The Captives

Chapter 2 – Kov - Lethizeh

Disclaimer: Enterprise and it's characters are propriety of CBS/Paramount.

Time-line: Takes place a year after Terra Prime (January 2155) in the beginning of the year 2156, the start of the Earth-Romulan war (2156-2160).

Summary: Trip meets a old friend, Kov at a secret research facility of Starfleet. During Kov's stay he discovers that Trip and T'Pol had a relationship and no one has seen T'Pol in a long time.

Authors note: A special thanks to my beta, KKGlinka and to Rigil Kent for inspiring the idea of T'Pols imprisonment.

Walking back to his quarters, Kov thought about how he had changed, since he had left his home town. Who would have thought that he would be talking about Vulcan's customs to Humans, that he would be quoting one of his fore-mothers favorite proverbs to a Human mother!

When Trip and he had met the first time, he was still the boy from the small town of Elret of the Limetho Province. Raised in a traditional, middle class family, he had shown great talent for engineering. His parents urged him to go to a university, traveling between home and school.

He always was rather skeptical about traditional Vulcan thinking and while attending the university he joined a small group of students, critical to everything the elders told them, and eager to study ancient Vulcan teachings. In this group he met V'rek and Konol who introduced him to the secret teachings of the V'tosh Ka'tur.

When he joined the V'tosh Ka'tur , he was so sure that they were the true Vulcans. They were trying to find the true way a Vulcan should live. Not like the old Vulcans who were stuck in tradition and did not see the potential and freedom the ancient scripts were offering. Emotions were not to be suppressed, but experienced and controlled. He thought he had become part of the best group of Vulcans, all idealists in the search for the truth. The price of being a outcast of Vulcan society was a small price to pay.

He still valued a lot of the teachings and he had made many good friends. But, his trust in the V'tosh Ka'tur was shaken after he heard that a group member named Tolaris had used their techniques to violate people's minds. In the aftermath of his discovery of this betrayal of everything the group stood for, he began to have doubts. He became more sympathetic to the careful way the older generation handled things. Freedom was good, but also could lead to abuse, such misuse about which his father had warned him.

Maybe that was the reason that when the opportunity offered itself, he made a quick visit to his family on Vulcan. The moment he saw his father – well recovered from his illness, but still more fragile then before – he saw himself in an older version. The angry words that had stood between them faded.

But it was nothing compared with seeing her again. T'Rel had been his betrothed before he left. He had never given her much thought. Her father would never have give him permission to marry his daughter after he had joined the V'tosh Ka'tur, and he didn't think she would be interested in a member of a group most Vulcans considered a cult.

During his short stay, T'Rel made a special effort to talk to him. After she left his parent's house, he suddenly realized that he never seen such a beautiful, smart women before. He tried very hard not to think about her, but some times – in unexpected moments like now– she came to mind. The irony, he thought, I could have married her, but my chances of that are now gone. He felt anger, only by the thought of her taking another mate.

Then it hit him. The emotion he had felt during his handshake with Trip at their first meeting at the facility. It was an empty, almost hollow pain of regret after saying goodbye to your loved one. The same pain – he now realized – he felt thinking of T'Rel.

He had heard that Human affection was fleeting, but if the emotions of Trip he had felt were any indication, it was clear that Trip was suffering, because of his strong affection for T'Pol. And she, being like any other Vulcan in an intimate relationship, could only be suffering too, if she were separated from Trip. So the break-up between Trip and T'Pol was illogical and very confusing. 'Confusion leads to nothing; only logic can lead us to the path of truth', his old teacher at the V'tosh Ka'tur used to say. The logical course of action was to gather more information from Trip himself.

With his Vulcan friends he usually played a board game, while discussing various subjects. So after some thought, he came up with the idea to invite Trip for a friendly game of Kal'toh tomorrow night, in his cabin.

Trip accepted his invitation with enthusiasm. "That's with the rods, right? It's a great game. They should teach it in every engineering course. Helps you a lot with thinking in 3-D."

Trip started talking about his introduction to Kal'toh. He told Kov about his journey to Vulcan and how he played the game with his companion, on the way to Vulcan. For a moment he saw the old Commander Tucker, reminiscing about a precious time with a special companion. She introduced him to her family, Kov thought, a clear sign of a close relationship. One more reason to play a game of Kal'toh and talk.

He spent the evening studying the databases for hours. In the morning he arose early and went to the exam room to work. After reading the results from yesterday's tests, he checked components of the navigation system.

Then Trip arrived. His hair was still damp from the shower. He looked deep in thought.

It wasn't Trip's time to start his shift. Yesterday the commander had done many tests 'til late at night. The results were impressive and once more he realized that the commander was a very gifted engineer.

"Do you need a hand?" Trip asked.

Kov nodded at this somewhat unusual offer. "You could help me dismantle the blue and yellow device."

Both men started to work in silence.

Trip broke the silence. "So... in the V'tosh Ka'tur you learned a lot about ancient Vulcan customs and beliefs?"

He was somewhat puzzled by this question, but then he realized Trip was referring to yesterday's conversation at lunch. Kov didn't understand why Trip would bring up this subject right now, but he was eager to talk. That had been the purpose of his invitation, after all. He didn't care if they talked while playing a game of Kal'toh, or while examining components of a navigation system.

"Our aim was to know more about our past, so that we could become truly Vulcan. A noble cause."

The next question took him of guard.

"So your fiancée had no interest in learning more about ancient Vulcan beliefs?"

He looked up from his work. "I don't know. It was my choice. I thought that after she heard of my departure, she would understand the logic of my departure."

Trips face changed, his voice developing an edge. "So you never told her why you left Vulcan?"

"Like I said," he started, but he was interrupted by an angry Trip.

"Yeah, I know. Logic." That seemed to be the end of the conversation, but without warning Trip asked him "Do you ever miss her?"

"Miss?" he asked Trip. He did not want to tell Trip how much he missed T'Rel and how much it confused him, even when he tried to suppress that emotion. He always prided himself that he was an open person, but now he understood the need most Vulcans felt to avoid answering personal questions.

But Trip deserved a honest answer. So he said, "Missing a person is an overwhelming emotion, Surak tells us. The best way is to suppress this emotion. I found this advice to be very wise. Missing a person can be very disturbing and disruptive, especially when there is no respite." He then decided that sharing his own experience was helpful and he added, "I know this from personal experience."

"But what if a person tells you that she misses us, you sometimes, but most of the time she's suppressing it?" Trip wanted to know.

"If that person was Vulcan, it would mean that the attachment was very strong or that she was having trouble maintaining her control. Or both."

To his surprise Trip started grinning, a big smile appearing on his face. Apparently, he didn't understand the gravity of this matter.

"This is no laughing matter, Trip. Control, even to experience emotions, is necessary for a Vulcan."

"I know, Kov." Trip's grin was gone.

Kov decided to cut right to the chase. Referring to their talk on the Enterprise four years ago, he said, "Trip, you helped me in the past. I see you as my friend. If I can help you in any way...."

Trip accepted his invitation. "Can I ask you something? It's kind of private."

"It seems we always have these conversations," Kov said.

Trip had trouble starting, but then blurted out, "I'm having dreams, vivid dreams, that are not mine. I have memories popping up in my mind, so detailed, in color.... I can taste the drinks in the dreams, I can feel the breeze, it's like I'm in a movie."

He was fascinated by Trip's story. "Is that unusual for Humans?" he asked. "Are your memories not in color?"

"No, they're more like pictures, flashes, fragments." He explained further, "Look, they are very detailed but I'm not that detailed. I can't even remember the dress my date had on prom night, or the color of my nephew's hair. Or what I had for breakfast. And the dreams... Even the white space is there, but it's not white, it's black."

Kov had no idea what prom night was, probably a very important Human event, and he could hardly imagine someone forgetting things. It made sense that a sensitive race like his would be more perceptive of details. "You think your dreams are influenced by a Vulcan," he concluded.

Trip nodded.

Kov thought about all the things he had heard about Trip and T'Pol, from neuropressure, the visit to her family, her annulled marriage -- meaning the marriage rituals were not completed -- to the admission of a close relationship. If T'Rel had done the same, he would be looking for a priest. Nirak, he scolded himself in his thoughts, and focused again.

His only possible conclusion was that T'Pol had given Trip her heart, and it was not the Vulcan way to take it back. Then there was Trips mention of the white space, which sounded like a place only known by Vulcans. Trip talked about it like it was the most natural thing to him, and influencing dreams was something only a bond mate could do. It was clear to him that Trip and T'Pol had a very close relationship, even more, they were bonded. It was really amazing. He hadn't thought it was possible between a Human and a Vulcan.

"Do you have headaches, nausea, pain in your neck, sweating?" He summed up the symptoms of bond mates being kept apart.

Trip recognized the symptoms. "All of them. I also.... Sometimes I feel really hungry, but it's not my stomach that's protesting."

"You share the feeling of physical needs. That's natural. The symptoms are clear. You are bonded."

Trip didn't like his conclusion. "But I haven't felt the bond in over a year! I mean, I don't know if she cut me off, or the place they sent her to was the cause, but we aren't bonded anymore."

"You still are. Bonds do not just fade away," he said. Some ancient texts were very specific on that point. "But why do you think she cut you off and which certain place are you talking about?"

Trip hesitated. "She has been in Lethizeh in U'tal Province."

"Commander T'Pol has been sent to Lethizeh?" Kov was very surprised. The commander was from a high ranking family and he could not think of any crimes that would send her to that place. But those who were sent there were put in absolute isolation.

Kov felt Trip had left him with yet another mystery, but he wanted to answer Trip's important question. "Then your assumption is correct. Blocking any telepathic avenues, especially the bond, is standard procedure in Vulcan prisons."

Translation of Vulcan words

Kal'toh – game of intense strategy that can be played solo or by multiple individuals. A kal-toh set consists of a number of playing rods called t'an. The object of the game is "to find the seeds of order even in the midst of profound chaos."

Nirak – fool