I don't own Star Trek, any of the canon characters, nor do I make one red cent from these writings.
Red II
A quiet double wedding ceremony was held in Stephen's parents backyard. Stephen's family and of few of his friends attended. Unity was there for her sister, along with several of the regulars from the Stitch-n-Bitch knitting group. The wedding feast was a picnic lunch.
Lucy and Ethel found a quiet spot under a tree to eat their Vulcan honey cakes.
"Lucy, this was all very sudden, don't you think? I wonder if she's knocked up."
"Don't be ridiculous, Ethel! They're both too old for that!"
Sybok put Trethis in contact with Healer T'Rin, who explained everything that she knew about T'Veri's condition. T'Rin was quite willing to forward copies of T'Veri's treatment records to Healer T'Mena on New Vulcan.
T'Mena agreed with T'Rin. T'Veri should be relocated to the hospital in New Shi'Kahr as soon as possible. She would need to be kept sedated and a private nurse engaged for round-the-clock care.
Trethis and Sarek wanted it done as quietly as possible. Most of those who knew of Sybok and T'Veri's disgrace had perished in the Genocide. However, there were still a few remaining, mostly Elders. Sarek had known Elders to act illogically on occasion. There were a few who had never approved of Sarek, his marriage to Amanda, or his hybrid child. They had considered Sarek a poor representative of his people and had often expressed the desire to replace him with someone more typically Vulcan. However, there was no candidate found whose diplomatic skills equaled Sarek's.
The two fathers decided that a private security firm would best suit everyone's needs. Sarek had hired O'Neal's Protection Services to handle escorting immigrants to New Vulcan. The agency was made up mostly of former Starfleet security personnel, or "redshirts." Sarek would contact Brian O'Neal and see if they could handle such an assignment.
After a brief honeymoon, Latheel moved into Stephen's small apartment. Harmony took up residence in Kassel's quarters at the Vulcan Embassy. Both ladies commuted to work everyday.
As a dutiful Vulcan, Kassel registered both of the bondings with the Ministry of Information and Records. All off-world bondings were to be reported to the Council of Elders.
Elderly Kassel's bonding to a Terran female was accepted without question. He was considered too old to sire children. However, Latheel's bonding to a Terran male was another matter. She was in direct violation of the Edict issued by the Elders. Females of child-bearing age were in short supply and there were many worthy Vulcan males without bond-mates. Latheel would be summoned before the Council to explain her actions.
Kassel notified his daughter of the Elders' findings. Latheel was seeing red.
"Father, I shall not return to New Vulcan. I am a free citizen and an adult. I am within my rights to chose my own mate. Are not male and female equal under Vulcan law? Why are you free to chose a Terran mate while I have been ordered not to? Also, the Elders have had more than a year to find me a mate. They did not do so. I have acted on my own behalf with your permission. I am not in the wrong."
"No, you are not, my child. I will inform the Elders that any blame they have should be assigned to me. We will see what happens from there."
Brian O'Neal was willing to accept the task of transporting T'Veri, Sybok, and T'Plesa to New Vulcan. He would escort them himself in one of the firm's small, but fast vessels. T'Veri would have Kate, O'Neal's wife, a retired nurse as an attendant. They would leave for Risa in the morning and meet Sarek and T'Sela on New Vulcan in about two weeks.
Trethis really wanted to be on New Vulcan when T'Veri arrived, however he could not leave Paula alone this late in her complicated hybrid pregnancy. He would rely on his old friend Sarek to keep him informed of his daughter's welfare.
Sarek was distressed for Kassel. He felt that the Council of Elders had overstepped their powers. Kassel would be accompanying Sarek and T'Sela back to New Vulcan to face the Elders in lieu of his daughter. At least the old man could travel to New Vulcan in comfort on an large Embassy vessel. Harmony would stay with Unity while he was gone.
Sipel and T'Vessya would be traveling with them as well. She had finished her course work and a bonding ceremony had been scheduled in a month's time. Healer T'Pela, her bond-mate Tasol, (also a healer), and their little daughter T'Laan would also make the journey. T'Mena's son was due any day now.
T'Rysa loaded the coolers and portable stasis units with food. She included lots of peanut butter and Vulcan redfruit jam, made from the trees that grew on the Embassy grounds. The journey to New Vulcan would take three days. She did not approve of replicated food, certainly not for the Ambassador and his wife. Sarek had regained his health and T'Rysa wanted to help make sure that he kept it. She also knew that Sarek and T'Sela would share with others.
Stohl loaded all the food into the van, plus the numerous boxes of supplies for T'Pau, and the luggage belonging to Sarek and T'Sela. He would need to make three trips back and forth to the shuttle port to transport all the passengers and goods making the journey.
Tovorek and Selek were often at odds during meetings of the Council of Elders. Most often they disagreed about how strictly new immigrants should be required to conform to the Vulcan norm.
"Selek, have you not observed the foreign ways they have brought among us? Strange music, strange clothing, even piercings and body art! Yesterday I saw a young male with half of his hair dyed a bright red. Something must be done or they will contaminate the young who were Vulcan-born. They should be forced to conform entirely to our way of life."
"Tovorek, this Council issued an Edict requiring Vulcans on colony worlds to come to New Vulcan if they were able. The immigrants have obeyed this, often at great personal cost. Some of their families had lived on other worlds for hundreds of years. It is only reasonable to expect them to bring with them some of the customs and culture that they have absorbed. Also, I do not think it compatible with Surak's teachings to make a distinction between Vulcans born on the home world and Vulcans born elsewhere. That reeks of prejudice Also, legislating uniformity flies in the face of the principles of IDIC, Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combination."
"Perhaps then, Selek, another settlement is needed for those who embrace a more "diverse" lifestyle. Those who prefer Vulcan tradition would remain here, while those who do not would escape prejudice."
"The idea has merit, but some may see it as an attempt at segregation. We should speak with those that we represent and learn their opinions."
"Selek, sometimes I find you rather liberal in your ideas."
"Tovorek, I shall take that as a compliment."
Brian O"Neal and his crew of six landed their small ship at the Risan Spaceport. He took two security guards and his red-haired wife Kate to the Risan Mental Health Institute. Healer T'Rin had placed T'Veri under heavy sedation and ordered restraining clothing for her. She gave Kate detailed instructions for her care and a supply of all of T'Veri's medications and the nutritional supplements for the journey.
Sybok had sold what little furniture the family had left and vacated the apartment. They spent their last night in a hotel room paid for by Sarek, who also bought T'Plesa her own set of matching luggage in red and a new doll to take on their trip. The little one had never been off planet before.
A member of O'Neals's staff escorted them from the hotel to the ship. They were shown to a very comfortable cabin which had a small workstation for Sybok and a play area for T'Plesa complete with toys, coloring books, and crayons. Sybok thought it ironic that Sarek was taking more interest in a little girl who was not even related to him than he had in his own first child. However, he was thankful that T'Plesa's needs had been considered.
Sarek had hired Trekell to move his and T'Sela's belongings from storage into the new home, also to transport their goods from the ship. Safin had organized two bedrooms and the kitchen so that the couple would be able to function in their home right away. It would be sparsely furnished at first, as Sarek intended to patronize Vulcan craftsmen, most of whom were just establishing their businesses. He also hoped to build some items himself.
T'Sela was quite impressed when she saw their new home. The modules had simple, clean lines. The home would be spacious and comfortable, and most importantly, it was theirs. She and Sarek would finally be together in privacy.
When Trekell and Safin finished their labors, they departed, leaving Sarek and T'Sela alone in their new house for the first time. As Sarek's finger's sought T'Sela's, he felt her pleasure through their bond.
"You have done well, my husband. Our home is most pleasant. I hope to fill it with children."
"Then perhaps we should retire to your bedchamber, my wife."
"A logical suggestion."
"Tell me again where we are going, Father."
"We are going to New Vulcan, little one. We are taking your mother to get help from the healers there. You will go to a new school and find new friends. You will also meet my father, Sarek, and his new wife T'Sela. If we are there long enough, you may even get to meet your grandfather Trethis, who is your mother's father."
"We are not going to the world where you and Mother were born?"
"No, T'Plesa, that world no longer exists. It was destroyed. Our people are building a new one."
"Father, can we help them?"
"I do not know. Your mother and I may not be welcome to do so. We did some unfortunate things when we were young that many people did not approve of. That is why we left Vulcan."
"Father, if you and Mother had not left, we all would have been destroyed, too. I am glad that we are alive."
"So am I, little one."
Kassel shifted in his seat uncomfortably, awaiting his turn to stand before the Council of Elders. His accommodations at the Inn were comfortable enough, but he had not rested well. New Vulcan was much like the home world of his birth in climate and atmosphere, but little else was familiar about it. Terra and the Vulcan Embassy there were more of a home to him than this place would ever be. If given his choice, he would spend his final days there with Harmony and his children.
His musings were interrupted by a page, who led him to the Council Chamber and directed him to stand facing the Elders. Tovorek rose from his seat to read the charge against Kassel.
"Kassel, son of Tareth, you stand before this Council of Elders accused of permuting your daughter Latheel to form a marriage bond with a Terran male, in direct violation of the Edict given by this Council. As there are fewer than the required number of Vulcan females, they may bond only with Vulcan males. Do you wish to make a statement in answer to this charge?"
"Honored members of the Council of Elders, I do have a statement in my defense."
"I believe that the Council of Elders has overstepped their authority by issuing such an Edict. It has been the Vulcan way for millenia for parents to chose a mate for their child. My first wife and I did this for Latheel. The bonding was not an agreeable one, however, and most likely would have been dissolved had the young male not perished in the Genocide."
"This Council of Elders made a promise to find mates for those without them but over a year has passed, without Latheel being contacted even once on this matter. In the meantime, she formed a relationship with a young Terran male of good character. He is honest and hard-working, with the potential to be a good provider. He desires to raise children with my daughter and supports her in her educational and professional goals. He comes from an honorable family, his father is a magistrate and his mother a professor of Federation law."
"It seems that the Council of Elders has a double standard when it comes to the marital and reproductive rights of Vulcan males and females. I may freely choose any mate I wish, but my daughter may not. The state has taken away that right from her, which enslaves her to them. Slavery is not consistent with the teachings of Surak nor the laws of the Federation. If enough aggrieved Vulcans were to take their case to the Federation, there might be the risk of New Vulcan's expulsion."
"I therefore maintain that both I and my daughter are guiltless in the matter of her choice of marriage partner and bond-mate. I conclude my statement and await the Elders' decision."
"Thank you, Kassel. You may wait outside."
Kate O'Neal was worried about her patient, T'Veri. She had monitored the young woman carefully and noted a disturbing trend. Every time she introduced the nutritional supplement into T'Veri's feeding tube, the patient became sicker. She had also developed a red rash. Something about the patient's condition triggered a memory in the back of Kate's mind.
On her second mission aboard Endeavor, the crew had rescued a failed colony. The colonists were near starvation. One young woman had been extremely ill, suffering intestinal distress, skin rashes, anemia, and severe bouts of mental disturbance which included violent outbursts and hallucinations. The case was complicated by the fact that the young woman was pregnant. The ship's physician had finally traced the symptoms to a severe gluten allergy. The hungry colonists had been surviving on bread made from wheat flour.
The cases were just too similar. Kate read the ingredients of the feeding supplement. Wheat gluten was a major component! Kate placed a subspace call to Healer T'Mena on New Vulcan immediately.
The Elders replayed Kassel's recorded statement. T'Pau was the first to speak.
"When the Edict was first issued, none of us considered it to be a violation of a citizen's rights. We thought only to preserve our race and the lives of males without bond-mates. However, Kassel makes a valid point. We have taken away a female's right to bond and marry as she sees fit."
Tuvin was heard from next.
"Selek, you are the expert in Federation law. (All of those of the Council of Elders knew Selek's true identity, that of "future" Spock from an alternate time-line.) Could a case be made that our Edict constitutes reproductive slavery?"
"Yes, Tuvin. If such a case were to be heard before the Federation High Court and a ruling made in favor of the defendants, it could very well result in New Vulcan's expulsion. Kassel has done his research well."
This statement frustrated Elder Tovorek, who had originally drafted the Edict.
"What then shall we do? Repeal the Edict? What say you on the matter, T'Pau?"
"I propose that the Edict stands. Most of our citizens will comply without question. However, I also propose that we grant permission to those who would bond with outworlders. And under no circumstances should we seek to undo the bond between those who wish to remain together. Let us tell Kassel that he has made a valid argument and that no action will be taken against him or his daughter. Let him go his way."
The Council voted on T'Pau's proposal, accepting it unanimously.
Healer T'Mena was in the early stages of labor when she got the call from Kate O'Neal. Tasol and T'Pela were with her and interested in the case. In their residencies in Terran hospitals, both had encountered Terran patients with gluten allergies. T'Pela recommended that the O'Neals make an unscheduled stop at Starbase 7 to pick up a feeding supplement which did not contain gluten. She would prescribe it and have it ready and waiting for them, enough to last several months while T'Veri was being treated on New Vulcan.
The Elders called for Kassel's return to the Council Chamber. Tovorek read the Elders' statement.
"Kassel, we find your argument valid. You have given this Council much to consider. No action will be taken against you or your daughter. You are free to go."
"I thank you. Live long and prosper, Elders."
"Peace and long life, Kassel."
Kassel made his way to the New Shi'Kahr shuttle port. He booked passage on the next transport to San Francisco, leaving the following morning. He had no reason to remain on New Vulcan. It was not his home, he had no family here, and the sky was not even red.
A/N: To all of my loyal readers who offered up prayers and kind words, I just want to let you know that the cardiac catheterization procedure went well. Apparently the "abnormality" found on my stress test was just an artifact caused by my rather generous bosom. My doctor informed me that I have "the arteries of a 20-year old." I hope that she doesn't try to take them back!