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Time Will Tell - Pt 9

Author - Evalyn A.
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Time will tell

by Evalyn A

Rating: T POV, G. May be archived, just let me know.
Disclaimer: Not making a dime off of this, they belong to Paramount; they don’t belong to me, although finally they’re starting to act as if they did.

A/N: This is part of a continuing series of personal log entries made by T’Pol during her time on Enterprise. A return after a bit of a hiatus caused by an overload of T/T goodness


Part 9

The past few days have been – peculiar, to say the least. It seems necessary to me to try to synthesize all of my observations about the crew that resulted from our encounter with the radiation from the trinary system, the radiation that caused them to exhibit such irrational behaviour – even by human standards.

It is clear that Captain Archer places great importance upon his father’s life’s work. The assiduousness with which he addressed the composition of the preface to his father’s biography, although it eventually devolved into obsession, showed an admirable filial sentiment. On Vulcan, respect for one’s elders is much more a part of the fabric of society than it appears to be on Earth. Captain Archer would probably not be pleased to know that I have judged him favourably by Vulcan social norms; I suspect in fact he would rather find his behaviour horrifying to me, as a matter of principle. It might be better if I did not inform him of my current opinions.

Dr. Phlox’s behaviour, other than posing a great risk to Ensign Mayweather’s health as he attempted to relieve the Ensign of most of his higher brain function, seemed entirely consistent with expectations, only more so. It reflected his conscientiousness with respect to understanding and treating every aspect of his patients’ health, to leave no stone unturned in his responsibilities to maintain the crew’s well-being. Again, a most admirable sentiment to any Vulcan, if carried to somewhat of an extreme in this case.

Lieutenant Reed’s behaviour I found particularly interesting. In his case, the effect of the radiation was to focus his distrust of unknown circumstances into a paranoia that required a perfect, coordinated response to any and all outside threats that might disturb his environment. This response had to be named, regimented, and logically enabled at the least notice. I can also relate this reaction to behaviour I have observed in Vulcan society without a great deal of difficulty.

I begin to see a somewhat consistent trend in my observations – what is mildly psychopathic behaviour in humans, constitutes admirable behaviour in Vulcans. I do not know whether to find this disturbing or not.

I must confess, however, that one other aspect of this incident gives me pause. My first clue that something was wrong came from Commander Tucker’s behaviour. Not from his attention to detail in attempting to adjust the Captain’s chair to perfection; this is entirely consistent with both his perfectionist nature when it comes to ship’s performance, and his natural wish to please Captain Archer, who is both his friend and his commanding officer.

Rather, it was his distinctly intemperate behaviour with me that led me to suspect something was wrong, for it had been some time since I had seen him angry with me. I found that his anger with me caused me some discomfort. This, perhaps, is not unreasonable, for lack of harmony in one’s working environment naturally results in decreased efficiency, while strong emotion always causes discomfort in Vulcans. However, virtually every member of the senior staff, the Captain included, reacted in essentially the same manner to me. And despite its now well-understood cause, it is only Commander Tucker’s anger that still bothers me.

Perhaps it is because I cannot yet take our recent, more amicable, working relationship for granted. I have found that I now value his professional opinion and abilities more than I would have thought possible after our initial meeting. And yet, if I am truthful with myself, it was as much the scornful look in his eyes, and the angry tone of his voice, that caused me distress, as the inexplicable change in a good working relationship.

Perhaps I also value his personal opinion of me more than I would have thought possible. Both illogical, and inadvisable, behaviour in a Vulcan.

After more than four years with humans, I estimate that it would require at least 8 hours daily in order the achieve the necessary meditative state to properly cope with the stresses caused by my interactions with them. And with Mr. Tucker involved, there are not, I am afraid, enough hours in the day.


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Seven people have made comments

Oh very good. The final paragraph! Oh my that was well done.

Loved this chapter, especaiily that last comment....And with Mr. Tucker involved, there are not, I am afraid, enough hours in the day.

I have to agree that the final sentence is a wonderful touch and a perfect way to end the piece!

I like the way T'Pol has analysed the situation and her own reactions to Trip's behavoir towards her...nicely done! :-)

Thanks for this, definitely a welcome addition to your series!

Lovely, especially your last sentence.

Lovely pieces of introspection on T'Pol's part. I particularly liked it that Trip's anger with her bothered her the most. Go. Light your candles. Meditate. Then have the most beautiful dreams T'Pol. Show them what they are missing on Vulcan... Ali D :~)

Yes, lovely! These log entries give a fresh and wonderful perspective on T'Pol. I've enjoyed them all.

Excellent and intelligent writing, going back to look for a continuation of this, hope there is more............