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Pathways - Part 5Author - Energy4TripnT’Pol
Fan Fiction Main Page | Stories sorted by title, author, genre, and rating TRIP/T’POLERS MU FANFIC CHALLENGE Pathways By: Energy4TripnT’Pol Rating: PG Note: When I wrote this, I was under the impression that “Bound” was airing after the Mirror Universe arc episodes. Forgive me for not having the details right, and do note I have hinted some “bond” issues into the story. So in this part, Trip can’t see in T’Pol’s mind (or however we’ve decided it works). Sorry! But for those of us who are still working on the “bond” stories, there is another daydream sequence from Trip’s mind in Chapter 22 that’s longer than the one from “Affliction.” * * *
T’Pol didn’t move from the mirror; it took every part of stamina that she had not to fall over. She ran her hand over her stomach futilely, but the bloating stayed. “No,” she whispered. She wasn’t expecting any outward signs of pregnancy until the fifth month or so. Yet she remembered that her mate was human. She hadn’t figured on that making a difference with her, but it had and now she had to deal with it. She turned the faucet on the shower and moved away from the bathroom. Hoping that a billowy garment was still in her position, she began searching the closet. She found one, laid it on her bed, and began making a mental checklist. There were many things she needed to do. As a scientist, she needed to do research on the differences. She hadn’t gotten around to doing it yet, so it was first on her list. Second on her list, she needed to inform her husband on her change in circumstances. Or, she reflected, perhaps it should be first on her list. Nevertheless, they would happen. T’Pol sighed softly, put a hand to her head, and sat down on the bed. There were too many things going through her head; she felt slightly nauseous. No, she felt nauseous. T’Pol felt an unpleasant feeling beginning to rise in her throat. She moved as quickly as she could to the bathroom where the shower was still running, shifted to the toilet, and before her Vulcan mindset would stop her, she found herself stooped over the toilet bowl, vomiting the dinner she had eaten in solitary last night. When she finished, she stretched her hands into the shower and splashed some water on her face. She gasped for air as she shut off the shower and peered into the mirror. And then, before she could think of anything else, she tapped the comm button. “T’Pol to Coleman.” * * * Trip was in Engineering, basically making sure that the engine wasn’t in any danger of exploding, when a crewman pecked him on the shoulder. “Commander, there’s a call for you from Dr. Coleman.” He nodded at the younger man. Securing his station, he jumped down the three rungs that compromised the ladder and made a note in his mind, for the sake of his ankles, not to do that anymore. He went upstairs to the computer screen, holding back the emotional appearance. Yet, when Erica Coleman’s picture came up on the screen, Trip immediately got worried. “Doc. What can I do for you?” “Commander, there’s a matter of some urgency that needs your attention in Sickbay. Can you come away from Engineering for a few minutes?” Erica asked, and her face betrayed what she wasn’t saying: something was wrong, and he better come. Trip shrugged. “Yeah, I’m just hangin’ around down here. I’ll be in Sickbay in a few minutes. Tucker out.” She nodded and her face disappeared from the screen. Trip was acting like nothing was wrong; yet inside, he knew that something was wrong with T’Pol. After her pregnancy had come out between the three of them, it could only be about her. Trip nodded and shook his head at a few people that walked by while he walked to Sickbay. When he arrived just outside the doors, he paused. Then preparing himself for the worst, he entered. All he saw was Dr. Coleman, standing with her arms crossed by a curtained off biobed. Trip nodded at her. “Hey, Doc. What’s up?” Coleman motioned for Trip to walk over to the other side of the biobed. Then, when Erica pulled the biobed curtain back, Trip sighed in relief but also in worry. T’Pol was laying on the biobed conscious, but he couldn’t help but notice the rising of her abdomen. “Ah, man. T’Pol, what happened?” “I was waking this morning when a nauseous feeling came over me,” she said. “I began vomiting and called Dr. Coleman.” Trip noted the billowy outfit that she was wearing. “Ya managed to change before you came?” “I believe,” she said, almost ignoring what her husband had said as the doctor stood back a pace or two, “that we need to come up with an effective escape plan.” Trip sat down on the bed, his thighs up against the side of her ribs and stomach. “We will,” he replied quietly. “We will.” In the engineer’s mind, he had already planted doubt in the captain’s mind about Reed. “The captain thinks that Reed might be trying to get rid of us so he can get the command seat. Tell you what: let me finish out the day in Engineering, and then we’ll leave. Maybe we’ll even go through the anomaly or something. See what’s there.” He inclined his head down. “Okay?” She pushed herself up and brought her face only inches away from his. “All right. Meet me in my quarters after duty.” “You’ve got a deal,” he said, closing the distance, and planting a well-deserved kiss on his wife’s lips. T’Pol reclined back down and Trip pulled the curtain shut behind him, looking for the doctor. “Hey, Doc.” Erica had been sitting at a computer screen, but turned around at Trip’s mention of her. He glanced behind them at the sectioned-off space, and then back to the doctor as he asked, “Does she have to stay here all day?” With a shake of her head, Erica replied, “No. T’Pol would have been fine on her own, but she wanted a proper diagnosis from me. She can leave when she wants to.” Trip glanced back one more time. “Thanks.” He turned and exited Sickbay, pausing against the bulkhead outside. Man, was life screwed up. But he wouldn’t have traded it for anything. The two things he loved most were onboard this ship, and he couldn’t ask for more. Well, maybe he would ask for a world where it wouldn’t kill anyone to have a life like he and T’Pol did, he thought. Then he pushed himself up off the bulkhead and walked back to Engineering, looking forward to getting away from work. * * * In the observation room, Trip and T’Pol were on opposite sides of the room when another voice rang through. “Archer to T’Pol. How are things going?” Trip hit the comm first; he figured that he would want to talk to him as well. “The deflector is almost ready to go.” “We are still researching possible ways to help our counterparts,” T’Pol added. “I just got off with Admiral Gardner,” Archer replied. “He says our first focus is on closing the anomaly. I’m slightly amending that. As long as you have a way to seal the anomaly, you can work on helping your counterparts.” “I’ve been listenin’ in on what people are sayin’,” Trip threw in. “Our counterparts are considering coming through the anomaly as a last resort.” “Nonetheless, it would seem they are running out of time. T’Pol’s pregnancy is physically visible.” Archer groaned. “Keep at it. I’ll check in later. Archer out.” Trip tapped the comm again. “Maybe their comin’ through the anomaly would be the best thing.” T’Pol turned around to face him. “People would constantly be confusing them with us. Are you sure that it is such a good idea?” “Otherwise, they could die. Does that sound better?” Trip countered with, turning around to look at her. T’Pol shook her head. “The Malcolm from that universe is considerin’ killin’ Captain Archer and my counterpart, and that Trip is considerin’ escapin’ Enterprise.” “It is not so much a consideration as it is a life-saving choice,” T’Pol mentioned, and Trip nodded. “Okay, right. Is there a world nearby that they could start over on? Settle down without fear of gettin’ killed and they can raise a family. There’s gotta be somethin’,” Trip said, looking back at the monitor in desperation. T’Pol stared at the computer screen as well, but no ideas came to her mind. She was listening to Trip’s breathing as he turned around and sat down. “This is so stupid. They can’t live normally in their universe, and they can’t live normally in ours, either.” She secured her station and walked towards him, pulling out a seat next to him. “May I see your hand?” Trip nodded. “Ya don’t have to ask.” “It was simply polite,” she said as he extended it. She turned it upside-down as she felt for a neural point in his open palm. “This is a less invasive form of neuro-pressure. Close your eyes.” Trip obliged. Inside his head, he tried to divert his attention away from the stimulations that T’Pol was awakening in his hand to the white-background that, while he had been on Columbia, he had seen T’Pol in a daydream. She claimed that it was where she went when she meditated; Trip said he would have preferred the beach, but hey. You can’t have everything your way. This time, it was. Trip saw himself walking on a beach in the Florida Panhandle near Panama City. He glanced over himself; clad in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants and sandals, he was attracting a heavy amount of attention from other women. Yet, the only woman on the beach he had eyes for was standing about 20 meters in front of him, wearing a tank top of sorts and capri pants of sorts. With his eyes closed, Trip smiled in real life as that same woman sat in front of him massaging his hand. What he didn’t know, T’Pol had her eyes closed in meditation and was standing on that beach, seeing the same thing. * * * CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO T’Pol watched as Trip, with a smile spread over his face, slowly walked up to her. “Well, fancy meetin’ you here.” “Another daydream?” she innocently asked. Trip shook his head. “Actually, you’re workin’ miracles on my hand right now in the observation room. I just needed a break.” “Shall we walk?” The beach was suddenly empty, devoid of people. In Trip’s mind, it was late July. Normally, there were tons of people on the beach, but he didn’t mind. The waves were gently splashing up on the sand, and Trip led T’Pol by the hand to a small parcel of sand that sat apart from the waters edge, about five feet back, with no possibility of being caught by the water. T’Pol sat cross-legged on the sand; next to her, Trip sat on the sand, scooped part of it through his hand, and lifted it up, letting the grains fall down. “What’s goin’ through your mind right now?” Trip asked, propping himself up on his elbows. “I believe that you know the answer to that,” she answered. Trip shook his head, and a tousle of hair fell on his forehead. “Oh, I doubt that.” “My mind is not that complex.” “I wasn’t sayin’ it was,” Trip said, turning his head and looking at her. “You thought it.” And he had. “All right. What’s goin’ through my mind?” “You are wondering how to rescue our counterparts without resulting in damage to the anomaly seal or without hurting them.” T’Pol had her eyes closed, but her body was turned towards the sea. Trip nodded and shrugged. He had voiced that opinion in the observation room; it was too easy a question. He looked down the beach westward and what he saw nearly made him fall over. He took in a gasp of air sharply. “T’Pol,” he whispered, “take a look.” She opened her eyes and looked right. An Earth-native sea turtle was crawling up on the beach. Trip had gotten to see one when he was a kid; he had been with Lizzie at the beach when a sea turtle had crawled up just as this one was presently and the turtle nested. “Don’t move a muscle,” he whispered. “Just watch.” Alone on the beach, they watched as the female turtle made her way to the dunes, fairly close to the water, and she began scooping her nest out. It took a while, but when she was done, she dropped ping-pong sized eggs into the hole in the sand. She covered it again and turned around, heading for sea. The process took almost a half hour, but it had given Trip an idea. “T’Pol.” Her gaze moved from the sea turtle retreating to the sea to Trip. “Yes?” “Next time you see me, on Enterprise, if you can supposedly see in my head or something of the like, tell me what kind of turtle that was.” “You didn’t tell me what subspecies of sea turtle that was.” He closed his eyes. “Exactly. It’s somethin’ you shouldn’t know, because I’m pretty sure there isn’t a Vulcan sea turtle.” T’Pol nodded. “Vulcan is a desert planet. Very well. The next time that I see you on Enterprise, I will tell you what subspecies of turtle that it was.” Trip turned away from watching the turtle. “Just 'cause I do think this is a daydream of mine, can you do one last thing before I get back to work?” She nodded. “I will try.” Trip thought about reconsidering even saying this, but in the end it couldn’t kill anything. “Kiss me.” She inclined her head towards his, and then lowered it as he raised his head from the sand. And as their lips met in the middle, the top of the sun disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico, casting a pink and orange glow over the water. Trip guessed they kissed for five seconds, while T’Pol estimated it as 4.2 seconds. When they broke, he looked at her and then slightly smiled. “Ya know, I couldn’t ask for a better way to end the day.” “I know.”
Trip looked slightly startled when his eyes opened again. “Whoa. I gotta admit that was one weird daydream. Not unpleasant, but interesting.” “How?” T’Pol asked, assuming her scientific persona. “Well, you were in it . . . on a beach with me in the Gulf . . . and a sea turtle was layin’ eggs. It was amazin’.” T’Pol considered telling Trip what he had said, but she decided against it. She would tell him as soon as the time was right; for now they would focus their efforts on saving three lives. * * *
“So let me get this straight. T’Pol, you want to beam back to the other Enterprise and tell that Trip and T’Pol what’s been going on. And then you want to help them escape. You’ve found a planet that was uninhabited when we passed by, and they can settle there. Trip, you’re just going to stand by and let T’Pol do this?” Trip looked at T’Pol, slightly chuckled, and then looked back to the captain. “I wasn’t all for this, but I’m okay with it. T’Pol’s been there and she knows how things run. I really think we can pull this off.” Archer extended his hand for the padd that T’Pol was holding; she gave it to him, adding, “Captain, it is illogical to stand by and do nothing. Commander Tucker’s point is valid. According to our simulations, I believe as he does.” “According to your simulations, what’s the success rate?” “I believe that we have a 92% rate of success.” “And the other 8%?” Archer asked. T’Pol slightly wavered under Trip and Archer’s gazes as she said, “It depends on me. There is an 8% chance that something goes fatally wrong, and I die.” “Whoa, you didn’t say anything about that earlier,” Trip said, suddenly very worried for the woman standing next to him. She lowered her voice and leaned her head toward his. “The success rate has a higher percentage the earlier that we begin.” Trip didn’t look completely reassured, but the paleness was leaving his face. Before either of them could say anything else, Archer said, “All right. I’ll call Admiral Gardner and get him to approve this. Dismissed.” Trip and T’Pol turned to leave the ready room as Archer called Hoshi on the Bridge and asked her to put through a call to Starfleet Command. They walked back to the turbolift, entered, and descended to the observation room. “How come you didn’t say anything about the 8% chance that you die earlier?” Trip said, crossing his arms. She looked down. “I knew that you would object.” “Uh, yeah! God, I can’t believe you’d try to get that past me. Oh, well. Just a question: what would the rate be if they found this planet in their universe and tried to get there?” Trip asked. “I believe that the rate would increase to 97% if this happened in their universe,” T’Pol said, speculating on the point. “So what if we somehow hint about this planet to them without beaming you over to that ship? Do ya think it would work the same way, or better?” Trip asked as he uncrossed his arms as the turbolift opened. T’Pol walked out first, but Trip quickly sidled back to her side as they walked. “Yes, I believe it would.” Both contemplated the possibilities in silence until they passed some other crewmen walking by. Trip looked sideways at T’Pol, words on his tongue, when suddenly she spoke. “I know that you would prefer me to stay on Enterprise.” Trip nodded; it had been almost exactly what he was going to say. But he let it pass without any comment. “So ya got an idea?” “We could transport a padd into Commander Tucker’s or T’Pol’s quarters. I believe T’Pol’s quarters is the preferable choice, since she is somewhat confined to her quarters.” They stopped at the door to the observation room and went in. T’Pol moved briskly to the large computer screen as Trip lagged behind and fell back into a chair. One of the padds on the table contained the planet’s location that Trip had found earlier; he picked it up and began skimming the other information. “The most efficient thing to do is give them the planet’s locale as it will help avoid reality contamination,” T’Pol said, running her fingers over the console. “Yeah, maybe,” Trip mused, more to himself than to her, yet she turned around to look at him. He stared at the pile of padds, picked up another one, and saw T’Pol out of the corner of his eyes. “What?” “You haven’t been helping as much as I have been working,” she said, moving towards the seat. “I believe that I’ve been proposing most of the ideas.” “Sorry. It’s just that I’m a little worried about the deflector. Are you sure the explosion didn’t hurt it?” “Yes. Why?” Trip turned his head, glancing at the door, and then turned back to face T’Pol. “Call it a hunch, but it’s just something I need to check. You stay here, figure this out, and I’m gonna go check on the deflector.” He rose from his seat as did T’Pol. “Are you upset at me?” Trip sighed, cocked his head at her. “T’Pol, we’re both stubborn. We disagree a lot of the time. But I can’t stay mad at you,” he concluded, slightly smiling at her. And then, just when he thought that T’Pol couldn’t surprise him anymore, she did. She raised her head and kissed him, not on the cheek, but on the lips. Trip nearly fell over. * * *
Erica Coleman looked over her patient in Sickbay; T’Pol was up walking again with her billowy gown flowing around her. It was a good disguise, Erica thought, but if someone came into Sickbay she made a beeline back behind the curtain. Someone entered, but before T’Pol could hide herself a very familiar voice said, “Easy. Don’t hurt yourself, darlin’.” T’Pol filed back out from near the curtain towards Trip Tucker. “Are you all right?” “Yeah, but I overheard something that I’d thought I’d let you gals know about. Somehow, Reed is planning on starting his mutiny hunt today. I have it on good authority that the captain is first.” “Why’s that?” Coleman asked, looking around. “Because I’m planning on surrounding myself with people all day. Get the main bio-bed ready and I’ll be back later. T’Pol, you may wanna get out of here and back to your quarters.” She nodded and without another word, walked out of Sickbay. Trip glanced back around to the doctor and said, “When he comes in, act like you know nothin’ and give me a call. Okay?” “Sure thing, Commander. Or should I say, Captain?” “He’s not dead yet,” Trip said and he walked back out of Sickbay to Engineering. * * * Kissing T’Pol brought back many emotions that Trip had been attempting to keep more or less under the surface, but as he walked to the deflector controls he had a huge grin on his face. At least he knew: T’Pol still felt something stronger than comradeship or friendship, and the feeling it gave him inside was better than anything in the world. He glanced down the corridor behind him, hearing a gentle patter and clip of footsteps behind him. T’Pol had just started following him; apparently, she ignored Trip’s suggestion and was coming up behind him with a padd in her hand. Quietly, she said, “Commander. I apologize for frightening you.” He shook his head as he took the padd. “Nah. I’m worried about you most of the time. I had a feeling that someone was followin’ me, and I kinda hoped it was you.” His face was a mixture of shock and bliss. Apparently, it had surprised him as much as it had surprised her for doing it. In preparation for the deflector test, Trip had ordered the corridors around the deflector vacated besides for him and now T’Pol; knowing this, when they arrived outside the Jeffries’ tube hatch, he leaned in close to T’Pol and kissed her for only a second on the side of her neck. She slightly moaned as Trip’s body against her backed her up to the bulkhead, but yet she whispered, “Trip. We still have work to do.” “But ya didn’t mind that, did ya?” he quietly asked, leaving one last kiss on her forehead. She planted an equally timed kiss on his cheek. “No.” “All right, later. Now, let’s get this hatch off and fix the deflector. What do ya say?” “If the deflector is in need of repair,” T’Pol acknowledged with a slight nod. She stood back as he knelt down and pulled the hatch away from the bulkhead. As it turns out, Trip’s earlier hunch was right; sparks were flying out into the tubing, indicating a problem further inside. Trip groaned and stuck his upper body into the tube. “T’Pol, hit the comm panel for me, would ya?” She moved to the comm and quickly pressed the button. “T’Pol to Captain Archer.” “Go ahead,” Archer replied. “Captain, we’ve got a problem,” Trip said, pulling his body out of the hatchway. “The deflector malfunctioned after the explosion in Engineering. It should only take about an hour to fix, but otherwise we’re good to go.” “Keep me posted. Archer out.” T’Pol shut off the comm again as Trip stood up, replacing the hatch. She glanced at him, asking, “What do you suggest we do?” “Well, I gotta run to Engineering and grab some tools.” “How can I assist?” “Well, I guess one of three things. You can come with me, you can stay here, or you can head back to the observation room and work on the letter for your counterpart. But if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate the company first of all.” T’Pol came and stood next to him. “As long as you don’t attempt to kiss me again.” Trip looked at her and raised his eyebrows, looking slightly disappointed. “Ever?” T’Pol glanced at him and silently, Trip wondered if he came off as slightly stupid judging by her facial expressions. “On the way to Engineering or in front of crewmen.” “Otherwise?” Trip said, drawing her out. She stopped walking as he did next to her. “What we do in the privacy of our quarters is going to stay in our quarters. Understood?” Trip chuckled at the way she phrased it. “Yes, ma’am!” Inwardly, T’Pol wondered if he was losing his mind or just being funny. Technically, T’Pol was no longer higher ranked than him. She had been in Starfleet for only six months or so; Trip had been in for almost 15 years. The only reason that she could think of for calling her “ma’am” was because of her seniority age-wise. But, judging solely on his character, T’Pol decided it was just him being funny. After all, he was human. When they arrived outside the hatch leading into Engineering, she allowed Trip to enter first. He literally ran into Hess and quickly said, “Sorry. How’s the relay?” She smiled. “It’s replaced. The bulkhead is patched up. What are you doing back here? I was under the impression that you were working on the deflector.” “It’s more messed up than I thought. Looked like a miniature version of Engineering earlier. I just ran down here for some tools. Where’s T’Pol? T’Pol! Can you give me a hand?” T’Pol had been inadvertently watching his interaction with Hess, and in her mind it only proved her point about the bond more. She walked over towards him, and then listened in as he said, “Okay. Now, basing this on what you said last time we moved equipment, do you want prize number one or number two?” T’Pol bent down and picked up the bundle of equipment that she estimated weighed less. “I would not call either of these a prize.” “It’s a joke,” Trip said as he picked up the other bundle. “A while back on Earth, there were television shows, game-shows, that centered on contestants winning prizes. It’s just a saying off of that.” T’Pol nodded. The concept was alien to her and illogical; it was something unheard of on Vulcan. But not wishing to discourage Trip, wisely she said nothing berating and walked with him back to the door. “Where do you speculate the problem is?” “It’s probably just a power relay near the deflector controls in the Jeffries’ tube. It shouldn’t take too long. After all, we still have the Sickbay appointment later.” “I was meaning to ask you, Commander. What is the purpose of this visit to Sickbay?” “If we can get an excuse from Phlox,” Trip said freely in the corridor, “the captain’s agreed to lift the no-fraternization rule on us.” “Have you not been attempting to ‘fraternize’ with me in spite of that?” “As a wise Vulcan once said, ‘What we do in private stays in private’. Sorry about mixing the words. Can you open that door?” T’Pol still had a free hand; she opened another door and they found themselves looking at the deflector hatch but in less time than before. “Short-cut. I discovered it looking at a ship configuration one time. We’re gonna need it, too. Remember when I reinitialized the warp engines after the Klingons messed with it? When the sparks went flying?” T’Pol nodded. “Will there be a similar explosion when you reinitialize the deflector?” “That’s why I ordered everyone else out of these surrounding sections. I’m gonna have to completely reload the deflector program and then we’re making a run for it back through that corridor. We have to be at least 20 meters away, otherwise we’re both paying Phlox a visit for treatment instead of excuses.” T’Pol glanced over the padds she held, found one in specific, and then handed it to Trip. “This padd contains the download protocols for the deflector program.” Trip scanned the padd. “Is there one with the re-initialization protocols on it?” he asked, glancing up at her. Quickly, she found the specific padd and handed it to him as well. Trip’s eyes read the information in detail, sighed, and scanned down the list. “Something’s not right. T’Pol?” She knelt down next to him, and the fabric on her legs started to stretch, reminding Trip of just how slender her legs were. Trip found his eyes were starting to wander from the mechanical problem at hand; T’Pol apparently sensed it, saying, “Your eyes are wandering, Mr. Tucker.” “Now you understand why I asked for a transfer to Columbia, right?” Trip asked, moving his gaze back to the padd. T’Pol leaned back only an inch, somewhat startled. “I was distracting you from your duties onboard Enterprise.” “Yeah. You had everything to do with me leaving, and I’m sorry I was an idiot about it.” “You’re only human. No one is perfect.” At that moment, Trip was glad he wasn’t. Otherwise, T’Pol would have found him pretty boring. He sighed heavily. “Okay, here’s the drill. I’ll open the hatch, shut down the deflector, and as the relay starts losing power, it’s gonna send a shockwave of sorts through the 20 meters. We’ll have ten seconds to get away from it, otherwise we’re gonna get roasted.” He started to reach for the hatch, but T’Pol reached her hand out for him. “Trip, wait.” He stopped instantly. He sat back up against the bulkhead, next to her, and sighed again. She looked point-blank at him. “Are you scared?” “Frankly, I am. I’ve got doubts about whether this deflector is gonna reinitialize after I shut it down.” He glanced to the scanner lying on the floor next to him, and then picking it up and handing it to T’Pol he said, “Here. Go ahead and get to this point. I don’t want you around here if something goes wrong.” She leaned her head in close and gave him a feather-light kiss on the lips. “Good luck,” she whispered, and then she stood and walked back to the point that Trip had specified. For his part, he waited until she was out of eye-shot to open the hatch. Even though he had no set time on it, he wanted it done quickly. The sooner, the better. Remembering T’Pol waiting on him around the bend, he pulled the hatch away and started on his work. * * *
T’Pol stood around the corner where Trip had specified; she held a padd in her hand and was holding her breath. Then suddenly, she and the other crew onboard heard, “Archer to all hands. Brace for impact!” Then the ship shuddered as Trip came around the corner, crashing into the bulkhead. T’Pol jerked him down to the floor and he glanced at her, whispering, “You okay?” She nodded and said nothing more; there was time to discuss personal things later. Under an hour later, T’Pol followed Trip to the Bridge. He kept sneaking glances after her, just checking to make sure that it wasn’t a bizarre dream that he was having. Clearly, Trip wasn’t mad at her for kissing him earlier; they still had feelings for each other, despite the objective disagreements which were far and wide. With that underlying everything else, it made life a bit easier. T’Pol and Trip found themselves in the turbolift alone again. T’Pol wasn’t wishing for a repeat of what happened in the observation room or near the deflector while other crewmen were around, even if they were in private in the turbolift. The doors would open onto the Bridge at any given moment; thankfully, Trip recognized this as well and stood off to the side. The doors opened and the captain, missing from the Bridge, was in his ready room. The two officers walked behind the railing to the door, T’Pol pressed the door chime, and from inside Archer answered, “Come in.” They stepped inside to his ready room. “How’s the deflector?” Archer asked before they had a chance to say anything else. “It’s reinitialized,” Trip said. “And we think we’ve come up with a plan to help our counterparts as well that won’t hurt as bad.” He glanced sideways at T’Pol. She spoke coolly, saying, “We’ve located a Minshara-class planet that is uninhabited. We can transfer the coordinates to a padd and beam it to T’Pol’s quarters.” “That way, we won’t contaminate their reality and Enterprise still won’t be detected,” Trip filled in. He handed Archer a padd with all the details on it. “This is the planet. It’s not that far from their current location, and it’ll give them a head-start. T’Pol searched their database while she was over there. It’s still uninhabited, and it’s unlikely the senior staff would know.” Archer stood up behind his desk. “All right. Make sure the deflector is ready to go, and then beam the padd over.” Trip nodded; T’Pol stood motionless as Archer added, “Dismissed.” They both walked out to the Bridge. At her station, Hoshi was pressing on her earpiece, slightly frowning. She turned her head around. “Commander Tucker.” T’Pol went on to the turbolift but paused; someone below decks had just called for it as well. Trip walked over to Hoshi. “What’s up?” Hoshi looked up and even T’Pol could see the worry and consternation furrowing on her face. “There’s something happening on the other Enterprise. Captain Archer was just shot.” Trip and T’Pol glanced at each other, and then Trip turned back to Hoshi. “How did it happen?” “Apparently, my counterpart shot him under orders from Lieutenant Reed. The captain is in Sickbay.” Trip groaned. “If Malcolm’s already started picking off whoever is in his way of the command chair—” “That means your counterpart is next,” T’Pol said, walking down from the turbolift. Trip turned around and walked back to the captain’s ready room. * * *
Slightly worried about his wife again, and not knowing about whether Archer had been shot yet, he raced to the nearest comm. “Tucker here.” “Commander, there’s been an accident. Captain Archer’s been shot.” Okay, that was that. Two things began racing through Trip’s head. One, he desperately hoped that Malcolm wasn’t responsible as he was likely next, and two, he hoped T’Pol had been smart enough to get out of Sickbay before it happened. “I need to finish something here and then I’ll be there. Tucker out.” Quickly, he went to the engine controls and set something. He stepped back down the ladder, walked out of Engineering, and made his way to Sickbay. Inside, T’Pol was gone; Trip breathed a sigh of relief and then walked to the captain. “Ah, man. What happened?” “Hoshi shot him at Mr. Reed’s request,” Coleman filled in. She held a hypospray in one hand; she pressed it to Archer’s neck and he quickly woke up. “Uh, oh, I’m going to hurt her,” Archer said once he regained consciousness. “Easy, Captain,” Trip said, holding him down. “She shot you in the shoulder. Apparently, her aim’s still not that good.” Archer chuckled just slightly. “Oh, you were right about Reed. What do we do now?” “I’ll play ‘captain’ for a while; see if Malcolm comes after me.” In his mind, Trip added, And then I’m taking my wife and getting off this god-forsaken ship that’s turned into a death-trap. * * *
She looked them over one more time, and then went to her computer. Using Trip’s access code, she got into the database and found that the planet was inhabited by a group of people who were restricted like Trip and T’Pol were by various restrictions – whether it be race or the like – and the people used their abilities to keep the colony going. And then she did something that she never did. The corners of her mouth lifted upwards. * * *
“He headed back to Engineering. What’s up?” She pulled the padd out. “I believe I’ve stumbled on a way off of Enterprise that won’t arouse suspicion and a destination where we’ll be safe afterwards.” She handed the padd to the doctor. “See for yourself.” “I think it’ll work,” Coleman said when she had finished reading it. T’Pol remained standing as Coleman had pulled out a seat. “What do you need me to do?” “You can work the transporter?” T’Pol asked. Coleman smiled. “Yeah, it’s not that hard. When you do need to leave?” “Commander Tucker said he wished to finish the day in Engineering. I need to get this information to him so he can set something up in Engineering.” “The captain will be okay,” Coleman said. “I’ll take this down to Trip. Don’t worry. Just get your things packed.” T’Pol nodded, left the padd with Coleman, and walked back out of Sickbay. * * *
“Up here, Doc,” he said, pushing off and spinning in the seat. Erica Coleman came up the stairs. “This is for you, Commander. T’Pol found it in her quarters. The planet is for people just like you who have restrictions placed upon them by the current state of things. Our course currently runs across a ship headed for there, and I can transport you two off,” she said quietly. Trip read the information. “I can rig something with the engines so they have to travel at a certain speed and we can transport off. Thanks, Doc. If you see her, tell her to meet me at the transporter at 1800 hours. After my shift ends in Engineering.” “All right,” Coleman said, leaving the padd with Trip. He put it in his pocket, went back to the console that he had just been sitting at, and began working on a way to rig the engines. * * *
Erica Coleman met Trip Tucker and T’Pol at the transporter. With the engines stopped, there wasn’t much time to say good-bye, so as soon as T’Pol appeared she held up her hand. Giving her the traditional Vulcan salute, Erica said, “Live long and prosper.” T’Pol held her hand up as well and replied, “Peace and long life.” Erica smiled and turned to Trip, clad in his brown leather jacket and civvies. “Trip, it’s been a pleasure serving with you over the past four years. Take care.” “Thanks, Doc,” Trip said, putting his arms around her and giving her a brief hug. She smiled at him, and then walked behind the transporter stand. “Take care. The ship will arrive at the planet in about ten hours.” “Less if I have anything to do with it,” Trip said, hauling his luggage onto the platform and giving T’Pol a hand as well. “Good-bye, Erica. Thanks for everything. And keep the captain sedated.” “I will. Energizing.” With that, Trip and T’Pol began to disappear from view. Erica quickly made sure they had reappeared on the other ship and did what Trip had taught her, wiping the memory logs. Then she looked at the empty space where they had previously stood, whispered, “Good-bye,” and walked away. * * * “Okay, the deflector has been fixed, the padd has been transported to T’Pol’s quarters, and we’re good to go!” Trip exclaimed, glancing at T’Pol. They were standing in the observation room yet again. Cleaning up wasn’t that big a deal, but with all the stuff that they had been working on during the last week, they had a mess. Trip was lining up padds to carry back to his quarters, and T’Pol was helping to put items into a carrier to take back to Engineering. Sickbay was still on their agenda; after he dropped the items off in Engineering they planned on changing and walking there together. Archer had informed Phlox of the circumstances and personally, Trip wished he hadn’t. Some things were better left private. Trip shrugged to himself, and then cleared off the screens. Behind him, T’Pol picked up one more object, and then set it on the table as she said, “Do you think Enterprise detected our counterparts’ transport?” “No, I think they’re okay,” he said, glancing out the window to the anomaly. He propped his elbow on the window ledge. He knew Enterprise was well away from sensor-range and well away from viewing range. Behind him, T’Pol approached him. “Honestly, I think they’re gonna be all right.” She laid a hand on his shoulder. “They will,” T’Pol repeated. Trip nodded his head, and then turned around, picking up T’Pol’s hand from his shoulder. “Will we?” T’Pol narrowed her eyes, glaring almost playfully, and then said, “We need to report to the Bridge and initiate the deflector.” Trip just smiled and let her hand gently drop through the air. She retreated back to the table and picked up the padds she had left on the table, and then he took one last glance at her. Outwardly, T’Pol appeared calm as usual. Trip had a hunch that inside she was feeling slightly unsettled. Glancing down at the table, he asked, “You okay?” T’Pol nodded. “I’m fine. I’m simply pondering where our counterparts are.” Trip smiled. “Me, too. I just hope they’re safe.” T’Pol took a step back towards the door. “I’ll meet you at your quarters after the anomaly is sealed.” Trip nodded and watched her walk through the door, carrying a padd with her. He glanced to the bundle of information still laying on the table top, smiled, and decided it was well enough to leave it alone. The engineer followed her to the turbolift and managed to catch up with her before the doors closed. T’Pol glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. Her hand reached out to press the button for the Bridge, and as she brought it back Trip’s hand met her half-way and gave her a squeeze. T’Pol didn’t fight it; instead, she let Trip hold her hand until they approached the Bridge. As quickly as they could, they let go of each other and assumed their stations. From the center chair, Archer glanced between them. “Is everything ready?” Trip nodded with a little smile. T’Pol nodded as well and ran her hands over her console. Yet, from his station across the Bridge, Trip glanced up at her and she saw him. He smiled slowly enough that she would see it and the captain wouldn’t. T’Pol didn’t smile; some things were just insane for a Vulcan, Trip knew. But she glanced across at him, returning the gaze, and Trip thought he saw something else under that stiff Vulcan extremity of hers. Trip didn’t really care; at least they were back on speaking terms again. And at least he knew there was a future possible between them. As he configured the deflector, at least he knew that he would see her again after duty. And it wouldn’t be brushing him off anymore. * * *
“Thanks for meeting us,” Trip said. “I wasn’t sure that you had gotten my message.” Tyron shrugged. “We’re used to getting encrypted messages. The pilot’s in the front and she wants to talk to you about improving the engines.” Trip nodded and walked to the front of the shuttle. T’Pol followed behind him. She sat down in a seat, reclined it back slightly, and he sat next to her for just a moment. “You okay?” “I’m still wondering how the planet’s coordinates arrived in my quarters. Physically, I’m fine.” “Okay. I’m gonna go chat with the captain for a minute, and then I’ll be back.” He stood, leaned in to give her a kiss on her forehead, and smiled. “Be right back.” She watched him go to the front and sit back down again. In the seat across the aisle, another couple leaned over. The woman smiled pleasantly at her. “When are you due?” “I’m uncertain, as my mate is human. But I’ve only been pregnant for eleven weeks.” “I can’t imagine the problems you faced. We know that you were on Enterprise. Being on a Starfleet ship like that, between us, couldn’t have been that problem-free.” “Your assumption is correct. Otherwise, we would have stayed. I was the science officer and my husband was the chief engineer.” “Didn’t the captain kidnap you, originally?” the man asked. T’Pol nodded. “Originally I was there against my will. But over time things eased for me. But not by much.” From the front, she heard Trip chuckle and then he walked back to her. “I’m gonna see if I can get the engines running a bit higher – oh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” “Don’t worry. I’m Elena Covington, and this is my husband, Owen.” “My husband, Charles Tucker the third.” “But people call me Trip,” he filled in. “I know. We originally lived near the Starfleet compound in Sausalito,” Owen said as Trip sat down next to T’Pol. “We ran a boarding house for entrants and I seem to recall you were among them, Commander.” Trip pointed a finger at them, slowly remembering in his mind. “’Alpha House’?” Trip laughed and replied, “Wow, it’s been a long time. Don’t know why I didn’t recognize you. How’ve you been?” “We’ve been good, Trip,” Elena called out. “You see, we were hiding alien travelers in our basement and some military police threatened to arrest us. So we left Earth. New Earth colony was our only choice. I had no idea you were heading there as well.” Trip shrugged and then in his mind slowed to a millisecond. He had some old friends and his wife to talk with on the way to New Earth; he also had a new one on the way. Slowly he smiled; he couldn’t imagine his life being any better. With T’Pol, it literally couldn’t be any better. * * *
She entered. Trip was dressed casually – as she was – in a blue shirt and gray pants. Appeasing on the eyes, Trip smiled. “So. You ready to go?” “Are you?” T’Pol asked, just as ironically. They were both completely dressed; Trip even had his shoes on. “Yeah. I probably should have told you that there’s a movie afterwards. I was planning on hijacking you, if you don’t mind.” “What movie is it?” “Frankenstein,” Trip replied, slightly chuckling. “Then I don’t mind at all,” she replied curtly, stepping out of his quarters into the corridor. “Just promise me you aren’t going to suggest that Soval sees it.” They began walking to the turbolift, towards Sickbay, and began talking about items in general. The deflector had been fired without any problems; Trip had a few modifications he wanted to make to the engines; T’Pol was agreeing and criticizing him half and half; and Enterprise was heading back to Earth for one reason or another. Before they realized it, T’Pol found herself standing outside the entrance to Sickbay. Trip stopped, looked at her, and then said, “Well, shall we?” and began to reach for the door pad. T’Pol felt her arm reaching out to stop him. “Trip, wait.” Trip stopped immediately. “Yeah.” She stood up on her toes to whisper just one word in his ear. After she said it, Trip was still standing in place and looking slightly stupefied. T’Pol reached around him to open the door and entered, leaving him standing outside. And all she had said was, “Loggerhead.” Trip stopped himself from falling over and eventually smiled and walked inside behind her.
Return to Part 4
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 commentsOoh that's fantastic. I'm so happy that both couples had a happy ending. Yea! Happy/hopeful endings all around! Wonderful story. *sniff* I just love happy endings! I love this story!!!! Me like! That was great, I loved it! :) Nicely done. It is hard to work with two different dimensions, but you pulled it off well. Hopefully the show is at least half as good.......Sequell please......T Wow... that ended really well. I agree, though, that this one could actually use a sequel... Especially Trip and T'Pol in our universe! +++T’Pol came and stood next to him. “As long as you don’t attempt to kiss me again.” LOL - hillarious! Okay story, only I couldn't see why EvilArcher and EvilTrip should be so afraid of EvilMalcolm. All EvilArcher would have to do is order EvilMalcolm demoted out of the nearest airlock, then go eat supper. As for EvilTrip, why doesn't he just make use of EvilMalcolm to eliminate EvilArcher, then take over as Captain himself? What's wrong with the boy? Does he have no ambition? No one in their right minds would bother a newly minted Captain EvilTrip about how chunky EvilT'Pol is getting, or about the eventual emergence of EvilTrip Junior. It's just not done in the EvilUniverse. To Evilbert: we'll see . . . truely spiffy! Great story, I enjoyed it very much though I have one gripe. Dr Coleman told Trip that T'Pol found the padd in her quarters but Trip didnt question the fact. Trip is no fool in any universe('cept where T'Pol is involved) and given the circumstances that they were in, Trip really should have been suspicious of where that padd came from - perhaps evil Malcolm trying to catch them out? A minor gripe that sort of took away from the execellence of the storyline to that point. Otherswise a real nice fic. To Nemesis: |