Eriecho - Star Trek Kelvin Timeline fanfiction

Across the Universe - 4 - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Here I stand head in hand
Turn my face to the wall
If she's gone I can't go on
Feeling two-foot small

"That is incorrect, Eriecho. You must try again." There were two women in the Quonset hut that Eriecho shared with her adoptive father, Saddik.

"But it is so very difficult," Eriecho complained a little.

"Yet this difficulty is why we are Vulcans. It is the suppression of emotions and the acceptance of logic as an overarching force in one's life that defines us, just as surely as the copper base of our blood, and the points at the tips of our ears."

"Humans don't seem to feel the need to do things like this, T'Bek," Eriecho pointed out, "and neither do Suliban."

"All too true. And Enolians and Imvari do not behave in this fashion, either. Why, you could come up with several such counterexamples. Yet they are not us." T'Bek, an older woman shook her head a little. "What I should like to understand, Eriecho, is why you are attempting to learn this at all."

Eriecho looked up, and T'Bek continued. "I well recall when I was informed that you had first come to the Martian sanctuary with Saddik. You were barely literate in the languages of your adoptive parents – Suliban and Vulcan – and not at all in Federation Standard. Apart from basic geometry and fractions, and some decimal work, your mathematical education was limited to the four basic operations. You knew nearly nothing of sciences, or history, or of our culture. Colonel Shaw put out a call for a tutor."

"That's right. He did not think I should attend school with small children."

"Yes. And so I was brought in, to tutor you for a few days every week."

"And I have appreciated it, Miss T'Bek. I know that the twice weekly transport ship from Callisto must be tedious."

"It is of no trouble to me. I am able to use the time wisely, and either prepare my lessons for you, or meditate. It has been rather gratifying to be able to return to teaching." T'Bek paused. "You are a capable student. You have learned more, and at a more rapid pace, than was initially expected. Yet it was a few months ago, in March, that you asked me to teach you how to be a more proper Vulcan. And as I have made my attempts, you concede that it is rather difficult. That is made more so by your advanced age. Most Vulcans who learn such concepts are under five years of age, and they have mastered them by age seven. And so I ask you again, as you are in a rush and want it all to be completed in less than a year, why are you attempting this?"

"Ever since Sollastek and I agreed to wed, back in March," Eriecho explained, "I have thought about how to become a good wife to him. I have also considered how to become a good mother, when the time comes, and even for our children currently being carried by surrogate mothers. The construction of the larger Quonset hut for us to use as a marital home – that has provided me with some time."

"And?"

"And I have drawn the conclusion that my currently illogical and emotion-filled state might be passed onto our children. Miss T'Bek," Eriecho explained, "We are often shunned for being different. I do not wish such a fate upon my offspring."

"Would you and he go elsewhere?" asked T'Bek. "There are other sanctuaries."

"There are, yes, but then I would be separated from my father. It is, further, my understanding that the other sanctuaries are even more regimented, and their inmates could very well be even more unforgiving of differences. Besides," Eriecho admitted, "I really like it here. I like Colonel Shaw's system. And I have befriended Private Theo Carter. However, I would like to see Earth at some point."

T'Bek said, "A visit to Earth could prove to be a very good idea indeed."

"But I have still not mastered these lessons."

=/\=

Colonel Shaw sat in his office. There was a communications chime. "Julie Parker!" He smiled, even though the call was audio only. "My favorite reporter! What can I do for y'all?"

"I've heard some rumors through my sources."

"What sort of rumors?"

"That Ambassador Sarek has another son. And he's been thrown out of eight sanctuaries so far."

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that," Shaw replied. "But we'll be having a wedding here pretty soon. Come as my guest and you can talk to any of our residents you'd like."

"Is that a professional invitation only?"

"Of course not. This one promises to be different; it's going to have Vulcan, Suliban, and human elements to it."

"I'll wear my little black dress."

He grinned. "I look forward to that. Shaw out, honey." He shook his head a little. "I am a lucky man," he murmured, looking over the reports and orders on his PADD. "Yep, we'll have the pleasure of hosting you, Sybok, arriving today, I see." He sighed. "The last stop, eh? Welcome to the Island of Misfit Toys."

=/\=

Theo Carter stood in the dim Martian sunshine, taking a break from working on the new double-sized Quonset hut. A fellow MACO walked outside to join him. "We've got the desks assembled and the bed frames, too. Paint's almost dry in the main meditation room area."

"Oh, uh, good. It was pretty nice of those Earth and Andorian artists to donate wall hangings and paintings, eh?"

"Sure. I'm not so sure about the abstract stuff, but I bet the Vulcans'll love it." He paused. "Four bedrooms. I guess we're expecting little Vulcans."

"Eventually, I guess. And not just Eriecho and Sollastek, I bet," Theo said. "They'll want guest rooms, too. She's going to want to have her father over, that sort of thing. Maybe even the surrogates and the kids when they come. Who knows? If it were us, it would just be complicated, but not horrible. For them, though, I bet it's mortifying, if they think about it too much, and look at it too closely."

There were sounds outside. "Sounds like a shuttle," said the MACO to Theo.

"It does. Let's let that paint dry, and see what all the fuss is about."

It was definitely a shuttle. Shaw came over to meet it as Vulcans came out of their Quonset hut homes to investigate. A MACO pilot opened the hatch and came out, and was followed by a bearded Vulcan. Eriecho and T'Bek were standing outside Eriecho's home. "That's only the second Vulcan I have ever seen with a beard," Eriecho said, "the only other one I know of is Saddik."

"It makes one wonder as to where he was found." T'Bek raised an eyebrow slightly.

Shaw strode over. "I'm Colonel Jack Shaw. I run this facility. Y'all must be Sybok."

"I must indeed!" roared Sybok, laughing. "This is my ninth tour, and only in some three or so months! I'll bet that's a record. Are you sure you want me, Shaw? I'll terrorize your residents and disturb their peace! And don't get me started on suppressions."

"V'tosh Ka'tur," T'Bek murmured quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" Eriecho inquired.

"No emotional suppression," T'Bek explained. "With you, it is because you were never taught. But with him," she gestured vaguely, "I am of the belief that he rejected it outright. That is a far different thing."

"There are those who reject it?" Eriecho asked.

"A few. But they are generally outcasts, such as yourself."

"Ladies!" Sybok bellowed, looking at them both and coming over. He ignored Shaw for the moment. T'Bek turned away, but Eriecho looked him in the eye. "Aren't you afraid – ooh, that's an emotion – but aren't you?"

"Afraid of what?" asked Eriecho, defiant.

Sybok stepped back a little. "I wasn't expecting such a response. But I'll complete my question. Aren't you afraid that my emotions will rub off on you?"

Sollastek and Saddik were walking over. Eriecho looked the strange Vulcan in the eye and responded, "Aren't you afraid that mine will rub off on you?"