December/Holidays 2009
Elves and Fairies
by Rob Versteegt
Elves exist!
It was a hot and sunny day on the planet Vulcan. A sandstorm was raging on the plains of El Ves. These plains, these wide open areas of sand and rock, were off limits to anyone. For underneath this hot and dusty realm lay a secret so deep, so menacing, so threatening, that it would undermine the very foundations of Vulcan society itself!
This is the story of how a genetic flaw became the driving force behind one of Earth's most joyous festivities: Christmas.
*****
Vulcan, Plains of El Ves
4th Century, Earth's calendar: the Time of Awakening
"Hurry! You must go, *now*!"
As explosions went off behind her, T'Leyys pondered to herself why she was risking life and limb to help these... misfits. It was clear that the war between the followers of Surak, and those who marched beneath the Raptor's wings, would reach its conclusion in a few years, at maximum. However, by then these people would have paid the price. T'Leyys couldn't say that she was a big supporter of these people, but nobody deserved to be a casualty of somebody else's war... not if she could help it.
These were peculiar people. Where Surak's followers felt that mastering emotions -or controlling them, there was some debate about that- was the key to survival, and where the Raptor's forces were fighting for a more violent control of the planet, these people, who were slim in numbers anyway, were very, very different. They were small, but like all Vulcans, had pointed ears. They were also always in a jolly mood, and always wanted to share everything they had with others. All days, every day.
Another explosion went off, as T'Leyys finally entered the cavern, which would only provide them safety for a little while. She walked past the misfits easily, as her legs were at least three times as large as those of the small Vulcans that she was guarding. As she walked further into the cave, she noticed that even under these terrible circumstances, these misfits were smiling, laughing, and doing whatever they could do to make something to give away.
"You need to be concentrating on getting out of here." T'Leyys informed one of them. "Not in making presents. It's not safe for you anymore."
"We don't understand all this fighting." The misfit responded, his smile only fading for just a little bit. "We just like to make presents, and make others happy. Why can't that become the new Vulcan philosophy? The philosophy of the El Ves plains of Vulcan!"
T'Leyys shook her head. "Somehow," she said with irony that surprised even herself, "I doubt anyone would listen."
*****
Vulcan, city of Shi'Kaar
2395.12.24
"Curious."
Commander Tuvok raised an eyebrow as he read through the pages of this long forgotten book. He had seen this book in his childhood, but had put it away with the rest of the 'illogical' childhood stories. The only reason why he had come to look it up again, was because of Admiral Janeway. She had felt it necessary to tell Tuvok the 'tale of Christmas'. Apparently, on her home planet, it was tradition that a fat man in a red suit sat on a sleigh and brought presents across the world.
"Illogical." Tuvok had told the Admiral. "A children's fairytale, nothing else."
"Now now Tuvok, we've encountered some mighty odd things in our travels." Janeway had protested. "We've had to open up our minds for things we didn't think were real. And there was always some logical, scientific explanation." She then smiled. "Now, I'm not saying that Santa Claus and his Elves are real, but at least open up your mind to the possibilities."
At that point, Tuvok, knowing that he could either continue this debate for hours without the Admiral giving up, simply raised his eyebrow. "As you wish, Admiral."
Janeway had laughed at this remark. "Don't think you'll get rid of me that easily. I have scientific proof!" And with a big smile, she brought out a present from underneath her chair. "Happy Christmas, Tuvok."
The present turned out to be an old book, with text in ancient Vulcan, as well as pictures of creatures which looked, according to the Admiral, surprisingly like the 'elves'. "It would seem that Vulcan children were taught about elves as well." She had said with a sneer. "You might want to look into it."
Now, of course this had been a joke, and Tuvok had known this. But he had found it odd that a Vulcan children's book would have similar fantasy creatures as told in this old Earth story of Santa Claus. So, since he had some leave coming, he had decided to go back to Vulcan and look up some information.
"Curious." He said once more, as he closed the history book that he was looking in. "It would seem I need to go to the plains of El Ves."
*****
Vulcan, plains of El Ves
4th Century, Time of Awakening
Even more explosions echoed through the cave. It was clear to T'Leyys that they couldn't stay here for much longer. The battle between Surak's forces and the Raptor's was reaching its climax, and it was happening right here, right now! These Vulcans from the El Ves plains couldn't stay here. They would be slaughtered by the those who marched under the Raptor's wings, or exiled to a place where they would surely die, by Surak's men.
Luckily, she had a plan. "I can take you off of the planet." She said to the leader of the El Ves Vulcans. "I have a ship waiting." It was an experimental ship: one of Vulcan's first spaceships. And that in a time of war... T'Leyys had worked months on this craft in secret, in case the war had gotten so bad that they had to leave the planet. She had planned to use it for herself, but these El Ves Vulcans could make better use of it.
"You're giving your ship to us?" one of the small Vulcans said in surprise. "T'Leyys, you're giving a gift! You're truly part of us El Ves Vulcans!"
Slightly annoyed, T'Leyys answered. "Yes, be that as it may, we still have a few problems. First of all, we need to get to my ship, as it's several kilometres away. Second, there's bombs going off all around us. And third..." She paused. "I'm afraid not everyone can come. There's only room for just a few of you in the stasis pods."
The normally cheery Vulcans of the El Ves plains were silent now. Their small eyes blinked, their mouths, which usually showed a happy smile, now fell. "Who has to be left behind?" asked one of them. It was a question to which nobody had an answer. Until, suddenly, everyone started offering each other seats on the ship. "You can have my place!" one shouted to another. "No, you deserve to go most!"
T'Leyys shook her head. At this rate, she figured, none of this would matter: the bombs would have obliterated them all before they'd come to a decision. "We'll discuss that on the way to the space ship. Now, move!"
*****
Vulcan, near the planes of El Ves
2395.12.24
"And they say the El Ves Vulcans were a myth, but I know better!" With a grin on his face, the rather short looking Vulcan known as FaRy looked at Tuvok. "They were real, real I tell you! As real as you and me. Or perhaps just me. Definitely not you. You're too tall to be real. But they were real!"
Tuvok raised an eyebrow, as he had done a lot of times in the past few hours. Going through official channels had gotten him nowhere. The Vulcan government had claimed that going to the El Ves plains wasn't only foolish, it was also forbidden by Surak himself. Normally, that would be enough for Tuvok. However, after the discussion with the Vulcan Council, he was approached by one of the Councilmembers, who told him that he knew of a guide who could take him to the El Ves plains. Tuvok had asked why the councilmember took this chance, but instead of a reasonable answer, all he got was 'it's my gift to you'.
And now, Tuvok found himself with a talkative, seemingly insane Vulcan, who definitely had height-issues. When he had first met FaRy a few hours ago, Tuvok had believed he was a child. But he was a genuine adult Vulcan, who was just as tall as an eight-year old. Which in itself was peculiar, since Tuvok had never seen any adult Vulcans with similar problems... Nor a Vulcan who talked as much, or laughed as much as FaRy. Except in a mental ward, of course.
"The Elves are real, I tell you. Real!" FaRy went along.
"I thought you meant the El Ves Vulcans?" Tuvok responded. "There is no such thing as Elves."
Shocked, FaRy stopped. "There is! Elves are as real as Fairies!"
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "There is no such thing as Fairies."
Now FaRy's eyes opened wide. "Do you know that every time you say that, a fairy somewhere dies?"
Tuvok tilted his head to the side. "There is no such thing as fairies."
At that exact moment, FaRy took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and fell to the ground. He was dead.
"Curious." Tuvok said after he checked the small Vulcan's lifesigns. It was apparent that FaRy had died, but the cause eluded Tuvok. Yet, he had other things to worry about. Not only was FaRy dead, but he was in the middle of inhospitable territory, of which he did not know the way out. Clearly, he was lost. He began to regret his decision of leaving his commbadge behind, when all of a sudden he heard a loud horn in the distance.
Tuvok stood up, trying to see where this sound came from. He didn't see much, just the usual sandstorms. But wait, there was something moving there... coming closer. Whatever it was, it was too small to be humanoid. But there were a lot of them. And before Tuvok realised what was happening, he found himself surrounded by many small Vulcans. "Bring him!" they shouted with anger. "Bring the one who killed the Fairy!"
*****
Vulcan, plains of El Ves
4th Century, Time of Awakening
They were coming closer and closer to the place where T'Leyys had hidden the spaceship. For the first time since she had started this endeavour, T'Leyys felt optimistic about their chances of success. She might actually be able to bring these Vulcans of El Ves to the spaceship. Not all of them would fit in the spaceship that she had created, but most of them would, thanks to their small size. She herself would remain behind though: she belonged here, not at drift out there, frozen in stasis.
"Just one more hill to go." She said to the Vulcans of El Ves, who apparently weren't nearly as tired as she was. For people with short legs, they had wonderful stamina. She had often wondered how this genetic mutation from a normal, adult sized Vulcan to the size of a child had processed. It had to serve *some* evolutionary benefit, she figured. Perhaps being the size of a child meant that they could hide in smaller caves where adult sized Vulcans couldn't go. That might be the reason why, up until now, this people of El Ves had been undiscovered.
T'Leyys was so lost in thought, that she didn't think about checking whether or not the next corner was safe. She passed it... and stood eye to eye with what history would later consider to be the greatest philosopher of Vulcan: Surak.
She stopped immediately, hoping to let the people of the plains of El Ves know that it wasn't safe to progress. But alas, various of these small Vulcans ran around the corner, enthusiastic as they were, and now faced Surak's army too.
"Who are you, woman, travelling with... children?" Surak asked, coming closer to T'Leyys.
T'Leyys swallowed, and bowed with respect. "I am T'Leyys, and these are..." She wanted to say that these were her children, but a closer look would show that these El Ves Vulcans were all adults. Plus, she couldn't lie. "These are not my children."
Surak raised an eyebrow, and looked at the small Vulcans that had accompanied T'Leyys. "They look like adults, were it not for their height." He paused. "I have never seen such genetic flaws before in my life. Where did they come from?"
"Watch who you're calling a genetic flaw!" One of the El Ves Vulcans yelled. "We come from the plains of El Ves, which you are destroying with your war. We are trying to get to a safe place. T'Leyys is kind enough to give us her space ship... if you will let us pass."
One of Surak's men stepped closer. "A spaceship, Surak... think of the possibilities. We could bombard our enemy from high orbit. There would be no more casualties on our side." He paused for a moment. "It would be logical to use this to our advantage."
Surak didn't answer immediately, which gave T'Leyys the chance to interrupt. "If you do that, you will be depriving the El Ves Vulcans of their last chance to live. You know what those who march under the Raptor's wings would do to them: they would believe they're an abomination, that needs to be wiped out. And you..." she paused, pointing at Surak and his men. "You would think these people are curiosities worth of further studies. They will never see the light of day again!" She shook her head. "They need to get off this planet, before either side gets their hands on them. They need to start over new."
"Sir, don't listen to her." The general of Surak's army pushed on. "It would be *logical* to use their spaceship for high altitude bombardments to keep the enemy at bay. That way we will have the upper hand, and we might force them to agree to a peace treaty. And as for those El Ves Vulcans..." He looked at them. "Logically, we recruit them in our forces. They would be valuable as spies, as they can go where we cannot."
Surak was silent for a long moment. "It is logical, general." He said finally, with a nod. "The need of the many outweighs the need of the few." He turned to T'Leyys. "However... logic is not everything. We would be robbing these people of a second chance. And that is what we all want for this world, is it not?"
"But Surak!" the general said, his voice loud. "Is that logical?"
"No." Surak said with a hint of a smile. "It is not logical. But it is the best cause of action." He smiled fully at T'Leyys now. "Go. Bring the El Ves to your spaceship, and see to it that they're launched. I will do what I can to protect them, and what used to be their home. Hopefully this war will be over soon, so that once the El Ves can return to a better world."
T'Leyys bowed politely. "Thank you Surak. We will not forget this." And with that, she and the El Ves Vulcans moved past Surak's forces, towards the spaceship.
*****
Vulcan, Plains of El Ves
2395.12.24
Tuvok found himself escorted by people half his height, with the same pointy ears as normal Vulcans have. They lead him to a cavern, deep under the grounds of the plains of El Ves. It was cooler here, and the sandstorms couldn't reach this deep. When they had arrived, the leader of the group turned to face Tuvok, and spoke:
"You have killed a fairy. Only you can bring him back again. Say you believe in fairies!"
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "But I do not believe in..."
Quickly, he was cut off. "How can you not believe, when there is proof all around you?" The leader of the group gestured around. "We are fairies, my dear Vulcan. Genetic offshoot of the very race you are a member of. We evolved from the first Elves, who in turn evolved from the very first Vulcans."
"That," Tuvok pointed out matter-of-factly, "Is a children's story."
The leader of the group threw his short arms in the air. "Fine! He wants more proof! Would contact with actual Elves help you convince that Elves are real? And would that, in turn, make you believe in fairies?"
Tuvok shook his head. "I do not see how you will get in contact with Elves, since they too are just a myth."
With some grumbling, the leader of the group moved towards a big rock. After pushing a few small buttons on the edge of the rock, it turned around, showing a state-of-the-art viewscreen. "Watch, Mister Vulcan!" the leader shouted, and then started his call. "This is Fairy Leader calling Santa Claus HQ. Come in Pixie, are you there?"
For a few seconds, there was no response, but when those seconds had passed, the viewscreen came to live. =/\=This is Santa Claus HQ, Pixie speaking.=/\= On the viewscreen, Tuvok saw what seemed like a cheerful miniature Vulcan wearing some sort of green costume. =/\=You're calling at a rather busy time. What is it, Fairy Leader?=/\=
The 'fairy leader' was quick to answer. "We have a non-believer in our midst. Can you see if you can convince him? He said he didn't believe in fairies!"
=/\=Goodness, how dare you, dear fellow!=/\= 'Pixie' responded, as Tuvok was brought forward to face this small looking Vulcan-oid on the viewscreen. =/\=You should be very ashamed of yourself! I will talk to Santa, and let him put you on the naughty boys list.=/\=
"You are an Elf?" Tuvok said, still not believing any of this.
=/\=I am!=/\= Pixie answered. =/\=I'm a great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandson -give or take a few generations- of the original El Ves Vulcans that left your planet 2000 years ago.=/\= He paused. =/\=And the Fairies over there are the descendants of those Elves who were left behind.=/\=
Tuvok raised his eyebrow again. "I am sorry, but I am having trouble believing what you say is true."
The Elf shrugged. =/\=Tell me about it. When my parents told me that my species originated on Vulcan instead of Earth, I thought I was going crazy! You Vulcans are so dull, and we're so very cheerful.=/\= He grinned. =/\=Yet, it's the truth. When my ancestors boarded the spaceship, and were put in stasis, Surak's forces protected them long enough for them to launch. It took my ancestors centuries, but finally they crash-landed on Earth, in the North Pole, where they encountered Santa Claus. He loved the present-giving ideology that my ancestors were so fond of, and decided to bring that to all the children of Earth! And so, a few centuries later, Santa Claus went into operation.=/\= He paused. =/\=You know, come to think of it, all that time frozen up in stasis must be why my ancestors liked it here so much!=/\=
"And if you still do not believe us," the fairy leader said, waving a small tricorder-like device in front of Tuvok, "Here's a DNA scan. As you can see, there are some differences, but Vulcans, Elves and Fairies are *definitely* related."
"Curious." Tuvok said with a frown. If this was a story, the DNA scan would be a handy plot device, he figured. "I believe I do believe in fairies now..."
And with that, the body of FaRy jerked, and suddenly stood up. "Whoa, that was quite a ride." He said, smiling. He then looked at Tuvok. "I told you there were elves and fairies, but you didn't listen!"
Tuvok frowned. "But... why stay hidden? You can announce to the Vulcan council that there *are* fairies and Elves. They will help you integrate in society."
The fairy leader shook his head. "No." He said simply. "You Vulcans feel very strongly about Surak: that he was the one who brought you control over emotion, logic... if what really happened were to become public, people would lose faith in your ways." He paused. "Besides, we want to continue simply doing what we do... and if word of our existence got out, then the Elves at the North Pole on Earth would be revealed too!"
=/\=Think of all the millions of children who wouldn't get presents at Christmas, if that happens!=/\= Pixie said, moving closer to the viewscreen. =/\=Please Tuvok, you cannot say a word!=/\=
"He won't." the fairy leader said with a smile, as he opened a small bag which contained some sort of golden powder. He took a deep breath, and blew it all into Tuvok's eyes. The Vulcan blinked, blinked again, and then fell to the ground... fast asleep.
"Fairy Dust." The fairy leader said with a grin on his face. "Works every time..."
*****
Earth, Admiral Janeway's home
2395.12.25
Tuvok sat down on the couch that Admiral Janeway had indicated. "Relax, Tuvok, and have something to eat." There was a Christmas tree in the house, and all kinds of candy lay everywhere. Rather unhealthy, Tuvok figured, but it was part of Earth's tradition.
"Thank you for coming to see me on Christmas Day, Tuvok." The elderly Admiral said as she sat down next to the Vulcan. "Last time we met, you said you would do some research on Vulcan. Have you succeeded?"
Tuvok gave the Admiral a frown. "I... do not believe so." He answered. "I have had a disturbing dream regarding that research, and decided to stop the investigation." He decided not to share his dream about Elves and Fairies with the Admiral: she might laugh at him, or worse, think he was crazy. Truth be told, Tuvok himself was wondering that very same thing.
"Why Tuvok." Janeway said in mock surprise. "That doesn't sound very logical, now does it?"
Tuvok nodded uncomfortably. "No." He agreed. "It does not."
Janeway smiled, and grabbed a package from the chair next to her. "I forgot to mention, someone delivered a package for you. I have no idea how they knew you'd be here, but whoever it was, they went through quite some trouble getting you a Christmas present." She smiled, and handed him the package. "Well, come on, open it!"
Tuvok raised an eyebrow, and indeed did as the Admiral suggested. What he found inside was the book that he had been researching... or had dreamt about? Along with that book came a small not:
"Elves and Fairies do exist! You think you're surprised now? Wait until we tell you the story about the Smurfs..."
Merry Christmas all!
Written by Rob Versteegt
