Alarm
Bangor, Maine, 2280.349, 0458 hours. She rolled over on her air mattress and lay there listening to the sounds of the house. T'Alora could easily hear Casey's aunt snoring softly across the hall while her friend took steady, even breaths in her sleep. Poleia, however, was entirely absent.
Stealthily she got to her feet and crept to the door, then stuck her head out into the hallway. The light was on in the living room and she heard the comm. unit dial once before being picked up.
"Ashalik*…"
T'Alora's eyes went wide. While she did not recognize the man's voice she did recognize the longing therein. Who knew that quiet, private Poleia had a boyfriend?
"Tal-kam Veh*, why did you not contact me sooner?" More emotion was relayed in that quiet declaration then Poleia had shown to her over the course of an entire year. T'Alora tiptoed closer to see if she could get a better look at the person on the other end of the line and discover why her friend seemed troubled.
"I have only recently begun exhibiting symptoms. It is not yet unmanageable." No sooner had he uttered this then something rattled off-screen.
"We both know that is not true," Poleia retorted. Her friend shifted in her seat and soon T'Alora heard the familiar ping as numerous new screens were called up. "I am searching for transport now and can be back on Vulcan soil in three days time."
She was close enough now that she could peer around the corner. Poleia's back was to her but T'Alora could clearly see the man she was speaking with. He was very tan, and had thin, wire—frame spectacles perched on his nose. He was noticeably older then Poleia; she estimated him to be around 40 standard years of age at least.
"It is not necessary for you to prematurely abort your trip. I will hold on until your scheduled arrival and the ceremony may be conducted at that time."
Ceremony? It suddenly occurred to T'Alora what was going on—this man was in the early stages of Pon Farr. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the realization that Poleia was about to be bonded.
"Ferlan." Poleia spoke his name so sternly that it made even her stand up and take notice. "You told me yourself that your last Time came on very strong and very quickly. As it is I fear I may not arrive in time even if I am able to depart on a shuttle within the next few hours."
Ferlan's plight was confirmed when he openly smiled at his intended. "Do not fear, t'nash-veh pi'thresha-veh*—I burn only for you. I will hold on as long as I can." She nodded once and held his gaze before bringing up her index and middle finger and holding them against the screen. Ferlan mimicked the gesture and T'Alora looked away from the intimate moment. "I will see you soon, Ashalik. Be safe."
His screen went dark as he signed off while Poleia remained motionless in front of the comm. T'Alora waited to see what she would do.
"His name is J'tuk Y'nee Ferlan; he is the assistant manager of the agricultural dome and second only to my sa-mekh. We have been engaged for 2.57 years." Having been called out T'Alora now walked openly into the living room and sat down beside her. Poleia turned to her then and she saw a single tear streak it's way silently down her friend's cheek. "I fear for him. He nearly perished the last time; he did not recognize the symptoms until it was too late."
"Why have you never spoken of him before?"
Poleia sighed and gave a little shrug, clasping her hands on her lap. "We are a very private couple and I never had any reason to mention him."
T'Alora nodded. She knew as well as anyone how private Vulcan people were, especially about their personal lives, and no one of her acquaintance epitomized that value more than Poleia. She was about to leave her to her search when she began speaking again. "Ferlan is an orphan—his entire clan perished in the Destruction. Everything he learned about the Fires came second-hand and that information was exaggerated and piecemeal." She paused and looked at the hall, taking care to ensure that they were well and truly alone. "He feared for the monster he thought he would become. In New Shannai'Kahr he saw numerous couples forced together into bonds simply because of the Time. He swore that he would not settle for anyone other then his k'hat'n'dlawa and if the Fires came before then he would not place the burden on another's shoulders."
She gasped; such a notion was almost unheard of in the wake of the Destruction. Every life was too precious to be lost so needlessly.
"Prior to that day he worked as an accountant in the city managing the books for Hylar's Department Store. Then one morning he noticed his hands were beginning to shake. The tremors were sporadic and he paid little attention to them, as they were easily suppressible. Two days later he lashed out verbally at a co-worker over a minor infarction; again he took no notice of the impending crisis. The following day he realized he had a fever and the truth could no longer be denied, and that evening Ferlan returned to his apartment and implemented his plan. He left a list of instructions for the dispensation of his estate and walked out alone into the desert."
Her heart was thrumming in her side. "Then how did he come to New Gol?"
Poleia looked up from the hands in her lap and blinked. "He walked." T'Alora was about to contradict the possibility—the borders of the two cities were 517 kilometers apart—when her friend continued, "6.88 years ago Ferlan spent eleven days alone in the desert. I am the only one in my clan who knows his full story and even I do not know what occurred during that time. When my sa-mekh found him Ferlan was severely dehydrated, emaciated and unconscious. We clothed him, fed him and nursed him back to health; it was 7.4 months before he was truly well again, and in that time he had proven to be an invaluable resource at the dome. He requested to remain with us and aid my parents in their work as he had nothing left for him in the city and they readily agreed to keep him on."
T'Alora cleared her throat. "Was that when the tel* was formed?"
She shook her head. "No. Ferlan is 22.1 years older then I, and at that time I was still very young. Initially he took it upon himself to act as my mentor and as time went on our friendship developed. It was not until my sixteenth year that I realized the important place he held in my life."
T'Alora sat on the edge of her seat. She had never heard Poleia speak so much or so personally in all their months of living together and she was engrossed in the tale. They were gossiping much like humans. "What did you do?"
"Two weeks after I made my discovery I confronted him with the evidence I had gathered. Ferlan was…resistant to the idea. He claimed to care for me as a brother would a sister and stated that I was too inexperienced to know what I was talking about. Dissatisfied with his response I turned to my ko-mekh for assistance. It was on her recommendation that I began to spend less time at the compound and more time in the city, attending concerts and lectures and cultivating new acquaintances.
"Fifty-nine days passed in this manner and Ferlan and I saw very little of each other; it was during this time that he began to recognize the truth to my words—that we were indeed t'hy'la*. He set about making amends for having previously dismissed me and then began to court me."
Poleia paused and looked off into the distance, no doubt recollecting periods of time from her courtship. "Since that time my sa-kugalsu* has supported me in my every endeavor and it was he who encouraged me to apply to the VSA. Ferlan has stated numerous times that he has no desire to curtail my future and wishes me to take advantage of every opportunity presented to me. When I was admitted to the Academy I was the one who proposed that the tel be formed so that he would not be in danger; that was why this evening I could not sleep. I sensed his growing agitation throughout the day but I believed it to be the result of the building delays for the new addition to the dome. It was not until I placed the call home that I discovered otherwise." She began to fret again. "Travel between New Shi'Kahr and New Gol takes no more then 155 minutes; neither of us anticipated that I would be off-planet when his Time came nor that the Fires would come on so soon." She looked into T'Alora's face with fearful eyes.
T'Alora leaned forward in her chair and laid a tender hand on her friend's knee. "You and Ferlan will survive this; you must trust in that. I will assist you in any way that I can."
Poleia nodded. "Thank you." Just then a particularly loud snore drifted down the hall and both girls turned to look in the direction of the bedrooms. "I am uncertain as to how to explain this to Casey and her aunt…"
"We will tell them that there is an illness in the family and that you are required on New Vulcan sooner then anticipated. It is not untrue."
"Agreed." She looked back to the screen and frowned, causing T'Alora to re-direct her gaze there. There were nine available passenger ships that would be leaving Earth's orbit that day bound for New Vulcan and the swiftest one would not arrive there for another four and a half days. Poleia began to despair. "I will be too late…"
An idea suddenly occurred to her and without a word of warning T'Alora took over the controls, punching in the well-known address in San Francisco. "I do not know why I had not considered this option sooner. You cannot be the only Vulcan on Terra separated from their bond-mate in their hour of need. The Embassy must have alternative transportation in place to assist those in similar situations to your own."
Before Poleia could make a reply the Embassy's secretary came on screen. "I will inform Casey of your imminent departure," T'Alora said, taking leave of her friend.
Bangor, Maine, Transport Station, 2280.349, 0641 hours. "Bye! Have a safe trip back, and call and let us know if there's anything we can do!" Casey called out to Poleia's disappearing form. When she was finally gone from sight they both stared at the pad a little forlornly then returned to her aunt in the waiting flitter. "I hope everything's alright."
"I do believe that all will end well." Looking down at her companion she saw Casey grinning, her mood instantaneously brightening.
"You know, T, I've always liked the fact that you're an optimistic Vulcan. Promise me you'll never change."
One eyebrow rose. "Change is inevitable; however, I will endeavor not to alter my personality or appearance too drastically merely to suit your whims."
Her laughter filled the station as the door swung open and they braced themselves to face another snowy, New England day.
* Ashalik = Vulkhansu, Darling
* Tal-kam Veh = Vulkhansu, Dear One
* "T'nash-veh pi'thresha-veh = Vulkhansu, My Little Clever One (I improvised on the Vulcan term for clever)
* tel = Vulkhansu, bond
* t'hy'la = Vulkhansu, soul-mates
* sa-kugalsu = Vulkhansu, fiancé