Mestral’s Legacy: Chapter 19

T’Pol glanced behind her, but Jonathan was nowhere to be seen. She could hear him calling her name though, and it was only a matter of time before he caught up with her. Quickening her pace, she tried to figure out how to salvage the situation.

Engaging Jonathan sexually had been a mistake. She had known it after the kiss, when it became apparent that what on the surface had been lust was something much more on his part. She should have stopped it, but it was beyond her experience, this feeling that was lust and yet more than that. It was much more intense, and much more powerful. She had immersed herself, allowing herself to forget that doing so had consequences. Until the end, until she had realised. She hadn’t understood it until then, and by then it had been too late.

She was so absorbed in coming up with a solution that at first she ignored the flash of light in the bushes beyond the trail. Only when she stopped to check on Jonathan’s progress did she notice that something was reflecting sunlight to the right of the trail. There was a clearing in the bushes but she couldn’t see a way to get to it until she got closer. An overgrown path at the side of the trail was barely visible. It would have been completely impossible to see if someone hadn’t used it recently. A couple of broken branches drew her eyes to the gap in the bushes lining the trail.

She caught a glimpse of Jonathan coming around a bend in the trail. He seemed upset. Making her decision, she ducked through the bushes towards the clearing. She peered out at the trail from behind a tree as he passed the hidden pathway and continued down the trail. She heard him call her name again, definitely angry now. She waited until she could no longer see or hear him before walking the last few metres to the clearing.

It was a small cemetery. There were a number of grave markers, perhaps thirty, but the reflection that had caught her eye was coming from the back row. As she made her way past the other markers, she noticed that few of them were in English. The alphabet used differed slightly from the one that she was used to, but was recognisable as Terran. Most likely it was the language that they had heard many of the residents speaking.

In the last row she finally saw what it was that had caught the sunlight: a candle holder was sitting on top of each of two grave markers. They shared a similar motif with the ones that she had bought, but they were not identical. These were more intricate, with strands of gold and silver that caught the light. Three triangular panels met at the top to form a three-sided pyramid. There was a small hole at the top to let the heat escape. Two of the panels were familiar: blue with a white moon and yellow with T’Khut. The third panel was unfamiliar to her: red with a white heart. Inside each candle holder was a partially melted candle.

Written in the unfamiliar language, the grave markers were undecipherable except for a phrase at the bottom of each marker written in a familiar flowing script that was out of place in a Terran grave site: “We grieve for thee.” The was a series of numbers that appeared to be dates: 10/4/2127-23/7/2140. The other marker only had one date: 7/3/2120.

She glanced at her chronometer: it had been twenty minutes since Jonathan had passed her on the trail. Enough time for him to cool down. Time to go.

Glancing at some of the other markers on her way back, she noticed something odd about the years. She looked at a few more, just to be certain: 1985-2137, 1973-2108, 1967-2151. If she was interpreting the markers correctly these people had a lifespan that was unusually long for Terrans.

Determined to return later and investigate further, T’Pol mentally noted the location before stepping back onto the trail. She looked back after she had gone a few metres but the pathway was invisible again.

She had thought that perhaps Jonathan would be waiting for her at the base of the mountain, but he was not. Perhaps it was better this way. If he was angry with her, then it would be easier for both of them when the time came. She had almost told him, when he had asked about the comm call, but something had held her back.

By the time she reached the dock, Jonathan was already sitting in the boat. She had to make her way along the dock by herself this time. There were fewer people around but those that were there continued to take an inordinate interest in her. She was relieved to reach the boat, briefly forgetting that it wasn’t a friendly face that awaited her there.

Jonathan said nothing to her when she boarded. He simply started the boat. They took a different route back, the navicomp beeping insistently that they were off course. Jonathan steadfastly ignored it and her for about ten minutes.

“Mind telling me what that was all about?” He finally asked quietly.

“I was curious. I thought that you were as well.”

“Curious,” he said flatly. “Well that’s wonderful, T’Pol. Glad I could be of service.”

“Jonathan–”

“I don’t think I want to discuss this anymore right now.”

“Jonathan–”

“I said not now!” He turned and furiously punched a button on the beeping navicomp until it was silenced. T’Pol flinched at the look on his face, but wisely chose to say nothing more. Mercifully the trip back was faster than the trip out.

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