xxx
Enterprise
"We're still too far away," Reed shook his head, "we can't see their defense system."
"Perhaps they don't have one," Trip offered hopefully.
Both Archer and Reed paused to look at him. "Considering how artfully they got the better of us, they have one." Archer wrily commented. Trip wanted to pace but the Captain's ready room was too small. Archer noticed, "We can't just rush in blindly, Trip," he placated.
"But T'Pol said they were going to kill them!"
"But they hadn't yet!" Archer snapped back. A few hours before, the chief engineer had barged in on the bridge out of breath to pull Archer aside that T'Pol was still alive, that he'd seen her. Archer's first reaction had been to drag him to Sickbay where Trip underwent a battery of tests but Phlox had been unable to find anything wrong with him. Trip kept insisting he'd seen T'Pol.
And then Phlox had talked about some kind of bond. First he'd learned that two of his most senior commanding officers were in a relationship and now this. Part of Archer didn't believe it. He didn't quite understand this hocus pocus about Vulcan bonds.
Still, there was the possibility that Trip was not simply suffering a mental breakdown. And if so, if Enterprise arrived too late they risked losing all the women. If they arrived too early, they risked losing Enterprise with all hands aboard. Not much of a choice, really.
"How's morale and battle readiness?" he asked his two officers.
Reed replied first "Morale will be improved once we have an attack plan."
Trip nodded in agreement, "The men are tired, they've been pulling extended shifts for a while now, but they'll be ready in a jiffy. Anything to get the women back."
Archer looked out at the window for a couple of beats. He turned to Reed, "We'll keep approaching at quarter impulse until you're done with the recognizance," before talking to Trip, "I want combat readiness reports from both of you."
xxx
Aneukaria - Imperial Palace
"What's wrong ?" The servant was flustered, looking at Hesse lying on the bed, sobbing loudly into a pillow.
"She's missing her wife," Cole replied, "her companion." She hoped the Aneukarian would understand the term. She didn't know how Hesse managed to carry on so loudly but she was anxious not to prolong the pretense past the engineer's theatrical talents. "She's too depressed to eat," Cole added.
The servant grew anxious, "She doesn't want to eat?!" she exclaimed.
"She hasn't eaten since yesterday because she doesn't want to eat. She needs to see her mate," Cole replied
"I'll go get the doctors!" The servant was close to panic. The aliens had to eat regularly or they would die. If one of the Exalted Ones came to die, it would cost her her life.
Cole tried to stop her, "The doctors won't help. Her spirit is sick, not her body," but the servant was already out of the room.
That was just as well. The plan was working.
xxx
Aneukaria - Imperial Jail
"Are you lying?" X-Distsax leaned closer, bringing the neural stick within an inch of her face. T'Pol looked at it then calmly back at the guard. "Vulcans do not lie." Surak has said that preserving life was sacred, a duty above all others. Her confirmation that Ensign Beausang was Lieutenant Hesse's mate was a way to protect both women.
She made sure not to blink, blinking would seem emotional to the Aneukarian. Their isolation had suddenly been interrupted by X-Distsax barging into the room and making a straight line for T'Pol, asking about Hesse and Beausang. T'Pol realized that this must be part of a plan, but not quickly enough, and that had made the guard suspicious.
The other women in the cell were holding their breath, waiting for what would happen next. X-Distsax eyed T'Pol closely. She wasn't sure the alien was telling the truth but she hadn't blinked so it was hard to say. Those in charge wanted the Human to get better. The Human shouldn't have a deviant as partner, but these were aliens, they couldn't be expected to have a moral fiber. The Human would get better once she heard her partner was fine. And X-Distsax would make sure that's what she heard.
She leaned in threateningly, "You'll meet with the Human Cole. "You'll let her know that her mate is doing well. If you don't, you'll taste the singing stick. Do you need a taste now to remind you?"
"I do not," in saying that at least T'Pol was being true to Surak's teachings.
X-Distsax laughed a raucous, unpleasant laugh, "Funny, everyone says that. You know what we do when we train to become guards?"
"I do not know." The guard was making it easy to follow Surak's teachings.
"They make us taste the stick every day for a month," X-Distsax leered, smiling, "to teach us to handle pain. You want to train to become a guard?"
"I would prefer not to."
X-Distsax laughed, "I was just kidding, deviants can't become guards! Ah!" She raised the neural stick up and for a second it looked like she would use it to make her point. T'Pol's gaze didn't waver. X-Distsax finally brought it back to its holster. "I'll come pick you up. Be ready."
She left T'Pol silently reflecting that it was not like she had another option.
xxx
Aneukaria - Imperial Palace
Cole was waiting impatiently for the envoy. "Where are they?!" she snapped at the servant fussily preparing the table for the meeting. The Aneukarians insisted there be a table, that T'Pol be handcuffed to it.
"They're coming, Exalted One," the servant's voice was high-squeaked with fear, "please do not upset yourself."
Cole eyed her with contempt. She despised the Aneukarian for treating her like she was some kind of divinity. And she was angry at herself for making her afraid. "I want to make sure they're coming," she grumbled as way of an excuse.
The knock at the door prevented the servant from answering. Cole sat at the small table, eyeing the food and drinks on it. She'd negotiated that T'Pol would have one hand free, be able to eat. She would also be able to use that free hand for covert communication, but that was not for the Aneukarians to know.
The doors opened and the captain of the guards walked in with the Commander. Cole repressed the exclamation that almost escaped her at the sight of the gaunt and pale woman. She blinked back tears of sorrow and frustration. At least on the Tarorat they were able to soften the brutal treatment of their crewmates.
Her jaw set. They would do it again. They would have to proceed carefully lest the Aneukarians take it out on the women. Push too hard and they might get rid of one of them as a lesson. She shot a murderous look at X-Distsax but it went over the guard's head — Aneukarians expressed their emotions by blinking.
"Commander T'Pol, it's good to see you. " Cole welcomed T'Pol, rapidly blinking 'are you ok'?'
"Corporal Cole," T'Pol replied, while signing 'food and water'.
Cole nodded. That would be the first demand they'd make to the Aneukarians.
"Please share my meal," she replied, signing 'How are they treating you?'
'We are kept alive,' T'Pol signed with her hand. To the Aneukarians monitoring the room, it only looked like she was reaching for food.
Cole waited a couple of minutes for the Commander to eat before asking, "Lieutenant Hesse needs news of her wife, Ensign Beausang. She's really depressed about the separation."
"Her wife also regrets the separation...," T'Pol replied. In light of the guard's threat, she added, "but she is doing well," while signaling, 'is DNA testing over?'
Cole frowned in response. "Lieutenant Hesse wrote a poem for her mate. If I say it out loud, can you repeat it to her?" The Aneukarians would run the poem by their encryption department but find nothing. It would give them something to do. While she was repeating the few lines she had memorized, she silently let T'Pol know that the Aneukarians had completed their research, hormone treatments would start soon.
T'Pol looked up sharply at that but did not say anything.
The rest of the conversation went in the same way, the two of them speaking out loud about specific topics while covertly exchanging information on recent developments. A double knock at the door informed them that time was up. Silently thanking her lucky stars that the Aneukarians' reverence for the Exalted Ones prevented their uninvited intrusion, Cole quickly helped T'Pol fill the inner pockets of her jumpsuit with food. Any small amount would help.
As X-Distsax escorted T'Pol over the threshold, Cole stopped her, "Lieutenant Hesse would still like to see her wife. When can that be arranged?"
X-Distsax turned to look at Cole, seeming to find the question funny. "She'll see her soon enough," she replied with a chuckle. She left Cole staring at her retreating back, wondering what she meant by that.
xxx
Enterprise
Archer stared at the afternoon assembly, looking meaningfully over at Reed and Trip. He cleared his throat, letting his gaze roam over the men, "We are proceeding against Aneukaria as of 0800 tomorrow." The room exploded in shouts and cheers.
He raised a hand to quell the ruckus that erupted. "We're three billion miles from the planet and it will take a couple of days before we get there," he glanced over at Reed, no need to share that how long it took hinged on when the chief of security finished the recognizance, "but I want everyone combat-ready as of 0800 tomorrow. Do whatever you need to rest and sharpen yourselves. Combat drills will start at 1000 sharp." He paused for emphasis. "We're bringing the women home!"
A raucous cheer rose again to salute his speech. Several men picked up the refrain 'We're bringing the women home!' and pretty soon the meeting hall resonated with the rallying cry. Archer decided against asking the men to quiet it down. They needed the release, they'd spent too much time feeling like there was nothing they could do.
He spotted Phlox eyeing him dubiously from across the room. If the doctor wanted to make an issue of it, he'd find the Captain ready for an argument. He turned on his heels to stare at Phlox as he approached.
"Are you really planning to attack Aneukaria? An entire planet?" the doctor asked.
That was not what he'd been expecting Phlox to say. The question took the edge off his prepared argument about how the men were not over-tired. "We're still figuring out their defense system, our strategy will hinge on it," he replied, then dropping his voice, "if they don't have one, we could get the women back without a fight but we'll fight if we have to."
"That's my concern," the doctor cautioned, "the men are eager to engage, perhaps too much so." Seeing the Captain's nonplussed look, he went on, "they've been waiting for weeks and now they have the opportunity to do something to get the women back; the situation is ripe for overreacting." He eyed Archer meaningfully, "Let's remember that the goal of the operation is to bring the women back, not destroy Aneukarian civilization."
That gave Archer pause. 'Tell that to Trip, if they've killed T'Pol,' was what he wanted to say. What he said instead was, "I'll make sure our reaction matches the harm done."
Phlox eyed him critically, "That's what I'm afraid of. Remember that the Aneukarians were trying to save their civilization. They may have been acting out of ignorance, not of malice." He could see the Captain was resistant to the idea. "What you would do if you had to save Earth? Or rather what wouldn't you do?" Phlox knew he was hitting a sensitive spot, the Captain still carried the guilt of the Illyrian theft.
Archer shook his head, started protesting, then fell quiet, evidently mulling things over.
"I'll be in Sickbay," Phlox announced as he left. Granted it had been a low blow, but he'd achieved what he came to do.
xxx
Aneukaria - Imperial Jail
The women all looked up as the door opened. That was the second time in two days someone actually came into their cell.
A foreboding squadron of black-clad guards walked in, X-Distsax at its head. She walked over to T'Pol, "You will come with us." T'Pol reflected that once again it was not like they had another option.
The nine of them were unsteady on their feet from lack of use and hunger, even if the food that T'Pol had brought back'd helped. They found themselves being herded down corridors that were dark and damp, up endless flights of steps, before coming to immense decorated doors that hid a large freight elevator. The elevator started moving upward. When the doors opened again, they stepped out into light and warm hallways. From her meeting with Cole, T'Pol recognized the Imperial Palace . It was possible the Aneukarians had brought them to meet with Hesse and the other women.
But the room they were brought to was empty if large, brightly lit, lined with recliners and soft couches. T'Pol looked around, taking in the luxurious accoutrements.
Hoshi stared in awe-struck amazement at the long table lining a wall, plied full with food and drinks. She looked over at T'Pol, expecting a shared a sense of victory that the meeting between Cole and T'Pol had worked. But T'Pol stared back impassively and Hoshi turned instead to the others. Beausang was beaming. Nagamura had her hands covering her mouth as if to suppress shouts of happiness. They were all beaming. After days of misery, they were going to be warm, to be fed, and from the look of things, baths and showers would be theirs too.
If Hoshi had been watching T'Pol from the beginning, she would have noted the skeptical eyebrow that went up when they entered the toom, the slight crease that momentarily lined the Vulcan's brow. Where Hoshi and the other women saw a feast, it looked suspiciously to T'Pol like a last meal.
The squadron left except for X-Distsax. The doors opened again and X-Eliantix and X-Aljikax stepped in.
T'Pol raised an eyebrow. Both women were wearing ceremonial tunics that were obviously a notch above the ones they had on the Tarorat. They must have been promoted. Most likely as a result of their securing the women of Enterprise for the good of Aneukaria.
"Have you checked on the Exalted Ones?" X-Eliantix asked X-Distsax.
"Everything is in order," the guard reported, saluting, before leaving in turn.
Hoshi looked incredulously at X-Eliantix. The 'Exalted Ones'? T'Pol's lack of reaction confirmed her suspicions that the moniker referred to the other women. She was amused at the idea of Hesse as an Exalted One. She wished the Aneukarians would spend some time seeing her in Engineering, get their ideas debunked.
X-Eliantix looked around at the room, taking in the food, the couches, and nodded approvingly, "Good, good. We want you to be refreshed for your big day."
"Big day?" asked T'Pol.
X-Aljikax turned to her, neural stick in hand and T'Pol remembered she should let the Aneukarians talk first. But X-Aljikax was too excited to take notice. "The cleansing ceremony is upon us. Everything is ready. It will be exceptional!" she said.
"The cleansing ceremony?" T'Pol asked again, suspicious of the Aneukarians tendency to euphemize things, as in calling neural punishers 'singing sticks'.
"We told you that you'd be disposed of in a purification ceremony on Aneukaria." X-Aljikax's sounded surprised, almost put-upon.
X-Eliantix started explaining, looking apologetic, "Even though you're aliens, our laws are strict. X-Igofox tried to talk to the doctors here but we were not able to sway her preeminence, X-Irtanimox, or the Irivmeced, her counsel." She blinked. "I was almost accused of heresy."
X-Aljikax cut her off, "The cleansing ceremony is a great honor, the demonstration of everything we hold dear. We haven't had one in hundreds of years. You will be remembered forever."
"We'd rather be alive," T'Pol commented drily.
X-Eliantix looked actually pained, "I'm afraid that's not possible," she replied.
xxx
Enterprise
Trip walked in into his quarters. For the first time in weeks he didn't feel torn just being there. He quickly took off his uniform, bunching it in a corner, enjoying being back home. He'd spend every minute before 0800 sleeping, thats what. He stretched back muscles made sore from stressing about T'Pol and the state of his engines, and promptly fell asleep.
His sleep was uneven and fitful. Again and again he almost woke up, threading close to awareness before diving deep again. Finally he woke up enough to check the digits on the side of the clock. 0417 AM. He was exhausted. He still had a few hours before him and he turned to go back to sleep. To very soon swing his legs over the side of the bed instead, nature was calling. He didn't ask for lights, there was enough residual glow to find his way in the quarters he knew like the back of his hand.
"I was waiting for you." The voice almost made him jump out of his skin, except it was T'Pol's. He turned to see where it was coming from and stepped straight into the white space. Surprise gave way to elation. So he was not crazy, the time before had not been a dream. She was alive.
There was so much he needed to tell her, find out from her before the connection disappeared. "We're on our way to Aneukaria!" he exclaimed. "Do you know where you are on the surface?" he added.
"The Imperial Jail," T'Pol replied, before correcting herself, "the Imperial Palace."
There was something off with her. He couldn't put his finger on it. She seemed exhausted, as if meditation had been a struggle, her eyes underlined with dark shadows. And she was a lot thinner than he remembered. "Is everything ok?" he asked, then he quickly added, because there was no telling how long the white space would last, "Dr. Phlox said they need Human DNA — what about you, will you be okay?"
She blinked. "I am not the only one at risk. The Aneukarians will not use genetic material from women who are in relationships with men..."
"What?" what did she mean by that?
She blinked again. "Women who are in relationships with men. They call them deviants. There are nine of us." Trip hid his surprise that there were nine relationships aboard Enterprise. He only knew of five, and Travis and Amanda had just broken up. Again.
"So then why did they take you?" Trip rapid-fire asked, "That's good, right? That means they don't need you,"
"Trip...", her voice trailed off before she could finish. The white space was gone.
"Lights!" Trip called, looking all around at the cabin. But there was nothing there. What had she said? The 'Imperial Jail', no 'Palace'. He quickly grabbed a fresh uniform. Time to wake up the Captain.
xxxm
Aneukaria - Imperial Palace
T'Pol slowly came back to her surroundings, the contours of the white space coalescing into the large room around her. After spending most of the night trying to reach Trip, she hadn't had enough energy to maintain the meditative resonance.
She had almost made contact several times before she realized the Aneukarian time cycle coincided with the one on Enterprise, he must be asleep. She had to wait in a high meditation state for another couple of hours, checking periodically to see if he was still in a REM sleep cycle. By the time he woke up, she could only maintain the connection for a few seconds.
All she had been able to do was tell him where they were on Aneukaria. She didn't know how far away Enterprise was, if it was even possible for them to come back in time and rescue them. It might be too late when the ship arrived.
When.
Not if.
She had to admit relief at the thought. The shift in probabilities was minute, but it was there.
Glossary:
X-Irtanimox - ruler of Aneukaria.
Irivmeced - Aneukaria's main Council.
X-Eliantix - captain of the Tarorat.
X-Aljikax - second in command on the Tarorat and X-Eliantix's mate.
X- Igofox - doctor on the Tarorat.
X-Distsax - head of the Imperial Guards.
