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New World Man: Recruiting Mission

Author - Kevin | Genre - Drama | Genre - Series | Main Story | N | R | Rating - PG
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New World Man: Recruiting Mission

By Kevin

Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned within this text are the sole property of Paramount Studios, UPN, and Viacom. I intend no infringement.
Genre: Drama
Summary: Ten years after the Federation has formed, Commodore Jonathan Archer goes on a recruiting mission to find a captain and chief engineer for the Yorktown.

Author’s Note: This is the story that started my complete New World Man series. It began as an idea in October 2005 and the rest of the series was written to support this story. This one fits in the series chronologically between Aftermath and Stalemate

For the purposes of this story, the NC-class is the same as the Daedalus class described at Memory Alpha. I moved up the timeframe so the first prototype is in service during the spring of 2158. Six more ships are built and take part in the Battle of Cheron. Four survive the battle. By late 2171, the date this story takes place, Commodore Jonathan Archer commands a squadron of thirteen NC-class ships to patrol the Neutral Zone border with the Romulans. A fourteenth ship, the second Yorktown in the class, is approaching completion.

My normal formatting conventions apply for all of the stories in this series. Text in “” is English. Text in ** “” ** is Vulcan. Text in () is TnT bondspeak. Text in italics is inner dialog or the name of a ship (depending on context).


Commodore Archer put down the PADD containing the list of candidates for the Yorktown. None of these candidates are ready. He leaned back and stared at the picture of his old ship Enterprise. His career was tied to the old girl. She was mothballed the same day he was promoted to Commodore and given command of the squadron patrolling the Neutral Zone border.

Twelve years ago Archer hadn’t been like most Captains. He didn’t want command of a new NC-class ship. He wanted to stay on Enterprise as long as Starfleet let him. However, that time had been rapidly coming to an end. Due to Enterprise’s age, her hull couldn’t withstand the stresses beyond Warp 5.6 and her systems couldn’t accept deflector shield generators. With Columbia destroyed, Enterprise was the only remaining NX-class ship with those limitations. That meant Enterprise was relegated to the reserve fleet and not used on the front lines after the summer of 2158.

Enterprise was saved from being mothballed on July 11, 2159. Enterprise and Atlantis answered a distress call from an unknown Starfleet vessel under attack by three Romulan warbirds. Archer fully expected both ships would arrive only to find the left over debris of a destroyed Starfleet vessel. He never expected to cross paths with two people who would help him save Enterprise for a little while longer. On that day, Doctor Phlox treated two patients who hadn’t visited his sickbay in four years: Commander Charles Tucker and Commander T’Pol. They had been aboard the unknown ship–the Daedalus–and received extensive injuries.

Trip’s injuries were life threatening, as were most of the surviving engineers. The Romulans detonated a fission mine just outside of main engineering and everyone there was exposed to a dose of at least 1.2 sieverts. Trip’s dose had been 3.2 sieverts and he was in pretty bad shape. T’Pol had a concussion, three cracked ribs and a broken femur as a result of a bulkhead collapsing on her after the battle was over. While T’Pol was physically ready to resume duty after three weeks, Trip required two months in a hospital to recover enough to be released. During Trip’s recovery at Jupiter station, the three of them (Archer, Trip and T’Pol) developed a plan to keep Enterprise operational for a while longer.

Enterprise would become a mobile, defendable, long-range communications station. The Romulans learned early in the war to take out any communications stations they found. However, Enterprise could out run any Romulan attack, keeping the communications gear safe. When Enterprise relaunched on January 7, 2160 she was crammed with state of the art communications equipment. She would hang behind the front lines relaying long-range communications between ships and Starfleet command centers. As an added value for the war effort, her sick bay was expanded and reworked to specialize in treating severe radiation poisoning caused by the Romulans use of fission-mine weapons.

Having Trip and T’Pol back on Enterprise meant Starfleet could transfer Archer’s XO to the Archon along with his chief engineer. Enterprise remained in this role until the Battle of Cheron had been won. At that point, the end of the war was a foregone conclusion. Enterprise was released from the reserve fleet. Captain Archer and his crew were given a new assignment–support negotiations with Vulcan in preparation for a new, stronger alliance to replace the ineffectual Coalition of Planets. Although Archer didn’t know it at the time, his ship was crucial in negotiations to sign the United Federation of Planets treaty. Many of the important details regarding Starfleet’s role in the federation were worked out in secret aboard his ship. The public negotiations had been nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the true deliberations.

Enterprise would spend the remaining nine months of her active service shuttling dignitaries back and forth between Vulcan and Earth. Archer spent many days in Trip and T’Pol’s home on the northwest outskirts of Shi’Kahr during their frequent layovers orbiting Vulcan. It was a beautiful home and Trip took special pride in the stone garden at the rear of the estate. Each time they returned, he would spend hours restoring the location of each stone and statue dislocated by the frequent tremors. A couple of times Archer helped Trip but mostly he just watched and the two talked about trivialities until Trip had restored everything to the way he remembered it.

Reminiscing about the past made Commodore Archer realize he knew the ideal candidates for the Yorktown. The only question that remained was if they would be willing.


Commodore Archer looked up to see Lieutenant Stan Marsh poke his head into his office.

“Commodore, I have the information you wanted.”

Archer smiled at Marsh and waved his hands at him. “Come in… Come in… Let’s see it.”

The Lieutenant handed the Commodore a PADD with the information he requested. “Here’s everything I could find Commodore.”

“Thanks Stan.” Archer reviewed the summary his EA assembled.

Registry: Psau (Translation: seeker)
Class: Surak Mark II (refit date 2164)
Mission: Study and perfect methods for detecting micro-singularities
Captain: Commander T’Pol
First Science Officer: Sub-Commander T’Week
First Engineering Officer: Sub-Commander Halan (Human, aka Charles Tucker III)
Crew Complement: 85 (approximate)

Archer was impressed with the length of the report. Normally the Vulcans were hesitant to share any information about their civilian ships but somehow Stan had assembled nearly ten pages of material. Archer knew what he was doing this evening after supper. “This looks great Stan–just what I need.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Archer was puzzled about something though. “I’ve never heard of the Surak Mark II class. Do you have any details about it in the report?”

Lt. Marsh nodded his head. “Yes, sir. It’s a Starfleet designation–not Vulcan–I don’t think they give it any special class distinction. Everything’s covered in section three–should be around page six.”

Archer nodded as he scrolled to that point. “Ahh, yeah, I see it. Good.”

“As near as I can tell, it’s a computer and sensor upgrade to the original Surak-class. The Vulcans have standardized on the D’Kyr-class for defense and are refitting the remaining Surak-class ships for science and transport roles. The computer upgrades allow more systems to be automated and reduce the crew complement to roughly 85. The sensor upgrades allow them to do a better job with specific scientific missions.”

Archer recognized Stan’s fidgeting and knew something was bothering the Lieutenant. “Something on your mind Stan?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

Archer laughed. “Of course Stan. When we’re in this office alone you’ve always got permission to speak freely. You’re my EA.”

“Sir, I think this is a bad idea. I understand you’ve known Commander T’Pol and Sub-Commander Halan for two decades but I don’t think Starfleet’s ready for a Vulcan Captain. I know Sub-Commander Halan was part of the NC program and chief engineer on the first Daedalus but he’s been on Vulcan ships for the last ten years. Just the fact he’s changed his name concerns me.”

That bothered Archer too. But he was certain there was a good reason for it. Trip just wouldn’t have switched to a Vulcan name without a good reason.

“I understand your concerns Stan. And I’ll admit I share them to an extent. I haven’t seen them in eight years.” Archer sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “But we’re pretty thin here. T’Pol knew how to command humans effectively. She did it for almost eight years. The NC-class uses the same main engine as the Surak-class. There’s no one in Starfleet with more experience on that engine than Trip… I need officers like them to patrol the Neutral Zone… There’s no one more qualified for the Yorktown.”

Stan shook his head. “What makes you think they’ll even come back? Cragen made nearly the same offer ten years ago and they still left Starfleet.”

“I don’t know if they’ll come back. That’s why I’m heading out to talk to them… To see if I can convince them to return. Trip told me they agreed to ten years serving the Vulcan Science Directorate and then would decide what to do after that. I’m hoping they’ll at least consider my offer.”


Archer felt himself slowly materialize on the transporter pad. He immediately recognized his old friends and stepped off toward T’Pol.

T’Pol bowed slightly to him. “Welcome aboard Commodore Archer. This is my science officer, Sub-Commander T’Week…” T’Pol motioned toward the tall, ebony-skinned Vulcan woman standing beside her. “And of course you know my chief engineer…”

Trip took a step toward Archer and the two shook hands vigorously. “It’s been a long time Jon… I’m glad to see you again…”

“Thanks Trip. It’s great to see you two again…”

T’Pol turned her attention to Archer. “Commodore, to what do we owe your visit? We were only told to expect you–not the purpose of your visit.”

Archer turned his attention to the elegantly beautiful Vulcan female he just met. “I don’t mean to be rude Sub-Commander T’Week, but I need to speak with Trip and T’Pol in private.”

Sub-Commander T’Week turned to T’Pol. “If you excuse me, I will return to astrophysics.” She then turned to Archer. “Commodore, if time permits, I will give you a tour of the ship’s astrophysics department.”

Archer smiled at her. He only hoped his wasn’t blushing like a school girl. “I’d like that. Thanks.”

Sub-Commander T’Week turned and walked away.

“We can speak in the conference room,” T’Pol said blankly. She led the three of them.

Archer walked next to Trip with T’Pol slightly in front of them. He gave him a once over. “So Trip, when did you start wearing robes?”

Trip grinned. “It’s my formal uniform. T’Pol made me wear it.”

Archer returned his smile.

“Regulations require wearing the formal uniform when visiting dignitaries arrive,” T’Pol said.

Archer wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or Trip. A few minutes later the three sat around in uncomfortable silence while Archer tried to think of ways to avoid asking his question. Finally he had to get on with it.

“Trip, T’Pol, I came here hoping you would rejoin Starfleet…”

Archer was fairly certain he wouldn’t be able to read T’Pol’s response but he believed he would be able to read Trip’s. Unfortunately he was wrong. If anything, Trip’s face registered even less of a reaction than T’Pol’s did. At least T’Pol turned to face Trip.

So he continued. “I’ve got a new ship, the Yorktown, finishing up initial construction. She needs a captain and chief engineer and I don’t know any two people better for the job… Of course T’Pol you’d transfer with a rank of Captain and Trip you’d transfer with a rank of Commander… Assuming T’Pol agreed, Trip you’d be named XO.”

Trip spoke up first. “Are you sure that’s okay Jon? I can’t believe Starfleet’s ready for a Vulcan Captain… Hell, I’m surprised they even want me back after we walked away.”

Archer nodded. He remembered that decision so many years ago. “Things have changed Trip… We need good officers and the two of you have shown the situation can work… Besides I think it’s about time Starfleet had a non-human Captain. T’Pol’s the best candidate for that job…”

“This is unexpected,” replied T’Pol. “Trip and I will need to discuss it thoroughly before making a decision.”

Archer nodded again. “I understand. In fact, I insist on it. I don’t need a decision right now anyway.”

Trip stood up. “I’ll tell you what Jon… Let me get you to astrophysics and T’Week will give you a tour. That’ll give T’Pol and I some time to talk. I could also give you a tour of engineering. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like a plan Trip… Lead the way…” Archer turned to T’Pol. “It was nice seeing you again T’Pol.”

“And you too Commodore.”

After his tours of the astrophysics and engineering departments, Archer stood at the lowest level in engineering. He was in awe of this ship and its elegant interior. “The engine is oriented vertically…”

Trip nodded. “Yeah… With the ring nacelle design, putting the engine vertical makes sense… It also allows you to stand while working on various parts of the engine. It’s a pretty slick set up… I tried to figure out a way to do the same with the Daedalus but it just wouldn’t work out. I had to stick with horizontal.” Trip paused for a moment and Archer thought he was trying to remember some past experience. “But we were able to figure out a way where you could sit down for the most common maintenance jobs… It worked out okay.”

Archer snickered at that. “It worked out better than okay. I’ve never heard a single complaint about the layout in main engineering.”

“Thanks Jon. That’s good to hear.” Trip rolled his tongue around his cheek. “Let me show you one more part of the ship… I think you’ll like it… It’s the ship’s sanctuary.”

Archer cocked his head. “Sanctuary?”

“Yeah, every ship has a small room set aside to help meditation… I guess sometimes Vulcan’s need a change of pace to meditate effectively. I don’t quite understand it but it almost sounds like the Vulcan equivalent of insomnia.” Trip showed Archer out of engineering. “It’s a beautiful place.”

Once Archer figured out they were away from any prying ears he broached a topic he’d been curious about since arriving on the ship. “I never knew there were Vulcan’s with dark skin.”

“Neither did I. There aren’t a lot. T’Pol told me they normally refuse to take part in diplomatic life or deal with aliens… T’Week’s the first one I’ve met who can speak English.”

“Hmmph,” Archer simply replied. “She’s really pretty isn’t she?”

Trip smiled and turned to him. “Don’t get any ideas Jon. She’s spoken for…”

Archer chuckled. “Geez, Trip–way to blow it out of proportion. I just said she’s pretty…”

Trip shrugged. “If you say so…”

“You can’t tell me you don’t think she’s pretty…”

Trip shrugged again. “I never thought about it.”

Then Archer remembered the report he read many, many years ago. The Vulcan mating bond enforced monogomy for the pair. Of course Trip never thought it about it.

Trip raised his hand to motion to Archer to stop. “Jon, please wait here for a second.”

Trip poked his head into the room and then returned to Archer. “There’s no one there. We can enter.”

Archer surveyed the room around him. Although most of the room was spartan and plain, there were three intricate sculptures along one of the walls. They were abstract in design and he wondered if their form meant anything.

“After engineering, this is my favorite place on the ship…”

Archer watched as Trip glided down effortlessly to a sitting position beside the short meditation table as if he had been doing it for years. Archer chose a simpler kneeling position with his knees on the pillow.

After a short while Archer became impatient. Trip had not said a word since they entered the sanctuary. He seemed lost in thought. Finally he gave in. “Well?”

“It’s an interesting offer Jon… It took us by surprise.”

“Trip, you don’t have to make a decision right now. The Yorktown won’t be ready for a captain or chief engineer for another few weeks... Think about it, will you?”

Trip nodded. “We’ll discuss it…”

“Thanks Trip.”

A frown came across Trip’s face. “Jon, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea… T’Pol and I are happy here. We’re both doing what we want… Right now I just don’t see us coming back.”

Archer sighed and nodded. “I know. But I want you to know I really need your help… Between the war and rooting out Terra Prime’s influence, Starfleet’s stretched pretty thin for command officers… You know, for the Yorktown, I’ve either got to promote from other NC-class ships and backfill or I’ve got to take people from the Intrepid-class ships. I’m just not happy with either one of those options… You two coming over would really bail me out of a jamb.”

Archer paused to see if he could judge Trip’s reaction. Unfortunately he could not. He’s been around Vulcans too long. They’re rubbing off on him.

“Plus, you’ve got more experience on that engine than anyone else in Starfleet… All I’m asking for is five years. Give me some time to rebuild my officer core and train a new crop of engineers on the engine…”

Trip shook his head. “Even if we’re to come back, I don’t know if we could give you five years… We’ve been talking about trying to have kids.”

Archer was stunned. “Really? At your age?”

“Geez, Jon, T’Pol and I aren’t that old.” Trip got a stupid grin on his face. “We’re talking about having our first a couple years from now. That means we’d have to go back home and get desk jobs.”

Just then Archer heard someone enter the room.

** “Sub-Commander, I did not realize the sanctuary was already in use.” **

Trip turned his attention to the young Vulcan who just entered. ** “We have completed our conversation. We will leave you.” **

The Vulcan just bowed.

Trip returned his focus to Archer. “Jon, let’s leave… I don’t want to disturb her.”

Trip rose as fluidly as he had sat down. He did not speak again until after they left the sanctuary.

“Trip, would you and T’Pol like a tour of the Defiant? We could have the two of you over for supper in the Captain’s mess?”

“Are you sure that’ll be okay with the Captain?”

Archer smiled and chuckled a little. “She works for me Trip. If she has a problem with it, she won’t tell me.”

Trip returned his smile. ( Do you want to tour the Defiant later this afternoon? Jon has invited us to supper. )

Trip saw T’Pol go through her duty roster and schedule. ( That would be agreeable. )

“We’ll be there Jon. What time?”

“Let’s say four standard hours from now?”

Trip nodded. “Sure thing. We’ll be there.”


Archer watched as the transporter rematerialized his old friends. They were still in their formal robes. An uncomfortable thought crossed Archer’s mind as he realized not only did Trip look pretty good in the robes, he also seemed perfectly comfortable wearing them. “Welcome aboard.”

Trip and T’Pol stepped off the transporter pad and stopped in front of Archer. He held his arm out toward the Captain of the ship, “Captain Wendy Testaburger of the Defiant…” He moved his arm toward Trip and T’Pol, “Commander T’Pol and Sub-Commander Halan of the Psau…”

Captain Testaburger raised her right hand in a traditional Vulcan salute, “Peace and long life, Commander T’Pol, Sub-Commander Halan…”

T’Pol returned the salute, “Live long and prosper, Captain Testaburger,” and bowed slightly.

Trip held out his hand and the Captain shook it. “Pleased to meet you ma’am… You can call me Trip.”

The Captain nodded. “Yes, the Commodore informed me of that. It’s an honor to meet the both of you.”

Trip blushed. “Thanks.”

As they walked down the hall Captain Testaburger briefly turned to Trip. “May I ask you a personal question Trip?”

Trip smiled and responded, “sure, but I may not answer.”

She nodded. “Fair enough… May I ask why you changed your name?”

Trip chuckled. “That’s all? It’s hardly a personal question.”

“I’ve been wondering about that too Trip,” chimed in Archer.

Trip shrugged. “It’s pretty simple actually. It’s impossible to translate Charles Tucker into Vulcan script. I couldn’t write my name on anything official. So I had to come up with a new name.”

Archer just tilted his head. “Well, okay, that makes sense, I guess. But why not go by Trip?”

Trip started laughing to himself. “T’Pol didn’t like that idea.”

Archer looked at T’Pol.

“Trip in Vulcan script is a Vulcan female’s name,” T’Pol replied tersely.

Archer now started laughing too. “Is that why you refused to call him Trip for so long.”

“Yes, it was an inappropriate nickname.”

“So I picked Halan. It means ‘trip’ and is easy to write,” Trip replied.

Archer nodded. “Good choice. I never bothered to look up the word. I just assumed it was a name you liked.”

Trip shook his head. “No. Vulcan names don’t start with an H sound. Normally they start with a K, S or T.”

“Or V for titles of great honor,” T’Pol added.

Captain Testaburger stopped as approached engineering. “I apologize for the brevity of the tour. The only place I can show you is main engineering. The remainder of the ship is off-limits to civilians. Even main engineering is normally off-limits, but there isn’t much point to hiding it from you.”

Trip smiled and nodded. “Yeah, considering I designed the engine room.”

The Captain nodded her head. “The design has a few upgrades but there’s no real significant difference. Defiant uses the phase III design… Just mostly display panel changes due to computer upgrades…”

Trip saw a man walk up to their little congregation.

The Captain raised her arm to the man who just showed up. “This is my XO and chief engineer, Commander Kenneth McCormick… Ken, this is Commander T’Pol and Sub-Commander Halan.”

Commander McCormick just bowed to Commander T’Pol. “It is an honor to meet you ma’am.”

T’Pol just nodded back.

Trip reached his hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ken… You can call me Trip.”

Commander McCormick shook his hand vigorously. “It’s an honor to meet you too Trip…”

Twenty minutes later their tour of main engineering was complete. Trip was impressed. The layout was still nearly identical, just as the Captain said, but the status panels were much better arranged. Trip scanned around the room taking one last look before they left. “This place brings back memories. Not much has changed.”

Commander McCormick nodded. “It’s pretty tough to improve the original design… This is the first ship I’ve been on where main engineering was designed by an engineer.”

Trip smiled with pride. “Thanks Ken. That means a lot to me… My main goal was to make the engine room an easier and safer place to work. The NX-class’ main engine room was pretty clumsy.”

“Hey, I helped design that,” Archer replied in mock resignation.

Trip laughed quietly. “Yeah, Jon, and it showed. You’re a pilot, not an engineer.”

Archer turned to both Captain Testaburger and Commander McCormick. “For the first year on Enterprise, I had to listen to Trip crab at me about how poorly main engineering was laid out. He reminded me every chance he got.”

Trip laughed. “Well apparently you must have passed that up the food chain. Cragen gave me full control of main engineering design when he assigned us to the NC project.”

Archer nodded. “Yeah. I told Cragen that was one of three lessons we learned with the NX project. You need an experienced engineer to design main engineering.”

Commander McCormick turned to Archer. “I didn’t know you were assigned to the NC project, Commodore.”

Archer shook his head. “No, I wasn’t. What gave you that idea?”

“Trip just said Cragen assigned you to the project.”

The statement confused both Archer and Trip.

“By ‘us’ he meant Trip and I,” T’Pol replied.

Archer, Trip and Ken all recognized their confusion.

“Commander T’Pol, what part of the project did you work on? I don’t remember ever seeing your name mentioned?”

Trip and T’Pol turned their attention to Archer. He turned his attention to the Commander. “I’m sorry Ken, the details of Commander T’Pol’s involvement in the project are classified.”

“Oh… Okay…”

Captain Testaburger motioned for them to continue. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry. Let’s go have supper.”

Archer smiled. “Yes, please. I’m starving.”


Trip wiped his mouth and put his napkin down. “That was great! My compliments to the chef.”

T’Pol nodded in agreement. “Yes, that was very good.”

“I’ll be sure to pass along your compliments,” replied the Captain.

“The Vulcans don’t have anything like olives. I miss that flavor. I miss olive oil.”

“Trip, I’m sure we could spare a few bottles for you if you like.”

Trip shook his head. “No thanks.”

The Captain was persistent. “No, I insist. I can easily get more.”

Trip blushed.

“Trip is not permitted near the ship’s galley,” T’Pol chimed.

This sounds interesting, Archer thought. “Why not?”

“Trip insulted my ship’s cook.”

( How was I supposed to know sugar cookies would insult T’May? )

( You should have known that she would be offended by your use of animal products. )

( I used butter! No animals were hurt. Cows naturally produce milk. You need to do something with it. )

( How many times I have I told you Vulcans do not eat any animal-based products. Have you not paid any attention at all over the past twenty years? )

Trip smiled. Of course he knew that. He just didn’t understand it.

T’Pol scowled at him. He had pulled her into another pointless argument.

( You’re too easy. )

Archer could tell the two were ‘talking’. He saw the same thing after they returned to Enterprise twelve years ago.

Trip looked up. “About six years ago, I used butter to make sugar cookies. T’May got pretty upset about it. She banned me from the galley and will not use human ingredients any more.”

Archer started laughing. He couldn’t believe something like sugar cookies would lead to a major interspecies incident.

“That’s not funny Jon. T’May refuses to make anything I like unless someone else requests it… If I bring olive oil on board, she’ll probably never make pasta for me again.” Trip started laughing.

After they all finished chuckling, T’Pol excluded, Commander McCormick turned his attention to T’Pol. “Commander, I wish to apologize for the comments made by a couple of my crewmen… They don’t have much exposure to Vulcans.”

“There is no need. I did not take offense.”

“But still…”

“Don’t worry about it Ken,” Trip interrupted him. “T’Pol and I’ve been together more than sixteen years… We’ve heard a lot worse.”

“I’m still sorry.”

Trip snorted in amusement. “Besides, they’re not all that wrong.”

T’Pol just glared at Trip.

“All married men are controlled by their wives. T’Pol’s way just doesn’t involve nagging…”

When Trip’s meaning sunk in, everyone started laughing–again except for T’Pol.

( I do not find that amusing Trip. )

( Oh come on T’Pol. It’s a joke. )

( No, it is offensive. I do not control you. I do not appreciate you playing into that fear. )

Trip sighed. He forgot this was still a sensitive topic with her. ( I’m sorry. Yeah, I shouldn’t have done that. Please forgive me? )

T’Pol just nodded.

Trip straightened up and became more serious. “T’Pol’s right. This isn’t a joking matter.” The rest of them recognized T’Pol must have taken offense and immediately stopped laughing and straightened up.

“It is a common misconception among humans about the nature of our bond,” she said dryly. Only Trip could sense her hurt.

Commander McCormick was now curious. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

Trip scratched his head. “Control isn’t really the right word… Influence is probably better.”

“Do you mean T’Pol influences you?” Archer snickered to himself.

Trip laughed. “Of course, she influences me, but that’s not what I meant… Hmm…”

“What Trip means is that we influence each other through the bond. We have a much deeper understanding than a human pair would… It also allows me to correct his numerous mistakes without public humiliation… Such as the one you just noticed.”

Trip grinned and fought back his laughter. ( I don’t think they picked up on your sarcasm. )

( I was not being sarcastic. ) T’Pol teased him.

That was too much for Trip. He started laughing.

Archer figured out what just happened and started laughing too. “Good one T’Pol! I see you’ve kept working on your sarcasm…”

Trip stopped laughing and caught his breath. “Yeah, it’s not fair. Vulcans can deadpan better than anyone.”

Just then a steward entered the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt. There is an incoming message for Commander T’Pol from the Science Directorate.”

( Do you think it’s the boss? )

T’Pol knew who he was talking about. ( Most likely. )

( What do you think she wants? ) Trip wondered.

( I am not sure. Do you think she may have heard of Starfleet’s offer? )

Trip cocked his head. ( Maybe. But Jon didn’t sound like anyone else knew about it. )

( He knew the location of the ship and received permission to approach us. It is logical to assume he must have given them a reason for contact. )

Trip nodded. ( Good point… )

( Do you wish to stay here? )

( Yeah. I should talk to Jon. )

T’Pol nodded. “If you will excuse me. I must return to my ship.” She got up and left the room.


Two hours later, Jon, Trip and Wendy had caught up on stories over the past ten years.

Trip just shook his head. “Wow, Jon. That’s incredible… I knew Terra Prime had a lot of influence in Starfleet, I just never realized how much.”

Wendy nodded her head. “Over a third and probably closer to half of the new cadets from the time of the Xindi threat to the war either admitted being members of Terra Prime or sharing their sympathies. Eliminating their influence decimated the ranks of Commanders and Lieutenants… It’s probably going to be five years before the current group of Ensigns will be able to fill out the gaps.”

“That’s too bad…” Trip hung his head. “I can’t believe T’Pol and I had that affect.” He sighed.

“You didn’t Trip,” Archer replied. “Other than Paxton and a few others like him, Terra Prime never paid much attention to you and T’Pol… You just weren’t all that important. To them, you were a symptom, not the real problem.”

“Then what the hell was the problem?”

Archer took a deep breath and released it. “They were upset about Starfleet and how it was run. This was a set of people who grew up in fear of the Xindi and saw everyone around them die in the Romulan war. They blamed Starfleet for repeatedly putting Earth at risk. They decided Paxton’s failure was his approach and chose instead to change Starfleet from within.”

Trip shook his head. “I don’t understand. That makes no sense.”

“Trip, they saw how the Vulcans and Andorians refused to help us with the Xindi. They’re sure the Romulans came after us because we were forming alliances that would threaten the Romulan Empire. They think the Romulans attacked us because we were helping the Andorians and Vulcans resolve their differences. They’re upset that neither came to our side during the war.”

Trip was pissed. “But both of them did help us! What’d the idiots do, just overlook that fact?”

Wendy shook her head. “Trip, you don’t understand… Information about the NC project and the Daedalus is mostly classified.”

Trip cocked his head. “Still?”

Archer nodded. “Yes, Trip. Very few people know the NC-class is a Vulcan engine with Andorian shields and weapons. Most people just assume Starfleet took a technology leap due to the needs of war. There’s probably fewer than a hundred people who know the only parts Starfleet designed were the hull and Warp coils.”

“Why? Why not show people how much the Andorians and Vulcans helped us? You know, show them how critical cooperation is? How it helped end the war.”

Archer shook his head. “No. The civilians don’t want it…”

“Why not Jon? That’s just stupid.”

“Because Trip, Cheron turned the tide and ended the war. If it wasn’t for the NC-class ships, we couldn’t even have launched that battle and the war would have drug on. We may have even lost the war totally and been forced into surrender. They don’t want people to know the only reason we could even pretend to claim victory was due to Andorian and Vulcan technology.”

Trip sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I could see how that would be pretty humiliating for some people. Since the they offered us the technology, I just can’t see how anyone in their right mind turning it down.”

Archer nodded. “I agree. I also don’t think they want the Andorians to know where we got the engines. I don’t think either the Andorians or the Vulcans know the other helped us. Cragen told me we haven’t shared that.”

Trip started laughing. “Yeah, that’d be just like the Andorians. Give us shields and weapons and then get pissed because we powered them with a Vulcan engine.”

Archer started laughing too. “I’m sure your people would have been pissed to find out Starfleet married a Vulcan engine to Andorian technology.”

Trip cocked his head. “What do you mean ‘your people’?”

“Yeah, Jon,” Wendy chimed in.

Archer grinned at Trip. “Well you’re Vulcan now right?”

Trip scrunched his face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You passed the kahs-wan. That made you a Vulcan citizen.”

Trip straightened up. “How did you hear about that?”

“What’s the kahs-wan?” Wendy asked.

Archer turned to her. “They throw you in a Vulcan desert with no food, water or weapons and you stay there for ten days.”

Wendy had a newfound respect for Trip. “How did you survive being in a desert for ten days without water?”

Trip scowled. “There’s water in the Forge. You just can’t bring any in with you. Not even Vulcans can survive more than three or four days in the Forge without water.”

It was Archer’s turn to scowl. “When T’Pol and I were in the Forge, we didn’t see any water.”

Trip seemed to consider that statement for a bit. “That’s strange. The places where there’s water are pretty well known…” Trip’s face formed a slight grin. “The trick is getting at it without becoming a meal for a sehlat or a le-matya. Even that’s not too tough if you know what you’re doing. T’Pol would’ve known how to get water.”

Archer rubbed the slight stubble on his face and then nodded as an idea popped in his head. “That’s probably why we avoided them. If they were well known, the High Command would have been watching them. They would have discovered us almost immediately.”

“Yeah, probably... But anyway Jon, how’d you know I did that? We didn’t tell anyone.”

Archer chuckled. “Oh yeah, someone I’ve known for over twenty years becomes the only human to pass a Vulcan maturity test and earn a Vulcan citizenship and I don’t find about it? Yeah right, Trip.”

Trip scowled. “Jon, someone gave you some bad information…”

“What do you mean? I thought you just said you passed the kahs-wan?”

“Well, yeah…” Trip nodded. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’ve been a Vulcan citizen since October 2155.”

Archer cocked his head. Wendy appeared stunned.

“Yeah, Jon. I thought you knew.”

“Knew what?”

“Hmm…. I thought I told you… I guess I didn’t… I carry a dual citizenship. I was granted a Vulcan citizenship before we got officially married.”

“You never mentioned that before.”

Trip chuckled. “It must not have ever come up.” Trip shrugged his shoulders. “Actually it’s not really all that important anymore. With the Federation, it’s really nothing more than some paper. It doesn’t really mean anything.”

( Trip, when do you think you will return? )

( Shortly. I’ll need to tell Jon about our decision. )

( I will see you shortly then. )

“I’m sorry Jon. It’s getting late and I need head back.” Trip turned to Captain Testaburger. “I appreciate the hospitality ma’am. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you to Sub… Trip…”

Archer turned to Trip and they just stared at each other. Neither wanted to say what was on their minds but each knew it needed to be said.

Trip decided to go first. He sighed. He turned to the Captain. “Could you excuse us Captain.”

Wendy nodded. “Sure thing Trip… Good night Commodore.”

“Good night Wendy… I’ll see you in the morning…”

After she left them alone, Trip returned to Archer. “Commodore, I really appreciate the offer…”

Archer nodded. He knew where this was going. “But you’re going to decline.”

“Yeah. T’Pol and I discussed it over supper and we’re going to remain on the Psau for now.”

Archer expected him to decline but he wanted to know the real reason. “Why?”

“Jon, tell me what you’re responsible for.”

“Why should that matter?”

“Because you’re the one making the offer. That means the Yorktown is one of your ships.”

Archer figured he might as well tell him the truth. Trip had already turned him down. “I’m responsible for monitoring the Neutral Zone.”

Trip nodded. “That’s what I thought. I don’t want T’Pol to be a Captain of a warship.”

“How did you know the Yorktown’s a warship?”

Trip chuckled. “Jon, T’Pol and I were denied access to the Defiant’s armory. Since we helped design the original Daedalus that means this ship’s weapons and shields must be more advanced. The original NC-class were all warships. With upgraded weapons systems, it’s only logical to assume the Yorktown is too.”

Archer nodded and laughed. “Yeah Trip, you’re right. The Yorktown’s an extended range heavy cruiser… That’s why I wanted you two so badly. I need more combat experience on my team.”

Trip shook his head. “I’m sorry Jon. T’Pol and I promised each other when we left Starfleet we’d never again join a warship… If you ever want us on a research vessel, we’d seriously think about it.”

Archer shook his head. “I can’t do that Trip. My job’s to protect the border. The Yorktown will be the fourteenth NC-class ship under my command. I don’t have any exploration responsibilities.”

Archer looked intently at his old friend. “Trip, I wish you’d reconsider… Starfleet needs people like you.”

Trip sighed and turned his attention to Archer. “Jon, you know what I worry about these days?”

Archer shook his head.

“I worry about maintenance schedules. I worry about my crew not following procedure and getting hurt… I don’t worry about fending off the next Romulan attack. I don’t worry about getting infected with some unknown virus on away missions. When I go to sleep, I sleep like a baby… I’m happy–we’re happy.”

Archer took a deep breath. He had to admit the word he would have used to describe the Trip he saw today was content. He couldn’t ever remember seeing Trip like this before. “I understand.”

Trip stood up. “Well Jon, it looks like that’s it.” He held out his hand.

Archer pulled Trip to him in an embrace. Trip relaxed and returned the hug. “Good luck Trip.”

“You too, Jon…”


Commodore Archer sat sipping at his bourbon. Captain Testaburger returned to the Captain’s mess. “Am I disturbing you sir?”

Archer shook his head. “Not at all Wendy… Care to join me?”

“Don’t mind if I do sir… I’m assuming this is the good stuff from Kentucky and not that swill they sell in San Francisco.”

Archer chuckled. “Of course. I wouldn’t use that crap to clean a paint brush.”

The Captain took a sip and purred to herself. “Yeah, that’s the good stuff.”

“Almost as good as that Romulan ale you’ve got stashed,” Archer chuckled.

She stiffened. “Commodore, Romulan ale is outlawed.”

Archer chuckled. “I know that… I also know that you’ve been on patrol for the last eleven months. Romulan ale is easy to find along the border. I know every one of my ships has at least one bottle stashed somewhere on board.”

She shook her head. “No, Commodore, not on my ship.”

Archer sighed. I guess I have to be clear. “That’s too bad. I like Romulan ale almost as much as I like Kentucky bourbon… But I guess I can do without since you don’t have any on board.” He hoped beating her over the head would be good enough.

She smiled. “I’ll tell you what, Commodore. Let me conduct an investigation tomorrow. It’s quite possible that someone on this ship has a bottle of Romulan ale that I don’t know about. Of course, once I find it, I would have to confiscate it as being contraband. As the ranking officer, I would have to turn it over to you for… disposal.”

Archer caught her meaning and chuckled to himself. “Okay. Bring it around after supper and we can… dispose… of it then.”

She just nodded and laughed.

Once she finished her glass she set it down. “So did they turn you down?”

Archer nodded. “Yeah. He doesn’t want her to command a warship.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Commodore… I’ve read their service records. They were good officers.”

“Yeah–a couple of the best I’ve ever worked with. To be honest though, I never expected them to agree. But I had to try. I figured they’d turn me down as soon as I told them it was aboard an NC-class ship.”

She cocked her head in confusion. “Why?”

Archer frowned. “Do you know how the first Daedalus was destroyed?”

She shook her head.

“It got caught by three warbirds… She’d crippled one before one of the other two hit her bridge with a mine. Everyone on the bridge was killed instantly and the spherical section flooded with radiation. Fortunately she had been designed with Romulan tactics in mind so the damage was contained. She’d destroyed a second warbird when another mine exploded outside the engineering section of the hull. Even with the enhanced shielding main engineering was flooded with radiation.”

“Damn… How’d they’d make it through that?”

“They sent out a distress call when the first warbird decloaked. Both Atlantis and Enterprise just happened to be in the area. Atlantis was faster and arrived just after the second mine exploded. She destroyed the crippled warbird and pursued the remaining one. It had partial damage, couldn’t cloak and was limited to Warp 4. Atlantis chased it down and destroyed it. We arrived a bit later and picked up the twenty one survivors. The Daedalus was too far gone, so we scuttled her and returned to Jupiter station with the survivors.”

Archer fought back tears as he thought about that time. “Normally T’Pol would have been on the bridge and killed in the attack. She happened to be in the armory and assisted Captain Eames from there.”

Archer shook his head and took a deep breath. “It was a complete fluke that Alex could command the ship from the armory… The spherical section of the ship was added late in construction so T’Pol had a makeshift bridge built into the armory for their test runs. I guess they never bothered to remove it so once the main bridge was destroyed, Alex and T’Pol were able to conduct the battle from there. That’s why you have a heavily shielded battle bridge attached to the armory… Trip, on the other hand, was almost killed due to radiation poisoning. Phlox told me that if we arrived ten minutes later, no one in engineering would have survived. Everyone’s radiation exposure would have been above fatal levels.”

“Trip spent the next two months in a hospital recovering from severe radiation poisoning before he and T’Pol were reassigned to Enterprise. When they came back, they weren’t the same people who left four years before. They kept to themselves and spent their off duty time in the gym or in their quarters… I think the Daedalus incident was the last straw and they decided to leave Starfleet as soon as they could. They stayed with me until a couple weeks before Enterprise was mothballed. They resigned from Starfleet and didn’t return from our last trip to Vulcan… They wouldn’t even attend the signing ceremony in person.”

She scowled at Archer. “That’s odd. Why not?”

Archer shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. Trip would never tell me… But I think it has something to do with T’Pol.”

“Why do you say that?”

“T’Pol made it pretty clear she didn’t think the Federation was a good idea. She told me the Federation was nothing more than a response to the threat posed by the Romulans. She said that without a common enemy, the Federation would fall into petty bickering and internal division. She refused to believe her people would ever trust the Andorians. Already the Romulan threat’s being forgotten with no contact in over a decade–well beyond some Romulan ale, that is.” Archer smiled at her.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? There’s always the Klingons. Maybe they’ll end up being that ‘common enemy’?”

Archer shrugged. “Maybe. But for now, that’s not my problem. As long as the Romulans don’t cross the border, I’m not worrying about anything else.”

The End


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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Excellent job, Kevin. Seeing an update from you made my day. I really liked the explanation for Trip "changing" his name - makes absolute sense for a silly bureaucracy - and the line about "Trip" being a female name in Vulcan cracked me up.

This is RAPIDLY turning into one of my favorite series.

This was a great story, I think my one of my favorites in this series. I really liked all the little details like the names and the things you threw in to make it so realistics. Great job and thanks for this new installment!

Great as always. I liked the part about Trip's name.

Loved it, but I would have liked to read more about Trip's life on a Vulcan ship, especially the early days.

I have enjoyed this whole series, your writing of the characters in a believeable way keeping in touch with the way they were portrayed in the series, but let them evolve as they mature and react to different circumstances.

I like that Trip finally says NO to Archer, and puts he and his wife first after so many ealier years of dedication to duty.

Good writing as usual!

These are facinating and I have no idea why. Liked the little mystery about Trip's Vulcan name.

I REALLY liked this story. You have a very interesting take on Trip and T'Pol's life together. It makes perfect sense for them to leave Starfleet and find happiness together in a life of research and exploration. It also makes sense for Archer to try and get them back. They could be the ultimate power couple, if they wanted to be.

I really enjoyed your story. I really enjoy the deeper interactions between Trip and T'pol. I find that each one is growning together as a whole. I would be interested to read if T'Pol and Trip start a family. I would be interested in the issues they would face on Vulcan, raising a child on mixed blood. It would help in understanding more how Spock had his own issues growing up. Hope to read more of your work

I liked the political, personal, and technical details you threw in. The refit of an old ship was very interesting... and realistic. The merging of Andorian, Vulcan, and human technology was great - and just what would be done between allies. But I think that at some point it would serve the federating worlds well to reveal to the public just how close the cooperation is.

Oh, I think your Vulcanized Trip is great. We have seen Vulcans become more 'human' in their cooperation with our world. And other than Sarek's wife, have not seen the reverse. Well done, and again - realistic.

Did you invent the interpretation of the V prefix on Vulcan names to be an honorific or did you find that somewhere? I like it and it makes sense as in V'Lar and V'Las. I will be borrowing your interpretation for my fics and change a name such as T'Lar to V'Lar when it is earned! I will give you credit for the idea in the story intro. Many thanks for this addition to the ST universe.

Why do I get the feeling somones a South Park fan??? :) Great job!

This story is by far the greatest fan written story I have ever read....impressive....