By Special Authorization -Part 2

By Special Authorization.

By: Ableone

Story Rating: NC-17
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters or Star Trek ™, they do. I am not making any cash, they are. I know who they are, you know who they are and they know who they are.
Genre: Romance, Action adventure
Summary: This is my look at how TnT developed after Enterprise fell back in time. Spoilers: E squared.

PART TWO

Day 131 0348 UTC

This was the first time he had spent the night with her. Though sex was not a new experience for the two of them, Trip had always left shortly afterward. He had done this both because of his desire to be discreet and because she had always seemed to grow distant after sex. He now knew this was because she was afraid of what she was feeling. Tonight she was content to remain close to him. They slept in each other’s arms.

Without warning, an explosion tore through the ship. The deck reverberated under their bed. The emergency lights came on, the claxon sounded, and Lt. Reed’s voice came over the ships’ address system at high volume, “General Quarters – General Quarters - Up and forward on your port side, down and aft on your starboard side, General Quarters - General Quarters- All hands! Man your battle stations!”

“Shit!” Trip was up in seconds. He jumped into his coveralls sans underwear and zipped up. T’Pol pulled the silk bottoms of her pajamas on, and they headed out the door of her quarters almost simultaneously. Here they separated. Trip’s battle station was engineering, T’Pol’s the bridge. Trip headed starboard to go down and aft and T’Pol ran to the port passageway.

Day 131 0351 UTC

“Report,” T’Pol said as she stepped onto the bridge. Lt. Reed rose from the center chair and moved toward tactical while he started speaking, “An unidentified ship approaching at high warp has opened fire at extreme range. The hull is polarized and 90% of the crew has reported battle ready.”

As she settled into the captain’s chair she turned to Reed and inquired, “Weapons status, Lieutenant?”

“Phase cannons are charged but we can’t lock weapons on target in this attitude,” Reed replied rapidly but calmly.

After scanning the ship’s numerous displays she swung her chair toward Reed and inquired, “Why has the computer not yet freed us from the Talylon Bay?”

Captain Archer woke up around 0300, and unable to fall back to sleep, decided to go to the gym on E deck to work off some nervous energy and to think about what Enterprise’s next move should be. He had just showered and was leaving when he encountered Major Hayes outside the gym. “Ah, Major, if you have a moment I wanted to talk to you about your security arrangements.”

“Yes, sir. Now is just fine, sir,” Hayes replied.

Archer smiled and had just opened his mouth to speak when the ship was rocked by an explosion. He had already started for the bridge when the GQ alarm began sounding. He braced himself for the change in air pressure that was certain to occur as Enterprise’s computers automatically separated the ship from her alien counterpart. When he felt no change in pressure, he turned and headed for the airlock. “You’re with me, Major,” he said as he changed direction suddenly.

“Yes, sir. Where are we going?” Hayes replied as he ran alongside the captain.

“Something is wrong. The second we went to general quarters the computer should have automatically separated us. We need to get to the airlock,” Archer replied as he ran.

Archer reached the airlock and activated the computer at the docking station. “Why haven’t we separated, Captain?” Hayes asked, sounding helpless.

“The ships have twisted and all of the bulkheads on E deck are jammed.” Archer glanced to his right and noticed that though the Talylon Bay’s hatches were also open, an inflatable bladder had deployed, sealing the interior of the alien ship. “Each latch is under seventy teradynes of load, well above design limits,” Archer said distractedly before continuing, “We’re going to have to manually open some the docking latches to relieve the pressure and get those bulkheads closed.”

The open bulkheads were now displayed as red on the bridge view screen. “Ensign, standby to yaw 120 degrees to port and translate Y minus 10,000 meters,” T’Pol said to Ensign Mayweather.

“Aye, sir,” he replied as he programmed the ship to execute the prescribed maneuver the moment she was free of her burden.

She again turned toward Reed and asked, “How long until the alien is within our range of fire?”

“Thirty nine seconds, sir,” he responded as another hit violently rocked the ship.

“Calculate a firing solution and prepare to lock and fire weapons,” T’Pol ordered as she stood and crossed the bridge to stand behind Malcolm. She reached in front of him and pulled up the docking override on his auxiliary console. “How much time will it require to execute the maneuver, Ensign?” she asked Travis Mayweather.

Travis checked his display before replying, “Seven seconds, sir.”

“All battle stations now fully manned, sir.” Reed interjected.

“Very well,” T’Pol replied absently, before she looked up at Ensign Sato’s station. “Where is the captain?”

“He is at the airlock, sir. He’s attempting to manually open the docking latches and release the bulkheads,” Hoshi responded evenly. T’Pol nodded at her and then shifted her vision to the main viewer.

T’Pol was now looking at the ship’s chronometer, her finger poised above the flashing button that would explosively blow Enterprise’s docking ring clear and vent E deck to vacuum. She had already decided to give the captain exactly 32 seconds before violently separating the ships, and in the process killing him, and everyone else who had the misfortune to be stationed on E deck. For the first time in months she was not distracted. Her mind was functioning logically and clearly.

Archer was working frantically now. He was very aware that there were twenty three members of his crew stationed on E deck during general quarters. Even more people may have been trapped there when the interdeck access hatches had sealed, but twenty three of them were duty bound to stay. They would have to remain at their stations to protect the ship. Archer had been half listening to the bridge circuit while he worked. He didn’t know exactly how little time he had left, but he did know that T’Pol would give him as much time as possible. He knew that there was no point in her warning him. He would know that his time had run out when he saw his ship moving away from him as he was violently propelled into open space.

Only two latches were free, and he figured he needed to open at least four to allow the ships to twist enough to relieve the torsional load.

Archer stopped suddenly and looked around, “Major, your phase pistol,” he said as he extended his hand out to Hayes.

“Sir?” Hayes replied as he unholstered his ever present weapon and handed it to the captain butt first.

Hayes’ eyes went wide as Archer moved the weapon’s selector to full power and took aim at one of the latches.

“CHIME”

All of the bulkhead indicators suddenly went green. The button under T’Pol’s finger disarmed, and Enterprise abruptly executed her pre programmed helm orders.

“We’re free!” Travis excitedly exclaimed.

“Obviously.” T’Pol replied with something close to amusement. She straightened up, withdrawing her hand from the override console, and moved back to the captain’s chair.

“Weapons lock confirmed,” a relieved Malcolm Reed said.

“Fire.” T’Pol said evenly.

Enterprise’s third cannon shot hit the alien ship’s warp core and it breached. There was very little wreckage left.

“Target destroyed, sir,” Reed reported.

“Start a full scan for other vessels, Lieutenant,” T’Pol ordered.

“Bridge to engineering, report,” she continued as Malcolm began his scan.

Trip’s voice, slightly distorted by the com system, came over the bridge speakers. “Warp drive is out. I think I can have the mains back online in about two hours. Before I start that I should tour the ship for damage to the Trellium coating. Are we in the clear?”

T’Pol looked over at Lt. Reed and he nodded in the affirmative.
At that moment the captain stepped onto the bridge. He had contacted Hoshi enroute and she had briefed him.

“We appear to be in the clear. Proceed with your damage control tour and report the results to the bridge,” T’Pol said.

“Very well, Tucker out.”

T’Pol started to rise but Archer waved her back down. He then turned to Malcolm, “Did the Ikaaran ship take any damage?”

“No sir. They were shielded by Enterprise.”

Archer nodded and turned to Mayweather, “Travis, move us back to the Talylon Bay.”

Travis swung around and said, “Aye, sir. Should I dock us?”

“No. Just bring us alongside and put us in station keeping mode. Let’s stay free to maneuver for the time being,” he said.

“Aye, sir,” said Travis as he turned back toward the helm and began to move the ship.

Archer then turned away, and half smiling said, “Trip is going to have to replace most of the capture latches on the docking ring before we can dock again anyway.”

He then snapped out of his reverie and turned to Ensign Sato, “Hoshi, download all of the sensor data on the attacking ship and take it to the ambassador. Find out everything the Ikaarans know about them.”

Hoshi nodded toward the chronometer and with a questioning expression said, “Sir, you want me to do that now? She’s probably still asleep at this hour.”

Archer reached out and touched Hoshi’s pajama-clad shoulder, “I think everyone who was asleep is awake now. Go talk to her.”

“Aye, sir,” she responded as she began downloading the logs.

Archer then looked at his left hand and for the first time noticed the burns, “All right then. I’m going to have Phlox look at this,” he said while gesturing at his hand. “T’Pol, why don’t you wrap things up here and get back to bed?”

“I am fine, Captain. I can remain on duty while Dr. Phlox examines you,” she said evenly, while looking directly at him.

Archer and Reed made eye contact and started to laugh simultaneously. They were two of the few on the bridge that morning who actually had on uniforms. Adrenaline levels were still high and minds still focused on the danger that had come and gone so quickly. Hoshi had a robe on but little else. Travis was missing a shirt, and T’Pol was wearing silk bottoms and a blue T shirt.

“Well, I don’t know everything about being a Vulcan, but I do know that you’ll freeze with just that on at Enterprise’s temperature,” he nodded toward her, “Phlox is probably going to sedate me after he treats this,” Archer lifted his hand toward her, “And if I know Trip, he’ll be on duty the next eighteen hours, until the ship is completely repaired. I would feel better if one of the three of us was awake tomorrow, so go to bed.”

“Very well, Captain,” she replied as she rose.

“Malcolm, you have the con. As soon as you can secure from general quarters, release everyone who was off duty and make sure they go back to their quarters,” Archer said.

Moments later, Archer and T’Pol were in the turbolift together.

After riding in silence for several minutes, the captain asked, “So, how close did I get to making an unscheduled and final spacewalk?”

She cocked her head to the side in a characteristic manner and replied, “Seven seconds remained before it would have been necessary to manually override the separation protocol.”

Archer smiled inwardly, She is a true master of understatement,he thought.

The lift stopped at the crewdeck and the doors opened. T’Pol turned to Archer and said, “Goodnight, Captain.”

“Goodnight, T’Pol” Archer responded.

As the door closed, Archer shook his head, laughed to himself and wondered whether or not T’Pol would ever appreciate the favor he had done her by getting her off of the bridge. He doubted anyone else had noticed the small block letters stenciled below the collar of her T shirt. “TUCKER”

Day 131 1430 UTC

Jonathan Archer’s dressed wound was itching like crazy. He entered sick bay and saw that Dr Phlox was already busy.

“That should do nicely, Commander. Just see me every day for the next three days so that I can irrigate the wound and change the dressing,” Phlox said, good-naturedly, as Trip rolled his sleeve down over his abraded arm.

“Ah, Captain. Why have you returned? Are you experiencing any pain?” Phlox said, as he shifted his attention to the next patient.

“It just itches, Doc. Is there anything you can do about that?” Archer said, while eying Trip.

“Certainly!” responded Phlox with a smile.

Trip was now standing, and seemed to be shifting uncomfortably back and forth. His uniform had been chafing him all day and sweat had accumulated in uncomfortable places. “I am glad you’re here, Cap’n. The trellium damage has been repaired and the warp drive is back online. I’ve got a crew working on fabricating new capture latches for the docking collar, but that’s going to take another day at least. With your permission I’m gonna take a team over in a pod and try and get the impulse drive up on the Talylon Bay. I really don’t want to spend any more time here.”

“Very well, inform the bridge and keep me posted on your progress,” Archer said as he watched Phlox remove his dressing.

Archer was now leaning against the bio bed while Phlox worked. Trip was almost out the sickbay doors when Archer called out, “Oh, and Trip.”

Trip stopped and turned back, “Cap’n?”

“Stop by your quarters before you go to the shuttle bay. The Starfleet uniform is not meant to be worn commando style.”

Trip’s eyes narrowed as confused thoughts sought union in his mind, “Aye sir,” he said before heading out the door. How the hell does he know that I didn’t have time to put on underwear this morning? Trip thought as he walked away.

Phlox was also perplexed. Because he had just examined Commander Tucker he knew that he was only wearing his coveralls, and Trip had explained to him that he had not had time to get fully dressed when the ship went to general quarters early that morning.

“Captain, how did you know…that?” Phlox asked as he worked.

“Because,” he paused for effect. “I’m the captain,” Archer replied with a straight face. Phlox laughed and shook his head in amusement.

Chapter Five

Day 136 1222 UTC

Hoshi was tired and hungry. She had had the helm during the mid-watch, and was just coming off duty. She had just loaded a tray and was looking for a place to sit when she spotted Lt. Reed and Travis at a table.

“Mind if I join you two?”

“Sure, Hoshi. You do the mid watch last night?” Travis replied in between mouthfuls.

“Yes. I’m on five hours of sleep, and now I’ve got to meet with the ambassador so that we can keep teaching each other our languages,” she said as she began eating.

Malcolm jumped into the conversation, “I saw the log. It looks like you had a slow night on watch.”

“Not always a bad thing. Actually it went pretty fast. I was practicing rendezvous with the Talylon Bay all night long,” she said with a smile.

Travis Mayweather had a quizzical look on his face, “What do you mean? Weren’t you locked in stationkeeping mode all night?”

She could tell that she had both of their attention now so she downshifted into casual, “No, we were in manual and we drifted away and then re-established contact all through the night so that I could get some practice.”

“Who had the watch last night?” asked Travis earnestly.

“Commander Tucker did. He said that I looked bored and maybe I needed something to do,” Hoshi said mischievously.

“Speak of the Devil,” said Malcolm as he nodded at the door.

Just then, Commander Tucker entered the mess. He stopped briefly to confer with Major Hayes, who was leaving, and then headed over to their table.

“Hey, Malcolm, Hoshi, Travis, you guys planning a mutiny or something?” Trip asked good-naturedly.

“No, sir… just lunch,” Malcolm replied dryly.

“Thanks for the practice last night, sir. It really made the mid watch fly,” said Hoshi.

“Hey, any chance I can get in on that type of action?” added Travis.

“No problem Hoshi, glad you got something out of it.” Trip then turned toward Travis and added, “Next time we’re on watch together we can try some practice maneuvers.” He gave them a polite grin, but obviously didn’t intend to join them. “Well. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Trip said as he turned to go. “Malcolm, we still on for handball tonight?”

“Yes sir, see you at 1930,” said Malcom.

Commander Tucker then moved off and picked up a tray. Hoshi continued to eat while Malcolm and Travis debated the merits of unscheduled training events. Her lack of sleep was catching up to her and she let her mind wander. She was staring off into space when Commander Tucker re-entered her field of view. He put his tray down at a table where Commander T’Pol was already eating.

Hoshi watched them as they ate. Commander Tucker seemed very much himself, but T’Pol seemed….well…somehow different. Hoshi studied them intently. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was out of place. T’Pol was sitting very upright as she usually did, but there was a subtle difference. She was slightly relaxed, even animated. It would not have even registered as a change with a human, just as a slight mood shift, but in T’Pol it was a marked difference. Hoshi suddenly realized that the Vulcan’s left leg extended out under the table and was touching the engineer’s leg. Finally it dawned on her, Holy Crap! The rumors aren’t complete B.S. There is something going on between them! Her mind reeled at the thought, She’s a smug, capable intellectual and he’s a salt of the earth type. Decidedly not an intellectual. Hoshi had always dismissed the rumors because she could not fathom a romantic relationship bridging the gap in their personalities.

“Hey, Hoshi… you gonna show for the movie tonight?” asked Travis. Hoshi didn’t seem to hear him.

“Hoshi… Hello,” Travis said as he waved his palm in front of Hoshi’s eyes.

“Oh, sorry… I’m more tired than I thought, I guess,” she said, intent on keeping her thoughts private. “I’m probably going to skip the movie and just catch up on sleep tonight.”

“Well, I’ve got to get going,” said Travis as he rose.

“I have work to do as well,” Malcolm added as he rose to leave.

“See you later Travis,” she then shifted her eyes to Lt. Reed and added, “Sir.”

As they left, Hoshi returned to her meal, but her thoughts and her eyes drifted back to the couple at the table on the other side of the mess.

Day 140 1021UTC

T’Pol’s voice came over the intercom, “Bridge to Captain Archer.”

Jonathan Archer was sitting at his desk. He stretched out his arms and back before reaching over and hitting the intercom, “Go ahead, T’Pol.”

“We are in standard orbit around the Ikaaran homeworld. The captain of the Talylon Baywould like to dock so that they can recover the last of their wounded and the ambassador.”

“Very well. Proceed with docking and let me know when the transfer is complete. Anything else, T’Pol?” asked Archer.

“No, Captain. Do you wish me to signal the ambassador?”

“I’m on my way to flag country now. I’ll do it myself,” he replied.

“Very well, Captain. T’Pol out.”

Malcolm stood uneasily with his arms folded across his chest as he eyed his friend. Trip was standing slightly ahead of Malcolm, his left arm braced against the bulkhead. He was leaning forward, using his arm for support, so he could see the capture latches on the docking ring as they mated with their alien counterparts.

“Trip, do we really need to be here for the docking?” Malcolm asked nervously. He was very aware that the viewing ports were not that thick and that if Travis screwed up and hit the other ship too hard they could fracture. Normally this area was off limits during docking operations.

“If you’re not comfortable I can always get Major Hayes to help me out,” Trip responded, deadpan.

“Oh, you’re funny,” Malcolm said as a smile broke out on Trip’s face.

T’Pol’s voice came over the intercom, “Bridge to Commander Tucker.”

Trip moved back from the end of the corridor and hit the nearest com panel, “Yeah… Tucker here. Go ahead.”

“Final preparations are complete. Ensign Mayweather will be moving us into position to dock in approximately five minutes. Are you ready to proceed?” she asked in her typically matter of fact voice.

Trip took his hand off of the com panel and said softly to Malcolm, “Sure you don’t want me to call you a relief?...Last chance…”

In response, Malcolm Reed scratched at a nonexistent itch on his forehead with his middle finger. Trip laughed and turned back to the com panel. “We’re all set here. Just make sure the docking sequencer is set to manual. I want to control the capture latches from here and make sure the repairs to the docking ring are gonna hold.”

“Manual control confirmed. Please inform me when you are satisfied that we have hard dock,” she replied.

“No problem, Tucker out,” he said as he released the com button and turned back to get a good view of the docking latches.

As they waited, they fell back into easy conversation.

Reed came forward so that he was standing next to Trip. He pretended to join Trip in examining the docking latches as he whispered, “Travis says that the word from rumor control is that you and our F.O. are, shall we say, involved.”

Usually Trip would rise quickly to this kind of bait, but much to Malcolm’s surprise his response was the very picture of calm. “I assume that by rumor control you mean Hoshi.”

“Of course,” Malcolm responded as he turned to watch Trip’s expression.

Trip’s eyes remained locked on the latches but there was the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth as he began to speak, “Well……she’s not that far off, this time.”

It was now Malcolm who dropped the pretense of being calm, “Bloody hell! You’re admitting it! I didn’t even think she knew what she was talking about, and you go and admit that it’s true. I can’t believe you caved. What about all your past denials?”

“That was then, this is now, or rather, this is before. Things change. There’s been an attraction for a long time. I just didn’t think anything would ever come of it, but people change, sometimes in very unexpected ways.” Trip’s voice was uncommonly soft and controlled. His gaze still held the latches above their heads.

Malcolm’s gaze shifted back out through the port to open space and his voice dropped to a soft introspective volume, “Commander T’Pol. I would never have guessed that would actually happen.” He then turned back to Trip, “Very impressive, Trip, though I would never have picked you for an U.A. situation.”

At this, Trip lost his visual lock on the latch and started laughing as he turned toward his friend with an amused but reproving look. “’Unauthorized ass’? I haven’t heard that in a long time, though I suppose it’s sort of accurate.”

At that moment the Talylon Bay came into view as Travis maneuvered Enterprise to dock.

“Here she comes. Let’s get ready.” Trip said as both of their minds went back to the business at hand.

He pressed the entry alert outside of her quarters and waited.

The door opened, and Esilia turned toward him, smiled and said, “Please, do come in, Captain.”

Her conversational English was now much improved.

“Please have a seat, Jonathan,” she said with friendly familiarity.

Jon smiled at her ever present professionalism. She addressed him by his first name only after the door to her quarters was closed and she was sure that they were alone. She was too smart a diplomat to make a rookie mistake and call him by his first name in front of others.

“T’Pol just informed me that we have entered orbit above your planet,” he began as he settled in opposite her at the small desk in her quarters. “We’re in the process of docking with your ship so that we can transfer your wounded back aboard.”

As he sat, so did she. He had placed both of his palms flat on the table, and as Esilia sat down her right hand came down on the table, just grazing his. Jonathan Archer smiled at this small contact and continued, “Will you be going back aboard?”

“I would prefer to remain aboard your vessel for a little longer. I have been in contact with my government for the past seventy-two solar hours and they are amenable to providing you with some of the anti-matter that you need, in consideration of the help you provided the Talylon Bay.

He always had to work to keep his focus around her. Never before had he found a woman’s eyes so distracting. “That is exceptionally generous. My government…,” he paused, “Excuse me… I would appreciate that very much.”

She smiled at his mistake and moved her hand so that it was again just touching his, “It may prove useful for you to come to the surface and meet with our foreign minister. My government is anxious to learn more about your ability to operate in the Expanse.”

His heart picked up a little at the physical contact. It was clear to them both that there was a mutual level of attraction. On the journey to the Ikaaran homeworld a sort of undeclared romance had begun. “I would, of course, be honored to meet with your foreign minister. I’m a little concerned about revealing the full nature of our mission, however. Time travel isn’t a concept that many societies believe is possible, and yet I don’t want to start a relationship with your government under any false pretenses. What would you advise?”

The decision to tell Esilia about the time travel aspect of their mission had been a contentious one. He, T’Pol and Trip had discussed it at length over dinner and eventually it had been decided that she was probably the most receptive audience they would ever have. If they decided not to try and convince her at this time, the chance would probably be lost forever.

It had taken three days of discussions and lab tests for the captain and T’Pol to convince her that they really had traveled back in time.

“I think that your first instinct is correct. You should start this relationship off with the truth. Don’t worry about the believability aspect. I can assist you there. It may take a bit of time, however. Can you remain in orbit for several weeks?”

At this he softly laughed, “As you’re well aware, time is the one thing we do have in abundance.”

“Yes, you are certainly correct,” she said as her laughter mingled with his.

“Well, let me know when you’ve made the arrangements with your foreign minister,” Archer said as he rose to leave.

“Jonathan, please stay a moment,” she said as she reached out and took his hand. “I want to talk to you about something else.”

He sank back down into the chair and tried to focus on business.

“I am attracted to you, and I think you are to me.”

Archer was surprised by her forthrightness, and it must have showed because she reacted to it instantly.

“I thought it was time to talk about the obvious. I know that we can’t act on these feelings but…”

At this he cut her off, “Who says that we can’t?”

She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms and said slowly, “It probably would not be appropriate.” She hesitated before adding quietly, “Would it?”

Jon chuckled at her and responded, “It’s only inappropriate if someone uses a personal relationship to further a professional one, or vice versa. I used to be pretty serious about this issue, but I paid a price.” He sighed as the memories came flooding back, and she looked at him intently. “For a time I had a relationship with a fellow officer named Erika. During our time together I was promoted, and I ended up being her boss. She was comfortable continuing our relationship anyway, but I decided to end it because it wasn’t appropriate. There was nothing explicitly wrong with dating someone who worked for me, and Trip, for one, urged me to continue.” He now laughed at the memory.

“Trip even had a name for it… one that I’m not comfortable talking about until you and Hoshi have a chance to talk about what we call ‘slang’” he teased.

Her face sobered, and she reached out again across the table, holding his gaze with a solemn expression. Her fingers, at first barely brushing his hand, moved to assertively interlace themselves with his. A tingle went up his arm at the contact.

“Jonathan… I would very much like to pursue a more personal relationship with you, but I’m not entirely certain how to go about it. How is this done in your culture? I’m afraid Ensign Sato and I haven’t quite gotten to that yet,” said Esilia softly. Her fingers gripped his firmly. The look in her eyes caused his body temperature to rise by several degrees. He swallowed. Ikaaran women were nothing if not direct, it seemed. He squeezed back and then pulled his hand from hers, smiling at her.

“Let’s wait until you’ve introduced me to your foreign minister and handed off at least some of your official duties. I’m sure your government will invite me to tour your world, and I’d love to have you as a guide. That would be a good time to get to know each other on a more personal level.” As he said this he stood, and she did the same. “Does that sound like an acceptable proposal, Ambassador?” At this he offered his hand to her across the table. She shook it with an amused expression.

“Acceptable, prudent, and most welcome, Captain. I look forward to showing you the wonders of my home.”

Day 140 2200 UTC

“I’m glad we did this. It’s been a while.” Jonathan Archer said as he toasted his friend with a very rare and irreplaceable commodity, a bottle of twenty year old scotch.

“Yes, it has,” Trip replied as he matched his glass to the captain’s.

After a few moments of silence, Trip looked at the captain and began “There is something you should know.”

“Really?” Jonathan replied, feigning surprise.

“T’Pol and I, well….we’re kind of involved. If you know what I mean,” he said awkwardly.

When he told this story in later years Jonathan Archer always expressed great pride in his ability to act very shocked and surprised and have Trip buy into it so completely. “What do you mean, involved?” he said as he leaned forward and looked across the table at Trip with a serious expression on his face.

“Well, we’ve, I mean we’re…” As Trip stumbled over his words, his friend could maintain his act no longer, and he burst out laughing.

Archer leaned back in his chair and gestured at Trip with his glass, “Trip, I kind of figured that out when T’Pol showed up on the bridge in your T-shirt the night of the raider attack. Besides, if this was supposed to be a secret it wasn’t a very well kept one. I know T’Pol thinks that she lives behind a perfect façade of emotional indifference, but we’ve all lived on this ship for four years together, and I can read her a little better than that. The real question is how you finally got her to admit it to herself. That’s where you’ve got me impressed.”

Trip dodged that question fairly easily “Oh, so that’s how you knew I was dressed commando that day. I could never figure that one out,” Trip mused, both relieved and more than a little surprised. “So you don’t have a problem with this?” he continued.

“No, not at all. As I’ve said, I’ve known about it for a while, and it hasn’t been a factor in either your behavior or your performance while on duty. Besides, we talked about this right after we came through the corridor, remember?” Archer replied as he took another sip of whiskey.

Trip refilled the captain’s glass and said, “Yeah, I remember that… but I also remember Erika Hernandez. I just thought that you wouldn’t be too happy about this.”

“Funny you should say that. I was just talking about her today,” Archer responded. Trip regarded his friend quizzically. “Maybe the Expanse is mellowing me, but ending things with Erika might not have been my best decision.” Archer said as he glanced out the window. “I think I’ll put my cards on the table, too, Trip. Ambassador Esilia and I have been talking, and we’re going to look at the possibility of pursuing a relationship after she hands us off to her government.”

“Shocking, completely shocking, Cap’n,” Trip replied smilingly.

Jonathan smiled back and said, “I guess there is only one thing left to say.”

“What’s that?” Trip asked.

“Authorized” Archer said with mock gravity.

Trip Tucker burst out laughing.

Chapter Six

Day 432 0817 UTC

CHIME

T’Pol ceased her meditation and answered, “T’Pol here.”

Hoshi spoke quietly into the intercom. “Ensign Cates is finished. Well… we think it’s finished. Are you free right now?”

“Yes I can come immediately. Are you in your quarters, or Ensign Cates’?” T’Pol’s slightly distorted voice came over the com system.

“Mine. We’ll see you in a little while.”

Hoshi then turned toward Cates and asked, “I don’t know why I’m whispering. Do any of the other engineers know that you can sew?”

“No, and I would rather keep that part of my resume quiet, if you don’t mind,” he replied.

She laughed and said, “No problem, Steve. Contrary to popular opinion, I actually can keep a secret. Where did you get the material? It’s so very stunningly white.”

“The material was originally part of a temporary radiation shielding kit. That’s why the color is so pure,” he replied.

“Maybe you can make me one someday?” she asked coyly.

“This is my going out of business sale. If the crew finds out I can sew it’s all that I’ll ever end up doing.”

T’Pol dressed unhurriedly, and ten minutes later arrived at the door to Hoshi Sato’s quarters.

Ensign Sato’s quarters always struck T’Pol as cluttered. Eclectic was the term that Sato used, though T’Pol did not quite see it that way.

“Ensign Sato,” T’Pol said upon entering before turning and nodding to Ensign Cates, “Mr. Cates.”

“Commander,” he responded and then stepped forward, pulling a clear garment bag from behind his back. “I think that you will find all the alterations have been completed. It should fit perfectly now.”

She looked briefly at Hoshi before looking directly at Ensign Cates, “Thank you. I appreciate your efforts and your discretion.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.” He turned to Hoshi and added, “Well, my work here is done. I’ll catch up to you sometime tomorrow, Hoshi.” He then turned back to T’Pol and added, “Commander,” before he turned and exited Hoshi’s quarters.

“I am a little confused, Commander. I thought the whole idea here was for you two to have a traditional Vulcan ceremony?”

T’Pol regarded Hoshi solemnly for a moment before answering, “This has been a new experience for me, giving control and consideration to another. When Commander Tucker,” she paused and swallowed, “When Trip agreed to a Vulcan ceremony, because he thought it would be better for me, I realized that I should also consider his desires. That is why I asked you to help me acquire a traditional dress.”

Hoshi’s jaw dropped a little when she heard T’Pol refer to Commander Tucker as Trip, but she quickly recovered. “But why the secrecy?”

“I have come to appreciate the sometimes positively perceived effect of a surprise.”

Hoshi covered her mouth, laughing in spite of herself, while T’Pol responded with a raised left eyebrow.

“I need to get dressed for the ceremony. I would appreciate your assistance.”

“Of course, Commander, by all means,” Hoshi responded with a smile.

Day 432 1100 UTC

“You don’t mind that I asked Dr. Phlox to perform the ceremony instead, do you Jon?” Trip asked.

Archer smiled, “We’ve been over this, Trip. I understand. I would never have been able to pronounce the Vulcan language as well as Phlox can. I’m honored to be your best man.” He looked around and said, “Never thought you would be getting married in the mess, though.”

“And to someone who wouldn’t even shake my hand when we met,” Trip responded with a grin.

“Well, I must admit, when I introduced you to her four years ago this was not the outcome I envisioned,” Archer replied.

Dr. Phlox approached Trip, smiling broadly, and spoke. “It’s time, Commander, if you please,” With that he swept his arm out in an arc, gesturing at the facsimile of a Vulcan gong that had been faithfully reproduced and placed in the center of the mess.

Trip approached it somewhat self consciously and rang the deep sounding bell four times.

T’Pol heard the last bell fade away and then stepped through the door to the officers’ mess. She was primarily focused on Trip’s face, but she noted that surprise registered on the Captain’s face as well.

Her appearance caused a minor stir among those in attendance. Rumors had swirled that their science officer might not be wearing robes. The room was a sea of dress uniforms standing on tip toes and craning for a look at the unusually attired Vulcan. T’Pol’s nearly transparent net veil spilled from a circlet of braided white satin ribbon tied about the crown of her head. The veil fell over her face to her shoulders, lending a misty appearance to her features. Beneath the veil, the burnished expanse of her bare neck and shoulders contrasted with the gleaming whiteness of her simple gown. The gown fit her curves like a second skin, accentuating her generous breasts and tiny waist before flowing liquidly to the floor. The sleeves of the dress clung to her arms, ending in elegant points over the backs of her hands.

Though Hoshi had seen her in it several times during fittings with Steve, it was still impressive. Hoshi was not the only one impressed. Lt. Hayes was supposed to be one of the bride’s maids, but she was distracted by T’Pol’s new look. The general male reaction was somewhat more visceral. Though he had doubted his boss’s choice of bride, Lt. Kelby was now re-assessing his original opinion.

She approached the very small, very carefully constructed, open fire near the center of the room and kneeled simultaneously with Trip. He was careful not to become tangled in his Vulcan robes as he joined her. As her right hand extended, his did as well, and their two hands joined in the traditional Vulcan press.

Very softly Trip spoke, “You certainly have embraced the concept of surprise, T’Pol. You look…incredible.”

T’Pol was strangely warmed by his comment and his eyes. It would take some getting used to. “I am pleased you approve. Consider this a small wedding gift from me to you.” She said sotto voice.

At that moment Phlox began, “What ye are about to witness……..”

The bride and groom were on their feet, as was customary at the conclusion to the Vulcan wedding rite. What happened next was not a customary part of the traditional Vulcan wedding. As he concluded the ceremony, Dr. Phlox gave T’Pol a quick questioning glance, and she responded with a subtle affirmative nod of her head.

Phlox smiled and added, “You may now kiss the bride.”

T’Pol lifted her veil, and moved toward her husband. He just stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face for a moment, and then, coming to his senses, he smiled broadly and bent forward to meet her. Those in the room collectively held their breath. Up until now no member of the crew had even seen anyone touch her, let alone kiss her in a very public setting. Just before their lips met, she said one quiet word for his ears only.

“Surprise.”

Fin

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Cool... you finished it. I think it's an interesting take on what happened after they went back in time.

Wow, that was extermely well done. I very much liked how you tied in the first contact plot with their relationship. It also had the perfect balance of subtlety and momentum. The ending was just simply great, it's a very believable move from the T'Pol in the beginning to the end. Overall, easily one of my two favorite E2 stories ever.

Excellent, I like the twists and the little extra details that make the characters come to life. Very nicely done.

Fantastic. I want to compliment your exceptional attention to accurate detail when it comes to military/navy protocol - even though some of the terminology you used is I think more BSG-ish than Trek - but it's good, very good, because I always wanted to see the military ASPECT of trek become a little more "militarized". The use of lagrange points and x mark y and all of that was very effective at painting a military picture.

At the same time you didn't lose sight of the romance that we're here for, and it was very well done. Although, I have to admit, I personally prefer to write Trip as a little bit more of a "typical human" in this period of time, that is - not quite as perfectly understanding of T'Pol's need for slowness, patience, etc. After all he's been hurt over and over. I think in season 4 he has grown personally and professionally and learned not to wear his heart on his sleeve so much.... but in S3 I think he was a little more of a human, with all the intolerances therein.

But even so, on the whole the story is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I have wanted to tackle the E2 universe a few times but one of the deterrents is that others have handled it so exceptionally -- and you have now joined those ranks.

Great job!

This is, to put it frankly, fantastic. I LOVE the real-world naval elements you bring into this ("flag country" and waypoints leap to mind.) Some of the things that you touched on were very insightful: Archer's decision to effectively keep T'Pol safe makes absolute sense given the fact that she'll outlive them all and her recommendation for them to do their best to keep from making new enemies is more than just a little logical. Well done.

And heh. "Oh dark thirty." Do you have actual military experience? Outside of us veterans, I don't hear that in the lexicon much...

As someone who has made my own version of Starfleet significantly more militarized than the version we generally saw on the screen, I want to say thanks for adding another fic that does the same. I did grit my teeth a little bit at calling every senior officer "sir" regardless of gender, but I understand some militaries actually do that so it's easily stomached. In my military experience, I never called a female officer "sir" before. Mixing rank abbreviations and actual spellings was a little jarring though.

One minor SNAFU: Rostov was enlisted and was specifically referenced to as "Crewman" Rostov. 'Tis a minor thing though...

The TnT stuff is very, very well done as well. I too wince at professions of true love coming from them and get a little tired of stories that approach it in that manner so I enjoyed the more subtle way you approached it. The little touches with Archer noticing T'Pol's concern for Trip and not commenting on it were very nice. Excellent image, BTW, of T'Pol in the silk pants with Trip's shirt on. I would kill people to have seen something like that on the actual show, ESPECIALLY Archer's expression at the fact Trip's name is on the shirt. I also liked some of the snide little comments thrown in there by Malcolm: "U.A." was amusing but "neuro-nasty" cracked me up!

Hell, I even liked your Archer subplot. Well done!

I sincerely hope to see more for you. There is no way that this is your first fic and I really hope we'll get more from you. As far as I'm concerned, this has entered my official universe as what happened to the -01 when they went backwards in time.

More please. This was very nicely writen. I would like to see what happens with the ambnassador. Poor Archer deserves a break in the love department.

Lisa

I'm glad that all of you enjoyed the story. Just to respond to some comments. JohnO: You are correct I wrote Trip more from season four than from three. I did this because I figured that the story was occuring parallel to season four and more importantly if I hadn't the story would have been more angsty and dragged on even longer. It got a lot longer than I had originally intended anyway.

Rigel, thank you for your high praise. I don't like it when Trek goes unprofessional. That is to say they get away with mistakes that had they been made by anyone in real life would have resulted in a court martial, dismissal, or the loss of the ship. It was my intent to make the characters seem more profesional and competent. Regarding Rostov: Kevin and I discussed this one. He said some sites list him as an officer and some don't. The only qoute regarding his rank that I can recall is during damage when Trip says that Crewman X was on Rostov's team.

I'm glad that all of you enjoyed the story. Just to respond to some comments. JohnO: You are correct I wrote Trip more from season four than from three. I did this because I figured that the story was occuring parallel to season four and more importantly if I hadn't the story would have been more angsty and dragged on even longer. It got a lot longer than I had originally intended anyway.

Rigel, thank you for your high praise. I don't like it when Trek goes unprofessional. That is to say they get away with mistakes that had they been made by anyone in real life would have resulted in a court martial, dismissal, or the loss of the ship. It was my intent to make the characters seem more profesional and competent. Regarding Rostov: Kevin and I discussed this one. He said some sites list him as an officer and some don't. The only qoute regarding his rank that I can recall is during damage when Trip says that Crewman X was on Rostov's team.

T'Pol actually references "Crewman Rostov" at one point in season 3 (don't remember the exact episode), and you actually see his rank scheme at one point in the early seasons (I think it was season 1). Someone identified it as Crewman 3rd Class or something. It may have been the snot monster episode but I can't exactly remember. It's all good though: let's just assume that Archer gave him a brevet field commission and be cool.

And I was going to point out to John that his Trip had as much life experience as mid-season 4 Trip since several months had passed since their unplanned time jump...

You say that it got longer than you intended? I wanted MORE! :-D

Well I will just have to cop to a mistake on the Rostov thing. Hopfully it doesn't damage the story credibility too much.

I thought it was going to be about a half as long as it ended up being. Part of this is because I sometimes needed to add scenes to see where the story was going. The other reason is that Distracted kept pointing out holes that I tended to gloss over. She held my feet to the fire. It turned out better than it would have, had she let me get away with being lazy.

As I said: Captain Archer gave him a brevet commission. Problem solved. :-D

Any chance of a sequel? I for one would LOVE to see a continuation of this, especially in your style.

fabulous, fabulous!

There is one site, Memory-Alpha that show a picture of Rostov with an Lt. insignia and lists it as a mistake. Every place I've seen shows him as a crewman.

Oh, that was enjoyable. Great job!

I'm half-way through part one, but I have to comment! Obviously, very, very good. What specifically struck me: you know something about Asian languages/culture; Which one or ones? You picked up on Hoshi looking down on Trip for his accent. I don't think I ever read a fic that did that. Maybe because the precident comes from the episode that shall not be named. I love how you do Trip as smart, competent, and quick with the comebacks. The Archer/Trip interactions are great. it will take me awhile to finish this, but I will--slowly, so as not to waste it!

BTW the link from Part 1 to Part 3 doesn't work.

Just Trip'n, I would like to say that I have a broad knoledge of everything asian, but in truth it's just that I read quite a bit. (James Clavell for one) I hope the second part does not dissapoint. A