Office of V'Sai
Clan Council Compound
Shi'Kahr, Vulcan
V'Sai considered what had been conveyed so far, as she sipped her tea. Then, replacing it on the table between them, just so and precisely, she folded her hands in her lap and faced T'Pau again.
"I will acknowledge the obvious." She said. "The things that you report are unexpected and portentous."
T'Pau said nothing. Waiting patiently. Entirely unaffected by V'Sai's decorum.
So. Very well, then.
"You are wise, T'Pau. Perhaps it would be most beneficial now that I speak openly and trust that you are beyond offense."
T'Pau inclined her head slightly. "I will agree, V'Sai."
"Then I will judge further that the things you report are fantastic." V'Sai said. "So that I find them difficult to accept without some measure of evidence."
T'Pau arched an eyebrow sharply in response. And so V'Sai knew she'd overstepped somehow.
"It does not fall to me to establish the truth of these things with you, V'Sai." She suggested. "Indeed, T'Pol is a daughter of your clan, not mine. I have come only to report what I know to be true. It is for you to determine whether you will accept it. And what you will do in response."
"Which begs the question." V'Sai replied. "Why? Our clans are hardly allied. And I know that you rise to prominence even now, both within your clan and in our burgeoning new government. It seems unlikely in the extreme that bringing these things to my attention would serve your interests in any fashion."
"It serves, potentially, the interests of the Vulcan people." T'Pau pointed out. "Which is indeed my interest, above all else."
"You would have been better served addressing these matters yourself." V'Sai said. "Once your influence increases and you find yourself in a position to do so. So I question again your intentions."
T'Pau raised her chin slightly, reconsidering V'Sai. In a somewhat unfavorable light, she suspected.
"You have suggested we speak openly, V'Sai." She said. "And so I will do so."
V'Sai steeled herself…
"I have no interest in pursuing the vain political posturing common to so many clan mothers. Such as yourself. If I am here for any reason related to my clan, it is so that I may repay the debt mine owes to yours. So that this debt may not be called upon when I am in a position that makes repaying it inconvenient."
Which was…unexpected.
And also suggested that T'Pau assumed she would call on that debt once she'd risen to power in the new government…to elicit favors…
"Whatever you may think of me and my clan, T'Pau, we do not seek the corruption of government for our ends." V'Sai said.
T'Pau countered. "And whatever you think of me, I am not so foolish as to grant the assumption of benevolence, or even good citizenship, to a clan that has opposed my own for many centuries."
"A clan which aided you significantly in your pursuit of the Kir'shara." V'Sai said. "And which has received little recognition for our role in its recovery. Despite the sacrifice of some of our own to that cause, including T'Pol's own mother. The very debt you have come to absolve yourself of."
"And this is the point you fail to acknowledge." T'Pau said. "That the interests of the Vulcan people supersede both clan and individual interests. And your continued failure to acknowledge that establishes the need to repay this debt before you are granted the opportunity to call upon it later. And be refused."
V'Sai paused at that. Refused? This debt?
It would seem…that T'Pau truly was every bit the fanatic she'd been reported to be. V'Sai suddenly found it believable that this woman might denounce even her own clan in the interests of all the people. Precisely as she had been suggesting all along.
Fascinating.
"I begin to perceive how you have risen to such influence so quickly." V'Sai said. "And why so many insist you will continue to do so."
T'Pau had no comment for that, apparently.
V'Sai nodded. "Very well. Putting aside clan interests, then, and even the repayment of this debt…focusing solely on the interests of the Vulcan people…let us determine together what must be done in response to the things you report."
T'Pau observed her for a time. Naturally considering whether her sudden shift of perspective was trustworthy.
So V'Sai determined it best to expose her own interests for scrutiny. It was, after all, equitable now to do so.
"Unlike yourself, my interests lie first and foremost with my clan. Specifically with the daughters of my clan. But in regards to that, I must also recognize the necessity of government and the predominant concerns of the Vulcan people at large. I am hardly willing to undermine the very foundation upon which my clan rests. And so, on this point we agree somewhat."
"And I will acknowledge that T'Pol has become…a catalyst of sorts." V'Sai continued. "She rebels against her clan. She rebels against her government. She rebels even against her role in Vulcan society. For many, her choices seem justified. To others, exceedingly foolish. And so she has played her part in forcing the reexamination of many traditions that are of extreme importance to our people. Especially today."
"But now you suggest her choices and actions may have been influenced by factors beyond logic. The bounds of her fullara broken, a false plak'tau, the subsequent effects of the expanse and exposure to this toxin, trellium. And things more troubling even than these. Intentional abuse of the toxin, for an extended period. Even mating with a Human, and out of cycle at that."
"Indeed." T'Pau affirmed. "Which should suggest to you that her behavior continues to escalate beyond her control. To the point that her celebrity poses a potential threat to the people."
"Because you expect knowledge of these things to become public?"
"Not necessarily." T'Pau said. "I believe that will prove unlikely. Even now this awareness exists only between us. And it is highly improbable that T'Pol will ever allow another to touch her mind, whether she suspects I have become aware of these things or not."
"She has suffered violation in that manner more than once, according to you." V'Sai said. "This…v'tosh ka'tur, Tolaris, and the further damage that resulted from that assault. And so I am surprised she allowed you to touch her in that way."
"She was able to evoke trust in me due to my association with her mother. And she was desperate to do so, in order to seize the cure for her ailment when it was unexpectedly offered."
"Which bears witness to emotional decision making in itself." V'Sai noted.
"Indeed." T'Pau said. "And if her deterioration continues to escalate, we can expect more of the same. Her behavior becoming increasingly disturbing as time progresses."
"Leading inevitably to incidents and behaviors that will illustrate her diminishing mental status clearly to the people." V'Sai said. "Thus undermining the reexamination and reconstitution you intend for so many traditional foundations. And so I perceive now your concerns."
They sat together for a time, contemplating their shared considerations. The tea on the table before them long forgotten.
"The obvious response to this presents many difficulties." V'Sai said at last.
"Assuming you intend to aid T'Pol in regaining mastery of herself, that would require her return to Vulcan."
"The very thing she rebels most against." V'Sai acknowledged. "Out of fear, I now realize."
"Entirely." T'Pau said.
V'Sai was quiet for a moment. Accepting the very disagreeable position she found herself in.
And the fact that T'Pau's intelligence and wisdom was clearly greater than she had assumed. And that her rise to the appointment of mother to her clan was largely inevitable.
And, so, that her own clan's ancient rivalry with T'Pau's would be best served by being concluded amicably. And soon. Before T'Pau came to power…
"Then we are forced to wait and observe." She said. "Merely hoping an opportunity presents itself. Before she achieves the utter destruction she flees toward."
T'Pau gazed her then. Strangely.
"She is a wounded lara." V'Sai explained. "And she will flee from any approach, however benevolent."
"You are unaware of what has occurred." T'Pau announced.
And now V'Sai's eyebrow rose.
Of course. She should have realized immediately.
She should have realized when she found T'Pau waiting for her at the door this morning. She had not come at her leisure to do this thing. Something had compelled her…
V'Sai tapped the bar on table's comm system.
"T'vel." She ordered. "Bring my morning report, immediately."
"Excuse me, V'Sai." T'Pau apologized. "It seems I intruded before you were able to prepare yourself for the day."
"It is my own failing, T'Pau. It was unwise to delay my review. I assume then that T'Pol suffered an emotional outburst at the Coalition conference on Earth?"
"No, V'Sai." T'Pau said. "Indeed much else has occurred in the last day, with far greater import than that. I respectfully recommend you meditate prior to reviewing the day's report."
V'Sai accepted that T'Pau's council was logical to follow, considering all relevant circumstances. So she meditated in private before reviewing her morning report, even as T'Pau waited patiently in her office for her to return.
But she was forced to wait a while longer. As V'Sai required significant time to recover from her outrage at what the Humans of Terra Prime had done.