Chapter 30

No matter what Administer V'Las' opinion, the Clan Mothers of Vulcan were not stupid old women. They may have ranged in age from a mere 195 to a tottering 275 but they were all descendents of warrior stock. They all knew that they were bait for what they considered a madman. While it was not possible to fully understand madmen, they did have history to show them what his probable responses were as well as his possible goals. And the most common goal was personal power, something that he could never achieve fully on Vulcan. No male could rule here.

Even Surak himself had acknowledged the fact that it was the Clan Mothers who truly ruled Vulcan. But then his goal had not been personal power. His goal had been the survival of his people. The Clan Mothers of the time had been suspicious of his motives, as they had been of any male's. But he had proven himself. In the present the Clan Mothers were well aware that the subtle discrimination of the past against males was merely prejudice and what it was related to. Males weren't completely raging beasts with no control over themselves. That only happened once every seven years and wasn't their fault anyway. It was simply a fact of biology. Outside of their time males were just as logical and efficient as females but few females would talk about the fact that they were nearly as effected as the males during their time. They just showed it differently.

That didn't mean a male would ever be allowed to rule Vulcan. Tradition would not allow it. If a Vulcan male wished to rule, he would be much more likely to succeed by leaving Vulcan altogether. There were many ways a Vulcan male could come to power, all legitimate. Petitioning to start a colony, becoming Clan Representative, or becoming Administrator of the High Command were but a few but V'Las was apparently one of those few who had decided that it was not enough. The real concern was who were his followers?

The real work of the alliances had already been done. Now all that remained was the ceremonies that would take place on Mount Seleya. Each Clan walked their way up the mountain path to the ceremony grounds, the Clan Mothers being carried in litters. The ceremonies were thousands of years old, each one having been set down long before the Time of Awakening. But the Clan Mothers, the members of the High Council and those who were most deeply involved knew that this time things weren't likely to go according to the program. Even for Vulcans the worst part was not knowing what was going to happen. But everyone knew that the probability was high that during the ceremonies V'Las would strike.

Clan Xtmprsqzntwlfd was the first, followed by the small three member group of aliens, although few knew that those under the heavy outer robes weren't Vulcan. From the moment the bells and ancient garb were seen everyone knew that a wedding would take place today. Most believed that the groom came from the Clan that followed, Tbvqtyhncxdslk, those that knew better did not try to correct the misassumption. The one thing that everyone was sure of was that the full rites were being done. There was no other reason for so many people to be armed; even the litter bearers were armed to the teeth.

'And they aren't just armed with antique weapons either,' Major Hayes smirked to himself. He knew that hidden among the sashes and robes of the armed Vulcans around him were the Vulcan version of phase pistols and that not all of those who appeared unarmed were. In fact the only ones who most definitely weren't armed were Commander Tucker, SubCommander T'Pol and that guy Koss. Not that Hayes considered Koss to be at all someone to be afraid of. He was slightly over weight and definitely out of shape, something that Hayes held in contempt.

He and the good doctor were among those who were visibly armed. Dr. Phlox had told him that their ceremonial duties were mainly to get Commander Tucker to the wedding without anyone interfering. Hayes wasn't sure just what the doctor wasn't saying, but he seemed to be amused at the whole thing. It didn't make sense to Hayes, seeing as how there was a good chance that they would be attacked at some point today.

Trip knew just why he wasn't allowed to have any weapons. Quite often when this wedding ceremony took place the groom was in full plak'tow, the Blood Fever or very close to it. That was not a good time for a Vulcan male to have weapons of any kind, at least not if the wedding was going to be concluded without bloodshed. Unfortunately he didn't think that was going to help this time. Not that he was in plak'tow or that he was going to cause any trouble. But V'Las was sure to do so and he just knew that blood would be spilled today. He hoped that there would be enough Healers on hand.

T'Pol was also concerned about the possibility of violence. She knew that they were as prepared as they could be but the possibilities that faced them were daunting. She gave a slight nod to her sister T'Mir, who had been surreptitiously scanning the mountainside. V'Las had people on the mountain. T'Mir dropped back in the precession and touched T'Pol's hand. Through their family link she said //There are twenty Vulcan males around the outside of the ceremony grounds. I believe that they are planning on cutting us off from the path down the mountain. There is no one at the ceremony grounds themselves or in the temple.//

T'Pol sent back agreement. She was not a great tactician herself but it was a reasonable assumption. The ceremony grounds were merely a platform on an isolated peak with a narrow entry way from the temple on the side of the mountain. If V'Las' men waited until they were all in the temple and ceremony grounds, or worse all on the ceremony grounds, then they could completely cut them off. Or rather they could if no one had been expecting them. More than one person had bondmates among the household guards stationed at the T'Karath Sanctuary just waiting to be called.

The information spread up and down the column of people by those who were aware of the circumstances through a simple touch here and there. Bondmates shared the information with each other and passed it to their children. Where there was no such link, friends passed simple looks and slight nods. Most were still ignorant, as those who did know of the approaching conflict did not wish to for the ambushers to become aware of the trap laid out for them. On the surface it was a perfect trap, the only question was, who would be the ones trapped at the end?

V'Las did wait until everyone had entered the ceremonial grounds. Just as the priests began the opening prayers of the ceremony V'Las' troops shot the priest in charge, killing him instantly. Few had expected that the priests might be in any danger. This was proving to be more than just a matter of someone attempting to take control of the government. Priests and priestesses by their very nature were exempt from any strife. Even in the days before the Awakening, no one voluntarily killed one.

V'Las marched down the narrow spindle that connected the ceremonial grounds to the temple. He didn't realize that the troops behind him, all armed with heavy rifles, were being counted and their placements being sent back to the household guards running up the trail behind them. He spoke loudly to the shocked gathering. "I am V'Las. From this moment on you are my prisoners. Should any of you try to attempt to escape, I will leave your fate to Vulcan's Forge."

Everyone knew that to try and cross Vulcan's Forge without preparation was suicide. Few made the attempt once they passed their kahs-wan as children. The dangers of the great desert were many and varied, from laymatas and wild sehlats to carnivorous vegetation and sparse water. They made no attempt to answer V'Las and he took their silence as agreement. "Good, I see that I have your attention."

Trip was following the announcements with T'Pol's help and was aware that V'Las didn't have just their attention. He also had their contempt, distain and a host of other emotions that were skillfully being controlled. How the man could not sense the violence stewing beneath the surface was beyond him. He was mindblind to anyone other than T'Pol and he could feel the emotions of the crowd crawling on his skin. "Is he that much of an idiot?" Hayes breathed in his ear. Trip figured from Hayes' question that the man knew the language. He just nodded back.

As quiet as the words were, many of the Vulcans around him heard them. The alien words where few had known an alien was were quickly set aside, although those who understood what was said agreed with the alien's sentiment completely. They continued to focus on the threat before them. The armed guards that ringed the ceremonial grounds were the only thing that stood between them and V'Las. Those that could surrounded the Clan Mothers, placing themselves as a second wall of living flesh between them and the madman.

"Your actions are futile," V'Las said contemptuously. "They will die and so will those of you that oppose me. The time has come for the Reunification with our outcast brothers and you women will pay for what you have done for so long!" The mutual contempt between the two factions deepened upon the so called prisoner's viewing of V'Las' blatant emotionalism. The prisoners had no problems with the way things were run on Vulcan. They had been that way for far longer than the mere 2,000 years since Surak. There had never been any reason to change things in all that time. If there had been, Surak himself would have said so when he was preaching logic and the mastery of emotion. V'Las was clearly mad.

There was also his intention of Reunification. No one had any idea if any of the Sundered had survived their exile from Vulcan. In the 2,000 years since they had left no one had heard directly from them. There were always rumors of course but nothing concrete had ever been found. Even if he did have solid evidence that they had survived, there was no telling if they would be even willing to talk to the descendents of those who had exiled them, much less be willing to take part in Reunification.

As V'Las continued to rant about how the Clan Mothers had subjugated males for the final time and the glory that would come from joining those who marched beneath the wings of the raptors, the household guards finally made it up the trail to the temple. From there, it was over in a matter of minutes, although it was not without casualties. The firefight behind him quickly gained V'Las' attention. Without bothering to acknowledge the other both Trip and Hayes worked their way through the crowd to the pathway.

As V'Las realized his troops were loosing to the household guards he turned back to fire his weapon at the Clan Mothers, determined to take at least one of them with him. He fired and Trip deliberately took the shot for T'Les, V'Las' target. Hayes immediately returned fire, fatally wounding V'Las. As Trip fell, his hooded robe fell away from his face. Shock ran throughout the crowd as they saw his Human features.