The Story

The Story

Author: BDoll

Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Like I make money off of this? In a word “whatever.” All hail Paramount.
Summary: Sequel to "Demon," a new documentary shocks many on Earth…Gannet Brooks leaks a documentary from prison. Charles “Trip” Tucker III’s mother watches the broadcast. Spoilers for "Demon." I don’t care who may or may not die in the “real” thing, I just liked this idea better.

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Mrs. Tucker was distraught. Her son had come to earth to then leave quickly and quietly like a thief in the night. She had spoken to him just before he arrived on Earth. He said that he needed to attend the conference and that he would meet with her and his father as soon as he could.

Then he left, suddenly. He only left a letter. Some letter, Mrs. Tucker thought. To her it pretty much said; “Goodbye Mom and Dad, wish I could stay, wish I could tell you why I can’t but this is all I can say, don’t know when I’ll be back.”

First that crazy man Paxton on the airways, now this? What was a mother to think? She knew that Enterprise, and therefore her son was involved. Yet again she was in the dark. Now there was a rumor on the wires that it was because of a Human-Alien Hybrid. What was that all about?

Mrs. Tucker had tried to get more information from Jonathan Archer, Trip’s commanding officer and friend. Yet again, she was in the dark and more worried than before.

“I’m a little tied up at the moment and I don’t know how secure this channel is,” was all he would say. He said that he had another letter from Trip to give her and assured her that he would explain everything as soon as he could. She had heard that before.

“Honey, come in here!” Her husband yelled from the living room. Mrs. Tucker picked up her tea cup in the kitchen and headed toward his voice. It was better than worrying alone.

“You’ll never believe it, that woman, you know the reporter Gannet Brooks with Terra Prime.” Mrs. Tucker, not having slept couldn’t place the name. “The one they arrested,” he said in answer to her confused look. At Mrs. Tucker’s node he continued.

“She leaked a story to the press. She gave it to some ‘anonymous informant’ and it was released to the press before she went to prison. It’s supposes to explain what happened.” her husband told her as she came closer to him.

Mrs. Tucker warily sat down on the couch next to her husband. She doubted the story would give her all the information she would want, let alone the closure she so desperately desired, but she looked on hopping for any information on her son.

Pictures of the earth where shown as a female narrator spoke. “I will start out this report by saying it is biased. As I sit here in a New Zealand detention center because of my involvement with the fanatical terrorist group Terra Prime, you may think you know my biases, but you don’t. As much as you may think this is someone else’s story, obviously there are other major players, it is my story too. Underneath it all, it is my story as well.

“This story could begin many places. It could have began from the first time Zefram Cochrane meet an extraterrestrial—a Vulcan. I can’t begin there so I will begin somewhere in the middle.” Pictures taken by bystanders at the historic event were displayed across the screen.

The woman continued. “Many of you remember the crisis that developed shortly after the Enterprise returned from the Expanse and meeting with the Xindi.”

Mrs. Tucker watched as videos of Arik Soong being lead out of the detention center was shown and the narrator briefly described the events that lead to Soong’s stay on the Earth starship EnterpriseNX-01.

“Though many may think they know the full story, they do not. Soong was a man of dubious ethics. The authorities thought they knew all his crimes. They didn’t.”

Brooks then went on to describe a conversion that Soong had overheard between two of the officers aboard Enterprise. It told of the only Vulcan officer and the Chief Engineer discussing the latter’s wedding. It was a love story. This story is one that had been heard before about an arranged marriage when a woman loves someone else. Instead of the lovers coming together in the end, one decided to be a gentleman and stepped down to let the other “do what she had to do” Brooks stated.

After flashing many pictures and videos of her son and the Vulcan woman, T’Pol, many pictures from the official celebration back on Earth after the return from the Expanse, Mrs. Tucker noticed the way that her son leaned in gently toward her as he whispered a comment in her ear. She also noticed that T’Pol did not pull away and unnoticeable to anyone not paying attention turned her head and body closer to him.

“It didn’t end like many fairy tales, but it didn’t end like Romeo and Juliet either.” Brooks continued. “When Soong heard this conversation he had an idea. Soong’s goal was to perfect the human race and he had a radical idea. Soong also had the intelligence and ability to carry it out.”

Again pictures of Soong where flashed across the screen. It showed him accepting many awards and accolades. The words of the narrator told a different tale. Soong had the idea that the stem cells from a Human-Alien Hybrid could be used to cure and irradiate diseases from humans.

“Perhaps even ‘enhance humans’ in a way he was unable to with the Augments.” Brooks stated. She then went on to discuss the theft of samples from the Enterprise sickbay, samples from her son and T’Pol.

“This may have been the end of the experiment, accept he had an accomplice—Susan Khouri. Khouri was a medical technician who was described as having emotional troubles. Khouri worked with Soong early in his career. Soong convinced Khouri to continue his work, or so he thought. What Soong, as brilliant as he was, was unaware of was that his former assistant was now involved with Terra Prime, a group who had a goal, among others, to drive sentient non-humans out of the Sol system.”

From there Brooks went on to describe the incubation and subsequent birth of a Human-Vulcan Hybrid. The crisis of conscience by Khouri was explained in detail, highlighting Brooks’ understanding and empathy. Then came the plan for destruction by Terra Prime. She did not explain in full detail Terra Primes plans or the way in which it was thwarted saying that it was best to keep that information “classified” and that it “was not the true story that needed to be told.”

She then told more about her son and T’Pol. Brooks told of the dissolution of T’Pol’s marriage because of her mother’s death. Brooks detailed the search for her son’s child and the reunion with the crew on Enterprise.

“Though for them parturition was not planned or in anyway a consequence of their actions, parenthood was taken on without a second thought. I had escaped from my confinement to lurk into sickbay to find out if the rumor was true, the rumor that is still circulating this world today, the rumor of the first Human-Alien Hybrid. Instead of feeling like a reporter I felt like a peeping tom.

“I wanted to be the first to have ‘it’ on film. What I found was that ‘it’ was a ‘her,’ a person. I watched Commander Tucker care for this small child…”

Mrs. Tucker, having held back tears from the moment her son’s name was mentioned, started to cry. Mr. Tucker, also emotional, took his wife into his arms on the couch.

Through her tear stained vision she saw scenes of her son holding, rocking, and cuddling the small child. From the pictures she saw the Tucker eyes, the eyes she fell in love with on her husband, and again when her baby boy opened them for the first time. The baby had beautiful blue eyes and beautiful pointed Vulcan ears. She watched as her son kissed the tiny baby and handed her to her mother. He then sat next to T’Pol, the baby cradled in her arms.

After taking the baby from Trip, T’Pol wrapped the baby snuggly in a blanket all the while Trip looked with awe filling his eyes.

In the background of the tape Mrs. Tucker could hear Trip talking softly to the baby and the sweet sounds of baby coos. The narrator voice over dropped slightly, in awe herself. “John Frederick Paxton, the leader of Terra Prime said that Vulcans were ‘non-human creatures who don’t even feel like we do.’

“As I watch this mother blind sighted by motherhood, eagerly taking on the role, I know that Paxton was wrong.”

Mrs. Tucker watched the scene play out. T’Pol was gently rocked the infant, singing softly, but clearly as her son looked on. Gently, he kissed the child’s forehead then kissed T’Pol temple. In the background T’Pol voice carried the tune to an alien song.

“Commander T’Pol is singing Phalor's Journey. There are three hundred forty eight verses. I have no doubt that T’Pol will sing them all if needed to help her child sleep. Phalor’s Journey is called a tale of enlightenment and is often sung to children before they sleep. This is a Vulcan lullaby.

“I was sympathetic to Terra Prime because I thought that Starfleet and space exploration was actually the last vestige of colonial impulse, and thinly veiled at that. Instead of that, I see Commander Tucker described as an energetic, vocal and friendly Southern a ‘polar opposite’ of the reserved Vulcan people together with Commander T’Pol.”

“As I watch this small family I realized that Starfleet is about exploration, both of other worlds and in a lesser publicized way, this world. This is why this story is not only that of Commanders Tucker and T’Pol, but my story and yours as well.

“Tucker and T’Pol have not said where they will reside; all we know is that the two have resigned their posts. Secrecy, privacy and safety for their child are paramount. All I know is that two career officers, Commander Tucker had worked for years to become part of the Warp 5 project, left Enterprise on an unknown vessel. Someday, I hope that we welcome them home. It is their home, because without them we have lost part of ourselves. The part that I thought made us human.

“I remember reading when I was a child, an essay about the historic day of Cochrane’s first warp flight and the arrival of Vulcans, aliens on Terran soil. It said we let go of our hate and issued in a new era of peace. I saw peace in that room and I hope to see it here on Earth again.”

With that the scene faded to black.

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Nine of you have made comments

Interesting POV. Sad to think though that Trip and T'Pol would have to leave Star Fleet and go into hiding so they could live normally. Can't say I like the introduction of Soong into it though.

Interesting to see the story from the perspective of mrs. tucker. indeed, thought, sad thing t`pol and trip need to leave starfleet. im waiting for the sequal :).

Interesting to see the story from the perspective of mrs. tucker. indeed, though, sad thing t`pol and trip need to leave starfleet. im waiting for the sequal :)

I'm happy to see your story on this site. At ff.net I made some comments that might have been misconstrued as flames. It was not meant as such. I guess I was reacting to the information read about the two last episodes. I taped but didn't watch. Thanks for the story. You said at ff.net you might do a sequel, based upon what happens. I hope you will continue despite the horrible last two episodes. P.S. I have a different moniker at ff.net.

I liked the thought of Soong and Khouri working together and Soong getting Trip and T'pol's DNA. It is a more plausible theory for how it was removed from Enterprise.

Soong was trying to create a Human-Vulcan hybrid for his own warped reasons but was captured and jailed. Then, Paxton swoops in, takes advantage of the situation and continues Soong's work for his own evil purposes.

By the way, if Paxton was trying to shock the citizens of Earth with an alien hybrid, he shouldn't have shown one that was so darn cute! :)

*sniffle* I'm still crying from last night! This was much better!

Wow... I like the unique point of view on this story. Good job.

An unusual POV, and very effective. I hope to read more of your work!

Very well done, I too feel sad that Trip and T'Pol felt they had to jettison their respective careers and in effect become exiles from their homeworlds in order to ensure the survival of their daughter. As sad as that is it speaks volumes for how much they love their child and it is from that place in the heart all hope lies. Ali D :~)