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“Koss,” T’Pol said, glancing up from her meal as she and Trip shared lunch on the final day of the conference. “Good day.”
“Good day, T’Pol. Commander Tucker. Please forgive the interruption,” Koss said, his hands clasped behind his back. “I hoped for a moment of your time.”
Sharing a glance with Trip, T’Pol waited for his nod and said, “you may join us, if you wish.”
Seeming slightly rattled, Koss said, “it is a private matter, though I assure you it will take only a moment.”
“Very well,” T’Pol said with a sigh, putting down her cutlery and giving Trip an apologetic look. “Please excuse us a moment, Commander.”
“Sure thing,” Trip said, then returned his attention to his meal, doing his best to hide his curiosity.
Rising from her seat and moving a short distance away, T’Pol asked, “what do you wish to discuss?”
Taking a breath to settle himself, Koss said, “I have discovered another lie perpetrated against our people by the High Command, which has yet to be corrected by the reformed government.”
“What lie is this?” T’Pol asked quietly, her attention thoroughly caught.
“Our physiology is not what limits the act of mating to pon farr,” Koss all but whispered.
Eyes widening in surprise, T’Pol asked, “what do you mean?”
With a slight shake of his head, Koss said, “it’s our emotional suppression which prevents us from attaining an aroused state, not a physical impediment inherent to our biology.”
“How have you learnt this?” T’Pol asked, a slight furrow forming between her brows.
“I…” Koss glanced around, ensuring no other Vulcan would hear. “I shared an experience which disabused me of the falsehood directly. No pollens or other intoxicants, simply the desire of a woman who did not shy away, and whose own physicality precluded the sustaining of injury when I allowed myself to feel the same for her.”
Stunned, it took T’Pol a long moment to respond, but eventually she said, “we are capable of physical expressions of desire outside pon farr? You’re certain of this?”
Nodding, Koss said, “entirely certain. I do not wish to pry into your personal life, but if there is someone with whom you share a bond of sufficient trust, and for whom you feel an attraction which you suppress, there is no reason you could not express that attraction physically, if you so choose.”
“Everything alright?” Trip asked when T’Pol rejoined him.
“Yes,” T’Pol said, obviously lost in thought as she resumed eating her meal. “All is well.”
Seeming sceptical, Trip said, “I hope Koss wasn’t making a nuisance of himself. You seem a little unsettled by whatever he said.”
With a slight nod, T’Pol said, “the information he imparted was unsettling, though not of his making. He simply informed me of another of the High Command’s falsehoods.”
“So I shouldn’t shoot the messenger? Not even with a phase pistol set to stun?” Trip asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“No,” T’Pol said softly. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”