Chapter X. Two Long Years End

Unfortunately, Tarsus Artoris Max was wrong; the war lasted more than two years longer. Eight hundred fifty days, but we were victorious in the end. The Klingons forced our troops into ground combat on some their outer worlds from Qo'noS. It was rugged combat involving sword against bat'leth, and as to expected the IX Legion, the Order of the Black Dragon's Head was at the vanguard of all battles. We were always worried awaiting news, Father contacted us via the book when he could and Mother received messages after each battle from The Empress. Before a battle, Mother would tense up and be short with us. I knew she was very worried about Father, but so were Lucia and I. Often even before we had heard that a battle had concluded my mother seemed to know that Father was safe. Then we in the House of T'Naa-Marcellus relaxed during these moments when Mother seemed calm and settled. In hindsight, I did not comprehend at my young age that my parents had a very powerful telepathic bond.

Great-grandmother Adela had us all pray to the Creator, the Lady and even Lady Galadriel asking for an end to the hostilities. That was always her way, she would be out at the grotto each morning and often as not, Lucia, Great-grandfather, and I would also be present lighting candles at the shrine and she would lead us in various prayers and chants in a vague hope that our voices would be heard and the war would end. Mother sometimes joined us but this was infrequent.

But even with the tension of the unknown, the two years passed rapidly for me. I was now ten, Lucia nearly twelve, and Drusilla, thirteen. We spent our days playing as children when we were able and we worked hard in the fields. Mother tended to be out with us more and worked long hours. I think it helped her cope. Like us, this was the first war that occurred since she had married Father. My great-grandparents were helpful, having experienced this in the past, but it was still difficult for Mother. I learned much from my great-grandfather, Ignatius; about being a man, farming, the legion, my role in the House. He also trained Lucia and me in the use of blades, knives, and many other weapons that we would use once we entered the military. Mother taught us the Vulcan martial art Suss Mahn and the use of the lirpa.

I remember Mother saying, "The Way of Surak stresses pacifism, yet in this dangerous universe, it is a noble but unrealistic concept. You must be prepared to defend yourself and to stand shoulder to shoulder against evil and the enemy, be prepared to protect the skann, and support your ezyet, The Empress."

Arvi D'Nare also struggled, worrying that Julius would not return alive. He also was a IX legionnaire. Fauna, Julius' mother seemed less concerned about her spouse and her son, having lived through wars in the past. Drusilla though seemed not concerned in the least. She and Lucia trained together, studied together, shared secrets, even from me. Over the course of the two years, I found myself being draw to Drusilla more and more. Fortunately for me I grew so that I was taller than Drusilla and as tall as Lucia. Yet, since she was three years my elder and Orion, she dominated me in our interactions, I was like a servant to her and tried to act on her every wish. Lucia sometimes counseled me to not always be so eager to please Drusilla, but it fell on deaf ears.

Pater Theos continued to single me out after lessons and discuss my reading lists and the improvements in my knowledge of written Greek and Aramaic. It was during this time that he also started to work with Lucia but with her he emphasized more science and mathematics, particularly physics and quantum mechanics. So often we would be at the church library, books in our hands and diligently working on the subjects he wished us to master. I cannot recall any other young students that he spent as much time with as Lucia and me. He also had us reading and discussing much religion and philosophy, particularly the Kir'shara from Vulcan and the Tripitaka from Earth. We would study them and compare both teachings to the collected verse of Galadriel which she composed as she ruled us long ago. Pater Theos' knowledge of such a vast plethora of different disciplines defied logic. Yet he could expound upon almost any known subject or language. He could be a severe taskmaster but for some reason, Lucia and I thrived on our study with Pater Theos and with Mother and our great-grandparents.

During this two year period, I was regularly visited in my dreams by my imaginary sister, T'Pol, usually at least once a month. I never told anyone, not even Drusilla about these strange experiences I had. I just enjoyed pretending that she was real and was my twin sister that I only slightly remembered. In my dreams she aged as I did and appeared to be almost as tall as Lucia, but remained petite. She always appeared with short cropped hair, in the typical Vulcan cut with bangs. Her pointed ears always were evident because of her hair style. Like my real sister, she had a slight greenish hue to her olive coloured skin due to her green blood.

It was a wonderful dream I felt. I had this secret twin and we shared many thoughts and ideas. For me at this age, it seemed very real. I had wished to ask Mother if Vulcan twins shared a special bond, but I could not because of our agreement of secrecy. During our meetings, we discussed many things about our experiences, often arguing when her view of Vulcan did not agree with mine. Although T'Pol would never admit to arguing, rather we were debating issues. Right before the end of the war, I remember a very vivid dream about an exchange between us. It was in the fall of 5017 A.R. I remember it well because of the nature of the dream and it occurred on the night that we learned the war ended.

That night as I went to sleep, I was acutely anxious about the possibility of the war's end. My dreams were black things in which my family died due to the attacks brought on by some unseen enemy. My body trembled with a restlessness that would not cease. One vivid dream had me standing outside our villa and I saw a strange ship blast our home, killing all inside. As I fell to the ground sobbing, I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder.

"Marco, you are greatly unsettled," T'Pol stated. I noted the vague concern in her voice. "What is the cause of this discontent?"

"Poli, my home, my family they have all been…" I stopped speaking as my eyes beheld T'Pol standing before me overlooking the fire plains on Vulcan.

"I sensed your distress, but we are safe here on Vulcan. What was occurring? As I meditated, I felt your calls of despair and reached out to you." T'Pol's brown eyes studied my face for clues to my distress.

I sat back on the yellowish brown sand covering the ridge we appeared to be on and looked about me. I thought, "I must have been having a nightmare."

I turned to T'Pol and examined her youthful face. During her frequent visits to my dreams, she seemed to appear more and more like the images of my mother's grandmother, T'Pol when she was young. After our initial meeting I looked on Mother's book and found images of her grandmother. I was astounded by this similarity in facial features. Even though T'Pol was Vulcan in demeanor, we had become closer and had exchanged much in the two years of interaction.

"Nightmares?" asked T'Pol.

"Ah, dreams that are not pleasant or agreeable," I replied. Then it occurred to me that I had not spoken. I continued, "Poli, you seem to have been able to hear my thoughts."

T'Pol sat silent for a moment and then said, "I have noticed this ability during our last three exchanges. I did not inform you because it did not seem necessary. You are aware that Vulcans are touch telepaths. That reason is why we value our personal space. It appears since we have often touched each other as siblings often due, that we have developed some type of psychic bond. From this bond I felt your unsettled nature and I reached out to you. You entered my meditation space. I am surprised that you have not also developed the ability to hear my thoughts."

I silently nodded and thought, "I think I have noticed this ability but felt I was mistaken."

"Ah," returned T'Pol in thought. "You have a bond with you Ko-mekh. It weakens as you grow but still you realize that bond is present.

"True," I answered. "Yet if you and I share some type of bond than that suggests to me that you are real and not some portion of my old twin bond laying deep in my subconscious."

"That would be a logical conclusion, but it would suggest then that I am actually your twin sister, since I also manifest this bond. Yet in our many meetings it appears we reside in separate time lines."

"It is too much to think about now."

"Agreed," answered T'Pol. We sat silent and looked at the panorama of the Vulcan desert.

I calmed as I sat there on the ridge and surveyed the vast fire plains of my mother's homeworld. T'Pol sat beside me her arm hugging me to provide comfort and said nothing. Together we watched as Eridani climbed higher into the sky, yet the temperature did not rise. We heard a wild sehlat call and viewed shavokhs soaring high in the sky. I could see the mountains away to the east. It was very peaceful.

After a long while when I was completely calm and relaxed, T'Pol asked, "I know this is personal but would it be an aid for you to relate the details of this nightmare?"

"I am not sure."

"Take us to your home. We can visit if we wish and see if all is well."

T'Pol and I had determined in this semiconscious existence we shared that we could leave Vulcan and go to Hellenes in an instant and then return as quickly. The only limiting factor was our knowledge of where we wished to visit. So quickly before our eyes, Vulcan's sands vanished and the verdant landscape of Hellenes materialized. We found ourselves standing on the green lawn that edged my villa's courtyard near the grotto. T'Pol examined the statue of the lady in this shrine and said, "The grotto of the Lady is undamaged as is your ha-kel."

"Ah, Poli. The Lady's shrine seems to protect my home. In my dream it was being destroyed by the enemy. Now all appears as it should be."

"Ah I am aware of this fact. Nothing is damaged and all appears well," returned T'Pol. She studied the statue of the Lady. Turning her eyes again on me, she continued, "Your statue in the grotto always intrigues me. Just she or perhaps I should state that this statue pulls at my nature and gives me an unrest I cannot explain. It seems as if it wishes to speak to me or call me. I know I have told you this before. I realize that I am redundant. Yet I wish to determine why I am unsettled."

As we talked, my great-grandmother Adela came out and knelt before the shrine and started praying as she often did. T'Pol stood and watched for several moments and then said, "Your sa'mekh's foremother appears to not be able to see us, Marco."

I shrugged and walked into the courtyard. Then I touched Adela on the shoulder, but my hand went through her as if she was not corporal in nature but only a holographic image. Adela was unaware of T'Pol's or my presence. I turned to T'Pol very surprised and stated, "Indeed, you appear to be correct. This is a dream like always."

"I disagree, for me I am meditating in my room at my parent's ha-kel. You perhaps are sleeping and dreaming. As I stated earlier, it is logical to assume that we are each real individuals that have managed to develop a psychic connection. The meaning is unclear."

"Poli, let us not have that disagreement again. I concede that you are meditating. But to be fair, you should…"

"I accept your premise that you are dreaming, so we agree." Here T'Pol paused and turned away from Adela and faced the entrance to the villa urbana. I was surprised that Adela appeared to fade from sight. As I wondered on this fact, T'Pol interrupted my musing with a question.

"Do you think that we may be able to enter your home? We have never tried that before."

"Interesting, let's attempt to enter and see what occurs."

T'Pol nodded and took my hand. We walked across the tiled courtyard and entered the front door of the urbana. We removed our shoes in the alcove and entered the large main room of my home. T'Pol examined this family room showing little emotion as she looked at the artwork and pictures on the walls. She crossed the oak floor and reclined upon a divan near the east wall.

"This appears to be real," she stated as she stretched and sat upon the green sofa.

"What is this device?" asked T'Pol as she pointed at the large screen that hung over a fireplace.

"It is a larger version of our books, one which we can view programs from the capital and also use like a computer or an image projector. It contains many images of my family."

T'Pol nodded understanding and then asked, "My I see this image of your ko-mekh's foremother that you state I resemble."

"Ah," I replied and quickly scrolled through images until I found the one we desired.

T'Pol stood long moments studying the image. I must admit that other than the different apparel, the image could be of the current T'Pol standing in front of the viewscreen. She had no expression upon her face but I sensed she was greatly unsettled by this revaluation of how much she resembled my mother's grandmother. After many moments she turned to me and stated,

"Marco, that could be an image of me."

"I told you of this fact," I answered.

T'Pol seemed very disturbed by seeing this picture of my great-grandmother. She appeared deep in thought and finally said,

"If your t'dahsu ko-kai just disappeared, then perhaps what we pretend is actually a fact. I am your missing ko-kai. This would explain our ability to form bonds across our separate time lines and why you are certain we are related. But I fail to understand how I could be living in what is the future for your time line. My mekh's must have adopted me, but I should be able to sense this fact. I should be able to feel the bond with Ko-mekh and Sa-mekh."

"Not if they did the fullara when your Vulcan mekh's received you. That ritual would cause you to forget about the bonds formed with our ko-mekh and between ourselves."

"Ah, true and it could have been such that I did not remember it even occurring. You said I disappeared when I was just over one year of age?"

"Ah."

"Why would…."

But T'Pol did not get to finish her statement as Great-grandfather Ignatius entered and saw us both. This astounded me as earlier Adela did not detect us.

"So I find the twins hiding in the villa and not doing their assigned tasks," laughed Great-grandfather.

We both stood there in the common room eyeing Ignatius and I know I was opened mouthed. I looked at T'Pol and her eyes indicated disbelief that we could be seen by Ignatius. This had never occurred before.

"Well," continued Ignatius, "let me get us some citrus to drink before you return to your tasks. Would you find that agreeable?"

Before I could respond, T'Pol replied, "Ah Sa'al that would be pleasant." She used the pet name that Lucia and I used for Ignatius. In our many meetings I had informed her much about my family unit just as she had done the same. I was surprised how quickly she decided to play act the situation and see what occurred during this meeting of our minds.

Great-grandfather nodded and turned, indicating for us to follow him into the kitchen. I turned to T'Pol and was going to say something, but she placed two fingers on my lips and telepathically said, "Marco, this is fascinating. Let it proceed and see what transpires."

"Agreed," I thought back. Then I shielded my thoughts from her. I reflected on how she silenced me using two fingers to my lips. Lucia had mentioned that Mother did that often to Father when they were together. I could not recall that memory, but was surprised that T'Pol used this same action.

We entered the kitchen of my home and T'Pol and I seated ourselves at the little nook bench where Luci and I often ate our morning meals.

"So Poli, lemon, lime, or orange?"

Before T'Pol could answer, I said, "You know we prefer lemon Sa'al."

"Ah, very true, it is what you both always seem to prefer. Luci likes orange mixed with lime, but my Poli and my Marco like lemon."

Great-grandfather poured into tall glasses an icy citrus drink he had taken from the electric cooling unit. It tasted lemony and slightly sour but seemed real. I looked at T'Pol and she sipped hers. We remained silent as we just digested what was occurring. Never in our mental meetings had we ever interacted with anyone. Ignatius talking to us and knowing T'Pol was surreal to say the least.

"Now hurry you two, your ko-mekh expects that you are out weeding in the herb beds by the orchard. Yet I expect it gets tedious."

"Ah, tedious but your stories always entertain us Sa'al," replied T'Pol.

Great-grandfather smiled and then indicated that we needed to return to the gardens and continue working. So T'Pol and I left the urbana and walked to the herb beds.

I said, "This is odd yet very thrilling. He knew you Poli! How is that possible?"

"I am uncertain but it was a pleasing experience. Let us see if we can go to this garden and perhaps interact with your ko-mekh and ko-kai."

I nodded agreement and we walked towards the gardens. As T'Pol and I neared the green beds of herbs we spied Lucia and Mother. They looked up and just as Mother was going to greet us.

"Marcus, wake up," said Adela softly yet in a very joyous tone. She gently shook me and I opened my eyes. I remember seeing Adela my great-grandmother, so young looking and excited, crying joyful tears.

"The war is over," she said happily. She kissed me and hugged me. "Peace was reached and your sa'mekh will soon return."

It was a late night hour. Lucia and Great-grandfather seemed to be dancing about in the hallway outside my bedroom doorway. Mother entered and said, "It is logical that we should appreciate this fact and celebrate that Gratius will return safely."

Great-grandmother smiled and nodded. I sat up and took in everything. I was happy at this news that had awakened me, yet I wondered what would have occurred in my dream if it had continued.

We celebrated long into the early morning hours and Mother had declared a holiday. Drusilla, Arvi, and Fauna had entered our home with wine, cheese, and other foods as dawn broke. It was the happiest moment of my life at that time. I remember the words that Paters Faustus and Theos said at the church with the entire village present. We gave great thanks to the Creator and rejoiced.