Merged

Chapter Two

The Trafalgar returned to Tanansis V a little less than 65 hours from when they had launched the shuttle craft. The crew of the freighter had been taken to a nearby planet at which repair plans could be made. A beacon had been placed on the now derelict freighter to indicate that the ship had not been abandoned and the crew would be reclaiming their ship as soon as a new warp core was obtained.

When Captain Clark had heard of the shuttle accident, he was shocked. The idea that Admiral Archer, Ambassador Hurst, Sprong, and T'Vlan were dead was a hard concept to get his head around. The fact that Sontek had survived was the only good news out of this horrid event.

The Trafalgar's engineer, Commander Stevens and a team of his crew had gone down to the planet to reclaim what was left of the shuttle craft. They brought up the pieces and laid them out in the shuttle bay, reconstructing the wrecked craft as best they could. Analysis began immediately and they found that the star geyser's plume had weakened the electrical system. The extra time spent in re-entry had been too much for the system and that had lead to the catastrophic failure. Commander Stevens kicked himself mentally for not taking all of the variables into account when he'd declared the shuttle craft free of any damage and had allowed the Admiral and the rest of his group to use it to reach the surface.

What was left of Jonathan's Archer's body, along with the remains of the others on the shuttle were brought to the ship's morgue. They would be returned to their respective planets. Captain Clark was sure there would be military honors like no other. Admiral Archer was a hero that would be mourned by beings on many planets. He had also made quite a few enemies and Captain Clark felt sure there would be celebrations on several home worlds, the Klingon's and Romulans included.

Captain Clark thought back over the past five years, time that had seen the Romulan threat appear and the ugly, horrid war that had been the result. The Romulan's played dirty, using nuclear weapons, coming out of their space like locust. The ships used to battle the scourge had often been older models, primitive in many ways to the top ships of the fleet. Admiral Archer had been a hero in that war, helping to find a way to end it that didn't show weakness. It had been a strange request to negotiate the end of hostilities and creation of a neutral zone over subspace, but Archer had been willing to do so if it meant the war would come to an end. He had seen enough blood shed in his career.

Ambassador Hurst was a great loss as well. Hurst had been instrumental in having sixteen planets join the Federation over the past year. His skill and expertise dealing with other alien cultures would be a skill greatly missed. Yes, Earth and the Federation had lost two Titans. They would be sorely missed.

The chief medical officer, on the Trafalgar had been informed that they would have a Vulcan as a patient. Doctor Shaffer and Captain Clark had been asked to meet with the Tananite medical team before the transfer of the patient, Sontek. They headed down.

When they arrived at the medical facility, they were met by the Tananite Vice- Chancellor, Yyat'e'ze, as well as Doctor Twaz'a'ka. They were shown into a small conference room. After being offered refreshments, the four sat at an octagonal table.

The Vice Chancellor spoke first. "Our world is saddened that the lives of so many ceased. All Tananite's hold life as the most precious gift the universe offers."

Captain Clark answered in kind. "Thank you, Vice-Chancellor Yyat'e'ze. We too wish our visit to your planet had not ended in this way. Earth and Vulcan both lost honored persons."

Doctor Twaz'a'ka joined the conversation. "Yes. Although from the communications we have maintained, we are under the assumption that you believe only one has survived."

Doctor Shaffer agreed, "That is correct. We have four bodies in our morgue. Only Sontek survived."

"No. Two survived." Doctor Twaz'a'ka said this calmly but with absolute certainty.

Doctor Shaffer shook his head. "That is not possible. I've confirmed that the bodies of the four in the morgue are the other four from our landing party."

The Vice Chancellor stepped into the conversation. "Ah…I think I understand the problem. You do not understand. Let me explain. We had to perform a merging to save the two. The one named Sontek…"

Captain Clark nodded his head. "Yes, we know he's in your medical facility."

The Vice Chancellor continued. "…and the one called Archer."

Captain Clark's voiced what he and Doctor Shaffer understood, "Although it causes me great sadness to say it, we know that Admiral Archer is dead."

Doctor Twaz'a'ka was adamant. "Not dead, merged."

Captain Clark and Dr. Shaffer looked at each other, a confused countenance on both of their faces. "What is this 'merged?'"

Doctor Twaz'a'ka explained, "It means that we were able to save the brain of Archer by placing it in the body of Sontek."

"You mean that Sontek is dead? You did a brain transplant?"

"No. They are both alive. They are merged. They are one. They will both continue. They will both live."

"That's impossible!" Captain Clark's exclamation underlined his amazement. If what these two Tananites said was true…

"It's immoral!" Dr. Shaffer's face was red and his eyes were flame. "What gave you the right to do this to them!"

The Vice-Chancellor was stunned by the responses by these humans. He'd understood that humans too treasured life. He'd read some of Earth's poetry and literature and had been heartened by the references to the joys of living. He was now uncertain if joining this Federation was in his planet's interests. "If we had not taken action, they would have both died. This way, they both live. Life is precious. It must be maintained at all costs."

At that moment there was a knock at the door. Doctor Twaz'a'ka went to open it. Standing in the threshold was Sontek with a male who was likely a nurse. The man with Sontek indicated, "He is prepared to leave, Doctor Twaz'a'ka.

Sontek stepped haltingly into the room and sat in one of the chairs not taken. His movements were awkward as if he was not in full control of his motor skills. The man looked pale, especially for a Vulcan.

"Sontek? Are you okay?"

"We're fine."

"We're?"

"Yes. I am here and so is Admiral Archer. I don't understand fully what has happened but we are both here."

So it was true. Captain Clark was still skeptical. "Admiral?"

A perceptual change appeared as the Vulcan's face and body suddenly became more animated. Shoulders squared, the jaw tightened, and the eyes took on a decidedly human look. It was somewhat disconcerting to see this change. "Yes?"

"They are telling the truth? You are alive?"

"I guess in a manner of speaking I'm alive. I still know I exist. I still feel, still think. I don't feel right, though. I'm not sure it ever will."

Doctor Shaffer's anger had continued to build and this was the final straw. "I demand that you turn back this procedure."

Doctor Twaz'a'ka said quietly, "No. We can not. To separate them now would cause both to die. Death is not acceptable where life is possible."

Captain Clark turned back to Archer, "Do you want this to continue?"

"I honestly don't know yet. It's fine for now"

Doctor Twaz'a'ka spoke again. "I have put together a file on this case. It will provide all the medical background necessary to follow this situation once you leave our world." He turned to Sontek. "Sontek?"

The countenance changed again and the Vulcan returned to his normal look. Totally Vulcan. Totally inscrutable. "Yes?"

"I need to let you know the prognosis. We are not sure that your side of the merging is fully stable. As we told you, you suffered brain damage. If anything happens to acerbate it, you could still die. Cease to continue."

"I wondered. I have not been able to enter fully into the Vulcan disciplines as I have in the past. I believed it was due to Admiral Archer's presence. I understand now." He stopped for a moment and then quietly asked, "If I died, would Archer also cease to continue?"

"No. As long as it is not the body that dies and nothing happens to Archer's brain, he should continue even if your brain dies. However, if your brain were to die, necrosis would set in and the tissue would need to be removed, within twenty-four of what you call Earth standard hours.

"How long would Archer live if that happened?"

"As long as you."

"Will he experience Vulcan cycles?"

"Anything a Vulcan would experience, so too will Archer."

"Hmmm. Fascinating." Sontek turned silent as if he was contemplating the facts he'd just heard.

'What are you getting at, Sontek?'

'I am not getting 'at' anything, Admiral. I'm simply gathering data on our situation. It may prove important in the future.'

'Hmmm. Okay.'

"Are…" Captain Clark was at a loss to know how to refer to the man(men) sitting in front of him, "…they allowed to leave?"

"Yes." Doctor Twaz'a'ka answered. "There shouldn't be any major side effects. They will be able to continue."

The Vice-Chancellor rose and walked to the door, opening it. "We will be in contact with your Federation. In light of this situation, we may need to learn more about the Federation before we decide to join it. Thank you for journeying to us. Again, we are greatly saddened by the loss of three of your colleagues."

Sontek's face seemed to be in a state of flux as if he wanted to say something but was undecided as to whether to do so. He finally rose, unsteady, as if each movement required negotiation. "Vice-Chancellor, Doctor Twaz'a'ka. Thank you for your assistance."

Captain Clark and Doctor Shaffer looked at each other as they rose and walked out behind Sontek. Each nodded to the Tannanites and murmured their goodbyes. This was certainly one of the strangest meetings either man had attended.