mid-meal, when the instructors would also be eating in the dining hall. They all gave him input on the equipment to be purchased, and were the best shops were, and he put together his requisitions the next day.

By the time the last day of classes rolled around, he had everything set for the fall. Unless he had forgotten something. Which he truly hoped he hadn't. T'Sura told him to go over everything with her, just as a back-up, and he gladly did so. She pointed out that he hadn't purchased any towels for the bathing rooms, or were the students to provide their own? He groaned. Another oversight. Towels and sheets were furnished. Thankfully, the budget was not bare yet. Although it was getting tight. She didn't find anything else, and he breathed easier. Surely after a few years, he would have this down to a routine. Wouldn't he? And then he remembered that laundry facilities would be needed in the new dorm, both to wash the sheets and towels, and for students to wash their own clothing. He hurried through the clan house to speak with Varun.