Retrieval-Ch. 10

Retrieval

By zealousgirl

Rating: PG-13, general
Disclaimers in Chapter One

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CHAPTER 10

Ancestry

The bus ride had been short. They were now in a more residential area of the town. Trip followed Seema as she led him down a quiet street. He had briefly questioned her during the bus ride, but felt it unlikely that she really had anything to do with all of this.

"How did you know I wasn't who I was pretending to be?" he asked.

"I heard you say something in your mind about maintaining your cover." She said this like it was normal to be able to hear what others were thinking. "I was curious, and so followed you to the hotel. You know that I followed you the next day as well. It was then that I figured out that your friend was Vulcan."

She directed Trip up a walkway towards a little house that was hidden behind several bushy trees. He still had many questions for her, but unsure what to ask now. His mind was also reeling with the realization that T'pol was missing.

The door to the house opened, and in the doorway stood an elderly woman. She was similar in appearance to the other Scaniran that he had encountered, except for one feature. Her hair was the color of dark toffee.

"Grandma!"

"Little one! I knew you were coming." The woman grabbed Seema and gave her a big hug. After releasing Seema, she turned towards Trip and said, "You seem to have brought a very interesting friend with you to visit me today."

"Commander Charles Tucker, ma'am." He gave a slight bow and then shook her hand gingerly. He had decided to no longer act under the pretense of being Scaniran.

The woman held his hand for a few seconds longer than was customary. "You are obviously not one of us. I think I have heard of this place Earth before. . . "

Trip was surprised at this last statement. "You and your grand-daughter seem to have a very interesting talent. I guess that I won't get anything past the two of you."

He suddenly felt impatient with the niceties. T'pol could be in grave danger, and here he was chatting with a couple of strangers.

"Yes, yes dear. We do need to hurry up. Come in and take a seat." She pointed at the upholstered chairs in what looked like a den.

He sat down and was about to start asking her questions, but the woman was able to anticipate and answer them before he had the chance.

"My name is T'Vela."

"So you are Vulcan!"

"My mother was Vulcan. She came here just after her Vulcan husband had died. She had been severely affected by her husband's death, but was not permitted to grieve. It was unbearable for her."

Trip was about to interrupt her to ask why this was important but was stopped by the all-too-familiar raised eyebrow.

"I tell you this so that I may be credible. I will be able to help you find the woman who was taken - the Vulcan woman."

Trip nodded and said, "Go ahead."

"Thank you." She continued, "My mother was involved with a group of Scaniran here who helped her express her emotions openly. She fell in love with one of the men, and that is how I came into being." A sad look came over her face. "She died when I was Seema's age."

Seema, who had been attentively listening to the conversation, crossed the room and sat on the floor next to her grandmother. T'Vela stroked her blond hair. "As you have observed, we both have very strong mental abilities, likely due to the mixture of Vulcan and Scaniran genes. "

Trip urged her to continue.

"To make a long story short, as I know you are pressed for time, over the years, Vulcans have come here on occasion in search of what had brought my mother here. Most have good intentions. However, there is a more sinister group of Scaniran youth who enjoy helping Vulcans who feel that they have been wronged."

Trip sat up upon hearing this. "You mean that Koss set this whole thing up, just to get his revenge."

"It is possible. Could you tell me about the relationship between this Koss and the woman you are seeking?"

Trip proceeded to explain about T'pol's betrothal to Koss, her postponement and eventual cancellation of the wedding, and the message from Koss' parents that blamed T'pol for Koss leaving and demanded that she bring him back to Vulcan.

"Yes, I see. . . It is probable that Koss had arranged for T'pol to be the one sent to retrieve him. We need to find her immediately, before they have a chance to complete the process."

Trip started to panic. "What process!"

"I am not certain exactly what they do, but I assure you that Koss will attempt to bond with her. And should she refuse, there are ways of changing her mind."

"Bond! You mean. . . he would. . ." Panicked, he stood up and was prepared to bolt. But where would he start to look for her? If only he had Enterprise here, they could scan for her, and at least narrow down the search area. How many Vulcans could be here anyway? "Oh my God! Enterprise. Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He reached into his pocket to pull out his communicator, but found that he had left in such a hurry that morning that he had forgotten it in the hotel room.

"Commander Tucker. I would suggest that you speak to my grandson Athlon. I believe that he has been involved with Vulcan visitors in the past." T'Vela looked at Seema and sensed the guilt that was building up inside her. "Little one, do not trouble yourself. You could not have known that telling him about seeing a Vulcan the other day would result in this."

"Trip, I am so sorry. I told my brother about the two of you. I did not know that he was going to help this Koss." Seema's eyes were tearing up.

"You couldn't have known." He could not blame her especially since she was just a child, after all. And she had been very helpful thus far. "Seema, I need to go back to the hotel so I can try to contact my ship. Could you come with me? I will need your help to find your brother afterwards."

She gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thank you T'Vela. I promise to keep your granddaughter safe." They left the house and headed back towards the bus stop.

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Continued in Chapter 11

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