The Ring of Truth - Part 8

FIX the FINALE CHALLENGE

The Ring of Truth

By Evalyn A.

Rating:
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 8

Tucker continued to stare at T’Pol in shock for a few moments. Then, his mind spinning, he erupted, “T’Pol, what the hell are you doing here? In my office, messing with my files …” he stopped and rubbed his forehead with his left hand, trying to relieve the headache that had been lurking for days now. He took a deep breath, then continued, “How did you get in here?”

She raised her eyebrows. “The security here is virtually nonexistent. Presumably your security forces were counting on the fact that few people would even know this place existed. Once inside, anyone with resources and determination could wander about the station for hours without being apprehended. However, criminal activity was not my intent. Fortunately for you,” she added ominously.

After a moment of nervousness at her decidedly frosty tone, he decided he had better take back the initiative in the interrogation. “Okay, we’ll deal with the details of how you got here later.” He turned, and started to pace across his office. “I should call security right now and have you incarcerated.” He sighed, and then flopped into the visitor’s chair in front of his desk. “But I know that’d just end up causing more trouble than it’s worth. Fortunately for you,” he added, feeling a sudden urge to giggle as he echoed her earlier words. He stifled the up swell of hysteria. “Just give it to me straight. What are you doing here?”

She had lost the momentum of her righteous indignation, and her eyes shifted away from him, all her prepared speeches having evaporated. She had reviewed this moment a hundred … no, a thousand times in her mind. Each time, she had tried to explain what had brought her here. Each time, it had ended badly. Her heart raced, and her palms sweated. His unique odour surrounded her, standing out despite the recirculated air. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her thoughts, and clear her mind of extraneous concerns.

When she opened them again, Trip was leaning forward, looking at her with an expression of concern. “You don’t look so hot, T’Pol.”

“No,” she agreed. “I do not feel “so hot”. I have been unwell for some days now.”

Trying to stifle his anxiety, he said, frustrated, “So this all makes even less sense. What’s wrong? Why come here if you’re sick?”

“It is my illness that has prompted my visit here,” she replied.

A long pause ensued as he scrutinized her. His head and his heart were pounding in synchrony, making it difficult to think. Finally, he prodded, “You knew I was here?”

She nodded.

“Okay then, so did you come just to see me?”

She nodded again.

“It’s been a long time since I played Twenty Questions,” he commented, sitting back in his chair, attempting to defuse the tension that thickened the air between them. “How many have I got left?”

Despite her unease, she found herself falling back into their familiar bantering. “Thirteen. If you do not count that one.”

“You didn’t answer them all though. So those ones don’t count,” he pointed out. “Sixteen, I think. All right, how did you know I was here?”

“A friend found out for me.” She saw no need to compromise Mr. Reed more than necessary, Tucker might eventually suspect but with no proof nothing could be done.

“And you knew I was alive. How?”

This was the difficult part. She searched about, then finally sighed. “After Enterprise returned to Earth, I took a few weeks of leave on Vulcan. While I was there, I spent some time in my mother’s house. I saw Koss.” Tucker’s features clouded over again. “He was – pleasant – to me, and we spent time together. Eventually, it seemed logical for us to resume our bonding.”

“Logical?” he exploded incredulously. “It didn’t work the first time, why would you think it would work this time?”

“Because you were dead,” she replied matter-of-factly. “You were the main obstacle to our union previously.”

He was shocked into silence. After a moment, he rubbed his head again, and gestured to indicate that she should continue.

“The ceremony was to involve not just a ceremonial bonding, but a bond of the mind.” Tucker frowned at this, but did not speak. T’Pol continued, “It was Koss’ wish. I believe he did not think my ‘heart’ was in it – this was a way for him to be sure of my intent.” She paused. “The priest who performed the ceremony was unable to cause the bond to be formed. The attempt – unsuccessful as it was – was rather painful,” she elaborated tonelessly.

Tucker was beginning to see where this was leading, and his stomach was alternating between doing squishy circles and backflips. “So the marriage – it didn’t happen?” He held his breath while awaiting the answer.

“No, it did not happen,” she conceded. He released his breath in a relieved gust.

“The priest and priestess believed that I could not form a new bond because I already had a bondmate.” Her indignation at his deception began to return. “A living, breathing, husband,” she added scathingly, “despite my opinion that our bond had died years ago, and that you were quite dead.” She stopped and glared at him pointedly.

He knew he should feel dismay, shock, confusion at this revelation, and to some degree he did, but threatening to drown them out was an exultation that was hard to disguise. Her husband. She called me her husband. “All right T’Pol,” he said, managing to keep his face expressionless, “I guess I can see why you’re pissed at me, but it’s not like either one of us knew! Anyway, none of it was my decision – I was under orders. And frankly, at the time, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea – starting over, without this thing –” he gestured vaguely – “hanging over us.”

“We will deal with your behaviour in this matter shortly,” she indicated ominously. “To continue. After the failed attempt to form the bond with Koss, I was left in a difficult position. Was I a married woman, or not? Were you, in fact, alive? To further add to the situation, I also felt distinctly unwell, the attempt to form the bond apparently having triggered some significant negative physiological responses. The priestess suggested that I needed to determine whether you were, in fact, alive, in order to resolve both my mental and physical distress. It seemed logical, under the circumstances.”

“Well,” Tucker commented, “if you found me here, you must have managed to find out a good deal of the story.”

“A part of it,” she replied. “Captain Archer confirmed the subterfuge involved in your death.”

Tucker frowned. “We were under direct orders not to tell you anything about this.”

“I have been the Captain’s second for many years, Trip,” she pointed out, unconsciously slipping back into the more intimate form of address that she used when they were in private and at ease. “I have learned how to achieve my objectives in dealing with him. He also recognizes when resistance is futile.” The smallest smile slid across her face, so quickly as to be almost unnoticeable.

Despite himself, Tucker smirked, imagining that conversation. “So did ya tell him that I was a deadbeat husband that you needed to track down?”

His cocky grin elicited a distinct response that required T’Pol to suppress the urge to find other uses for his lips. “It was not necessary. And he did not ask. However, he did not tell me where you were or why you were here. He claimed he did not know.”

“He probably didn’t,” Tucker commented quickly, trying to head off the inevitable discussion of the nature of the facility. “All right, I think I see where this is going. Sort of… So I suppose it was Malcolm gave you the info on where I was.” T’Pol raised her eyebrow at this accurate supposition, but did not contradict him. He hesitated, and then continued, “But how does coming here to see me solve your health problems, whatever they are?” He held his breath again, hoping this time for some honesty.

“The Vulcan bond is of the mind, as you know,” T’Pol obliquely reminded him of that time, when their bond was discovered, and the two of them had been in mental communication on a frequent basis. Trip nodded. “It is also of the body, however. The Vulcan mind and body are inextricably linked.” He nodded again, a little more unsure. “The bond we shared was dormant. However, though neglected, it was still strong. Once reawakened, it seems to have required … reaffirming.”

At this point, Trip looked lost. “Reaffirming? What does that mean?”

T’Pol avoided his gaze, and stood up from behind his desk. She walked over to the small viewport and gazed out at the forbidding landscape. It might not be necessary to tell him the total truth of the plak’tow, the blood fever, for their bond lacked the Vulcan male physiological component, and hence, her response was unlikely to be as violent. But some sort of explanation was required. She turned back to him. “The true bonding of Vulcans involves the mind, and the body. The bonding requires renewal at intervals, through physical intimacy, and our physiology drives us to it, with various possible effects. Initial symptoms may include irrationality, uncontrollable mood swings, headaches and nausea of varying severity.” She turned to look at him. His expression clearly indicated recognition, and she could feel the same recognition in their bond. She noted, “You have experienced this yourself.”

“Pretty much,” he agreed with a sigh. “A few days ago, I felt something – some sort of buzzing in my head, that wouldn’t leave. I started thinking about – well, about you. Been feeling depressed and anxious, with a non-stop headache, ever since.”

She nodded. “I do not know whether you are echoing my symptoms or feeling them yourself. I do not suppose it really matters.”

A silence ensued. Then he commented, “You said initial symptoms. What happens after that?”

She shifted uncomfortably. “The symptoms become more debilitating.”

He didn’t need the bond to tell him she was not being totally honest with him, but decided that it didn’t need pressing at the moment. “So like it or not, we’re still stuck with each other,” he concluded, his throat tightening.

She nodded, and whispered, “I am sorry.”

Suddenly angry, he stood up and leaned across the desk towards her. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I don’t want you to be bonded to me if I make you so miserable. Can’t your priests figure out how to get rid of this thing?” He gestured vaguely between the two of them.

She looked at him, no longer attempting to hide her distress, for he would feel it regardless. “You do not make me miserable, Trip.” He stared at her, angry disbelief written across his face. “Well, not only,” she modified her statement. “I once told you that Vulcans do not experience fear. I lied.” His disbelief tempered somewhat, and he looked uncertain. She continued. “I first felt true fear when I was assigned to Earth. Like the entire Vulcan race, I feared humans, human culture, human ambition, human emotion, for what it could do to me and to my planet. We are taught to fear other cultures from a very young age, although it is couched in terms of superiority and contempt. After a time on Earth, I was able to see through the prejudice, and master most of that fear. But the day I was assigned to Enterprise, I was terrified. And there were two humans who more than anything else personified everything about that fear – Captain Archer, and you.”

He sat back in his chair, reading the truth of her words. “I understand why you felt that way about Jon. Vulcans had been holding us back for decades, and he was one of the people trying to make sure we got out from under your thumbs. Soval admitted that you were all terrified of what would happen.”

She nodded. “Captain Archer exemplified everything about human ambitions that we feared would destroy our hard-earned tranquility, and our mastery of the quadrant.”

“So, then, that explains him. Why me?” He gazed at her piercingly, and she could feel his mind tugging at hers, teasing the feelings out of her, making her relive everything about those early days in his presence. Her nerve endings tingled, recalling.

“Captain Archer represented human ambition, and the drive to be more than we were prepared to allow. You – you represented human emotion. That first day,” she paused, remembering, “I could feel you.” Her hand rose to touch the air between them, as though she caressed his face. “Your emotions were so close to the surface, so real… Vulcans are touch-telepaths; that is why I could not shake your hand. But even a meter away from you, I could sense you. You terrified me.”

A small smile crossed his face. “Well, I guess that feeling was mutual, then. You scared the pants off me. If you could read me so well, you must have known that.”

T’Pol raised her eyebrows. “I do not believe at the time I could have distinguished your fears from my own. At any rate, my fears proved not to be groundless. You and Captain Archer between you were able to undermine years of discipline. By the end of my first year on Enterprise, I had lost the strength of my convictions. I no longer knew that our way was right, and true. I suspected Vulcan motives, and sympathized with humans. And I desired to feel emotion, to find a way to express it, without letting it rule me as it had ruled the Vulcan people for millennia. And my emotions were never closer to the surface than when I was in your presence.” She paused, and reseated herself in his chair, taking a few long breaths.

Tucker watched her, seeing her truly for the first time, allowing himself to feel the truth of her words. Even that first day, he realized, there had likely been a germ of the link that joined them now, formed the first time they had laid eyes on each other. Perhaps it was the Vulcan equivalent of love at first sight, he pondered to himself. Certainly hit me like a ton of bricks, although it took me a long time to recognize it for what it was.

Finally, she continued. “I had managed to hide most of this from you, and from myself. Until the Expanse.”

The memory of that dark year, punctuated by death, loss, terror, washed over him again, and for a brief moment, he relived the depth of the emotions he had lived through. Gazing into her eyes, he realized she relived them with him. He began now to perceive the true extent of what she had done for him, the sacrifice she had made, in spending the time with him in neuropressure sessions, her telepathic abilities causing her every emotional nerve to jangle in resonance with his.

T’Pol cocked her head, able to follow somewhat the train of his thoughts. “I believe, at that time, I was not fully sane,” she mused thoughtfully. “Grief and shock, responses that a human should have been able to deal with, were proving overpowering for you; imagine how they affected me. Phlox’s suggestion that I help you through it would have been a sound medical recommendation, had you and I not shared such a strong connection. As it was, the combination of the intense exposure to your emotions, and to the trellium that occurred early in our mission, left me … rather mentally unstable.” She grimaced slightly, reliving that time. “My actions were not rational, by Vulcan standards or by human ones, I suspect. I hurt you, then, and for that I am truly sorry.”

He felt the truth of her statement, and her regret. He asked softly, “If you could do it over again …”

T’Pol sighed. “I have made many unwise decisions over the past few years. However, helping you then was not one of them. For that, I have no regret at all.” She gazed directly at him for the first time in the conversation, as though trying to convince him of her sincerity in this, at least.

“I’ve got a few regrets myself,” Trip replied. “But I guess I don’t regret that either.” He smiled at her gently, and for a moment, neither spoke, sharing in a wordless communion.

“I was speaking of fear,” she finally continued, breaking the silence. “At that point in our relationship,” -- for such it was, they had both admitted it now -- “I feared for you, and for every heartbreak you might experience. And I needed you. You were intoxicating, you made me feel … I exhibited appallingly poor judgement in a number of ways over those months. Now is not the time to tell …” she trailed off, waves of shame emanating to him through the bond. It was remarkable how easily now he could sense her every feeling now, it seemed that all the walls had come crashing down.

“It’s all right,” he murmured, sensing her distress. “I’ve been pretty appallingly stupid a few times myself,” he noted, recalling the incident with the cogenitor. She nodded, an expression of sympathy flitting across her expressive eyes. How could he have ever thought them cold and forbidding? he wondered, finding himself distracted by their dark beauty.

She flushed, and he felt his heart begin to beat faster and his palms sweat. Not now, doofus, he told himself firmly, and vividly imagined an icy cold shower awaiting him in his quarters. The smallest of smiles again crossed her lush lips, and he suppressed any further inappropriate thoughts.

“You know what happened after that,” she continued. “I hid nothing from you then but the extent of my true feelings for you – they had grown to almost unbearable proportions. I feared rejection when you found the truth. I feared that if you did reciprocate my feelings, you would soon tire of me. I feared that I had made myself a further outcast from Vulcan society, and would have nothing to return to when you rejected me. So even as I was drawn to you, I pushed you away, as best I could … and then, there was Elizabeth.”

He could stand it no longer. He reached across the desk and took her hand, finally touching her again after such a long separation. She was hot, so hot, like a desert … every time he touched her, he felt her alien nature, but now it only made the connection sweeter. Her eyes glistened as she relived the emotion of those events.

“I could no longer bear to feel your pain, your guilt, your need for me that I knew would turn to disappointment and anger when you knew me better. I avoided contact with you, but it only dulled the feelings. I do not know how, but suddenly, one morning, I awoke and I felt nothing. I had managed to close down the bond. The relief was an almost unbearable agony.” She looked at him pleadingly, needing his understanding.

He squeezed her hand – how could he help but understand, when he felt her pain as though it was his own? How could he blame her – she had been raised to believe that mastery of emotion was the only route that would preserve her race, and perhaps they were right. Certainly, her relationship with him had brought her little benefit over the years, leading up to this situation they found themselves in now.

“I’ll forgive you for shutting me out, if you’ll forgive me for givin’ up on you,” he said gently. “I should have tried harder. After all you’d done for me …”

She twisted her hand to grip his. “We have both made mistakes. Our communications skills have not been the highest,” she noted wryly. “Perhaps we can make more of an effort …”

He gave her a soft smile that threatened to turn her stomach upside down. “Yeah, maybe so.”

Any remnant of her previous adverse physiological symptoms had disappeared, replaced now by a number of other, more pressing, needs. She saw him catch his breath. Somewhat hoarsely, she inquired, “Is that door locked?”

Holding her gaze, he reached back and slapped at the panel beside the door, turning the lock indicator orange. Then he pulled her across the desk toward him, sweeping papers and data disks on to the floor with disregard.

Just as his lips approached hers, a piercing alarm sounded, with a frantic voiceover, “Stage two has activated. I repeat, stage two has activated. Mr. Tucker, report to the command centre immediately.”

“Sonofabitch!” Tucker yelled, and, pulling her up with him, he toggled the door lock and then pelted full speed down the corridor, T’Pol’s hand still firmly clutched in his own.

Part 9

Return to Part 7

Back to Fan Fiction Main Menu

Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

A whole mess of folks have made comments

yes! you do a great job. been waiting for the "meeting" scene of this for forever. can't wait for more!

OMG OMG OMG!!!

Please do not make us wait so long for the next parts. This was outstanding. The meeting that needed to happen with most things at least mentioned.

Well done!

Here´s another round of OMG OMG OMG!!! Great conversation, all these emotions, BREATHTAKING!!!

And yes, PLEASE do not make us wait so long for the next parts.

Awesome chapter, dying to read more.

Yes! That was just what the doctor ordered. PLEASE continue this soon. Pretty Please.

Aiiiyeeee! Hachi Machi, woman! Are you TRYING to kill me with these cliffhangers? *shakes fist*

I guess Trip isn't going to try to keep T'Pol's presence a secret. That should create additional interesting conflicts/interactions. "Sorry, folks! Did I forget to tell y'all 'bout my wife?"

Heh. So can't wait for the next chapter! And a full kiss, thankyouverymuch! ;D

Noooo! Even in the middle of a high security base, poor Trip and T'Pol still get interrupted whenever they try and have a moment to themselves... Can't wait to see how everyone else reacts to Trip suddenly showing up towing a Vulcan who's not supposed to even know about this project into the room. Great job. And hurry with the next bit, I can't wait to see what ominous things 'Stage 2' might bring about.

UHG! Darn that alarm!Oh well, at least they had time to sort most of it out. It should be interesting to see how Trip's new "keepers" react to T'Pol showing up. Can't wait for the next update!

Very well done. I like your explanation for their "break up" as it comes across as something very like T'Pol. But really, "resistance is futile"? :-D

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

I do believe that I held my breath the entire time I was reading this installment. You are truly gifted, Evalyn. The undercurrent of emotion was so strong it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Thank you.

Wow! Another Brilliant chapter. What a cliff hanger! Pleeease dont make us wait 3 weeks for the next part.

CLIFFHANGERS ARE THE DEVIL! (*takes deep, cleansing breaths*) Okay. I'm better now.... Hee hee hee! That was fun. I can't wait for the next chappie! :)

Snerk. T/T is all about the agony of unfulfilled desire, even after it's BEEN fulfilled.

FINALLY!! I've been waiting for this with baited breath! I LOVE THIS STORY!

AAAAaaaah! Left hanging! :) That was another great chapter...The tension was palpable. Can't wait for your next update!

Darn, no kiss but man it's exciting!

Wow! THAT is the best chapter yet - just keeps getting better and better... ;)

WaHoo! Team Tucker into action - go, team, go - save the facility so you can get back to Bizness [grumble]...da#n cliffhangers...[/grumble] oh, well, they do keep the blood pumpin

-j

Oh the sexual tension and then the cliffhanger!!! ;)

Unbelievably wonderful chapter. I love how you handled T'Pol's explanation of the "break up". I loved her attitude as well. Trip was also very much in character. Really very well done.

Poor T/T interupted yet again. I wonder though... this must be a pretty serious thing for him to grab her and run off like that... right? Unless the poor boy really, really doesn't want to let her go this time. ;)

All I can think of is ARGH!!!! You are the true mistress of cliffhangers. LOL

Oh, my! What a delicious update - you had me on the edge of my seat, a heavy sigh building steadily, till the crecendo/crash at your cliffhanger ending! Aagghhhh!

So glad to see Ricky did some 'splainin' an' Lucy did some 'splainin' and DoorMat Trip showed a bit of backbone! Can't wait to see what 'Stage 2 engaged' means and why he towed her away with him - Please, Mistress, may we have more?

;)

Fabulous!!

But you know you are evil, right? No kiss???

*sigh*

*goes to take a cold shower*

Excellent update. I love this story!!

GAH!! such a tease! now, dont take so long on the next update, ok?

Love it!

Wonderful. More. Soon.