The People
T’Pol knelt before the fire, stirring the pot of boiling vegetables. It had been three days since she and Trip had been welcomed with open arms into the culture of this lovely Native American village. The inhabitants of this settlement referred to themselves as The People.
Trip entered the lodge they shared and took a seat beside her. He reached out to warm his hands. Trip was still getting used to only wearing the buckskin loin cloth and leggings. He sniffed at the wonderful aroma coming from their evening meal. “Eldest Mother says if we come to her lodge after supper she’ll give us the last of our history lesson.”
“I will miss the serenity of this place when we return to the ship.” T’Pol commented as she reached for a bowl and ladled a portion out of the pot.
Trip took the steaming bowl from her. “You know, I’ve had several revelations since we’ve been here. Number one, I had no idea what a good cook you are.”
He could tell she was pleased by the compliment, but all he received was a slightly raised eyebrow. “And what other revelations have surprised you?” T’Pol asked as she collected her own serving of their meal.
“…that you would look so beautiful with long hair, dressed in the clothes of The People.”
She paused, spoon halfway to her lips. T’Pol was taken aback by Trip’s words.
The texture of the material and the long fringe of the skirt and sleeves was indeed very agreeable. T’Pol had been intrigued by the look and feel of this garment. It was quite beautiful. She just had not realized that Trip appreciated it as well.
To cover her unease, T’Pol changed the subject. “We should hurry with our meal; we don’t want to keep Eldest Mother waiting.”
***
“We lived on the prairie. The People were in harmony with the land. The story has been passed down that on that day they came in great metal boats, striding through the village with guns that fired beams of light. The People fell to the ground in a deep sleep. When my ancestors awoke they were far from the home world, out among the stars.”
The woman speaking to Trip and T’Pol was indeed elderly but she was still lovely with her white hair in braids to her waist and a caramel colored buckskin dress decorated with intricate beadwork.
“When we reached this world, slavery did not sit well on the shoulders of the white men or my tribe. There was an uprising against the Skagarans and we fought side-by-side with Cooper Smith to win our freedom.”
The
Enterprise officers listen intently as the story unfolded.
“But after the battle was won, Cooper Smith and his followers began to slaughter the remaining Skagaran families. Our leaders realized that, as inevitably happened on our home world, they would soon turn on The People. Quickly, we gathered to leave. Several dozen white families, appalled by what they witnessed, journeyed with us.”
Trip asked, “How many of the original slaves were of The People?”
“We accounted for almost half of those taken captive from home world.”
“There are many Skagarans as well as white people in your community.” T’Pol was curious as to how that came to pass.
“At the time of the exodus, anyone that agreed to throw down their weapons and live in peace was allowed to join The People. We traveled for over a year until this place was decided upon as our new home. The game was plentiful, the soil rich, and it was very far from those that reveled in the bloodshed.”
“Have you had any contact with the settlers that stayed behind?” Trip was fairly sure he knew the answer to this.
Eldest Mother drank from her cup of water before answering Tucker’s question. “In all the years that the stories have been passed down to the keepers of our history, no mention has been made of seeing any of those left behind.” Eldest Mother smiled at Trip and T’Pol, “I confess to a certain curiosity. I wonder if they have flourished as we did, or if their savagery was their undoing.”
The old woman reached out her hand and touched Trip’s arm, “So, what can you tell me about home world, Tucker? I assume you have traveled here from…
Earth?”
Both sets of eyes staring at Eldest Mother widened. Trip stammered out, “How did you guess that?”
Chuckling, the old woman said, “I have watched you since you arrived from the northern villages, wishing to trade with us. The first time I saw you trying to build a fire, I knew you were not one of The People.”
Trip blushed, “Yeah, my campfire skills were a bit rusty.”
Picking up the conversation, T’Pol continued, “We are explorers, traveling in a large ship that comes from Earth. We were surprised at finding humans so far out in space. We first made contact with those that you left behind. They are indeed alive but they are still a violent community. An offhand remark made by their sheriff gave us reason to look much farther away from their town. That is when we located The People.”
***
In one of his talks with the captain, Sheriff MacCready mentioned casually to Captain Archer that there were a bunch of savages among the original slaves but after the revolt, the red devils were never seen again.
This prompted
Enterprise to widen her scans. About four thousand miles from North Star, they located a thriving group of settlements. Spread out over a large area, these villages each contained a mix of Native American, white and Skagaran interbred people. Mixed marriages apparently being very common, Trip and T’pol were sent in to establish contact.
***
“Our ship is not large enough to take The People back to Earth at this time. Home world has changed greatly in the last three hundred years,” Trip explained. “The different races live in harmony at last.”
Eldest Mother smiled at Trip and T’Pol, “That is good to hear, my new friends.” She rose to her feet and walked to the door of her lodge. “Do you see the children out there running and playing? Are they not well fed, well educated, and happy?”
Trip and T’Pol rose to stand beside her. T’Pol watched as they played, “They are all of those things, Eldest Mother. Your schools are superior to what we found back in the original town, and all children are treated equal here.”
“Of course they are, they are all of The People.” The old woman looked at T’Pol and then Trip, smiling warmly. “Now tell me, why would we ever want to leave this place?”