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A Fine Mess- Ch. 2

Author - Chianna
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A Fine Mess

By Chianna

PG - Action/Adventure/Romance
Disclaimers in part one

Chapter 2

Communication Is Everything

Such is the human race. Often it does seem such a pity that Noah... did not miss the boat. - Mark Twain, commonly revered by current-day Vulcan philosophers.

Captain Archer surveyed the bridge and its inhabitants with obvious relief and pride. They had weathered another crisis that further tested his team’s mettle. No casualties this time. He could sense the after effects of a successful mission on the team. A mild euphoria, common after the adrenaline rush of dealing with a survival situation was transforming into the shaky exhaustion. The next bridge shift was due soon and the rest would be welcome for the whole team.

Archer sensed T’Pol just behind him and to his left browsing intently through the science station screens. After the past couple of months, he has come to appreciate the quiet competence and unflappable calm of his first officer.

Sure, it can be annoying to be excited, angry, elated or frustrated and face T’Pol’s slightly canted eyebrow in each situation. But he could swear that he was beginning to sense, if not emotions, at least shifts in the diminutive subcommander’s moods. The captain could almost swear that T’Pol relished putting the chief engineer in his place – at least certainly reminding him of some of his less than fortunate dealings with alien life forms.

"T’Pol. How long until we reach the Kirilian binary system? I’m looking forward to surveying gravitational impacts on planets subjected to the twin pulls of the system’s two suns."

"At our current rate of warp 2.4 we will reach the edge of this system in 37 hours, 17 minutes. "

Flushed with satisfaction, Archer couldn’t help teasing the Subcommander. "Could you be more precise?"

"I can provide you with alternate arrival times at changes in Warp factor, if you so desire. At current speeds, we will reach the outer planetary body Kirilian 8 in 38 hours, fine minutes, Kirilian 7 in an additional 2 hours, 3 minutes. Kirilian 6..." droned T’Pol.

"Uncle. T’Pol."

"Captain, I fail to see matriarchal or patriarchal sibling relationships as having any bearing on estimated arrival times."

"Uncle is a way humans say that they retreat in the face of a formidable foe or equally formidable statistics."

T’Pol focused directly on the Captain, adding, "Human colloquialisms are quite confusing and non-representative of their definition. I may consider asking Ensign Sato to assist me in researching and adding them to the Universal translator database. Commander Tucker may find these enhancements useful, since his communications seem to be overly populated with these phrases."

Archer was sure that he heard a rather indelicate snort coming from a certain Ensign located at the comm station. T’Pol certainly can hold her own, he mused. "Not a bad idea, Subcommander. I’m sure that the Commander will appreciate your efforts."

A tone rang throughout the bridge, snapping everyone’s attention back to Hoshi at the comm. She tilted her head, listening intently. Switching off the comm for a moment, Hoshi relayed the latest communication.

"Captain Storek of the Vulcan exploration vessel Moons of San’jeen is requesting Enterprise’s assistance, Captain. We have audio and visual."

Archer raised both eyebrows high enough to do a Vulcan justice. "A Vulcan Captain is requesting our assistance? This, I’ve got to hear. Hoshi, put the good Captain up on the screen and let’s see how we can aid out Vulcan friends"

***********************


Continued in Chapter 3
Back to Chapter 1

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