“The Elder is a loyal servant of the Spirit.” For appearance’s sake, Se’hraqua judged that he should defend his elder. Just not too emphatically.
“But not an inspired one. Not one who understands the deeper meaning of the Hunt, the core of our traditions. We do not hunt to keep the ecology in balance! That is but a secondary effect.”
“Yes,” Se’hraqua said. “We hunt to give reverence to the Spirit, to serve as the Spirit created us. We pledge our blood and our lives in Its service.”
“True, my young friend, true. Death affirms life, death feeds life. That is the balance. To think that will change just because of a temporary setback to the Hunt—that is folly.”
“I agree, Elder.”
“Good, good. Because I would request something of you.”
“Anything, Elder!”
“Do not be so quick to pounce on this. I make it a request only, for I would be ashamed to make it more. I would like you to volunteer for Qui’hibra and Riker’s mission to… negotiatewith the skymounts.”
Aq’hareq spoke the word with the same distaste Se’hraqua felt on hearing it. To dare to speak with skymounts as equals, to trespass upon their holy flesh without having won the right in the trial of the Hunt? “Elder, why would you ask me to participate in such blasphemy?”
“I doubt the skymounts will allow the blasphemy to occur at all. If they do, then it is part of the Spirit’s plan anyway. But either way, we need an observer present who can offer…a dissenting perspective. Who can evaluate the events from a clearer vantage. Qui’hibra and Riker’s plan is not the solution to our crisis, of this I am sure. But by observing and learning, young one, perhaps you can scout out a path to a real solution.” The elder leaned closer, lowering his voice. “For instance, perhaps you could discover the means Titanused to distinguish our warp signatures from the skymounts’. If we could compensate for the difference, it would restore our advantage of surprise.”
Se’hraqua felt a thrill of hope at the prospect, but skepticism tempered it. “The prey could still teleport us from our own mounts.”
“We can devise defenses against that. Besides, think how much worthier the Hunt for skymounts will be if they actually fight back! At times I wonder if the Hunt has not grown too easy, made us soft. Looking at Qui’hibra’s weakness, and how easily he swayed the Conclave, it is hard to doubt. Perhaps this whole crisis is the Spirit’s way of challenging us to become stronger, worthier servants.”
Se’hraqua nodded slowly. The elder was wise indeed. Surely the hardships the Spirit had inflicted on his own family were just such a trial, and it was his task to prove himself strong enough, worthy enough, by playing a role in helping the Pa’haquel regain their strength. Could he have a destiny even greater than winning his own mount and leading the Se’ha line to renewed prosperity?
There was only one way to find out. He had to follow this spoor wherever it led, and be ready to strike at the right moment. “I will do as you ask, Elder. And proudly.”
“Excellent. Together, and with the others who think as we do, we will see to it that the Hunt endures. As it always has, and as it always shall.”
“Counselor, I have told you before that I do not desire your assistance.”
Deanna met Tuvok’s eyes evenly as he stood in his doorway, stiff as a statue. “I appreciate that, Commander. But I’m not here to offer counseling. I’m here because I want yourassistance on an important matter. May I come in?”
Tuvok hesitated. But T’Pel came up behind him and said, “Husband, simple courtesy dictates that we invite her in and hear her proposal.”
He seemed to soften fractionally. “Very well.” He stepped aside and let her enter. T’Pel invited her to sit and undertook to prepare tea for them all. But Deanna knew Vulcans had little interest in wasting time on social niceties, so she went right to business, explaining Riker’s plan.
Unsurprisingly, Tuvok reacted with puzzlement and discomfort. “Surely you cannot think I would be of use to you in this assignment,” he said. “My actions prove that I cannot resist the astrocoelenterates’ emotional influence.”
“Your actions are precisely what make you most useful to me, Tuvok. If the jellies are to be convinced to work with their age-old predators as allies, the proposal needs to come from someone they trust. Even if Dr. Ree is right that they don’t hold grudges, they would still be wary of traps and deceptions. They’re most likely to trust the proposal if it has the backing of someone they consider to be on their side, someone who’s helped them against the Pa’haquel and clearly has no agenda in the Pa’haquel’s favor.”
“ ‘Only Soval could go to Andoria,’ ” T’Pel quoted as she poured the tea. Deanna recognized the Vulcan proverb, though she was more used to the human “translation” which substituted different historical referents.
“That’s right. And if this plan does work, if we are able to get the two species cooperating in the defense of inhabited planets against other cosmozoans, then they’ll need to learn how to work together—how to fight together. It would help greatly if the jellies had access to the thoughts of an experienced tactician such as yourself, Tuvok.”
He avoided his wife’s gaze. “How am I to help convince them to accept our agenda when I am so easily made a puppet of their wishes, their impulses? I would be a liability to you, Counselor, not an aid.”
T’Pel handed him his tea. “Logically, husband, she would not be here if she believed that to be the case.”
Deanna appreciated her support. “I am able to resist acting on their emotions. I have shielding techniques I could teach you, more advanced than standard mental shields.”
Tuvok shook his head. “I doubt they would be effective. Dr. Ree believes that my mental shielding may be permanently impaired by the neurological traumas I sustained in the Delta Quadrant and Vikr’l Prison.”
Deanna smirked. “Tuvok, mental shields aren’t like deflectors on a ship. The brain is more adaptable than that, more plastic. As with any other part of the body, its weaknesses or injuries can be compensated for with training and exercise.”
“Within limits. Do you not think, Commander, that I have been engaged in such exercises of my own since I came aboard Titan?”He snapped out the words, then paused and grimaced. T’Pel touched her fingers to his, calming him somewhat. “You can see for yourself that they have not been effective. My ability to manage even my own emotions is tenuous at best.”
“That’s perfectly understandable, Tuvok, after what you’ve been through these past few months.”
He was shaking his head before she finished the sentence. “You do not understand.”
But she had sensed his reaction to her words “these past few months.” That pointed her in the right direction. “You don’t believe this is a recent problem, do you? What I’m sensing from you is that you see it as an intrinsic character flaw.” His refusal to meet her eyes or T’Pel’s confirmed it. In spite of herself, she let out a chuckle. “Tuvok— youthink of yourself as overemotional?”
“I am pleased that you find my personal failings amusing.”
“No, that’s not it, Tuvok. It’s just—I got to know some of your Voyagercrewmates somewhat while you were adjusting to your return home. And most of them agreed…” She hesitated, but then realized he’d probably take it as a compliment. “They thought you were the stiffest, most humorless Vulcan they’d ever met. They liked you, of course, and respected you, but they certainly didn’t think of you as emotional.”
“Perhaps not under normal circumstances, Counselor. Even a weak fortification will hold when it is not assailed.” He went on reluctantly. “But when I have been exposed to…external sources of strong emotion…I have never been able to manage them successfully. You are aware of my meld with Lieutenant Lon Suder, I assume.”