Disclaimer:
No matter how much
Executive Producer's Note:
Folks, this is our first
effort. Everyone contributed to it, from comments to text to questions,
answers, some kick-ass editing and beta-ing. People
in this group also contributed to it. Thanks a bunch. I don't know if this is
longer than you generally want single posts to be, but I am posting as is
anyway. Selek, I would be honoured if you would like to archive this. Please
don't be shy about opinions. Here. Even folks who
don't like
Cheers
Kapact
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leap of Faith
(From an idea suggested
by Mzsnaz)
Production members:
(in alphabetic order,
more or less)
Beonewiththeuniverse
Capt Jim
calla23lil
fardreaming
Kapact (Executive Producer)
johnfwillis
keirianh
Mrs Kapact
mzsnaz1108
pathsearcher1
Selek
taitlu
tpree1951
Terra Prime: Conclusion (Rewrite)
Phlox tore his gaze away
from the small form in the sterile chamber. It wasn't any easier to face Trip
and T'Pol. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do." Those words were
the most difficult for him to say, because they meant he was giving up.
"But.but why?" Trip sounded empty. Helpless.
Scared "It isn't fair, Doc."
Phlox saw T'Pol raise one
eyebrow, then lower it. An objection raised, then just as quickly discarded. "There is an
enzyme in her blood, created by the joining of your DNA that simply is not
compatible. It is starving the blood."
"But -" Denial
spread across Trip's face like a shroud. "You said that humans and Vulcans
can."
"There is no
biological reason why Humans and Vulcans cannot procreate, given a better
understanding of interspecies genetics. But in this case, you two as a couple
are simply not compatible. Just as two humans might not be
able to have children." He wanted to be able to tell them something
else. Something positive. But there was nothing. Their
child, unintentional as it had been, was dying.
"She will live
without pain, quite happily, for a few days. Maybe a week.
But then—"
"Don't let her feel
any pain, Doc."
Phlox looked from Trip to
T'Pol. "She won't. I promise."
Hours later, in the dark
solitude of T'Pol's quarters, they both gazed out at sparkling
Earth rotating slowly beneath them. "You hardly said a word." Trip regretted
the words as soon as he said them.
"What would you have
me say? We did not intend to have this child. I have not given birth to her.
But she is our daughter. And now we know it is impossible for us to have
children." T'Pol wanted to sink into Trip's eyes, but she also wanted to
be alone. She wanted to…to be able to be weak for once. A single tear betrayed
her.
Trip felt the burn of the
Vulcan tear against his face. "T'Pol. I thought--"
She looked down at his
vulnerable face. "It is not spoken of, Trip, but
we do have emotions. It is just that we have learned to suppress them."
"Until
now?"
"Until I learned what was impossible."
"A Leap of Faith" Prologue
Krokton Segment
29th Century
The speaker looked across the small dirty
table at his followers with disdain. He had seen
"That is only one
solution." This one had small ridges, and barely slanted eyebrows.
"There may be others. Going back in time is too big a risk. There are too
many variables in both time periods."
"You are
afraid." The speaker could, from as far away as he was, sense the extreme
fear. "The Empire needs us. It needs bold action, and it needs it now. He
must die." He glanced quickly at the holo-image
in the centre of the table. The face stared back at him relentlessly. The same face that had ultimately cost them the Empire.
"He must."
Each follower looked at
the face that had brought an end to more than a thousand years of the Romulan
Empire. That put an end to the dissent.
The speaker could see little
through the green haze of the temporal communicator. An officer stood before
him. He could see pointed ears, and the hint of an angular face. The eyebrow
ridges that they had gained in later years were obviously absent. "It
could not be a simpler assignment. If you arrive at the set time, they will be
unable to stop you. All you have to do is take him and leave. Your contact in
the embassy will have the location of the other one. Give him to your contact,
and then return home. By the time they know what happened, it will be too
late." He wanted to impart the gravity of the situation, but this was a
simple creature. It might get nervous and make mistakes. "If you are
successful, you'll save the Empire." Before the officer could ask any
questions, the speaker cut the communication, and waited for the change.
- - - - - - -
She fingered the colorful box nervously. It was supposed to be foolproof. He
had said it was simple to operate, and even simpler in function. All it needed
was faith and courage. Without warning, an archway of brilliant green energy appeared
before her. Just as he had said it would. She ignored the voice in her head
that urged caution and leaped into her destiny.
There was a crowd in the
small room. The walls were sterile white-on-white, just like everything else
about the Vulcans. Passionless and empty. She noted quickly
the only people in the room who were not gathered around a biobed.
The woman was human. The man was Vulcan. A Vulcan face she knew and hated. Sarek. So she was where and when she was supposed to be. She
ran past the startled couple and into the throng of doctors. There were voices
still droning on about how critical it was, and something about the blood being
unstable. Then she had the baby in her arms, and she was pushing out of the
crowd. The doctors were trying to grab her, and the human woman shrieked. Not
wanting to get caught in a protracted struggle, she struck out blindly with her
free hand. When she was finally clear, she tapped the hand unit. Another
archway appeared, just as it was supposed to. Without looking back, she jumped
through the archway and was gone.
Sarek of Vulcan watched
with disbelief as the woman and his son disappeared into the green maelstrom
that flashed and was gone before anyone could react. A painful sound next to
him forced his attention away from the swarm of doctors and arriving Federation
Security forces to the
source of the commotion.
"Amanda," he
murmured, hoping that his voice was steadier than his thoughts. His tone did
not end the chaos, but something communicated itself to his frantic wife.
"Sarek," she
whispered, tears now evident now that the weight of the situation exerted
itself further. "Oh God, what happened? Where's Spock? Who was that woman,
and where are they now? Where's my baby?"
"Unknown," he
replied, knowing his response was not a welcome one. "We shall learn more
once the security force investigates."
"They
disappeared," Amanda said, staring at the spot
she had last seen her son. "How could that be?"
"We shall learn more
momentarily," Sarek replied. He wished to say more, but a member of the
security force, her identification badge indicating some higher rank,
approached.
"Ambassador Sarek,
I'm Inspector Ivly MacCarver,"
the petite human woman said. She pulled back a dark lock of hair from her eyes
as she examined a readout from a humming tricorder.
"We've been unable to determine just what happened; however, at the
moment, we must assume that the kidnapping is political in nature."
"Kidnapped,"
Amanda said, exhaling the word in horror.
Sarek
understood well her fear. It was his worst fear that someone would harm his
family in any way, and to take his son. There was nothing he wouldn't do to
have his child returned safely. He glanced at his wife, and immediately drew
her to him. Propriety could wait. He noticed a fleeting smile as he physically
pulled her closer to be enclosed in his arms, but nothing could wipe the fear
and panic from her blue eyes. "We
shall have him back," he said.
Amanda nodded
weakly. "Yes," she dutifully
said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I know we'll get him
back. We have to."
"Indeed,"
Doctor T'Pala said stoically. "It is essential
that the infant be returned immediately."
Sarek could psychically
feel the jolt of alarm the doctor's statement evoked from his wife. "What
do you mean, Healer?" he asked, preventing Amanda from asking the dreaded
question.
"The treatment we
gave your son just prior to his abduction essentially shut down his immune
system," the healer explained coolly. "There could not have been a
worse time for Spock to have been taken."
"Interesting,"
Sarek said.
Amanda
sharply looked up at him. "Interesting?" she repeated, her tone
incredulous. "The healer is telling us that this is absolutely the worst
time possible, and all you can say is `interesting'?"
"I merely suggest
that Spock's abduction would seem to indicate more planning than that of
retribution," Sarek replied, sending calming thoughts to his wife.
She sighed
deeply. "So this might not have to
do with a political agenda at all," she said.
Sarek was
gratified by her logical deduction. "Correct. The person may have other
unidentified motives in selecting Spock."
"But what reason
could there be?" Amanda asked.
The
investigator, who had been listening to the interaction, interrupted. "That's what we'd like to find
out," MacCarver said. "If this is a
kidnapping, it might be best for the two of you to return to your home. We'll
send a security officer with you. The kidnapper might try to contact you to
offer ransom demands."
Sarek felt Amanda's
shiver even as he nodded in agreement. "We shall take our leave of you,
Inspector," he said. "If we should be contacted, you will be notified
immediately."
The inspector nodded, her
dark eyes troubled by the lack of information presently offered. She watched as
the Vulcan walked with his human wife toward the exit. They paused near the
spot where the `green portal' had appeared, and MacCarver
solemnly observed the young woman reach out her hand, fingers trying to find
the last place her child had been. Her hand dropped, discouraged, as the empty
space offered no answer. They left slowly, and their despair rallied the
investigator. All right, folks,"
she said to her team. "We need some answers fast. Healer, you said that
there couldn't be a worse time. What did you mean by that?"
The healer calmly
replied. "I estimate that the infant's survival without further treatment
would be approximately 12.32 hours. After that, his immune system would be permanently
compromised, and he will die."
"Twelve point
thirty-two hours," MacCarver repeated. Less than
a day, and so far there was no indication of what had happened. `Poor baby' she
thought even as she spoke. "All right, team, let's get some answers! There's
a baby out there somewhere that is in desperate need of medical assistance.
Let's find him."
The couple rode in
silence as their thoughts flowed from one ominous possibility to another. How
could this have happened? How could their son just disappear? Who took him?
Sarek said nothing about the worst of his suspicions that Spock had been taken
and immediately killed by a fanatic with a politically motivated agenda. He
could sense that Amanda's gloomy thoughts were moving in a similar fashion. Ill-founded
speculation was not logical, but nothing could prevent the maddening fears of
what might be currently happening to their child. Nothing would end the nightmare
except for their son's safe return.
The gates that surrounded
the ambassador's residence opened and the occupants of the vehicle were
subjected to the customary identity scan. Amanda had become so used to the scan
that she generally ignored the `clear' light that allowed the limo to enter the
gates. Now, she found the entire issue of security a moot point. What purpose
was served by checks, scans, force fields, and guards if a person could appear
out of nowhere and leave without a trace?
They entered their
peaceful home without a word, too dazed to speak. Ee-chiya
bounded forward, her body shaking with an enthusiastic welcome. She stopped to sniff
at her master's hand, and then a low whine began. It was too much for Amanda to
bear, and she ran toward the hall that led to the rest chambers. Sarek knelt to
pat the confused sehlat's head and rub the creatures' ears. Once Ee-chiya calmed, he strode to the hall to find his wife. He
knew without calling for her which room she would be in.
The silence was broken by
the tinkling sound of a music box. Sarek stopped just outside Spock's bedroom
door to listen to the strangely melancholy tune. Amanda had told him the song's
title was `Rock A Bye, Baby', and he had commented on the
rather absurd image of a child being rocked in a cradle on a tree branch. He watched
from the doorway as she clung to the top rail of their son's crib, staring at
the empty space in a vain attempt to will the boy to appear.
"Down will come baby, cradle and all," she whispered, her voice
cracking.
"He will be returned
to us," Sarek said, but he knew his insistent statement would do nothing.
"What if…"
Without warning, a
glowing portal appeared against the wall opposite the crib. The couple stared,
transfixed by the unexpected manifestation. Sarek's logic and intellect warred
with his desire to retrieve his son, and he wasn't surprised by the end result. Before the portal
disappeared and without an explanation, he grabbed Amanda's arm and dashed
forward. He could feel no sense of trepidation within her only the hope
that the portal would lead them to Spock. They disappeared into the void, and
less than a second later, darkness again filled the room. The only sound that
reverberated through the house was the howl of a baffled sehlat.
Amanda felt a sharp pain
as her left knee hit the hard marble floor. Then she felt something even more
disturbing... an emotion. An uncharacteristic emotion was coming through the
link she shared with Sarek. It was very brief and only lasted a moment before
Sarek's emotional shields snapped back into place. She wondered what emotion it
was and then she knew... Astonishment. That was it. What
could possibly have this effect on her husband? Amanda frantically looked around.
She had just lost her son. She could not bear to lose her husband as well.
"Sarek, what is it?
What's wrong?" Amanda tried to go
to her husband but a wave of disorientation swept over her. She was feeling very light-headed, but it
wasn't from the pain in her knee. Slowly, as she got used to it, the dizziness
began to clear. "The gravity here is less than Vulcan. This place... it
seems so familiar. It feels... feels almost like..."
Sarek finished her
sentence for her, "Earth. We're on Earth. I know this place... I've been
here before. It's the old Vulcan embassy. But this is not the Earth we know.
When we stepped into the portal, I had assumed that it was just an alien
version of the transporter, but no transporter could have brought us here."
Amanda wasn't quite
convinced. "Isn't it possible that some culture has mastered sub-quantum
teleportation and it was they that brought us here?"
"You do not understand, my wife. The Vulcan embassy hasn't looked like
this since before the Federation was formed. No, we have not merely traveled
through space, but through time as well."
While they were speaking
a crowd had been forming around them. But the crowd parted to let one man step
through. He extended his hand to help Sarek and his wife up. "The Vulcan
Science Directorate has determined that time-travel is impossible."
It was then that Sarek
noticed the clothing of this man who was helping them. It identified him as a
member of the Vulcan diplomatic corps... a diplomat that looked extremely
familiar, but he couldn't quite place him. Then slowly realization of who he
was began to dawn. "Ambassador..." The man looked impossibly young.
Sarek's mind couldn't latch onto it... he simply had to say the name no matter
what his mind was telling him... "Soval."
Soval's left eyebrow
arched upward at hearing his name spoken by this stranger who he had just met.
"You have me at a disadvantage. May I ask your name and your business
here?"
The answer was
immediately on Amanda's lips, "Spock..."
Sarek continued the
explanation, "Our infant son has been kidnapped. We have traveled through
time and arrived here. We have reason to believe he may be here, somewhere."
Soval replied, "Your
story is highly illogical. Not only is time travel impossible as I've already
said, but there has only ever been one Vulcan-Human hybrid, and she is dying...
Vulcans and Humans are apparently incapable of interbreeding; therefore, you
could not have had a son together. I don't know why you would, but I can only
conclude that you are lying to me."
Sarek didn't have the
time to convince Soval he was telling the truth. Then an idea occurred to him,
"I'm invoking diplomatic protocol alpha-133-1334."
Once again Soval couldn't
help but to raise an eyebrow at this. He stood still for a moment considering
alternatives but whoever this man was, he did know about the diplomatic code
signifying grave danger and requiring him to comply immediately. Soval went to
the nearest console, "Security, this is Ambassador Soval. Seal the
building. We have a kidnapping situation. Search the building for..."
Sarek supplied the rest,
"A Vulcan woman and an infant boy which also appears Vulcan."
Soval continued into the comm unit on the desk, "Look for a Vulcan woman and infant.
Use extreme caution. We don't know if she is armed or what type of weapons she
might have." Then, turning to Sarek and Amanda, said,
"Come. We will go to my office. We will be able to talk there...
privately."
Once they were in the
office, Soval again addressed Sarek and Amanda, "There is much here that
you must explain. For example, the protocol you used has only been recently
been agreed upon -- a result of the dissolution of the High Command. It is not
yet in common usage. How did you know of it?"
"I am a diplomat
myself. The interim protocol has become common knowledge to Vulcans of my
time." said Sarek.
"Ah yes, the time
travel story again." Soval couldn't help adding, "You sound like a
certain human captain I know."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in
the building, a green glowing portal appeared in one of the back rooms. Out of
it tumbled a Romulan female carrying a small bundle. But unlike Sarek and
Amanda, she seemed used to this kind of travel and easily kept her footing. The
baby, on the other hand, began to softly cry, immediately getting the attention
of the Romulan female holding him. "Don't worry little one. I will not
harm you. My orders are to turn you over to the temporal agents in this time
period. I cannot guarantee that They will not harm
you, but know this, your sacrifice will not be in vain. If everything goes as
planned, not only will the Romulan Empire come to own this miserable planet but
also the world I took you from -- the one which spawned my race. Think of it...
Vulcan and Earth... the two worlds you call home, both part of the new Romulan
Star Empire."
With a smile, she pulled
out a small comm unit, "This is Spark calling
Flame... Our package has arrived."
Commander Solak saw the display light up, and was genuinely
surprised. The intruder alert, showed an unauthorized communication from the
newly installed transporter device. There had been no intruders indicated
earlier, and now there was one near the center of the complex, and he or she
would have had have passed through the typically stringent embassy security. It
was simply illogical that someone could have made it so easily. Not impossible,
obviously, since they had... but highly improbable. Unless-. Then he heard
Soval's announcement.
'Spark' held the infant
in her arms, willing it to be quiet. "Go quietly, child. Vanish quietly
into history." And do not give me away! The 'whoosh' of doors opening
startled her. A Vulcan stepped through, and she almost panicked.
"You're late."
He cast an angry glance at her. "There's a problem."
"What?" Her
mind quickly ran through a series of possible disasters. Each seemed to end in
her capture.
"The offspring in
this time period is female. You'll need to keep that," he indicated the
infant in her arms, "in hiding until the other one is dead. Otherwise
they'll realize they've been switched."
"But why switch them
at all? Why not just let him die?"
"You are not
supposed to ask questions, Commander. But if you must know," he glanced
over his shoulder, as if expecting to be caught talking more than he should,
"the other side has temporal agents too. Even a cold war needs two sides.
We must make them think we haven't succeeded."
"But if they suspect
something anyway-"
"There won't be
enough left to check." He thought he saw her face go a shade yellow. That
meant the same with all Vulcanoid species. Shock. "Get on the platform." He moved to the
console and input the coordinates he'd been updating for the last twelve hours.
He saw that she was standing on the platform with the infant in her arms.
"They detected your transmission. I'll probably be caught, thanks to
you."
She was about to answer
him when her stomach started to churn, and she wanted to be sick. Then she flopped
to the floor...
She was no longer in the
embassy. She had transported. To the
Soval followed the
security personnel into the transporter chamber. There was nobody there. He
stepped to the control panel as Sarek and Amanda... the people
who claimed to be from the future, followed him in.
"Where are
they?" The human woman, stridently and shrilly
emotional. Soval wondered at a Vulcan diplomat who would marry one.
"Obviously 'they'
are not here."
"My
wife." Sarek used as gentle a controlling voice as he could. Then
he turned to Soval. "Ambassador, is there a record of the last
transport?"
"You are well versed
in transporter technology."
"Transporters
in the future are--"
"Ah, yes. Time travel."
"Mister Ambassador," Amanda interjected, "an
ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever
remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"Human logic is
unique, Madam." Soval cleared his throat. "In any case, the device
retains a record of the last transport." He tapped the controls quickly, and
his eyebrows rose in unison. "Somehow that does not surprise me."
"Where is my son,
Ambassador?"
"Aboard an orbiting starship called
Sarek felt a glimmer of
hope for the first time since this ordeal had begun. "You will arrange to
transport us to
Within minutes, Soval, Sarek,
and Amanda materialized in the
Archer didn't feel the
distrust of the Vulcan that he once had. "I understand that, Ambassador.
There is a deck by deck search of the ship in progress."
"I'm sure your
officers are doing their best, Captain." Amanda answered.
Soval tried to temper his
natural instinct to take the lead with the humans. As rash and illogical as
Captain Archer could be, he had also demonstrated a tenacity and dedication to
duty that Soval grudgingly respected. "A security team from the embassy is
standing by to assist, Captain."
Archer sighed.
"Ambassador, our MACO team is capable-."
"I am aware of
that." Soval answered. "But we are dealing with a Vulcan. It would be
prudent."
"Please, Captain
Archer." Amanda pleaded. "There isn't time to argue. My son is dying."
"We'll find your
son, ma'am." Archer crossed the room to the comm
panel as Soval and the others stepped off of the platform. "Major Stiles,
report to the bridge." When Stiles acknowledged the order immediately,
Archer smiled and turned to Soval, Sarek, and Amanda. "Major Stiles leads
the
When they arrived on the
bridge moments later, T'Pol nodded to Archer and moved from the Captain's chair
to the science station. "Internal scanners went offline just after you
left the bridge, Captain." She glanced quickly at Soval, who did not seem
to have noticed her.
"Get on that right
away, T'Pol. We don't have much time." Archer was very conscious, not only
of Soval's impression of his performance right now, but of the sheer presence
of the Vulcan named Sarek. He seemed young, and not as downright arrogant as
the other Vulcans, but there was something imposing about him. Something T'Pau
had shown on Vulcan. Something that made him want to
stand a little straighter and work a little harder.
Major Stiles arrived in
the turbolift at that moment, stepping onto the
bridge and walking over to Archer. "Reporting as ordered, Captain."
"Thank you,
Major." Archer appreciated Stiles' crisp military bearing. He'd even found
a way of working with Lt Reed. "Have you found anything yet?"
"No,
sir. Decks A through C are clear. Teams are working D through G
now." Stiles seemed eager to get back to work.
"Getting a signal
from the Vulcan Embassy, Captain," Hoshi Sato announced.
"Put it on
screen." Archer saw all eyes turn to the viewscreen.
"This is Commander Solak." The Vulcan security chief looked almost
agitated, for a Vulcan. "Our teams are prepared to beam up."
"Captain--"
Major Stiles objected.
"The Vulcans are
familiar with our intruder, Major. Take advantage of what help they can offer.
That's an order." Archer turned to Commander Solak.
"We can beam your teams up anytime, Commander. Major Stiles will meet you
in the transporter room."
Solak looked doubtful. "Ambassador?" he
said to Soval.
"Commander, there is
no time to debate. Beam your teams up immediately."
'Spark' held the infant
in her arms and listened intently. "Shhh."
It seemed to be growing anxious. As if it knew its time was coming to an end.
It was cramped and uncomfortable in here, but with security teams swarming all
around her, it was the only place to hide.
Moments later, Archer was
with one of those Vulcan security teams, not just because he knew the ship
better than anyone alive. Jonathon Archer just wasn't the kind of man to stand
around when a baby's life hung in the balance. That was also why Trip and T'Pol
were helping.
"Captain? I think I know something that can
help." That was one of the MACO's. He seemed to
be hanging back to talk to Archer.
"There isn't time to
be shy, crewman. Speak up." Archer prided himself on his accessibility. The fact that anyone could talk to him, anytime. But now he
was in a hurry.
"Please, sir."
The crewman took Archer by the arm and pulled him around a corner. Before
Archer could react, the crewman pointed a tricorder at his face, and activated
it. Under a blue glow, the crewman's face changed.
"Daniels?"
Archer recognized the familiar face of the temporal agent. "I thought we'd
seen the last of you." He thought of the search team getting far ahead of him
now. "If you know anything about this, talk!"
"You might be seeing the last of me now, Captain. The baby
that you are searching for must be found."
"We're trying,
Daniels, and you aren't helping right now. So if you know something."
"Okay, listen. The
first Vulcan team that beamed up--"
"The team with
Commander Solak?" Archer remembered the
suspicious looking Vulcan beaming into the chamber.
"Yes! Follow them,
Captain. One member of that team is a temporal agent
who will be killed when she enters enter the crawlspace between decks E and F
just before they reach the launch bay. If I try to save her myself, I'll be recognized.
You'll have to go in for me."
"Daniels, I saw you
die almost a year ago."
"I did die. But the
man we're trying to save right now saved me, centuries from now." Daniels
seemed urgent to get Archer moving. "Jonathon, I can't tell you anymore.
Just get to that crawlspace, before my agent does." Without waiting for Archer
to answer, Daniels applied the tricorder to his face, and disappeared around a
corner.
Archer didn't stop to
shout at Daniels. As he ran to the nearest turbolift,
he thought about what to do. Would he help anything by running headlong into
the group? Probably not. When he got to the turbolift, he made up his mind. "Archer
to T'Pol."
T'Pol stopped when her
communicator beeped. "Yes, Captain." She watched with consternation
as the security team she had joined moved ahead of her.
"I've just had a
visit from crewman Daniels." He quickly repeated what Daniels had told
him. "I'm on my way, T'Pol, but I need you to keep an eye on things until
I get there."
T'Pol raised one eyebrow.
"What would you suggest I do?"
"Just stop them. If
any shots are fired, the baby could be killed." Archer switched the
channel. "Archer to Lieutenant Reed." He was
hatching a plan on the fly.
"Stop." T'Pol felt unsure of herself at that
point. But the entrance to the crawlspace was in sight.
All five Vulcans, as well
as the two MACO's stopped. "Sub Commander."
It was Solak. "There is no time for this
illogical behavior."
Just as
Solak was about to turn away from T'Pol, another
member of his team pointed a phase pistol. "All of you back away." He
pulled a communicator from his belt. "Spark, this is Flame. Code Praex. Stand by."
'Flame' began to back towards the crawlspace access. He was prepared for this,
and the Tal Shiar commander
in the crawlspace would be too. If they got caught, everyone died. Explosive
compounds incorporated into her uniform would put a hole in the primitive starship so big that not even their DNA would be found.
Archer came running
around the corner, to see one of the Vulcans holding a phase pistol on the rest
of the team. He flipped open his communicator and touched the alert signal
button. Then he closed the communicator and stepped up. "Don't do anything
rash."
'Flame' was happy to keep
things stalled. In less than an hour the infant would be dead. He wasn't
expecting the sudden heat on his back that quickly went numb. He dropped to the deck, stunned.
Malcolm Reed lowered his
phase pistol. "You can relax, Major Stiles." He was glad to show up
the MACO officers. They may have been useful against the Xindi, but now they
were superfluous.
What he wasn't prepared
for was rifle butt that hit him in the back of the head. He dropped to the
deck. 'Spark' was out of the crawlspace. "You'd all better stand still." She was holding the phase rifle in one
hand and the infant in the other. "Nobody has to get hurt."
"Except
for Spock." Everyone turned at that. It was Amanda, with Sarek
right beside her. "Why are you doing this?"
The Tal
Shiar commander looked at the human woman. "For the Empire." She had two duties left. The
first would be easy. She pointed the phase rifle at the stunned 'Flame' and
fired. The body disintegrated. "For the Ro--"
Her words were cut off by
the Vulcan security officer who slammed into her. She felt the infant slipping
from her grasp, and the Vulcan was struggling for the rifle. As she squeezed
the trigger, she heard the human woman scream.
Sickbay was tense. Dr.
Phlox had the infant Spock in a stasis field as he ran a number of scans and
computer simulations. Finally he made an angry sound and turned to the crowd.
"I have to have quiet. You two," he looked at Sarek and Amanda,
"can stay. The rest of you have to go!" He wasn't looking forward to facing
the parents.
Archer pulled Daniels,
along with Trip and T'Pol into the outer office. "Answers, Daniels. Now!"
"The only answers that mean anything are in that room."
Daniels pointed to where Phlox was talking to Sarek and Amanda. "That baby
can't be allowed to die."
"I want to know who
those Vulcans were?"
"They weren't
Vulcans." Daniels had to be careful what he told Archer. "They were
enemy agents. Captain Archer, the only thing that matters is that baby in there.
If it dies, then those agents have won anyway."
Archer was getting a
headache. "Just a minute."
"Captain Archer, Trip, T'Pol." Phlox was calling them
back into the examination room.
"What is it,
Doctor?"
"Captain, this baby
is dying. There is nothing I can do. Its immune system was shut down as part of
a surgical procedure twelve hours ago. Since then, random microbial enzymes
have begun to attack-."
"In
English, Doctor." Archer's headache was getting worse.
"His blood was being
engineered. The two kinds of DNA were being adapted to each other. When that
procedure was interrupted, the two elements began to attack each other. Now the
war is minutes from being over, and there's nothing I can do." He looked
at the infant
"What?" Trip
and T'Pol spoke in unison.
"A small sample of
"Why ask, Doc?"
Trip sounded like he already knew the answer. "Just do it."
"Because
she won't survive the procedure. She is too weak." But she's
already dying. He wanted to say it... but he couldn't.
Trip looked at the
infant. Then he looked at Archer... there was nothing there to help him. Sarek and Amanda standing there, looking... like he felt.
T'Pol had turned to stone. Fire. Ice. Everything he
loved about her, but no answers. No help. And
"Commander." Phlox muttered.
"Trip..."
Archer hated the fact that he could do nothing for his friend.
"Please." It
was all that Amanda could say. Sarek touched her arm, and reached out to her
with his mind. Nothing else could be done.
"Would you just give
me a second?" Trip led T'Pol out of the room. From the relative
solitude of Phlox's office.
T'Pol looked into Trip's
eyes. "There's no point, Trip. She's dying anyway."
"It isn't fair. Why
should their son live... and Elizabeth has to die?" Again.
She had been named after his sister.
"Sometimes you have
to believe that you make some kind of difference... even after..." She was
almost out of strength. "Faith, Trip. You make a leap of faith."
"I know." He
let the tears flow finally. Then he looked at Sarek and Amanda. She no longer
looked determined. He no longer looked so imposing. They looked like... they
looked like he had not long ago. They needed a miracle.
They stepped back into
the examination room. As a couple, they faced Sarek and Amanda. Trip heard
himself tell the doctor to do what he had to.
An hour later, it was
Sarek who approached Trip and T'Pol. "My wife is in sickbay with our
son."
"Is he okay?"
Trip was trying to think about anything but what happened.
T'Pol had trouble meeting
Sarek's imposing gaze. Her instinct was to correct Trip. But there seemed
little point.
"He will live long
enough to get him home." Sarek hesitated for a moment. "According to
Doctor Phlox, the blood from
Both of T'Pol's eyebrows shot up. Trip spluttered angrily.
"Why the hell did you have to tell us? Now there's
nothing left of her!" She put a hand on his shoulder.
"I meant no offense, Commander. My wife wishes to have an image of you
to give to Spock. So that he will always know."
Epilogue
Krokton Segment
24th Century
The small apartment that
Spock had fashioned for himself in the city was orderly, if rather cluttered.
He had found that as he brought young friends around to learn about Vulcan, he
had to continuously show them small trinkets and images. Some of general or
cultural interest, and some from his family records.
So as time went by, one small table had become covered with these things. The
table was always a source of interest. So he was not surprised when his friend Renak held an image up to the light. "Mister
Spock, who is this?"
Spock looked at the
sad-looking couple. A human man, and a Vulcan woman, in attire
that was two hundred years old. "Let me tell you a story about a
little girl, her mother and father, and a leap of faith that they made."