The Ring of Truth - Part 3

FIX the FINALE Fic

The Ring of Truth
By Evalyn A.

Disclaimer: All Paramount’s, not mine, though they don’t deserve it.

A/N: It is assumed that although the overall historical events of TATV did happen, the moment-by-moment details of the events, as well as the personal interactions, would not have been part of the historical record. Therefore, the Enterprise-D holodeck recreation was a dramatization, fabricated as needed to make a better story. And hopefully, I have made an even better story than the one they came up with.

********

Chapter 3

As T’Pol entered Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco, her current feeling of focussed anticipation upon arrival at the glassy complex contrasted thoroughly with her last visit. She had difficulty even recalling many of the details: the debriefing sessions, the formalities associated with the signing of the charter, and of course, the memorial service. Much of that time had passed by in a meaningless blur, and she had been relieved to make her escape to Vulcan.

She paused to reflect on the aesthetics of her surroundings, helping to suppress the nervous anxiety that threatened to surface. The weather in San Francisco was beautiful for once, a warm breeze blowing over the water of the Bay, and the mid-day sun reflected in the rippled water and the glass of the building. After a moment collecting her thoughts, she entered through the main doors.

The guard recognized her immediately, there being few Vulcans who had business with Starfleet, and none as famous within these walls as she. He nodded respectfully as she passed him, without asking for her ID or destination. Archer had probably already alerted them to her arrival.

Archer and Phlox were somewhere within the facility awaiting her, having both agreed to join her for lunch today. Archer was temporarily assigned to headquarters to be groomed for his promotion to come shortly. Phlox was on Earth renewing old acquaintances made through the Interspecies Medical Exchange, while giving a series of seminars on the many issues of medical interest that had been encountered on their voyage. He had just returned to San Francisco from Tokyo the night before; she supposed there were advantages to hibernating every few months, as the Denobulan would arrive refreshed after the eight hour trip without the need to adjust his circadian rhythms. The last suspect of the threesome, Lt. Reed, was on leave visiting his parents. This left her free to maintain her focus on Archer and Phlox, as the two most likely to have been involved in any conspiracy.

She had considered carefully her approach to them: was it better to speak to them singly, or together? To confront them immediately, or to lull them into believing that this was purely a social occasion before moving to the attack?

She had decided that the best approach was to see them together, in a benign social setting, in which situation conversation would naturally turn to their crewmates. It would be easy to divert the topic to Trip. While singly Archer and Phlox might maintain the fiction well, together they could make some false move, or exchange some uncomfortable glances, something that would give her a wedge to follow in. Her suspicion that the two of them knew more than they were saying was even stronger now than they had been, following the events of the past few days.

*******

She had contacted Trip’s mother upon her arrival at spacedock in Earth orbit three days ago. Aline Tucker had behaved quite differently than she had at their first meeting just prior to the memorial service, when T’Pol and Archer had brought them Trip’s effects. On that occasion, Trip’s mother had been distraught with grief, and had clearly found it difficult to even be civil to them, while his father had been formal, polite, and distant, hardly interacting with them except in monosyllabic responses to Archer’s expressions of sympathy. The couple, clearly devastated, had seemed to hardly even notice her presence.

This time, however, Trip’s mother had appeared touched and pleased by T’Pol’s call.

“It’s so kind of you, my dear, to want to speak with us,” Aline Tucker said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t myself the last time you were here. Do you suppose you might be able to stop by sometime soon? I know Charlie would love to see you too.”

T’Pol inclined her head in gratitude at the invitation. “I should be pleased, Mrs. Tucker. However, my leave may be shortened by urgent matters that have arisen,” she fabricated with aplomb. “My only free days will be tomorrow and the day after, would either be convenient?”

Trip’s mother looked momentarily startled, but recovered with a look of genuine pleasure. “We’d be delighted to see you tomorrow. Have you made plans for the night? Would you be able to stay?”

T’Pol’s heart warmed at the unexpected welcome she had received, and she felt distinct discomfort at her manipulations. Nevertheless, she accepted the invitation, with gratification at the ease with which she had gained audience with Trip’s parents.

Her welcome upon arrival at their home had been no less heartfelt. Trip’s mother and father had both been at the door waiting as she arrived by groundcar at 1400 hours, as scheduled. Charlie Tucker had gallantly insisted on carrying her overnight bag, despite the fact that she could likely have thrown him over the hood of the groundcar with impunity.

T’Pol stopped on the porch of their home to glance out at the pleasant neighbourhood, dotted by willows and a variety of blooming bushes. She turned back to her hosts and said, with genuine appreciation, “Your home is lovely. I wish to thank you for your generous hospitality in inviting me here, when you hardly know me.”

Aline glanced at Charlie with a look that was slightly at odds with their open demeanour of a few moments ago. “Well, dear, Trip spoke so much of you, we feel we know you already.”

“Sure,” Charlie rapidly agreed, “he talked about all his crewmates, and naturally he talked especially about the senior staff. We loved hearing his stories, every letter home was full of them.”

T’Pol nodded, and continued, “I wasn’t sure if you would wish to be bothered, the last time we met you were both very distressed…” She left the sentence hanging.

Charlie looked uncomfortable, and Aline hurriedly replied, “Oh, we weren’t ourselves, were we Charlie? I’m afraid that was a hard time for us. But I guess we’ve had a bit of time now, and we’re happy for the chance to talk about him with someone who knew him as well as you. Do come in, now, and we’ll get you settled,” she said, opening the door, and T’Pol followed her into the house and upstairs to the guest room.

She stopped at the threshold of the room, momentarily taken aback. The room seemed to be some sort of work-room or den normally, and was decorated with a number of mementos of their children, particularly Elizabeth and Trip. Trip’s personal belongings – souvenirs of home and of his mission on Enterprise – were displayed prominently around the room, along with pictures of him, taken at various times in his life.

T’Pol entered slowly, taking in the images of him – joking with his sister, serious as he received his Starfleet commission, achingly young in his high school graduation photo – and here was an image of the three senior Enterprise officers, medals pinned to their chests, taken from the newswires. She read the accompanying headline – “Captain Jonathan Archer, Commander Charles Tucker III, and Commander T’Pol, after receiving their meritorious service awards for the Romulan conflict.” Trip, who had been standing in the middle with a wide grin on his face, had his arms around each of their shoulders. Her heart ached, recalling that casual way he touched her as no one else dared, and which still made her heart skip a beat each time it happened.

“That’s a real good one of him, isn’t it?” Aline spoke behind her, startling T’Pol out of her recollections. “He looks so happy, so …” her voice trailed off.

“Yes, he was,” T’Pol agreed. He’d been particularly cocky that day, hamming it up for the cameras, joking and teasing. At one point during the celebrations in Phlox’s favourite Chinese restaurant after the award ceremony, she had made the obligatory half-hearted effort to squelch his loud good humour with a severe comment about the comportment required of an officer, and he had responded by suggesting they take the party to the Vulcan compound instead, where they really knew how to have a good time. She had rolled her eyes, he had elbowed her in the ribs, and then had turned back to listen to a rather ribald story that Reed had been relating to Rostov. That incident had been typical of the strange friendship that, despite everything, had survived their rocky romantic relationship.

T’Pol would have given anything, reliving that moment, to have him rudely elbow her again. She blinked and took a deep breath, turning to face Trip’s parents. Both were viewing her with sympathy; she supposed her loss of composure must have been obvious.

She wondered just how much of her relationship with their son they had been privy to. In order to proceed, she would have to reveal more of it than she had to anyone before – even Trip himself, she acknowledged.

“You said that he told you many stories of his time on Enterprise in his letters,” she started, unsure exactly how to proceed.

“Uh huh, he was pretty good at sending letters,” his father replied, sitting on the arm of the easy chair in the corner of the room. “Even when nothing much was happenin’, he’d find something to talk about – stories about his friends, even what movie was showing that week.”

“It is good that he kept in such close contact with you,” she commented. “You have that much of him even though you saw him so little over the last years.” It was a great contrast to the Vulcan way, where communication with family members tended to infrequent, formal updates.

His mother sighed. “Only a few weeks we had with him, scattered over seven years,” she agreed. “Enterprise came back to Earth so rarely; the once after the Xindi attack, and then after the war was over. We barely saw him on that visit, and when we did, he was so sad, he hardly spoke.” Aline hesitated uncomfortably, clearly not sure how much of what happened at that time was appropriate to discuss. “Then I guess three visits before the Romulan war, and the one after that war ended. And then the last time, of course.” The last time, two days after Trip’s death, they had seen only their son’s cremated remains.

T’Pol hesitated, then took the plunge. “You knew of our daughter, Elizabeth, then.”

Aline glanced at her husband. “Yes, dear, he told us. Not a lot,” she added. “But enough, I guess. It must have been hard,” she said, gently.

“It would have been easier if I could have borne it with him,” she replied, turning again to look at the photos of him. “But our relationship had brought nothing but pain, and Vulcans learn that to master pain, they must deny it. So I denied it, and in the process, denied him,” she stated, surprising herself with the honesty of her answer. “Did he tell you we were bonded?” she asked, turning abruptly to catch their bewildered expressions.

“Bonded?” Aline repeated, clearly startled. “He mentioned then that you and he had had …” she paused, searching for words, “a relationship of sorts, but that he guessed a Vulcan and a human weren’t meant for that sort of thing together.” She seemed to be searching her memory, remembering. “He was pretty upset when he told us, but we had no idea …”

“Neither did we, for some time,” T’Pol murmured, running her finger over a picture of Trip laughing with his parents. “The bonding is a sharing of souls. The bond can be forged between two people in a marriage ceremony performed by a Vulcan priest. But it can also, rarely, simply happen between two people who find themselves to be soulmates – katra’katelau. That is what happened between your son and myself.”

Trip’s parents both bore stunned expressions, clearly astonished by these revelations.

T’Pol continued. “Between Vulcans, the bond is ended only by the intervention of a priest, or death. However, because Trip was human, and the bond had formed accidentally, it seemed – we believed – that the bond had died of itself when we parted.” She glanced briefly at Aline and Charlie, and then continued, “However, it had not.” Her voice wavered slightly on the last words and she paused to compose herself.

“It hadn’t?” This time it was Trip’s father who prompted her to continue.

“No. It seems it was merely … dormant,” T’Pol explained, looking out the window at the willow tree whose leaves swayed in the gentle summer breeze. “Or so I am told by the priest who attempted to perform my marriage ceremony last week.”

This further revelation was met by an even more stunned silence. “What does that mean?” Aline managed after a moment of struggling with this information.

This time, T’Pol turned to face them full on. “It means that Trip and I were bonded, and the bond remained. According to Vulcan law, that would have made him my husband until his death. A death, that according to the reldai who examined me and saw the strength of our bond, seemingly has not yet occurred.”

Aline paled, and exchanged a stricken glance with her husband, who stood up to place himself behind her, hands on her shoulders. Charlie said, making an attempt to sound calm, “Miss T’Pol, you’re not makin’ a lot of sense.”

T’Pol repeated, “The priests told me I could not remarry, because I was still married to my bondmate. They said that it was possible that the bond had survived his death because he was human, and that it would fade with time. But that it was more likely that he was still alive. I have had time to consider this possibility, during my return from Vulcan. And I have decided I believe. I believe he is not dead.” She examined the faces of his parents keenly, and then spoke the words designed to obtain the reaction she needed. “And I believe you know it.”

The two humans still looked stunned and upset. She felt a momentary sense of guilt – they believed he was dead, her words were cruel and thoughtless. But she had also over her many years with humans developed a certain aptitude for interpreting human body language, and especially that of someone to whom they were all intimately related. She realized that their reactions were also overlaid upon something else – nervousness. They were hiding something, she was suddenly convinced.

“You know what has happened,” she prompted them, a slightly pleading tone creeping into her voice. “Tell me. I must know. Despite everything, it is my right. I am his wife.”

Charlie ran his fingers through his hair in an agitated gesture that was disturbingly familiar to T’Pol. Aline sat silent, staring at T’Pol, with her right hand frantically twirling her wedding band on her left. She looked pleadingly at her husband, who finally spoke in a slightly desperate tone.

“Miss T’Pol, I know his death’s been hard on us all, but this kind of talk doesn’t help. Now why don’t we leave you for a minute to unpack, and freshen up a bit before dinner. Aline’s made a nice ragout, lots of fresh local vegetables. We’ll see you downstairs in a while once you’ve had a chance to …” he trailed off.

T’Pol raised a single eyebrow at him, her expression clearly one of disbelief. Then she relaxed, and nodded. “Thank you again for your hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker. I will see you downstairs shortly.” Trip’s parents departed with alacrity, clearly relieved to escape the awkward situation.

T’Pol spent the next half hour unpacking her few items and attending to her personal hygiene. No one watching her would have suspected the speed with which her mind raced, reviewing the conversation that had just passed. At the end, she was left with one conclusion. He was not dead, and his parents had not denied the fact, nor that they knew of it. They also were clearly not in a position to reveal his whereabouts, if they even knew them; there was no point in further pursuing the topic with them.

The rest of the visit had thus passed with no more discord, T’Pol satisfied with the outcome she had already achieved. Their conversation did not stray again into the recent past, clearly forbidden territory. Instead, his parents had told her more of Trip, his childhood, and his dreams. T’Pol had explained a bit more of the events she and Trip had shared, without revealing more than she thought he would have been comfortable with.

Finally, without making a conscious decision, she found herself relating the events after the Terra Prime incident and the death of their daughter Elizabeth to their sympathetic ears. “The end of it was my fault,” she stated. “It was nothing he did; nothing other than be himself. Had he been someone else, perhaps I would have been able to cope better with the bond. But had he been someone else, it would not have existed, nor would I have wanted it to. In the end, I could see no other solution that would permit me to continue to exist as myself.” She fell silent, recalling the angry words he had spoken, the pain she had felt through their bond, for he had not realized how desperately he threatened her very essence.

Aline reached out and touched her hand, briefly and gently. “I don’t know how you were able to work together after...”

“At first, it was very difficult,” T’Pol agreed, remembering the time immediately after Elizabeth’s death; how when they had worked together, it had been each of them alone, firmly isolated, speaking nothing but the most essential of words to get the job done.

And yet after a time – had it been weeks, or months? – without their realizing it, they had gradually resumed something resembling their original relationship, trading barbs and, more often than not, working in silences that now arose from a wordless understanding rather than their previous bitter isolation. In a way, the friendship that had resulted had been stronger than any she could have ever expected based on all that had gone before. That much good, at least, had come of it, she told herself.

When she had departed the Tucker’s house the next morning, she came away with more than she had hoped for. Not only did she have an even stronger suspicion that Trip was alive, bolstered by what his parents had, and had not, said, but she had discovered a great deal about him during her discussions with his parents, and as much about herself.

Her determination to continue was now not only rooted in a desire to know the truth, to understand what had happened. She had to find him, for once again, he threatened her heart and her soul, this time not by his presence, but by his absence, leaving a void that she now knew must be filled, or risk her sanity, and her life.

*********

She emerged from the reverie she had been in. She did not know how long she had been standing staring at the fountain at the foot of the spiral staircase that led up to the main floor where Archer’s office was located. She steeled her soul for the contest to come, and mounted the stairs.

Part 4

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Oh God,,, Poor T'pol,,,,,,,, I gota agre with her, Trips parents know he is alive,,,,, Im wonderin if the thing Trip faked his death for was in fact T'pol?,,,Maybe he couldnt stand that friendship that had developed after Lizzies death,, an that bein around T'pol an just bein friends was killin him,,,,, Ok maybe that would be way to sappy,,, But dang it Im speculatin my pants off here,,,,,,, Please update this sooner,, so I dont go nuts considerin all the what ifs of this fic. Oh an another Great chapie.

Oh God,,, Poor T'pol,,,,,,,, I gota agre with her, Trips parents know he is alive,,,,, Im wonderin if the thing Trip faked his death for was in fact T'pol?,,,Maybe he couldnt stand that friendship that had developed after Lizzies death,, an that bein around T'pol an just bein friends was killin him,,,,, Ok maybe that would be way to sappy,,, But dang it Im speculatin my pants off here,,,,,,, Please update this sooner,, so I dont go nuts considerin all the what ifs of this fic. Oh an another Great chapie.

So mysterious! I feel a little sorry for Koss, but T'pol belongs to Trip and noone else ;-)

I'm curious now... please update soon.

This is an enthralling story. Wow. The mystery!

Now I want to know why Trip faked his death!!

Outstanding chapter. I'm very much looking forward to the next one!

Wonderful chapter. It's interesting that T'Pol's revealed more to Trip's parents than she'd intended. She sure is hell-bent on solving this puzzle - looking forward to Jon and Phlox's interrogations - please send more soon!

-j

Oosh. I love how you've woven this. I also adore your version of Trip's parents. Very good!

Trip's alive! . . . and on some sort of mission if Starfleet's involved. But why would Archer be in on it (if he is) and not T'Pol, his second-in-command? Great story, completely engrossing. I'm looking forward to the next chapter!

He's alive, alive!! Great story, can't wait for more!!

Wonderful story. Great mystery, even though I'm sure he is alive. How? Why? These are the questions we want answered.

Excellent . Can't wait for the next part ! Soon Please.

It seems very cruel of Trip's parents not to tell her what they know after what she revealed to them about the bond and her attempt to remarry. I hope they have a really good excuse!

I'm still loving this story. I love how T'Pol was affected by his parents and vice versa. Yes, they may be keeping something from her, but I loved seeing their compassion and realization that there was a hell of a lot going on between this woman and their son.

I'm still not convinced that Trip is alive. I'm leaning towards the idea that he is alive, but I wonder if it is all in her head. We are seeing everything from her POV, it is possible that she is reading too much into things, to suit the idea that Trip is alive. It's still possible that she is just not ready to let him go. I'm hoping that's not the case though. I want Trip alive! ;)

My heart goes to Tpol. Poor thing! I am so excited to know what is going on with Trip and why everyone is keeping quiet about it. Such mystery!!!

Update more and soon - PLEASE.

You want me to have a heart attack ? Let him live, please please... what a fantastic chapter.

fantastic post!

Is he is -or- is he ain't? Hmmm...so many ways this could go... and your title can have a couple of meanings, so no real help there... oh, hell, just update soon! ;)

Ah-ah-ah-ah-stayin' alive, stayin' alive! Ah-ah-ah-ah stayin' aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive! (People on the dance floor!) Trip's alive! He has to be! I will accept no substitutes! More, please, and soon! :)

I would surely be disappointed if Trip isn't alive and this mystery is all in her head, literally and figuratively!!! Good story; update soon.

I just read all the parts of your story together so far. I think it very cruel of everyone - Archer, Trip's parents, etc. if they knew Trip was still alive, not to tell T'Pol. You make us really feel for her that she has been left in the dark about this. But you probably have a resolution to that in the next segment, right? We will be able to like them again and not stay resentful that they held out on T'Pol?

I love your descriptions such as the reflection in the building glass and the trees in the breeze. These background touches add such reality to the story.

I appreciate the dignity you gave Koss. I always felt he deserved more than the derision people gave him just because he was an obstacle between Trip and T'Pol. It vindicates the development I gave to his character in my Soval's Annex story about him.

I also really like your use of Vulcan phrases and the bits about Vulcan culture. Your story is well researched and well written. More please!

I just read all the parts of your story together so far. I think it very cruel of everyone - Archer, Trip's parents, etc. if they knew Trip was still alive, not to tell T'Pol. You make us really feel for her that she has been left in the dark about this. But you probably have a resolution to that in the next segment, right? We will be able to like them again and not stay resentful that they held out on T'Pol?

I love your descriptions such as the reflection in the building glass and the trees in the breeze. These background touches add such reality to the story.

I appreciate the dignity you gave Koss. I always felt he deserved more than the derision people gave him just because he was an obstacle between Trip and T'Pol. It vindicates the development I gave to his character in my Soval's Annex story about him.

I also really like your use of Vulcan phrases and the bits about Vulcan culture. Your story is well researched and well written. More please!

Sorry about the double posting. I try very hard not to do that, but have noticed other people have trouble with that too.