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ROUND ROBIN #4: Silk and SubterfugeGenre - Round Robin | Main Story | Rating - PG-13
Fan Fiction Main Page | Stories sorted by title, author, genre, and rating Round Robin #4: Editor’s Note from Bucky: This is the fourth attempt by the Trip/T’Polers’ fanfiction authors to produce a Round Robin. As new entries come in, I will add them to the bottom of this entry, so you’ll have to scroll down to find the new stuff. Those participating in order *should* be: Ludjin ************************************************************************************************ December 20, 2155
“Commander Tucker, if Captain Archer allowed me, I would assign an entire security detail to you every time you wheedled your way onto another planet,” Malcolm Reed replied, somewhat testily. Enterprise’s tactical officer had both hands stuffed into his away-team jacket, and Trip knew without a doubt that he had a phase pistol buried in there. Trip also knew the Kalos V merchants probably didn’t welcome armed patrons – a thought that obviously worried him far more than it worried Malcolm. “As it is, you’ve only got me to cover your sorry behind,” Reed continued, oblivious to Trip’s anxiety – or, likely, just indifferent. “I would think you’d be grateful.” “Grateful?” “Need I recount your away-team history?” “Hey. This isn’t a mission.” At least, it wasn’t an official mission. Trip continued his search, scrutinizing the merchandise visible in the windows. He barely gave the names of the shops a passing glance; most of them were in languages he didn’t even recognize, and the ones that were somewhat familiar, he still couldn’t read. He briefly wished he’d brought Hoshi along, too. No. Bad idea. He was going to be teased endlessly as it was; Hoshi would’ve been even worse than Malcolm. “No, it’s not a mission,” Reed replied, breaking into Trip’s thoughts. “But, then, the last time we went down to a planet while on leave—“ Trip cut him off. “Okay, okay. I get your point. But, this is nothin’ like Risa. This is just one little hour to shop, and we’ll be back on Enterprise, safe and sound. And I don’t get hurt on every away-mission.” Reed gave a disbelieving grunt. Trip rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Mal. I’m not that bad.” “Oh, really? Were you not nearly roasted alive at Berengaria VII just a week ago?” “How was I supposed to know there’d be dragons down there?” Well, giant, winged reptiles that happened to breathe fire. Trip didn’t care if the dragons of Earth were entirely fantasy; to him and all the other members of the away team on Berengaria, the scaly alien creatures were definitely dragons. Cranky dragons. “Dragons who didn’t like to be bothered during their hibernation, if I recall.” “Oh, shut up, Malcolm.” Trip saw the faint traces of Malcolm’s typically elusive smile and grinned to himself. It was always a good day when he could amuse the stuffy Brit, even if it was at the engineer’s own expense. The two men were wandering rather aimlessly down one of the busy marketplace corridors of Kalos V. The planet itself was mostly water, but that hadn’t stopped the Rigelians from building a thriving economic center here. This particular market was actually underwater; getting the aquaphobic tactical officer to even come down to the planet had been an epic battle of wills. Trip’s grin widened. At least he had won that particular sparring match. “Trip,” Malcolm said, eyes narrowed as he continuously scanned the crowd. “What are you looking for, exactly?” The commander rolled his tongue against his cheek. He hadn’t been looking forward to this part of today’s conversation. “Just a lil’ somethin’.” “A ‘lil’ somethin’’ what?” Might as well get it over with. “Um. Some Triaxian silk.” Malcolm stopped dead and turned his full attention on Trip. “Silk?” “Yeah.” Trip stopped and took a breath. Might as well get it all over with. “For T’Pol.” “For T’Pol?” Trip sighed and glanced ceiling-ward. “There an echo in here?” He strode off again, squinting once more at the sometimes-gaudy, mostly unintelligible signs. He just wanted a little silk something for his girlfriend – weird, weird, weird thought to pair with a Vulcan, he realized, but shrugged it off quickly. He’d learned long ago to not try to fully define the relationship he had with Enterprise’s first officer. He heard the thud of Malcolm’s steps behind him as the other man quickly caught up to him – but, surprisingly, Malcolm was silent. Trip risked a glance back and immediately wished he hadn’t. The Brit looked to be desperately holding back a fit of hysterical laughter. Glowering, Trip charged onward, weaving in and out among the alien throng. He had a feeling he wouldn’t ever live this down – but dammit, he was going to get something pretty for T’Pol, even if it killed him. That’s what men did for the women that they loved. They bought them gifts. And he wanted it to be silk. Red Triaxian silk. Which he suddenly saw in a shop window, gleaming and shimmering and exquisite and gloriously ready to be wrapped around a certain beautiful Vulcan. And standing in the shop’s wide entryway with his arms folded over his massive chest, gazing with keen interest at the shoppers bustling by, was the largest Orion Trip had ever seen.
Grabbing Malcolm’s arm, Trip swung the armory officer towards a shop window across the lane from where the Orion stood guard. Malcolm, who had seen neither the silk nor the Orion, was pleased that Trip had stopped to look at the display of antique weapons. He identified pre-warp arms from cultures he recognized - the Andorian, Yrott, Eska, Tellarite – and others which were new to him, and he gazed lustfully upon them all. Trip, unaware that Malcolm was mesmerized and therefore oblivious about the dangers lurking nearby, watched the Orion’s reflection in the window. A slender, beautiful Orion woman emerged from the silk shop, turned, and disappeared into the crowded street with the hulking guard lumbering after her. “Whew! That was close. I don’t trust that species, and I don’t want to encounter any,” Trip announced. “Hmm?” Malcolm inquired, absently. For the first time Trip saw the display Malcolm was salivating over, gave his friend an indulgent, slightly exasperated look, and steered the reluctant man back across the lane, towards the silk shop. “What?” Malcolm demanded. “Malcolm, how can such a suspicious, alert professional allow himself to be seduced by a bunch of shining objects? Didn’t you see the huge Orion we almost walked straight into?” Slightly mortified that he had allowed his famed cautious nature to be so easily sidetracked, Malcolm followed Trip meekly into the seemingly deserted shop. Reluctant to tease Trip about T’Pol after failing to be aware of potential danger, he was prepared to be bored. He didn’t see the point in buying presents for anyone, let alone a Vulcan who wouldn’t know silk from chain mail. The men stepped into a room filled with the most beautiful cloth either had ever seen. Silk in various shades of golds, blues, reds, purples, greens, pinks, yellows, oranges, and colors Trip couldn’t even name spilled over tables and covered the walls. The whites were dazzling, and the blacks deep and rich. Trip ran fingers over sheer chiffons, brocades, jacquards, satins, crepes, and velvets. Everywhere he looked he saw fabric which would enhance T’Pol’s striking looks and in which her sensuous nature would luxuriate in. He could hear her now, precisely stating her appreciation for the appearance and texture of the textile. He could hardly wait to hear such gushing from her. An alien, resembling a giant spider, emerged from the rear of the store, moving gracefully between the bolts of cloth. Trip, repressing his extreme entomophobia, greeted the alien and hoped the universal translator could translate. He wasn’t looking forward to a long session using hand language to communicate with a huge spider. Malcolm, meanwhile, smirked at Trip’s discomfort, but realized that his friend must truly be in love to be willing to negotiate with someone who looked like an insect. “May I help you?” the alien inquired. Relieved that the old UT was doing it’s job, and sending a silent thanks to Hoshi, Trip explained his mission. Prompted for a description of T’Pol, he told the clerk, “She’s 1.7018 meters tall, has gorgeous, subtly coppery green skin tone, rich dark brown hair framing the loveliest face and delicate pointed ears, and deep brown eyes you can drown in.” Malcolm rolled his eyes and wandered to the entrance, unconsciously taking the same stance as the Orion who had stood there shortly before. The clerk stretched out three legs, pulling bolts of various shades and textures of red silk together. Trip caressed the choices, imagining each next to T’Pol’s skin. He found a kindred spirit in the spidery clerk, and soon the two were deep in conversation about the benefits of each selection. Trip selected a vibrant red satin with a slight sheen. The fabric was not sheer, but would, according to Loxte, the clerk, drape beautifully on T’Pol and feel silky smooth against the skin. The two decided T’Pol could have the quartermaster make it into the style of her choice. Trip was looking forward to an evening with T’Pol, hoping she would decide to create an outfit with just him in mind. Loxte assured Trip the fabric would be wrapped up and delivered to Enterprise by evening. Satisfactorily concluding his business and pleased with his success, Trip slapped Malcolm on the shoulder and offered to buy his long-suffering friend a drink. The two men wandered down the street in search of libation, but only after Malcolm purchased an Andorian knife he coveted, of course. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Loxte carried the cloth to the rear of the store and, in preparation for delivery, began wrapping the various purchases made that day. A bell sounded at the entrance, and the spidery alien moved smoothly and elegantly out to help the new customer. As soon as the backroom was empty, a figure slipped out from behind a screen, crossed to the newly wrapped packages, and then slipped noiselessly out the alley door. ~~~~~~~~~~~ It was close to dinner when Trip and Malcolm returned by shuttle to Enterprise. They were laughing together as the door swung up and the steps lowered from the catwalk above. Trip began to ascend and, looking back over his shoulder to ask Malcolm a question, abruptly ran into an immoveable object. Turning, he saw it was T’Pol. His joy at seeing her became wariness as he observed the remote Vulcan stance she had assumed, complete with a closed expression on her face, arms crossed across her chest, and legs spread apart. Uh, oh,, he thought, what did I do now? ******************************************************************************** Unaware of T’Pol’s presence, Trip’s abrupt halt caused Malcolm to knock into his friend, which resulted in them both falling to the ground in a tangled heap at T’Pol’s feet. The action only caused T’Pol to take on a more vexed stance as her right eyebrow arched even higher into her brow. “Commander, Lieutenant, you are late! Your anticipated arrival was expected eighteen minutes and forty two seconds ago.” “Sorry,” replied Trip, shaking his head at T’Pol’s precision as he picked himself up off the floor with as much grace and dignity that he could muster. “Our excursion took a bit longer than expected,” he explained, not wanting to go into too much detail as he wanted his present to be a surprise. “My fault, Commander,” interrupted Malcolm, trying to take some of the blame off his wayward friend. “A purchase caught my eye in the local antiques establishment--” “An Andorian ceremonial hunting dagger, five inches long, jagged edge, titanium based metal with hooked edge for easy kill,” interrupted T’Pol, taking a good look at the weapon that Malcolm picked up off the floor, “an interesting weapon in excellent condition, Lieutenant.” “Something ya’ not telling us, honey,” exclaimed Trip, as he and Malcolm both threw a look of surprise at her knowledge on the subject of Andorian weaponry. Ignoring the ‘endearment’, T’Pol sniffed the air around the two of them. “I see you managed to fit in the local drinking establishment in your excursion,” she stated, smelling the aroma from their recent drinking bout. Feigning annoyance, Trip rolled his eyes again. “We had a couple of drinks … that’s all.” “Your departure from the shuttle gives the impression that more than a couple was consumed, Commander,” said T’Pol, turning around to leave the shuttle bay. “Blame that on Malcolm’s clumsy disposition,” muttered Trip, as he glared at Malcolm and mouthed a silent, “Thanks a lot, Lieutenant,” before following T’Pol out of the bay. He thought he heard Malcolm reply with the sound of ‘whipping’ noise, but glancing behind, he just saw a feigned look of ‘What!’ and a slight chuckle. “Were you successful in finding your urgent purchase?” asked T’Pol as they walked down the corridor. “Yes, it’s being delivered later.” “Should I inform the shuttle bay crew to expect a late delivery of engineering supplies?” asked T’Pol in a serious, dead-pan tone, although Trip could tell that she was as curious as hell about what it was. “Nope,” smiled Trip, “you’re going off on the wrong track with that one, darlin’,” he teased. “I’ll inform Chef to expect a delivery of new exotic delicacies then.” “Wrong again,” he smiled, shaking his head. “You know, if you’re curious to know what it is, you’ve only got to ask nicely,” whispered Trip in a teasing fashion. “I was trying to ascertain the nature of your purchase in case Starfleet contacts us regarding the delay to our current mission. It would be more favorable to inform them it was due to ship’s business, rather than say the Chief Engineer needed to make a ‘personal shopping excursion’,” she teased back with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Damn, ya’ gotta’ love a woman that can give it back as good as she can get it, he thought with a smile. “What makes ya’ think it’s anything to do with engineering supplies or food anyway?” “Considering how they are two of your favorite topics, it seemed a logical conclusion,” replied T’Pol as she pressed the button to step inside the turbolift to return to her duties on the Bridge. Just as the doors were closing, Trip grabbed one and held it open, “They are some of ma’ favorites, but they don’t come close to what holds ma’ sole interest and who is constantly in my thoughts,” he said, smiling at her with adoration of someone totally smitten. “It’s being delivered to your quarters later tonight. I hope you like it.” The door closed before Trip could see a hint of a smile on her face and a faint flush of warm fuzzies at her pleasure of knowing how much he cared. I think there’s just time to visit Chef to plan a special dinner for tonight, she thought, as she turned to input new directions into the lift panel. -------------------------------------------- On the other side of the planet in a synchronous orbit that made it virtually impossible for Enterprise to pick up on her scanners, hung an Orion war ship. The slender, beautiful Orion woman, followed closely by her guard, walked up to another huge hulking Orion male sitting in the centre chair. “Was the shop owner receptive to our plan?” “No, Harrad-Sar; but I managed to hide the disk inside a jewel, which I slipped unnoticed into their package. It’s being delivered as we speak.” “Ingenious as always,” he smiled, as she draped herself across him seductively in a way that fully optimized her curvaceous body. “I’ll inform our brethin within the Syndicate that they can commence with the next stage,” he said, fully enjoying the view. “Soon the humans will be humiliated throughout the space faring community and I’ll be able to settle my score with Archer by serving up his head on a platter.” “Which leaves Commander Tucker to me,” said Siena. “Vengeance is thy sister’s name,” she whispered softly, as she trailed her finger delicately up his neck followed by soft sensuous butterfly kisses. --------------------------------------------------- It was eight o’clock and Trip was walking down the corridors towards T’Pol’s quarters. She had called down earlier and asked if he was free for dinner later that night, so he hurried along hoping that she was eager to show her appreciation for his gift. Buzzing the comm outside her door, he entered into the room swathed in soft candlelight. His face soon took on a ‘guppy’ impression of awe as the goddess Venus herself, stepped into his vision. -------------------------------------------------- Trip’s initial impression was not entirely accurate. Venus - the Goddess of love and beauty, mother of Eros (better known as Cupid) - didn’t hold a candle to T’Pol. From the moment he laid eyes on her, Trip would have gladly worshipped at the Vulcan goddess’ feet. He always thought she’d look good in Triaxian silk - but what stood before him was beyond his wildest imagination. The silk hugged her curves, hiding next to nothing. She had it cut low in the front, held together by a sparkling jewel in the center of her bosom. From there the fabric tapered down revealing her beautifully flat abdomen and red silk panties - all bathed in the soft glow of candles. Oh. My. God. Trip couldn’t speak - hell, he couldn’t think. He’d thought that nothing could top their first night together when she revealed herself to him, but this… “I assume from your expression that you are pleased,” she said in her usual impassive tone. “You can say that again!” Trip blurted out. “T’Pol, you’re - God, you’re beautiful!” T’Pol raised an eyebrow. “Thank you.” She touched the fabric and Trip swallowed. “The fabric is surprisingly pleasant.” Trip felt his body temperature rising as she stepped closer to him. “Shall we eat?” she asked. “What?” Trip was confused - food was the last thing on his mind. T’Pol elevated both eyebrows. “You did come to my quarters to share a meal,” she said, indicating the food laid out on a small table. She’d even had Chef prepare pecan pie. “It can wait,” Trip said, his voice sounding more hopeful than assertive. “When was the last time you ate?” “On the planet.” “I doubt that you consumed anything nourishing during your visit.” “But--“ T’Pol stood rigidly before him and Trip knew that she meant business. “You’re going to need your stamina.” That did sound promising. Trip grudgingly sat down. “Y’know, you could give a donkey lessons on bein’ stubborn,” he said. T’Pol merely lifted an eyebrow and began to daintily pick at her food. He wondered just how fast he could eat and still be polite. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jonathan Archer lay in bed, idly scratching behind Porthos’ ears as he read Moby Dick. He’d read it before, several times in fact, but it seemed to take on a different meaning since his experience in the Expanse. Looking back, Jon wondered if he had a bit of Ahab in him then. It was a thought he chose not to dwell on too often and for good reason. Sometimes it was best to leave the past in the past. With a sigh, he set down the book. It just wasn’t doing it for him tonight. Porthos protested when he stood up. “Sorry, boy.” Not for the first time, the Captain of the Enterprise was bored. A Captain had plenty to do, at least it would seem so, but Jonathan was bored all the same. He ran through the limited activity options on the ship. A snack in the mess? Nah. Maybe go visit Phlox? The Doctor was always up. No. Another book? Not interested. Inspect the ship? He didn’t want to make the crew feel jittery. The gym then? The idea of getting sweaty didn’t sound fun to the Captain at this moment. That left one thing: taking Porthos for a walk. “What do you think, boy? Want to stretch your legs?” Porthos gave an affirmative bark and hopped off of the bed. Jonathan smiled. He had to fight Starfleet to let him take his canine buddy with him, but it had been worth it. Porthos was what kept the loneliness at bay. Before the Captain could reach for Porthos’ leash the comm buzzed. He pressed the button and announced, “Archer.” “Captain,” said the voice - Lt. Sanderson, Jon believed, “You’re needed on the bridge.” “I’ll be right there.” Jon turned to the beagle who looked back at him with a wagging tale. “Sorry, boy. We’re going to have to take a rain check on that walk.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Finally! After a painstakingly slow meal, (did she have to chew every goddamn bite so deliberately?) Trip was able to enjoy the beauty that teased him with every moment he wasn’t allowed to touch her. As soon as she set down her fork, Trip took T’Pol’s face in his hands and kissed her. It wasn’t a soft, gentle kiss. It was a kiss of a man full of need - intense, desperate need. And T’Pol responded in kind. There was no easing into the moment, but there never had been between the two of them. He found his clothing being removed rather gruffly — a part of him wondering if he’d have some explaining to do to the quartermaster later — as he attempted to find a way to undo her own top. It seemed to be connected at the jeweled brooch (that he didn’t remember purchasing) and it seemed to be a permanent one. Damn thing’s harder than trying ta undo a bra! Trip was growing increasingly frustrated and was close to ripping her top off when T’Pol’s slender fingers saved him, undoing the clasp effortlessly. It was at that moment that Captain Archer’s voice came over the comm. “All senior staff report to the bridge immediately!” “Sonovabitch!”
“This is the Rigellian Security Patrol Ship Protector of Commerce to the Earth ship Enterprise. You are in possession of stolen property. Prepare to be boarded and searched.” Malcolm immediately stepped to the command chair, displacing the inexperienced young officer currently manning it. She gave him a grateful look. He looked over at the frightened face of Lieutenant Junior Grade Sanderson at the comm station. “Contact the captain, and then open a channel to the Rigellian ship,” he said calmly. His matter-of-fact tone reduced the stress levels on the bridge to manageable levels, and the inexperienced crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. Sanderson nodded as the connection was made. “This is Lieutenant Malcolm Reed of the starship Enterprise,” he coolly replied. “Please state the nature of your business with us and provide us with proof of your identity. I will not allow this ship to be boarded, but if we have inadvertently come into possession of stolen property, I am certain that arrangements can be made to locate it and return it to its proper owner.” “The object in question has a tracer on it, Lieutenant,” replied the Rigellian in disdain. “I am quite certain that it is on your ship, and I know exactly where it is. You cannot fool me into believing that you do not have a thief on board. I am transmitting my proof of identity as we speak. My crew and I are official representatives of the Rigellian government on Kalos V. Unless you wish to engage in armed conflict, you will allow your ship to be boarded.” At that moment, Captain Archer walked through the turbolift doors. He took in the situation at a glance. Malcolm stepped aside to allow him access to the command chair, and whispered briefly into his ear. Archer nodded, and then turned to face the view screen with a pleasantly cooperative look on his face. Malcolm approached tactical with the slightest smirk on his lips. The captain, it seemed, had learned a bit about diplomacy. “I am Captain Jonathan Archer,” said Archer with a polite smile. “How may I help you?” The Rigellian exhaled in exasperation. “Captain… as I have already explained to your Lieutenant … I am a member of the Kalos V Security Force. I have proof that you have stolen property on your ship, transported today from the marketplace in Kalos City, and obviously stolen by a member of your crew.” Archer’s brow went up in an uncanny imitation of a certain Vulcan of his acquaintance. “That’s a very serious accusation. If you will give me a few moments, I will be happy to allow you to speak with the members of my crew who were down on Kalos V today.” Without pausing to wait for the Rigellian security officer’s acknowledgement, Archer indicated to Sanderson that he should cut the connection. Sighing in frustration, Archer got on the ship-wide comm. “All senior staff report to the bridge immediately!” Then he sat back in the command chair. “Time to get to the bottom of this,” he muttered to himself. “Captain, I suggest we go to ‘tactical alert’.” Archer’s head came up with a concerned look on his face. “No!” he replied. “Hold off … If these Rigellians are legitimate, they’ll believe we’re criminals if we bring weapons on line!” “And if they’re not?” Reed’s face betrayed his suspicious nature. Archer sighed. Malcolm did have a point. “You were down on the planet with Trip,” he said in a puzzled voice. “Did anything happen that would make you think these Rigellians might be right?” “No, Sir …” Suddenly Malcolm looked thoughtful for a moment. His eyes flew to the turbolift doors as first Ensign Sato, and then the two commanders entered the bridge. Hoshi went directly to the comm station to relieve Sanderson, while T’Pol, serene and unflappable as usual, took her place at the science station. Commander Tucker took his position at the engineering station to Malcolm’s right, and stared in frustration at T’Pol from across the bridge as she calmly brought up information on her console. His hair was mussed, and he had a very disgruntled expression on his face. Malcolm suppressed a smirk. Evidently, Captain Archer’s announcement had interrupted an activity that the Chief Engineer would have much preferred to continue. Judging from his demeanor, Malcolm was certain that it had something to do with a length of recently purchased textiles and a certain Vulcan First Officer, although he certainly would not have been able to determine that from T’Pol’s reaction to the situation. Malcolm eyed T’Pol. Although she did have certain appealing features, he somehow couldn’t see her luxuriating in Triaxian silk. The Vulcan was simply too pragmatic, in Malcolm’s view, to appreciate the gesture. His eye then caught Hoshi’s shining dark hair. He allowed himself the luxury of imagining, just for a moment, what it would look like spread out over slim shoulders clad in shimmering red silk … and then blinked. Ensign Sato is a subordinate officer and quite off-limits, he told his wayward imagination firmly. As he sat looking at her, her head came up as if she were about to make eye contact, and she spoke… “We’re receiving a hail, Captain,” she said, bursting Malcolm’s bubble. His eyes returned hurriedly to his tactical display. “Put the Rigellian on screen,” replied Archer in resignation as he turned forward once again. “It’s not from the Rigellian ship, Captain. It’s an Orion Syndicate trade ship, sir,” replied Hoshi. Archer looked back at the screen in alarm. An angry looking male Orion appeared on the screen in front of him. “You are in possession of property belonging to the Orion Syndicate, Human,” said the disagreeable green faced alien. “Hand it over now or be boarded.” “Orion ship, this is the Kalos V Security Patrol ship Protector of Commerce,” protested the Rigellian. “You are in Rigellian space. The suspect will be questioned and the stolen property recovered. If it is indeed yours, you will receive it back in due time. Stand down now or you will be fired upon.” “Captain!” interjected Malcolm. “Both the Rigellians and the Orions are powering up weapons!” “Tactical alert, Lieutenant!” ordered Archer. “It looks like we may have just lost our chance to talk our way out of this!” +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Just what did you do down there, Lieutenant?” “All I did was buy a ceremonial dagger … legitimately, I assure you, Captain,” explain Malcolm, as another blast shot across the hull, causing Trip had to steady himself on T’Pol’s station. Malcolm shot him a glance. Archer stood up, steadying himself on the edge of his chair. “Return fire, Mister Reed…give a few warning shots of our own and get these ships off our backs!” “Gladly sir…” Malcolm was in his element. He couldn’t say the same for his friend; Trip looked absolutely ill. He knew what was coming. Archer looked back. “Trip?” Trip tried to look hurt. “It wasn’t me sir.” “What did you buy down there?” Archer instantly knew that something was amiss. Trip’s ears had turned red, along with the back of his neck; he knew his friend long enough to know when he was embarrassed. But wait, does T’Pol look slightly greener than normal? Archer sighed inwardly – this wasn’t going to be pretty. “Trip?” Trip looked around at the bridge crew; then looked down to the vicinity of his feet. “Silk,” he muttered, not daring to look at T’Pol, but feeling waves of discomfort from her. The ship rocked again and Archer was angrier still. “Put some distance between us and those ships Ensign,” he ordered, a bit too testily as Mayweather looked back at him with trepidation, “I can’t sir, that last shot took helm control.” Archer shot a look over at Trip again, who had staggered to his engineering station to report, “Damn…we’ve lost bridge control of the engines!” Trip gave a momentary look up at T’Pol, who was reporting to the Captain as well. “Ship’s systems are malfunctioning on the bridge,” T’Pol said calmly, though she had to steady herself on her console at the next jolt, “as well as on deck one, and portions of deck two. We have been scanned by the Rigellian ship… this may be causing the malfunctions throughout the ship.” “Sir! We are being hailed by the Rigillians…and the Orions!” Hoshi interrupted abruptly. “On screen, and open audio on all channels …I want to talk to both of them!” Archer ordered. The Rigellian security officer appeared on screen, but Archer recognized the voice of the Orion on audio instantly. “We are boarding your ship, Archer. Be prepared!” “Harrad-Sar. Why am I not surprised? I’d say it’s nice to hear from you again, but even I can’t be that diplomatic.” The Rigillian was getting impatient, “We too are boarding your ship. Be prepared for a complete search for the stolen property.” Archer put on his best “diplomatic” face, though under protest. He raised his hands and spoke with more calmness than he felt, “No one needs to ‘board’ my ship forcefully. I’m sure we can resolve this by inviting a representative from each party to ‘discuss’ our options.” Archer paused, “as an armed conflict will no doubt be detrimental to all of us.” The Rigellian security officer considered a minute, “that would be agreeable.” “Fine.” Harrad-Sar grunted. “Great!” Archer found it difficult to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, “Oh, Harrad-Sar…you will NOT bring any of your women to my ship again, understood?” Harrad-Sar grunted one last time before breaking the communication link. Archer turned to Malcolm, “Get a security detail and bring our guests to the observation lounge.” Reed was out of his seat in a shot, “Yes sir!” He was in the turbolift before Archer could give his next order, “Commanders…my ready room, now!” Archer turned on his heal and headed to his ready room with Trip and T’Pol in tow, the former with a chagrined look on his face, the latter sporting the closest thing to a frown and a furrowed brow that Trip had ever seen. The three entered the room in single file, Archer going immediately to his desk and sitting down; Trip and T’Pol standing front and centre at full attention. Archer got right to the point, “Which of you want to be the first to explain to me what the hell is going on here?” ************************************************************************************************
"The brooch," said T'Pol quietly, almost as if she were talking to herself. Both men turned their eyes to the First Officer and waited for her to continue. "Commander Tucker..." Archer could sense her reluctance to discuss matters regarding their personal relationship in front of him. He put on his most neutral face and gazed at her impassively until she continued. "The jeweled brooch that was also in the package. Did you purchase it in the same shop?" Trip tilted his head and narrowed his eyes quizzically. "I thought...I thought that belonged to you, T'Pol, I didn't buy it." "Fascinating," T'Pol murmured. "A mysterious item appears in Commander Tucker's possession..." "...And Harrad-Sar appears at the same time, accusin' us of theft," Trip finished. "What a coincidence, huh?" "Too much of a coincidence,” Archer added. “Something tells me we’re being set up. But for what?" "Impossible to say without further analysis," concluded T'Pol. "Well, that's exactly what I want," said Archer. "T'Pol, I need you to retrieve the jeweled..." He gestured, trying to recall the word in his mind, as he knew next to nothing about women's jewelry. "Brooch," T'Pol supplied helpfully. "Brooch. I want you to run every scan you can think of on it. Make sure Malcolm assists you...no way of knowing if this thing is a weapon of some sort. Also test the silk Trip bought, just to be on the safe side. And hurry. We don't have much time before the Orions and Rigelians show up." T'Pol hesitated just for the briefest of moments. "Understood." She then turned and left the situation room, door sliding closed behind her. Trip exhaled. "Cap'n, this wasn't how I planned on letting you know about--" Archer held up a hand and smiled. "Trip, I'm the captain. You think my second and third command spending every spare moment in quarters together somehow escaped my notice?" "Well, when you put it like that, no." Trip looked at Archer, eyes less wary but still full of concern. "I feel responsible for this situation. If we hadn't gone to the marketplace--" The captain shook his head. "What are the chances of Harrad-Sar just turning up? Clearly he's been planning something for a while. If it hadn't been your purchase, he would have set us up another way. " "But if I hadn't--" "Trip, you didn't do anything wrong. You are allowed to have a private life, and you are allowed to buy something nice for your...girlfriend..." Archer felt an inappropriate grin threaten to surface, and he covered his mouth with his hand. Trip snorted. "Yeah, it's weird, I know. Still not quite used to it myself." Archer composed himself and shook his head. "Trip, when this is over we're going to have a drink and a long talk about this--but now isn't the time. We have to figure out what that jewelry contains, and how to gracefully get out of this situation without getting ourselves blown to bits.” He paused and tilted his head slightly. “Or sold in an Orion slave marketplace." "You have a plan?" asked Trip. "For starters," Archer said as he stood and moved toward the door, "you and I are going to meet with the Orion and Rigellian representatives. And then we're going to stall for time, until T'Pol and Malcolm can figure out exactly what we have in our possession." *** T'Pol assented to Lieutenant Reed's suggestion that the armory would be the safest place to test the items. While she disagreed somewhat with his assessment, believing the science lab would provide better tools for analysis, the equipment in the armory was perfectly adequate and there the pair would be able to work in relative privacy. The privacy was required in order to better concentrate on the task at hand, she told herself. It was certainly not because she was already beyond mortified that the Armory Officer was going to see the red silk garments she had worn for Trip earlier in the evening, and having to repeat that experience with any other crewmembers would be more humiliating than any Vulcan could possibly bear. Vulcans do not experience embarrassment, she silently repeated to herself, for the twenty-third time in the past six point three minutes. But her ears and cheeks did not seem to receive the message, and she felt the olive flush burning as Reed warily regarded the neatly folded pile of red silk on the table before them. The Tactical Officer's voice was even and professional. "Right, then, Commander. How about you take the...fabric, and I'll take the brooch." "Agreed." T'Pol picked up the pile of fabric and unfolded the luxurious silk robe, removing the tiny matching panties folded within. The undergarment was little more than several ribbon ties, connected to a slightly wider triangle of fabric. Out of the corner of her eye T'Pol realized that Reed's rounded ears were turning an interesting shade of pink. Vulcans do not experience embarrassment...T'Pol reached for her tricorder as Reed ran his own diagnostics on the jeweled piece. All self-consciousness was forgotten, however, as Reed straightened suddenly and turned to her. His tone was clipped and serious. "Commander, you need to have a look at this."
Continue to Page 2 of the ROUND ROBIN Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS! A whole mess of folks have made commentsNice beginning. Kind of sucks that I'm too busy at work to beta this like I promised. Definitely looking forward to the rest... Nice beginning. Kind of sucks that I'm too busy at work to beta this like I promised. Definitely looking forward to the rest... Nice beginning. Kind of sucks that I'm too busy at work to beta this like I promised. Definitely looking forward to the rest... This is definitely a good start - and something I will look forward to reading. It is always nice to read about the friendship between Mal and Trip. This has all the elements of a good fan fic! Great beginning! Trip and Malcolm on a mission! Oh the possibilities. ; ) Love the image of Mr. Reed "....desperately holding back a fit of hysterical laughter." LOL!!!!! More! Excellent! More, more more! Can't wait for more! Did I mention more? Seriously, this is such a great start, I can't wait to see where all y'all take it! :) P.S. - Malcolm's awesome. Tee hee. ;) Can't wait to see where this goes... especially since I'll have to participate in about 10 days. Looks like fun! What a great start Ludjin! And I'm right after you Distracted! Oh, crap, Orions... how can I write Orions?! Wait a sec... hopefully by the time this gets to me the Orion will be gone. Hey, there's no rule saying we can't pull the MU into this if we get stuck, right? Damn, this was FAST, Ludjin! With my luck this will all move so quickly that I'll get my turn right as school is starting up again. Eeep! At least two pages doesn't look like much on the screen. Hey, Jash .. my portion was actually arial, size 10 font. *cough* I cheated. ;) And, hey, I like Orions! They're cool! They're the interstellar femme-controlled mafia! *pats an un-posted fic lovingly* And thanks for all the compliments, y'all! Really looking forward to where this babe goes. :D Fun, fun , fun! Very interestin start,,,,,,,, ;) I wonder how Polly will look in that Silk.,,,,, Poor Malcom,,, an Orion giant,, an Ocean world,, an Trip,,, Poor Malcom's gona earn his pay in this story. Very nice and funny!!! It was so easy to see them having this talk while walking around. Looking for the next chapter. I'm so nervous, I've never done something like this before, but at least the story looks fun! So if I use arial size 20 would that be cheating? LOL Great start Ludjin! Excellent characterizations. oh goody!! I can't believe Trip admitted to Malcolm that he wanted to buy something for T'Pol!! I love it. This could be gooooooooodddd. Really good...more please. Yes...more..This looks to be very interseting....T. good good good, i like orions, malcolm, AND dragons! hope this is going somewhere interesting, it certainly seems like it! Great start Ludjin. I can't wait to see where Myst goes with this. This is fun. Can't wait to see what's next... Awesome start. :) I love the characterization and the humor in this first part. Add me to the list of writers with nerves! Yay! Update! I'm lovin' it...can't wait to see what Hoshissis does with it! ;) Updates are my favourite... I love this, can't wait for more! :) Uh-oh... Poor Trip! What's going to happen to him, I wonder! LOL Two excellent chapters -- can't wait for the next one! Oh, poor Trip! He's in Trrrroouuble! Excellent chapter, Myst! I love Trip and Mal; they're hilarious together! Lookin' forward to more ... ! :) Heheh Trip's in trouble. More please. The Chap was great. Oh boy! You up for this Startraveller? Remember... we decided to keep it PG-13! Any bets on whether Archer will interrupt? :-D Moooorrrreeee.... I think I can manage... but I did get a laugh when I found out I got left with a very juicy cliffhanger. Me! Of all fic writers! ROFL! I will not fail in this endeavor, however... *wrings hands while laughing wickedly* Don't worry Startraveller, we have a PG rating! Great update! Nice, Hoshi's Sis! I can't wait for more! All y'all do an awesome job! :) HA! Wormed your way out of a sex scene there, didn't you? LOL! You are so MEAN, ST! Now I'm the one who's gotta come up with a reason for everybody to be called to the bridge? Okay... Here goes nothin'! (Wait a minute... I just got a REALLY evil idea! Bwahahaha!) - D : )) LOL! I knew Startraveller would get out of T'Pol's quarters intact! Great writing! Please be kind Distracted...I'm on deck next... Hee hee hee! Trip can never seem to catch a break, can he? Nicely done, everyone, can't wait to see was Distracted's evil idea is! :) Oooh, ST! I love it! Hee! Poor Trip. No nookie for him -- yet. Very interesting so far. I wonder why the Captain didn't think of visiting Trip. Probably knew he would be, um, "distracted." (No pun intended.) Typical Archer timing!! Always at the wrong moment!!! LOL Yeah, I couldn't resist, it would just seem out of character if Archer didn't interfere. :p I was mean to Trip--but you have to believe me that I wanted them to get it on, Archer just had other ideas (as well as whatever Distracted decides has them all on the bridge--sorry about that cliffhanger, but you have to believe me when I thought about the same thing when Hoshi's Sis left me where she did! LOL). Anyway, I can't wait for the next installment--I know it's gonna be real good. :-) Ohhh...the evilness! How can you do this to poor Trip? All he wants is a little Vulcan lovin'? Maybe for Vulcan Love Slave III: Triaxian Silk! :-D I'm loving this... so evil, but oh so great! lolololololol so evil, but oh so great! lolololololol Oh, boy...this is fun! Poor Trip...he's got such a rough life. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. Mwa ha ha! This is awesome! You guys are the greatest, what would we readers do without you? (*wipes away tear*) ;) Oh, no you didn't! Just read part 5 and you stopped at the good part?!! Arrgh! Just hope Trippy can resolve the suspense! Sweet! Now we've got a three-way starship standoff! Hey, Trippy, you going to give us a battle? :D Distracted...you are so evil! :) Whatever will Trippy do now? I'm really enjoying this. I got it all planned out and half written already... That was so hilarious, Distracted and so evil! Well done!! Hehe, update soon please. yay could this be a starship battle in the making? i hope so! lol by the way everyone can try to keep sneaking out of the t&t scenes, but eventually someones gotta take up the guts and write it! That'll be the conclusion...and [wicked laugh] persionmouse gets the conclusion [/wicked laugh] Only just found this RR, this is fantastic, well done all of you, what a challenge, can't wait for more. lol! oh my...poor Trip and T'Pol. Although may i state that its none of Archer's business why Trip bought the silk! stupid Archer...days like this i wanna beat him up. ROFL!!! I love it! Well written, Trippy! I can't wait to see what the next one is! Ohhh! Juicy! Now we'll have a diplomatic conference AND some embarrassing revelations. Good job getting out of the three way standoff Trippy. Your turn Pookha. Remember... you've got to do the technobabble chapter since you're the best technobabbler around! Nice! Can't wait for the scream-fest(aka the "conference"), AND the silk fallout! Mwa ha ha, this is awesome! :) These things are just way too short!! More fun! It's going to be a blast to read the "explanation"...can either of them come up with something that Archer will buy? I'm really enjoying this... Thanks...I'm glad y'all liked my chapter! Edit by myst123: Why is Misplaced listed as the author of part 4? Misplaced disliked her former name, and asked us to change it, so we did. Oh, Oh, Oh my god! I nearly busted a gut laughing when Malcolm saw the panties! Wonder what sort of fantasies he's gonna have now? This is too good! You did a marvelous job, T'Leela. What happened to pookha, though? I thought she/he was up next. Anybody know if pookha's okay? This was great, T'Leela; I really liked your take on Archer and his knowledge of TnT. One thing I wonder about, though, is how Archer knew the brooch was a jeweled one? I know what Malcolm was thinking about regarding those panties. "Mmmm...on her bum..." Rigil, Because T'Pol mentioned it first. And wow, did I totally luck out that she did, because I absolutely wasn't thinking about the fact that Archer didn't know about the pin earlier...;) ROFL!! I love it! Well done. I can't wait to see what happens next. :-) Great latest extension - I am really impressed at how this round robin story is weaving around really well between writers! You all so far have done a fantastic job! Keep it up! :) Oh and Malcom's reactions were precious is this last chapter :) LOL! Excellent update...we are being kinda cruel to Trip and T'Pol! LOL! I can just imagine Malcolm and T'Pol squirming... ;) Hey T'Leela...she mentioned that the brooch existed but not that it was jeweled...methinks Cap'n Archer knows too much... And where the heck is Phlox?! ^^ D'oh! I read that wrong. Sorry, T'Leela! Distracted, Pookha and Jash had to pull out due to not having the time so I had to shuttle around some name, beg, plead, the usual. LOL. Pookha's okay, she was just getting over a cold. Great work guys, keep this rolling, this story absolutely rocks and you're all doing us pround. I have to agree with Hoshissis, this story is awesome. All y'all (I say that a lot, don't I?) are doin' a fine job. (A Canadian typing with a Southern accent. Heaven help us.) ;) gah! you know wha drives me nuts about this round robin.... the bloody cliff hangers! whome ever is next better hurry! my sanity (what little i have left) can't take it! |