Vulcan Compound #1
Sausalito, California
Earth, Sol System
Trip and T'Pol had a plan. The goal of which was to have their bond officially recognized and recorded in the Vulcan registry. To this end Savok attended, so that the priesthood at the Vulcan compound would assume it was Savok and T'Pol who had formed the bond and the Human was merely in attendance as an acquaintance. Otherwise, getting a priest to appear in order to recognize a Human/Vulcan bond was unlikely to say the least. No priest would want to waste their time on something so obviously impossible, and seemingly sacrilegious besides.
To this end, Savok administered a 15cc dose of triox compound to Trip so that he could breathe without gasping during the wait. As for the 1.4 gravity environment there was nothing for it but to suffer it. The Vulcans in the compound subtly discouraged Human visitors by keeping their environment at Vulcan norms.
In orbit around Jupiter, the Challenger was undergoing repairs and many, like Trip and T'Pol, made use of the time to attend shore leave. They would use their time, in part, here waiting for a priest.
In due time a young priest appeared, swishing aside the curtain that separated the room from the rest of the enclosed area. He wasted no time.
"Present yourself to be witnessed." He said, kneeling at the small table that attendees were all supposed to gather around.
Trip and T'Pol took their places, fingers extended and touching in a perfect ozh'esta.
The Vulcan priest was nonplussed for a moment.
"Excuse me," he said, after a moment. "Now is the time for the bonded couple to present themselves to be witnessed."
"We are the couple." T'Pol said. "The Human and I are bonded."
"I bear witness." Savok said. "These two are bonded and have been for some time."
"That's right." Trip said. "We've been bonded for almost a year."
The young priest was silent for a long moment. Though his emotional controls were admirable, T'Pol could see the wheels turning as the man tried to find the logical reaction to the situation.
"Very well," he said, at last. "But bear in mind, if this is an attempt to disparage the custom, you will likely be escorted from the compound with a demerit issued to your service jackets. The Human will be disbarred permanently."
That seemed to satisfy the priest, and only then did he reach out to touch Trip and T'Pol's finger embrace with his own.
Trip and T'Pol kept their bond open and flowing while the priest probed at the edges, taking his time to affirm the presence of a matebond. It took quite longer than necessary, in T'Pol's opinion, but the priest obviously required more assurance than necessary.
Finally, the priest pulled away and took a moment to collect himself.
"Please wait here." He said, then rose to exit the area the same swoosh of the curtain with which he'd appeared.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
"Where the Hell'd he go?" Asked Trip.
"Most likely to elicit a more senior priest's aid." T'Pol said.
They waited a while longer, long enough that Trip required a second shot of triox compound.
Finally, the young priest returned. With him came the elderly priest T'Pol had predicted. The younger priest addressed the elder.
"These are T'Pol and Mr. Tucker."
The elder took his place without a word and extended his fingers to Trip and T'Pol's ozh'esta.
Trip felt the priest probing more aggressively than the younger priest had, but Trip held tight to the bond so that it didn't treat the elderly priest's contact like an attack. In the end Trip couldn't help himself. As the priest grew more and more invasive, he finally broke and confronted the priest's presence. At that moment the priest removed his fingers and withdrew.
"Fascinating," The priest said. "Your bond is strong and protects itself admirably. How did it initially form?"
"Well, I think the neuropressure had a lot to do with it." Trip said. "We did that together for a long time before the bond showed up."
"There was also one instance of sexual union during that time." T'Pol said. "But that was only once and did not continue until well after the bond formed."
"You of course realize that is why sexual behavior is confined to those already bonded through traditional means." Said the Priest. "Also, I detect that you are unusually emotional, T'Pol. That may have made all the difference. I assume then that you do not wish the bond dissolved?"
"No," They both said, almost simultaneously.
"Very well." The priest said." How would you like your names entered into the registry? I assume that you, T'Pol, will be registered in the traditional fashion."
"Actually, no." T'Pol said. "I will be entered as T'Pol Tucker, followed by my clan name."
"Very well." The priest said. "And you Mr. Tucker?"
"Charles Tucker the third."
"Understood. So, it will be. And I encourage you, T'Pol, to contact the Vulcan Science Directorate. I'm sure they will have many questions for you. Now, please rise and depart with all good will."
The group rose, allowing the priests to depart first, then headed for the exits themselves. Before they departed, Savok spoke.
"I will be staying here," he said. "Until the Challenger is repaired and everyone is called back to their duties."
"Very well." T'Pol said.
"Thanks for coming along." Trip said. "I was glad to have you there."
Savok nodded and departed, leaving Trip and T'Pol to exit the compound.
"Well, that went a lot better than I expected." Trip said, as they stepped out onto the street.
"Indeed." T'Pol said. "We may have encountered a rare breed of priest. One willing to challenge traditions without abandoning morality."
"So now we're finally, officially married."
"Yes. And now we must travel to Mississippi to meet your family."
Once the shuttle had landed and everyone was clear to depart, Olsen and Chang went on to spend time with their families. P'Trell had nowhere in particular to go and, never having visited a cattle ranch, followed Feral to Texas via another shuttle ride.
Studying up on Texas as a vacation spot, P'Trell made notations on his Padd as to where and what he might like to visit while there. The Alamo topped the list, with Big Bend National Park coming in a close second, with the Rio Grande.
P'Trell intended to collect several photos and videos to send home to those members of his family who'd never left Andoria.
As Feral's ranch had its own landing pad, the shuttle touched down there and departed quickly. P'Trell was struck first with how massive the main house was, second by the smell of cows and cow feces.
On the front porch of the main building P'Trell found a servant waiting to take their bags and open the door for them. Within he found country music playing and a decidedly large family waiting to greet Feral with hugs and kisses. No few shook his hand in greeting as well and a gaggle of children gawked impolitely at the blue skinned alien.
Feral attempted to make introductions but most were lost on P'Trell and he was soon overwhelmed.
The entire interaction lasted no more than a few minutes before the dinner bell rang, granting him a reprieve. Fortunately, his worries about dinner and what alien food it might consist of were put to ease. He recognized a thick, hearty steak when he saw one and there was salt available, spicy to his Andorian taste.
P'Trell sat in wonder, half eating and half listening, as the family told stories and shared news. Three chairs were empty at the table. Those representing family members, both man and female, who'd joined Starfleet to do their part in the war against the mysterious Romulans. Everyone prayed for them, and Asha, daily.
Eventually, it came Rex's turn to tell a story. While it almost caught him off guard, he nonetheless regaled them with the Challenger's last fight against the Wardbird and how Asha had triumphed against them almost single-handedly, picking off individual systems, one by one, until the ship was burning, blind and without weapons. And how it had self-destructed in a last-ditch attempt to take the Challenger out.
Everyone loved the story, though it could be seen it had troubled Asha's adoptive parents somewhat. Nonetheless, they were still proud of their daughter.
After dinner the servants set out a multitude of chairs on the front porch. There everyone gathered to drink beer and listen to grandpa play the guitar. The beer was good, and the music was better, leaving Rex completely satisfied, if a little tired.
It wasn't until things began to die down and parents began calling children to bed that P'Trell realized most of these people lived right here on the ranch. It was quite the close-knit clan.
P'Trell turned to Asha's father and asked the question he was most curious about.
"How did you end up adopting an Orion girl?"
"Well," Mr. Feral said. "Before I officially inherited the ranch I used to volunteer with search and rescue. One day this Orion shuttle goes off course and crash-lands in the Franklin mountains. Asha was the only survivor, at no more than eight.
"Now, a child her age, with no close family, made her an orphan. Sending an orphan back to Orion would just result in her being sold as a slave. Child slaves are sold with only one thing in mind.
"So, me and ma decided to adopt and so we did. Took a couple of years with Child Protective Services breathing down our necks but we were finally cleared."
"She already spoke English Standard." Mrs. Feral said. "So, adapting to life on Earth was fairly easy. Except for boys. She had a hard time letting go of the idea that boys existed to serve her."
"Broke a boy's nose because he wouldn't carry her Padd." Mr. Feral said.
Asha chimed in.
"I'm still high maintenance to this day." She said, with a grin. "Just asked the Security Department aboard ships."
Everyone chuckled, including Rex. She did have a reputation for being a bit of a hardass among the crew, if not solely with men.
After that a comfortable silence descended, until Asha spoke.
"We should probably hit the hay, Rex." She said, "We're jetlagged already and everyone gets up early around here."
P'Trell agreed. Wishes for a good night's rest were bandied about until Rex and Asha went back inside the large ranch house. There a servant waited with clean bedlinen and a key to their respective rooms.
P'Trell entered his room, made his bed and went directly to sleep, merely hoping that he could get a shower in the morning when everyone else would undoubtedly be jockeying for a place in the bathroom.