The captives
By panyasan
Chapter 10
Disclaimer : Enterprise and it's characters are property of CBS/Paramount.
Time-line: Takes place between 2155 (after the events of Terra Prime) and the beginning of the year 2156, just before the start of the Earth-Romulan war (2156-2160).
Summary: After the events of Terra Prime, T'Pol faces charges and is sent to prison. Upon her return, T'Pol discovers she can't feel the bond between her and Trip. In a conversation with Soval, T'Pol concludes that both Archer and Trip are acting out of the ordinary. When Trip tries to reach T'Pol through the bond, pain forces them to break the link.
Author's note: Thanks to my beta, KKGlinka and BnB for his advice. An old episode of TNG called Evolution served as inspiration.
- Earth -
In the years that T'Pol had studied Humans and their culture, there was one aspect that might have seemed small and insignificant to an outsider, but it was one of the cornerstones to understanding humanity, the element that made them rise above despair: Hope. Essential for Humans, but T'Pol discovered after the visit from Trip in her white space that hope was helping her too. They hardly had time to communicate and the pain was cause for great concern, but he did contact her. His whole attitude, the look they exchanged and the way he said, "T'Pol", gave her hope that this nightmare of being separated from Trip would soon be over.
The next morning, as usual, the Ambassador came to visit her.
After their meditation, he told her, "I have heard from my source that there has been a Rihannsu attack on a Human colony in the Dosa system. Enterprise will soon be launched to join other Humans ships that are already investigating the attack."
She was all too familiar with the Dosa system and memories of her investigation when she was an ensign flooded her brain. Seeking confirmation she asked, "Is it a reliable source?"
"My source is not cheap, but very well informed," the Ambassador answered her.
"You're paying him for information?"
"An effective method. Starfleet is not very forthcoming with information these days. My source also told me that Starfleet is investigating a ship they have found in the Kajina system, the system nearest the Dosa system. I believe Commander Tucker is working on that project," the Ambassador responded.
"I do not think that Starfleet is aware of the dangers within that system," she offered as her opinion.
"No, that is why I would like to offer Starfleet our information, as a means to get you reinstated. You have written two excellent reports about those systems during the investigations of Minister Karik's death. Of course, I will delete any indication as to why we were investigating those systems," the Ambassador proposed.
She didn't want Starfleet to be informed about something so personal as the death of her father, so she was glad the Ambassador would make some adjustments to her reports before handing it to Starfleet. She used the break in their conversation to bring her subject up. "Del'haiu, yesterday night something happened and I would like your opinion. I know the bond is a private matter, but what does it mean if your mate is trying to reach you in your white space and pain forces separation?"
It took a couple of minutes before the Ambassador found an answer to her unexpected question. "Commander Tucker seemed more advanced in telepathic matters than I had thought, but judging from my own experience the pain is not normal. It looks like there is something wrong with his, or your, ability to communicate through the bond."
"Maybe he is blocking me?"
"He is very new at this and if he was blocking you, why did he contact you? Besides, blocking is inconvenient, but not painful. You should investigate this further. I have heard that new commentaries on the Kir'shara by Valek and Ges, both skilled theorists, give interesting points of view on Vulcan telepathic abilities, including the bond. Maybe their books will prove helpful."
She agreed and later made a full study of the commentaries the Ambassador had suggested. Meanwhile, she contemplated trying to contact Trip through the bond, but feared that another contact might hurt him again. Then she heard from the Ambassador that Enterprise and its personnel were called back and some of them were traveling with a Tellarite ship from the Kajani system to Earth. Chances were great that Trip would be on that ship, and when the crew disembarked, she would be waiting for Trip.
The street near Starfleet's shuttle station was barely lit and she had trouble seeing in the dark. She had decided to wait here, because many travelers took this small road as a short-cut to a main street in San Francisco, where local means of transport could be found. It was also Trip's usual route on his way to his official personnel quarters, a fact she had discovered in the days they spent together after Enterprise had returned form the Expanse. She expected to see him any minute, his ship - the Berket - embarked an hour ago, a day earlier than expected. T'Pol suspected that the Tellarite crew had used the wormhole in the Kajani system to shorten the journey.
The darkness was not helping her, but luckily her Vulcan ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps. She had heard them before, only to be disappointed every time. But this time, the footsteps sounded familiar. Vaguely she saw blond hair in the dark and before she knew it, Trip stood before her, a duffel bag nonchalantly placed over his shoulder.
"This is a nice surprise."
By the tone of his voice she guessed he was more then happy to see her. She searched for words, but fell back on formality. "Welcome back, Commander."
He grinned at her and she felt like she had come home. "You can call me Trip. What are you doing here? I thought you were off planet."
"I am living in San Francisco at this moment," she answered.
"Good. You're a nice change after spending two days with a lot of ugly, rude men," he stated. He began to walk and she followed.
"It's their custom to insult people. And their appearance maybe not aesthetically appeasing-" Mid-sentence she tripped. It was hard to walk in the dark.
Without a word, Trip took her hand and guided her to the main street. "We called them ugly, T'Pol. Almost made me homesick for some Vulcan company. How did you know I was on the Tellarite ship?"
"I have my sources," she said, admitting to herself that she was enjoying the firm grip of Trip's hand surrounding hers. She always like his hands, they moved with precision and care, strong yet gentle.
They had almost reached the main street, when Trip asked her, "So why are you here?"
"After our encounter in the white space, I had a suspicion that something medically was wrong. Making a connection through the bond, shouldn't cause any pain," she answered. She couldn't tell him that she thought he had being acting strangely.
"You picked me up for a medical exam?" he said, distressed, loosening his grip on her hand.
T'Pol feared that he would be reluctant to have the exam and she felt a strong need to pinch him and drag him to Doctor Phlox. Instead she placed herself before him and said clearly, "I wanted to see you. And help you."
"Guess you did miss me," he probed, searching her face for confirmation.
Thinking of their conversation in the shuttle pod, she thought he already knew the answer to that implied question. Apparently not. She decided that the best approach was to share her confusion with him. The days before she was sent to prison, they had been acting like bond mates would. After her release, she couldn't feel the bond and when they had their first conversation in the shuttle pod he was friendly, but withdrawn and it seemed like he had forgotten about the bond.
"I don't think 'miss' is the best word to describe my emotions. It was an overwhelming sense of longing, almost craving, that I needed to control and suppress in order to survive," she responded with care. "I was incomplete without you; I know that. I tried to reach you through the bond after my release, but I couldn't feel you. You seemed to block me and the conversation we had in the shuttle pod was also an indication that you felt reluctant about our relationship. Then you tried to reach me. So I am finding it hard to understand our current position."
In the streetlights of the main street they had reached, she could see that his features softened. "Can't blame you for being confused," he said, "after everything that happened. It became more and more clear to me that I was right. I didn't lose you. And you didn't lose me."
His remark stirred up many questions, but if she understood him correctly he still cared deeply for her. She wanted to reply, but at that moment people passed by, staring in curiosity at the Human-Vulcan couple. When they were out of sight, Trip commented "It's a long story and this is no place to talk. Let's go to my quarters."
They hastened their pace and, without speaking, arrived at Trip's place.
Trip opened the door to his San Francisco apartment and went to the kitchen, made himself coffee and for her tea. They didn't speak, but the silence wasn't awkward, as in the shuttle pod. In the bright light of Trip's apartment she could see his face clearly. She saw circles around his eyes, well known signs of fatigue, but his eyes sparkled and on his mouth a smile had shown up, a sight she hadn't seen in a long time. Trip gave her the cup of tea, their hands brushed slightly and she felt the familiar coolness of his skin. She put the cup to her lips and Trip started talking.
"Before they took you away, I thought we finally were heading toward something good. Then you were gone." He paused. "Away. I didn't feel the bond, I didn't feel at all. For a year there was nothing. Then you came back, but there was no contact. After we met in the shuttle pod I started having these weird dreams about you being in a cold and lonely place, with people beating you up. I also had these vivid memories about our times together, more poignantly then I ever remembered anything. I dismissed it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was something Vulcan. It had to be connected to you. Then I met an old friend again, Kov. Enterprise helped his ship, the Vahklas. Kov explained to me that in prison telepathic avenues are blocked."
She did remember Kov. T'Pol suppressed the upcoming distress she felt every time she was reminded however indirectly of Tolaris, but she was truly glad Kov had been such a good friend for Trip.
"It's standard procedure in prison to be monitored," she clarified, "I became aware that the device also blocks the bond. The basic philosophy of Vulcan prisons is that you are responsible for lacking logic and your resulting crimes, so you must face them alone. It's common knowledge." Then she understood. "But not for you." She continued, "I am sorry that I burdened you with my dreams."
"It's not a burden, T'Pol."
"You want me to share my nightmares with you?"
Trip didn't hesitate. "I'm told that that's what the bond is all about, sharing, supporting each other, us being together."
"It is," she confirmed, aware of the truth behind his words. They were quiet for a moment before she asked him, "If you knew my state by my dreams, why did you ask if I missed you?"
"Asking you was the best way to get some answers," Trip responded. One of things she had learned about Humans was their need for verbal confirmation, which was logical for a non-telepathic specie that placed so much emphasis on spoken communication. In her own culture, sometimes it were not the words that counted, but the silences between them, when impressions and thoughts are shared. In her opinion, that was as much, if not more important, than speaking.
"Please clarify," she said in return. "You knew my thoughts and you didn't take them as seriously as spoken words? I tried to contact you through the bond. I thought my technique was flawed, feared that we were neurologically incompatible, that my mind was more damaged than Doctor Phlox had told me, or that yours had been harmed by the bond."
Trip put his hand atop of hers. "I didn't feel you. No emotions, no thoughts. Nothing that looked like the bond. Only weird dreams, memories and a lot of physical symptoms I didn't recognize, like the sensation of hunger when I wasn't hungry. I was still bonded to you, but I didn't realize that until the conversation with Kov, a few hours before I was called back to Earth. Kov gave me a PADD with information about the bond. One of the things that was mentioned was how to reach your bond mate. So I tried and thought I blew up our bond in the process. The moment I contacted you, this pain, like they fried my brain, developed. After we broke our link, I had this massive headache. I couldn't tolerate light, felt dizzy and disorientated. The Tellarite doctor gave me some medication that knocked me out for six hours. Guess Tellarite medication isn't so compatible with Humans. When I woke up, the headache was almost gone. It was like a fog had been lifted and I felt my self again, but the bond was still gone. Then I met you."
T'pol listened to his story with intensity. Trip had experienced her gad-eshu'a and yuk-eshu'a, her daydreaming and nightmares and even mentioned her k'avon, her feeling of hunger. She challenged his assumption that his attempt to contact her damaged the bond and asked him about his readings. They compared his findings with her recent studies. They talked about the year behind them; he wanted to know how she had spent her days. She gave him a detailed description of her daily routine in Lethizeh and he told her about the Starfleet reorganization and some of his assignments.
During their talk Trip developed an appetite, but the only thing he could find in his freezer compartment of his fridge were several pizzas. According to Trip, pizza was the warm welcome for any Starfleet officer coming home. He offered her a vegetarian pizza and he took a pepperoni.
During diner he teased her for eating her pizza with a knife and fork, because the best way was to eat it by hand. She let him banter, enjoying their meal together. He returned back to their subject of Starfleet assignments. "Most of them are classified and I got the feeling that you weren't in Starfleet anymore," he brought up.
"I have just been reinstated as Commander. I will serve as a science officer on Enterprise. Captain Archer called me at my house to confirm this at 7 pm."
"I thought there had been some difficulties."
"Ambassador Soval convinced Starfleet Command that my return was in everybody's best interest."
"Did he twist their arm or something?"
"I don't think he used violence to persuade them. It was mostly the Captain that needed convincing."
"It's strange," Trip remarked, "you have been loyal to him, fighting with him side by side and he acts like this? When I think back of the times the Captain and I spoke, I thought he was just miserable and lonely, like I have been. But I had a reason, I was missing you, wondering why the bond was gone."
She began to tell him about her return to Earth, her conversation with the Captain and what happened to her after she met Trip in the shuttle pod. She almost told him about her and Soval's suspicions about Captain Archer, but the concrete issue standing in front of her outweighed theories. It made her realize even more that there was a striking difference between the Trip back then and the Trip she was talking to now. She found it equally strange that during her return she hadn't felt the bond, because he was clearly not blocking her. All this needed further examination.
"When I returned to Earth, it was distressing to find the bond was gone," she said. "Besides the medical reasons I already told you, my main concern was that I thought you didn't want me any more. You were very upset when I told you about my addiction and I could understand that you didn't want a bond mate who was sent to prison," she told him.
He shoved his plate in front of him, with some pieces left. "Look, I had every right to be upset," he stated plainly. "You did put the crew in danger, but I think the main reason I got mad at you was because you didn't come to me when you needed help. We would have found a way to get you clean again and figured a plausible excuse for you to avoid taking command. But no, you wanted to solve your problems yourself. When you were really desperate, you went to Phlox. It made it look like our relationship was based on nothing and I was nothing to you."
His voice had been in control and collected and there were no traces of anger in his face, as if he were stating a fact. It underlined for her the need to counter his statement as quickly as she could. "You were never nothing for me in any respect. I would choose to have a relationship with you anytime again." She went on, "You're right. I was wrong to keep you uninformed. I hardly understood how I ended up in that situation and it was very disturbing to face my addiction, let alone face you. I have to live with the memories of the people that died under my command and with my mistakes and the damage I caused. I am sorry."
"Thank you," Trip answered. After a pause he pointed out, showing that he did know her very well, "You can barely forgive yourself for your addiction, can you?"
"Did you?" she replied. Growing up in a world ruled by logic, T'Pol had only seen glimpses of forgiveness and always unspoken, like when she was holding her dying mother in her arms, listening to her whisper that she always had been proud of her. Now, without fully understanding why, she needed to hear it from her Human mate.
"I did," he said simply.
His words made her relive that moment again, when the gates of her prison opened and she stepped into the light of the burning sun. But this time it was like she was really released. Deep inside her a strong emotion that most of her life was controlled by the bonds of logic, broke free.
Trips voice broke through her reverie. "You know, these past days, I have a hard time living with myself as well."
Wondering what he meant she replied that he did nothing wrong.
With eyes filled with emotion, he explained "T'Pol,when my sister died in the Xindi attack, I knew I couldn't do anything to save her anymore, but I could fight the Xindi, so I did. Our daughter... We tried to save her, we failed, but still... Watching over her was the only thing we could do. In spite of all the hurt, I'm glad we did. But you... Your trial stunk of political games all over. I'm so sick and tired of it, the powers to be taking away my loved ones. My sister, my daughter, you. You're the love of my life and looking back, I'm thinking these last days, what did I do to protect you? To help you, to stop them from putting you in that horrible place? Even when we were in a daze of pain because of our little girl, I don't understand myself. I made a promise to myself a few days ago that never again would I let people or circumstances run our lives. But what kind of a man am I when I did nothing to protect you?"
There were many ways to respond. She could point out the logic of his actions, that he wasn't able to do anything to prevent her fate a year ago.
She had learned that sometimes he only wanted her to listen, so she could stay silent. But then she thought of her realization the other day and this gave her the words to answer.
"Not the man I have known for five years. You would at least try to help me and protect me. I noticed that you have not been yourself lately. I am also worried of what happened when you tried to make contact with me through the bond, and because of some unofficial information about alien telepathic influences on Starfleet personnel. That's why I wanted you to visit Doctor Phlox."
"And then what, T'Pol? Let's assume we do find out why I didn't do anything. It doesn't change the facts."
"Vulcans are discouraged from dwelling on the past, but there is also the matter of justice. In my own experience a logical action is to find the persons responsible," she replied.
"And make them pay," he muttered and with a clearer voice he suggested, "Let's go to Phlox." She didn't respond to his muffled remark, as she was struggling herself to contain her anger at the ones who hurt the people she cared about.
When they contacted Doctor Phlox, he was more than willing to help them. He suggested that they come right away, so that they had time to investigate before the crew meeting in the morning, because Enterprise was launching tomorrow. When they were leaving for doctor Phlox, their conversation in the kitchen was still on T'Pols mind. One thing needed clarification.
"You said in our conversation that I have your affection," she probed. "You called me your love."
"You're," he affirmed. Noticing her astonishment, he cupped his hands behind her head. Her brown eyes met his blue. "You are," he repeated. "What can I call you? Stubborn, yes. Sometimes annoying. You're challenging. But you're also sweet, attractive, confusing, strong, witty, open minded, compassionate, caring, passionate and full of fire, everything I want, my best friend and you will always will be the love of my life. And I love you to pieces."
With these words all doubts disappeared and both knew this was a new beginning for them. The bond was silent, yet their eyes spoke. T'Pol reached instinctively to reach him through the bond, but stopped herself. Then Trip used a Human way to connect and their lips found each other. Doctor Phlox had to wait an extra 10 minutes for them to arrive.
It was far past midnight and Doctor Phlox had been examining Trip for almost three and a half hours. First he checked all his vital signs, his brain patterns and made scans of every part of his brain. After this, he diligently checked every substance on the list T'Pol had giving him. Trip looked bored, but laid silently on the biobed.
"Commander T'pol," Doctor Phlox cut through the night's silence, "I have found something. I would like your opinion."
Trip moved to a sitting position and declared that the patient also would like to know what Doctor Phlox had found.
"I have found several disturbing things, Commander," Phlox spoke to Trip. On the screen above the biobed he showed him a series of neural cut-aways. "This is a scan of your prefrontal cortex. This," he pointed at branching black lines, "is scar tissue, the same lesions I have seen in the Expanse when crew members were attacked by a telepathic being. However, it is far more erratic."
"What does it mean, doctor?" Trip asked.
"It looks like you have been attacked by and were fighting with a telepath and judging from the age of the scar, this took place a year ago. You put up quite a fight, Commander," Phlox answered.
Trip glared the screen with a blank expression on his face. "Can't remember a thing about it. What about that white square shaped scar next to the front?" he pointed out.
"Yes, that one is puzzling to me. I like to exam the orbitofrontal cortex more closely," said doctor Phlox. "I'm almost certain I have seen this kind of lesion before. I have to look in my files. I believe it comes from the same source as the scar tissue."
T'Pol recognized the scar instantly. "It's a scar left behind after a memory block. Someone has erased Commander Tucker's memory."
Doctor Phlox was surprised. "Are you sure, Commander T'Pol? Have you seen this before?"
"Yes and so have you. When you were examining my brain."
Doctor Phlox was taken aback by her answer and Trip exchanged a look with her, challenging her to tell the whole story.
"I see," Doctor Phlox said, "we must investigate this further. But there is another thing that I found, which is quite a discovery."
"It couldn't be any worse then getting your memory wiped," Trip commented.
"I have searched for foreign substances in your blood, Commander, that will block or stimulate telepathic avenues. It took me a while, but here they are."
Doctor Phlox displayed a picture of a swarming mass on the screen above the biobed.
"A virus?" Trip guessed.
"I thought that at first. You have quite a lot of these in your body, but they are not easy to detect. At standard magnification, they appear to be ordinary retroviruses, commonly found in any Human body. But they are not and they are not biological, they are composed of mechanical components. This is more a case for an engineer."
"I'd love to take a look at them," Trip stated.
"I am sure you would, but we can't rule out the possibility that you're still under the influence of these viruses, which compromises your ability to make accurate observations," Doctor Phlox objected.
"I could investigate this together with Commander Tucker," T'Pol replied. "I can use his expertise. He is, after all, the best engineer in Starfleet."
Judging from his smile and his amused look, Trip seemed to be pleased by her remark.
"I will extract some of these nano-viruses from Commander Tucker's body for you both to examine," Doctor Phlox suggested. "Before that, I would like to have a closer look at his skin, lungs, nose and digestive system to establish the infection vector. But there is more."
The doctor put up another scan. "This object, invisible as the viruses, is made of the same material, only connected into a larger form. It's situated in Commander Tucker's orbitofrontal cortex, near the lesion T'Pol identified. It looks damaged; something happened to it. I am not sure what. Maybe you could also investigate the scans I made of this object."
After doctor Phlox had finished his exam on Trip, he and T'Pol used Phlox's medical equipment to look at the nano-viruses more closely.
After a while, when she was focusing on the object, Trip gently put his hands on her shoulder. It startled her. It wasn't unnoticed by Trip. He took his hands off her shoulders and asked her if she was fine. When she affirmed that she was, he searched her face and said, "You never act startled, not visibly anyway."
"I have spent a year watching my back and I need to adjust to my new situation. It's unfortunate that my adjustment isn't complete," she told him.
"These thing take time, T'Pol. Don't beat yourself up about it," he said firmly. The he stared into a point further away in the medical facility and asked her "Did they hurt you?"
"Hurt?"
"In Lethizeh. Did they physically hurt you?"
"I have scars and bruises on my body. I have been in a couple of fights."
"I mean, other then that," he probed. She became aware that he was ill at ease and avoiding her eyes.
"Vulcan prisons are extremely precise in their rules. Your vital signs are monitored all the time. Your freedom is completely gone and my fellow prisoners took their opportunities of insulting or attempting to assault me. The guards saw it as a result of our illogic and intervened, but usually after the fight had already started. But I became very advanced in dealing with the physical conflict," she told him.
"They didn't touch you."
She finally understood. "My dreams are an interpretation of my prison time and other dark periods in my life, made by my katra, based on real events, but not always a correct version of those events. I felt totally alone and on guard the whole day. No one touched me inappropriately, besides the fighting in the bathroom."
Relief showed on his face and she wondered what kind of things he had been thinking. "I am fine," she assured Trip again, placing his hands back on her shoulders. She felt his hands rubbing her shoulders, his smell and his face so close to her and her whole body relaxed.
She heard him say, close to her ear, his breath on her skin. "Promise me you don't shut me out. Don't give me your 'I am fine' crap when you're not. I can't help you if you do. And I want to help."
She turned around, they exchanged a look that spoke more than words conveyed. "I will."
Trip smiled briefly at her. "Guess it works both ways," indicating his willingness to do the same.
Their exchange was interrupted by an almost jovial sounding Doctor Phlox, who had been working in a different part of the facility and was now standing behind them. "I have already some interesting results. I am curious about yours."
Trip explained the results of their research. "These are the most ingenious things I've seen. It's a labor of love from a great engineering mind. These nano-viruses are actually micro-mechanical robots with gigabytes of computer memory, self-propelled motion and sensory capacity. I have read about submicroscopic robots, designed to perform medical functions within the bloodstream of a living organism, such as in intracellular surgery, but that research is in a very early stage."
T'Pol pointed out that the materials of which these nanites were made, could facilitate telepathic waves. "Which makes it clear that the nanites are designed for a telepathic use. Because the device is composed of them, we can assume its purpose is also telepathic."
"What kind of theory about the device does the best science officer in Starfleet have?" Trip asked, with a slightly teasing tone.
"I am still developing one. My starting point is that the brain is an electrochemical organ. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. With Humans there are six categories of these brainwaves."
"That is correct," the doctor confirmed. "Vulcans have seven different brainwaves, Humans six. Beta waves exist when you are active, alpha waves when you are relaxed. Theta waves typically occur in children though they are sometimes present among adults who are daydreaming, meditating or suffering from a neural imbalance. Delta when you are in deep sleep or a coma. Mu rhythms have similar intensity to alpha waves, but are restricted to the sensorimotor cortex. Finally there are gamma waves, bursts of activity signaling neural coordination. In addition, REM frequencies occur when an individual is dreaming, but I don't believe that's relevant to the discussion at hand."
"Those theta wave have a slower frequency?" It was important for T'Pol to know.
"They are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency," the doctor confirmed. "This frequency range is normally between 5 and 8 cycles a second. A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream often exhibits theta waves. It's a state of mental relaxation that is slower than alpha and when in theta, people are prone to a flow of ideas. It is a state where tasks become so automatic that you can mentally disengage from them."
She didn't want to discuss her bond with Trip with Doctor Phlox, but to make her case she had to share some information with him. "Judging from Commander Tucker's story I came to the conclusion that he, unlike other Humans, has some telepathic abilities," she started.
Doctor Phlox didn't looked surprised. "I am aware of that, Commander T'Pol, I did study Commander Tucker's brain. Of course, this information falls under patient-doctor confidentiality."
She pointed to a certain area on the scan in front of her. "Commander Tucker mentioned that this almost looked burned. Like after a circuit overload."
"I was thinking too hard," Trip chimed in, "Creating too many beta waves, I guess."
"In a matter of speaking," T'Pol continued. "My theory is that, based on the materials, the device functions as a telepathic transmitter. If this transmitter is only linked to one set of telepathic waves, perhaps theta waves as the frequency cycle is similar to one produced by Vulcan brains, and can't handle different waves... If someone were transmitting similar but slightly altered telepathic waves himself-"
"It will cause the transmitter to overload," Trip came up with the solution.
"The overload of telepathic energy is, in my opinion, the reason for the pain you complained about. The device is likely compatible only with a specific Human frequency, as theta waves." It also explained why Trip couldn't hear her talking through the bond, but could sense her daydreaming and dreams. If through practice and meditation his theta waves had reached the capacity to synchronize with hers automatically, it would explain his metabolic mimicry. He had felt hungry and tired because she had been. She also had detected several small fractures in the device. The telepathic energy of the bond must have some influence on the transmitter, tearing it down.
"Why my brain?" Trip wanted to know.
"Judging by the quantity of nanites in your body, you were exposed to a large group of them, I don't think this was meant for you alone, but for everyone working in a certain environment," Doctor Phlox remarked.
T'Pol followed his line of logic. "If you can create a group of people which you can influence without them knowing, you have a force inside your enemy's army that is going to fight for you."
"Like little Trojan horses", Trip said. "If we found the source, we would know more."
There was a moment in the game of Kal'toh when you see where to put your last rod to establish order in chaos. T'Pol felt the same feeling of clarity. The ship. What better environment to reach Starfleet's finest, working on different ships, then on a research facility infected by nano-viruses from a contaminated ship? She shared her idea with Trip and Doctor Phlox that the last place Trip worked might be the source.
Hearing her suggestion, Doctor Phlox outlined his plan. "I will check with the doctor at the facility you last worked for, Commander Tucker and suggest that he examine the crew and if necessary put them in quarantine. Also, I will check everyone who came with you to Headquarters from that facility." With his usual doctor's voice he added, "For the time being, Commander Tucker, it looks from your brainwaves patterns that the device in your brain isn't functioning, but the viruses are still there. On the other hand, they don't appear to be contagious. I will give you a monitor, so I will be notified of any major changes in your brainwaves. Go home, get some rest, get some food. You look exhausted and tomorrow is a long day. Please see me after the 9 o'clock meeting. The same goes for you, Commander T'Pol."
It took some discussion, but at the end they agreed with Doctor Phlox's proposal. Outside the medical facility T'Pol suggested that she would travel to her own place, but Trip said to her that no way he was letting her travel in the dark and his place was close by any way.
On their way back to his apartment, T'Pol told him that the facility was located in an important system. "The Kajani system is used for fast travel, because of the wormhole and the nearby Dosa system contains many planets with valuable materials, like dilithium. Those systems are very useful for a specie that want to increase their power," she told Trip.
"Roads and fuel. Two of the basics of successful war." Trip understood.
Arriving in the apartment, she closed the door and asked Trip, "Is Captain Archer familiar with the ship?"
"Of course, he discovered it! He was traveling from a diplomatic mission with the Taihenne, when he found it on the surface of some planet."
"The Taihenne?"
"Some species that also wanted to join the Coalition. They specifically asked for Captain Archer."
"He entered the ship?"
"Yes, he stayed awhile on ship, did the first investigation and after that he took the initiative to create the facility. It was his pet project."
Apparently, the Captain's pet project had been one big trap. Starfleet had been walking right into it. She wouldn't been surprised if the Taihenne were part of the scheme too.
"You know, T'Pol, I think my memory loss has something to do with all this," Trip mused aloud, interrupting her train of thought. "Maybe I discovered something and that's why someone wiped my memory. I mean, it's no coincidence that all these things we found are directing to a telepathic source," Trip concluded. "Its never been so important for me to remember something and I can't. I haven't got a clue."
"Something similar happened to me once. The memory loss was upsetting, but something else was even more disturbing," T'Pol answered.
"What was the most disturbing?" Trip immediately inquired.
T'Pol hesitated, but then she said, "I think my story can be useful and beneficial for you. The information I am going to give you is classified by Vulcan standards," she told him. "But in a way, being my mate, you have a right to know as his son-in-law."
Trip squeezed his eyes together and turned to her in sudden understanding. "This has something to do with your father? Kov told me that he was an important man on Vulcan. "
For the first time in many years she spoke of the story of her father. "He was murdered. When I came close to the truth behind his death, his murderers made it certain that I didn't remember anything at all."
Translation of Vulcan words
Rihannsu - Romulan
Del'haiu - respectful title to address an elderly person.
Gad-eshu'a - nightmare, a dream arousing feelings of intense fear, horror and distress.
Yuk-eshu'a – daydream.
K'avon – feeling of hunger.