The Protagonist System

The meeting among all the Vulcans, whom only left a small watch crew on their ship, that would rotate every hour to allow the proper mingling they expected, went much better than I could have expected. Word quickly spread about what T'Pol and I discussed the night before and the captain of the Vulcan ship was also a fan of archaeology.
That carried half of the evening and we returned to the mess hall to eat. The cook loved having so many of her people to cook for and everyone enjoyed both her enthusiasm and her food. The various conversations continued and the rest of the evening passed by quickly, thanks to a few drinks of Romulan Ale.
I allowed the Vulcans to take half of the crate back with them when they left, since it would allow them to bribe and coerce others into their way of thinking. It would also start the long term plans to corrupt and subvert the Terran Empire and their efforts to keep the Vulcan people under their totalitarian control.
Both T'Pol and Soval shared my plans and opinions on how to handle things and the Vulcan captain agreed it was a great plan. It would take a long time to implement and I told him that all we had was time and why shouldn't we use our long lives against them? By the time they realized what was going on, they would already no longer be in power.
That earned another rare chuckle from Soval and no one was surprised that he was one of the three people returning to Vulcan. He did promise to return later, probably with a few other like-minded individuals, and he returned T'Pol's hug with a look any father would give to a child they were proud of. He wasn't her actual father; but, a mentor was a valid replacement, and T'Pol appreciated it just the same.
I gave them a bunch of supplies for their journey to ease some of the problems they had back on Vulcan, and they thanked me for it, as did the Vulcans remaining onboard. They didn't really need the proof that I really did want the best for them, not after what I did to modify their small ship to make it more formidable.
However, I did promise that if they sent a different Vulcan ship to meet up with us later, I would modify that one in a similar way as well. Soval looked pleased to hear that and promised right back that he would spread that word discreetly and I wouldn't be flooded by a dozen ships wanting the upgrades.
It made me laugh and I nodded, because too many more powerful ships appearing so quickly would be easily discovered. We agreed one a month, depending on their movements, and we would exchange encoded communications to work out where to meet when it was time.
A round of goodbyes later, the Vulcans flew off in their small ship and the ones remaining on my ship looked dejected. I figured now was the best time to introduce them to the holodeck and I had the perfect program for it. It didn't take much to convince them to follow me back to the recreation deck and they shuffled into the large black room with yellow grids on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Almost all of the Vulcans seemed to relax at the perfectly symmetrical patterns as their minds were soothed by perceiving such orderliness. It was apparently a rare thing for them to see so much of it in such a small space and they usually had to return to Vulcan to admire their people's architecture to get the same reaction.
“Thank you all for accompanying me here for this technology briefing.” I said.
All of the Vulcans perked up slightly and gave me their full attention, especially T'Pol. She was distressed that her mentor had to leave to put our plans into action, since messages alone could not convey the weight of what we were doing. She was too composed to admit anything out loud, though.
“As you all know, this is what we call a holodeck. A few of you have already been in here and I know you felt a little frustrated at not figuring out what it does.” I said and three of them nodded, as did T'Pol. “It's of average size and can be both larger and smaller, depending on the room you have on a ship. Some larger ships can have multiples of them and they are a bit of an energy hog.”
“Why is that?” One of the men that nodded asked. “There is nothing in here but the pleasant pattern.”
“The pattern is specifically designed to achieve what the room actually does.” I said and that really got their attention. “Allow me to show you something simple.” I took several steps back and smiled. “Computer, load program Vulcan Pilgrimage, version 3.”
The Vulcans gasped as the soothing black walls disappeared and a bright sun lit up the legendary Fire Plains we now stood in. The planet Vulcan had three suns, a k-type dwarf as a primary sun, which was orange, and a pair of stars that orbited each other, a white dwarf and a red dwarf. It was excessively hot on the surface of the planet and their vegetation was primarily red and adapted to both the heat and sparse viable soil.
We stood in a clearing near a row of gigantic stone statues set in two rows, there were lava pools in several spots nearby, and a winding path between the statues was under the permanent gaze of the monk-like statues, as if judging the people passing by underneath them.
“You really have been to our planet.” T'Pol whispered, unable to contain her awe.
I nodded and handed out proper pilgrimage robes to them and they all donned them, as if performing a ritual, and T'Pol gave me a longing look as I put one on as well. I didn't say anything and motioned towards the path and then I pulled up my hood and clasped my hands together to let the robes cover them.
T'Pol nodded solemnly and led our procession along the winding path and she stopped in front of each statue of a Vulcan Master to both examine it and also offered a whispered prayer and the lessons they taught to her people. The others did as well and seemed surprised that I did, too.
They also knew I wasn't just giving lip service, either. I said them the right way and also in their native tongue, so they weren't insulted or thought I was making fun of them or their religion. The procession was going to take a while, since the T'Kurat Highlands were where they ended, and none of them complained about the journey ahead of them.
By the time we all reached the end, to the final statue of Surak, the father and founder of modern Vulcan society and the first to teach the value of logic to their way of life, all of the Vulcans were fully at peace.
T'Pol stopped at the steps up to the temple and turned to face her fellow Vulcans. “We will stop here and will resume our pilgrimage after we gather an appropriate tribute.”
All of the Vulcans nodded and smiled at her. She smiled back and looked at me.
“Computer, pause program. Save under T'Pol One. Command authority granted.” I said and the computer beeped at me. “You can resume it at this point, edit it if you noticed anything inaccurate, ask for things to be created to bring to the temple at the top, or you can bring actual things inside. I'll also make sure they are delivered to the real temple on Vulcan if you do.”
All of the smiles were turned to me and they all nodded.
“Thank you, Tom.” T'Pol said. “Computer, end program.”
The scene around us faded away and returned us to the black room of yellow grid squares. The Vulcans looked surprised that the robes hadn't faded away as well.
“They're real robes from Vulcan I've had for a while. I won't insult you by giving you fakes.” I said and T'Pol looked like she was going to tackle me and was barely restraining herself. “You can keep them and take them to your quarters.”
They all nodded and I walked over to the door. The large double hatch split and opened and I stood by it and bowed and waved everyone else through. Each nodded again as they passed me and they all looked happy. T'Pol had composed herself and gave me a similar nod, paused to take my hand to look in my eyes, and then let my hand go and left with the others.
I had a feeling she might want to have another private discussion later about how I know so much about Vulcan, which I would sidetrack by giving her what she really wanted. It was still odd that she kept her long blonde hair, even though none of us would hold it against her if she wanted to cut it off to reveal her distinctive ears.
Then again, she had always had long hair to hide them and changing that after only a few days of freedom, might be a bit too much to ask her to do. She was making great progress despite how she grew up and the other Vulcans were also coming along well with the changes in their lives.
It was going to take some studying for a few of them to resume their fields of study and none of them felt it would be a waste of time. They liked that I wasn't trying to put them back into their assigned roles they had under the Terran Empire, except for the cook. She really did only want to make food and to take orders.
I didn't mind filling that role for her, especially since she also asked me to be ready for her in three years when it was time for her Pon Farr. She had asked T'Pol about spending time with me and learned some of what her did. It wasn't done like sharing gossip, either. They discussed it like others would discuss the weather and T'Pol also cautioned her to guard her mind when it happened, since the intensity might be too much for her to handle.
That only encouraged the cook and she told T'Pol she would let me do whatever I wanted to her when it was time. I was helping her immensely by not forcing her to mate with another Vulcan not of her choice, and that was more freeing to her than being free was, mostly because she didn't want to be free.
The other Vulcan that didn't want to be free as well and wanted to follow orders, I made a security officer and gave him a long list of orders to follow to keep the peace on the ship. The man shivered slightly at the list and had given me a firm nod for understanding his need for them. Of course, being armed and wearing a uniform like mine had given him a lot of confidence, too.
Of course, now that we were no longer stuck staying there near Tholian space, we jumped to warp and flew to the Aenar's homeworld to take care of their problems and save their sub-species from extinction. Jhemal and Lissan stepped onto the bridge before I could call and invite them, which they knew, and the comm system beeped at the incoming call.
“So, you only enticed and didn't bed him? Why?” The white haired woman on the screen asked.
“He's not ready for our kind of commitment.” Jhemal said and gave me a sad smile.
Honestly, I hadn't thought about her or her people while I was dealing with the Vulcans. Whatever she thought was an enticement for me wasn't something I considered at all.
The woman on the screen sighed. “You could have tried to change the circumstances.”
“He mentioned that as well when he banished Garadir home.” Lissan said.
I finally knew the third woman's name and had to agree. Her name didn't really matter, did it?
“He will bring us to you and change our home to fit our needs. We will no longer suffer any indignity or persecution from our cousins.” Jhemal said. “Expect us momentarily.”
The woman on the screen nodded and ended the call. The two Aenar approached me and each took one of my hands.
“I really do regret we cannot stay onboard for your adventures.” Jhemal said, sadly.
“We don't want to witness it personally.” Lissan added. “We have seen enough already.”
I nodded and stepped us to the main chamber where a large group of Aenar were, both male and female. None of them spoke and just pointed and directed me where to go to start repeating what I had done to their quarters back on the ship.
“It's nice of you to keep it that way to remember us.” Jhemal said.
I nodded and kept working. I installed several pieces of technology that they knew I had, like protective shielding, food replicators, and a computer and reactor core for them to never need any outside resources ever again. I knew they would no longer need to ever leave and their people would thrive under the new stable conditions, as well as never needing to forage for food anymore.
“None will know.” Lissan said when I was finally done.
“I know.” I said and shook her hand and then gave Jhemal a hug. “Good luck.”
“To you as well.” Jhemal said. “Try to not overreact when your new friends won't take a vacation.”
“I won't.” I said, knowing the Vulcans were not really ones for taking time off for anything, let alone vacations. I stepped back to the ship and went about my day as if I hadn't just ensured the lives of thousands of aliens wouldn't be lost from either natural deaths or a massacre.
Still, their words gave me the thought of where to go. The only place I knew of in the area, that I hoped also existed in this universe, was the resort planet Risa. The Vulcans worked on learning what they could to catch up to ship's standard and refused to entertain the idea of taking time off. Even T'Pol stated she could not take time away from learning about her new duties as first officer.
I promoted Chappel to be the captain as well, since I was going to be too busy making plans and coordinating with the Vulcans as we met up with them and I fixed their ships and anything else I could help them with. We were in this for the long haul and we all looked forward to making the Terran Empire crumble down from the inside and the day that all races were free from oppression.
When we arrived in orbit of Risa, we were fired upon by a Terran Empire ship for showing up uninvited. Several Orion pirate vessels joined in, since they thought we were easy pickings. T'Pol was at the tactical station and enjoyed showing them how wrong they were as she disabled all of their ships easily. She took out their weapons and their engines, so none of them could escape.
Chappel ensured they couldn't send out any communications as well. It wouldn't do to have anyone else know what happened here, not if this was going to end up how I thought it was going to. It didn't take long for Chappel to hack into the enemy ship's computers and used the same deciphering codes she gained from the rebel ships we saved.
I held in my sigh at how the Terran Empire had twisted the native people from the planet Risa into brothel slaves and bred them for both beauty and passivity. It was... it was really sad, actually. Their people had been so nice and carefree, sharing their love and their religion with anyone that visited, and they never judged anyone or turned anyone away. Now they were even less than slaves. They were commodities.
“Can I blow them up now? I want to blow them up.” Chappel said, her voice low.
“Just a second.” I said and used my clairvoyance power to find all the Vulcans and Risans on the ships in orbit. I stepped to each one and brought them back to my ship and put them in sickbay, ignoring the protests of the men and women that had been currently using them. I activated the EMH and stepped back to the bridge. “Go ahead and remove the filth.”
“Thank you.” Chappel growled and nodded at T'Pol, whom fired two torpedoes at each ship. They were dust a moment later. “The facilities on the planet are going to be a lot harder to handle safely.”
“Fuck safely.” I said and both she and T'Pol turned to stare at me with wide eyes. “I want a full orbital bombardment of the main breeding facility.” I reached up and tapped my temple and gave them the coordinates. “None of the men and women there have any minds anymore and the people in charge no longer have the right to exist after what they did to these peaceful people.”
“Y-yes, sir. Right away.” Chappel said and nodded at T'Pol again. “You heard the admiral. Fire when ready.”
T'Pol gave me a very pointed look before she entered the information into the tactical console and fired. Ten photon torpedoes flew down through the atmosphere and wiped the entire breeding compound off of the face of the planet.
I debated if I wanted to save the records as proof, then chose to not sully my mind anymore with it. I had all the proof I needed to exterminate every Orion and human on the planet. “Bring us down into the atmosphere and charge all phaser banks.” I said and stood there to stare at the viewscreen. “We have some hunting to do and then a race of green skinned people to eliminate.”
“T-Tom, I... I'm not sure you should condemn an entire race for the actions of a few of them.” Chappel said, her voice almost pleading.
I took a deep breath and let it out to spend a moment to gather my thoughts. “I won't just arbitrarily kill them all, Christine. I'll check each and every one of them for the crimes they committed, then I'll kill them. It's the fairest way, isn't it?”
Chappel opened her mouth to comment, then sighed and nodded. She did what she could to stem the bloody consequences of finding what we did on what was supposed to be a vacation planet for the galaxy.
“There won't be many people left if you do that.” T'Pol said. She didn't sound like she was protesting my actions, though. In fact, she looked like she wanted me to do more than only go after the Orion pirates after cleaning up Risa.
I gave her a small smile and a nod, letting her know I agreed, which made her smile at me in return.
“Weapons ready.” T'Pol said.
“Chappel, take us in.” I said and the ship descended into the atmosphere. Working in the background could wait until after we dealt with the worst scum in the galaxy.
*
Word about the changes to come seemed to quickly spread to every Vulcan in the Terran Empire. As a race based on logic and meditation, the thought that they could just keep living longer than their captors had never occurred to them. Doing little things to undermine authority, a bit of mostly harmless sabotage, slight delays in deliveries of supplies, and many other things were done secretly and effectively.
It was a long term plan that the Vulcans were more than happy to execute, since it didn't draw attention to them and their efforts to free themselves from oppression. All the little things added up and that was what would eventually cause a cascading failure of the Terran Empire's command structure.
Unfortunately, the plan worked a little too well and only one person noticed when the world greyed out.