THE RING
By Oldguy73
T'Pol was right. The area of Risa was a little seedy; it had seen better days. Still, it didn't seem to present any trouble. Trip walked along, deep in thought. He was wondering what she wanted to see the priest about. He didn't know she was spiritual. Whatever it was, it must be important to her.
Trip had been walking for a while. He had lost track of the time. He came to a "T"; he could turn right or left, but he could not go straight ahead. He chose left.
He walked down a street of shops. Most seemed to be closed as it was late afternoon. One shop had a light on indicating it was open for business. As Trip approached it, he saw some Nausicaans coming towards him not looking too friendly. He turned and looked behind him. More Nausicaans. Damn, no phaser and too many to handle. Trip walked to the shop with the light. He tried the door; it was locked. He banged on the door twice and at last saw an old man hurrying to unlock the door. Trip looked and could see the Nausicaans getting closer. The door opened and he entered the shop. The man closed the door, locked it and flipped a switch next to it.
"They won't come in. That would have the police down here right away and the Nausicaans would be tossed off the planet if they robbed my shop or hurt anyone in it. They will just wait outside and rob you of anything you might buy in here. The police won't get around to investigating that for a day or two. You take your chance on the street."
Trip looked around the shop. It had a number of artifacts on the walls, standing next to counters and in cases. He didn't recognize many of them nor did he know the species that might have made them. Some were interesting, but he could hardly fit them into his quarters. The captain gave him enough trouble about that hard diving helmet. He said it would fly around if the Enterprise had to make some evasive maneuvers.
"See anything you might want to buy?"
"Not that I could take back with me."
"Keep looking. I don't believe the Nausicaans are going to leave for a while."
"When do you close?"
"I will stay open until you leave."
"Nice of you."
Trip continued to browse around the shop, pausing every once in a while to look outside.
He had his communicator but was at a loss who to call. Enterprise couldn't move around the planet to beam him up with the transporter. He doubted if they could get a MACO squad here any time soon. The Vulcan Embassy. Call T'Pol? She was busy with the priest, and he didn't want to disturb her. Besides he wasn't sure if the Vulcans would help. They hadn't been too helpful to Earth in the past so why should they bother about one Human. Maybe the Nausicaans would leave.
"Still do not see anything you want?"
"Not yet. Too large and most of it I haven't a clue what they are for or what species made them."
The old man reached underneath the counter he was standing behind. He pulled out a box of medium size: bigger than a cigar box but smaller than a shoe box.
"Look in here. These things have been collected over the years since my grandfather's time. Some of these things he bought from strangers and other things he thought he might sell but had no takers. So, I keep the box down here to show customers who don't see anything else they might buy. Iarely sell anything from the box." He opened the box and slid it towards Trip.
Trip looked inside and saw a jumble of items. He poked through them and pawed until he reached the bottom of the box. He saw a small box at the bottom. He picked it up. The box had strange script on it. He didn't recognize it, but maybe Hoshi would recognize it.
"What is this?" said Trip, holding up the box.
"Grandfather bought it a long time ago. It fell to the bottom and no one bought it or even looked at it."
"What's in it?"
"A ring, I guess. The man my grandfather bought it from said it was for a princess. Grandfather thought the man was a sneak thief who needed funds and wanted to get rid of something he had stolen somewhere. Grandfather didn't think the ring had much value so he gave the man one quarter what he asked for the ring. The man took what Grandfather offered and left. Grandfather didn't even look at the ring because he thought it was a tale the man told him to make the ring sound more valuable. Grandfather did say the man told him that the ring was made of a metal from the Beta Quadrant and had properties that when the ring was first put on it would shrink to the size of the finger it was first put on and then would set and stay that size. The man told Grandfather that it might react to the heat of the finger or had some chemical in it that reacted to skin of any kind. Anyway, Grandfather only looked in the box once, but he said it didn't look valuable at all. It was just dull gray metal and stone. It has been in the box ever since. I have never opened the box and I guess my father didn't either."
Trip was curious. He opened the box. The ring was caked with dirt from years of sitting in the little box inside the larger box. Dirt had seeped in and hardened over the years. Trip couldn't tell what stone was in the ring or what the metal looked like. He was intrigued.
"How much?"
"Well, since it might actually have the properties the man told my grandfather and it might have a stone of some value..." He named a price.
Trip sensed the old man wanted to haggle so he offered a much lower price. They bargained back and forth. The old man seemed to enjoy it. Finally, they agreed on a price. Trip took out his bank card. He had an account with the largest bank in the quadrant. It was located on worlds that Trip had never been to, but if he ever were to go to one of them his bank card would be good. The freighter people all had accounts as did the freighter companies, so Earth credits were in the exchange program. Problem was, Earth credits were worth very little.
When the old man put his card in to the reader, Trip realized he had just spent a large chunk of his back pay, but it was too late to back out now. He had just made a purchase.
The old man handed Trip his card. "Thank you, I hope you like your ring."
"I'll know better once I get it clean."
"Hmmm. The Nausicaans are still out there."
The man rang a bell and a young man stepped out of the back.
"My son can take you out of this area to where you can catch a ground transport."
Seeing the look own Trip's face, he said, "You have a choice, the Nausicaans or my son. Either might rob you or my son might guide you out of here."
Trip looked at the young man. He was about Trip's size. Could I take him? If he lives around here, he might be tough. Still better a chance with him than those Nausicaans.
"I trust your son."
"Good, he won't harm you and he will take you to safety."
"Goodbye, then. It has been interesting," said Trip.
Trip followed the young man out of the shop and into the back. The young man opened a door leading down under the shop. When they got to the bottom, he opened another door and stepped inside. Trip followed him. They were in what looked like a small room with a ladder leading down. The young man descended the ladder. Trip followed. They were in what seemed to be an abandoned sewer. Someone had strung lights and it looked as if there had been a number of travelers in here.
"We will have to walk a while, but when we come up we will be at a ground car station. I know the driver of one. He will take you where you want to go safely, if I ask him to."
They finally came to a ladder which the young man climbed. Trip followed. They came out on a side street with no foot traffic. The young man closed the lid over the hole containing the ladder.
"This way."
They walked a few steps and were out on a lit street. It was early evening by then. The young man walked over to a ground car, talked to the driver for a minute and then motioned Trip over to the car.
"He will take you where you want to go. Goodbye." The young man turned and walked back into the side street.
Trip got into the ground car and said, "Vulcan Embassy, front gate."
"The driver set off without a word. They drove about fifteen minutes. Trip had not realized that he had walked so far. When they arrived at the Embassy, Trip handed over his bank card. He paid for his ride, got his card back and stepped out of the car.
Trip looked himself over. He brushed his trousers then took out a cloth and wiped his shoes. He walked into the embassy. T'Pol was just leaving the priest's office.
"Ready?" Trip asked.
"The embassy has given us a ground car to take us to the hotel. It will also take us to the spaceport tomorrow so we can take the shuttle to Enterprise."
"Great."
When the ground car appeared and stopped, Trip opened the door and motioned T'Pol inside. She hesitated and then got into the car and Trip followed. The ride to the hotel was made in silence.
When they reached their destination, Trip said, "I've got a nice dinner planned in a Vulcan garden. We can take a walk through it later, after we eat."
"I must get ready then. I will be down in..."
"...forty minutes," finished Trip.
"Agreed forty minutes."
Trip got their door opener cards, and they entered the lift. Their rooms were on the same floor. When Trip entered his room, he took off his uniform, showered, shaved and put on an outfit of a blue that T'Pol had said was her favorite blue. He closely inspected himself in the full length mirror that came with the room. Everything looked good. Trip was downstairs five minutes early. He paced a bit watching the lift.
The lift doors opened and T'Pol stepped out. She was dressed in a Vulcan robe, not loose or tight but form fitting. It was a light green, which accented her bronze skin. There was a circlet of green Vulcan metal on her head and her brow.
Trip looked around; most male eyes were on her. Some of the females were trying, unsuccessfully, to regain their escort's attention.
Trip thought, while T'Pol glided toward him, about the costume films he used to love before he discovered horror movies. He could see himself in front of T'Pol.
Bowing and then kneeling and saying, "Milady, my sword is yours."
She was so beautiful that Trip almost strutted when he walked up to her. He could feel the envy of the other males when he reached T'Pol and started to talk to her.
"You are as beautiful as I have ever seen you."
"Thank you, Commander."
Trip wanted to offer her his arm but knew she would not take it.
"We have to go over there," he said, pointing to a small desk where a man stood.
If this was not a maitre d', he gave a good imitation of one.
"Commander Tucker and escort."
"Certainly, sir. This way."
He led Trip and T'Pol to a door.
"In here we have a holographic garden. There is a table where you will dine. You can walk through the garden after your meal. The paths are illuminated and you can walk as long as you wish. When you want to leave, just say, 'End Tucker simulation,' and you will be in a room. You will see the door and can leave the room then."
The man opened the door and Trip and T'Pol walked into a garden like Trip had never seen.
"We have taken the liberty of putting a fountain next to your table. We don't know if there are fountains on Vulcan but believe that you would enjoy having one near your table."
"We have fountains on Vulcan. There is one in our garden at my mother's house."
Trip moved behind T'Pol's chair, pulled it out and gestured for her to sit. T'Pol glanced at him and sat. As she was moving the chair forward, Trip gently pushed it towards the table.
He moved around the table and sat.
"That was what human males used to do. It was a mark of respect and courtesy given a woman."
"Between couples?"
"No, any man and woman. They could be a couple or just friends."
"Courtesy? Respect?"
"Yes, women used to regard it in the same way. They were pleased by it."
"I see."
"Could you call me Trip, just for tonight? Tomorrow you can go back to calling me Commander Tucker."
"Why is tonight special?"
"You make it special. You have never looked so lovely, especially in that beautiful robe. All I have ever seen you in is that cat suit. That is special enough."
T'Pol said nothing, but she nodded.
The maitre d' said: "I believe it is the custom of Humans to have a beverage before a meal."
Trip looked at T'Pol
"I observe that custom too. I shall have water."
Trip didn't know how powerful the local liquor was. He didn't want to be under the table before the meal even started. "I will have water too.
"The waiter will bring it for you."
The man handed Trip and T'Pol menus. Trip saw that T'Pol's was printed in Vulcan.
Trip looked at his. He knew that the officers of the freighters stayed at this hotel, so there was a selection of Human dishes. Someone must have liked prime rib because it was on the menu, along with baked potato and cut beans.
The waiter appeared with their water.
He spoke to T'Pol in Vulcan. She answered him and appeared to ask a question. The waiter answered and T'Pol ordered. The waiter came to Trip.
"Your order, sir?"
Trip told him and the waiter departed the table.
"He is an android. He speaks many languages and is programmed to be a waiter," said T'Pol.
"He could get a job in a good, expensive restaurant on Earth."
Trip's attention was suddenly drawn to the design on the circlet T'Pol was wearing.
"It is my clan sign," she said, noticing where he was looking. "My father's clan."
"Your father's and mother's clan?"
No, just my father's. My mother has her own clan. My father died when I was young or he would have introduced me to his clan when I was twelve. At the age of 15, I was able to choose the clan I wanted to become a member of. I chose my father's clan to honor him and because it is one of the oldest and most powerful clans on Vulcan. My mother says it was because I am so like my father."
"Like your father, how?"
"He was a bit of a rebel. My mother said he didn't want me betrothed at seven. My father and mother did not meet until the day before they were married. I guess they were affectionate, but I am not sure if they truly loved one another. He must have felt that I should not have to marry someone I didn't know."
"A rebel? You?
"Yes, I joined the Intelligence Section when I was young. It sounded exciting to me. I had many missions. I finally had enough and transferred to the Science Directorate."
"Was it getting too dangerous? Was that why you quit and transferred?
T'Pol dropped her eyes. "Yes, I believed that the longer I stayed in intelligence the more dangerous my assignments would become. I am not a coward, but I did not want to be violated and that was a definite possibly if I stayed in intelligence, so I left it."
Trip wanted to ask more, but he knew that she had told him more than she would have told anyone else. He believed, though, that she was holding something back that she did not want him to know.
"As I said, you look more beautiful than I have ever seen you. Also, you seem softer that you have ever been. I would like to see more of this woman, to get to know her better."
"She does not exist." T'Pol's voice had an edge to it; her Vulcan armor had gone up.
"Guess I said the wrong thing. That woman has gone, hidden behind that mask and armor you put on. But she still is under that and someday I hope she will come out again and stay."
"There is no woman underneath what you see. It is your imagination. You will never see that woman because she does not exist, as I have said."
Trip was uncomfortable. He had opened something that T'Pol had not wanted to reveal. Luckily their meals arrived. The waiter had an assistant to help serve the meal. After the two left, Trip and T'Pol began to eat. Trip observed the Vulcan custom of silence during a meal. He watched T'Pol eat her meal. She ate delicately, not touching her food with her hands or fingers.
When they finally finished, the waiter immediately came in with his assistant, cleared the table and asked: "Would you care for coffee or tea?"
"Tea? What kind of tea do you serve?" T'Pol asked.
"We have Vulcan tea and some Human teas."
"Do you have chamomile?"
"Yes, we do. May I bring you a cup?"
"Yes, please."
"Coffee for me."
"How was your Vulcan meal?" asked the maitre d'.
"Very well prepared. I enjoyed it very much."
"And your meal?" he asked Trip.
"Good. It tasted just like real prime rib."
"How do you like the garden?"
"I will enjoy walking through it after we are finished."
When the maitre d' left to get their after dinner drinks, Trip said, "I didn't know you had packed such a lovely robe."
"I had it made and shipped to me. A Vulcan ship came near to the Enterprise and they transported it aboard our ship."
"Were you going to wear it for a special occasion or to have dinner with the captain or in the hotel?"
"If the captain asked me to dinner, we would have eaten in the hotel dining room. He would order a meal for us. I would wear my usual uniform. It would be a commander and subordinate sharing a meal. He probably would want to talk about ship's business. He would never think of a setting like this."
"Okay, then why the robe? You wanted to wear it in the hotel?"
"No, you had mentioned that we might have dinner together while we are on Risa this time, just the two of us."
"You mean that you had that robe made just to wear to have dinner with me?"
"Yes, and it will be the only time I will wear it. Never around the crew or the captain."
T'Pol was mystified. Why she had told him that? She didn't want him to know that she had the robe made just for this dinner, that she would not show it to the captain or any of the crew. This was not following the priest's advice at all. She was encouraging him; she could see it in his eyes. But she couldn't stop. She would have to be in control from now on and distance herself.
When they were finished, Trip got up walked around the table and helped T'Pol out of her chair.
"More courtesy?"
"Yes, same kind."
They began to walk the pathways. Trip felt that a Vulcan moon would make this perfect. He didn't know if Vulcan had one or more moons or any at all. But a big silvery moon would be just right. But the holoprogram couldn't do that much.
T'Pol was obviously enjoying her walk through a familiar garden setting. She finally stopped in front of a flowering plant.
"This is my favorite flower."
"What is the name of it?"
She said a name in Vulcan which Trip could not even pronounce, much less remember. He had hoped he could ask the arboretum people on Enterprise to get some so T'Pol could have a fresh flower on her desk or in her room. Maybe both.
They continued walking. T'Pol stopped occasionally to linger at a favorite plant.
At last she said, "We should go. You must be tired. It has been a long day for you."
"If I could make this night last, I would stay awake forever."
"That would be impossible, so it is illogical."
Trip smiled at this. Leave it to her to bring logic into the conversation just when it was getting cozy.
"End Tucker simulation," T'Pol said.
Nothing happened.
"Guess I have to say it."
"Do so then. We must go."
"End Tucker simulation," said Trip.
Suddenly they were standing in a room. The door leading out was just a few steps away, so they walked out.
When they got outside, the maitre d' came up and presented the bill to Trip.
"I will pay for my meal," said T'Pol.
"No, you won't. I invited you and planned this dinner. I am going to pay for it and that is final, no arguments or logic."
'As you wish."
Trip paid with his bank card. They crossed the lobby to the lift.
"Where is your door opening card?"
"Here," said T'Pol, taking it out of her small handbag and showing it to Trip. Trip took it out of her hand. The lift door opened and they got in.
"My card please."
Trip ignored her outstretched hand.
When they got to their floor Trip walked to T'Pol's door, put in the card, opened the door, stepped back and handed her the card.
"More courtesy?"
"Yup, a gentleman always sees his date to her room to make sure she arrives safely."
"What could happen to me in a hotel?"
"You would be surprised."
"Good night, Commander. I enjoyed the meal, the garden and your presence."
"Presence? You make that sound like I am just a casual friend."
"We are just friends."
"How about just good friends? The way you said it sounds like you're telling a guy not to bother. We're just casual acquaintances and that's all we'll ever be. Forget about first base, I won't even get up to bat."
"But that is what we are, good friends."
"You know what a real friend is? Someone you can count on when the chips are down, the going get rough and it is dangerous. That is when you find out who your real friends are."
"Commander Tucker, you are raising your voice."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
"Please lower your voice."
"Are you asking me as an acquaintance or a friend? Or maybe just someone passing by?"
"Come into my room if you are going to shout."
Trip followed T'Pol into her room.
"I will tell you what a friend is. Well, a real close friend would stick by you, not saving his own ass instead of worrying about you. But a real friend is one you could count on in a pinch."
"You would be that for me?"
"Damned right I would. I would stick by you through anything to make sure nothing happened to you."
"But we are just friends. We are not intimate friends."
"There are two kinds of intimate friends. One is a buddy you trust. You can tell him anything and he won't betray that trust. You can do things that might be embarrassing and he won't "Hee Haw" you to death over it. This guy would be like a very close brother. Then there are intimates who are male and female, and they are very intimate, if you know what I mean."
"But can't a male and female be like the first relationship you described?"
"No, sexual tension is always there and until it is resolved, it will always be between them. Resolving it could lead to a breakup of the pair. If you let the guy know that you have no interest in him that way, he may just leave because he feels you don't want him and he will find someone who does. No, male and female buddies don't work."
"I believe, Commander Tucker, that we will have to be just good friends, then."
"You know I asked you to call me Trip and you nodded yes, but you never did the whole evening. Even "just a good friend" would have done that, if I asked. But you didn't."
"I addressed you directly so I did not have to use your name at all."
"It is damned good to know where I stand then. I guess I had better leave."
Trip wanted to take T'Pol in his arms and kiss her, but he might be kissing an unresponsive ice princess.
"Goodnight, T'Pol. I will see you in the morning."
"The car will be here to pick us up at eight in the morning."
"I will be in the lobby at that time."
Trip walked out of T'Pol's room and to his room. When he got into the room, he fumed for a while then showered and crawled into bed. "Damned woman," he muttered.
In the morning, Trip was waiting in the lobby. He had paid his bill and had his luggage at his feet.
T'Pol was outside looking for the embassy car. She, too, had paid and Trip was guarding her luggage.
When the car arrived, T'Pol came in, picked up her bag and walked out. Trip followed. Trip opened the door and motioned for T'Pol to enter. After a moment she did.
It was a silent trip to the spaceport and an even quieter ride in the shuttle to the Enterprise.
They walked into the Enterprise from the shuttle bay. Both had quarters on the same floor across from one another. They walked side by side not speaking.
Trip opened his door, walked in, closed the door behind him and went to his closet. He slid back the door and squatted in front of a small safe that was part of the beam under the floor. It could not be moved and would be almost impossible for someone else to open. Trip opened the safe, using the different locking devices: retina pattern, thumb print, and voice recognition. Once the safe was open, he removed the small box containing the ring from his pocket and put it into the safe and locked it.
Trip spent the next week carefully cleaning the ring, never touching it with his hands or fingers. He used gloves, a soft cloth and some very gentle cleaning fluid. When he was finished, it was a gray colored ring. Metal and stone. Nothing unusual. Kind of bland. Trip wondered why the thief thought it was so special. Finally, Trip thought of something. He held the ring on one gloved hand and carefully slid the tip of his pinky finger into the opening of the ring, being careful not to touch the metal, and then pulled it out a few seconds later. The heat of his finger must have done something. Although the ring did not shrink in size it slowly changed color. The metal was a warm white gold and the stone was a ruby, a flame ruby. He could see the flame in it as it danced, flickered and rose. Such stones only existed in the Beta Quadrant and were rare even there. The few he had heard of in the Alpha Quadrant were locked in vaults. Damn, it was a ring for a princess. Hell, a queen! My Vulcan queen, he thought ruefully.
"What in hell am I going to do?" he said aloud.
"T'Pol just wants to be good friends. I want to be more to her. Hell, Trip, admit it you care deeply for her, but she doesn't feel the same way about you."
But the bright flame of the Vulcan female drew him in like a moth. T'Pol. No matter what the consequences, the prize was far more desirable and worth the risk. How to get closer to T'Pol, to break through the barriers she always seemed to have up?
Trip held his head in his hands. What kind of a future would he have chasing an elusive dream? Never knowing where he stood with T'Pol. He stood up and took a deep breath. Faint heart never won fair maiden, he thought. But in his mind he put the ring on the finger of her left hand. It shrank to fit only her finger. Trip wondered if the ring might remember its owner and only fit on her finger. That day would never come. He was sure of it, but hoped he was wrong.
Finis