Faith-Part 13

"FAITH OF THE HEART"
An "Enterprise" story

By Alison M. DOBELL

RATING: PG-13.
ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Welcomed
EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://www.carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY": "When members of the crew go suddenly missing, Captain Archer finds the only witness is unable to tell them anything. Lt Reed takes it upon himself to turn detective."
Disclaimers in Part On3

Part 13

* * * * *

The mass seemed to dwarf the planet. Impossible as it seemed an air of doom hung over everything. Occasional stars rippled in and out of sight as something beyond the reach of eyes flexed and absorbed their fragile light. Shimmering and warping in a way that tricked the eye. The camouflage of night meant nothing. The ghostly sense of a presence felt not seen conforming to nothing but shadow. Beneath it, a growing feeling of unease spread like a slow ripple among the Vulcans.

* * * * *

"Are you sure we should leave them?" whispered Lieutenant Reed anxiously.

Dr. Phlox nodded solemnly. "We can do no more for Commander Tucker and it may be of some comfort to them both to be given a little privacy."

Lieutenant Reed was not about to give up on either of them but acknowledged the need to find Captain Archer and awaken the others. The sooner they could get back to Enterprise the better. But his heart was heavy at the thought that he would be unable to save his friend. To his surprise, Dr. Lerik stirred himself and put a hand out to detain him. "Wait! I can help."

The lieutenant's eyes narrowed. His hand on his phaser. Suspicion deepening the look of distrust on his face. "Why should we trust you?"

"I never wanted this but Sha'kith is a powerful man. This project was his."

"And now?" Asked Dr. Phlox, his face alive with interest. His mild manner sounding vaguely hopeful.

The Vulcan doctor paused, taking stock and sorting through the possibilities. Almost the opportunities presented were more frightening than what had come before. It was his first step into the unknown. This time he would not be following another's lead. Unable to blame some secular head for whatever transpired. The responsibility would be his and his alone. "I was the Chief Medical Technician's second in command."

"Are you saying that you are now in control of this facility?" Asked Lieutenant Reed in surprise.

Dr. Lerik nodded. "Yes."

The Denobulan beamed at him. "Then you can help us?"

He nodded cautiously. "I will try."

The Armoury Officer homed in on the less than positive response. His tone accusatory. "Try?"

Dr. Lerik swallowed carefully, he could feel his palms sweating and the back of his collar sticking to his neck. "I am unused to the position of command but I assure you what Sha'kith was doing was in direct violation of our protocols. I will help you revive your people and make sure they suffer no ill effects."

Lieutenant Reed was frowning. Anger held in check while a cool fury stirred in his veins like ice. "I would not say there have been no ill effects." He said coldly.

"Peace, Lieutenant. I never wanted any of this. Would never have expected even Sha'kith to go this far. I will get some of the staff to help us."

The Denobulan hesitated. Lieutnant Reed noticed. "Doctor?"

"Before we go I think we should make Commander Tucker more comfortable."

He watched him go over to the biobed and begin to undo the restraining straps on the Commander's arms and legs. Feeling a lump come to his throat, Lieutenant Reed went to the other side of the bed and helped him. Sub-Commander T'Pol had not moved. She still stood slumped at the head of the bed, her eyes closed, hands cradling Trip's face and foreheads touching. He was not sure if she was grieving or meditating. Did Vulcans pray? He found it deeply affecting. For a moment the lieutenant just stood and stared down at his friend. His heart lurching painfully. Awkwardly he patted Trip's shoulder and followed Dr. Phlox out of the room. Dr. Lerik strode over to a com unit and called for some medical assistance. Seeing the look of alarm on Lieutenant Reed's face he was quick to reassure him.

"You do not need to have any fear that there will be any repeat of what has happened."

Lieutenant Reed's eyes narrowed. "For their sakes I hope not."

Dr. Phlox was looking around him as they walked. "I will need my medical equipment. What happened to it?"

"I will have one of my staff collect it for you."

The Denobulan nodded, his mood now crisp and a briskness to his step. "We should hurry, Dr. Lerik. And while you help us revive our people I want to know *exactly* what chemicals you were pumping into them and why."

* * * * *

He was disconnected from everything. Thought took the longest time to coalesce in his mind and make an impression on his subconscious. He felt as if he were being stretched out, smeared, his colours bleeding like running paint. Yet he was not alone. Something or someone was with him and that gave him an inordinate amount of comfort. He sighed. A long exhalation that tapered off into nothing. Something touched his drifting senses, gently towing him back to the shores of consciousness but not yet surfacing. He did not think he would ever surface again. The effort was too much and his scattered mind had no centre.

T'Pol was calm. No more tears, no more sorrow, no more anything but this. A driving need to be with him in life or death. He was her chosen mate. They were bonded. She would only live if he did. That certainty she set in stone and clung to as she clung to him. The Sanacrid touched her mind lightly, a soothing balm that she now embraced. She knew Trip was dying. That was alright providing she could go with him. The Sanacrid did not admonish her. He understood. He just was not prepared to allow her to give up. Not yet.

*T'Pol, he is not dead*

*I cannot touch his thoughts...* She grieved.

*Then touch mine*

A flurry of confusion barely made itself known but she trusted the Sanacrid because Trip did. Her own judgement no longer considered significant. Nothing mattered now. T'Pol reached out to the Sanacrid and was surprised to discover he had such depth, such wisdom, such love. Why she should be surprised was a mystery to her especially after all they had shared. The Sanacrid showed her all that had happened between them from his own unique perspective and at last she understood how much Trip meant to this strange, exotic lifeform. That understanding helped her relax and drew the first tendrils of wonder to stir deep inside. *You think you can save him?*

*No, T'Pol* Said the Sanacrid gently. *I think 'we' can save him. You and I*

Eyes sore and rubbed raw with grief again wept. *I will do anything...*

The Sanacrid already knew that. *Then trust me*

And she did.

* * * * *

Captain Archer blinked. Mind sluggish. Senses heavy but growing more alert as Dr Phlox began to fill him in on what had happened. When he managed to get himself into a sitting position he took a deep breath and stopped the doctor mid-flow. "Please. Can you start again? I wasn't taking any of that in."

The Denobulan nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry Captain, I should have waited until you were ready."

"That's okay, just tell me what happened."

Dr Phlox paused. It was not quite hesitation but the Captain would not like to have to survive on the difference it was that close. "How much do you remember, Captain?"

"Remember?" Captain Archer looked from the doctor to Lieutenant Reed and back again. Neither man was smiling and the usually ebullient doctor was unusually sombre. He gave a little frown and tried to sound upbeat. "Well, I remember coming down to Rastak and agreeing to let the Vulcans help us."

"Do you remember why?"

His frown deepened. "What is it you're not telling me?"

"Please Captain," urged Dr Phlox. "I need to establish if you have all your memories."

The explanation surprised him so much his mouth snapped shut. A grim look settled in his eyes. "How far do you want me to go back?"

"A week should suffice."

Captain Archer looked at Lieutenant Reed.

"It would be helpful, Captain." Said the lieutenant.

Giving up, the Captain recounted everything except their run in with the Hirogen. Dr Phlox frowned and glanced at Lieutenant Reed but the Armoury Officer looked unpeturbed. "Lieutenant?"

"Yes, doctor?"

A nasty suspicion was forming in the doctor's mind. He hoped he was wrong. "Does the Captain's recollection match yours?"

A slight smile touched the lieutenant's lips. "Yes. The Captain has suffered no loss of memory, doctor."

Dr Phlox kept his own counsel. "Yes. Quite."

Captain Archer beamed at him and got off the biobed, a smile breaking out over his face. For a minute there the Denobulan had got him worried. "Good, then let's wake everyone else up and get ready to return to Enterprise. I don't feel happy unless there are stars beneath my feet."

* * * * *

It felt weird. It felt beautiful. Seductive. He could have cried for the joy piercing his heart. She was touching him, her form caressing his as at last emotions were freed and exchanged with his. If he could have he would have held her so gently in his arms and loved her until the stars turned cold. A shiver of anticipation shook through his body. T'Pol was aware that only the thin rubberised sheet covered him. She watched him as he stared at her, eyes blinking only occasionally as if he was afraid if he closed them she would vanish. He did not want to be alone. Could not stand the thought of not be able to see her. Touch her. Deep in his mind she flooded him with feelings. Her love so strong that he cherished her the more for it. All the subtle emotions that bled from her to him and back again like a shared heartbeat. He loved her so much it made his heart ache with joy. She shushed him and kissed the tears falling like stars from his eyes, the glistening threads they formed on his cheeks blessed by lips he would die for. It took forever for him to realise she was crying too.

*I thought I had lost you, beloved*

Now it was him comforting her. *You cannot lose me that easily, darlin'. Tucker's are known for their obstinacy*

A faint smile graced her lips, a glimmer in her eyes adored him. His smile was like the sun coming up bathing them both in its' warmth. The Sanacrid used the distraction to hum along damaged neural pathways, to reconnect the broken threads of half formed thoughts and disjointed memories. Pieces of the jigsaw that did not want to fit back as they had before. It was no longer painful for him for there was only T'Pol. She knew. Shared his thoughts, his feelings, his every breath. He was tiring and trying hard not to show it. Not wanting to disappoint her.

*You should sleep*

*I can sleep all I want when I'm dead."

His humour fell flat, hurting her. He regretted it instantly. Raising a shaking hand he brushed her cheek and kissed her gently. *I'm sorry, darlin'. Sometimes I think I only open my mouth to change feet*

She did not understand the expression but she knew what he meant. *You are tired, Trip, and I want you to rest and recover your strength*

He lifted an eyebrow, humour sparkling in his eyes. *An' what d'you think I need my strength for?*

The Vulcan slid a hand down his chest and beneath the sheet. She enjoyed the look on his face when she touched him. The intimacy not enough to hold the weariness at bay though he wished otherwise. She knew. She always would. *When this is over I am going to love you more than you have ever been loved before*

His eyelids were fluttering. His body dragging him down into the oblivion of sleep, his mind struggling to stay conscious but the Sanacrid would not allow him to weaken any further. It was a miracle that they had been able to revive him. Now he needed to rest. His last thoughts were a drunken mumble in her mind, but each one was precious to her. *I'm gonna hold ya to that, T'Pol...*

For a few minutes she simply watched him sleep, her hand ceaselessly caressing his cheek as if the contact was a lifeline that would break if still. Then the Sanacrid touched her mind, a gentle impetus. *You should rest too*

The Sub-Commander shook her head but she was almost out on her feet as it was. The Sanacrid had an idea. *Trip is cold*

T'Pol realised he was right. Looked up and cast a glance around the room but there were no blankets and nothing she could use to keep him warm. She wondered what they had done with his clothes. Her eyes drifted down to the discarded body of Sha'keth but nothing would have induced her to borrow his clothing to warm Trip. It would be like using something foul to desecrate a shrine.

*You need to rest as well, T'Pol. You can keep him warm while you sleep*

*I need to get him back to Enterprise*

*And you will,* Soothed their mutual friend. *Once everyone else has been awakened and is fit to travel. That will take time, T'Pol. Time you should not waste when you could be sleeping*

She stiffled a yawn. Unaware that the Sanacrid was encouraging her to give in to her weariness. It had been a long day. *Perhaps I will rest for just a few minutes* She reluctantly allowed.

*Enough to warm Trip,* Agreed the Sanacrid softly.

*Yes,* Yawned T'Pol. The thought pleasing her. *Enough to keep him warm...*

She climbed onto the bio bed and carefully draped herself over the Commander's body. It shook her how cold he was. She frowned and took his hands in hers and gently rubbed them then kissed his palms and each finger before tucking them close to her heart. With a sigh of deep content she gave him a lingering kiss on the lips then laid her head on his chest, allowing the steady beat of his heart to lull her to sleep.

The Sanacrid was happy. A wellspring of love spilling over and engulfing the two in his care. He loved Trip in a way that was so total and unequivocal that it would brook no suggestion of parting. To leave his host was not an option yet something stirred and tugged at him that would not be silent. Something demanding and nagging at him with an insistence that would not go away. Carefully he blocked the unwanted intrusion and concentrated on his host. The man's mind was a fragmented mess. Oddly enough his thoughts of T'Pol were intact, crystal clear in fact. It was everything else that was a messy blur. Memories hanging on the fringe of comprehension. Gently and painstakingly he began to put him back together, seamlessly mending all that had been broken. Healing him and easing the burden of his heart as sleep replenished what his body needed. The Sanacrid deepened his connection with T'Pol, allowing the lovers to heighten and fulfill the promise of their bond.

* * * * *

Captain Vornak faced Captain Archer with not so much as a flicker of emotion on his face. The human was furious and not bothering to hide it one iota. Incensed he glared at his Vulcan counterpart. "What the hell did you think you were playing at?"

Standing a few feet behind his Captain, Lieutenant Rolrak stiffened. Captain Vornak spoke calmly, no sign of embarrassment or shame at his actions. "The deception was necessary, Captain."

"Necessary?" Yelled Captain Archer. "I almost lost my entire crew not to mention what happened to my first officer."

"To save the life of 83 souls a little subterfuge was but a small price to pay."

The Captain of the Enterprise flushed deep with anger knowing only too well that he had been tricked. The smugness of the Vulcans hit an all time low in his estimation. "How dare you try to manipulate us and claim to be *helping*. Who made you people God?" He paused a beat. "Your actions disgust me! I demand to know why you allowed this to happen."

Captain Vornak slowly raised an eyebrow. "You *demand*?" He asked mildly.

The Vulcan's emotional control was absolute. If Captain Archer had not been so angry he might have envied him. He flushed. He had not meant it to come out in such an emotional tirade but he was damned if he was going to apologise. "Tell me why."

The Vulcan gave a tiny shrug. "I knew only that we had a facility here that could aid you. I had no idea this would happen, Captain. It is regrettable."

The human could hardly believe his ears. Captain Vornak spoke as if they were doing nothing more heinous that discussing the weather. "My people were drugged. Had their minds manipulated and who knows what else. I want to know why."

"Captain, the man who ran this facility is dead. I cannot tell you what he had in mind or what induced him to act as he did. I can only believe he was under the misguided notion that he was helping."

The Captain felt emotionally drained as well as anxious. His crew were back aboard Enterprise. Only himself and Lieutenant Reed had boarded the Vulcan vessel. His need to find out the truth had overcome his natural unwillingness to set foot on a Vulcan vessel. The state of his Chief Engineer had simply added to his agitation. He had no idea what the hell that was about and Dr Phlox had been most enigmatic. Even Lieutenant Reed had little to say about how they had found the Commander and Sub-Commander. Why Sha'kith had kept them apart from the rest of the crew of the Enterprise was beyond him. Nasty sneaking suspicions multiplied in the dark recesses of his brain. None of the possibilities were pleasant. "And there's another thing, Captain." He said wearily.

The Vulcan did not speak but waited patiently for Captain Archer to finish.

"We seem to be missing some of our... memories."

Captain Vornak frowned slightly. "Memories?"

"Yes. There are gaps in events that cannot be accounted for."

"When did these gaps occur? Perhaps if you go through your ship's logs you can reacquaint yourself with what happened?"

He shook his head. How could he explain to Captain Vornak his suspicion that the ship's logs had been altered too? After all, the crew had been replaced by Vulcans while they had been down on the planet and right now the only member of that race he even remotely trusted was T'Pol and she was not exactly in a position to help him. Neither the Sub-Commander or Commander Tucker had regained consciousness since he had been awakened. That fact alone disturbed him more than he cared to admit. All kinds of conflicting emotions making him queasy and fearful as if he was not sure he wanted to know *exactly* what that was all about.

It was a slight movement from Lieutenant Rolrak that brought Captain Archer back to the present. Captain Vornak nodded as his lieutenant whispered something in his ear then straightened. "Captain, it is time for me to go. I would like to ask how Sub-Commander T'Pol is progressing?"

Progressing? What kind of mentality asks how someone is progressing? "We won't know until she regains consciousness."

"Your doctor is pleased with her progress?"

Captain Archer frowned. Why the twenty questions about T'Pol? Apart, of course, from the fact that she was a Vulcan. "Yes, though he will be happier when the Sub-Commander regains consciousness."

The Vulcan Captain nodded. "As will we. I will contact you again in a month Captain and hopefully you will have some news for me of her condition."

It was not a question. Not even a request. The subtle tonal inflection made it a very smoothly couched demand. To a Vulcan it would have been a command. To Captain Archer it was just one more irritating quality of his stiff necked allies.

Back aboard Enterprise he watched the Vulcan ship take its' leave of them and felt an absurd sense of relief. Lieutenant Reed looked at him from his armoury station on the bridge. Captain Archer gave him a nod. "You have the bridge, lieutenant."

Lieutenant Reed nodded, knowing his Captain was going to sickbay to see how Trip and T'Pol were doing. He tried to hide his own concern. Ensign Sato was watching him closely, trying to work out what was preying so heavily on the Armoury Officer's mind.

* * * * *

Space was an unrelenting mistress and a quixotic guide. As the Enterprise resumed her interrupted course a ripple followed like a vast tractless shadow in its' wake. Down on Rastak Dr. Lerik breathed his first really free breath of air. Sha'kith's body had been removed and would be sent back to Vulcan. A dry twist of his lips soured the thoughtful expression on his face as he considered all that had transpired. The Chief Medical Technician Sha'kith, his most vehement rival, was dead. All the questionable acts lay like mute accusations at his door. A long slow smirk distorted Dr. Lerik's normally staid expression. Inwardly he gloated and laughed. With his rival gone and the apparent ending of the project, Dr Lerik had managed to present a more affable face to the humans. They might not wholly trust him but they did prefer dealing with him to Sha'kith. A smile replaced the smirk. If they only knew the half of it.

* * * * * *

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One person has made comments

Aaaah! The mysteries continue to multiply! o_O

Great story, totally engrossing . . . I've been hooked since the first series . . . And to think it all started with a pseudo-chipmunk! XD

I REALLY want to know exactly what the Vulcans are up to! >:\ And of course, I'm concerned about whatever it was that the Sanacrid apparently ignored . . . And I want our favorite duo to be all right . . .

You write Trip and T'Pol so beautifully, after all.

I'm looking forward to the next part. :)