Chapter 4

Trip began to slowly wake, realizing he was laying on a cold, hard floor. He groaned at his aching muscles while he sat up, looking at his surroundings to see 3 concrete walls and the fourth wall made of bars, then looked down to see that he was wearing a dull brown colored jumpsuit. He groaned again, knowing he was in a jail cell.

He stumbled over to the barred wall and could see Malcolm and T'Pol in separate cells across from him, wearing the same colored jumpsuits as he was. "Hey guys, what the hell is going on? Where's the Cap'n?"

Trip could hear Jon's voice as he replied, but couldn't see him. "I'm here, Trip. In the cell to your left."

Trip looked at the wall to his left and noticed a hole that had been cut out high in the concrete. He pulled the bunk over to stand on and looked through the hole to see it went completely through. The hole was small, but he could fit his hand and arm in. "Jon, the wall between our cells, there's a hole towards the top. Do you see it?"

Trip could hear the metal scraping along the floor and knew that Jon was moving his bunk towards the wall. A moment later, he saw Jon's face peeking through.

Jon's eyes lit up at seeing his husband. "Oh Trip, thank God. Malcolm said you were laying on the floor unconscious when they brought us in, and when they brought in T'Pol, you still didn't wake up… I was starting to think… I…"

Trip reached his hand through the wall, as Jon did the same. They stretched as much as they could, but only the tips of their fingers touched. "I'm ok. They knocked me out with some sort of electronic weapon, but I'm fine. You ok?"

Jon nodded. "I'm fine."

Malcolm gave a loud snort. "Considering one of the guards roughed him up a little."

Jon shot Malcolm a glare as Trip let out an angry growl. "Which one? Let me get my hands on the bastard."

Jon shook his head. "Really, I'm fine. The guy punched me in the stomach, that's all. I've had worse. It was Malcolm that got clobbered over the head."

Trip shrugged. "Yeah, well Malcolm has a hard head, I'm not worried about that."

"Thanks a lot, mate. I'll remember that next time you need your ass dragged out of the fire." Malcolm responded in a mock offense.

Trip gave a small smirk. Even in this situation he couldn't help but to ruffle his friend's feathers a little. "So what the hell are we doing here anyways?"

Jon shook his head. "I'm still confused about that myself. They think we have some sort of virus or something. I tried to tell them that we don't, we were examined before we came down to their planet, but they kept going on about something called changlor syndrome. T'Pol, have you ever heard of this syndrome?"

T'Pol shook her head. "I have not. It is possible that it's some sort of illness, which humans have a different name for, and the universal translator isn't able to decipher it."

Trip climbed down from his bunk and went over to the bars. "Ok… let's see if we can try to piece this puzzle together ourselves. What was everyone doing when we got nabbed?"

T'Pol spoke first. "I was outside the city studying some of the indigenous foliage. When the guards came to take me into custody, I complied without resistance. They told me that I was being taken to a facility for treatment of an illness, when I questioned if it had something to do with the plants, they said that members of my team brought the illness with them."

Malcolm nodded. "Yeah, when me and the Captain were in the Vice Chancellor's office, they said it was the Captain and Commander Tucker that was sick."

Trip shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would they think it was us that are sick? Malcolm, are you sure something didn't trigger one of your allergies? Maybe you sneezed or something and they freaked out?"

Malcolm shook his head. "Phlox gave me the usual antihistamine. I haven't had any flare ups."

Jon furrowed his brows in thought. "Trip, you were already in here when they brought the rest of us in, so it was you they took first. What have you been doing this afternoon?"

Trip shrugged. "Well, as you know I went to the research lab with Yarra. I looked over some of their reports of their failures and successes in their efforts to obtain warp."

Trip chuckled. "You know, they made a lot of the same mistakes we did."

T'Pol nodded. "That is not uncommon, Commander. There are a lot of similarities among different species when it comes to succeeding and failing in warp theory."

Trip chuckled. "Vulcans made mistakes? No, say it ain't so!"

T'Pol shot Trip a dirty look as Jon shook his head. "Alright now, let's get back on track. What else were you doing, Trip?"

Trip thought for a moment, trying to recall everything. "Well, we were looking at some of the scrap metal from a few of their failed experiments."

Malcolm looked up in shock. "Did you handle any of the metal? That could be it. Maybe they were contaminated, radioactive or something."

Trip shook his head confidently. "No, if they were contaminated, I doubt the scientists would leave them lying around in the open like that. Besides, Yarra didn't seem concerned with me handling them, she touched some of them too."

Trip thought some more. "She was working on a long range communication device and having some trouble getting it to work. I was helping her with it and that's when she got all weird on me."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Jon questioned.

"I… I was trying to connect some wires when I got shocked. They still use AC in their electronic devices. The spark arched on my ring…"

Trip looked down, suddenly aware of his bare finger. "My ring! Where's my ring?"

He frantically patted at where his pockets would have been if he were wearing his uniform. "They got my ring! I took it off when I got zapped!"

Jon huffed. "You took your ring off?"

Trip scowled at the concrete wall. "So I wouldn't get zapped again! I always take it off when there's a chance it might conduct electricity, or a danger of getting caught on something. I just didn't think of it this time and that's why I got shocked."

Jon snorted. "We're going to have a long talk about that when we get out of this mess. So, Yarra got upset after you were shocked? Did the electricity release some sort of gas or fumes? Did you knock something over when you jerked?"

Trip shook his head. "I don't think so. Everything was fine until I took my ring off. Yarra was curious about it and asked if there was a special reason for it. I told her that it symbolized being married."

T'Pol's brow rose. "Perhaps in this culture, marriage is a taboo?"

"No, I don't think so. She didn't understand the word married, I had to explain it to her. Once I used the term mated… thanks Vulcans for that term by the way, she seemed excited about it, asking if my mate goes out into deep space with me. I told her that I'm married to the Cap'n here… oh hell. That's when the shit hit the fan."

Jon's mouth dropped open. "Wait… you mean we're in here because we're… GAY!?"

"I think so." Trip muttered.

Jon banged his hand against the bars. "Ok… enough of this guessing game, time to get some real answers. Guard! Guard! I need to talk to you!"

A moment later the door opened and a female walked in, looking annoyed. "What do you want?"

Jon grunted. "What exactly is changlor syndrome?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "You should know, you have it. You and this other degenerate here. You probably diseased the other two as well. Who knows… maybe your entire ship is diseased."

Trip huffed. "We don't understand that word. Can't you just tell us what this so-called disease is? And why do you think it's contagious?"

The woman sighed in irritation. "Changlor syndrome is two people of the same gender that think it's ok to mate. It's a brain disease, and you don't know how wrong… disgusting it is. There is treatment for it though, and that's what we intend to offer you once a doctor gets here. Obviously there's no proof that it's contagious, but no one really knows how this disease is spread."

Jon, Trip and Malcolm all rolled their eyes while T'Pol shook her head before speaking. "Homosexuality is not a disease nor contagious. It is simply the individual's neurological make-up that determines a person being either sexually attracted to those of the opposite or same gender. It is no more controllable than say, having brown eyes versus blue eyes. It is simply the way a person is."

The woman snorted. "Maybe that's the ignorant thinking on your world, but here, we know that a person with changlor syndrome doesn't know they're sick until they get treatment. By the end of the treatment, they realize how sick they were and are grateful to be cured."

Trip huffed. "Sounds like brainwashing to me."

Jon shook his head. "And what if we refuse this treatment of yours?"

The woman smirked. "Then you will be executed."

Jon clutched at the bars of his cell, a dark look crossing his face as his voice rumbled. "Now you listen very carefully, that would be a big mistake. Anything happens to me or my people while on this planet, the crew on my ship will have no problems levelling this city, and believe me, we have the firepower to do it. Neither me or Trip has any intention of going through with this treatment of yours. Your best bet would be to release us back to our ship. We will happily leave and no one from Earth or Vulcan will ever step foot here again.

"I can also tell you this, by the time you achieve the technology needed to explore the galaxy, word will already be out about what kind of monsters you are. There are too many worlds out there where homosexuality is accepted and they don't tolerate outdated, bigoted thinking like yours."

The woman sneered at Jon. "You call yourself advanced and enlightened? You're nothing but animals! I will let the Vice Chancellor know that you're refusing treatment. Maybe by the time you and your friends face the firing squad, you'll change your minds… they always do."

The woman turned and walked to the door. Trip shouted out. "Give back my ring!" The door slamming was his reply.

Jon sighed as he shook his head. He paced his cell for several minutes before looking towards Malcolm and T'Pol. "I-I can't let them kill you because of who I love. I… I guess I'll go through with this so-called treatment of theirs… even if it's just an act, at least, maybe, they'll let you guys go."

Trip swallowed around the lump in his throat. "It sounds like brainwashing! You won't be the same after. No! I'd rather die than let them change who I am, let them tell me that loving you is wrong!"

"This is more than just about us, Trip. Think about T'Pol and Malcolm! You heard what that guard said, they'll be executed right along with us!" Jon shouted.

"So you would rather let them change who you are? I'm not being selfish here, at least I don't think I am, and maybe we can convince them to let T'Pol and Mal go, take their punishment out on only us, but I won't let them try to torture me, break me, make me believe that loving you has been wrong!" Trip spat back.

Jon slammed his hands against the bars. "God dammit, Trip! …"

Malcolm quickly interjected. "Don't you think that maybe we might have some sort of say in this?"

Jon glared at Malcolm. "Fine. What do you have to say… Lieutenant?"

Malcolm stiffened his back. "Well sir, I for one will stand in front of a firing squad before I let these people scramble your mind."

T'Pol nodded. "I agree. I find no logic in their attitude regarding your sexuality, nor their belief that they are capable of changing one's neuro make-up. We all know the risks of serving aboard a starship, and the risks of encountering possible hostile beings. I will stand beside you both, not only as your crew member or first officer, but… as your friend. I agree with the Commander, Captain, you can't allow them to alter your mentality."

Jon sighed. "I can't let them kill you because of me. It's my job to protect you."

T'Pol's brow rose. "It is illogical to think that you can protect every member of your crew every time. You know the Vulcan saying, the needs of the many, however in this instance, I believe it's more logical to stand for the needs of the few… the needs of you and Trip."

Jon snorted. "Yeah. Just… I need time." He softly said.

Trip climbed up onto his bunk to look through the hole. "Jon. Come here, let me see you."

A few seconds later, Jon's face appeared in the hole. Trip stuck his hand through to reach his beloved. "Honey, I know this is hard for you. I know how much weight you carry with your responsibility to the ship and crew, but sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, there are just some things that are beyond your power to control."

Jon reached to touch Trip's fingers. "I know, but what kind of a person would I be to let them be killed because of me? If I… if we agree to this treatment, say the things they want to hear, they'll let us go… won't they?"

Trip shook his head. "I have a hard time believing it will be that easy. Besides, we have to stand on our principles here. Do I need to remind you of Earth's own history when it comes to homosexuals?"

Jon let out an exasperated sigh. "No. I've heard the same stuff as you. Families shunning their children, beatings, murder. I've heard all about it."

Trip gave Jon a hard stare. "Have you heard about religious nuts brainwashing people, turning them quote, unquote straight? Do you know what happened to most of those people?"

Jon shook his head. "No, not really."

"After their treatment some of them felt so much guilt for their so-called sins they committed suicide. Others tried to live what they were told to be normal lives, but were still attracted to people of their gender that they did risky things, went to seedy places to satisfy their urges, and yet others just simply disappeared on their friends and families, never to be heard from again. In any case, they were all broken, mentally, psychologically and emotionally broken. I won't let these people do that to you."

T'Pol cleared her throat. "On Vulcan, as children we go through a process called Kolinahr. It is the time that we begin our training to control our emotions and learn the teachings of Surak, as well as meeting those who our families have betrothed us to for the first time. There are occasions, as the child becomes older and enters into puberty, they find themselves attracted to those of the same gender, breaking the betrothal vow. Many centuries ago, we have learned that it is best to allow the individual to be at peace with their difference in sexuality, rather than forcing them to conform with the typical male-female marriage. No matter how disciplined one is in controlling their emotions, they cannot control the primal nature of attraction, and to attempt to control one's nature is more harmful mentally. Commander Tucker is correct, while your intentions are honorable, should you allow them to do this to you in order to save us… you will not be the person you are now. You will be broken."

Jon pulled his hand away and slumped down onto his bunk. "I know you're right, you're all right, but I just can't resolve myself to let you and Malcolm pay the price for me and Trip. And quite frankly, I'm surprised that the two of you seem so at peace with it."

Malcolm smiled warmly. "I know Commander T'Pol could never voice this, and I'm sure that I speak for her when I say, we're at peace with it because we care deeply for both of you. You are more than our commanding officer, more than our Captain… you're family."

Trip gave a hard nod. "Damn right we're family, and another thing about family, especially the Tucker family… we stick together, no matter what. Like it or not Jon, the day we said our I do's, you became a Tucker."

Jon chuckled. "Heaven help me! Your parents, brother and sister I can handle, but the rest of the gang? Good lord!"

Trip smiled. "Ok then, so you're not going to let some asshole mess with your brain then… right?"

Jon got quiet before answering. "I guess not. I just need some time to myself."

Trip placed the palm of his hand on the wall dividing the two cells. "I know honey, it's gonna be alright. Hoshi will figure something out to get us out of here."