Alpha Waves

Alpha Waves

By Aquila

Rating: PG-13
Category: Angst, Romance
Summary: Sequel to Beta Waves – T’Pol meets her Father and trips.

==

“Captain Archer!”

A flash bulb popped.

“Over here Captain Archer!”

Halogen lights shone in their eyes. Trip, T’Pol, Malcolm and Major Hayes melted into the background. Hayes put on sunglasses, his eyes darting everywhere looking for signs of danger. Lt. Reed kept his own watch, prepared to alert his captain to the presence of influential private citizens and persons of rank. Trip noted potential distractions.

Since Enterprise returned to Earth, Enterprise’s Chief Engineer had failed to spend a full night on board. He was becoming the favourite subject of gossip columnists and paparazzi. Women with little talent and great ambition vied to have their names linked with his.

A weary T’Pol tuned out the mayhem. When Archer pulled her to his side, she turned a stoic face toward him, holding his gaze long enough to satisfy Starfleet publicists. At his insistence she had worn “something feminine.” She supposed the Captain thought feminine garb would divert attention away from the fact that she did not wear a uniform, since she was neither a member of Starfleet nor an extension of Vulcan High Command. In a life nearly twice the length of his she had never felt more alien.

Lt. Reed coughed discreetly. Archer cocked his head to one side to catch the whispered message.

“Ambassador Soval, sir, at 21:00.”

T’Pol visibly stiffened. Spontaneously, the lieutenant put his career on the line by bumping into the Ambassador, providing T’Pol with sufficient time to slip away. As Soval began to bluster indignantly, Archer stepped between the Ambassador and the self-sacrificial lamb.

==

What to do with T’Pol upon their return to Earth had occupied many hours of Enterprise conversation, formal and informal. She was estranged from the crewmember with the greatest understanding of her. To the crew of Enterprise she was a valuable member to whom they owed a debt of gratitude. She contributed enormously to the success of their mission and their survival.

Three days after leaving the Delphic Expanse the atmosphere of the ship was safe enough for T’Pol to emerge from solitary confinement. She was greeted at the door to her quarters by the Doctor, a hovering Archer and her senior science crew. The one face she longed to rest her eyes on was in engineering flushing injector valves, avoiding the inevitable pain that seeing her would cause him.

Jonathan Archer solved the T’Pol dilemma when he decided that she would be included in every transmission, report, and encounter related to their return and the mission. So high did he raise her profile that no backroom machinations by either Starfleet or the Vulcans could erase her from public consciousness.

To save face, in a public ceremony, she was given a retroactive Starfleet commission with the rank of Commander. She promptly resigned the commission, citing the end of the mission and a desire to return to scientific research as her reasons. The Vulcans took advantage of the opening to save face as well, making her a fellow of the Vulcan Science Directorate, and endowing a chair in Human and Vulcan relations at Berkley, which she would take up in the fall after extended personal leave.

Throughout the fuss and bother surrounding the ship’s return, whether T’Pol was the centre of attention or Jonathan Archer, the couple were inseparable. A cloud of rumours and speculation surrounded them. For every question about their individual roles in the mission, the rest of the Enterprise crew found themselves wielding a question about the relationship between the Vulcan and their captain.

Irritation with the incessant questions, gossip and speculation came to a head, minutes after T’Pol escaped from the grasp of Archer and the obvious determination of Soval. A rookie reporter got the break of a lifetime when she was jostled into the Chief Engineer by videographers eager to capture the Ambassador for the evening news.

“Pardon me, ma’am.” Trip said automatically, unaware of whose elbow had stuck him in the ribs.

“Commander Tucker, isn’t it?” She flashed hazel eyes and a traffic stopping smile at the frustrated hero. For the first time in her short career, her natural attributes were ineffective. Curiosity overcame pride. She followed the line of the Commander’s gaze. The vanishing backside of the Vulcan had him mesmerized.

“Look beyond the obvious, class,” was the frequent admonition of her favourite journalism professor. “Look beyond the obvious indeed.”

“Excuse me, ma’am.” She heard the Commander say, before dashing off in the same direction as T’Pol of Vulcan.

The reporter looked for Archer. He and Lieutenant Reed were engaged in a conversation with the Ambassador that required a large number of arm and hand gestures. The Captain appeared oblivious to the absence of his constant companion.

Was there more to the Archer/T’Pol story than was obvious? She followed the Commander.

==

“Do you want every news outlet in this system and every other system for 20 light years to broadcast images of the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth in a heated debate with the Hero of the Xindi Threat?” Archer and Soval froze at the picture Malcolm had drawn.

Archer stopped making windmills of his arms. Soval buried his hands inside the sleeves of his ceremonial robes. They stepped away, leaving the width of a Starfleet Armoury Officer between them.

“Excuse me ladies and gentlemen,” said Malcolm, raising his arms to gain the reporters’ attention. “Captain Archer and Ambassador Soval are late for a pressing appointment. This is the end of the press conference.”

Major Hayes responding to Reed’s cue began hustling as decorously as possible the Hero and the Ambassador into a waiting shuttlepod.

Malcolm pulled the hatch closed as he scrambled in behind. “Travis, get us out of here.”

“What about T’Pol and Commander Tucker?”

“We’ll send a pod back for them later. Get us out of here, now, Ensign.”

“Yes, sir.”

==

San Francisco erupted into a celebration that was a cross between Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras when Enterprise returned carrying news of peace between Humans and Xindi. T’Pol darted and ducked her way through kissing couples, street jugglers and inebriated revellers, many of whom wore the uniforms of Academy cadets.

A large civilian, obviously under the influence, grabbed her as she passed, and swung her about. His exclamations of joy were incomprehensible to his captive. Trip, who had sidestepped a couple doing pirouettes linked elbow to elbow, froze when he glimpsed T’Pol’s discomfort. Sheila, the rookie reporter, barely avoided bumping into her quarry. She pulled back, taking refuge behind a lamppost. That was the moment she remembered that she carried a digital camera with a long lens. By the time she had rooted about in her bag and looked up to frame the shot, T’Pol and the Commander had vanished. However, the civilian was flat on his back in the street. His hands held his head as he moaned and writhed from side to side.

End of Part 1

Continue to Part 2

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Ooh, intriguing. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Very nice continuation! Anxiously awaiting the next part!

Is there a possible chance that Trip and Tpol may end up together after all or am I jumping to the wrong conclusion?. Even if he had read the letter would it have made any difference to him that she would not take a mate during his lifetime, she is still not spending her life with him. Can't wait to see where you go from here. "Think happy endings".

I like the idea of the Enterprise crew being at the center of the world's media attention. I suspect it will be even more difficult for Trip and T'Pol to come to terms with each other (and their respective father's) under the watchful prying eye of the paparazzi.

Nice! Can't wait to see where this goes. How strange and interesting for our crew to find themselves feeling so out of place on their own home planet. Trip must know how T'Pol feels now. Please continue!

please continue.......the suspense is killin me!

This is different, I am sure I have not read any other fic which covers the Enterprise return to Earth *after* the mission and run-ins with the press like this. I admit to cringing at the crew being hounded by these 'paper spies' and just hope Trip and T'Pol manage to elude that reporter and not get caught in some embarrassing situation through the camera lens. If I could I'd get my shuttlepod and whisk them the hell out of there. Another mission should do it! Thanks for a great start, can't wait to see what happens next. Ali D :~)

Oh, you are a wicked story teller! Evil Aquila, you toy with out emotions and break our hearts with the Beta Waves finale, only to have Trip come to T'pol's rescue in Alpha Waves. You have us on an emtional roller coaster! AAAAAAAAAARGH!!! Gawd, you're brilliant!!!

Rating: PG-13
Category: Angst, Angst, More Angst, A knife in the heart, Romance, Even More Angst, and then Aquila will probably kill of the lovers in a cruel attempt to pour salt on the wounded reader who has been driven to heavy drinking to numb the pain and depression brought on by Beta Waves.
Summary: Sequel to Beta Waves – T’Pol meets her Father and trips.

==

/LOVE YOU!!!

Thank you! - I think - for the new "waves". I really hope that there will be some happy moments. You´ve just broken our heart with Beta Waves, please DON`T torture us with the Alpha Waves, PLEASE!

Oh, and another thing! I don't mind the angst so much, as long as it's followed up with an equal amount of blissful snogging and shagging.

Angst + Angst = Snogging + Shagging

Blanced equation :)

This is good. I love it, I was depressed in the one before, T'pol being locked away, and her letter to Trip, but this looks as if it'll get very good. And I'm cracking up about Trip knocking the guy on the street out. That's hilarious, and so like him!

Malcolm and Major Hayes running the press conferences. Thats great!

Thank you god! I hoped you wouldn't just end it there with Beta Waves....