A New Life - Part 5

A New Life

By: TLR

Rated PG
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.
Summary: This story picks up with Trip, Archer and party onboard the Enterprise. As expected, the commander is pining to see his other best girl and the others can only laugh as they see him start down the hallway towards his second home. On Vulcan, T'Pol was having to make some of the toughest decisions of her life. Whether she can live up to her heritage or not will be decided in the next several hours. Will she get her people to embrace their new destiny, or will she become just another figure head to a people so lost for leadership, they would even follow a Romulan. Enjoy.

April 15th, 2006

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Part 5

Trip made his way double time through the passageways to the engine room. The sway of his cloak seemed an odd sight for his former shipmates to see. He'd left the Captain, Hoshi, Malcolm and their Andorian guests at the transporter, having the deepest desire to check in on his other love while he was there. As he hit the doors to engineering, the familiar faces he met all had to take a second look.

Lieutenant Connelly was at Trip's old desk going over the latest specs that he'd left for her just before coming to live on their new home world. He snuck up on her, glancing over her shoulder to see what had her so entrenched. He noted the subject and decided to have some fun with the woman.

"You just getting to those now, Lieutenant?" He called out in a very authoritative tone. The young female jumped up from her chair and whirled around. Instinctively coming to attention, she eased a bit when she noticed the strange alien attire that her former boss was wearing. Letting out a long breath, she started.

"No... I am rereading them. Never hurts to keep going over the important stuff. You taught me that."

"Damn straight and don't you forget it." Trip reached over and gave his replacement a nudge on the shoulder. "How's she holding up....Giving you much trouble?" Secretly the young man was hoping for something he could roll up his sleeves and get lost in.

"Nope...quiet as a lamb." She saw his expression dim and changed her mind. "You know, I haven't been able to get the engines to within 240 millicochranes. Did you have some kind of trick to get them so close to perfect?" She knew he did and just wanted to make Trip feel right at home again.

"Sure....you just need to adjust the intermix ratio to within 0.22 deciliters of text book normal. Let me show you." The commander laid his hands once more on the controls of the ship and felt a warm glow go through his body. He was home, if only for a brief period and boy did it feel good.

Meanwhile back on the planet, T'Pol was cooped up in meetings with T'Pau and Soval. They were viewing and reviewing different parts of the Kir'Shara that dealt with executions and proper theory. The three had little to agree upon in that Soval still believed in some of the previous regime's tactics. It took a lot of persuading on the females' part to get him to embrace the founder of Vulcan logic's words in their translated form. In Surak's time, the ancient dialect left much to interpretation, which made the sage old ambassador a bit uneasy when it came to the upcoming event. He wanted a black and white policy that would help him better accept that which they must do. It was not forthcoming, and that only made the trio work harder to come to a consensus before the second half of the proceedings were to start.

T'Pol did manage to break a way about 45 minutes before they were due back in the courtroom. She checked in at home and found the kids were all down for their nap. She took this time to take the Captain up on his offer. As the young woman went to the closest transporter area, her two guards flanked her every move. It was not for protection, that they accompanied the woman, but to be of loyal service. It was their job to see to the needs of the council members, each member having their own assigned duo. Their shadowing her secretly annoyed the Vulcan, but she knew that if she was to be a good leader, she would have to conform to some of her planet's customs again. As the swirling particles around them began to clear, T'Pol could make out the familiar shape of her favorite Denobulan standing beside Malcolm at the transporter controls. A huge smile graced his lips as she and her two cohorts were fully materialized.

"Welcome home." The rotund male chimed coming forward quickly to offer his old friend a hand down. The guards moved forward, but saw her sidelong glare. They eased back and stood at attention. T'Pol extended her hand to Phlox and stepped gingerly down from the pad. Her long gown just brushing the floor, she removed her cloak and handed it to one of her assistants.

Malcolm watched as the two lap dogs remained quietly in attendance to everything the woman wanted. (Trip wasn't joking about her new job coming with some perks.) His British wit seemed very dry and sarcastic. Turning with the doctor and commander, they began down the passageway. The guards followed at a respectable distance of about 3 meters.

"Well you'll be happy to know that Trip is having quite the time." Phlox started making jovial conversation. It got the attention of the Vulcan female almost immediately. Malcolm saw her concern and added.

"Don't worry, Connelly is not letting him get too dirty." With that he added a chuckle and a half sided smirk. The group made their way towards engineering, not exactly knowing what they would find once they got their.

Upon entering, they found the engineer atop the warp drive, tools in hand making a few needed adjustments. His cloak discarded over a near by chair. T'Pol picked up the garment and handed it to her assistant. She stood and watched a moment, feeling the waves of happiness she was sensing from him. He was home and that was something she couldn't do anything about. Trip kept much of his feelings about their change in location bottled up. He knew they had no choice and that they had made the right decision for the children, but still she yearned to give him what he most wanted. T'Pol had even considered allowing her mate to return to the Enterprise, while she remained at home on Vulcan. As hard as that thought was it was not outside of her caring for him.

It wasn't until Trip sensed his mate close by, did he look up and see her there. "Hey you made it." He exclaimed the brightest of smile covering his face. He wiped his hands on an old rag and began to make his way down from the oversized cylinder. Walking over to join them, Trip couldn't hide his enthusiasm for what he'd been doing for the last 2 hrs.

"Connelly needed a hand getting the engines fine tuned. You know it's tricky work and no one knows these babies better than me." He glowed as he spoke, the pink in his cheeks denoting the degree of work he'd been doing.

"I hope you were of assistance." T'Pol murmured quietly, not wanting to bring his joyfulness to the crew's attention. "I believe the Captain has lunch prepared for us." The Vulcan offered out two fingers and he took them as was expected. He turned to Connelly and pointed a finger from his free hand.

"They're in tune now….keep them that way." He mocked her with a stern look then broke into a huge smile again. "Thanks." And as if taken totally by surprise the young woman smiled back. She couldn't have known he knew about her deception. And yet some how it was just like her old boss to be two steps ahead of everyone and into everything all at the same time. As the group left the engine room, Connelly knew this wasn't the last time she'd see her mentor in action. Little did she know.

****

As the courtroom settled after their mid day break, the air was hot and dry. Archer felt himself sweating beneath the layers of his fancy dress uniform. Hoshi, who to this point had been at the captain's side to translate any part of the proceedings, had totally forgotten her role, lost in the depths of the dramatics. Malcolm was as restless as his superior officer, but for much different reasons.

The presence of the Andorians in the courtroom had the mostly Vulcan audience on edge. Soft whispers could be heard on occasion until the three heads of the council entered. All at once the hall became silent, an eerie silence that gave all the Humans in attendance an uneasy feeling.

The customary three crashes came from the hard marble like stone, slamming down into the wooden platform it was mated with. T'Pol's hand made an exaggerated arc with each upward swing. The sound echoed through the hall. Soval was first to speak, reciting the words that would become the standard for all formal functions well into the future.

"What is about to take place has come down to us from the time of the beginning. It is the Vulcan heart. It is the Vulcan soul." He stated each word with pride and confidence, as if telling the people in attendance that there would be no question that this was exactly as Surak would have wished it to be. His words struck something in the hearts of the Humans, the regal air about them letting them know they were witnessing a great moment.

"Bring in the accused." Soval continued. The large wooden doors opened and in stepped Administrator V'Las accompanied by his mixed escort. To the man's left stood a tall Vulcan lieutenant, and to his right stood the Andorian officer. The same two officers that stood watch over the prisoner through the break. They worked in unison showing no animosity with each other. This peaked Archer's interest. Over and over again he'd seen the Vulcans and Andorians hiss and spit at each other. Now they worked like a well run machine. This alliance didn't sit too well with the Romulan, who stared first to one and then the other with a look of pure disgust.

As they approached the center of the room, the criminal attempted to break free from the pair's grip. He shook loose from the Vulcan and whirled around, punching the Andorian in the face. The blue skinned creature went down hard to the floor. But before the Romulan could do the same to the Vulcan, the lieutenant reached up and stimulated the points on the alien's neck, sending him to the floor in a heap. V'Las sunk downward lying in a pile on the floor. The Andorian officer, dazed, was trying to right himself when he found the hand of the Vulcan before him. He paused, shocked at the gesture. His antenna curled forward and his blood red eyes squinted but the hand wasn't withdrawn. After a moment more of hushed silence, the antennas straightened and the Andorian reached out for the offered limb. He grabbed it with a hefty zeal and was hoisted to his feet by the lanky olive skinned lieutenant. The Andorian officer nodded his thanks and to his surprised received a similar gesture in return. The shock of all around filled the room, as the now comrades collectively gathered their prisoner and brought him back to his feet. They stood at attention, now with a death grip hold on the Romulan's arms.

T'Pol, from her perched position watched the exchange with great hope, as did the two other council heads. She received a subtle approving nod from her colleagues. Somewhere inside, T'Pol could feel the satisfied gaze of her long dead ancestor, seeing the hostilities starting to ease between the two very stubborn species.

"The evidence will be presented." T'Pol announced loud and clear, alerting her new assistant to begin his role as barrister. He came forward holding a Vulcan style palm padd and called out the name of Skone, the soldier that was sent to kill the survivors of the forge. Being T'Pol's old crewmate, and also the one who took pity on the woman, he felt a bit nervous about now being before her in this new role. The young Vulcan stepped into the room from an outside corridor. He came into the circle and stood in front of his old boss. As the questions began, the Vulcan's called to testify all stared down the ex-administrator for what his orders made them do. Archer actually started to feel worried for the guy, knowing that if Vulcan's didn't suppress their emotions, this man would have been torn to shreds by now.

Finally Kuvak called out Jon's name and the Human stood. He made his way to the witness area. The scowl he got from the prisoner took any of his nervousness away. Instead it was replaced with distained determination to get this criminal to justice.

"Captain Archer." The minister began as he briskly punched points on the padd to bring up details. "Your interactions with V'Las upon reaching Vulcan, if you please?"

Jon was taken aback by the way he was questioned. He hesitated a moment then realized that the Vulcan didn't want to lead the testimony in any direction. There was no deception in his questioning of the Human, just the words of a Starfleet officer.

"When we first arrived on Vulcan, it was just three days after the bombing of the embassy." Archer started recounting his encounter with the defendant.

"We were told by V'Las that since the bombing took place in Earth's embassy, it was a Starfleet matter and we'd have to investigate it ourselves. We realized later that this was to mislead us by the planted Syrannite DNA." Jon glared at him as if indicating his superiority for not being fooled by the faked evidence.

"Once he felt we took the bait, he changed his tune and was trying to keep us out of it, saying that because it was the act of a Syrannite bomber, that it was a Vulcan matter." Archer halted, waiting for the next question to be asked. All the times before when he'd been grilled by a pointy eared alien, it felt like having his head in a vice. This time though, it was amazingly pleasant, even though the outcome of the day would mean a man's life.

"When you finally obtained the Kir'Shara and confronted V'Las with the evidence, what was his response?" T'Pol's very competent assistant was professional and more than experienced in the role of diplomat.

"First he gave the order for us to be taken into custody. When you didn't comply and overpowered the guards present, he tried to lunge for it. He'd rather see it destroyed than see the people of Vulcan get their precious artifact back." Jon's words became more and more judgmental as he reviewed the account.

"You were in possession of Surak's katra for a short period of time. What was his take on what Administrator V'Las was doing?" This time even the Vulcan showed his distain for the prisoner. He walked across the Romulan's path and glared at him as he passed by.

"Surak knew that V'Las was trying to sway his people. I think he may have known his true intent all along, but I can't swear to it." Archer knew that Vulcan's didn't hold much value in feelings, but he felt he had to say this. "I just had a gut feeling he was on to his crimes."

"You were at the encampment just after the bombing. What did you witness there?" Jon took a long pause knowing what he was about to say would be hurtful to his ex first officer, so he answered as gently as possible.

"After the bombing, we doubled back. As we made our way through the passages, T'Pol heard sounds coming from the area. We changed our direction and followed her back into the encampment. There we found the bodies of many slain Syrannites." Archer looked back to his friend, seeing her stoic features hiding the memory of the fateful night.

"From the far corner, T'Pol heard the moans of her mother, Lady T'Les. She was lying in the rubble. T'Pol went to her and was able to speak with her for a few moments before she died from her injuries." Jon watched as collectively everyone in the room bowed their heads in reverent silence. As if a show of respect, they seemed to grieve with his friend over her great loss. The sadness for such a loss was palpable. The captain looked up to T'Pol who sat looking into the desk's solid surface, reliving the incident with his words.

The silence was broken by Kuvak who got the investigation back on track. "Thank you Captain for your input in these proceedings." The next up was Commander Tucker, who had to similarly recount his encounter, the attacks on the ship and the warnings they received to leave the Captain and first officer behind. Trip's recounting was definitely more emotional, his answers to the barrister's questions exuding with anger over the senseless killing. He was only on the hot seat for a few minutes, but it seemed longer, as the Human could feel the neck of his fancy dress clothes starting to tighten once again. Never had he been beneath the eye of so many aliens. As he relived the battle that started at V'Las' say so, Trip could feel his jaw starting to clinch. Mercifully his testimony was confined to his interactions with V'Las and the reenactment of the battle between the Andorians and the Vulcans. Within a brief time he was once more seated beside his friend.

Next Malcolm was called to give details of the investigation he and his team did into the bombing. Afterward the most damming witness took center stage. Minister Kuvak himself moved into position as T'Pol stepped down from the elevated bench she'd been seated at and came to stand directly in front of the accused. She stared at him long and hard, the old killer instinct showing in the depths of her large brown orbs. These orbs were dark, almost black as they fell upon the gray haired saboteur. His smart reaction to the other witnesses stopped quickly as Lady T'Pol stood before him. His mind could feel the hold she had upon him and was still afraid of her extraordinary power.

"Minister Kuvak" T'Pol started. "You were V'Las' second in command for many years. How now, do you see his espionage manifested?"

There was a strange look of satisfaction that came over the older male's face. He'd long disagreed with the Romulan, knowing somewhere inside they hadn't been on the true path for a long while. It wasn't until the madness started, did he have the courage to even start to question the male's actions.

"Lady Councilwoman, I have noticed many things that concerned me during my time working for Administrator V'Las." The minister started seeming as though he was really going to enjoy dissecting the prisoner's actions in great detail. "Throughout my time working for the administrator, I have witnessed many questionable decisions. Initially his suspicion of the Humans was evident, as he frequently ordered their surveillance during the first two years out of space dock. He was very critical of your involvement with them and was constantly finding fault with your performance."

His words came out very even, none the less he was stating all the critical points that should have alerted the children of Surak that there was something amiss. "The point that became most obvious was his reaction to the discovery of the spy station at P'Jem. The placement of that facility was questionable in the first place, but V'Las argued that Andorians couldn't be trusted and needed to be under surveillance. The other members of the High Command were not comfortable with the decision, but his reputation was such that they relented to his experience. After the facility was destroyed, his emotional response wasn't well hidden. He was angered at the Humans, and even more so at Lady T'Pol." He indicated to the woman standing just before him.

"When he pushed the investigation against your mother, Lady T'Les, it was evident he was not functioning with logical reason. I believe it was his intent to try and disgrace the family of Surak in the people's mind to get their loyalty. But the actions of the High Command under his command, only made much of Vulcan's population concerned about the direction the planet was taking. These actions sparked the Syrannites' move into the forge, to avoid persecution. Also members of the minority became hunted. It was suggested these citizens would corrupt the moral practices of the people of Vulcan." Kuvak's glare turned to the criminal on trial.

"It was his order to hunt the Syrannites that made me realize his actions were not appropriate. I protested but was frequently threatened with prosecution. Councilmen Soval was dismissed for his participation in the investigation of the bombing. His discovery of the true bomber made the then ambassador a threat to V'Las' power. His final order to ambush the Andorian fleet was the true evidence that the administrator wasn't acting logically. I tried to stop him, but was placed under restraint by his guard." Kuvak saw the eyes of the Andorians in the room go from him to the prisoner. The realization that other Vulcans wanted to stop the attack was quite enlightening. As T'Pol heard his recount, she knew that the words being spoken today would help to solidify the alliance between her people and the blue skinned creatures for a long time to come.

"At what time did you discover V'Las was actually Romulan?" The head of the high council wanted it made clear that the criminal was not Vulcan.

"After the Kir'Shara was discovered, we started investigating the administrator's actions. Certain information got back to us that a suspected Romulan supporter, ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Talok left on a Delocian freighter. This prompted our forces to start researching into his background. It was determined that his history was only four decades in length. The record of his birth and schooling did not exist. A search of his dwelling provided us with DNA to test. The determination was made from this DNA and an investigation of all his known acquaintances was started. Many of those suspects did as Talok, boarding freighters, transports, any method of escape they could find and left the solar system. V'Las was tested and found to be Romulan. He attempted to get away, until…" The minister hesitated knowing what he had to say next was not easy for him.

"Until Commander Shran found him and brought him back to stand trial before us." The older male decided to go with the direction of this meeting and respect the Andorian's assistance. He nodded to the commander and saw his antenna open fully. Kuvak wasn't sure what to make of that but hoped the alien knew his respect was sincere.

"Other Romulans were found in many levels of the High command. They have been rounded up and are imprisoned in the facility outside the city of Shactok, awaiting trial." Kuvak raised his chin denoting the satisfaction in having rid the government of these saboteurs.

"Did you personally witness the prisoner giving the order to kill the Syrannites?" T'Pol's question was direct, not wanting any doubt to remain.

"Yes. I was present when he gave the order to bomb the sanctuary. The grid patterns and weapons he ordered ensured that there would be no survivors." Kuvak's voice was low and reverent.

"Minister, your service in this matter honors all of Vulcan." T'Pol bowed slightly and started back for her high perched seat. When she got back into place, the Vulcan began to sum up the day's proceedings.

"As we have seen by the testimony before us, Administer V'Las was the one who used his position to distort our beliefs. He acted in ways that caused rifts between our planet and its neighboring system, Andoria. He maintained this subterfuge for many decades and he alone was the one who ordered the deaths of all 74 Syrannites in the forge. There can be no question of his guilt in all these matters." She turned to the prisoner and asked him to account for his actions. "You have been found guilty of treason, murder and sabotage. What do you offer in defense of these charges?" Trip found that question odd given the evidence was overwhelming and the opinion of the man's guilt seemed to be already decided.

"You think you are so superior." He started his propaganda and was cut off immediately.

"I asked, how do you defend yourself against the evidence?" T'Pol's voice reflected a hint of impatience.

"Of course I did those things. Doesn't your precious Vulcan logic tell you that? Why do you waste time and ask me to confirm it?" V'Las spit his answer at the stoic female in the center of the bench.

"We ask so that you may have a chance to speak for yourself. Now that you have confirmed your guilt, judgment may be passed." T'Pol stood and so did her colleagues.

"V'Las….it is the judgment of this tribunal that you be punished for your crimes." The council woman was stopped by his boisterous manner.

"You are going to have me shot." The Romulan seemed almost happy at the prospect. What he heard next wasn't going to sit well with him.

"Our method of execution is Talu-shaya. The days of using weapons to execute criminals are dismissed. Surak dictated this to be the only form of execution, and that is how it shall be." T'Pol started down from her spot, leaving a surprised Soval and T'Pau. She came around to stand before the prisoner.

"You think you are going to put a finger on me and take my life in disgrace?" The Romulan was getting very upset.

"Actually the technique requires two fingers to be performed correctly. Using only one may delay the killing affect. It is not logical to perform the procedure incorrectly." T'Pol was calm knowing her plan was going to work. She stepped before the male and reached up toward his face. V'Las jerked backward realizing that the placement of her fingers was not that of the killing position.
"What are you doing?" He struggled against the vice grip of the guards.

"It would not be logical to execute someone who has not been properly interrogated yet. A simple mind meld will give us the names and locations of all the key players in your deception. This way our fleet can round up the remaining factions and thus quell the threat against our home world." She reached forward again for the points on the male's face. He jerked even harder against the pull of the two species. T'Pol purposely made her movements slow and methodic to bring out the fear in the alien. Knowing he would die in disgrace after divulging the names and locations of his fellow saboteurs. This only strengthened his resolve. With an exaggerated heave, V'Las yanked loose from both his captors. He snatched the Vulcan officer's side arm and backed away.

All the members of the audience encircled the room. The space was closing in on the man and he knew there would be no way out of this. He took the weapon and pointed it right at T'Pol's head. Instinctively, both the Andorian and Vulcan officers jumped in front of the woman, blocking her with their bodies as any good soldier would. Archer, Trip and Malcolm, all looked for an opportunity to jump the man, but found his frequent scans right and left gave them little time to pull off a surprise. Shran, from the far side of the room made his way through the crowds, not even stopping when the Romulan glared him down. But the shocker was when T'Pol herself, placed her hands on the shoulders of the soldiers and parted them. She stood there, open and unprotected, head high and eyes filled with determination.

V'Las turned the weapon back upon her. His voice was so full of anger it came out as a growl through gritted teeth. "You think you've won, don't you? You will never win…. Not now and not when we finally return to take over this planet. Reunification is inevitable and we both know it." His eyes glared hard into the woman as his hand turned the weapon inward. When the point of the phase pistol touched his sternum, V'Las pulled the trigger. The green light glowed through his being, disintegrating him almost immediately as his screams of agony filled the room. As they echoed to silence, T'Pol let out the breath she'd been holding. Her plan to have the Romulan do the right thing worked like a charm. Neither her associates nor the audience had any idea it was a calculated effort by the woman and she wasn't forthcoming with that information. It would be several minutes before the guards in the room verified that the residue from the implosion was actually the Romulan spy.

****

Later in the hallway T'Pol stood with her shipmates as they related their shock at what had happened before them. It was the figure of the lanky soldier walking up to the group that stopped the low level chatter.

"Lady T'Pol, I would speak with thee." Skone stood at attention before the woman who had been his commanding officer on the Tou'med mission. She turned and gave the male her full attention. The others watched with great interest at the interaction.

"I wish to apologize for my role in rounding up the Syrannites. My treatment of you…." He was stopped by the hand of the young councilwoman.

"Your treatment of me was logical. You were instructed to kill those survivors you came across. You did not do that with me. Instead you tried to give me special consideration, even though it violated your orders. You were being misled….You have nothing to apologize for." Her words exuded logic which only impressed the young male all the more. He stood staring at her in awe, knowing he was talking with someone of great importance to his people. T'Pol noticed the young man's silence and continued.

"I understand your mate has given birth to your first born….a son…. Congratulations." She offered him some pleasant interaction. "Have you chosen a name?"

"Yes…our son's name is Sarek. He is healthy and looks to become a very intelligent young male." Skone raised his head as he spoke of his most precious offspring. "He was born just 4 months ago."

"My mate and I have a 10 month old male as well." T'Pol responded. "Perhaps our children will one day serve together." The two interacted in a strangely cool manner. Most Human parents would talk of children playing together, but evidently Vulcans consider their service as a time in their lives to begin forging friendships and not before. Skone's only response was a brief "Perhaps". He then bowed and turned to leave. T'Pol turned back to the group as her personal assistants stood off in the distance.

"I still don't understand.." The Captain started. "V'Las had you in his sights. Why would he then turn the weapon on himself?" Jon saw T'Pol fold her arm within the flared sleeves of her gown as she spoke.

"They are a creature of duty captain. If V'Las had killed me, he knew he would have been stunned by someone in the room. The mind meld would have been performed anyway and then he would be executed as decreed. In the process though, he would have given away the names, faces and location of fellow Romulans that were in on the plan to take over our planet. He must have known we would go after this threat and felt he had only one logical avenue open to him. V'Las could leave nothing to meld with."

"What was he speaking of….Reunification?" Hoshi and Malcolm were both intrigued by the dead mans ranting.

"There is an ancient story that told of a planet called Romulus. It was devastated by a meteor shower and left lifeless and barren. The people of a neighboring star system studied the planet and when it became able to support life again, they went looking for a species that could inhabit it." T'Pol recounted the story told to her by her father almost 60 years ago.

"This was millions of years in the past. This species supposedly came to Vulcan and found it teaming with life. They collected specimens from its population and transplanted them on both Romulus and its sister moon, Remus. This was at a time when Vulcan hadn't even learned to forge metal yet." The female ended her story, having no further details to go by.

"Well if they are originally from Vulcan…. Why shouldn't they be able to come back? I mean look at the Human settlers we found in the Expanse." Trip finally understood the motivation behind the Romulan's deception.

"If the Romulans are an offshoot of our Vulcan blood, they have been so removed over the many millennia that they don't even have the same DNA anymore. They've evolved their own culture, their own beliefs system, a system that holds violence over logic. There would be no room for them on our world. They would need to grow past their emotions and embrace logic before we could even become allies." T'Pol knew that reunification was inevitable, the Kir'Shara made that clear. But it was not her duty to achieve this. That would be left to another important Vulcan, one who was not even a royal, but held the respect of all his people.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Malcolm who noticed the physical similarity between the two species. "They do look like your people."

"V'Las and his cohorts were surgically altered to pass as Vulcans." Soval's voice could be heard coming up to the group. "Their claims are unfounded." The group looked to the elder statesmen as he defended his planet's decision to not even validate the aliens' claims. He grew uneasy at the Humans' glare and continued with his original message.

"We are needed in council chambers. Admiral Gardner is waiting." Soval looked to T'Pol.

The Captain glanced to the young woman as well, who turned and gave them an apologetic look. "Well I guess we should be getting back to the ship." Archer started but found Trip quick to jump on that.

"Ah no Cap'n, why don't you all come back to the house and see the kids. You could stay for dinner." Trip looked to T'Pol for backup.

"Indeed. I will inform V'Lmir to fix an appropriate meal." Trip's mate was hopeful for this as well. The couple was pleased when their old friend accepted the urgent invitation.

Soval turned to leave, his attendants behind him. T'Pol began to follow, but looked around a moment. "Return home. I will not be long."

***

Back at the Tucker home, Archer and his group were relaxing in the elegantly decorated dwelling. It was hot, even for early evening and while Trip had the guys checking out his new rooms, Hoshi sat on a bench in the front patio. She watched as the small child played with her big fuzzy friends. Lizzie, perched atop Kamute trotted happily around the patio. She giggled and squealed at the differing motions as the animal speeded up, then slowed, whirled first left, then right. Keller ran happily behind, watching his parent's movements carefully. It was moments later when Malcolm came out to join her.

"Hwww…. Now I understand the phrase hot as Vulcan." The Brit wiped his brow and sat down beside his friend.

"Yeah, that is why I came out here. It is a bit cooler." She looked to him and gave the security officer a knowing smile. The large creatures came close to where they sat, Lizzie's giggling getting louder. Malcolm leaned back quickly as a tail brushed across his face. Hoshi chuckled at the man's response, given he was a security officer.

"Hey…. Those things eat people." He returned defensively.

"Yes… I see how scared Elizabeth is of them." The communications officer's smile was mischievous and Malcolm knew it. He leaned in and gave her side a clandestine nudge. The pair straightened when they felt the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tucker Sr. enter the space.

Meanwhile in the back garden, Trip and the Captain stood admiring the engineer's handy work. They watched as the water trickled past the vegetation and went toward the center of the room. It collected into the urn and disappeared. Jon marveled at the sheer simplicity of it. He saw the smile come across his friend's face and began to chuckle. While they were there, Elizabeth entered. She ran up to her father and yanked on his pants leg. He lifted the child into his arms and saw the huge smile she had for him and the Captain.

"You like it here Lizzie?" Jon reached out and touched the little girl's curls. He got a shy grin and hearty head shake. The child pulled at her shirt and began chewing on the edge of it. Kamute and Keller circled the men, pacing and growling the entire time. This unnerved the captain, remembering his first encounter with this particular breed of animal.

"Do they always growl like that?" Archer asked, his nervousness showing.

"Yeah, it's when the growling stops, you have to be worried." Trip felt the animals nudging at his leg. They bumped it over and over again indicating they wanted the child back into their care. He finally caved, easing Lizzie down to her feet. "All right, …..all right already."

Upon the Human doing so, Trip watched Kamute begin to push at the little girl's bottom, inching her in the direction of the house. Archer came up to stand beside his friend and observe the curious act as well. "What's that all about?"

"I don't know, maybe my mom's looking for her and only Kamute can hear it." The men watched as the child was quickly whisked into the house. The two large creatures stood in the doorway and began screeching at the top of their lungs, blocking the child from coming out with their bodies.

"What the…?" was all Trip had time to say before the sky turned pitch black and a wall of water in the form of heavy raindrops began to fall. It was like a tropical storm in a rainforest only twice as heavy. The water gathered in huge puddles on the floor. Stunned the two Humans stood looking up, their faces as well as their bodies soaked to the bone within seconds. From the doorway, a rather surprised V'Lmir stood watching the aliens. She puzzled their staying out in the rain and wondered if they knew about the accompanying magnetic storm that was to follow.

"I believe that Kamute was calling for you to get out of the storm." She stated loudly over the roar of the falling water.

"Oh really, you think." Trip's words were sarcastic, having just been caught in his first down pour.

"Perhaps you might come in before the magnetic lightening begins." The young Vulcan pointed to the even blacker clouds that were now spouting long bolts of wicked energy discharges. This got both the men's attention as they headed through the foliage and puddles toward the door. A huge splash of lightening cut off their path then receded before it could reach them.

"That was close." Trip murmured holding onto his friend's shoulder for stability.

"A little too close, lets get inside fast." Archer returned and within moments they were pushing past the crowd at the door and leaving puddles of their own on Catherine's clean kitchen floor.

TBC

*******************************************************************************

Last part out next Thursday. Sorry for the delay, sometimes life just throws you a few curves and you just got to take care of the first. T.

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Thank you. A magnetic storm?? Much more exciting than the gentle showers I imagined however I've cracked up the old victrola record player and Gene and I are waiting.

Another great chapter! I really liked the courtroom scence and you it played out. Nice resolution to the execution and great interactions between all the characters. And Trip and his engines...another great scene. Can't wait till next part.

Good one, hope to see more of the group spending time at TnTs home in the last chapter.

Really great, I like T'Pol making him kill himself, very ingenious. I'll look foward to the next chapter.

Excellent writing. Can't wait for the next part.

Love it and Look forward to seeing more. I hope you find a way to make Trip and Tpol content. Normally I do not like this pairing very much but the storyline is very good.

Lisa

Great stuff. One thing though, I'm pretty sure that it's cannon that Romulans (and Remans, I think) left Vulcan voluntarily during the time of Surak, as a rebellion against the way the planet was changing.

In [i]Spock's World[/i], at least, the Romulans are decendents of followers of the former protege of Surak, who decided that there were some circumstances in which violence was necessary. Surak disagreed, they left, and founded Romulus (and Remus?). The genetic drift is about right, though.

Anyway. Great stuff, really complex. Here's hoping Trip starts to feel more at home! :)

In ST Nemisis, it was stated that the romulan people were transplanted long before the time of surak and that they knew not of their vulcan brothers until they started space travel. The stories they were raised on of having distant brothers were verified and that is what started their desire to reclaim their rightful heritage. It is interesting to see how different series/movies portray it differently.

Also, I haven't forgotten about you all. This class is very taxing, having two to three papers a week, I got waylaid. I hope to have the next parts of A new life and the dilithium mission out soon. Sorry again for the delay. T.

Take as much time as you need. Good luck with your papers :)

Hope we get more soon.