The Romulan War_ Beneath the Raptor's Wing (Book 1) - Michael A. Martin [218]
“I can’t go with you,” he said.
She found her surprise all but impossible to conceal. “I do not understand, Trip. Ever since you came to Vulcan, you have spoken of little other than your desire to return to your... previous life.”
“I know.” His frowned deepened, prompting her to shift her position so that the driver would have difficulty seeing anything untoward if he happened to look in Trip’s direction.
She dropped her bag onto the stone pathway and folded her hands behind her back. “What is wrong, Trip?”
“It’s Terix. Tevik. Whatever the hell I’m supposed to call him.”
“I don’t understand. Tevik has proved himself an invaluable resource to the V’Shar these past several weeks.”
“So Ych’a keeps telling me,” Trip said with a nod. “Denak, too. But I still have my doubts.”
For the past three weeks, T’Pol and Trip had her home to themselves while her investigation into Minister Kuvak’s apparent arms-smuggling conspiracy continued—with assistance from Trip, Denak, Ych’a, and a tightly supervised Tevik. Ych’a had even agreed to keep investigating after T’Pol and Trip departed Vulcan.
“Have you seen any evidence that Tevik may, as you say, ‘Go Romulan on us’?”
He shook his head. “Nothing specific, no. He’s been behaving himself, and Ych’a’s been keeping him on a short leash. But I still don’t feel comfortable leaving a land mine like Terix lying around. Romulans are sneaky sonsabitches.”
T’Pol thought she was beginning to understand. “You feel responsible for him.”
“Shouldn’t I? I’m the reason he’s here.”
“That’s not entirely true, Trip. You told me that you and Ych’a were working together when you found him in one of Sopek’s escape pods.”
Trip’s sloped eyebrows converged over the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Well, we couldn’t very well have left him there to die, could we?”
“No. But you do not bear responsibility for him merely because you rescued him.”
“He followed me home, Mom. I have to keep him.”
“Another obscure Earth idiom?”
Trip sighed. “I stood by and let Ych’a reach into that poor bastard’s brain and rewire it. After that, I didn’t even try to stop her from bringing him here. Now he’s on Vulcan, a Romulan soldier who only thinks he’s one of the good guys, and who might pop his cork at any time once he realizes the truth about his identity and what’s really been done to him. Sure, he’s been a help to the V’Shar. But that fact just gives them a perfectly respectable, logical reason to keep right on mining him for intel.”
She could feel his conflict. “Can you think of a more logical use for him, given the present circumstances?”
“Brainwashing is brainwashing,” he said. “Terix is dangerous, T’Pol. Leaving him behind on Vulcan while I go off to stage a career comeback feels wrong.”
T’Pol could not disagree with his assessment. She could, however, find fault with his priorities. “Trip, we have a much larger scenario to consider. The Romulans are on the move throughout Coalition space.”
“I know.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “They might even be receiving Vulcan weapons, right under Administrator T’Pau’s nose. Your own investigation has already revealed that much.”
“My investigation has yet to rule out that possibility, yes. But our work here is done. We have a larger war to fight, on Enterprise. There is nothing to be gained by remaining here.”
“Do you really think it’s wise to leave Ych’a running your government corruption investigation and watching Terix the time bomb?”
“Ych’a has been indispensable to both endeavors,” T’Pol said. “And she has kept Terix not only contained, but also utterly unaware of his true identity.”
“Except on that first night on Vulcan. I don’t think Ych’a ever came clean to us about how close Terix came to busting out of his cage then.”
Over the weeks that had passed since that fateful evening, T’Pol had come to regret having raised Trip