The Ring of Truth - Part 6

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 a better story than the one they came up with.

********

Chapter 6

T’Pol raised herself from the kneeling position she had occupied for the previous four hours. Her efforts to reach Tucker from her meditative state had yielded brief, tantalizing responses. It was as though there were a string suspended between them that when plucked, gave a resonance because it was tied at the other end, but it was a resonance that did nothing but confirm that the other end did, in fact, exist, likely at some great distance.

For her efforts, she had returned from her meditative state to a piercing headache and nausea. This condition, in turn, yielded a feeling of unease – in a Vulcan, persistent neurological symptoms such as these were generally a sign of a serious underlying condition. It was not the first headache she had had over the last few days, and they were increasing in frequency and severity. Her mood, also, had grown increasingly erratic and she had struggled to maintain something resembling a normal Vulcan stoicism.

At this point it was seemed a reasonable conclusion that the symptoms were directly related to the series of events starting with her aborted wedding on Vulcan, and further, that her condition was deteriorating.

She attempted to consider the situation logically. Under the circumstances, it was difficult to be sure. The best case was that she was suffering from a severe case of the Vulcan equivalent of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Other less desirable possibilities included damage resulting from the reactivation of the bond by the interventions of the Vulcan priest, or, finally and most dangerously, the possible onset of her pon farr. Her mind briefly shied away from the implications of this last possibility, but she forced herself to follow this through to its conclusion. Any or all of these conditions could lead, eventually, to serious brain damage, while death could be a consequence of an unresolved plak’tow.

Her mind followed yet further down this path. What if her bondmate, too, was affected adversely? Trip’s life also could be in jeopardy. And while she might be willing to risk her life to preserve his, she would not risk his life by her inaction, Earth’s security or no.

The sense of urgency she had felt since learning of the bond and Trip’s non-demise increased, as she concluded that finding him was the only possible resolution to the situation. If her determination had, over the last few days, occasionally wavered, no uncertainty now remained.

With the path forward straight, she lay down on her bunk to sleep dreamlessly for the hours remaining before her departure.

******

The small, hooded figure stepped from the taxi in front of a small but airy house that overlooked a small rocky garden in which a riot of flowers bloomed. Someone in this place clearly appreciated the beauties of nature, T’Pol thought, as she opened the gate and climbed the steep path to the front door. It was likely that someone was home – the windows were lit against the beginning of the evening gloom, as the sun had just dipped below the horizon. She had chosen not to call ahead, taking the small chance that Lt. Cmdr. Reed would be out all evening, in order that he not be given the opportunity to anticipate her reasons for visiting.

Charmingly, the doorbell was an old-fashioned brass ship’s bell. She pulled on the handle and the bell clanged loudly, announcing her presence.

“Yes?” The woman who answered the door gazed at T’Pol in puzzlement. Since T’Pol was not wearing her uniform, she was not immediately recognisable.

“Good evening Mrs. Reed, it is a pleasure to see you again,” T’Pol said in her most ingratiating tone of voice. “Commander T’Pol, here to see your son.”

“Goodness,” Malcolm’s mother expostulated. “I’m sorry for not recognising you Commander, it was just so unexpected. Do come in,” she indicated, opening the door wide.

T’Pol entered and gazed appraisingly at the hallway within. It was covered in pictures of family members, a great many of them naval officers. Malcolm’s portrait, taken in his dress uniform, had pride of place in the centre of the hall.

“Can I take your coat?” Mrs. Reed offered, and T’Pol slipped off her robe. It was quite warm within, the cool evening breeze not having yet reached the inside of the house.

Mrs. Reed was clearly torn between politeness and anxious curiosity, and T’Pol took pity on her. “My apologies for arriving unannounced, Mrs. Reed. I needed to have a word with your son on a matter of some importance,” she explained smoothly.

“Oh dear, nothing wrong I hope?” his mother asked, indicating that T’Pol should precede her into the living area. She was clearly concerned that having just had her son returned to her for a few weeks, she would lose him again to something lengthy or dangerous.

“No, however Lt. Cmdr. Reed has some important information that I require,” T’Pol explained honestly enough. “Is he at home?”

“He should be home any minute,” his mother replied, visibly stifling her curiosity as she sat herself stiffly in the Queen Anne chair in the corner. “He’s just gone into town for a spot of shopping, and Stuart’s out fishing.”

At that moment the front door slammed. “I’m home,” a familiar voice called out, “and I’ve brought curry fixings for dinner.” Lt. Commander Reed entered the room and stopped abruptly, his relaxed manner transforming. “Commander, this is unexpected,” he said warily, dropping his shopping bags on a chair.

“As I was explaining to your mother, I should like a few moments of your time to discuss a matter of some importance. I am sorry to bother you and your family,” she murmured deprecatingly, “however it could not wait.”

“Will you stay to dinner then?” Malcolm’s mother asked graciously. “I’m sure there’s enough and it can easily be made vegetarian.”

“I am unsure,” T’Pol replied, glancing at Reed with some discomfiture, as he stared at her piercingly. “I do not wish to disturb you more than necessary. If we could have a few moments...”

“May I suggest a walk by the river then?” Malcolm suggested. T’Pol nodded and they left the house by the front door, walking the short distance to the river in silence. There were few other people about, it being dinnertime, and they had the walking path to themselves.

“Now then, what’s so important that you couldn’t call me?” Reed asked appraisingly as they ducked under a trailing tree over the riverside path.

T’Pol grasped her hands behind her back and walked purposefully beside him. Reed was an experienced operative and unlikely to be rattled, therefore she had already decided on directness. “I need to know Commander Tucker’s whereabouts. The Captain was unable to provide me with the information, however I suspect that even if you do not know where he is, you are capable of finding out.”

Reed, after an initial glance of surprise, continued to walk beside her in silence for some moments. T’Pol said nothing more, but waited for him to digest the implications of her visit.

Finally he replied, “You know we were to keep you out of the loop entirely.”

T’Pol nodded. “The Captain informed me. However there is little to be gained now by further subterfuge,” she pointed out, “and I could make things awkward if I chose to. Surely better to provide me with the information I need, rather than risk my asking questions in the wrong place.”

He pondered the situation in silence again for a time, then stopped and faced her. “You also must be aware then that you could be risking his life, as well as Earth’s security, by doing that. I don’t think you’re going to.” He had called her bluff, and it was her turn to be silent as she considered her counterattack. Before she had formulated her next response, he surprised her by continuing, “Why do you need to know, T’Pol?”

He had deliberately not used her rank. It was a personal question, and he knew it. He was giving her an opening, she realized, and it would be foolish to let her pride stand in the way of a tactical advantage freely granted. Still, T’Pol found herself walking to the edge of the water to stand with her back facing him, while she found the words to continue.

“You and Dr. Phlox were, I believe, the only two people on Enterprise aware of the full extent of our relationship,” she stated. “As well as how it ended.” She turned to face him, then, needing to see his reaction.

“Did the Captain not know, then?” Reed asked curiously.

“He may have suspected something,” she replied, “but as far as I know Mr. Tucker did not enlighten him as to the details, for as our commanding officer it would have placed him in an awkward position. I certainly did not.” She paused, and then continued. “And there was, in fact, little enough to it, to all outward appearances. I imagine it would have been easy for him to believe, once it had ended, that we suffered from little but wounded pride after a brief and ill-considered relationship.”

Reed nodded. “That’s certainly what I would have thought.”

“But he talked to you, did he not,” she prompted.

“Not extensively,” he replied, grudgingly, “but enough, I suppose. I’d had my suspicions, and he told me when things were getting rocky. After you … called it off for good,” –clearly at this point he was struggling for a tactful way to describe her abrupt and brutal termination of their relationship – “I made him talk to me, when I could see he was hurting. He explained some things.”

She nodded. “He told you of our bond.”

“A bit,” he agreed uncomfortably. “I didn’t really understand it, to tell you the truth, but …” he paused, grasping for words, “I guess the two of you were a lot closer than I would have given credit for.” He took a deep breath, and continued with a disapproving voice, remembering, “You hurt him pretty badly. I was afraid for a while that we’d lose him.”

The gentle implied reproof was mild compared with what she deserved. “He did nothing to deserve my treatment of him,” she stated in a clipped voice. “I was afraid … ” she concluded, her voice choking.

Reed stared at her, surprise being followed by comprehension and pity. “Hell to be a Vulcan with Trip in love with you,” he commented gently, a modicum of forgiveness in his tone. “I don’t know if I could have held out against him if he’d ever shown the slightest interest in me,” he continued consideringly, as if seeing her point of view for the first time, “and I’ve never looked at a man in my life like that,” he concluded.

“Then you will understand why I must know where he is, when I tell you that our bond still exists,” T’Pol stated, with some difficulty keeping her tone even, despite the pounding of her blood in her ears. “And if it is not renewed, quickly, there is a distinct possibility that one or both of us will die.”

This time his surprise was followed by an expression of calculation. He crossed his arms, and pointed out, “You’re asking me to disobey orders and place Earth’s security in jeopardy. I’ll need some proof.”

Her mind raced. He had not refused her request, but how to provide proof of something she was not sure of herself? She rapidly searched for alternatives, and was left with only one possible approach. “I cannot provide you with absolute proof, Mr. Reed. I can, however, provide you with information, including demonstrating my own conviction, from which you can draw your own conclusions. It will not be without risk to yourself, however,” she added.

He gazed at her thoughtfully, and then replied, “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

*******

Reed sat in the dark, staring at the faint green glow from the comm. screen in the living room – it needed replacing, keeping a static charge long after it had been shut off. The comm. line from his parents’ house was hardly secure, but he knew a few tricks and in the end was fairly sure that his communications could not have been monitored, and would have shown no unusual activity to outside eyes.

Despite his distaste for the organization he had just contacted, he still felt a guilty rush of adrenaline each time he called on them. The lure of covert operations was strong. He smiled dryly to himself as he considered just how far his father’s dictatorial manner had in fact driven him away from the naval career his father would have preferred for him – joining Starfleet seemed a fairly mild rebellion compared to the more dangerous activities he had undertaken while working for Harris for a few years thereafter, probably more in glorified self-destruction than in patriotism, he had to admit.

When he had walked away, his experience in covert ops had stood him in good stead for a job on Enterprise, although there was a time when he had wondered if Harris had not considered destroying him rather than having him wander loose on board a starship.

Ultimately it had become a somewhat symbiotic relationship – his former masters had seen his presence on Enterprise as an ace in the hole, one they had eventually drawn on during the conflict with the Augments. Reed thereafter had had no reluctance in return taking advantage of that connection to gain information when necessary. The uneasy relationship had persisted, their last communications having been when Trip had been recruited a few months ago.

********
As usual, Reed’s compliance with Harris’ needs had been taken as implicit.

“If this blows open, at the very least Earth government could fall. The alliance could go with it,” Harris had told him. Reed had the impression that the last tidbit had been thrown in more to recruit his enthusiasm than because Harris thought it would be any great tragedy. “At the worst, Earth could be destroyed – we don’t know where this could go. It’s simmering up at the top, and the whole thing is on the edge of public disclosure with the panic they’re in. We need Tucker and we need him now. He’s got more off-world engineering experience than any twenty other engineers we have combined, and he’s a hero ten times over – with him in charge, the minister will trust that it’s under control.”

“Just how serious is it, really?” Reed asked sceptically. “I get the impression that this is more about politics than it is anything else.”

For a moment, Harris’ expression shifted with unease. “I don’t know, and that’s the God’s truth,” he replied. “It could be nothing – a remnant, a scientific curiosity. Or it could be a time bomb that started ticking two weeks ago. We need answers, Reed, and I’m authorized to do what it takes to get them.”

********

So, in the end, Reed had set up the deception that resulted in Tucker being spirited off Enterprise while his crewmates believed him dead. These events had ultimately been the catalyst for T’Pol’s visit here today, culminating in one of the strangest evenings of his life. After they had returned to the house, T’Pol had insisted on preparing dinner for the family, citing Vulcan custom, although Malcolm’s mother had been permitted to assist. The curry had been excellent, and although he knew his parents had been dying of curiosity, their British manners had left them sticking to polite small talk around the dinner table.

After dinner, T’Pol and Malcolm had retired to the study upstairs, to “spend some time going over reports” as Malcolm had explained to his parents. They had seated themselves in chairs facing one another, knees touching.

“Are you sure, Mr. Reed?” T’Pol enquired, clearly having second thoughts. “This would be better done under Dr. Phlox’s supervision.”

“It’s bad enough the two of us,” Malcolm replied. “If the three of us were identified as having been together in such peculiar circumstances, someone will put two and two together for sure, and we’ll have the intelligences services on our doorstep. Any chance you’ll have of finding him will likely be out the window then.”

“On the other hand,” she suggested, “they might simply agree to let me see him. After all, now that I know …” she trailed off.

“… they might decide to eliminate the possibility that you would leak the information,” Reed concluded dryly. “At this point there’s so much paranoia in the upper echelons that I’m pretty sure that getting you out of the way wouldn’t cause them a lot of grief. Not that they’d kill you,” he added explaining further, as T’Pol looked sceptical, “but a little kidnapping might not be outside the bounds of possibility. Best to keep this just you and me.”

After a moment, T’Pol settled herself on the edge of her chair, and placed her hands on Reed’s face, circling his temples with her fingers, gently probing for the pressure points. She murmured some words in Vulcan, and after a minute or two, he suddenly felt his consciousness expand like a balloon, encompassing her body as well as his own. He could see through her eyes, his own eyes wide in barely controlled panic. He forced it down, knowing how it would affect her.

He found himself mentally reliving the trip to Vulcan, and the aborted marriage, the headaches and dizziness, the desperate need, and the fear – paralysing and ever-present – that she would die without seeing him again, or that he would die if she could not find him, and then finally, the nearly uncontrollable urge to damage anyone who stood in her way.

After a time, she removed her hands and he stared at her, feeling his thoughts slowly become once more his own. He swallowed dryly, and rubbed his hands over his face. “Well,” he said. “I don’t know how you live with it.”

T’Pol was silent for a long moment, giving herself time to recover. Then she spoke. “It is what it is to be Vulcan, Mr. Reed. Every hour we live, we spend not surrendering to the weakness that would let us be our true selves. That is why I could not stay with him.” She gazed out the window blindly, and then continued. “But in the end, it was already too late, though I did not realize it. Each one of us must yield to the bonding, or die. That too, is what it is to be Vulcan.” She looked at him sombrely, and concluded, “It is an aspect of Vulcan society that is not shown to off-worlders.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t suppose. You know me, T’Pol. Who would I tell?”

The barest of smiles passed over her lips. “There are many who would delight in hearing of our weakness.”

“No one I know,” Reed replied firmly. “In fact, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” He stood, somewhat unsteadily at first, and concluded, “Now, I’ve got some research to do. You’d better take the convertible bed in here and get some sleep. I could be a while.”

In the end, it had not taken so very long. T’Pol had been correct – he knew far more about the details of Tucker’s departure than had his two co-conspirators.

He already knew Tucker was not on Earth, but was somewhere within their solar system. So an hour or so of research, using search engines unknown to most civilians, had yielded some highly suggestive data. There had been an unusual amount of transport activity in the direction of the outer planets, and based on timings of departure and return of various suspect craft, the most likely locations for the facility were narrowed down to somewhere between Jupiter and the asteroid belt.

Now he had to decide just how to help T’Pol, while keeping the danger to everyone concerned to a minimum.

He smiled to himself. He might not be in covert ops any longer, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He hadn’t had this much fun in years …

Part 7

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Argh! The chapter ends!!! Aaaaaaaah!!

Excellent !!! PLEASE dont make us wait so long for the next part!

Oh, I just LOVE spy Malcolm, and you do him so well. Not sure I'm crazy about the idea of Malcolm even entertaining the idea of a relationship between himself and Trip, but I suppose it's conceivable. I suppose all of us have at least THOUGHT about the possiblity with our closest friends of either gender. Whether we choose to act on them or not, feelings of physical closeness often accompany emotional closeness. At least you specified that he'd never thought of a man in that way before. I prefer to think of Malcolm as straight, but then... that's just me. I'm a little obsessed with Malcolm and a certain perky linguist, LOL!

Tantalizing chapter! The wait for the next chapter will be agonizing!! What is Trip working on! Is T'Pol entering Pon Farr? Ohh, the wait...

I liked Malcolm's musings on how Trip is an unintentionally seductive and naturally attractive personality. I have no problems with slash, but I don't think Malcolm was thinking, "Mmm, I'd like a piece of that!" More like, if Trip wanted me like that, I'd have to consider it. Consider it because being the focus of Trip's affections would be a powerfully inviting prospect.

And with that perspective, Malcolm can pity T'Pol not being to handle the emotional intensity of being that focus. Whereas a human would embrace it, even consider switching teams for it, a Vulcan would fear it.

Aside: Archer would not be able to resist Trip, imho. Malcolm maybe, but Archer no. ;-D

That was fabulous!!! Oh God, the wait for the next chapter is going to be painful! Please be compassionate and update soon ;-)

That was fabulous!!! Oh God, the wait for the next chapter is going to be painful! Please be compassionate and update soon ;-)

Glad to see this updated - a wonderful update, at that!

I always thought Malcolm and T'Pol were alike in respects - it seemed they would have gotten along well as friends - glad to see an easiness between them here.

It's too bad T'Pol wasn't able to 'explain' her rationale for the Breakup this way to Trip. It might've been easier on him per Malcolm's comment, "I was afraid for a while there we'd lose him."

So, now you've upped the ante and it's not just curiosity that has T'Pol on this quest... but, you've still got me stymied as to her intent - does she wanna break the bond or not? And what about the inner turmoil she revealed to Malcolm - would it be present with any mate? or just her human? (sounds like a case of a Vulcan with cold feet - heh, heh, heh)

Patiently waiting for your next,
-j

and i haven't had this much fun with a tnt story since the last part was posted to this story.

nice job with mal in this post.

Absolutely fabulous! Please post more soon!!!

Oh how I love this story! I love how you got Malcolm involved, too. This is definitely shaping up to be one of my favorite finale fixes!

Honestly, I've got nothing to add that hasn't already been said. This is exceptionally well done and I'm going to be very put out if there isn't a happy ending...;)

I don't have anything more original to say, but I am enjoying this and would like to see more chapters sooner!

WOW!!! T'pols lil confession at the end about not seein the truth that she needed to give in to her Bond an affection for Trip in order to gain control of herself an her emotions an now thanks to her past reluctantance she an Trip may face death,,, That last part with Malcolm that made my heart ache,,,,,,, Not the part where Malcolm was havin a weird thought bout Trip,,,,,, But T'pols pure heartache,,, an dare I say quite a bit of self tourcher,,,, That girl just needs her Trip now to hold her an never leave her side again.,,,,,,,,,,,, I cant wait for the next update.,,, An yes please update again soon.

Hooray! An update is always a good thing and this one was very enjoyable. Malcolm going into super-spy mode had me grinning from ear to ear. Can't wait to see just what those tricks he has up his sleeves are!

Thanks for the kind words - whole lotta real life (mostly good stuff!) prevents more frequent updates. I'm rather happy with superspy Malcolm too, I wasn't expecting him but he rather wrote himself in the end.

Oooo! Nicely done, can't wait to see where this goes! :)

Wow, I wasn't too into finale fix stories until I saw this one kept pushing updates....So I decided hey, might as well check it out..

AND MAN am I glad I did! This is a REALLY creative and intriguing storyline going on here, and I'm DYING to see T'Pol and Trip reunited!

Excellent update. I'm only slightly disappointed that there was no Trip in this one... but oh well! It was so good, it made up for it. LOL

As to the apparent slashy comment from Malcolm, I don't really see that. I'm with Binah in that I don't think he was saying that he was attracted to Trip in *that* way, but that Trip's affection is so powerful that it could possibly cause a straight man to reconsider if he were to turn it loose on one. I mean, who else could get a *Vulcan* to fall in love with him! LOL

Anyway, I hope that this is updated as soon as real life permits!

Love it, looking forward to read more. Happy Ending please!

WE NEED THE NEXT PART EVALYN PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!!! :-D