Forwarded by the ASC-VSO 
Posted: Wed, 07 Apr 2004 02:14:50 -0400  
In: alt.startrek.creative 
From: Quills  
 

Title: "Enemy of the State" 16
Author: Quills
Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com
Series: ENT
Rating: PG-13 
Disclaimer:  Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain
from this story.
Codes: A, T/Tu, Ma, S, R, P angst, drama, romance, humor,
action/adventure
Summary: The starship Enterprise is on a desperate mission to save
Vulcans, which threatens not only Earth, but the entire galaxy. Now it
is up to Archer and his crew, with the help of Soma, to unravel the
Xindi plot and prevent Earth and the galaxy from falling at the feet
of their greatest threat…Vulcan . ***Special note: This story takes
place after the season three episode, "Carpenter Street", but before
the episode "Harbinger".


***WARNING:  this chapter contains HEAVY SPOILERS for the episode
'Damage'. You do not have to read this chapter to follow the story. It
is a 'bottle' chapter that you can come back and read after 'Damage'
airs. This is just a friendly warning to readers who don't want to
know T'Pol's secret.***


Chapter 16

Soma pushed the door aside. He had already searched four other storage
lockers and still hadn't found what he was looking for. 

"I don't understand," he said, a tinge of frustration creeping into
his voice. "I spent half my childhood crawling all over this ship.
You'd think I'd remember where they keep things." Shaking his head, he
let out an audible sigh. "Maybe I'm getting Bendi Syndrome."

Closing the locker door, Soma looked over to his right. A large cargo
door was at the end of the dimly lit corridor. Deciding that the
storage lockers were a dead-end, he started for the cargo hold,
approaching the door slowly. For reasons he couldn't explain, Soma had
a feeling of dread as he neared the door. It was almost as if he
sensed that danger lurked behind it. The feeling caused memories to
surface. He recalled fears he had as a child when he would play in the
empty access crawlspaces. The ship's open ducts and echoing chambers
created noises to freeze any little boy's heart.  Shaking himself, he
chided himself for allowing his mind to wander.

Studying the large framed portal, he noticed several deep grooves near
its base. Following them up, he could see they matched the frame along
the portal. Newly installed? he mused. Examining the bolts in the
frame more closely, gave him further evidence for his conjecture. They
were shiny, like they had been recently fabricated. Someone
reconfigured this cargo bay with a reinforced door…Why? 

His curiosity piqued, Soma reached out to touch the access panel. His
hand made contact with the smooth manual access panel. Pushing it in,
he rapped his hand around the release trigger. As he flexed his arm
and started to pull the access lever he heard a piteous cry from
behind.

"Jonathan!"

Turning sharply, he looked to see who had screamed his name. In the
dim light of the narrow corridor, he could see a small figure in the
shadows. As it moved he started, balling his hands in fists as old
childhood fears crept back into his subconscious. Before he could
react, the figure stepped into the light.

"Mother?" he said, and almost immediately regretted saying it. He
should not have called her that, not when he wasn't sure if she was
alone or not. Soma couldn't help it though. She had startled him. 

"Are you alone?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

He sighed in relief. His unintended outburst had not fallen on any
other ears. "You scared the hell out of me!" he said shaking his head.

"I apologize," she said softly. "But you were about to enter that
room." She pointed to the cargo hold and he noticed an apprehensive
look on her face.

Soma glanced over his shoulder curiously. "What's in there?"

"That is where we are storing the Trellium D which we have acquired,"
she answered, a slight tremor in her voice.

Soma's eyes widened and he looked back at the cargo bay door. "Good
lord!" 

"If you had opened that door, you would have been exposed."

He shook his head somberly, "Thanks for the warning." He had forgotten
all about the Trellium D. He recalled reading the reports on it. A
substance that proved effective in protecting ships from the Expanse's
anomalies, but also proved to be lethal to Vulcans. The Enterprise had
encountered the Vulcan starship, Selaya, while traveling through the
Expanse. What they found was frightening. The entire crew of the
Selaya had been reduced to homicidal maniacs after lining their ship
with Trellium D. It was the reason Captain Archer chose not to use the
material to line the Enterprise. It would have driven his mother to
the same fate.

T'Pol cocked her head as she gave Soma a questioning look. "What are
you doing down here?"

Soma blew out a sigh as he looked at the row of storage lockers. "I
was trying to find your old Vulcan portable scanner," he explained.
"The one you brought with you when you first came aboard Enterprise."

Her expression grew more curious. "Why would you want that?"

"It may come in handy while we're on Vulcan," he explained. "The
software architecture might be more compatible than Starfleet ones. I
thought I'd bring it along in case we have to interface with any
database systems."

Her brow arched in acknowledgment. "Logical."

"I was taught by the best," he said, smiling at her.

She eyed him briefly and then spoke. "However, you will not find it
here."

"No?" he said, making no attempt to hide his surprise.

"It is in my quarters."

"Really? I could have sworn…" he shook his head. "I guess old age is
catching up with me. I remember it being down here."

"Given the fact that you come from another time period, it's
reasonable to assume that your memories are accurate for it. Perhaps
it will be moved down hear at some point." 

"Well, I was just a little kid then."

T'Pol was uncertain if she should ask him about his past…and her
future. Knowing who he was to her proved difficult enough at times,
but her interest had been piqued. 

"Why would you have an interest in my scanner when you were a child?" 

He gave her bashful smile. "I…uh…I used to sneak down here and play
with it," he said looking away. "I'd pretend I was a Vulcan scientist
studying humans…in their natural environment…like you."

He glanced back up at her. Regardless of his age and his rank, she
still had the affect over him that all mothers have over their
children. He was surprised to see a faint smile on her lips. Ever
since she had discovered that he was her son, she had found herself
strangely envious of how much Soma was like his father…and how little
like his mother. She wondered if Commander Tucker had a stronger bond
with their son, which explained the overt influence on his
development. But when she heard Soma's explanation about her scanner,
an emotion came to the surface. It was strong and distinct. She
recognized it immediately…pride.

T'Pol straightened and her smile melted into her stoic masque of
non-emotion. "If you wish, I will bring it with me tomorrow."

Soma smiled. "I'd like that very much."

She remained quiet for several long moments. She seemed as if there
was something she wanted to say. Soma waited, but when nothing seemed
to be forth coming, he decided to change the conversation. 

"So, what are you doing…"

"I should retire," she said cutting him off abruptly. "We have an
early day tomorrow and I would like to…meditate before retiring."

Soma shook his head. "I'm gonna clean up down here. I'll see you in
the morning."

"Good night," she said nodding.

"Nite."

Soma watched T'Pol walk towards the exit. She stopped and turned back,
looking at him. Although, for a moment, he swore she was looking past
him. Turning back, she exited the corridor. 

Soma looked around. There were several crates he needed to move back
into place, before he headed back to his quarters. Bending over, he
pushed one of the poly-alloy containers against the wall. It weighed
in excess of four hundred pounds and would normally require a loader
to move it. However, it proved little effort for Soma's Vulcan
strength. 

As he bent down to move another container, a small metallic object
caught his attention. It was lying on the floor, several feet away,
where T'Pol had been standing. Standing, he walked over and picked the
tiny object up. Bringing it up to his face, he examined it closely. It
was an ampoule, very similar to the ones Doctor Phlox used in sickbay.
How did this get down here, he mused. He didn't recall seeing any
medical equipment in any of the storage lockers. Turning, he looked at
the cargo door and suddenly a disturbing thought occurred to him. When
he was about to open the door, he heard his mother call out to him. It
was quite clear and distinct. But he also remembered hearing something
else, something less distinct; a tiny pinging sound…like the sound of
a small piece of metal hitting the deck plating. 

Looking down at the tiny ampoule, he closed his fist around it as he
squeezed tightly.
He would have to be certain. But if what he feared were true…he wasn't
sure what he would do about it.

________________________________________________________________________

Soma stood outside her quarters, contemplating what he would say.
Anger, frustration and fear…especially fear, threatened to overwhelm
him. He had hoped he was wrong, but knew the medical scanner couldn't
lie. He was just grateful that Phlox wasn't in sickbay to ask him any
questions. This was going to be hard enough as it was.

T'Pol heard the door chime. Rising from her bed, she pulled her robe
tightly to her body as she walked to the door. Tapping the control
panel, she signaled the door to open and was greeted by the unexpected
face of her son.

"Jonathan?" a hint of alarm in her surprised expression. "Is something
wrong?"

Soma smiled weakly at her. "May I come in?"

"Of course," she said stepping aside.

Soma entered the room, glancing around as he continued to struggle
with his duty. Looking towards the wall, he could see her meditation
candles. They looked unattended as if they had seen too many nights of
neglect. Apparently she didn't return to her quarters and meditate as
she intended. Looking up, he saw the IDIC symbol she kept by her
meditation tools, a symbol of the unwavering devotion to diversity. 

T'Pol studied Soma as he stood quietly with his back to her. She
sensed his apprehension, but it mirrored her own. She didn't know how
she could be certain…but she knew why he was here and it terrified
her.

"Why?" he said, the soft tone filled with a dire pleading.

"I-I do not understand," she replied, trying to feign ignorance.

Soma made no attempt to turn. He couldn't look at her. He simply
raised his arm, holding his hand out. T'Pol's gaze moved up Soma's
arm, across his hand and stopped…at the small ampoule he held in his
fingers.

"Recognize this?" he asked, a bitter tone now permeated his words.

Swallowing hard, she continued to stare at the ampoule. It's silver
metallic color glistened in the soft light of the room. She felt a
warm sense of urgency form in her body
as she fixed her gaze on it.

Soma turned slowly, his jaw set in a hard expression. He stared at her
with penetrating eyes, daring her to tell him she had never seen the
ampoule before.

"Why?" he asked for the second time. This time the word was filled
with anger.

T'Pol hesitated; she wasn't sure what to say to him. "Y-You don't
understand," she answered finally.

"You're right," he replied turning to face her. "I don't understand. I
don't understand how you can do something so foolish…so…illogical!" He
stressed that last word for her benefit as well as his own.

She looked at him for a brief moment, before turning away. Emotions
rose to the surface, threatening to overwhelm her, but she would not
give in to them. She was a Vulcan. Logic and reason dictated her
actions. Looking back Soma, she swallowed hard as she forced her dry
mouth to say what needed to be said.

"My reason is logical."

"Logical?" he said, the look of disbelief apparent. "It's logical for
you to expose yourself to a toxic substance? It's logical for you
slowly destroy yourself? Where is the logic in that mother?"

She looked down at the ampoule he still held in his hand, fixing her
gaze on it as she replied. "I don't want anyone else to die on my
behalf."

Soma's face tightened into a masque of confusion. "What are you
talking about?"

Her eyes locked onto his as she tried to mirror the hard expression he
held.
"When we first discovered that Trellium D could protect Enterprise
from the Expanse's anomalies, Captain Archer intended to acquire a
sufficient enough amount to line the inside of the ship," she
explained, pausing as she took a deep breath. "After we discovered the
Selaya and the effects Trellium D had on the Vulcan crew, the captain
abandoned his plan to line the ship with the material. I advised him
that he should proceed with his original plan; that it was his only
logical option and that he should leave me on the next habitable
planet we encountered. He refused. He said he wouldn't abandon one of
the crew."

Soma stared at her as the explanation slowly sunk in. "Your trying
to…to build up an immunity to the Trellium?"

T'Pol took a deep breath, holding it for a moment. When she finally
released it, she sighed, nodding her head gently.

He remained silent as he stared at her. She watched his eyes. They
were a piercing grayish blue color that stood out in stark contrast to
his olive skin. Their color made his stare even more acutely felt.

"Please speak to me."

Soma shook his head. "What do you want me to say?"

"Say that you understand," she replied. "That you will not interfere."

Soma stiffened as a rush of anger threatened to overtake his already
frayed control. "You're asking me to lie to Captain Archer?"

"Not a lie," she corrected. "An omission."

He turned away once again. He couldn't…he wouldn't look at her. "If
the captain knew what you were doing, he'd relieve you of duty and
confine you sickbay. And quite frankly I agree. I cannot allow
your…experiment… to jeopardize this mission.  I have a duty..."

"So do I!" she said angrily. 

Soma turned back, a shocked look on his face. He had never heard her
yell like that. 

T'Pol approached him, stopping only when she was inches away. "I will
not be the cause of anymore deaths aboard this ship," she said
sternly. "If I can build an immunity to the Trellium then Captain
Archer can use it to protect the ship. We do not know how long we will
have to remain in the Expanse. You said yourself, that once this
mission is complete, Enterprise will have to continue on its search
for the Xindi weapon."

"But you don't know if you can build an immunity to it," said Soma. 

"Do you know for certain that I cannot?" she countered.

"It's never been tested," he said in exasperation, shaking his head.
"When Enterprise returned from the Expanse, Captain Archer turned over
all the information collected on Trellium to the Vulcan Science
Directorate. They deemed it toxic and the tests they could perform
were inconclusive do to a lack in test subjects."

"Then you do not know if I will be successful or not," she said
flatly. "I must try…Jonathan…I have seen too many people injured or
killed because of me. Even a Vulcan cannot completely banish the
emotions those losses bring."

Soma bit his lip as he looked at her. She was so beautiful,
intelligent and strong. Strength was her greatest trait. Not physical
strength, although as a Vulcan she had that in abundance. No, it was
strength of character that he admired in her. "You never told me you
experimented with it."

She looked at him and saw the wounded expression on his face. She knew
it all to well. Hadn't she seen it herself as a child every time she
looked in the mirror after finding yet another glaring flaw in the
perfect image she held of her own father, Ambassador Soval. "I can
only conclude that it was something I did not believe you needed to
know. Jonathan…I do want you to know that this was not something I did
arbitrarily. If there were another way, I would have taken it. You
must trust me." 

He looked at her again. The pained child still there but joined with
the adult man. "I'm sorry," he said taking a deep breath. Looking
away, he walking past her and headed for the door.

She desperately wanted to stop him…to plead with him not to go to
Captain Archer with her secret, but she couldn't move. Her body felt
completely numb. She just watched as he 
walked to the door with the evidence of her secret in his hand.

Stopping, he looked back at her for a brief moment. She could see the
anguish on his face. He would go to Archer and report his findings.
She knew what would happen then. The captain would relieve her of duty
and in all likelihood confine her to sickbay. As she stood motionless,
continuing to watch him, she was suddenly startled as he reached down
and gently laid the ampoule on her end table.

Not turning to look at her, he spoke. "Report to the transporter room
at 0600 hours, Sub-Commander."  When he finished, he quietly exited
her quarters allowing the door to close behind him.

She stood quietly for several moments as she stared at the door. She
had gotten what she wanted most…. but it felt hollow. He was her son
and she had come to know what kind of man he was, a good man and a man
of honor and responsibility. It made the lie she had told him all the
more simple to fabricate. She had used his own sense of duty and
responsibility to deceive him. She merely had to tell him what she
knew his sense of honor would accept and believe. The truth was not as
palatable. Though she held the Enterprise and its crew in high regard,
the truth was she had no altruistic reasons for using the Trellium. It
was desire and nothing more. A desire that she could not contain or
control and which held her in a grip that she could not break free of;
a desire that had held sway over her since she first felt its
addictive, narcotic effects aboard the Selaya. The emotional release
it brought her was like nothing she ever experienced. To give that
up…it was…it was unthinkable.

Walking towards the door, she stopped at the end table. Looking at the
ampoule, she took a deep breath and kneeled slowly. Picking up the
tiny cylinder, her hand began to tremble as she felt the rush of
desire once again…the need for emotional release overwhelming her and
a low sob broke from her throat. As she clutched the tiny metallic
object in her hand a shame filled tear rolled down her cheek and she
suddenly realized…not all emotions were welcome ones.

TBC…



--
Stephen Ratliff
ASC Awards Tech Support

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