Revenge and Honor - Part 6

Revenge and Honor

By Triplover

Disclaimer: I own nothing nor do I wish to own anything!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Varen Tucker does everything he can to find the woman he loves with the help of Jonathan Archer, his parents, and others from the original Enterprise crew.
A/N: This is the sequel to “Love and Loss.” Sorry it took so long with this but a brick wall came up on this chapter so I decided to take a break. But now I’m back with the conclusion… so enjoy!

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Part Six

CONCLUSION

Everything had happened so fast. The flash of phaser fire as it soared through the air towards its target. A body jumped to push the target down but it had already made contact. Varen Tucker lied on the ground with a burn located on his stomach. T’Pol had tried to protect him, she’d tried to get him out of the way but she had been too late. His breathing was slowing, his eyes wide. “Varen!” Trip shouted as he ran to his son’s side.

Kalvar was gone, but that didn’t seem to matter now as they all watched the son of Trip and T’Pol lying there in pain. “Dad,” he said weakly. “Go after him… you have to stop him.”

“You’re hurt! I’m not goin’ anywhere!” Trip told him firmly.

Varen blinked, his eyelids growing heavy. It was then that he saw Jennifer. Her hand was holding his, her eyes filled with fear. “Hold on, Varen. You’re going to be all right,” she assured him.

But Varen could feel the pain. He could smell the stench of his own burnt flesh. He was badly hurt. Odds of him surviving were not in his favor. He was losing too much blood. “I… I can’t breathe. It’s so hard…” he said, trying to speak.

Jennifer laid her index finger on his lips. “Shhh, don’t speak. We’re going to get you out of here, I promise.”

“I’m not so sure that’s possible, Jen,” Nolan spoke up.

Everyone looked at him, urging him to continue with their questioning stares.

“It might not be a good idea to move him. First we need to see how badly he was hit. Looks like the phaser fire might have hit some vital organs.”

“Then do somethin’! I won’t let my son die!” Trip barked.

Nolan sighed. “I’m not a doctor, and even if I were the kind of damage he has…”

“No! There has to be something we can do!” Jennifer fought.

Nolan looked over at her, tears in his eyes. It was then that Varen spoke up. “There is nothing we can do. Find Kalvor. Stop him! He has to be stopped, before he hurts someone. Please,” Varen begged.

“Varen, we must get you back to the ship,” T’Pol told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Varen looked at his mother then at his father. “What if he tries to hurt Jennifer again?! Or Nolan! We can’t take the chance.”

It was Archer who spoke up. “I’ll find him Varen,” he volunteered.

“No!” fought Nolan who stood, gun in hand. He turned to look at his father. “You always wanted your son to be a security officer, I may not be one but I still have the Reed blood. I think it’s about time I follow in my father’s footsteps. I’ll find him.”

Archer nodded.

“Nolan,” Varen said in a whisper.

Nolan looked down at his friend and smiled.

“Thank you.”

Nolan stooped down and laid a hand on Varen’s other shoulder. “I aim to please, buddy. You just hang in there. I want you still alive and breathing when I get back.”

“I’ll try,” Varen answered.

Nolan shook his head. “Don’t try, just do. I’m not ready to lose my best friend.”

Varen Tucker raised his right hand, and Nolan grabbed it as they both smiled at each other. Finally Nolan let go and walked down the cave Kalvor had entered.

==

Kalvor ran as fast as he could through the caverns before stopping at a dead end. The Klingon swore to himself before turning just as a human turned the corner pointing his weapon. “What are you going to do with that, Human?” Kalvor asked, letting his hatred show through.

“You tried to kill my friend, that was a BIG mistake.”

“What are you going to do, Starfleet?! We both know you won’t kill me!”

Nolan tipped his head and smiled. “Really, well as you can see my weapon isn’t on stun and oh my goodness I didn’t have time to change that before you lunged at me,” he told the man before squeezing the trigger.

Kalvor pulled out his gun to shoot but was too late as he felt the phaser fire shot through him. The Klingon fell to the floor before looking into the eyes of his killer. “I may not have succeeded in my quest for honor, but I HAVE killed the son of T’Pol of Vulcan and Charles Tucker of Earth.”

“He isn’t dead yet,” Nolan answered standing over the man before him. With that he turned and left back for his friend.

==

“I’m afraid there’s not much I can do for him. The phaser wound was severe and several vital organs were wounded. I can make him comfortable, help him with the pain, but I’m afraid he won’t survive.”

Trip Tucker took a step back, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure what he could say. He couldn’t speak. It was as if the ground had been ripped from under him and he was falling into an abyss he would never escape. His eyes darkened. “My god, no. Oh god no,” he whispered as tears fell down his eyes. He looked down at his son lying on the bio bed and more tears fell. “Not my boy. No.”

T’Pol watched her husband quietly, fighting to stay in control. Never in her life had she felt this pain in her chest, the pain of knowing her son was dying. She had carried this man in her stomach once. She watched him grow up. She watched him develop into a good man, an honorable man that not even the Vulcans could condemn. He had so many years left to live, all cut short and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Finally tears flooded her eyes and fell down her face as she touched her son’s hand. It seemed cold somehow. This was not right, none of this was right.

It was then that she felt her husband’s hand on her shoulder, pulling her to turn around. She let him turn her and they embraced in a long hug. “I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this is happenin’ T’Pol.”

“I know Trip,” she breathed. “I know.”

==

Captain Clyde watched Varen Tucker’s parents. It was then that he saw Admiral Archer, Captain Reed, Nolan and Jennifer walk inside sickbay. By now they must have heard of Varen’s fate. So many loved this young boy. Ever crewmember from Enterprise had seen him as a baby. Almost the entire crew had at one time or another took care of the boy for one reason or another. Clyde himself had helped Commander Tucker and Phlox deliver Varen when T’Pol had gone into labor while in engineering. Phlox had managed to get T’Pol to sickbay with the help of Trip and Clyde. Ensign Varen Tucker was a good man, a good officer and one hell of an engineer.

==

Jennifer Archer stood holding Varen’s hand as they talked. Trip and T’Pol had all been kicked out by the doctor so that they could rest though she doubted they would. Their son was dying; she would have been surprised if they weren’t too upset to sleep. Nolan Reed ran a hand through his hair as he wiped away tears from his eyes. “What am I supposed to do without you?” he finally asked, something no one else dared to say.

Varen turned his head to look at Nolan. “I’ve known you all my life and visa versa. It would be difficult to find yourself without a constant that has always been there. It is logical that you would be unsure as to how to proceed without that constant.”

“You make yourself sound like an experiment. You’re my friend, dammit! And I don’t want to lose you.”

Varen smiled. “Nolan, I never considered you my friend. You are my brother; I wish to make that clear. You have always been considered my brother. It is the way I see you, and will always see you.”

Nolan smiled, a tear falling down his face. “I feel the same way, brother.”

Varen nodded before once again turning to look at Jennifer. She tightened her grip on his hand. “What about me? What am I supposed to do without you? I just got you back.”

“Jennifer, I believe you are what Humans call my one true love. That has been true for many years. I still remember the night I accompanied you to your… prom. I have never seen you look so beautiful. You were glowing. I need you to move on, Jennifer. I know it will be hard but you must move on in your life. You must fall in love again, I want you to have a life, to be married and have children.”

“Varen I-“

“Promise me Jennifer,” Varen interrupted. “Promise me you will find a mate who loves you. Promise me that you will move on.”

Tears streamed down her eyes at this point. “I… I don’t know if I can.”

“Try, I need you to try. I do not want my death to forever ruin your future. You must try to move on.”

Jennifer smiled down at him before leaning down to kiss him softly. “I love you.”

“And I you,” he told her. “I will always love you.”

==Three Days Later==

“Varen Tucker was my son. He was my pride and joy. He was such a unique person. I was so proud to even know him, because I knew his future would be a great one. It was cut short. He completed my life. He made me feel whole, and I don’t know how I’m gonna live without him. But I do know that he had a good life while he was here. He made a difference in the lives of everyone he knew, including me. I’m proud of him, more now than ever before. And I thank god I got the chance to know him at all.”

Charles Tucker watched as his son’s casket was moved into the torpedo tube of Malcolm Reed’s ship. Men and women stood around watching as the torpedo carrying his son’s body was moved into the tube and shot into space with the order of Admiral Archer. A single tear fell down his face as he closed his eyes. “Goodbye son, I love you.”

Jennifer Archer turned around, trying to hold back the tears as she left. She couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t handle it. The man she loved was dead. It was too much. It was all too much.

Nolan noticed her leave and followed. “Jen,” he called but she did not stop. “Jennifer!”

Jennifer turned and looked back at him as more tears fell. “He wasn’t supposed to die… he was supposed to hold on. We were supposed to leave that planet together… all of us… alive! Why did he have to die?! Why?!”

Nolan moved over to her and pulled his friend into his arms. “He died trying to save you, the woman he loved and he succeeded. To Varen that was all that mattered, that you survive. You meant everything to him.”

Jennifer shook his head. “It’s not fair.”

Nolan sucked in a breath, trying to blink back his own tears. “It never is.”

Archer pushed away from Nolan and wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes. “What am I supposed to do without him? He was more than my friend… I loved him. When I needed someone to talk to I could always come to him. We talked about everything… I trusted him more than anyone. I need him. What am I supposed to do without him?”

Nolan looked his friend in the eye and said something Jennifer knew she’d never forget. “You’re just supposed to live, Jen. Be happy, that’s what Varen would have wanted. Varen’s dead and I know it’s hard; it’s hard on me too. But no matter how hard it is now, the pain won’t last forever. He’ll always be with you, just as he’s with me. He’s not gone, and as long as the people who knew him live… so will he. It’s going to be okay one day Jen. I promise you that.”

==Six Years Later==

Jennifer cried out in pain as her husband grabbed her hand, a smile on his face. The doctor stood before them delivering the child she’d carried for nine months. “Oh god!”

Nolan Reed smiled before wincing as another contraction began. There nearby stood Charles Tucker, T’Pol, Admiral Archer and Captain Reed waiting for what would soon happen. “I can see the head!” the doctor shouted over Jennifer’s cries. “Shoulders… my god… it’s a boy!”

Nolan’s smile grew to a grin as he looked down at his wife. “You hear that Jen! It’s a boy! Oh my god… I have a son!” Finally they heard the cry from another just as Jennifer’s cries stopped. Time seemed to stand still as they looked at the baby in the doctor’s arms. Nolan looked at Jennifer and kissed her forehead. “He’s beautiful, honey… he’s so beautiful.”

When the doctor handed Nolan the child he wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was then he noticed his wife struggling to see. He gently put their son in her arms, just as the others moved to see the new born. Archer shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m a grandfather,” he said with a wince.

Tucker was next to speak. “What ya gonna name the little guy?”
Nolan paused, thinking hard before he looked over at Jennifer who also seemed deep in thought. An idea then popped into his mind then and he glanced at Trip and T’Pol before speaking. “What about Varen? Varen Reed?”

Jennifer looked up at Nolan in surprise then at Trip and T’Pol who both seemed just as surprised. “What do you two think?” she asked them.

Finally Trip cracked a smile. “That’s a good name.”

“Good,” Nolan cut in. “Because we’ve decided to make you two the godparents, if you’re willing….”

“We’re more than willin’ kiddo! It’s an honor!”

Nolan nodded as his eyes went back to his son. “Hello Varen, I’m your father.”

To everyone’s surprise the baby finally stopped crying and their eyes met for a single moment. He’d lost a good brother once… but not for good. Varen would always be in Nolan’s heart. They lost a good man, but they would remember him… Nolan was going to make sure of that. Nolan just hopped his son would turn out the way Varen had.

The End

A/N: I know it’s sad but I couldn’t help it. Sorry! This is the last story in this series and I hope you guys enjoyed it. It wasn’t easy to finish this story (especially the way I did it) but I did it! Yay! I’d love feedback of course… and thanks to HopefulNebula for being such a wonderful beta! ;)

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Half a dozen of you have made comments

OMG You killed Varen?!?!?!?!

It was great, though. Tragic, but sweet.

Okay, so you killed off Varen for the angst but it still felt wrong. I was so hoping to see him get back together with Jen and get their lives on track. Having Nolan name his son after him eased the blow a bit but still left a damn big hole. Ali D :~)

First T'Pol marries Voss and now this?!! Hiss, boo!

I can't belive you killed Varen! Him and Jenn were ment to be. That was...so sad; touching. Good story.

I need a tissue! So beautiful, so sad. Great job!

Omg! that was wonderful, sad, and depressing, but wonderful. Im actually crying here.