2
Bond Experiment
Trip was in T'Pol's quarters. The lights in her quarters were dim and several candles were burning. Trip was feeling a bit anxious. "I don't know about this." He said. T'Pol tried to assure him that it was going to be ok. "Just relax, Trip. What's the worst that could happen?" Trip thought about it for a moment then said "My brain could turn to Jello?"
T'Pol turned Trip to face the wall then tied a silk scarf around his head to cover his eyes. "Just relax. This might not even work, but it definitely won't work if you're not relaxed." She told him. Trip took a few deep breaths to relax himself as he heard T'Pol's voice softly saying. "Clear your mind. Concentrate on me, only me." He took more deep breaths as his mind flooded with thoughts of T'Pol.
After a few moments of silence, Trip's mouth began to move. His lips were smacking together as he seemed to be able to taste something. Out of the clear blue he said "I taste...peaches. Why do I taste peaches?" He heard T'Pol from across the room. "Because I'm eating a peach."
Trip quickly pulled the blindfold down and spun in her direction. Sure enough, she was standing there eating a peach. Trip was shocked and amazed as he watched her take another bite, the juice dripping down her chin. Trip wiped at his own chin and said with shock "Hey. I felt that."
T'Pol told him to turn back around and replace the blindfold over his eyes. As he complied with her demand she softly said "Let's try something more complex. Concentrate on my thoughts. What am I thinking?" As he concentrated he could see an image form in his mind.
T'Pol was a young child standing with a man he didn't know. They were in her mother's house and the man was telling her that he was leaving for an important reason and would be gone for several months. "Daddy! Please don't go! You've only been back a couple of days. Mommy and I miss you. Why can't you stay?" The child T'Pol was asking.
Trip now realized the man was her father as the image played on. "I wish I could my bright star, but daddy has important work to do. It'll only be for a few months, then I'll have a year off to spend time with you and mommy."
A tear streamed down Trip's face. Feeling her pain as if it were his own. He pulled the blindfold back down and turned to T'Pol. He quietly said to her. "That was the last time you saw your father before he died." T'Pol slowly nodded her head, then shook the memory away. "Ok Trip. Let's try again. Something not so sad." She told him.
Trip turned back around, replacing the blindfold. As he concentrated he could hear and see her thoughts as if they were his own. Suddenly he jerked off the blindfold and spun around with shock in his voice. "T'Pol! Such a dirty thought for a lady!" T'Pol looked amused and shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? You bring that out in me, Trip."
Trip walked across the room and put the blindfold on T'Pol. "Let's see if this works both ways, shall we?" He said. As T'Pol concentrated he walked over to a plate of fruit on the table and popped a chunk of pineapple in his mouth. "I taste pineapple." T'Pol said. Keeping the blindfold on she continued. "Now think of something, a memory." "Ok. Let's see." Trip said as a memory came to mind.
T'Pol described what she was seeing in her mind. "You're on a boat. You're jumping into the water, going down deeper and deeper. Ah! You're scuba diving! There are fish all around you and then...then...Oh No! A shark! But it doesn't frighten you. You watch as it swims past."
"Very good T'Pol. Let's try another one. A current thought." Trip said as he began thinking. T'Pol suddenly reach up and pulled the blindfold off. "Trip! How dirty!" She said as Trip laughed. "Well...you started it." He said.