Merged

Chapter 22

Sontek was sickened when he heard the news of T'Nar's death the next afternoon through the Academy grapevine. The Academy scuttlebutt was that she had been involved in a fiery crash an hour before and had died before reaching the Medical Center. It caused him to wonder if he was responsible for her death since Jon had asked her to continue to search for the evidence they needed. He would let Jon know about this development after they left the lab. He figured that Jon would be equally as upset.

Jontek had no doubt that he likely played a role in the death of the Vulcan woman later that day when he returned home after picking up Porthos at Savan's lab to find his apartment in a shambles. As he examined the extent of the damage, he set the small dog down.

"What happened here?"

"Someone was trying to find something, Sontek."

"What?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it might have something to do with T'Nar."

He heard Porthos whining and went to see what had the dog upset. He noticed that the dog was trying to get comfortable on his dog bed but something seemed to be in the way. Moving the blanket away he found a distinct lump in the middle of the cushion. He reached into it and pulled out a package. Opening it, he found a data disk with a handwritten note attached. He saw that the note had been written by T'Nar and it warned him not to open this on his computer. They were monitoring his communications. It warned him to be careful. The message also indicated that he likely had little time before those who had plotted and carried out the genocidal actions would be after him as well.

He headed over to T'Pol's office, by way of Savan's. He was going to have to find a way off the planet and quick. He left Porthos with Savan, telling him it may be a couple of days before he could pick Porthos back up. Savan indicated he should take whatever time he needed. His next stop was to see T'Pol and let her know he was leaving.

When he arrived, she was in the midst of a discussion with a student. He recognized the man as one who was in his class, Suren. T'Pol was telling him his family had contacted her to pull Suren out of class since his cousin had died and the family was gathering. The young man nodded. As he turned around, he came face to face with Jontek. He noted that for a Vulcan, the look on Suren's face revealed absolute devastation at the news of his cousin's death. Jontek knew T'Nar had spoken to this cousin about what had been happening. Suren looked to Jontek, almost begging him to make her death have some meaning. He nodded at the man and resolved to make sure her death was not in vain.

Alone with T'Pol after he had left, he greeted her. "It is agreeable to see you, T'Pol."

She returned his greeting although was curious that he was signaling her to stay quiet. He waved his arm to follow him, stating "Let's go have a bite at Sar'nan's." It was a little restaurant not far off of the campus where a number of the instructors would meet. Jon had always preferred the restaurant she had taken them to the first night so she was a bit surprised. She was going to say so when she noticed Jontek gesturing her not to say anymore.

"Sar'nan's is an agreeable choice." When they left the building, she was surprised when Jontek took off in a completely different direction then his restaurant choice would indicate. "What's going on?"

"Uh. I wanted to tell you I'm leaving. I don't know when I'll be back." 'Or even if I'll be back."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He was surprised to find T'Pol's thoughts in his head.

"T'Pol?" How could she be there. He knew they hadn't melded.

"Yes"

"How are you here?"

Sontek answered. "I believe a bond is forming between us. It is still weak. It may be related to the pon'farr."

T'Pol still wanted a clarification. "What do you mean, if you'll be back?"

"T'Pol, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only is S'Bont a general jackass, he's also involved in a genocidal plot against the Andorians"

She was shocked. "Do you have proof of that?"

"I might. I have to get off the planet to be sure. I think they want to kill me. It's going to be hard to find a ship. I don't want to get anyone else involved." He wasn't sure what his next step should be.

"Let me help."

"No. I don't want you to be hurt."

T'Pol's plea became urgent. "Jon, I told you before we entered the Expanse that you need me. You now know the reciprocal is true. I'm not letting you leave me again. Don't push me away. I can help you."

"How?"

"I can still get into the Vulcan Defense System. I can get us a ship."

Both Sontek and Jon asked at the same time, "Us?"

She was adamant. "I'm going with you."

"I told you, I don't want you to be hurt."

She stated plainly, "If something happens to you, I'd rather die with you then live without you. I'm coming and that's final."

He reached over and hugged her. She did not pull away. "If they are truly out to kill you, we do not have time for this." Thinking back to the many times he'd been beaten, captured, or threatened with death while Captain of the Enterprise, she added, "I know from experience."

He pulled away, and smiled. He simply held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I love you, T'Pol!" He paused just a moment and then added, "But you're right. Let's get going." The two headed off to the spacedock, bound and determined to get a ship to leave the planet.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Stealing the ship had been easier then it should have been. Jontek had been amazed at the ease T'Pol entered the codes, granting them access to places they shouldn't be. He suddenly realized how easy it would have been for T'Pol to have sabotaged Enterprise at any point in their ten year mission. The woman's training in the Vulcan Ministry of Intelligence had taught her techniques that reminded him more of Malcolm than anyone else. It was a good thing she was on his side.

They were underway to Denobula. Jontek popped the data disk into the computer and read what was on the screen. T'Nar had downloaded everything she could find on the plot. She had even found that a neutralizing agent had been developed that would remove all trace of the molecule. He showed the data to T'Pol.

"This is it, T'Pol! We can stop the epidemic, if we can get this to the Andorians"

"We can't tell them yet. They would blame Vulcan."

"We can show them it was just a small group that was doing his."

"They'll never believe that. They are illogical."

"I might be able to convince them."

"Perhaps if you were still human. You are now Vulcan."

"It's still possible, T'Pol. In the meantime, can you send this formula to Phlox on a secure channel?"

"Yes."

She sent Phlox the formula for the neutralizing agent. If he could make enough of the compound, they could start distributing it to the Andorian worlds that had been affected, stopping the epidemic. Justice against the perpetrators would have to wait until that was finished. To do otherwise would mean that more Andorians would die. Their primary focus had to be ending the genocide.

The ship they had taken was a smaller deep space scout ship. It was not large, but it was fast. It normally held a crew of six, but it was manageable to handle with just the two of them. The biggest advantage was its speed. The ship could do warp seven easily. It had few weapons and its shielding was minimal. They figured at the speed they were traveling, they would cut the four day Denobula run down by two thirds, meaning they would arrive in about 28 Earth hours. Phlox promised a supply of the agent would be completed by the time they arrived.

Arriving on Denobula, they loaded the cargo onto the ship. Phlox had programmed a synthesizer to continuously make the agent and that was installed on the ship as well, preventing their departure by a few hours. By the time they reached Andorian space, which was within 20 hours of Phlox's homeworld they would have created a significant amount of neutralizing agent.

In the meantime, Jontek entrusted the data disk to Phlox's care. He wrote a letter to Malcolm explaining what had happened up to this point in his investigation. He cautioned him to still be leery of Section 31. Their agenda did not always line up with the best interests of the Federation. Still he wanted to have Malcolm start looking into the data that T'Nar had bought with her life. He had seen a password protected file on the disk that he figured might name names. That would be critical in bringing justice to all who had been harmed by this evil plot.

Phlox wished Jontek and T'Pol the best of luck as they headed to two different directions. Jontek was suddenly reminded of the Expanse and heading out into the unknown to prevent the death of his people. His destination was now known, and the people he would be saving were not of his blood, either type, but he saw the same imperative. He could not fail.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Within minutes of entering Andorian space, they found they were being tracked. The Andorian's had always kept a close eye on their borders, especially after the end run that the Vulcan High Command had tried to pull on them eight years before. Jontek had been counting on it. He wasn't surprised to find the Andorian hailing him to be none other than his old buddy, Shran. Somehow, they seemed to cross paths more than could be explained by random chance.

Sontek was confused by the terminology that Jon was thinking. "Old buddy?"

"Well, perhaps 'old buddy' isn't exactly accurate. More like an old friend that when you've been captured will sit next to you in the cell and say, 'Man! That was fun!!'"

T'Pol dryly commented, "I hardly consider the man to be that close a friend. He keeps score."

Jon answered, "Oh, come on, T'Pol. You know he pulled our butt out of the fire enough times."

Jon felt T'Pol's sadness. "And it was repaid at a high cost."

Trip. No one was more willing to see Shran's daughter saved. Trip had lost a sister and a daughter in little less than a year. He knew the pain that loss would cause. Yet, because of that rescue, he'd been forced to make the decision that ended his life. Jon was certain that Trip had not done this intentionally, planning to die. He was certain that Trip was just following a logical course of action, using what was at hand to stop the bad guys. But the fact that the plasma conduits were full had made that choice of defense unwise. Jon was certain that Trip didn't realize that the conduits were full. Instead of creating the concussion blast that would have knocked the invaders out, he had caused a plasma fire instead.

Jon remembered coming to in the corridor, the sight of scorch walls, the smell of burning flesh, and the sound of moaning. He'd followed that sound and found his best friend dying. He picked up Trip, running with him to sickbay, hoping against hope that Phlox would save his life, but knowing full well what a plasma fire would do to a human body. Trip wasn't the first man he'd seen die this way. During the early days of his Starfleet career, a conduit had ruptured, killing six crewmen on the Montundra, the ship he was serving on as a very new Lieutenant Archer. It had been his first look at violent death, and it was one that he'd hoped he'd never experience again. He certainly never wanted to see Trip die that way.

He'd carried some anger against Trip since the Expanse; that was true enough. And it was obvious from his most recent self-introspection that he'd harbored a jealousy against him. But he also knew he loved Trip like a brother. A piece of him had died that day as well.

"Yes, that was a high cost. Still, it will be good to see Shran again."

The Andorian ship hailed them. "Vulcan ship. Identify yourself."

"Shran. It is good to see you again."

The Andorian looked confused, his antennae back. "Do I know you, Vulcan?"

"Hmmm…Well, you know part of me."

A Vulcan who talked in riddles. That was a first. "What is your name, Vulcan?"

"Jontek."

"Strange name for a Vulcan." Shran wasn't sure, but something was definitely different about this Vulcan.

"It works for me."

Shran shook his head at the sound of this Vulcan's choice of wording, his antennae continuing to betray his total confusion. He then noticed the Vulcan woman behind the Vulcan, Jontek. "T'Pol! Does the Pink Skin know you are out here?"

"Jon is very aware that I am here, Shran."

Shran knew that human's used personal names for more intimate uses. Hearing her use Jonathan Archer's made him wonder if they had had a relationship. Maybe it hadn't worked out and that's why she was sitting in Andorian space in a Vulcan scout ship with another Vulcan. He was about to comment again when Jontek spoke.

"Shran, can you come over to our ship? We have something to show you that I think you'll be interested in."

The Andorian agreed. He wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Jontek knew that the first order of business would be to inform Shran of the cause of the epidemic and the fact that they had a way to stop it. He was sure that Shran would be able to mobilize the distribution of the neutralizing agent quickly. He was also interested how the Andorian would accept the reality of his existence.

If nothing else, he won't call me Pink Skin anymore.

The Andorian shuttle docked a few minutes later. As he walked into the small Vulcan scout ship, he looked over to T'Pol. "I heard that you went back to Vulcan after the Enterprise was decommissioned. Someone told me you became a teacher."

"I am the Director of the Department of Federation Studies at the Vulcan Science Academy."

"You should have stayed on Earth with the Pink Skin. I always thought he had a thing for you. I thought you liked him as well. How's he doing anyways? Last I heard he was an Admiral in Starfleet."

Jontek spoke. "When was the last you heard of Admiral Archer, Shran?"

"It was before this epidemic took hold of our worlds. We've been quite busy trying to figure out a way to end it. Not a lot of time to look up old friends. So many have died."

T'Pol indicated her sadness at the epidemics toll. "We can't bring those who have died back but we can help you prevent any more deaths."

"How?"

Jontek answered. "We've learned the cause of the epidemic and we have the compound that will stop it."

The blue antennae stood attention straight which mirrored the surprised look on Shran's face. "The cause? Andorian scientists have been working for the past nine months to find the cause. We just turned to the Federation a month ago. How could the Vulcans have developed something so quickly?"

Jontek responded. "I'll get to that later. The main thing is that this epidemic can be stopped."

The Andorian's eyes closed almost to slits, antennae forward, bent almost to the skull. "Something does not seem right here. Who are you?"

"That antenna still hurt you when it rains?" Jonathan pointed to his left antennae.

"What?"

"The one I had to cut off of when you wanted to kill the Tellarite."

"She told you about that." Shran indicated T'Pol with a nod of his head and point of his antennae.

Jontek smiled. It was disconcerting to see a Vulcan do so. "She didn't have to. I was there. I'm the one you fought."

The Andorian dismissed the comment, derision dripping in his voice. "You're a Vulcan. The Pink Skin, Archer, is a human!"

"Surprise. You'll never know where I'll turn up, Shran."

A quick laugh burst forth from Shran, his antennae wiggling at the absurdity of the comment. "You expect me believe you had yourself surgically altered to look like a Vulcan. You must think I'm a smolgnatior to believe that!

With the sure look of Vulcan calm, Jontek explained. "Not exactly. We had an accident about eight months ago, Shran. The shuttle I was piloting on Tanansis V crashed. Sontek, the Vulcan male you see and I were the only ones that had any chance of survival. The Tananites merged us."

"Merged?"

"Yeah. That's why we use the name Jontek. It combines both of our names. Sort of like both of our minds are combined in the same body."

Shran looked at the Vulcan again, seeing something there; see in the quirks he'd always associated with Jonathan Archer in his face. "You're both Vulcan and Human? Pink Skin?"

Okay. So I was wrong.

"I'm here but so is Sontek."

The Andorian gave Jontek a sideways glance, his eyes squinted. "I'd never believe you'd choose to do this."

"We didn't have a choice. We just woke up this way."

"I don't believe I would handle waking up in a Vulcan's body well. No offense."

"None taken." Jontek stopped the discussion. "But Shran, we've got bigger issues to deal with than a reunion. This compound really needs to be delivered and quickly. Do you think you could get some more Andorian ships so we can stop it?"

Suddenly turning more serious, his antennae following suit, the Andorian nodded. "What is the cause and how can it be stopped."

Jon knew this would be dangerous ground to cross. "First, do you remember back on earth, when the first interspecies coalition was being formed? The group on Earth, Terra Prime?"

"What are you doing, Jon? Just explain the problem."

"That won't work with Shran, Sontek."

"Why not?"

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing here."

"Those brocnar! Yes. I remember that this group wanted to have nothing to do with alien specie."

"But you remember that all humans did not feel this way."

"Yes. Most humans saw what this group did as wrong."

"Then you understand that not all of a people have the same motivations or act on the same principles."

The Andorian's antennae took on a defensive posture, flaring forward. "Of course I understand that. What do you think I am? A vralnt?"

"You just insulted him."

"No, I just need to set things up first. Otherwise Shran's reaction will be off the scale. I had to fight him once; I don't want to have to do it again.

"I know you're not, Shran. But what I'm going to tell you could stir embers of a fire that are best allowed to die. I just want to prepare you."

"Just tell me Pink Skin!"

"There is a faction on Vulcan that wishes to bring back the past, which wishes to destroy the Andorians."

"The Vulcan's are doing this!" Shran was outraged.

T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "You haven't been listening. There is a group on Vulcan that is doing this. We found they had used a material found in some stars that when modified becomes quite toxic to Andorians. They put it in your water supply and planted it such that it looked like an epidemic that was spreading naturally."

His eyes turned to slits as he looked at T'Pol. "I always said you Vulcans were too sneaky."

Jontek sighed. "Shran. T'Pol and I are trying to help you. Remember. It's not all Vulcans. Just a few."

Shran turned back to him, "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm very sure, Shran. A few Vulcan's that are evil are behind this. Most Vulcans would be appalled if they knew about this. That's why we're trying to stop this."

Suddenly a idea crossed Shran's face. "If you know about these brocnar, why hasn't something been done? Or is the current Vulcan Government trying to sweep this under the rug."

With great patience, Jontek reiterated. "Shran, I just told you. We've just learned about this. We decided that ending the epidemic took precedence over seeking justice against these Vulcans. But they will be brought to justice. They will be punished. That will happen. But first, let's save your people. We don't want anymore to die."

Shran couldn't argue that ending the epidemic had to be handled first. "I will call for ships and doctors. But this discussion isn't over, remember that Pink Skin."

"I know, Shran. But until we get things settled out, you must keep what I've told you secret. Otherwise, there might be a few Andorians that think getting revenge is more important then peace. There might even be a few that would end up hurting innocent victims. There has certainly been enough of that already."

Shran nodded. "You have my word, Pink Skin. We'll address the epidemic first and then deal with the brocnar." The Andorian got up and walked to his waiting shuttle. He would bring the ships here and get the neutralizing agent distributed. Then he would talk to the Pink Skin again. He'd never led him down the wrong ice slide before.