Summary: Sequel to »Revealed Minds«.
Most of the crew was still in unrest. Ever since Commander Tucker and Subcommander T'Pol had taken up the Vulcan neuro-pressure, the gossip had run wild. It was fairly obvious that these two appreciated each other. When they both appeared for duty with their hands wrapped in bandages, some really bizarre theories had surfaced. When the bandages had come off, reality had been even more bizarre than the theories had been.
And now this.
»I am telling you, Rostov, I have known it for weeks. The bantering, the massages … I mean … of course there was something going on!«
»And you honestly believed that they would end up in a romantic relationship?
»It sure looked like it.«
»Of course it did, but would you have thought they would really get together? Had you thought that a Vulcan would even know about romantic relationships?«
Lieutenant Hess considered that for a moment.
»Well … I'm not sure. I saw at least sexual tension.«
»That's what I saw. Fair enough, but how does a Vulcan engage in a romantic relationship? She has no emotions.«
»Perhaps it is mostly based on the sexual attraction?«
»That's not how Trip sounded in the Cargo Bay. But I wonder about her …«
»She is definitely emotionally attached to him.«
»How can you tell?«
»Because I saw her face in the Mess Hall today. She came in, stood by the door, and searched the whole room with her eyes. You can guess who she was looking for. But Trip wasn't there — and she looked real disappointed. Frustrated, almost. It was so cute, I almost burst out laughing!«
»Subcommander T'Pol looked disappointed?«
»Definitely.«
»I have to see that myself before I can believe it.«
Lieutenant Hess turned to Ensign Kelly, who had been quietly listening to the discussion.
»What do you think? Why don't you say anything?«
»I think it's wonderful that they are together.«
»And?«
»And what?«
»Do you think she can really love him?«
»Why shouldn't she?«
»Huh? Because she is Vulcan, we were talking about that the entire time, remember?«
»I just wonder why we all are so interested and curious about T'Pol, but nobody ever asks her. Why do we talk about her instead of with her?«
Rostov chuckled at the thought.
»Right, Kelly. We should simply ask T'Pol about her relationship to Trip?«
»Isn't it strange how nobody seems to know anything about T'Pol other than Trip and the Captain? Why is it that Trip and T'Pol outright flirt and banter, but we others hardly ever talk to her?«
»Because she is a senior officer.«
»So is Trip. Everybody talks to him.«
»But he is not Vulcan.«
»Right. That is what makes the difference.«
»So what's the story with this Serat, T'Pol? How do you know him?«
»We grew up together. He was our neighbors' son.«
»You're kidding?«
»No. We have spent most of our childhood together. Later, we were even colleagues for a while.«
»And now he shows up in the Expanse? That's an incredible coincidence.«
»It is. But it is fortunate. I am pleased to see him again. It also pleases me that you can meet him, Charles.«
»I sure look forward to it. You said you were colleagues? What did you do?«
»We worked for the Ministry of Information.«
»What did you do there?«
»Reconnaissance and police work.«
»I beg you pardon?«
»We were undercover operatives. We brought criminals to justice.«
»You were a secret agent, T'Pol?«
»For almost four years.«
Trip blinked several times, then looked at their hands. They were joined, their minds touched. It had to be true.
»I can't believe this.«
»Why not?«
»T'Pol, you don't look like a secret agent!«
»That's the point, Charles. No operative does.«
»My girlfriend is a secret agent. Wow.«
»I was.«
»Why did you quit?«
»Because I had to shoot a man who may very well have been innocent.«
»I am sorry, T'Pol.«
»I know, but don't worry. It cannot be changed, I have accepted it.«
»But Serat still is an undercover operative?«
»No, we both quit at the same time. We were … disillusioned. It was a childhood dream of both of us, Charles. When we were children, we pretended we were agents and went on secret missions together.«
»You have played secret agent when you were a kid?«
»Why does that surprise you, Charles? Vulcan children grow up like Human children do. Controlling one's emotions has to be learned, we are not born like that.«
»You are right. I guess I had never thought about it.«
Trip's expression changed into a grin while he pondered the thought.
»Gosh, I would have loved to see you when you were a little girl, T'Pol. I bet you were all disciplined and buttoned up.«
»My parents described me as spirited.«
»This gets better and better.«
»Would you like to share the memories with me?«
»Please!«
T'Pol simply closed her eyes and sat there. Trip wondered what would happen … then he felt her consciousness pull at him, the world went out of focus, and with a sudden flash he was a 4 year old Vulcan girl.
»Are you finished with the assignment already, Serat?«
»Yes, Mrs. T'Ban. I have found the correct solutions.«
»Let me see … indeed, they are correct. How did you arrive at those results, Serat? Where are the calculations that lead to them?«
»There were no calculations necessary, Mrs. T'Ban. The variables could only be prime numbers smaller than 100,000. So I just tried them all until I found the right answers.«
»But that is not the correct way to solve the equation, Serat.«
»Why not?«
»You have to practice doing the proper calculations, you cannot just try some numbers at random.«
»But it worked?«
»But what if it had not worked?«
»Then I had done the proper calculations.«
»Then do it.«
»I already have the results.«
»But I will not accept them without the calculations.«
»Mrs. T'Ban?«
»Yes, T'Pol, what is it?«
»You are being illogical, Mrs. T'Ban. The way Serat arrived at the conclusions does not influence the validity of the results.«
»T'Pol would like to explain logic to me. Fine. Let me see your calculations, T'Pol.«
»I am not finished yet, Mrs. T'Pan. There are still 738 prime numbers to try before I have the results. In the worst case, of course.«
»T'Pol, Serat, tell you parents I want to see them.«
»I hate school, Serat. The old Vulcans do nothing but make life difficult for us with their logic and their discipline and their narrow-mindedness.«
»I concur, T'Pol. They do not realize that we are no longer children! They cannot treat us like that. Mrs. T'Ban frequently fails to justify her decisions adequately.«
»She is a very inadequate teacher! How are we supposed to make progress if she insists we do everything the boooring way?«
»We simply cannot develop the full potential of our minds in such an environment!«
»And now she has called our parents in!«
»What do you think will happen?«
»I have no idea. I just hope my father goes, and not my mother.«
»We have to do something, T'Pol. Millions and millions of children are suffering in school. This is wrong! We must help them.«
»I suspect the whole school is one huge conspiracy. Perhaps the Andorians are behind it all?«
»If they are, they would keep the evidence at some immensely secretive place, T'Pol. We must find out where, and then go on a secret mission to obtain it.«
»I know where they would keep it!«
»Where?«
»In the temple of Mount Seleya, of course. Nobody would suspect it there!«
»You are brilliant, T'Pol!«
»This is the plan, Serat. The armed guards patrol the perimeter about—«
»They are armed?«
»Well … they could be.«
»How many are there?«
»One. He stands by the entrance and greets the visitors. But often he walks around!«
»But how do we get in there?«
»We wait until he leaves, and then we sneak in.«
»And what if he does not leave the entrance for the whole afternoon? We have to be home for dinner.«
»We cannot plan everything, Serat. A certain element of risk will remain. Are you afraid?«
»I am not afraid of the risks! The cause is worth it.«
»Once the guards have left the target unobserved and vulnerable, I will lead the mission team through the shadows toward—«
»Why do you lead the mission team?«
»I am the ranking officer, Serat.«
»No way. I will be a Commander!«
»So what? Then I will be a Subcommander!«
»Then I will be from a different department of the Ministry of Information, T'Pol, then you have no authority over me.«
»I am older, Serat. I am the senior officer.«
»You are 24 days older than I am, T'Pol.«
»You acknowledge it?«
»Fine! So you lead the mission team. What then?«
»We will approach the target through the shadows and—«
»There is shadow on Mount Seleya in the afternoon?«
»We could pretend there is.«
»Good.«
»Once we have infiltrated the complex, we must leave the pathways for the visitors as soon as possible, or we will be discovered. I have gathered information from the Mount Seleya Visitor's Guide, and according to this map, we can turn sharply right at this junction and will find a door that leads to the secret cellars.«
»How accurate is this map?«
»I have cross-checked the material with several other sources, Serat. We can be confident the door will be there.«
»What if it is closed?«
»Oh, do you think they would lock it?«
»We have to anticipate everything, T'Pol.«
»Well, if it is closed … then we'll go somewhere else.«
»We will make that decision when it comes to that, T'Pol. We cannot plan everything.«
»Then let us proceed, Serat. For the greater good of Vulcan!«
»For Vulcan!«
»The guard will reach the corner in T minus 12.4 seconds, Commander. We must prepare to go. Have the gear ready.«
»Forget it, T'Pol, I will not carry your bag!«
»We should be careful, Subcommander. We should not take the left route down to the entrance. It passes between those rocks over there.«
»You are right, Commander. The spot would be ideal for a trap. Let's go to the other side.«
»Hurrah! I told you the door would not be locked.«
»So what do we do now, T'Pol?«
»What do you mean?«
»We have infiltrated the secret tunnels of Mount Seleya! We have to do something.«
»We look for the evidence.«
»This is what we pretend we do, T'Pol. No, I mean let us really do something. We should leave a mark somewhere!«
»Down here? In the cellars? What good would that do?«
»It proves that we have been here. It will add to the feeling of accomplishment.«
»I have an idea! You are brilliant, Serat. You know what we will do?«
»What?«
»We will write the results of our homework assignment to the walls! As a symbol of our defiance against the merciless school system.«
»This is brilliant! Let's do it.«
»I told you it would be a good idea to bring my bag, Serat. You would have stumbled in here totally unprepared, and then we would have had no pens, no paint, and nothing. All would have been for naught!«
»Forget it, T'Pol. I will not carry your bag on the way out either.«
»Fine! But then you will have to do the math, because I have to write. You have no pen.«
»We have a problem, T'Pol.«
»Why?«
»We cannot use the results of our homework assignment.«
»Why not?«
»That would lead them to us.«
»Holy Surak, you are right! But what else could we use?«
»I don't know.«
For a moment they just stood there in silent disappointment.
»Serat, I have an idea.«
»What is it?«
»We could introduce errors into the calculations. Then they wouldn't know what it is.«
»Errors?«
»Yes.«
»Are you irrational, T'Pol? You propose to introduce errors into the calculations? Do you have any idea what will happen if they ever catch us?«
»We will tell them, we hadn't known it any better. We will tell them, this was the way Mrs. T'Ban had taught us to do it!«
»You are brilliant, T'Pol! You are brilliant! If they catch us, we will take her down with us.«
»Let's get to work!«
»This is the greatest secret mission we have ever been on, T'Pol.«
»Definitely. Soon we will be a force to reckoned with. Teachers all over Vulcan will speak in fear of the secret agent pupils who defy the merciless system for the greater good of Vulcan.«
»Ha! Nobody will ever be able to stop us.«
»Children? What are you doing down here?«
»S'Ter, we have to talk about your daughter.«
»Your choice of words to designate the child we both erroneously believed would bring peace to our lives suggests that our daughter has done something wrong again?«
»She and Serat have broken into the temple on Mount Seleya.«
»No!«
»They disturbed the quiet and order there.«
»No!«
»They even caused significant damage to some of the ancient structure by writing incomprehensible signs and patterns on the wall.«
»I can barely control my rage, T'Pon. We will have to punish her severely for that.«
»Yes, I agree. She will need to be disciplined harshly.«
»Yes.«
»Absolutely.«
»I could sing the Falor's Journey to her.«
»348 verses?«
»Of course.«
»She broke into the temple, S'Ter, she did not annihilate it.«
»100 verses?«
»When you sing it, S'Ter, a single verse might cause irrepairable damage to her mind and hearing.«
»What do you suggest?«
»Why don't we make her play Kal-toh?«
»Wonderful! There is nothing to punish a child like games for adult Vulcans. How many symmetrical shapes do we make her assemble?«
»20?«
»You cannot be serious, T'Pon?«
»You think that's too few?«
»I would say 3 at most! Have you ever played Kal-toh?«
»I suppress the memories.«
»Perhaps you shouldn't. She will be bored out of her child's mind, the game will cause her discomfort, unrest, serious emotional distress, hallucinations — we have no idea what it would do to her.«
»But we have to punish her, S'Ter. And while we are at it, please try to hide your pride better when we talk to her.«
»I have every reason to be proud, T'Pon.«
»Of course we have, but showing it in her presence appears to be counter-productive.«
»Have you heard what little Puk has done?«
»Wonek's son?«
»Yes. Puk tried to come up with a chemical substance that makes him invincible to fire.«
»Again?«
»This time he intended to prove it, and he has burned down his parents wardrobe in the process.«
»I am certain the Ambassador is pleased. Such a mature child!«
»Indeed. Far more inventive than, say, our daughter is. She doesn't come up with wonderful things like playing with fire, she only does uncreative things like breaking into the most sacred building on the planet.«
»And unlike little Puk, my daughter succeeded breaking into the most sacred building on the planet.«
»We will have to punish her severely for that.«
»Absolutely.«
»I know!«
»You have an idea?«
»We will make her attend one of the ceremonies in the temple.«
»Wonderful! She will hate that.«
»You are fortunate your father and I are too disciplined to allow ourselves the emotion of disappointment. However, your father and I do not have the fortune of a disciplined daughter. You have caused … severe chaos and disorder, T'Pol.«
»Mother. I realize, I have had a lapse of judgment. And I acknowledge the possibility that an insignificant amount of unrest has resulted because of it. I promise, I will never break into the temple of Mount Selaya again.«
»Your father agrees with me, T'Pol, that this lapse of judgment of yours has earned you the reward of learning more about discipline.«
T'Pol's face was panic stricken. She would be punished! Oh no! Her mother always handed out SEVERE punishments. Oh no!
»Since you have shown an interest in Mount Seleya, we have concluded to allow you to attend a day at the temple during the ceremonies of Kolinahr.«
OH NO!
»Mother, this cruel punishment is illogical. I am too young to for a whole day of ceremonies!«
»It will train your discipline.«
»But wouldn't it be much more logical not to punish me for bad things I have done, but to reward me for the good things I do? I would learn much more in a positive environment, I am still a child!«
»But you cannot stay a child forever, T'Pol. So you will have to learn to be disciplined.«
T'Pol was shattered! Kolinahr, of all things, why did it have to be Kolinahr? She would have to sit still the entire day. She would have to listen to nothing but humming Vulcans the entire time, and she wouldn't be allowed to do anything for a whole day! Oh no!
T'Pon looked at her daughter's expression and fought for control. She would not laugh! With a lifetime of training she suppressed the emotion, turned around, and gracefully left the room. Once outside, she wondered where best to go. Her daughter's hearing was very acute …
T'Pol thought furiously, there had to be something she could do? She could not spend an entir—
»I understand you and Serat have badly damaged the ancient walls with … paint, my daughter?«
Uh, oh!
»Several members of the temple did, of course, perform an investigation, and they concluded, that you two wrote a series of random numbers on the wall?«
»They were not random, father!«
»Of course they were, T'Pol. The wise members of the temple have determined they are.«
»They were not!«
»Then what order was there?«
»It were the results of an iterated function of hyperbolic terms.«
»That is what you are just learning in school right now, T'Pol. Surely an adult Vulcan would recognize the pattern of the sinus function?«
»We avertedly introduced a rounding error into the number pi when calculating the results. So no-one would notice the pattern.«
»T'Pol! What have you done? Do you have any idea what severe consequences this act might have?«
T'Pol looked wide-eyed at her father.
»If they found out that you introduced an error into the calculation, it might cause a massive incident!«
»Oh no!«
»Oh yes, my daughter! The Math Division of the Ministry of Information will take the case over, this will be a planet-wide affair once it becomes known. They will question your math teacher, they will have to investigate this, it will take months!«
»Father, please believ—«
»They might even close down the entire school!«
T'Pol had had no idea! All she had wanted was to do something curious, she didn't want to cause problems!
»There is only one way out of this mess, my daughter.«
»WHAT IS IT?«
»When you are in the temple, during Kolinahr, you will have to stealthily escape from the elders, then you must find your way through the tunnels, erase the writing from the wall, and return to the ceremony before anyone notices. There must be no trace left! You will destroy the evidence before any harm comes out of it.«
»I will, father!«
»You must be very careful, T'Pol. Kolinahr is a strange time for Vulcans, there may be violent outbursts, there might be danger all around you. Under no circumstances must you fall into the hands of the monks who meditate deep in the tunnels!«
»I will not, father!«
»And in the name of Surak, keep this absolutely secret! No-one must ever know! We will never speak of it again. Talk to Serat. Tell him to be QUIET about what you have done. You can also ask him whether he wants to help you. After all, he has caused this mess as much as you did.«
»I am certain he will not refuse to help with this mission, father.«
»Good. And now … shhhhh. Don't tell your mother even!«
»Your father set you up on secret missions?«
»Both my parents encouraged me to use my imagination.«
»Is that common on Vulcan?«
»No.«
»That's a shame.«
»You would be a good father, Charles. If we had a daughter, she would constantly need her imagination to think of ways to keep you out of trouble when I was not there.«
»You mean, when you left me with the kids at home so that you could go on secret missions? And then you'd return after weeks and weeks without a message and say that you were on a business trip?«
»What did you expect? I would not be able to tell you the truth. It is for your own protection.«
»Protection?«
»In case you would fall into enemy hands …«
»Sounds like a difficult environment to raise a child.«
»What else could we do?«
»We are both scientists, T'Pol. We could always find a good job in research somewhere. We could live on Earth, we could live on a deep space station, we could even live on Vulcan.«
»No, Vulcan would be a difficult environment to raise a child. Especially a hybrid girl.«
»Or boy.«
»Most likely a girl.«
»What would she look like? I bet she would be impossibly cute. Like her mother.«
»She would be exhausting and taxing, like her father.«
»You mean spirited?«
But all Trip got for an answer was a passionate kiss.
Their Vulcan visitor would arrive any moment now. Trip felt the distinct thump when his ship made contact with the docking clamps. The Captain, T'Pol, and he had assembled by the airlock to greet Captain Serat. Trip was more than curious to see the man. When the airlock opened and he saw him, he was flat-out disappointed. Serat looked perfectly normal, like any other Vulcan.
Of course. What had he expected? A secret agent? Ready to write stuff on the walls of the corridors?
But one thing was different about him. He was incredibly attentive, Trip could immediately tell. In less than a second, the Vulcan had virtually scanned the room. This guy wanted to know everything.
T'Pol fought a strange battle with herself. Should she? Or better not? Was it inappropriate? What would the Captain say? But she wanted to! But then she thought of what Charles would say: What the hell.
T'Pol took a step forward to stand before Serat. She calmly looked at him and slowly raised her left hand in the traditional Vulcan greeting. Then she spoke.
»Greetings, Agent Serat. Live long and prosper, for the greater good of Vulcan.«
There was distinct flicker in his eyes before he replied.
»For Vulcan, Agent T'Pol.«
She would have to answer a lot of questions later, but it had been worth it.
»T'Pol, this is a very interesting calligraphy. Is it a graph with perfect closure?«
»Yes, Serat. It is.«
»I had no idea you had chosen a bond-mate, T'Pol. My congratulations! I hope your husband is aboard? I would certainly like to meet him.«
And on top of it all, the humans were treated the sight of Vulcan Science Officer T'Pol blushing dark green.
The dinner had been very enjoyable. Captain Serat had no problem with talking during the meal, as Trip and Archer had feared at first.
»No, thank you very much, Captain. I have eaten quite enough. But I have to say that your Chef is very skilled in the preparation of Vulcan food.«
»I will let him know. He has had some practice, thanks to T'Pol.«
»You are the only Vulcan aboard this ship, T'Pol?«
»Our physician is from Denobula, Serat. But all other crew members are humans.«
»This is a very interesting experiment you have here, Captain. And apparently a very successful one. Vulcans have been known to be … slow to adapt. Rarely has a Vulcan really been able to integrate into an alien crew.«
»I think I can safely say that it wasn't easy for any of us in the beginning. Certainly not for T'Pol. We haven't always made it easy for her.«
»That is correct, Captain.«
»Mostly because she has been stubborn.«
Serat looked at Trip with mock surprise: »T'Pol can be stubborn? That is hard to believe.«
Archer asked him with a laugh: »She has always been like that? You know her much longer than we do, from what I am told.«
T'Pol wondered whether she should deny the accusation. But she decided not to, because she anticipated that she would end up proving their point.
»T'Pol has always been very determined to reach her goals. Haven't you, T'Pol? It comes as no surprise to me that you have been able to adapt.«
»Determined to reach your goals?« Trip asked her with a grin. »I like that.«
»When it comes to educating you about logic, Commander Tucker, then this is a goal I have given up on reaching.«
»Wonderful.«
»There is one thing I'd really like to know, though.« Captain Archer addressed Serat. »How does it come you are out here? I had never expected to meet a Vulcan vessel in the Expanse.«