Pilgrimage: Vulcan

Posted on Fri Aug 23rd, 2019 @ 8:44am by Az'Prel & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Commander Sonak
Edited on on Mon Aug 26th, 2019 @ 9:47pm

Mission: Family Detention
Location: Planet Vulcan
Timeline: 2396
Tags: Vulcan Pilgrimage IV

The days passed quickly, spent experiencing a different pace of shipboard life, making new friends and contacts on a different starship. Yet the similarities of the routine of starship life were all still there, despite the lack of regular duties. Sonak’s insights, knowledge and experience were invaluable in a great number of experiments that were occurring in the science department, as it was rare to have someone with his level of expertise in quantum threadings and chronal displacement, as well as transportational entanglements. Paris spent a goodly amount of time in the science labs as well, demonstrating the bracers which served as access points for the stable extradimensional spaces , the knowledge of which she had bartered for their passage. Az’prel was asked, at Paris’ urging, to teach classes to the Security forces, which proved to be surprisingly illuminating for the security officers of the USS Armstrong.

At the end of nearly a week in space, friendships had been made, bonds forged, and the officers of two vessels had gotten to know one another much better. Thus as the shuttlecraft warmed up in the shuttle bay, Captain Butterfield, Commander Mal’lia and Lieutenant Commander Narok, the Chief Science officer, had all come to see the landing party off. Ensign Tilly had also come, as he had managed to spend some time with the old-school officers during their stay and befriended them. As had many of the junior science officers, whose respect for the Vulcan scientist and Master of Gol had grown quite quickly in the short time they had known him- but then, that was often the case with Sonak.

“Captain, Commander…. It’s been a genuine honor and a pleasure. I can’t thank you enough for this, and I just wish we could catch you for the trip back as well, but I know you’ll probably be halfway back to the burgeoning wormhole by the time we’re ready to leave here. Regardless, this has been an excellent opportunity, and words cannot express our gratitude.” Rita Paris was nothing if not genuine, and as she shook the hands of the new friends she had made in the fleet, she realized she would miss these warm and welcoming shipmates.

Standing at attention, Captain Butterfield had a broad and warm smile at his face as he spoke. "I speak for myself, Commander Mel'lia and the entire crew of the Armstrong when I say that the honor and pleasure was truly ours, Commander Paris, Lieutenant Sonak."

Then, without a hint of irony, the assembled command crew of the Armstrong snapped the group from the Hera crisp salutes. "You are always welcome aboard this ship, and we wish you calm seas, strong winds and a distant horizon."

''Peace and long life, Captain Butterfield,'' Sonak said, offering the Vulcan salute; ''to you, and to your gallant crew.''

As for Commander Rita Paris, her eyes shone with tears as she was genuinely touched by the gesture, and her face showed it clearly. But she drew herself erect with military precision and returned the salute, holding it for a full two could before releasing it, returning the honor she'd been offered. It was practically unheard of for a captain to salute a junior officer, particularly on his own ship. Yet to offer such a thing spoke volumes of Captain Butterfield, and in what regard he held Paris, even in their short association.

In a long and storied career, it was a moment the lost navigator would always treasure, and recall fondly.

The lost Vulcan refugee remained calm in all of this, though it vaguely reminded her of her own universe, albeit in a more heartwarming fashion rather than bloodthirsty. It was an interesting comparison to make, at the very least, with the various traditions used in completely opposite manners. Raising her hand in a Vulcan salute, she too prepared to set off, having made several excellent acquaintances during her time aboard. "I look forward to training with your crew again some day, Captain. Live long and prosper."



* * *


''Shuttlecraft Eagle One, this is Vulcan Central Command; you are clear to approach on vector 798 on a parabolic course heading 15 of the ecliptic, landing area 21 East. Regulations demand thrusters only. Comply with regulations. On behalf of all Vulcan, welcome.''

The voice was almost as cold as that of an antique computer. It contrasted sharply with the hot-looking golden redness of the planet looming before them, right beyond the spidery-cocoon-looking space station monitoring and directing their planetfall. Behind the orb of Vulcan itself loomed the larger blood red shape of K'Tnut; the dry, lifeless sister planet of Sonak's homeworld.

This was not the world where he had been born. His was from another universe that should never have been; one that had been destroyed along with billions of his people when a mad Romulan from this universe extracted his ridiculous, fruitless vengeance for something none of his people had done. Yet, this world resonated to his being just as if it was his home. It was not a feeling, even less so an emotion for the Kolinarh master. But it was so nevertheless; a link, a connection.

He looked at his wife, their Commander, for her to speak on their behalf to the authorities. They were coming as tourists, but space traffic was nevertheless as serious and regulated as if this was official business.

"Vulcan Central Command, this is Shuttlecraft Eagle One. Proceeding on approach vector 798 on a parabolic course heading 15 of the ecliptic to landing area 21 East on thrusters only. We are welcomed and will comply," she offered the logical reply to the instructions given, a rephrasing indicating the course of action. Logic wasn't that hard if you applied yourself, after all.

Winging the shuttlecraft through the thin atmosphere was a novelty to Rita as she programmed the flight plan and let the computer handle the flying, given the amount of traffic the sensors were indicating. This was like coming into Starfleet command- the air and space traffic above the Vulcan Central Command corridor was thick and intense, with a surprising number of stellar vehicles from a surprising number of worlds passing in the lanes of carefully modulated and controlled traffic, in parabolic arcs that were poetic in their geometry.

"So... I am assuming since you've been here and there have been a few rounds of discussion about your arrival here in the jellyfish that you are free to come and go as a native. I am making a broad assumption that as she who is your wife I am also welcome on Vulcan soil, although it hadn't occurred to me to ask until now," Rita admitted with a daffy face and a rolling of her eyes. "But, ah, Miss Az'Prel somewhat... does not exist, according to record. So will they still recognize her, or is this where we make her claim for citizenship? Did she also exist analagously, and we can make a case for her citizenship that way?"

Sonak's grey eyes went from the viewport to hers.

''My citizenship was authenticated once my true origin was confirmed and status established. And yes, as you became bonded to me, so was yours. Miss Az'Prel's own identity and status has already been processed since her arrival, through Starfleet records and the Hera's reports. Of course, they are highly unusual... but as my own case being a recent precedent, not unheard of. And in any case, Vulcan is always welcoming to all peaceful, sentient beings, all the more to Federation citizens and most of all to refugees and asylum seekers and any who wish to expereince or join the universal society that is the United Federation of Planets. Moreover, we are all in a Starfleet shuttlecraft, clearly establishing that Starfleet is vouching our coming here.''

He turned his gaze to the Vulcan woman.

''For you asking for Vulcan citizenship will only be a short bureaucratic formality, if you so wish.''

She replied with a flat and emotionless "I am Vulcan," as if that explained her entire stance on the matter.

He nodded and returned his gaze towards the external view. They quickly broke the thin cloud cover and gazed upon a gold and reddish arid landscape barely doted with distant blue-green patches; the small surface seas of Vulcan. There was much more underground water pockets underneath the sun-scorched crust, where the water took refuge over the eons, but the aridity of the planet was no exaggeration. Huge jagged mountain peaks spread widely accross the horizon but still most too low to have snow caps under the sparse precipitations accross the planet. Even the poles looked small and thin. it was in all appearances an old, dry, forbidding world.

But not a lifeless one. The vast, numerous, multi coloring patches of plankton, mosses and lichens dotted the surface with more vivd colors of green, brown and yellow, betraying the source of the planet's breathing atmosphere and basic food chain. There were also a few low-canopied forests, from their high vantage point like entire forests of Earth bonsai trees; but those trees were certainly as huge as ancient Irish oaks by the looks of them.

For Rita, it was all new, all different. She'd seen and studied images, and seen Sonak's memories of the place. But seeing it with her own eyes, the explosions of earth tones and stark, vibrant landscapes was what bespoke so clearly of the Vulcan soul somehow in her mind. The landscape was like the people- stoic, enduring, and eternal as logic itself. She waited to feel the kiss of the wind on her cheek from the dry air, and her excitement at exploring a lost world grew as the came closer to their destination.

And then, the planetary capital came into view.

''Shikhar, the heart of Nevasa; what everyone now calls Vulcan,'' Sonak simply said.

Even from their still up and distant viewpoint, it was obvious the city was exceedingly old and yet completely state of the art at the same time; a monument to an entire civilization. Their vantage point allowed Sonak to detail the immense megapole as they flew closer and around it.

''In the East lies the Old Quarter, the most visited part of the planet by offworlders; a still vivid witness of Vulcan's long past where the oldest traditions are remembered.''

Crenelated spires almost spine-looking in appearance were literally carved out of the ancient living rock thousands of years ago, providing and inspiring much of the austère but almost organic-looking architectural style of the city.

''In the north is the Place of Honor. In ancient times, a city area of worship; now it is the place where the departed 's name and accomplishments are stored and remembered, along with their katras, including those of celebrated figures like Spock, Sarek, T'Pau and even Surak himself. It is accessible to visitors, those who wish to pay their respects to the memory of the deceased as for those who wish to learn more about Vulcan history and philosophy from a more personal perspective.''

“Will we be visiting there?” Rita asked. While her own experience with katra was limited to experiencing only that of her husband’s he himself had contacted that of Ambassador Spock. The katra of his counterpart of this reality had been tragically lost in the transporter accident that had claimed his life.

''It is my intention to do so, '' Sonak answered. ''I want Spock's katra to register that his mistake has been corrected.''

He was talking about the artificially created parrallel universe that had come from Spock's attempt to use red matter to save Romulus; a false timeline which had been slowly corrupting the multiverse, out of which Rita's own temporal flukes had been a symptom; and possibly this universe's Sonak's death as well.

They had all participated in the mission to erase this pseudo reality and it had been successful, saving the multiverse from it's aberration. Sonak felt it proper to communicate all this with Spock's katra he had brought back from there to his original place of birth, in the Place of Honor he so truly deserved.

Here, the old bony look of ancient rock fused with more recent materials, but still in the same ancient architecture as of the Old Quarter, with a long, vast climbing cobbled road guarded by two rows of titanic statues of warriors and poets, monarchs and musicians, demons and clerics, dancers and scholars of both sexes. It stretched itself all the way to the western part of the city, where rose taller than all the others a building-sized sculpture of a dignified Vulcan in a simple robe. It was facing the west, looking serenely towards the future with at it's feet much more modern, yet traditionally-styled buildings.

''Surak, Father of All That Is Vulcan, '' Sonak confirmed to them. '' The entire city quarter around it is the Vulcan Science Academy, recognized as the intellectual center of the Federation, only rivalled by Memory Alpha itself. Today, offworld applications are well received, even if they are still rare; not many non-Vulcans care much for the dryness of the courses any more than that of the land itself. But just as The Old Quarter is a place of History and Tradition, and The Place of Honor is one of Contemplation and Wisdom, this is a place of Knowledge and Scientific Inquiry, open to all.''

“Now there I would like to visit, if nothing else for some quantum resonance scans to be filed for us, given the nature of how my own field tends to fluctuate. Not that I don’t have the finest mind of the age already monitoring the situation… but sharing of data is never a bad idea,” Rita mused as she admired the sprawling complex of the legendary Science Academy, which in her day was nothing more than a legendary memory. Now it was an enormous and vital institution honing the finest minds in the galaxy, as it had for millennia.

''Your quantum fluctuation has ended with the removal of the pseudo universe,'' Sonak assured her. ''But the science of it all is indeed quite fascinating and currently much discussed at the Academy. The masters there will certainly be interested in meeting you directly and discussing your first hand experience and unique perspective.''

"My quantum field's done plenty of odd fluctuations over the course of time as you'll recall, husband. This was, after all, just the latest in a series. But is certainly would be nice if that was the last of it..." Given the number and variety of transporter accidents that had befallen Rita Paris over the course of her Starfleet career, there was a certain statistical probability that she was liable to experience some sort of phenomenon again in the future. But that was in their old universe, so perhaps here, with the old universe wiped out, with it's pull upon her quantum field negated, she would be transporters safe.

''These were all before we corrected the multiverse imbalance,'' he reminded her. ''That being said, the very nature of the multiverse implies an infinite number of possibilites; including other causes for a possible future accident. Now that we know the true cause, we can implement safety measures even when knowing that zero percent risk in anything is an illogical objective.''

As they completed their descent, the southern quarter came into view. It looked definitely more modern as it extended facilities around an impressive spaceport, capable of servicing even several landing capable ships the size of an Intrepid class starship. This is where their trajectory was now bringing them to, among a myriad of other shuttlepods and crafts of many of the one hundred and fifty worlds that made up the United Federation of Planets. Sonak pointed to the decidedly state of the art buildings sprawled for kilometers around the huge tarmac that, despite style obviously influenced by traditional architecture, looked more like the familiar view of Starfleet Academy than anything else.

''This is the headquarters of the Vulcan High Command; long ago this is where Vulcan coordinated its expansion into space. Now, it is the seat of planetary and system defense, orbital facilities, in-system space operations and the branch of Starfleet Command of this entire sector. It not open to the public, other than civilian authority representatives. However, as Starfleet officers, we of course can freely get access to it. Miss Az'Prel also, as she is properly registered with us.''

And as they angled toward their designated landing area, they could still see the towering central quarter, looking like a mountain of rib-like superposed vistas and plazas forming an immense conical spire but which, seen from directly above, formed the instantly recognizable IDIC symbol of a parted disc united by a triangle; Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

“So that’s where Starfleet got the idea,” Rita muttered, referring to the monstrosity that the modern Starfleet Command building was, which was represented by an enormous delta-shaped skyscraper. This was much more tasteful, unsurprisingly, as well as functional.

'' The modern city proper, seat of the Vulcan High Council,'' Sonak told them all. ''It has been much renovated over the centuries; especially after the historical bombing of the then United Earth Embassy of the 22nd century. It was the time when Vulcan had lost it's way... until the Kirshara, Surak's teachings, and Surak's katra itself, were recovered by reformist leader T'Pau and Human Captain Jonathan Archer. Like everything else about the central part of the city, from the humble rock foundations of prehistory up to today, it has been preserved for all to see. It is a monument to the Truth, even of the times it had been abused, because Vulcan values Truth; and Truth requires nothing less.''

He stopped speaking as the final maneuvers for landing required all their attention.

Gliding in on thrusters and braking gently, the human pilot brought the small shuttlecraft down onto the landing pad with grace and practiced ease that came from years of experience, and a gentle reverence for the surface upon which she landed. In their universe, in their time, the moment they were experiencing would have been an impossibility. Yet here they were, touching down on a vital and vibrant planet filled with ancient history and knowledge that continued to evolve and grow into the 25th century, while still preserving the eons of history it had known to get here.

As the nacelle touched down, Rita powered down the engines and equalized the pressure, then sat back in her seat, turning to look at her traveling companions, saying something she never imagined she would get to say.

“Welcome to planet Vulcan.”

The female refugee Vulcan was struggling not to display her emotions as she stared out the window of the shuttle. After all, she had watched the destruction of her homeworld on holovid when Nero came to her world and decimated it and the Terran Empire, one world at a time a few years before the collapse of her entire universe. "The structures are slightly different... Less violent... But the world is the same. It is Vulcan. I am home."

Sonak turned his steely grey eyes to hers.

''Your blood is Vulcan; your mind is Vulcan; your heart is Vulcan. This IS your home.''