Merged

Chapter 12

During his meditation, Jontek had heard the electronic signal indicating the "he had mail" from his monitor. When he finished he went over to the computer and checked to see who had contacted him. It was T'Pol.

She had invited him to an early breakfast, indicating that since this would be the beginning of his stated "day after tomorrow," she hoped he would have made his decision. He sent a note back saying he would be at her office the next morning as requested. He again slept in Porthos's room.

The next morning, he was up early. He made sure Porthos was taken care of, walking him outside as he had done the day before. Making sure that he had everything with him before heading out the door, he left to meet T'Pol. It portended to be a day of new beginnings.

He arrived at T'Pol's office and she indicated she had set their breakfast up in her conference room. Walking in to share a morning meal with T'Pol brought to mind the many breakfast's they had shared in the Captain's mess. This time, though, she was the superior and this was her room. He smiled at the irony of the situation.

"Jon? I think you can handle this situation on your own. If you do need to meet with anyone else, you know how to 'knock on the mental shield.'"

"Thanks, Sontek."

Finding a table with water and various teas, he asked, "T'Pol. May I fix you a cup of tea?"

"Yes. I have chamomile and mint. Either would be a pleasant choice to start the day." As an afterthought she indicated that she had Vulcan teas as well.

He fixed the chamomile tea for her and a cup of theris tea for himself. Taking the cups to the table, he found at both of their places a bowl and noticed a self-heating tureen set in the center of the table. He could tell from the smell that it contained the standard Vulcan breakfast, plomeek broth. He'd tried it once as a human and found the flavor interesting but not something that he would order on a regular basis. He decided to follow T'Pol's lead in case there were any new rules he needed to learn.

T'Pol took his bowl and served the soup to him. Waiting until she had served herself as well, Jon again took the first bite and gave a nod of approval towards T'Pol. It apparently had been the right thing to do and they both continued to eat the broth. Jon noticed, pleasantly surprised, that to Vulcan taste buds, the soup was actually quite tasty. He could understand now why they would choose it daily.

When they were finished, T'Pol asked him, "Have you made a decision about teaching for the department?"

"Yes. I wish to do this. I don't know my schedule yet, however. Until we meet with S'Bont later this morning, that will still be unsettled. If you can work with whatever schedule I get, though, I'm looking forward to it."

T'Pol nodded. "I was hoping you would agree. Having a teacher who can explain things from a human point of view will be an asset to the curriculum. Vulcan in many ways is still a homogenous society. We are taught to embrace the ideal of the IDIC and yet we mostly have only ourselves to practice it with."

"Vulcan has been exploring space for centuries."

"Yes. But there are few species that choose to live on Vulcan. Our heat and dryness keep many away. Our reliance on logic and distaste of uncontrolled emotions prevents others from choosing to reside on the planet. When our own reluctance to share personal activities with off-worlders is also factored in, it is not surprising that most Vulcans do not have as cosmopolitan an attitude as you obviously expected. That is one of the reasons we have a curriculum like this at the Academy. For those who wish to work off-world, it gives them a place to learn about the other species they will encounter."

"I guess I never thought of it that way. You know that on Earth we have multiple cultures, multiple ethnicities. I guess it doesn't surprise us finding a similar situation in the galaxy."

"That is why I think having you as an instructor would be beneficial to the Academy. The students will hear another viewpoint. Perhaps one that they had not considered before."

"I don't think they are going to rush over to the human point of view."

"No. But as a great teacher from your world once stated, the sign of true intelligence is the ability to consider an idea without embracing it. Our students at the Academy need to cultivate that concept." She stopped and took a sip from her tea. "I had meant to ask you. How did Porthos like the sehlat food?"

"He liked it. Thank you for suggesting it."

"You're welcome." Jon looked at his timepiece. "T'Pol? Can I get back to you about the schedule? We only have about 15 minutes before our meeting with S'Bont. I don't want to be late."

"Of course. Would you like to go to dinner again tonight?"

"Umm. I have a better idea. Why don't we cook dinner for you?"

"That would be most pleasant. I accept."

"So…would you rather have Vulcan food or Earth food?"

"You asked me. I will be satisfied with whatever you choose to serve."

He smiled and started to get up. "Okay. It's a date. I'll send you the specifics later. See you tonight then."

He couldn't help but notice that she had a small smile as well.

XoXoXoXoXoXo

Jon knocked on the mental shield to let Sontek know he was needed again. "Sontek?"

"Yes, Jon?"

"We're on the way to the lab now. I thought I should let you know."

Sontek was curious. "How did things go with T'Pol?"

Jon smiled. "She's coming over tonight for dinner. You feel like cooking or do you want me to?"

Sontek considered the question. "I believe you should do so. She mentioned the charms of Earth cooking the other night."

"Okay. Know where I can get Earth ingredients?"

"The stores close to the Earth Embassy often carry Earth foods as well as some other species products."

Jon remembered the number of ethnic grocery stores he used to frequent in San Francisco. "Yeah, Humans tend to try new things out. I guess that's one of the benefits having multiple ethnicities. Lots to choose from.

"Vulcans tend to stick to the things they know they like."

"Yet you celebrate the IDIC."

"It is more a celebration of tolerance and acceptance than it is one of embracing something for the sake of the sensation. I think on your planet there is a saying 'live and let live.' The Vulcan IDIC is much like that."

"Humans may give you a whole 'nother take on it, Sontek."

"That is what we were afraid of about a hundred and fifty years ago, Jon."

Finding they had reached S'Bont's office, they took a deep breath and knocked. "Come in."

Jontek greeted his new boss with a Vulcan "V" hand gesture. "Director S'Bont, it is agreeable to see you."

"Sontek. You have returned." It was almost chillingly and the hand gesture was not returned.

"I was under the impression that you'd never met him."

"We have occasionally met at Academy functions. He was in charge of a different lab when Sprong was in charge of our lab."

"Yes. But I now use the name Jontek as it fits my unique situation."

"Your unique situation. The…what was it they called it…merging?" The final word was emphasized.

Jon felt something wasn't right. "I'm feeling animosity from him."

Sontek brushed it off. "You're just being paranoid, letting your preconceptions arise again."

"That is how the Tananites described it, yes."

S'Bont was dismissive. "It is disgusting. You should not have gone through with it."

Thinking that his new boss did not understand, Jontek continued. "We had no choice. When we awoke, it had already been performed."

"I suppose there is some validity in that. If I understand correctly, you have a komihn in your mind?" The word was emphasized with derision.

"I don't think its paranoia. This guy doesn't like humans."

"Jon. Remember the human Dr. Shaffer on the Trafalgar? He had a similar reaction to the procedure and neither of us felt it was right to do it either. The Director is just probably concerned with my ability to do the work. Some Vulcans believe that Humans do not apply themselves as diligently as Vulcans."

"We are both Vulcan and Human. We are learning to co-exist. There will be no problem with doing the work we are assigned. Both of us have our training in science, although my Vulcan side, Sontek has worked more in a lab environment while the Human side, Jon, as been in the command structure of Starfleet."

The Director was not pleased with the information. "Starfleet…hmmmph…We never should have helped them into space. It was a mistake to initiate first contact with the komihn." Again the word was said as if the Vulcan had just tasted something that didn't agree with him.

Jon was really getting annoyed. "You still think I'm just being sensitive?"

Sontek decided the direct approach would be the best to settle Jon's mind about the situation. "Director S'Bont? Do you have a problem with Humans?"

The answer would have caused water to freeze. "I do not have any problem with humans. I believe they should stay on that wet rock of theirs and leave space alone. They are an inferior race and I don't have a great deal of use for them."

Sontek was shocked by this attitude. He thought it had gone out when the Kir'Shara had been restored to the Vulcans. "Have you ever met a Human?"

"I had the unfortunate opportunity at a Space Sciences Interspecies Conference. It was not a pleasant experience. As I recall, they were of the opinion that under the right conditions, a warp engine could potentially be cold-started. It would go against everything that we have discovered thus far on warp field matrices. The species is obviously not rational."

"This is the kind of Vulcan I remember."

"S'Bont apparently had a bad experience. So did you. You've been learning to put those experiences behind you. Perhaps S'Bont will in time, too."

"I think you're bending over backwards to defend him."

"I am not…defending anyone"

Sontek reasoned, "That possibility has been theorized even here at the Academy."

A dry, almost rehearsed, "The Vulcan Science Directorate as determined that it is not possible" was S'Bont's reply.

That was enough. Jon pushed his way forward. "The Vulcan Science Directorate has been wrong before. What about time travel?"

"I am still not convinced there is conclusive proof that time travel exists."

"How do you explain what one of your fellow Vulcan scientists, T'Pol, reported?"

"T'Pol was overly influenced by living with komihn. Her data is suspect."

Jon felt anger bubbling up. 'Damned Son of a Bitch!' His eyes were blazing and his words were clipped as he stated, "T'Pol is one of the most objective scientists I've ever had the pleasure to work with."

"Jon, calm down. You are creating a far worse situation."

S'Bont's eyebrow rose. "Am I addressing the komihn then?"

"You are now."

"Jon, he is my boss!"

"And you expect me to let him badmouth Humans like this?"

The Director steepled his fingers. "Well, you have just proven my point. Komihn are emotional, ill-mannered, aggressive, savages. If the Vulcans had chosen not to initiate first contact, it is likely your species would have figured out a way to destroy itself by this time. You were certainly headed toward extinction when we found you.

Jon was still fuming. "The Vulcans did their best to keep us from reaching beyond our solar system. I was there. My father was the genius behind the Warp Five Engine. I guarantee the Vulcans didn't hand us the ability to travel the stars. We earned it, discovery by discovery!"

S'Bont started to straighten the papers on his desk. "Well. This has certainly been an enlightening conversation. I suggest you save us the trouble of finding you incompetent and request a transfer from my lab."

"Jon. Look what you've done! Let me handle this."

"You still want to work with this prejudiced egotistical bastard?"

"There are channels to address this type of behavior. I don't want to leave my research. If I request a transfer, they'll ask why? S'Bont will say that my human half is emotional and can't get along with Vulcans What lab do you think would take me?"

"You could explain it's not true."

"And who do you think they would believe? An honored researcher and director of the lab or me, a Vulcan/Human hybrid that is still at the staff scientist level? I think you've been around bureaucracies long enough to know the answer to that."

Jontek's visage returned to that of an unflappable Vulcan. "Director, I believe that will be unnecessary. I would like to continue working on the research that Former Director Sprong, T'Vlan and I had been pursuing, which has been fully funded by the Ministry of Applied Research. I believe you would have to get their permission to transfer me out of the lab without a request."

"That is, unfortunately, true."

"Then I would like to request the schedule you would like for me to follow?"

"You may pick it up tomorrow from my assistant, T'Quan."

"I will do so. If that will be all, Director?"

The Director turned towards Sontek, a look of pity on his face. "Sontek. It was a sad day when you lived through that accident. I've read your personnel record. You were a fine researcher. You would have been missed but you would have died with your dignity intact."

"Director. My dignity has never left me. Indeed, I have found it has been enhanced." He started to leave and then turned around once more. "And I'm still a fine researcher." Jontek's fingers again took their familiar "V" configuration. "May your day go well."

Then he walked out of the office, closing the door behind him

XoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Sontek was upset. "What were you thinking, Jon!"

Jon was surprised by Sontek's question. "What do you mean? The man is a prejudiced bigot!"

"Ri klau au ik klau tu.."

"What does that mean?"

"It is another of Surak's teachings. 'Do no harm to those that harm you.'"

"That's easy for you to say. Your species wasn't called a bunch of savages!"

"If you want another saying, how about one from Earth."

"Like?"

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?"

"How did you learn all these Earth sayings?"

"The fact that your mind is full of them is not my concern. The fact that I choose to use them is simply a logical action."

"Okay, you're right. I got a little emotional in there but…"

Now it was Sontek's turn to be surprised. "A little emotional? Jon, if a Vulcan was that emotional, they would probably lock him up. Now he knows that all he needs to do is push you over the edge at the right time and we'll be out of his lab for good."

Jon thought about that. "Maybe not. You know how you've said you'll stay behind shields most of the time when we're with T'Pol?"

"Yes."

"What if I stay behind shields when you are working in the lab? That way, you'll be able to handle anything he may throw at you."

"Let me restate your plan. I stay behind shields when you are with a beautiful, articulate, and intelligent woman and you stay behind shields when I'm dealing with my arrogant, prejudiced boss who now is out to see that I fail because of you?"

"Well, it sounds worse when you say it that way, but basically, yes."

Sontek sighed. "It is the logical course of action to take. But I don't have to enjoy it.