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From: nocturn...@aol.com (Nocturnis1)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Date: 30 Jul 2004 13:54:03 GMT
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Subject: The Sarpeidon Chronicles Part 4 : ch1 0f 4 TOS/PG/Het/Spock
Message-ID: <20040730095403.12089.00002553@mb-m01.aol.com>

Tos (post TOS) - Spock/Zarabeth - PG het.
FOR FULL INDEX OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS go to www.geocities.com/nocturnis1
Archving OK

--

Title: The Sarpeidon Chronicles
Part 4: Paradise Deferred

Chapter 1

Elias shivered as an unexpectedly chilly gust skittered across the encampment.
The bare wooden porch of his newly constructed cabin offered plenty of space
for lounging, but little protection from the elements. In the old days, harsh
wind and scorching heat alike had never bothered him; now, his aging body
responded even to this minor discomfort by hunching over and shuddering deeply.
Elias loathed his own display of infirmity, just as he resented the profusion
of aches and pains that assaulted his bones more and more frequently now.

And, of course, she was there to witness his descent into decrepitude. For so
long, she'd served as a colleague, a friend, an equal. Now she reminded him of
a daughter - possibly even a granddaughter - trying to ease his journey into
dotage.

As he expected, she hovered over him as if she were trying to shield him from
the chill. 

"You'll grow cold, Elias," she warned, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You
ought to go in, or I could bring out your coat."

Much as he hated to give in, Elias had to admit that the prospect of his bed,
with its thick quilts and the overstuffed pillows he'd brought with him from
their last colony, exerted a powerful appeal. "Perhaps I will go in. It's
getting late." With a sigh, he heaved himself to his feet. As he turned to go
inside, a flicker of light and movement caught his attention. With an amused
nod, he indicated the edge of the clearing, where a solitary figure stretched
out in front of the small but vigorous fire he'd built. 

"There's a man with the right idea. Enjoying the open sky and the fruit of his
own labor. None of these flimsy hideaways for him. Years ago, that would have
been me out there. Now a little breeze drives the old man indoors."

"Don't let him hear you call your shelter flimsy," she reminded him, amused.
"He built it for you himself, remember?"

"Of course I do. I've been watching him ever since he first arrived. An
interesting young man, don't you think? Clearly he's no manual laborer, however
he chooses to present himself to us."

"Yes," she agreed, her own attention wandering to the flames. "The same thought
occurred to me."

Elias shrugged. "Well, we all have our secrets, I suppose. Good night, then."

She patted the old man's arm with affection and watched him slip inside his
cabin. Then, after only a moment's hesitation, she walked across the rocky soil
toward the fire.

She wasn't at all surprised when he didn't look up, his mind obviously solar
systems removed from Gamma Aurelius. Since he'd come to them four months
earlier, he'd been invaluable to the group, throwing himself into his work with
the strength of three men and the intense drive of one much older than his
professed 23 years. Thanks primarily to his efforts, their settlement had begun
to take shape much sooner than they'd ever imagined. 

Yet they knew nothing of him, other than his age and that he spoke in an
unusually well educated manner. His features suggested a Vulcan or Romulan
origin, though his human side seemed to dictate his behavior. As might be
expected in such a small society with so few entertainments, curiosity about
the newcomer had run rampant. So far, none of them had made even the slightest
progress toward penetrating the mystery.

For some reason, however, she believed that she could. Jarrod was half her age,
but from the beginning, she'd been able to talk to him as though he were a much
older man. Though they'd only talked half a dozen times or less, and never
about anything too important, he felt oddly familiar to her.

He barely glanced up as she claimed a spot beside him. "Do you mind if I share
your fire for a few minutes?" she asked. "It's getting chilly, but I'm not
ready to go in yet." 

"If you want," he said with a shrug. "Isn't the whole idea of a colony to share
our resources?"

"I suppose that's one interpretation. Others see our purpose differently."

"Of that I have no doubt. Here." Reaching into an open satchel on the ground
beside him, he pulled out a pair of metal cups and set them between the rocks.
"I was just boiling up some T'leffin root tea. That should warm you quite
nicely."

"Thank you." She waited while he retrieved a small kettle from the middle of
the flames and poured them each a mugful of steaming liquid. The pungent, smoky
aroma invaded her senses with such force that she felt light-headed for a
moment. "You like it strong, I see."

"Believe it or not, I once managed to live off that stuff for weeks. I learned
to boil it right down to the nub. It can be surprisingly filling. Besides,
there's no point in drinking muddy water.  Might as well get all the flavor you
can out of it."

"You've traveled a great deal, then, and not under ideal conditions."

"Let's just say my survival instinct runs very strong. I'm not afraid of much."

"You're not afraid of hard work, we've all noticed that," she said with open
admiration. "Unlike some of our volunteers, you actually seem to enjoy it."

"I find it refreshing to use doors you have to open by hand - or build
yourself."

"I take it you come from a more technologically enhanced civilization?"

"No offense, ma'am, but I make it a point never to talk about my origins."

"None taken, as long as you don't call me ma'am. I grant I have a few years on
you, but you make me feel like the schoolmistress. And that's one position I
have never aspired to."

"Sorry. I guess flattery is one thing I do find intimidating. Must be the
one-quarter Vulcan in me."

"Yes, I thought you were part Vulcan. Yet you show emotion."

"Yes, I do - usually to my detriment. Do you know many Vulcans?"

Hastily she gulped her tea. "No. Not really, not for a long time. Just chance
meetings here and there."

"Well, Vulcans are another subject I'd prefer not to discuss. Tell me about
your work here in the colony. How long have you been at it?"

"Actually, I've helped start more than a dozen colonies over the last thirty
years. I started out as a research botanist, but now I specialize in
genetically engineering crops and so on. It's turned out to be a very useful
skill as far as making the most of our very limited resources."

"Thirty years! Forgive me, but you don't look that old."

"There, you see? You can flatter as well as anyone when you put your mind to
it. As a matter of fact, I started when I was about your age." She laughed. "So
maybe you should call me ma'am, after all."

He shook his head, and a hollow look momentarily stole into his eyes. "Your
research sounds very noble. Satisfying. I myself was once destined for a
scientific career - but it, like many other things, was not to be."

"Then Elias was right. You are an educated man."

He looked relieved to change the subject. "Elias. Now there's an amazing man,
speaking of age. He must be what, eighty? Yet his energy never flags."

"He loves his work, as do I. But tell me, Jarrod. Why are you building huts
when there's so much more you could do with yourself?" She saw him tense up,
and instantly regretted her words. "If you don't want to answer me, that's all
right. But I had to ask."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude. Let's just say I was looking for a way to
atone for some past mistakes. Have you ever done something so terribly wrong
that you don't know how to make up for it?"

"Hasn't everyone?"

"I don't know. It's a matter of degree, I suppose. What one person can live
with might well seem heinous to another. Let me ask you something now - what's
the worst thing you've ever done?"

She thought for a moment, turning the cup around in her hands. "With me, I
think it's less what I did than what I didn't - options I should have taken,
things I should have said."

"Well, that's very different from my situation. Very different."

"So that's why you build huts instead of working in the lab?"

"Working with my hands frees my mind to consider my problems from fresh angles.
Does that make sense?"

"Actually, it does. I feel the same way when I'm working with my plants. Maybe
you'd like to help me sometime."

"Yes, I think I would. I have a certain affinity for that field of study, you
know. The house I grew up in had a magnificent garden. When my family left that
world, it became a public park of some kind. I can still remember feeling safe
there."

"Then you do have a family to go back to."

"Yes, I do. Or at least I did, when I left them five years ago." His eyes
narrowed as if he were in physical pain. "But I have not been able to contact
them since then, for many reasons."

"I thought it might be something like that."

He finished his tea in one hard swallow. "I'm sure it's no secret that I chose
this planet because it's so far from the Federation's reach, and because no one
here is too interested in checking identification documents. Besides, if I did
forget myself and confess my family name to you or anyone else, it would hardly
do you any good. Even my mother could hardly say it correctly after almost 20
years. I won't put you through the embarrassment."

When she didn't respond, his lips curled in a wry grin.

"You're very quiet all of a sudden. Have I shocked you?"

"No, no. It's just that another Vulcan said something very similar to me a long
time ago."

"There you are. It's a social obstacle I share with all of my paternal
ancestors."

This time, when she met his eyes, she knew.

Leila Kalomi promptly dropped her entire mug of tea into the fire.

---


"Thank you for bringing Lidia home." Zarabeth ushered her daughter's Vulcan
language tutor and his teenaged son into the house.

"Not at all. I was in no hurry to end our dialogue." Sumarr gave a slight bow.
"Your daughter is a fine student of her ancestral language. Besides, it is good
practice for my son. He is somewhat less inclined to study than I might wish.
Selyk, present yourself."

Reluctantly, the young man stepped forward and nodded with a distracted air.

"Lidia shares her father's dedication to learning," Zarabeth said. "I'm afraid
that I preferred more fanciful pursuits at her age."

"You seem to expect my disapproval, madam."

"Isn't it the primary function of a tutor to disapprove of everything? I admit
it's been some time since I had one of my own, but my most vivid memories are
of being scolded." 

"How unfortunate. My own approach to education is far less draconian. I believe
that the mind, like the body, can benefit from different styles of exercise,
even if they appear frivolous to some." 

"Clearly, you were not schooled on Vulcan." 

Sumarr turned to find that Spock had joined them. "Greetings, Ambassador. As it
happens, I was not. Circumstances forced me to leave our home planet many years
ago. As a result, I was able to explore different approaches to the traditional
objectives of Vulcan education." Again he offered a respectful tilt of his
head. "Besides, if your wife finds pleasure in whimsical pursuits, who am I to
discourage her?"

"Actually, it is no simple matter to discourage her from anything."

"Then my plan has an additional merit: it prevents the unnecessary exertion of
energy. Besides, you might be surprised to learn that things have changed since
you and I were schoolboys. The Federation's influence has had a softening
effect even on our traditional ways."

"Perhaps that was inevitable. Might I ask from which area of Vulcan you
originate?" Spock asked.

"My birthplace was a remote village in the Sehhlann mountains. However, my
elders quickly discovered that I had a talent for learning, so I was sent to
school on a Federation base at a rather tender age. Do you know the area,
Ambassador?"

"I do. My father and I traveled there when I was a young child. However, all I
remember clearly is being scolded for plucking the fruit of the Kaa'roch tree
without permission. The harvest was in progress at the time."

"A temptation irresistible to children from any region. I hope you were not too
severely punished. Well, my son and I must take our leave now. I have lectures
to prepare for tomorrow's classes, and he must review a number of grammatical
points on which Lidia stumped him this afternoon. Selyk, make your farewells
and let us be off."

Self-consciously, the boy muttered a few words in hesitant Vulcan and averted
his eyes.

"Perhaps, if her parents have no objection, Lidia will see you to the gate,"
Sumarr prompted his son. "I will join you there in a moment."

Lidia glanced from Spock to Zarabeth. Seeing that neither of them objected, she
motioned Selyk to follow her outside.

"I ask that you forgive Selyk for his abruptness," Sumarr said after the two of
them had left. "He does not wish to appear ill-mannered, but I fear his
conversational skills are not as adept as Lidia's. It is a source of some
embarrassment to him, particularly in the presence of other Vulcans."

"No offense taken," Zarabeth assured him. "We are not unfamiliar with the
temperament of young men." A fleeting look of sadness followed her words, a
reaction she quickly attempted to shake off.

Sumarr nodded in sympathy.  "Yes, I understand you, too, have a son close to
his age. Lidia speaks often of her brother, though she has apparently not seen
him for some time."

"That is true," Spock put in quickly. "He has spent the last few years
traveling."

"How well I remember my own youthful urge to roam the galaxy. Fortunately,
Selyk shares my appreciation for the comforts of a stable home. My days would
be quite empty without his companionship."

"I often feel the same way," Zarabeth confessed. "Yet, somehow, we manage."

"Indeed." Sumarr bowed again. "I will take my leave of you, then, and look
forward to our next meeting."

From the window, Zarabeth watched Lidia escort father and son down the
flora-strewn path that led to the front gate.

"Sumarr seems a very cultured man. I like him." Noticing Spock's tightly drawn
expression, she frowned. "Don't you?"

"He is not what he claims to be."

"What makes you say that?" 

"On Vulcan, it is the Kaa'roch plant's bark that is harvested, not its fruit.
Any true native of the mountains would know that."

"I'm sure there's an explanation. He said he'd been away a long time, after
all. Perhaps his memory is not as good as yours."

"Perhaps. I doubt it."

Zarabeth turned back to the scene outside, less complacent as Lidia took formal
leave of Sumarr, then paused and exchanged a few casual words with Selyk. Both
mother and daughter scrutinized the teenaged boy with interest. 

Selyk was slighter of build, and more delicately featured than Jarrod. His
impassive demeanor and distant, almost distracted air seemed far removed from
the intense brooding that had constantly darkened her firstborn's face. In many
ways, Selyk bore a greater resemblance to their second son, Kai, who had
inherited his father's disposition as surely as the others had inherited hers.

Yet, when she looked at Selyk, it was Jarrod she thought of, and Jarrod's
absence she mourned.

She didn't have to tell Spock what she was thinking about; now, as always, it
was as if he knew her thoughts before she'd even finished forming them.

"Will he ever come back?" she asked, her voice heavy with pain. "It's been so
long."

"Yes," Spock said after only a moment's consideration. "He will."



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