Chapter Twelve
Finally, Trip met with the Betazed council. Their main purpose was to see him was to apologize for what happened when he was kidnapped by the Cardassians. The Valley Forge crew was behaving well while on shore leave, and their diplomats knew that they were going to be negotiating with a representative of EU not Captain Tucker. They kept reading his emotions during the meeting in order to see if he was being honest with them. Trip had decided upfront on complete honesty with them, which heightened their admiration for him.
He knew he'd have to thank T'Pol for his composure during the meeting. She had begun to teach him how to meditate and put up mental barriers when he didn't want his emotions read. He tried to use these new techniques such as breathing and focus during the meeting. His emotions were fairly even keel for him.
After the meeting, he returned to the Valley Forge. As he headed to his Ready Room, he felt an uneasiness coming from T'Pol. Something was bothering her but he didn't know what it was. Entering the Ready Room, he was shocked to see her standing in the middle of the room waiting for him. He smiled at her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I found that I desired your company, while you were gone. It disrupted my concentration. I found this disconcerting. It appears that I must also grow use to our bond," T'Pol said.
Trip walked to her and offered her the middle finger and index finger from his right hand. In Vulcan this was called the ozh'esta. She touched her index and middle finger to his. Their bond sparked when they did this.
"I have found my center," she said. "I should be going."
"Are you headed back to astro-cartography lab?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, well," he said taking his hand back, "I'll see you at dinner."
"Yes, Adun," she said.
He felt her relax through the bond. It made him smile. She then turned and left the Ready Room. Trip stood in the middle of the room for a moment then he went and sat down at his desk. He picked up a PADD to start reviewing reports, but found that he couldn't concentrate.
"Oh, yeah, my life is definitely complicated," he sighed.
STSTST
Vulcan Military attacked from the air dropping sonic bombs, whole agents of the V'Shar search for them during the night in the Forge. It was a full offensive to find the Syrannites and an alleged Human Starfleet captain, who they kidnapped. Archer carried the vessel with the Kir'Shara with T'Les by her side. T'Pau sent her people out in different directions as a distraction. They were almost out of the Forge and she knew that their first destination would be the Vulcan High Council to show them that the Kir'Shara had been found. She knew that some of the council were corrupt, but most were not.
"We should rest for the captain's sake. He is in distress," said T'Les.
"We cannot," said T'Pau. "The V'Shar is on our trail. We must get to where the hovercar is hidden."
"His body cannot take the same strain as ours, especially carrying two katras," said T'Les. "If he dies then we lose the katras Surak and Syrann. Captain Archer's life may mean nothing to you, but their katras are sacred."
T'Pau stopped walking. The logic was solid. She motioned T'Les to have Archer sit and rest for a spell.
"We will take ten minutes for him to rest then continue," said T'Pau, who then looked at V'Lon and Sypok. "Head into the darkness and hunt the V'Shar. They must not get the Captain or the Kir'Shara. Stop them."
The two Vulcan males disappeared into the night.
STSTST
Soval had spent over an hour in the hands of the Andorians. Shran didn't want to torture the Vulcan, but he needed to trust him and he did trust torture. AG was about ready to attack the Kumari, when Soval was returned to the Columbia. His control of his emotions was shaken, but he was alive. Shran appeared on the view screen of both the Columbia and the Enterprise.
"I now believe what he had to say, Pinkskins, but it changes nothing. If Vulcan ships come to invade, we will repulse them. They are coming to our space; we are not going to their space," said Shran.
"Shran, you don't want to start a war. Try to negotiate with them. Don't just fall into warfare and battle. It doesn't have to be this way. Look, Soval let you torture him in order to prove that this is a false war perpetrated by one man, V'Las," said AG.
"I don't know you, Captain Robinson, but I can tell you that Andorians have been expecting a war with Vulcan for years now. V'Las has no honor. He never has and we have suffered indignities because of him. The Imperial Guard won't back down," said Shran.
"V'Las is an agent for the Romulans," said Soval. "You know that I am not lying, Commander. His intention is to start a war to weaken both Andoria and Vulcan. The Romulans like to manipulate before they invade. You are falling into their hands if you fight."
"How do you know this, Soval," demanded Shran.
"I retrieved the information from one of V'Las' men who was responsible for the bomb in the Vulcan Compound on Earth. It was a bomb that killed my friend Admiral Forest and many others. V'Las must pay," said Soval.
"Vulcan ships, forty of them, are fifty thousand klicks to our aft," announced Baker to Commander Hernandez.
She saw that Shran heard this. His antennae took a defensive posture. He was ready to fight.
"AG, talk is done. We have to show them with action," said Hernandez.
"Line in the sand, Erica?"
"I can't think of anything else, can you?" she asked.
"I'm afraid not. Maybe if they see we are willing to die to stop them, it will stop them," said AG. "I always wanted to die making a grand gesture."
The connection to Shran was broken. Hernandez took a deep breath before giving orders.
"Baker, shields up, make weapons hot, and put us at Battle Stations," she ordered.
"Aye, aye, ma'am."
"Travis, put us between the Andorians and the Vulcans," she said.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Hoshi, hail the Vulcans. Let's hope that they can understand the truth when they hear it because we aren't going anywhere," she growled.
The Enterprise put itself in the path of the Vulcan fleet. The Columbia came up beside the Enterprise. They were going to make a stand together.
STSTST
They hadn't talked about T'Pol moving into his quarters, but it just happened. A captain's bed was larger to begin with, so there was room for two in his bed. He actually didn't have much in terms of clothes, except uniforms, so she took over half the closet space and half the drawers. What should have been awkward turned out to be natural. Trip and T'Pol co-existed nicely. The only real complaint Trip had was he didn't see enough of her because of his schedule.
Certainly, one of the reasons for the schedule was Trip's being the captain of a ship with a crew of 500. His workload was impressive in terms of reading and writing reports, dealing with problems, and whatever else was needed. As he quickly learned, a captain delegates authority but not responsibility. He was responsible for the whole ship.
When he first started Trip refused his own personal petty officer to deal with the bureaucracy of the position, but now he was rethinking that since he was tired of twelve to fifteen hour days. One of the primary reasons was that he wanted to spend more time with T'Pol. He called on the COB to come to his Ready Room.
The COB entered his Ready Room.
"Sir," he stood there at attention.
"COB, at ease."
The COB relaxed his stance then he put his hands behind his back.
"You wanted to see me, sir," he said.
"I know I said no originally, but I need a petty officer," he said.
"You need a yeoman to help with the administrative work because all you do lately is read and write reports," COB said. "It's about time you asked for some help. I'll have one for you in the morning, sir."
"COB, you're a life saver and a heartbreaker," smiled Trip.
"Captain to the Bridge," Sango voice called. "Four Cardassian ships are approaching Betazed space."
Trip stood up, nodded towards the COB, and then he bolted out of his Ready Room and onto the Bridge. Once there he observed that Commander Flynn had already ordered their shields up and weapons hot. Trip walked over to his command chair and sat down.
"Nat," he said to the helmsman, "put us in the way of those ships without putting us in the way."
"Yes, sir," Wentworth replied.
Trip sat back in his chair. He brought the holo-console to check on vital ship's functions.
"Sir," said Flynn.
"Yes, XO," said Trip.
"Should we hail them?" he asked.
"No. They should hail us," Trip. "Petrov, prepare railgun. I want to show them who they are playing with."
"Aye, aye, sir," Irina said with a smile. As the tactical officer she liked to be ready with all her weapons.
Trip sat and waited as Wentworth mirrored the four Cardassian warships movements.
"We are being by Jarot," she said Sango.
"Put her on the screen."
"Captain Tucker, is there a problem?"
"No, ma'am," he smiled. "There are four Cardassian ships up here and I thought I'd make sure I knew their intentions before I allowed them into your space. The last time they popped in without knowing their intentions it did fir me."
"We could scramble our security fighters to assist you," said Jarot.
"I don't think so, Ma'am," he smiled, "it's only four warships. The Valley Forge should be able to handle this without a problem."
"Please be careful, Captain."
"We always are," said Trip.
The screen returned to space. The Valley Forge played with the four ships until finally they were hailed.
"We are being hailed by Gul Hadet," said Sango.
"Put him on."
The grey white face and serious demeanor of the Cardassian appeared on the screen. His dark eyes were filled with anger. Trip smiled.
"You have no rights here, Captain," said Gul Hadet.
"And neither do you. You've entered Betazed space. We are here at their invitation," said Trip.
"You are only one ship," smiled Hadet. "That is arrogance. You cannot stand up to four Cardassian Keldon-Class warships. Get out of our way."
"Petrov, fire the railgun right across their bows close enough to damage their shields," said Trip.
"Yes, sir," she replied.
The railgun fired shaking the Valley Forge. Its energy beam brushing up against the Cardassian ships' shields. She began to recycle the railgun, since it took fifteen minutes to attain firing levels again.
"We are being hailed again," said Sango.
"Put him on the screen."
Gul Hadet looked living. There was redness to his eyes and he appeared to be a commander ready to attack.
"That was an act of war," he said.
"No, it was a warning. If I wanted to commit an act of war, I'd have fired on one of your ships and it would no longer be in one piece. Now, what do you want here?" he asked.
"We are wishing to speak to the Betazed council," said Gul Hadet.
"Why don't you send three of your ships home and I'll let you talk to the council," grinned Trip.
STSTST
Helped by T'Les, Archer and accompanied by T'Pau entered the impressive building that was the Vulcan High Command. Minister Kuvak and two security guards met them at the security check in. He looked at Archer. The Human appeared to be in dire condition.
"He is carrying the katras of Syrann and Surak," said T'Pau.
"How can this be?" Kuvak.
"V'Las is a traitor," Archer said in perfect Vulcan.
Kuvak lifted an eyebrow in surprise. He wasn't expecting the Human to speak Vulcan or accuse the Administrator of treason.
"He colludes with the Rihannsu," said Archer.
This was even more surprising. How would a Human know about the Rihannsu? Kuvak was fascinated now by this Human.
"Come to the council chambers," said Kuvak. "This must be discussed in the open."
"Is V'Las there?" asked T'Pau.
"He is offering a declaration of war against Andoria," said Kuvak.
"It is a war of his making, a war meant to weaken Vulcan for the Rihannsu," said Archer.
"Come, we must hurry then," said Kuvak.
STSTST
The Columbia and Enterprise kept getting in the way of the Vulcan and Andorian warships. The Vulcan ships fired particle beam cannons. Captain Vanik of the TiMur watched the Human ships with trepidation. These Humans were trying to stop a war. They had no reason to be here placing their own lives in danger. It was not logical.
As one of the most senior captains in the fleet, he was starting to doubt their purpose here. V'Las might have led them in a war for reasons other than honorable ones.
"Comm, Contact the Vulcan High Council," he said.
"Yes, captain."
"Stand down weapons," ordered Vanik. "I will not fire on any ships unless I am sure our cause is just."
STSTST
"He and those who supported him have corrupted the word of Surak," Archer stated.
"What does this Human know about Surak?" asked V'Las.
"I carry his katra," said Archer.
The Vulcan council chamber was full. All councilors stood and listened, except Minister Kuvak. He stood with T'Pol and T'Les. This was his way of showing his support for the Syrannites and the Human. He believed them.
"Lies," said V'Las.
"Is the Kir'Shara a lie, also?" asked Archer.
He took the clay jar from T'Pau slammed it down on a table top so hard that the clay jar broke exposing a small recording device. Archer turned it on and suddenly the room was filled with holographic displays of Surak's writings. V'Las panicked.
"He is an insurrectionist," he cried. "Arrest him."
Kuvak has seen enough, "Stop! Security, take Administrator V'Las into custody for treason. It is apparent that he is not the Vulcan that we thought he was."
"You cannot do this," yelled V'Las losing his control.
"It is done," said Kuvak then he turned and looked at the council. "Now it is time to pull our fleet away from Andoria. It is a false war."
T'Les moved quickly to Archer's side as he collapsed. She felt his face. He had an exhausted and he had a fever.
"The katras must be removed now," she said.
"It shall be taken care of."
STSTST
Erica was almost thrown out of the chair from the particle beam cannons. The Andorians were holding back, waiting to see how far the Columbia and Enterprise were willing to go.
"Shields down to 15%," called out Baker.
"We have hull breaches on decks 3, 7, 9," called out Chief Petty Officer Rostov.
"Allocate Damage Control teams, Rostov," called out Hernandez.
"Yes, ma'am," he said.
Suddenly, the weapons fire stopped. Hernandez looked about the Bridge. Hoshi was trying to put a fire out at the Comm Station. The Science Station was wrecked, smoke wafted out of the equipment. She wondered just how much damaged was done to the ship.
"We are being hailed by a Captain Vanik," said Hoshi.
"Put him on the screen," she said.
The Stoic face and grey hair of Captain Vanik. He reviewed the state of the Bridge and nodded.
"I apologize for what has happened to your ship," he said. "We offer the Enterprise and Columbia any aid and assistance that is needed."
"Considering I don't think my ship can move, that would be a lot of aid and assistance," she said.
"I'll send some engineers over to your ship," he said then disappeared.
"We are now being hailed by Commander Shran," said Hoshi.
"Put him on," she said.
Shran appeared with a snarl on his face.
"I owe you and Captain Robinson, Pinkskin. I hate owing favors," he said. "You did good."
"I'm glad a war was avoided," said Hernandez.
"As am I, Pinkskin. I'm also glad that you survived. We shall meet again," he said.
The screen went back to a view of Vulcan ships. Hernandez sat in her chair stunned at what had passed. The Enterprise and Columbia survived. She hoped that John would be proud of them then she hoped that he was alright.
STSTST
T'Les waited on a marble bench for news of Captain Archer. The priests and priestess of Mount Seleya were removing the katras. Once they were removed he would need medical attention. She would make sure that he received that attention.
"T'Les, you are still waiting for news on Captain Archer," said T'Pau, who entered the waiting area wearing official Vulcan robes.
"I see that there are already changes in the Vulcan government."
"The High Command no longer exists. We know have a provisional government. I am a member of the council," she said.
"As Syrann would want. He thought of you as a leader for Vulcan," said T'Les.
"And what do you want, T'Les?"
"I want to make sure that proper care is giving proper care so that he may recover," said T'Les.
"After that?" T'Pau asked.
"I would like to visit Earth in some capacity. I believe there is much to learn from Humans," said T'Les.
"I see," said T'Pau. "Soval will need an assistant when he is reinstated as Primary Ambassador to Earth. It is a similar position your daughter held for a short time, but with more power. I view you as an ambassador in training."
"I believe I that would be agreeable," said T'Les.
"Good. Now we must wait to hear about Captain Archer," said T'Pau.
She sat down next to T'Les.
"Vulcan is vulnerable right now. We may need the Humans," said T'Pau.