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"May the Wind Be at Our Backs" by Lady Rainbow Rating: PG-13 The Vulcans are different from the canon universe. They have their own agenda. This chapter is for Pesterfield, who wanted to know why the Vulcans were acting “illogically”. Which is true; they’re acting rather...unusual for Vulcans. There’s a reason for that. And Soval’s very aware of all the illogic flying around...and very disturbed. Pairings: R/S and TnT Thirteen The Syklonian shuttle streaked through space at full impulse speed. T'Pol sat in the pilot's chair and checked their progress. Her estimation of Syklonian technology went up considerably, for the shuttle had survived its unexpected tumble in the wake of the torpedoes. They had been able to recover and flee from the area before any of the capital ships recovered. Commander Phlox and Lieutenant Commander Tucker would be ecstatic over the schematics of this shuttle, T’Pol thought. Her thoughts focused on Tucker...Trip. Although she hadn’t known him long, she’d felt some kind of connection there. Illogical. He is Human and I am Vulcan. No Human can understand the Vulcan mind... Actually, that wasn’t completely true. T’Pol glanced over her shoulder, but T’Marui was still asleep on the bunk. She withdrew her hand from the tracking emitter control. T’Marui was a scientist, not a technician, so she wouldn’t know where to start looking for a trace. T'Pol knew that Captain Sato and the others were looking for her; they would not abandon her. T’Pol closed her eyes and tried to reach out to Enterprise. My mind to your mind...can you hear me? After a few minutes, she opened her eyes again. Space was empty all around them. He was too far away for contact, so she decided to try again later. T’Pol stifled a sigh. She had used the long hours of inactivity in conversation with T’Marui. Although she didn’t condone T’Marui’s methods, she understood T’Marui’s frustrations about her work not being taken seriously. T’Pol had formulated many improvements to the helm and navigation systems of Vulcan ships. The Vulcan Space and Ship Ministry continued to take her proposals “under consideration”, even nearly twelve years later. T’Marui was a formidable woman, not to mention dangerous. She knew how to manipulate emotions, knew what to say or do to achieve the outcomes she wanted. The scientist had hinted that the V’tosh ka’tur possessed mental disciplines that were forbidden to other Vulcans. The concept sent a shiver down T’Pol’s spine as she remembered that discussion. “Would you like me to teach you these disciplines?” T’Marui had asked. T’Pol had raised her eyebrows. “You are offering to teach me? Why?” “Because you are capable of understanding them and you are curious. I can show you, if you are interested.” “Most traditional mental disciplines take years to master.” “Indeed, which is a drawback to complete mastery. Only the most dedicated can achieve that and that means forsaking other pleasures to do so. The V’tosh ka’tur do not believe in denying its members the zest for life.” T’Marui had shrugged. “Emotions are as important as logic and if they are not expressed, there will be no balance.” “You sound like a Human.” T’Marui had smiled. “Perhaps we can learn something from them.” Then she had launched into an explanation of some of those “disciplines”. T’Pol asked her for time to consider her offer. Now T’Pol shivered at the implications of the use of T’Marui’s beliefs. Those ‘mental disciplines’ are little more than mental invasions, she thought. No respectable Vulcan would use such methods for personal gain. It is distasteful and completely unethical to tamper with a person’s mind and personality... She stopped and glanced back at T’Marui. The V’tosh ka’tur had already demonstrated a lack of respect for traditional Vulcan ideals. Would they go so far as to meddle with another’s mind for their own purposes? Yes, they would. And whom would they target, assuming the process was successful? T’Pol narrowed her eyes as a plan formed in her mind. She had no proof, but she could find the proof, and for that, she needed to be on Vulcan. And for that, she had to continue her charade to fool T’Marui. She felt a flash of guilt for the deception, but then she reminded herself, You owe her nothing. She turned her back on T’Marui and settled into the pilot’s chair. I need to meditate on this...my mind must be crystal clear for what I must do. The Syklonian shuttle continued on to Vulcan, but Enterprise was not too far behind. “Ya know, for a race who’s supposed to be ‘rational’, ya’ll are acting mighty irrational.” Hoshi gave her Armory Officer a sour look, but she didn’t contradict him. Neither did Soval, who only raised an eyebrow at Trip’s comment. Malcolm Reed, seated on Hoshi’s other side, glared at Trip as if he couldn’t believe Trip would say anything like that to the Vulcan ambassador. Trip caught Malcolm’s glare and only shrugged as if to say, “That’s the truth.” “Unfortunately, I must agree with the sentiment, if not the exact wording, Lieutenant Commander Tucker,” Soval said gravely. “There is much at stake here, not to mention the stability of our social structure as it is now.” Hoshi crossed her arms and said, “Ambassador, I know you are a logical and honorable Vulcan, but if the Vulcans are reluctant to share vital information with us. We risked our lives to gather information on Beta Polaris, which turned out to be a virtual landmine. We tried to rescue T’Pol, using information that you provided us. My chief engineer told me it would have worked, if the S’tranek didn’t fire those torpedoes when they did.” Soval said nothing, although they all heard the restrained anger in her voice. She leaned forward and continued, “Commander V’Krus said we shouldn’t get involved. We were involved from the time our crew rosters were tampered with and our orders changed.” “Captain, I assure you—“ She held up a hand. “And I assure you that since one of my crew is still T’Marui’s prisoner, Starfleet is involved. So, if High Minister V’Lar is still interested in multi-species Starfleet crews, I suggest that she keeps an open mind concerning other races. That means cooperation between us.” The ambassador glanced at Jon Archer, but he realized there would be no help coming from that quarter. Soval gave a silent sigh, then said, “Very well, Captain. I will tell you what I can, but I must also remind you that I am still bound by High Minister V’Lar’s instructions. As your people would phrase it, ‘my hands are tied’.” Hoshi nodded, then glanced at the small group around the table: Malcolm, Travis, Jon and Trip. “Gentlemen, it all stays in this room, am I clear?” “Clear, Captain,” Travis said, and the others nodded in agreement. Soval’s jaw was set, but he went on. “Our race was not always ruled by logic. Millennia ago, we were emotional...irrational. Surak brought the tenets of rationality and logic to our people. The transition was slow, but eventually, the Vulcans turned away from war and destruction. We would rather present an united front to other races, but like any other race, we do have our...differences.” “The V’tosh ka’tur,” Jon said. “That is correct, Jonathan.” Soval closed his eyes, as if in pain. “They survived through the centuries, tried to steer Vulcan back to the old ways. Eventually, the followers of Surak prevailed and the V’tosh ka’tur—and their influence—dwindled. Some of the remainder decided to leave the planet and go elsewhere; needless to say, the rest of the people were not distressed to see them go. Where they went, we do not know. We assumed they had eventually turned on each other and destroyed themselves, or become extinct.” “You never bothered to check?” Trip asked, dumbfounded at this oversight. Soval opened his eyes and gave Trip a cold look. “As you would say, ‘good riddance’.” “Trip, hush,” Hoshi ordered. “Vulcan established its own colonies, for exploration and defense. Over the years, they were abandoned. Fifty years ago, Doctor T’Marui became the head of the archaeology department at the Science Academy and began her research into the Lost Colonies. Her work was...controversial to say the least. It caused an uproar in the scientific community and she lost her research grants. Then Beta Polaris was discovered by a Vulcan probe...and the High Command was interested in its secrets.” “And whatever T’Marui found there just opened a new can of worms,” Travis said. “Indeed.” Soval’s eyes flashed in anger. “Personally, I believe T’Marui’s work to be spun of lies, fiction and wishful thinking. Her reasoning is hardly rational. The High Command ignored her and tried to downplay her zealous claims.” Malcolm frowned and said, “But now, for some reason, the High Command is taking T’Marui’s fiction seriously.” “Yes, Doctor Reed.” Soval looked directly at Malcolm. “V’Lar is convinced that T’Marui and her followers will destabilize Vulcan society with their work.” Malcolm raised an eyebrow. “High Minister V’Lar and Minister T’Pau have never struck me as overly paranoid, Ambassador. Why the sudden change? Will T’Marui be able to achieve what they fear?” “It’s not like y’all would throw away two thousand-plus years of logic and go back to bein’ ‘irrational’,” Trip pointed out. “Like us.” A ghost of a smile appeared on Soval’s lips, but it vanished so quickly that Hoshi wasn’t sure it had been there in the first place. “Yes, High Minister V’Lar’s and Minister T’Pau’s reactions seem highly illogical. They have not seen fit to share their rationalizations with me, but I suspect that they know more than they have communicated. And with T’Pol taken by T’Marui—“ Soval’s voice trembled slightly, but again, he recovered so quickly that most of the others missed the lapse, “—Doctor T’Les is also not thinking clearly. I must admit it is difficult to do, and logic becomes uncertain, when a family member is concerned.” “So much for the belief that Vulcans don’t have emotions,” Trip groused. Jon chuckled and said, “How many times to I have to tell you, Trip? They have them; they just control them better than we do. It seems they don’t have them when they’re completely in control.” Hoshi sighed and shook her head. “We’re en-route back to Vulcan, but we won’t arrive for at least another day. Ambassador, I appreciate what you’ve been able to tell us.” Soval nodded. “I shall endeavor to find more information, Captain Sato, but I cannot make promises.” “And we’ll try to locate T’Pol and bring her back safely.” “Thank you, Captain. I will be grateful.” Soval nodded and made the Vulcan salute, then his image disappeared. Silence fell over the room for a long minute. Then Hoshi glanced at Jon and Malcolm. “Gentlemen, the two of you have the most experience dealing with Vulcans. What do you think about High Minister V’Lar acting ‘illogically’?” “I find that rather hard to believe, Captain,” Malcolm replied slowly, “but given what we’ve seen concerning T’Marui, I think there might be some reason for concern. The ambassador admitted that he isn’t privy to V’Lar’s motivations, and that worries me.” Jon nodded in agreement. “V’Lar, Soval and T’Pau have known each other for decades, Captain, and this keeping of secrets from each other is wholly out of character. There has to be another explanation.” “I have some contacts within the Vulcan Medical and Science Academies,” Malcolm said. “I might be able to find out something.” “And I’ll talk to some of my diplomatic connections,” Jon added. “Some of them owe me favors anyway.” Hoshi nodded. “Keep it quiet, both of you. We’re already in enough trouble as it is. Travis, I want you to go over some of those analyses of the colony ruins. Some of T’Marui’s team is willing to help us; maybe you can find just what it is that V’Lar’s so worried about.” “Will do, Captain,” Travis said. “Trip, I understand you and Phlox have gone over the shield harmonic data again.” Trip grinned and said, “Yeah, we’re gonna be talking with Captain Jeffries and Commander Robinson in a couple of hours. I think with a bit of tinkerin’ around, we can find a way to better protect the ship.” “Just don’t blow us up while you’re doing it, okay?” Chuckles broke out around the table at her caustic remark. The intercom chimed and Hoshi pressed the button. “Sato here.” The voice of Lieutenant Ellen Varianis echoed in the conference room. “Captain, we’re picking up an odd signal on the scanners. It’s heading for Vulcan.” “That might be T’Pol,” Trip said. “Stay on it, Ellen. We’re on our way up.” Hoshi closed the channel and stood up. “Back to work, everyone. Oh, Trip, just a minute—“ Trip turned at the threshhold as the others headed for the Bridge. “Cap’n?” “How are you able to get away with being such a smartass to Soval? I didn’t think he’d tolerate backtalk from you.” Trip’s grin grew wider. “It’s a long story, Cap’n. Remind me to tell it to ya sometime.” And he was gone. Hoshi sighed and thought, Don’t worry, Trip. I’ll remind you. That’s probably one hell of a story. |
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