Merged

Chapter 14

Over the next several months, Jontek continued to settle into his new life. The schedule that S'Bont had set for him in the lab had worked surprisingly well with his teaching duties since they were designed to limit the amount of time the two would ever come into contact at the lab. It was similar to a three-quarters time schedule on Earth. Jontek was under no illusion that S'Bont had set up the schedule to be helpful to him. Indeed, he figured that if there had been a way to cause problems for him, the schedule would have been much different.

Porthos was enjoying himself as well. While taking the dog out for his daily walks, he had met Vulcans as well. At first it was the very young Vulcans who came over to see him, their parents mortified that their offspring would run up to him, allowing their faces to be washed by the dog's friendly tongue. However, after one such Vulcan had come up to him, it had changed things tremendously.

The child, Spobra, apparently suffered from a condition known on Vulcan as T'Ziw's Syndrome. From what Jon gathered it was a condition similar to autism on Earth. Spobra's father worked at the Academy Hospital as a doctor and his mother chose to stay home with their young son, preferring not to place him in the institutional setting where most children with his condition lived. While out one morning, the child had come over to Porthos and pulled him into his lap, feeling the soft fur on the dog's ears. Porthos himself was in heaven. What happened next changed the lives of all involved.

"Mos ausachya olau rom." Spobra said the words over and over. Jon had started understanding Vulcan more as he continued to be immersed in the planet's culture so he understood that the child was saying Porthos's fur felt good to him. He was surprised, however, to see the child's parents show emotion at the words, although if he'd seen their reaction from a human point of view, he would hardly have noticed their change of expression.

"Surak's vutau! He spoke!" For a Vulcan, the father was stunned. The mother simply dropped to her knees, rubbing the back of her son.

Jontek felt he had been given a gift to see this interaction, and inwardly smiled at the father's invocation of 'Surak's call.' "He hasn't spoken before?"

"No," the mother said looking up to him. "He has never spoken before. He communicates to us with hand gestures and grunts. What is this creature?"

"Porthos is an Earth dog."

She looked confused. "I didn't know there were other sentient creatures on Earth other then humans."

"Dogs are not considered to be sentient. They live with humans similar to the way sehlats live with Vulcans."

"They are pets?"

Jontek nodded. "Yes. But they are much more. Over millennia, dogs and humans have developed a mutually beneficial relationship. Humans care for the animals, providing them food, shelter, and emotional support. Dogs often do work activities or simply provide emotional support in return."

The father spoke. "This is a fascinating discovery. How did you come to own an Earth pet?"

Jontek had over the months become adept at reading which Vulcans would accept his unique situation and which would not. He sensed that this family was one of the former. "I had an accident a few months ago which resulted in my becoming a rish-ha-vel with a human. Porthos has been his pet for many years. When we came to Vulcan to live, it was logical that he would come with us."

The father nodded. "I see. Do you believe that this 'Porthos' would be willing to allow me to study him?"

"In what sense?"

"I would like to see if the emotional support he offers can be utilized by Vulcans in certain situations, like my son's."

Jontek considered the proposition before answering, "I believe that as long as Porthos is treated kindly, he would be a very willing participant. He likes being petted." As an afterthought he added, "Of course he'd have to be kept out of the Vulcan heat. He is old and can only tolerate Vulcan temperatures over a short period of time." The statement was confirmed by Porthos's act of cooling himself by panting, although he continued to allow the boy to pet him.

"Is that what my Spobra is doing?" the mother asked as she watched her son stroke the dog, the boy continuing to whisper to Porthos in simple Vulcan phrases.

"Yes. It is an act that pleases the dog and provides comfort to the one doing it."

The father stated, "If you allow us to work with Porthos, we will see that his needs are met."

So it was that Porthos had joined a medical research team. Before Jontek would leave for either his lab position or teaching duties, he would drop Porthos off at the medical lab. It amused him that in addition to his bedroom, Porthos now had his own office which was set up to allow Vulcan-dog interactions. The doctor, Savan, and his wife T'Liv had both indicated the change that had come over their son since meeting Porthos. His condition, though not cured, had been alleviated somewhat and he was finally beginning to occasionally break through the shell that had surrounded him since his birth. Savan was planning to bring more dogs to Vulcan based on the healing properties the dog exhibited.

This situation turned out to be both a triumph against S'Bont and another perceived barb against him as well. When S'Bont had learned that Jontek had requested one of his bedrooms to be modified to accommodate the quadruped, he had attempted to have Jontek dismissed for misuse of Academy funds charging that he has misrepresented his pet as a colleague in need of a modified environment. It had initially looked grim for Jontek, but when Savan stepped in, explaining that he saw the dog as a colleague as well and presented the data showing the strides in medicine that research with the animal had produced, the Academy Board had reluctantly agreed and had officially listed Porthos as a visiting researcher. S'Bont had not been pleased.

Still, S'Bont had nothing really to work with. Jontek continued to perform his duties in the Astrophysics lab without incident. While Sontek had been studying the discovery of new elements that had been found in small quantities inside the heart of various stars before the merging, the research he was now doing had to do with mining the known materials that were in those same stars. His work had been handled with thoroughness and there was nothing that S'Bont could use against the man he now saw as his nemesis.

S'Bont had tried on a number of occasions to pull the komihn to the fore, to cause a scene that would allow him to exercise his rights as the director of the lab to dismiss the being he considered an abomination. He was prohibited by what he believed to be Jontek's sheer will to maintain what the director saw as simply a Vulcan mask over disdainful human emotionalism. He knew the human was there, had seen him in his office the day this Jontek had reported to him. S'Bont saw it as only a matter of time until the annoying komihn would show himself again.

S'Bont had been aggravated as well by what he saw was the obvious help the Jontek was receiving from the Department of Federation Studies. He felt he had been maneuvered into a position of providing his schedule first, basically removing any argument that the man's teaching interfered with his work in the lab. T'Pol had indicated that S'Bont had been vocal about his dislike for the Department. His argument had been, they were Vulcans. What need did they have to promote and support such an assembly of species, some of whom had been mortal enemies of the Vulcans from time past? Still, there was nothing he could do as long as the Academy Board chose to support T'Pol's Department.

S'Bont was derisive of the Vulcan leadership in general. Ever since the Syrannite, T'Pau, and the human Jonathan Archer had 'restored' the Kir'Shara, he claimed that Vulcan had taken a turn for the worse. Before, the Vulcan High Command had called the shots on Earth. Since then, the High Command had been disbanded, replaced by a Trinary Governing Board composed of those who followed the teachings of the supposed 'true word of Surak' from the restored Kir'Shara. However, verbal dissent against the government was not a crime and S'Bont had continued to rise in the administration of the Academy, pulling in favors built from long relationships with those with position. He was truly well positioned.

Although Jontek was annoyed by the constant positioning of his boss in trying to out maneuver him, cause him to make a mistake that would result in his dismissal, he generally put it out of his mind. He'd found many in the lab who he enjoyed working with, their analysis of the data they collected intriguing. He begun to feel that even if things never became any better, he could live with the situation quite acceptably.

On the other side of his career, teaching had become an outlet of joy for Jontek as well. Seeing Vulcan students, eager for knowledge on a daily basis was exciting. Although early on, there had been some questioning by the students as to whether this Vulcan astrophysicist had anything of value to offer in the way of Federation Studies, once they learned that the man incorporated the human most associated with the development of the Federation from that species, they had listened with apt ears.

Jontek had laid out the premise that the earliest beginnings of the Federation could be traced to the first contact with humans by the Vulcans. Although the early years of collaboration between the two species had been marred by distrust and misunderstanding of each other's cultures, ultimately, working with the Vulcans had played an important role in the acceptance of humans as a galactic player. It was the humans ability to seek out common ground with other species that had allowed them to be seen as an honest broker in settling old wounds and developing good relationships with multiple species.

Jontek had reached the point in the course where he was discussing the Xindi situation and the reluctance of the Vulcan's to assist Earth at the onset. He was receiving an exceptional amount of negative questions from his students.

One of Jontek's students chose to argue his point. "Professor. You expect us to believe that Vulcan actions in this situation were counter productive to Vulcan interests?"

"What I'm saying is that if Earth had not pursued the course of finding and destroying the Xindi weapon, the galaxy would eventually have been taken over by the Sphere Builders. That analysis is without question. We didn't know that when the mission started. The Vulcans were unwilling consider that perhaps this situation was not only a threat towards Earth, but perhaps would affect others as well. Sometimes, doing the right thing even when you can not see a benefit towards yourself is the best way to approach things. The Vulcans at that time did not accept that premise.

The student vigorously shook his head. "The Vulcans were only acting logically based on the data that was available at that point."

Jontek reiterated. "Sometimes it is necessary to follow an illogical path to find the true logic in the situation. There was one Vulcan who made the choice to do so."

"That would have been T'Pol?"

"Yes. Without T'Pol and the humans working together, the mission would not have been successful and we would not be having this conversation. That is the core of the Federation."

"So you are saying it was the choice of one Vulcan that changed the results of the Xindi situation." There was almost a smugness in the way this was stated.

"No. What I'm trying to get across to you is it was the human and Vulcan interaction along with the help of others, such as the Andorians, that provided the catalyst to reach the Xindi before Earth was destroyed. If not for that, the Xindi would have succeeded and the Federation would never have even begun."

"It sounds as if you're giving Earth the sehlat's share of the credit for the creating the Federation."

"If Earth had not been a player, then the Federation is unlikely to have ever developed. They were the catalyst to change in what had been the status quo in the galaxy for over a thousand years."

The class chime had rung, ending the debate for that day. Jon had collected his items and headed over to the Medical lab to spend some time with Porthos. His little pal had become quite a phenomena and he often didn't get to spend the time they used to just being together. It was while he was there that the call came in from T'Pol's office. She needed to see him. He finished giving Porthos a final pet and a piece of cheese before heading over to see what T'Pol needed.

Over the months, the situation with shielding had become more comfortable as well. While Sontek generally pulled back behind them when T'Pol and Jon were in their more personal interactions, such as meditation, they found that the Vulcan half of their being was a great asset in understanding how to instruct Vulcans. While he generally allowed Jon to take the lead in the material, as he had today, he was keenly aware of the dynamic in the classroom. As such, he did not put the shielding up when addressing his teaching duties, even with T'Pol. They had become comfortable with being Jontek in most of their interactions.

Noting her door was open, Jontek walked into her office. "T'Pol. It is agreeable to see you."

T'Pol seemed troubled. "I wish I could answer in kind, Jontek."

This took him somewhat aback. "What?"

"I've received some complaints from your students today."

"Why?"

"They say..." she referred to a padd in her hand, "...that you are attempting to subvert the historical record. To teach a highly subjective version of the facts."

"I don't understand."

"Here, read this." She handed him the padd. "The student's name has been removed."

Jontek scanned the complaint, his eyes crinkling with a smile as he read it.

"This is not something to be amused over. As chair, I have to investigate any possibility of impropriety."

Jontek handed the padd back to her, explaining his side of the situation. "T'Pol. The way this student is portraying what I said is to indicate I negated the role of any other species in the Xindi situation. That is not what I said. But it is understandable that a Vulcan would be offended by the fact that their planet did not have the vision to see why doing something without a known benefit was ultimately the logical position."

"Vulcans are not…offended."

"Cut the crap, T'Pol. I'm half Vulcan now. I know that Vulcans get offended. And there isn't a species alive that takes their response quite as seriously."

T'Pol was somewhat shocked by his statement but chose to ignore the emotionalism involved. "What do you intend to do about this situation, Jontek."

He stated simply, "I intend to continue on with my class."

T'Pol shook her head. "I require something more. I will need for you to address this situation a little more directly."

"What do you mean."

"I believe it would be wise to apologize for the misinterpretation."

He was surprised. "You think I should apologize?"

"Yes."

He shook his head. "No. I won't apologize for saying what I know to be true." He said it such that he believed the topic should be closed.

T'Pol indicated that the topic was still very much open. "You will make it clear that you do not believe the Humans were the sole or even major driving force behind the Federation. You know that Humans would not have been able to effect the changes without help from others."

Jontek looked at her, wondering why she would push this. "I've never stated otherwise. That has been my contention throughout. Can I help it if my students choose to omit that part of the argument?"

"It is your duty to see that they truly hear that truth as well as your human bias in the material."

"I don't have a human bias in what I teach, T'Pol."

A slight smile crossed T'Pol's face for a nanosecond. "Now it is time for you to cut the…as you so eloquently stated, crap. I've known you too long, Jon, not to know of your pride in humanity. I don't deny that humans have been an important addition to galactic politics. You may even be right that without humans, nothing would have changed. But for the sake of this Department, I need to ask you to put out a clarifying statement which clearly shows that you do not believe that the humans were ultimately the only ones responsible for the Federation and to apologize for any misunderstanding that might have arisen."

Jontek nodded, giving in gracefully. "Fine, T'Pol. I'll have the statement to you later today."

"Thank you, Jontek." Now that the issue at hand had been addressed, she changed the subject. "There is to be a formal function at the Academy this weekend. We have a visiting dignitary from the Yanasic Conclave. I would like for you to be there with me."

"Are you asking me out on a date, T'Pol?"

"No. This is Departmental business. The Yanasasins are interested in Federation admittance but they do not wish to approach the humans yet. They would like the logical Vulcan view before applying for membership."

"And you think I might be able to calm their fear of humans. Okay, T'Pol. Can you provide the specifics of where and when we meditate tonight?"

"Yes. I'll bring your invitation with me. Until later?"

Jontek smiled as he left her office. T'Pol had handled taking him to task for the situation with his students well. He recalled the number of times he had to do the same with members of his crew, Trip coming to mind. Although he often agreed with their reasoning, the bigger picture was often more important. Jon could see how T'Pol's position as chair could be somewhat compromised if he had refused to put out the clarifying statement. He really didn't have a problem with stating his position, but the fact that his student's had not spoken to him directly indicated another issue that would need to be addressed.

He went by the lab to pick up Porthos and take him home for dinner. The dog was having entirely too much fun.