252The Personal Logs of Lieutenant Tuvix (an AU sequel to "His Fathers' Son")
by jamelia
Stardate 49661.2
This is my first official personal log entry as Lieutenant (junior grade) Tuvix. Captain Janeway has added my name to the crew roster of the USS Voyager. Like Lieutenant Paris, and all of Voyager's Maquis personnel, my rank is provisional, as it was when I first arrived on this vessel. Captain Janeway will not confirm any rank she has bestowed until we make contact with her superiors at Starfleet Command in some way. Although I may possess Father Tuvok's memories and knowledge, I am not personally qualified for any official rank. When the captain discussed my status with me, she used Commander Chakotay's situation as an example. Although he had previously met all requirements for his current level, he'd resigned his Starfleet commission when he entered the Maquis. As a result, she could only offer a provisional rank to him when the crew of the Val Jean came on board Voyager. This was also true of Lieutenant Ayala.
Captain Janeway thinks I may eventually be accepted into Starfleet as a commissioned officer even though my persona of Tuvix never attended Starfleet Academy. Citing the precedent of Lieutenant W. Thomas Riker, the officer whose accidental duplication showed my crewmates a way to save my life, she believes Starfleet Command may evaluate my competence to serve in the position. If deficits in certain areas are found, I would need to take specific courses before my commission was confirmed. I find this to be a logical way of dealing with my unusual situation. It was reassuring to hear that although Lieutenant Riker had been out of touch for eight years on Nervala IV, he was deemed competent to serve without the need of remedial instruction. He moved to another ship in his then-current rank of lieutenant shortly after his existence was discovered.
Father Tuvok currently holds the rank of full lieutenant. The captain did not feel comfortable giving me the same rank based on my own two weeks of service as Tuvix. I accepted this, of course. She would be justified in giving me the rank of ensign, if she wished. After my meeting with the captain, I discussed her decision with Father. He agrees with the captain's reasoning. I must prove myself capable of functioning at the level of a junior grade lieutenant for an extended period before any consideration is given to raising my rank to a full lieutenancy. He also noted that the only promotion given since Voyager came to the Delta Quadrant was to Lieutenant Rollins, but that his was a "special case." Rollins was an ensign at the time the ship was lost, but the captain had received confirmation he was due to be promoted to be given the rank of lieutenant, junior grade, as soon as Voyager finished its current mission. The captain decided that since Voyager "caught" the Val Jean Maquis, that mission was "finished," allowing her to grant him his new rank immediately.
While I may have Father's memories, it is also true I have just undergone a major ordeal and must adjust to my current circumstances. I remember all the meditation techniques Father has mastered over many years of practicing the discipline, but considering my unacceptable behavior on the bridge on the day the captain told me she'd decided I must be separated back into Lieutenant Tuvok and Neelix, I have not yet learned to apply them. I must integrate the Talaxian emotionalism I "inherited" from Father Neelix into my Vulcan heritage. Until that has been accomplished, I will be under a great deal of stress. Holding the higher rank, with its concomitant greater degree of responsibility, could complicate this process.
I discussed this with both my fathers, of course. Dad expressed his own concerns about my capacity to accommodate all the aspects of my personality into one person, since Talaxians and Vulcans are so different. He pointed out, for instance, that although my behavior on the bridge was embarrassing in the extreme, and it would have been unthinkable for a Vulcan such as Father to exhibit his emotions this way, a Talaxian would say that display of emotion was the only reason I'm still alive today. When I begged for mercy, and even accused the captain of trying to murder me, she was upset; but she decreed a one-day stay of execution to "say good-bye" to my friends on Voyager. That reprieve gave me the opportunity to request assistance from Lieutenant Paris, Lieutenant Torres, and Ensign Kim, who arrived at a plan which permitted a Tuvix to live on. I say "a Tuvix," because the twin they created of me had to sacrifice his life for our parents to come back to theirs. I will never forget my brother Neevok. I will honor him always for his sacrifice. We were together for just a few hours, but he is my brother forever.
I should note, in closing, that we have determined appropriate designations for me to utilize for my parents. To avoid confusion, "Father" is Tuvok. Neelix is "Dad."
Disclaimer: Paramount/CBS own Star Trek lock, stock, and photon torpedo barrel. This is an alternate universe story based on a character who never lived beyond one episode of Star Trek: Voyager. I liked Tuvix and was sorry no attempt was made to find a way to keep him on the ship. In "His Fathers' Son," Tuvix was deliberately duplicated in a similar way that Lieutenant Riker was separated into Will and Thomas Riker in TNG's "Second Chances." One of the twins would have to give up his life in order for Tuvok and Neelix to be returned to theirs as individuals. Neevok, Tuvix's twin, agreed to be the sacrifice. This log entry-style story illustrates how Tuvix's life might have been lived as Voyager traveled through the Delta Quadrant, but in an unorthodox family, as a fully-grown adult hybrid, and with his two fathers now living on the ship along with him.-jamelia