The Neuropressure Chronicles

The Neuropressure Chronicles- Prologue

By Weeble aka Steelchaser

Rating: PG

Genre: Drama, TnT focused

Summary: There I was, innocently waiting for the steelhead to begin their spring swim when a vicious plot bunny attacked. While some other authors (God Bless you) may have penned on this subject previously, I do believe I am doing original work. Feel free to throw things if you don't like the story. The tale begins in canon in the episode "The Xindi".

A/N: Thanks to Distracted who is beta-ing this mess. I believe she will soon require therapy.

Clarification: This story is intended to explain T'Pol's and to a lesser extent Trip's numerous neuropressure sessions. So the first question is what is Vulcan Neuropressure (hereafter NP).

Vulcans are touch telepaths. That is canon. You can go to http://www.stogeek.com/wiki/Introduction_To_Vulcan_Physiology which is a site dedicated to rebuilding the lost Vulcan language and cultural archives. That established, there is not much true canon on NP excepting that it is a therapeutic technique and it is intimate. It also involves stimulating neural clusters. It is intended to heal body and mind. Note that canon also considers the Vulcan neck pinch to be one of the many techniques of NP. There is also canon that restricts NP to healing via a Vulcan healer and between Vulcan bondmates.

Hereafter if you wish my explanation to be considered AU, I can accept that, but I believe my extrapolation is logical. Obviously healers would receive far greater training than the general populace, if only to shield themselves from the intimacy.

But why is it intimate? Remember Vulcans are touch telepaths. During NP the bonded mates have an acute understanding of each other's emotional condition because of the touching. (Note: Vulcan mind melds via canon are an extremely advanced form of NP.) Given that Phlox, through his years in the IME, has knowledge of NP, he must have a basic understanding of its efficacy. NP heals body and mind. Phlox knows that beyond needing sleep, Trip has suffered an "intimate loss". My point is that in addition to NP's physical benefits, it allows the couple or the healer to assuage mental or emotional damage. Trip did not have mental damage, he had emotional damage. So T'Pol was assigned by Phlox to handle both the physical and emotional healing. She certainly understood his request, and was perhaps reluctant to assist such an emotional human. Yet the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. She understood Trip's importance to Enterprise.

Still with me? Then on with the show... eh... tale!

Disclaimer: Star Trek: Enterprise and its characters are copyright CBS/Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended by the author of this story, which is solely for the purpose of entertainment and is not for profit.

____________________________________________________________________________________

T'Pol immediately returned to her quarters, placed and lit her meditation candles, and soon gained her white space. How had she let Dr. Phlox convince her to perform neuropressure on Commander Tucker? As Vulcan training dictated, she began to examine the exchange she had had with the doctor in detail, and then stopped. She was T'Pol of Vulcan; it was dishonest for her to believe that she had been persuaded by his arguments.

Vulcan Neuropressure was known to few non-Vulcans. For the doctor to have gained that knowledge he must have experience beyond hers of its effectiveness. He had persuaded her that it would be effective.

No. She halted that line of thinking. What was the point? She had acquiesced; no, that was a denial as well. She had agreed. By that act she was in conflict with Vulcan tradition and social mores. She was an un-bonded female who had agreed to provide a therapy only permissible between bondmates. She would be a cause of scandal for her clan. She quickly suppressed that emotional reaction; it served no purpose.

She let her mind search deeper for the logic, and landed on the question of why. Why had she agreed? She concentrated on her breathing even more. Why was her breathing a concern? She was in her white space. She calmed herself further. She began to separate the strands of logic. Were the emotions radiating from the crew interfering with her control? She didn't think so. Was her difficulty in dealing with Captain Archer's increased irrationality the cause?  Perhaps. The captain's desperation to find the Xindi was clear, and she was certain Commander Tucker's emotional difficulties following the loss of his sister were interfering with his normal role of keeping the captain balanced.  She knew the commander was the captain's confidant. But that alone wasn't sufficient motivation for such a dramatic deviation from acceptable Vulcan behavior.

Perhaps it was a simple as recognizing that she could provide a service to Commander Tucker. It was logical. He was an important member of the crew, perhaps the most important. The mission would have a much greater chance of success if he were at peak efficiency. She discarded that theory as well, and refocused her thoughts on her own motivations.

She returned to the original question and began to think of it more simply. Why had she agreed to neuropressure with Commander Tucker?

The answer came to her quickly and most distressingly. Because she wanted to.

She stood and walked around the empty void, but sat back down as soon as she realized she was walking around. This was her place of peace. Why was her attempt to analyze the logic of her decision raising her emotional state?

She decided to cast out fear and look into her mind behind the door, his door, where she had carefully been placing suppressed emotions for years.