The Path Not Taken: Incarceration (Part 2 of 3)

Posted on 13 Aug 2024 @ 9:23am by Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor

1,746 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: Ophir, Central Otago, New Zealand
Timeline: Late 2397

Previously on Incarceration...

There was a reason why Sera asked him to go. She had found something earlier in the week and wanted nothing more than to share it with Montgomery. They left the banks of the river and moved inland, and it was as if a hush washed over the two of them. Sera had never seen such variations of greens, but the world under the canopy of the tree tops was filled with mosses, ferns, and all sorts of miscellaneous plantlife. It had similarities to Montgomery’s holodeck program, and she hoped that it would improve his mood…perhaps only for a while.


And now the continuation...

[ON]

They walked in a comfortable silence for a time. “It reminds me of the holodeck recreation of your homeworld that you shared with me on Galileo.” Sera said softly over her shoulder. “It is so green…so very…alien. I thought you might find it…pleasing?”

"I must admit there is a certain… nostalgia to it," Vala looked around, his eyes taking in the trees and foliage, "It is all rather… smaller than I am used to but were the circumstances different I might have found comfort in such a place…"

A subtle smell was finally detected by Sera’s sensitive olfactory senses, indicating they were heading in the right direction. The slightly biting smell of sulfur and minerals became stronger, more overt, and she was filled with a sense of personal longing. They continued, and came upon an outcropping of rocks which surrounded a pool of steaming water which spilled down the hillside into a small creek that trailed in a different direction.

“The temperature of the springs is within tolerable limits.”

"Oh," Vala could not help but smile a little, "I am surprised we were permitted access to such a comfort," he looked to his mate, "This is a discovery to be treasured for sure." He felt a moment of genuine excitement for the first time in weeks - an opportunity for comfort could not be passed in such a situation. "Shall we…?" He gestured.

“It would be logical.” Sera said in a satisfied manner upon seeing–and feeling–his excitement. She began to peel off the layers of clothing that had become a necessity to keep the increasing chill off of her. Once everything was neatly folded Sera made her way to the edge of the pool and lowered herself into the heated water.

Closing her eyes, Sera made a soft sound of contentment as the heat from the springs began to suffuse her form. It was a small pleasure - and one she refused to trivialize by subsuming the emotional response from it.

Using the moment to internally reflect, Sera found that she barely recognized the internal landscape of her mind anymore. The only steady presence was the ‘bond’ shared with Montgomery…and even that was beginning to feel as threadbare as their clothing. Since coming to this place, Sera had refrained from much of the physical contact that would label her as an outsider amongst outsiders. To be fair, they had not melded since well before their lives had gone sideways in Bise. Was it logical? No…but she had felt as if it were necessary at the time due to outside forces.

Even as their lives’ simplified due to their captivity - Sera did not feel the same ease in their relationship that was present before Montgomery’s time at Daystrom. She accepted the responsibility of this imbalance, and it was one which she would rectify here and now…if allowed.

Secrets and half-truths had eroded their connection since…and now–more than ever–Sera needed the solace of his presence. Once Montgomery joined her in the spring, Sera pushed against the rocks along the edge to bring her closer to him.

She reached her hand up to touch the points on his cheek, but hesitated just before her fingertips made contact with his face and raised a brow.

“May I?”

Vala allowed the hot water to surround him, its slight sting tending to the various tight muscles and aches he had obtained through the trials of the past several months. Immersion in the spring felt almost… medicinal. As the warmth soothed his body, perhaps it was time for some attempt to sooth the mind.

The meld would be an intoxicating place - he still understood it poorly. Yet their bond was frayed. Something they had to minister to. Where else would be better?

"You may, e'lev," he said softly, reaching his own hand up to her temple. It was time.

Sera murmured the ritual words in Vulcan, but it wasn’t necessary for focus. Their minds came together as easily as flipping a magnet. She closed her eyes and made a small, inarticulate sound as the bond they shared flared to life between the two of them. The intensity of it only served as a reminder how strained their connection had become otherwise. It was shameful what she had allowed to come between the two of them.

As warmth began to suffuse them which had nothing to do with the temperature of the spring they were currently soaking in, Sera felt herself start to relax…

The night of the dinner took shape, but its memory was distorted slightly, and Sera suddenly could ‘taste’ the blood wine in the back of her throat as she walked through the empty portion of the house to the office.

Oh. We are just going to dive right in…

The conversation between her foremother and her played out in an agonizing clarity. T’Ael looked as satisfied as Fvillhu after getting a piece of sushi upon seeing her granddaughter - not that Sera had noticed it initially. While Sera was baring all of her concerns regarding their place and safety on Earth, T’Ael manipulated those concerns with an expert touch, thinking nothing of using the skills taught to her (against) her own kin.

Vala was used to the calm and relative comfort of S’Ers-a’s Vulcan courtyard. But here there was no fountain, no pillows or exotic weapons on the walls. No strange cat lounging in the background. It was simply a pastiche of events that had gone before. A meeting between her and her foremother. One he had not been party to. It revealed what he had attempted to pretend was not true - she had sold herself to her clan for their safety.

The call ended with an induction of sorts. Sera made a promise to her foremother, and made T’Ael her jailor in the process. Montgomery ‘heard’ her words to T’Ael, ending with her swearing to uphold her end of the ‘pact.’ However, the first time Montgomery heard this he only was privy to the last part of his mate’s statement. In this time and place he knew exactly what was said. It was, in essence, an oath of ‘enlistment’ to her komehk’il’s cause. Sera, for all of her intellect, still held quite a clouded view of her foremother, and that viewpoint was confabulated with the natural affection one feels for family.

Meanwhile, it didn’t quite seem like T’Ael suffered under such an affliction as ‘love’ as she informed Sera what would be required of her to keep her mate–and his friends–safe. Her satisfaction at this outcome was quite apparent in the glimmering of her unusual blue eyes and the subtle pull of her mouth into a Mona Lisa worthy ‘smile.’

The scene shifted, and action after action was then played out between them showing Montgomery as if line-per-line all of the ‘sins’ Sera had accumulated since that pivotal moment. She could only surmise what Montgomery would think of this…of her…after all of this, but it had to be done. She wanted him to know…needed him to know, and if he could not reconcile this, then she would do her best to relinquish him.

Melds had always been profound for Vala. Their intensity was only matched by the passion through which messages and thoughts were conveyed. He'd often wondered why his people had given them up. Now though, as his mate's sacrifices, her machinations unfolded before him he wished such a display was not possible.

To be bonded. In love. And yet to have agency over your future withdrawn. To have her sacrifice so much of herself for him. It was impossible to bear.

The scene warped and shifted as he struggled to absorb the shaking foundation of their relationship. Vignettes of moments past shuddered into view but not focus. Their past ups and downs. Dancing, the broken ankle, the pond in the trees…

The scene finally settled in a familiar place. Both of them sat awkwardly at a table, a celebration going on around them. Regula I. Their first meeting. The surroundings were a blur but they could see each other sharply.

“Why?” Vala mouthed, his words echoing unnaturally around the scene.

“You ask a question you already know the answer to, adun.” Came the answer, but Sera ‘felt’ this was not the correct course of action regarding the question and so continued.

“You are mine…our fates are intertwined. I will do anything for you. My decision was…logical.” Her voice echoed back.

“Varin…I joined Starfleet in a less than thought out attempt to escape a life that had already been planned for me. It is ironic that I only delayed the inevitable. Your Elements have decreed a particular fate for me…however, I am most gratified that I will face that future with you.”

Sera reached across the small table and ran her index and middle fingers over the back of his hand down his fingers in a manner to convey comfort.

“Everything I have done has been to secure your safety. After our bonding, I demanded your placement on the clan rolls. You are my mate - a Vulcan now by marriage. Regardless of the reasoning behind your defection from the Empire - none will dare to touch you. Not with the power my clan wields…and my request forced T’Ael’s hand. I bargained for her promise to protect you as well.”

“Do you comprehend?”


To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor
Untrustworthy Citizen of the Federation

&

Montgomery Vala
Barely Remaining a Citizen of the Federation

RSS Feed