Disclaimer: I don't not own Star Trek Enterprise or any of it's characters. Do you THINK I would be here If I did?! So I do not in any way shape or form own any of the plot or the characters. They belong to whoever owns 'em. I just took the general idea for a test jaunt. So, don't sue me...not that it would be beneficial, as I am a poor college university, yadda yadda yadda.
Authors Note: This story revolves around what occurred after, as well as Ambassador Soval's 'feelings' after the Earth Embassy bombing on Vulcan in Season 4 episode 7 "The Forge". Before the commercial cuts you witness Admiral Forrest shielding Soval from the blast. And then the next you hear of it, Soval is expressing his condolences to Captain Archer and his crew aboard the Enterprise. I thought it would be interesting to examine what might have happened after the commercial cut. Please read and review. I am excited to see what you all think. I am open to comments, advice, and constructive criticism.
A Chaotic Harmony
It happened too fast, too fast for even a Vulcan to react. He had been talking to the Admiral, finally sharing his own personal opinion of humanity to his long time colleague, and indeed, friend, Maxwell Forrest. He had been once again surprised, though he had composed himself, by the infinite determination and morality of humanity, knowing the truth behind the Admiral's words. Earth's deepest wish was indeed to exist solely in unity and harmony with their Vulcan allies. He himself believed it might someday be possible.
For all his thirty years serving as Vulcan's Ambassador to Earth, though humans still continued to confound him, he came to find he grudgingly admired their species. He saw a lot of potential in a race so young. They had managed to pull themselves out of a devastating war and unite together, in virtual harmony, hundreds of years before his own people. Regardless of the High Command's misgivings, he was inclined to believe that Humanity had the potential to be equal to Vulcan someday. But then, perhaps his counsel was correct...maybe he had been among humans too long.
There had been no warning, nothing, nothing to indicate that the serenity of the Embassy was soon to be broken. Even the acrid tang of the sparking explosion only reached his sensitive nose seconds before the first booming blasts shook the Embassy. He hadn't even begun to move, his mind still caught in the act of processing the rumbling sound. But Admiral Forrest did not, it was almost as though the human had sensed it...was it this human instinct...that feeling that they seemed to trust so much that spurred him to action?
Ambassador Soval shifted in his place on a bio-bed, his emotions threatening to overcome him. He was greatly disturbed, uncertain...he could not even begin to center himself enough to find peace in mediation. It had been hours since the bombing, but his sensitive ears could still hear the chaos outside the medical facility. It lay just on the outskirts of the Embassy's grounds, meant for the visiting ambassadors and delegates. Now it was filled to capacity with the wounded, and dieing. Vulcan and Human doctors alike streamed around their patients working in some sort of chaotic harmony as they tried to save lives.
He attempted to sit up, but stopped almost immediately as his body protested, sending searing bolts of pain through his ribs. Only the shredded remains of his control halted an agonized groan that would have burst forth, adding to the dreadful symphony of pained cries, and the remaining after-explosions that echoed in the humid air. Lying back down, he closed his eyes, ignoring the slashes on his face, and the green blood that had dried around the wound, shifting slightly as he tried to ease the lingering pain in his broken ribs. Again, he tried to mediate.
But all his efforts were for naught. As soon as he closed his eyes memories of the explosion teemed in his mind. It was a testament to his condition, both mental and physical that he allowed those memories to play out, letting the barest hints of the emotions they carried sweep him away as brutally as the Forge's desert winds.
The Admiral had thrown himself at him, covering his body with his own as he launched them both into a sprawling heap toward the nearest wall. Just before his inner eye lids closed, protecting him from the flaring blast. He caught a glimpse of his friend. His face clenched as tightly as the arms around his torso. Tense but resolved, as the ocean blue pillars fell around them, and the explosion overtook them.
When he came to, maybe minutes later, he couldn't hear anything but the searing ringing in his ears. The air was thick with smoke, heat, fire, and rubble. He could barely see, the roaring fires searing his vision, and the dust laden air choking him with every painful breath. Shifting, he hissed in pain as pieces of rumble fell off him, he knew immediately that his ribs were broken.
He was startled out of his pain when a sudden sensation tingled across his skin, different from the burns he knew he had, the bruises, the cuts, the broken bones.. He peered forward, eyes riveted on his outstretched palm. In a strange mix, the hues of green and red came thickly together. It was blood. His own green blood had come to pool in the slight depression his hand's position had created, and the fiery red blood, the blood of his friend, dripped down slowly to join with his.
It was then that he had realized that it was not just rubble that covered him, it was the form of his friend, the Admiral. Ignoring the pain he shifted, this time crying out as pain pierced his body. He turned himself so his eyes met with his friends face, it was blank, devoid of expression, blackened by the explosion, a grim mass of ruby slices. But even then, he remained protective, hands still clenched around the tattered remains of his robes, head slumped in the hollow of his shoulder, half shrouded in the once splendid cloth of ceremonial robe Soval wore.
"Admiral!" He choked, inhaling the dust-laden air as he gritted his teeth and pulled himself upright, turning the Admiral's body in his arms, bending down to check his pulse. His mind screamed, controls faltered, there was nothing! No pulse...no heart beat, nothing. He raised his head, mindless of the red smears the dotted his face, the lifeblood of the man in his arms.
For a moment, he lay still, the limp body of his colleague, of his friend, slumped in his arms. The once pristine uniform singed, torn to bloody tatters in the back, pock-marked with the explosion's fury. A fate meant for himself. This man, this human, had knowing sacrificed himself for him. Thrown him away from the explosion, and covered his body with his own, giving his own life to save him.
He had not lost such a companion that had meant as much to him as this man, since the death of his mate, T'Eau. And even then, that had been over fifty years ago. He had known this human for much less, but it pained him almost as much as the loss of his mate had. He raised a hand to his head, attempting to steady his emotions, to regain a hold on his mind's battered control. But he pulled away quickly, his distinguished gray hair encrusted with more red blood. He wondered for a brief moment, how they would tell his mate... no, his wife. Yes, 'wife' was the human term.
In the end, it was his own control, the logic his kind held so dear that saved him then. Emotions which he had never fully experienced threatened to overwhelm him, and for a moment he knew what anger, guilt, and sorrow truly meant.
But his control, the last vestiges of it banded together to protect his mind and body when the exposed beams above him shifted, his muffled hearing only just picking up the sound of screaming metal. Gathering his strength he used a crumbled pillar to lever himself up, staggering to his feet, his robes ripped to tatters, and his coal black uniform slashed. Unable to hold back any longer, he groaned in pain, feeling the splintering of the bones in his torso, the throbbing of the burns on his legs, and the slicing pain that followed the length of the gashes along his face and ear.
Steeling himself he bent down, and for one of the first times in his life, he disregarded logic. Using the powerful physique of his people, he took the Admiral's body by the shoulders, and dragged him with him through the rubble. They passed burning fires, crumpled bodies, the jagged remains of the building that lay all about them, impeding their path. Blackness threated again and again to overwhelm him, he could sense his brain shutting down, the pain of his injuries becoming too much, even for his disciplined mind.
So focused was he on dragging them both to safety, that he did not hear his fellow Vulcan's hailing cries, he did not even notice their presence, the smoke and fire obscuring them from his vision. It wasn't until their hands enclosed around him that he noticed they were almost clear of the wreckage, almost at the main entrance to the outside. All he remembered, before finally succumbing to nothingness, was falling back into their arms, and feeling their hands prying his clenched fingers from the Admirals body.
He had woken again in the very medical bed he occupied now, to a Vulcan doctor slicing open his already torn uniform, exposing his bruised skin to a beeping hand-scanner. He had barely heard her clipped response to the medic following her, stating he was relatively low-risk, to be treated after the most grievously wounded were dealt with. The following whooshing sound of the hypo-spray being applied to his neck was strangely loud in his ringing ears before he was pulled back down into the soothing darkness.
He had woken later, regaining consciousness as slowly as he had after waking up in the ruined embassy. Reflectively, he looked at his palm, finding that only a green and red smudge remained. L'Ras, a member of his staff stood at his side, eyebrows arched as he softly told him to remain still, and left to locate a doctor.
He had returned with a Human doctor only a few minutes later. The harried man's coat was splotched with the mixed blood of Vulcan and humans, coloring the starch white garment with a strange portrait of the days trials. Forgetting himself, before the man could begin administering the healing medication for his ribs, he had captured the man's arm. Gritting his teeth through the pain to speak. The man, surprise coloring his features at the this uncommon show of emotion, had replied to him kindly, telling him that Admiral Forrest's body was safe, and was being prepared in the medical bay's morgue.
After that, when he had begun to feel the effects of the medication healing his internal injuries, he had sent L'Ras away with his statement, and his instructions for his staff. Intending to try and meditate, but that was when the memories had begun, hounding him with the images and the half realized emotions that had surfaced in their wake.
Opening his eyes, he felt a kind of calm come over him. As though his mind had been appeased. He could feel the medication slowly healing the breaks in his ribs, and feeling slightly stronger, he propped himself up on his elbows, letting his mind review the countless things had to attend to in the wake of this disaster. He had to report to the High Council, and meet with Star Fleet at once. L'Ras had already been in contact with Admiral Gardener, there was much to do.
But before he could analyze the situation any further, his ears picked up hurried footsteps. The medical bay doors slid open moments later, a young human, a common crewman stepping inside. She couldn't have been any older then twenty-eight Earth years, and it was obvious that she too had been caught in the explosion, he could smell was alien scent of her blood, and his eyes followed the mess of dark curly hair that had escaped from their confines, mixing with the long gashes on her face.
However, she had no concern for herself. Her eyes had no aim for anyone other then her target. She completely ignored the rest of the Vulcan patients in the room, and indeed the protocol when dealing with them, when she hurried over a bed at the far corner of the room. Where the patient, a young Vulcan foot solider lay unconscious upon a bio-bed. She touched his hand lightly, peering down at him, as though making certain he still lived, double checking the screens as if the monitoring equipment might somehow be deceiving her.
Soval could not hold back a feeling of surprise. Yet another human, showing an almost illogical concern for a species not their own. She made too move to the side, to check the monitors read out, when the young officer stirred awake. She was at his side in seconds, "Saurk! How are you feeling!?" She asked softly, hand still resting on the man's arm. "Crewman Varns?" He questioned, eyes taking her in as his mind processed his arrival back to consciousness. "It...It's agreeable to you see you." He replied finally, the pain in his voice evident to Soval even from across the room.
The young crewman laughed, voice somehow musical in response to what a Vulcan would only say to a close friend. Her emotions of relief and happiness were evident in her voice, "It is agreeable to see you too Saurk." She replied, amusement tinging her words even after her laughter had died. "I am going to go get the doctor. I think I am going to have to teach you to play Chess another day." She replied, to the nod of his head, her smile back in place as she strode away, the doors hissing closed at her departure.
Maybe this was to be the nature of relations with earth? Of maintaining a balance with a chaotic kind of harmony. Somehow he felt, as he contemplated, lying supine on his bed, hands resting in a meditative posture at his breast, that Admiral Forrest would have agreed.