Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 6 Jan 2004 10:19:30 -0800 In: alt.startrek.creative From: shouldknowbettertt@yahoo.co.uk (shouldknowbetter) Title: So'Ke'Fe Series: ENT Begins with "A Logical Proposal" "So'Ke'Fe'" is fifth in the series Part: 2/2 Story 16/34 Series Author: ShouldKnowBetter Email: shouldknowbettertt@yahoo.uk.com Rating: R Codes: Tu/T, all "Enterprise" characters, Soval,V'Lar, angst, drama Summary: Ambassador Soval makes an unusual request of T'Pol. SO'KE'FE Part Two When T'Pol's alarm went off, Tucker only groaned and she had to reach over him to deactivate it, snuggling back down at her human's side again. She had always believed that physical contact with him was addictive and now she had further proof; a lot of further proof. "Was that the alarm?" "Yes." "Hell. Wanna call in sick and stay in bed?" "Yes." That woke him up. "Really?" She did not like to disappoint him but, "I would like to stay here with you, but I cannot." He grimaced. "You're gonna go ahead with this thing with Soval?" "I gave my word. It is an honour." "You gotta admire a culture that legalises rape!" "It is a tradition to which I have consented willingly." He glared at her. "And I still call it rape." T'Pol sighed. She had to explain but she feared that Charles would react irrationally. "You heard V'Lar speak of the blood fever. It is a physiological condition that affects Vulcan men during pon farr and it is transmitted to those with whom they have physical contact. When it takes me," she hesitated for Tucker's eyes were narrowed with the beginnings of anger, "I will succumb to lust. If you are not there, I will not care who satisfies it." "That's disgusting." "It is a product of evolution. A similar reaction occurs amongst mammalian species on Earth when the female comes into heat." "But not with people!" "Then be grateful that in one respect humans are superior to Vulcans. We are not proud of our biology." "Sorry." He stroked her apologetically. "What about this marriage bond V'Lar was talking about? Will that happen between you and Soval?" T'Pol looked back at Tucker with resignation. For an intelligent individual, he could be very obtuse. "No. It is called a marriage bond with reason. It is only instigated between two people on their marriage. The bond is life long and unless it is dissolved another cannot replace it. One of the requirements for a so'ke'fe is that she is not bonded to another. It would cause a great deal of distress otherwise," and in the bad old days would have been cause enough for a blood fund between the two males involved. She did not think that it would be wise to tell Charles of that. He shook his head, not in denial but in wonder. "I always forget that you're telepathic." "My ability is small and I have received no training. It serves no useful purpose." "So you can't tell what I'm thinking?" "No." "That's probably a good thing." "No doubt." He smiled a little wanly and glanced around for a clock. "What time is it?" "0612." "Better get up then. D'you wanna go see Phlox this morning?" "No!" "You really ought to. You must be so sore." "I am fine." He stared doubtfully back. "But I must meditate before leaving." "Yeah, I guess I stirred you up some. Ow! That hurt!" "Then do not be …" "Truthful?" "Obscene." He grinned and hugged her tightly. "I'd better go. Don't want anyone seeing me and I need about a litre of coffee before shift. Unless you want me to stay around?" Reluctantly, despite the fact that she knew he had to go, T'Pol shook her head and shifted out of Tucker's embrace; she needed a little time alone to compose herself. She slipped into a robe as he sat up, stretching, and reached out to trail a gentle hand over livid finger marks on his back. "I hurt you." "I'll live." He was pulling on pieces of his scattered clothing. "Come here." She walked into his outstretched arms again and he pulled her close with one of them, tipping her chin up with the other hand. "You sure about this?" "Yes." He sighed, shaking his head, kissing her mouth briefly. "You're crazy." "I am Vulcan." "Yeah, I noticed that." The hand slipped over her unusually rumpled hair. "Call me when you get back?" She nodded. "I love you." She looked calmly back. "You're supposed to say that you love me too." Her eyes shifted. "You know that I have feelings for you." He began to grin and tried to rein it in, teeth closing on his lower lip. "You can't say it, can you?" "I believe that I have demonstrated my attachment to you." This time he did chuckle. "I guess we can work on that one." He bent forward for a gentle kiss, amusement fading. "Be safe." "There is no danger." "And don't say things like that. T'Pol?" "Yes?" "If you wanna meditate, don't you think you should let go of me so that I can get outta your way?" She released him rapidly, hands clasping behind her back. "I was not restraining you." "Were too." Unable to resist the temptation, he stole another kiss – he'd had to wait a long time for the opportunity – and groaned. "I'm going." "But not with any degree of urgency." He grimaced, kissed her again and this time made it to the door. "Call me?" "I said that I would." "Yeah. OK, I'm going." "Commander Tucker, go." "Hey!" "Go." He gave her a mock-offended glare and went. T'Pol watched the door fondly for a few moments then fetched her meditation lamp. Her mind was at peace as it had not been in a long time, but her controls were in tatters that needed to be re-built. Then once it was over, she could come back to Enterprise and allow Charles to demolish them again. Both V'Lar and Archer were waiting for T'Pol when she reached the docking port, the man frowning to see her. "T'Pol, are you sure you want to go through with this?" "Yes." Why did humans think that if they asked the same question enough times, the answer would change? Archer grimaced; so Trip hadn't succeeded or maybe he hadn't even tried. The captain hadn't been at all sure what his friend intended to do, but it hadn't looked promising. The engineer's attitude had suggested that he thought it served the woman right – and for what, Archer had no idea. "There's still time to change your mind." T'Pol regarded her captain levelly. She considered him a friend, but he rarely tried to see things from her point of view as Charles did; at least sometimes. Archer was more inclined to simply tell her what to think. The man sighed. "I had to try, T'Pol. I hope you understand that." He glanced over at V'Lar then back at his first officer whose composed expression was telling him nothing about what she might really be feeling. "Then I guess … good luck, sub-commander," and he activated the control to give access to the docked Vulcan shuttle beyond the hatch. They were waiting for her in the Vulcan transport, leading her to a cabin where she could change her uniform for more … accommodating … robes. Focus as she might, T'Pol could not quite suppress speculation on whether the respect she was granted as Soval's so'ke'fe would still have been offered if the attendants knew that she had spent the previous night not in cleansing meditation, but in fornication with a human. A human whom she loved. A human who had given her so much pleasure and the gift of his love, trust and support. But she must not think of Charles now, or her courage would fail her as her logic had failed over growing to love him. The under robe she was given was diaphanous, indecent – although she rather thought Charles might approve – but the over-mantle covered her completely and she drew the hood close about her face. Her identity was known, of course, but good manners should ensure that this crew never spoke of what they had seen and it behoved her as so'ke'fe to be discreet. It seemed a long walk to Soval's quarters then she was ushered through the door and it closed behind her, trapping her, and it was all too late for retreat or regret. T'Pol could smell him before he appeared, the scent of a Vulcan male on heat, the reason why the female of the species had an enhanced nasal capability, although whether to avoid or to approach she had never found out. There was little resemblance to the poised, controlled diplomat of a few days before when Soval emerged from an inner room. His eyes were wild, face flushed and sweating; and when he saw her, his mouth curved into a smile that sent shivers down her back. "T'Pol." His voice was harsh. "So'ke'fe." She remained silent as was traditional, but inclined her head, indicating submission and discretion. "So lovely." That was not traditional and he was advancing on her, teeth bared. "So innocent." Hands stripped her outer robe from her then a savage jerk on her arm sent her reeling towards the bed as he dropped his only covering, revealing that he had no intention of waiting. A final push deposited her on her back and Soval ripped away the under garment leaving her naked, his breath hissing through suddenly bared teeth. "Mine!" Instinct and fear pressed T'Pol's legs together as he knelt over her and he growled, forcing a knee between her thighs. "Mine!" She was totally unprepared and he hurt her enough to make her gasp even with her control still mostly in place and he grinned savagely down, scaring her still further. "Mine!" He was rubbing her raw and, even worse, she could sense his triumph, not just the lust she had been educated to expect. But she was so'ke'fe, she would endure as was her duty. But it hurt, hurt, hurt and where was the blood fever that she had been told would mitigate the effect of this rutting male? She wanted Charles who had been so careful, so patient, who had been horrified when he hurt her. Above her, Soval drove in agonisingly deep and roared as he shot his semen into her protesting body, and T'Pol closed the eyes that she had kept stubbornly fixed on the ceiling. It was over. She could return to Enterprise and to the lover of her own choice and be cuddled until she felt clean again. "Whore!" T'Pol's eyes flashed open to find Soval still kneeling on the bed before her. "Whore!" It was an ancient term, never used in modern Vulcan. "Who had you?" He was staring between her legs, she realised in sick horror, where she might be bleeding from his painful attentions but surely not as much as if he had breached her hymen; Tucker had nearly panicked and called Phlox when he saw the result of what he had done to her. "Who?" Even if Soval had been rational, she would not have told him, not Soval, not her mentor for whom she had worked for so many years, had held in respect, had attempted to emulate in his contempt for humankind. She could not have told him that it was a human male she had allowed to take her in preference to himself. And he was not rational, clearly not, still in the grip of pon farr despite the mating that was supposed to satisfy the burning. "Who?" he snarled again and, when she still remained silent, stretched out a hand, pressing the fingers hard against the side of her face, eyes burning. "Who?" T'Pol stiffened in terror. This was Kolaris over again, wanting to invade her mind, to sift her memories, to hurt her. She could not allow it. Her time with Charles was private, not to be shared with anyone else. She brought one knee up sharply, trying to dislodge him, but he only laughed – laughed! – and pinned her back down, slapping her across the face with his full strength, splitting her lips. "Who?" The hand was back to her face, fingers seeming to penetrate her skull. "My mind to your mind … who? … my thoughts to your thoughts … who?" The invasion of her mind was hurting more than the invasion of her body and try as she might, she could not seem to resist. She had never been trained in this technique and it seemed that Soval had. Then he was in and T'Pol screamed in agony as he began to take her memories from her, to warp them and to send them back to plague her. Archer was in his ready room when Hoshi put the call through which, in retrospect, he realised was a good thing. "Ambassador V'Lar," he met the woman's calm stare from the view screen, "is it over?" It was just past midday and he had no idea how long it might take to … satisfy … a mating Vulcan. "It is. Ambassador Soval's need has passed. After a period of meditation he will be fully restored and able to resume negotiations tomorrow." "Good," although Archer didn't really care too much about the ambassador's health. "Will T'Pol be returning to Enterprise?" V'Lar's expression did not change but Archer thought he detected sorrow in her firm voice. "I regret to inform you, Captain Archer, that T'Pol did not survive the experience unscathed." "What's wrong with her?" He felt sick. "There is some physical damage, as might be expected. However, she is also in a coma from which we have been unable to rouse her." Archer took a deep breath, trying to restrain his temper. "Return her to Enterprise." "That is my intention. It may be better if she is in familiar surroundings … and with those for whom she has affection." Archer reached sickbay at the same time as the party from the docking port, wincing at the sight of his first officer's bruised face and torn mouth as she was wheeled past. "How is she, doctor?" "I can't tell you yet, Captain." The Denobulan hurried past him to the biobed to which T'Pol was transferred and pulled a privacy screen around it, blocking Archer's view. He turned to the elder Vulcan. "Is this normal, ambassador? And if it is, why the hell didn't you tell me!" "No, Captain, this is not normal." She glanced around. "Where is Mr Tucker?" "Engineering, I guess." "Please ask him to come here." "Why?" "Because T'Pol would wish him to be here." "Ambassador," Archer began slowly, a little confused, "a few months ago, I might have agreed with you, but … Trip and T'Pol haven't been on speaking terms in weeks." The look V'Lar gave him might have been pitying. It was certainly weary. "I have reason to believe otherwise, Captain. Please call the commander." When Tucker arrived, he looked tired and irritable at having been disturbed, but Archer thought that a lot of the nervous energy that had been driving his friend was gone. "Cap'n, what …" Then he caught sight of V'Lar and his mouth pulled into an unforgiving line. "Where is she?" It probably wasn't the best of moments for Phlox to remove the screens he had erected to reveal T'Pol lying motionless, modestly covered by a surgical gown that could not obscure her facial injuries. Tucker swore viciously and almost ran to her side, a hand raising one of hers to his mouth, the other gently stroking her bruised face, but there was no response from the unconscious woman. Archer and V'Lar moved across more slowly, the confusion of the former growing. The last time he had seen Tucker, the man had been calling T'Pol some of the foulest names Archer had heard in a long time and now he was reacting like a distraught lover at her condition. And V'Lar didn't seem surprised, even less shocked, that one of her own people was being fondled by a human. Had he missed something again? More questions for later. "Doctor?" The Denobulan had lost his usual bounce. "If I had not been told that the sub-commander had submitted voluntarily to this … tradition … I would say that she had been raped; rather brutally and several times." "Pon farr is not something we Vulcans are proud of, doctor," V'Lar stated coldly. "To have our logic, our control, stripped from us is degrading, shaming and potentially dangerous." Tucker raised his head to glare at her but before he could think of a suitable retort, Phlox had nodded. "I am aware of that, ambassador, and I agree that the physical damage can be explained by Ambassador Soval's condition." He paused. "The neurological damage cannot." "Neurological damage?" V'Lar sounded uncertain and the doctor nodded. "Yes. I have seen similar symptoms before. Some time ago we encountered a group of your people. One of them used a mild-meld on Sub-Commander T'Pol with unfortunate results. It appears to have been done again." "He mind-raped her?" Archer asked furiously and Phlox spread his hands in a gesture of uncertainty. "The evidence points that way, yes. Unless Ambassador Soval can tell us otherwise." "It should not be possible." V'Lar drew slowly closer to the biobed. "With a so'ke'fe, the interaction is purely physical since the pair are not bonded. However, in rare instances …" She stretched out a hand towards T'Pol and Tucker knocked it violently away. "Don't you touch her! You never told her it was dangerous!" "Trip!" Archer intervened firmly. ""Doctor, can you treat T'Pol?" "I can correct the neurological damage, but whether she will regain consciousness or not, I do not know." "That's not why she's in a coma?" "No, Captain. She simply … will not wake." "V'Lar, is there anything you can suggest?" "No." She met Tucker's angry, resentful eyes. "If her chosen partner were Vulcan, perhaps he could reach her, but humans have no such ability." He gritted his teeth, looking back down at T'Pol, fingers again caressing her face. "She didn't chose a Vulcan, she chose me. And you can tell Soval from me that just as soon as he's available, I'm gonna come and BREAK HIS NECK!" "Trip," Archer said again, "back off. Violence isn't going to help here. However," he turned to V'Lar, one eye still on the furious engineer, "it does look to me as if charges may need to be brought against Soval." "No," she said flatly. "That will not be possible." "My science officer's been raped! Physically … well, maybe I can understand that … but mentally? You yourself said it shouldn't happen." "I said it was rare, Captain, but no charges can be brought against Soval. A Vulcan male in the grip of pon farr is exempt in law from all criminal action and the transport vessel where this occurred is considered Vulcan territory, governed by the Vulcan legal system." She looked back at Tucker. "I am sorry for your grief, commander. I too hope that T'Pol will recover," and she swept out of sickbay, leaving the three men in stunned silence. "Damned fucking Vulcans!" Tucker whispered harshly after a moment and lifted T'Pol's hand to his mouth again, eyes closing. Phlox tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, Commander Tucker, but if you would step away for a moment, I must instigate treatment." The engineer didn't react and Archer stepped in, hands on Tucker's shoulders, pulling him away. "Trip, come on. Let the doctor do his job." He managed to drag his friend to the other side of the room, pushing him down into a seat where Tucker dropped his head into his hands, scrubbing at his face. "I get the feeling," Archer said slowly, thinking it was probably better if he could get the other man to talk, "that I've missed something. Are you and T'Pol … lovers?" "Yeah," Tucker muttered without raising his head. "We tried not to be. T'Pol knew she'd have to go home some day, marry, and a human lover in her past wouldn't go down well. But hell, Jon," he raised his head, eyes creased in pain, "I've been in love with her for a year, probably more, and when I realised she wanted me too …" He shook his head, teeth closing on his lower lip. "It was too hard, we just kept hurting each other. So I acted like a pig instead and, believe me, that didn't work either! Then this fucking awful so'ke'fe thing with Soval … Last night … she was so upset … and I just made it worse … V'Lar caught us together, said it wouldn't be the end of the world if we … so we did. And it was so good, Jon, finally being together, not having to pretend we didn't love each other." "I'm sorry," Archer said with sincerity and Tucker shrugged, sniffing back tears. "T'Pol agreed that we could stay together once she got back from Soval. With your permission, I guess, Cap'n." "Granted." They would deal with the consequences of that later. "Trip, I'm sure T'Pol will be OK. She's strong." "No, she's not," T'Pol's best friend said bleakly. "Personal things screw her up real bad. She needs me – and because I'm human, I can't help her, not this time." Archer sighed and squeezed a rigid shoulder. There didn't seem to be a lot else he could do. Jonathan Archer had no choice the next day but to resume his role at the conference table, even though T'Pol showed no sign of improvement and Tucker was bouncing off the walls with frustration and anger. Enterprise's Captain nearly walked out, however, when he encountered Soval privately at the first break in proceedings. V'Lar had made a point of asking after T'Pol, but Soval made no such attempt and would probably have ignored Archer if the human had not felt the need to discuss the situation. He approached the Vulcan, firmly quashing a sudden flicker of temper. Oh, yes, he could understand how Trip felt. "Ambassador Soval," the man looked down his nose at him as usual, "I assume you've heard that T'Pol is still in a coma?" "Indeed." "Unfortunate, don't you think?" "No." "What did you say?" "She has shamed herself with a human. It would be best if she did not recover." Archer was stunned into silence for long enough that Soval had started to move away before he re-found his tongue. "How do you know about Trip and T'Pol?" "She told me." "And for that, you believe she'd be better off brain dead?" "I believe I have already said so." "You bastard!" Archer did not care if the other man was a respected diplomat. "As I understand it, T'Pol saved your life. Doesn't that count for anything?" "You do not understand, Captain Archer. I suggest that you do not try," and Soval turned away to speak to one of his aides, leaving Archer seriously considering helping Tucker in his desire to murder the Vulcan. Only the captain's respect for V'Lar held him back. The long recess while Soval was indisposed actually seemed to be the watershed for the conference. Negotiations went far better for it and three days later Soval had succeeded in bringing the Roherans and Trelins to an accommodation. Archer could take no satisfaction from the achievement, however. T'Pol was still in a coma and Phlox was looking grimmer every time Archer slipped into sickbay for a report; and to drag Tucker away to eat and rest. The engineer was exhausted and still stubbornly refusing to shift from sickbay for more than a few hours at a time. When V'Lar approached the captain at the end of the day, Archer was abrupt even with her and she didn't bother asking. "She is no better." "No. V'Lar, do you truly have no idea why T'Pol reacted like this?" He thought that she hesitated. "Soval states that he made no mental connection with her." "Is there nothing that can be done?" This time she definitely paused before replying. "There is one possibility." She acknowledged Archer's silent rebuke. "I have not mentioned it before because if T'Pol has already reacted badly to a mind-meld then it could do more harm than good." "What exactly are you suggesting?" "That I instigate a mind-meld with T'Pol. It may be that I can determine what keeps her unconscious." "She told me that the technique was banned." "For the young, yes. It was decided that it was too invasive, too disturbing for those without experience of the world. Some amongst us now learn the technique in middle age, but we do not speak of it and it is used but rarely and never lightly." Archer sighed, not liking it one bit; and Tucker would probably approve even less. "Then if you're willing, ambassador, let's get over to Enterprise." Archer was right, Tucker objected vehemently, right up until the moment when Phlox took a hand. "Mr Tucker, Sub-commander T'Pol is dying. I cannot sustain her in this state indefinitely." Tucker turned away, one arm resting on the wall, the fingers of his other hand rubbing his eyebrows. "OK; but I don't wanna watch." Archer nodded to V'Lar to proceed and crossed to drop a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Trip had never been good at coping with grief, which made Archer wonder how the engineer had reacted when his captain was critically injured. Although in retrospect that was a foolish question; T'Pol had undoubtedly taken care of the human she loved. Behind the two men, V'Lar pressed the tips of her fingers together for a moment, eyes closing, then stepped to T'Pol's side, laying the fingers of her right hand against the younger woman's temple and cheek bone. The words were in Vulcan but they had the cadence of a formula, then her voice dropped to a murmur and faded entirely as her eyes lost their focus. The desert scene was hot and red, but not as red as the blood staining the human's throat, soaking down his uniform and covering T'Pol's hands as she knelt beside him, tears trickling down her impassive face. V'Lar approached slowly, not surprised to identify the human as Tucker. "T'Pol," she spoke clearly, apparently aloud although it was to the other woman's mind that the words were addressed, "why do you remain here?" "I killed him." T'Pol sounded very young, but at least she had responded. "I think not. His throat has been ripped out, by a sehlat if I do not mistake." "I should have stopped it. I let him die." "You did not. T'Pol, your human is alive." "He is not. I killed him." "He is alive. It is only in your own mind that he is dead. You must return to him, child, and to the rest of your crew mates who are concerned for you." "He is dead." The tears were falling faster. "I killed him." V'Lar sighed and withdrew, re-focussing on the walls of the humans' ship as she separated her mind from T'Pol's. "Learn anything?" It was Archer who asked, although Tucker turned around to hear the answer. "Indeed. It seems that T'Pol believes Commander Tucker to be dead and that she is responsible." "Why would she think that?" Tucker demanded and V'Lar made a slight gesture of non-understanding. "I do not know. The scenario playing out in her mind seemed most illogical. Have you ever been to Vulcan with T'Pol, commander?" "No. Well, not really. We were kidnapped by crazy alien anthropologists a few months ago. They put us in some sort of holographic simulation of Vulcan." "Interesting. We can assume you were not in danger?" "Didn't seem like it. We were attacked by a pack of seal-somethings. T'Pol thought I'd been killed, but she pulled the thing off in time." V'Lar's expression was troubled. "It would appear that T'Pol's memories of the event have become ... distorted." "By Soval?" Tucker asked, expression darkening, and V'Lar shook her head slowly. "I cannot believe that. It is entirely possible that the stress of recent events has caused the problem." "So how do we persuade T'Pol that Trip's OK?" Archer asked. "If he were Vulcan …" "I'm not!" "If he were Vulcan, he would be able to make her sense his presence. That is clearly not possible without help; which I may be able to provide." "How?" "A three-way mind-meld. I would join my mind with Commander Tucker's then link us both with T'Pol. He may be able to reach her." "You can do that with a human?" "I do not know, but I am willing to try." The engineer looked deeply apprehensive but also grimly determined. "I'll give it a try. What d'you want to me do?" V'Lar gestured to an adjacent biobed. "Lie here." He obeyed. "Try to relax, to think of nothing." He took a deep breath, expelling it sharply and closed his eyes. V'Lar pressed her fingers to his face as she had to T'Pol's earlier and he jerked away, eyes flying open. "Please, commander, you must trust me. We both have T'Pol's best interests in common." He closed his eyes again and she approached once more, this time fitting her fingers to his face although the muscles along his jaw bunched. "My thoughts to your thoughts," she said it in English this time, perhaps to avoid alarming those listening, "my mind to your mind, my thoughts to … Mr Tucker, you are not cooperating." "I'm trying," he said through gritted teeth. "You are thinking of nothing except how much you distrust my species. Kindly direct your thoughts elsewhere." "OK." He drew another breath. "OK. Try again." "My thoughts to your thoughts, my mind to your mind, my thoughts … to your thoughts …" Watching, Archer could see the faces of both creased in pain or concentration or both, as V'Lar's voice faded again, then slowly she stretched out a hand to T'Pol and repeated the mantra, slower this time, the look of concentration deepening. Then there was only silence and uncanny stillness. The scene was unchanged, T'Pol kneeling by Tucker's body, weeping silently. This time V'Lar stood back, ushering Tucker forward. He moved slowly and knelt awkwardly by the facsimile of his death that T'Pol had created; or had created for her. "T'Pol." There was no reaction. "T'Pol, darling, it's me." "You are dead." "No, I'm not." "I killed you." "No! Darling, I'm fine. T'Pol, look at me." Reluctantly she raised her head from the dead image to the live one. "This isn't how it happened, T'Pol. You saved me, darling. You killed the sehlat before it got me." He caressed her cheek. "You saved me. We always look out for each other, you know that." Her eyes closed. "I do not remember." At least that was an improvement. "But I do. I remember that you saved me. Come back to me, T'Pol. I miss you like crazy, darling." "I love you." Tucker nearly smiled; so it was only aloud that she had trouble saying it. That was so damned typical! "I love you too. Now come back with me, huh?" He took her hand although it remained lax in his. "You died. So many times." "No! No, darling, I'm not dead, promise you." "You died," and the scene changed to the interior of a frozen shuttle pod and Phlox kneeling by two corpses. "I'm afraid Commander Tucker and Lt. Reed are dead, Captain." "No! It didn't happen like that. You saw the engine blow on your scanners and Enterprise got there in time. Malcolm and I were fine." Another scene change, to Engineering and his burnt and lifeless body lying on the deck. "I'm sorry, Captain, but Commander Tucker is dead." "No! I wasn't killed." Yet another image, another shuttle pod, this one wrecked by an explosion, and Archer kneeling by his body. "I couldn't save him, T'Pol, he bled to death." "No, it was Jon who was hurt. T'Pol, look at me." She was standing beside him, hand in his, as well as kneeling by his corpse. "T'Pol, darling girl, trust me, I'm alive and I need you to come back with me. You can't stay in here, sweetheart." Tucker had turned her to face him, hands cupping her face, trying to break through the bleak unhappiness in her eyes, when a movement behind them drew his attention; the images had been almost still-lives up until then. The looming figure of Soval made him gasp, pulling T'Pol closer to him in an instinctive gesture of protection from the menace projected by the Vulcan, his face twisted into a bitter mask of hatred. "Mine!" the Vulcan snarled. "Mine!" and stretched out a hand to snatch T'Pol away, but Tucker clutched her to him, swinging her away, however futile such a gesture might be within T'Pol's own head. "Keep your damned hands away from her! She doesn't belong to you. She belongs with me. With me!" T'Pol had been entirely passive up until that moment then she suddenly stirred and Tucker saw life returning to her eyes. "Charles?" "Yeah," he breathed in sudden hope. "It's me. Come home with me, darling. I need you." She raised a hand to his face and then the image was gone and he was back in sickbay, trying to focus on walls that wouldn't stay still while someone tried to drive half a dozen nails into his skull. "Oh, God," he moaned in a heart-felt prayer and rolled to one side, struggling to sit upright, only making it because a strong arm came around him and held him there. "Trip?" Archer's voice was too loud. "You OK?" "T'Pol?" "I don't know. V'Lar collapsed but Phlox thinks she's just exhausted." The walls had steadied although the nails were still there and now there were lights flashing across his vision. "T'Pol?" The lights were obscuring the next bed where he knew she lay. "Mr Tucker," the doctor's voice hurt just as much as Archer's, "you appear to have a severe migraine. Please lie down before you vomit." "What about T'Pol?" At Archer's nod, the Denobulan went to check on his third patient, looking up with a smile. "She seems to be reviving. Most interesting." Still propping Tucker upright, Archer saw his first officer finally stir for the first time in days then her eyes flickered open and she began to stare desperately around her. "T'Pol," he said quietly, "over here." She looked and then, in one graceless movement, tumbled off the biobed and straight into his friend's arms, clinging to him. Archer was fairly sure he saw tears staining her cheeks, although that could have been a trick of the light. The engineer wrapped his arms tight around her, resting his head on hers. "It's OK, darling, I'm here." He sounded very tired. "Only you're gonna have to let go of me, T'Pol. Phlox is right, I'm gonna throw up." Archer didn't take time to say farewell to Soval after the treaty signing ceremony, which was probably fortunate because the Vulcan ambassador didn't seek him out either. The captain was accosted by V'Lar after he had spoken to the Roheran and Trellin representatives, who appeared to be making a genuine effort to speak to each other. Perhaps something positive would come of the conference after all. "Captain Archer," she drew him aside for a moment of privacy, "how are T'Pol and Commander Tucker?" He smiled, glad to have good news to deliver for once. "T'Pol says she's fine, although Phlox is keeping her under observation a while longer. Trip claimed he still had a headache but the doctor threw him out of sickbay this morning. He said that two patients on one biobed was an accident waiting to happen." A slanted eyebrow rose. "I am inclined to agree." "And yourself, V'Lar?" "I am fully recovered, thank you, Captain, although it is not an experience I would care to repeat. Your Mr Tucker is remarkably stubborn." "I'll second that one." He sighed, sobering. "Ambassador, T'Pol told Trip what happened to her. She says that Soval did instigate a mind-meld with her, but not until he had already taken her. She claims he was furious to find that she wasn't virgin and demanded to know who she'd been with. When she refused to tell him, he melded with her – forcibly – and ransacked her mind for her memories of Trip, then changed them to make her believe he was dead. Trip said that you'd seen the later for yourself." V'Lar turned away. "These are serious allegations." "They are. I know Soval's exempt in law, but if it's true …" He shrugged. "I'd say he was sick and needed help." "You know very little about my people, Captain Archer." "I know; but I wouldn't like to see what T'Pol went through repeated with anyone else." "I will meditate on the matter. It may be that it is time for Soval to return to Vulcan for a period of reflection." She paused in the act of turning away. "Remind T'Pol that her time on Enterprise is of limited duration, Captain Archer. She must return to Vulcan within the next few years or risk exile; and she must be discreet about her relationship with Mr Tucker. Good day, Captain," and with that she swept out, leaving Archer to wonder how to pass the message on to a woman he had last seen sleeping peacefully in the arms of a man her government would never accept. By the time he returned to Enterprise, Archer had decided that he had best pass V'Lar's message on as soon as possible in case it changed T'Pol's mind about continuing a relationship with his chief engineer. He didn't think it would, not after two bad experiences with members of her own species and what was clearly a very good one with a human, but she needed to be aware of the consequences. Sickbay was empty apart from Phlox, however, who looked up cheerfully. "Ah, Captain, what can I do for you?" "I was looking for T'Pol." "I discharged her. I recommend another full day's rest before she returns to duty, but she fortunately seems to have suffered no lasting effects from the injuries she suffered." "Is Trip OK?" "Commander Tucker still claims to be feeling ‘woozy', as he puts it, but given the severity of the migraine he suffered that is not unusual. He will recover." "Thanks, doctor. See you around." There was no answer when Archer requested entry at T'Pol's door. A little alarmed, he repeated the request then overrode the lock; coma patients could relapse, couldn't they? The cabin was empty. Archer stared around then dropped his head, grinning ruefully. OK, so he could be touchingly naοve on occasion. He activated the comm. instead. "Archer to T'Pol." She answered after a short pause. "T'Pol here." "How are you feeling, sub-commander?" "I am fine. I will be returning to duty in the morning." "That's not what Phlox said." "He was mistaken." "I guess we can discuss that tomorrow." He hesitated, but it seemed pointless to mention V'Lar's message; that could wait until morning, too. "Goodnight, sub-commander. Sleep well. Archer out." He was still shaking his head at his stupidity as he headed for his own cabin. When Archer broke the connection, T'Pol regarded her meditation lamp for a few seconds longer, but her concentration had been broken and she had nearly finished anyway. She extinguished the lamp and placed it neatly on a table then turned to obverse her companion. Sensing her scrutiny, Tucker lowered the PADD he had been reading and smiled, holding out a hand. "All done?" "Yes." In the small cabin, it took her barely two strides to reach the bed, then she was cuddling up beside him, head on his chest, sighing with pleasure as her eyes closed. She didn't need as much sleep as a human, but it was just so nice to be with him; she would be quite content to lie here while he slept. "Hey." A gentle hand tugged her hair. "Didn't you forget something?" "No." She had used her nasal numbing agent; twice. "Haven't I told you about goodnight kisses yet?" "No." "Well, there's this real nice human custom …" She raised her head and fitted her mouth to his, feeling him respond gently; he knew she wasn't up to more just yet. "Goodnight, Charles." "'Night, T'Pol," and she snuggled up to him again. She didn't care what any other of her species might think; not yet anyway. She loved him and she was going to have him – for a short while. END of "So'Ke'Fe" Continued in "Repercussions" -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Wed Jan 07 23:31:23 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n9.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.93]) by skylark (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aErPP4ng3NZFjw0 for ; Wed, 7 Jan 2004 20:31:53 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-12843-1073536305-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.