Reflections of Another Universe - Part 2

TRIP/T’POLERS MU FANFIC CHALLENGE

Reflections of Another Universe

By: Misplaced

Rating: PG-13 for mild violence, language and some sexual situations
Genre: Mirror Universe, Action & Angst
Disclaimer: Nope, don’t own any of the Enterprise characters. I do this for free.
Archive: Yeah, just let me know where.
Spoilers: “In a Mirror, Darkly”
Summary: The mirror universe crew of the NX-01 go on a mission to rescue a captured member of the crew… while trying to keep a mutiny on ship at bay.

A/N: I began writing this fic before some of the newer spoilers for the MU episodes were revealed, so it’s not exactly true to the spoilers… with the exception that my little fic ONLY takes place in the mirror universe—where there has not been a Xindi attack on earth. There are NO real universe characters in my story. Thanks to Triplover for being my beta!

4-27-05

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Part 2 (Chapters 4-6)

Chapter Four—ATTRACTION

Trip sat in his bunk, a handful of cabling in his hands. Vulcan technology was different, but there had still been some information left on Earth from the time when Vulcans and Humans had been friends. Trip, with his insatiable appetite for understanding how things worked, had come across some old books about Vulcan technology as a boy. It was one thing to read about it in a book, though, and it was another to actually work with it.

The door opened and he grinned when he saw that it was T’Pol. She stepped in the room stiffly, wrinkling her nose a little. He remembered that the mess in the cell seemed to bother her on her last visit. Already things were getting fun.

“Guess you couldn’t get enough of me,” he said as he stood. She raised her eyebrows.

“Commander, you requested that I carry out your interrogation.”

“Same difference,” he said as he walked a little closer. She furrowed her brow slightly. She was so petite, at least in her appearance, but his cheek reminded him that appearances could be deceiving when it came to this Vulcan.

“Shall we commence?” she asked as her nose wrinkled slightly again.

“After you, darlin’.” There it was the glint in her eyes. It was kind of cute. Cute? What the hell was he thinking “cute” for?

“Commander—“she began with a warning tone.

“Trip.”

“Trip?” she looked at him questioningly.

“Trip. That’s my name.”

“Commander,” she began again, “You will address me as Sub-Commander T’Pol.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a hint of sarcasm, “So what are you? The first officer?” T’Pol’s eyebrows furrowed again.

“I am, indeed, second in command of this vessel.”

“So, that would make us sorta equals, wouldn’t it?” Trip wasn’t sure why, but he liked that idea.

“I don’t see how that makes us equals. You are the prisoner and I am your interrogator,” she replied with a rather confused expression. Trip sighed and leaned against the wall, even closer to her. Her nose wrinkled again.

“Those just details, darlin’,” he said, but then caught himself, “Uh, I mean ‘Sub-Commander.” He smiled at her. His brain was screaming at him, What the hell are you doing? Are you flirting with her? A Vulcan? It was almost as if he were outside of his body watching this strange behavior spiraling out of control. Trip wasn’t much of a womanizer—not that he didn’t have any experience, the memory of his most recent exploit with the MACO, Amanda Cole, came to mind—it’s just that women tend to stab you in the back when you least expect it. That was more of Archer’s thing.

“Commander, do humans bathe?” T’Pol asked. Whoa, he thought, that came out of left field. He reached up and touched the three day old stubble on his chin, and then he looked at his hand. No, the question hadn’t come out of left field after all.

“Usually, every day,” he winked at her. What was wrong with him? He was a hardened, vicious man…. Wasn’t he?

“I will make arrangements then,” she said as she turned to leave.

“Wait,” he said, not quite ready for their conversation to end, “Is that it? That’s your interrogation?” She turned back around, and looked him over before meeting his eyes.

“Until you have bathed, Commander, it is.” She exited the cell, leaving him feeling as if he were utterly naked.

“Looks like the princess won that round,” he muttered to himself as he stared at the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T’Pol walked away from the brig, relieved to breathe fresh air again. She had noticed the smell when she had questioned Commander Tucker the first time, but today it had been overwhelming, especially when he stood so close to her. There was another scent she detected near the end of their meeting, but she didn’t know what to make of it. Humans were strange beings.

She would make arrangements for all three of the humans to bathe—everyday they were in custody. She wouldn’t be interrogating the other two captives, but it would be illogical to force the Vulcans who would be questioning them to experience such unpleasantness when it is unnecessary. Also, she would increase the air filtration in the brig—at least she shouldn’t be distracted by his potent and foreign scent.

Her thoughts turned to her conversation with Commander Tucker. He hadn’t been as rude as before, even though he had nearly taken over the conversation. Equals? Why would he think that? She knew that he had been second in command of his vessel from the data that they had gathered from the shuttle. However, he seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was now a captive with little or no power. He managed to get you to be his sole questioner, she reminded herself. He also single-mindedly kept up his attempt to escape using his engineering skills. The human’s arrogance was grating. The corners of her mouth turned downward.

Not much further down the hall she saw Koss walking in her direction. A small sigh escaped her lips. What she wanted more than anything right now was a shower, but that would have to wait. His eyes lit up when he saw her.

“You are finished with the Human?” he asked as he fell in step with her.

“For now,” she answered, “I could not continue because of the smell.”

“Yes, I noticed that also.”

“I am making arrangements for the Humans to bathe, as well as for the air to be filtered in the brig,” she stated as they were nearly to her quarters.

“It is a sound decision.” As she pressed the panel to open her door, Koss gave her a look that hinted of desire. She stepped into her quarters, and turned to him.

“I will report to the bridge once I have bathed,” she said, though the underlying message was clear.

“Very well,” he agreed as he walked away. She leaned against the door once it closed.

Koss wouldn’t be going through Pon’Farr for a few years yet, long after they were to be wed, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t mate at other times. Pon’Farr was the how a Vulcan’s body genetically forced itself to propagate. It didn’t preclude sexual relations outside of that time. Koss had been hinting at his desire for some time now. She did not reciprocate, and was content to wait until their wedding to consummate the relationship.

For some reason the image of Commander Tucker came unbidden to her thoughts. He was attractive, for a Human, she could admit that. But the thought of mating with him? When he smelled like that? She shivered not entirely certain that the thought was a negative one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late morning on Enterprise and Archer lay naked spooned against an equally naked Hoshi. She was asleep, he was not. He hadn’t slept most of the night, even after he was convinced she had finally dozed off. The wheels were turning in his mind. He had to stay ahead of Malcom, who, if Trip was dead, would become first officer. Archer needed a contingency plan and he had devised one. It was time to put that plan into motion.

He gently caressed Hoshi’s flat abdomen, kissing her shoulder. She stirred with a moan, stretching like a cat.

“Hoshi,” he whispered in her ear.

“Hmmmm?” she replied groggily. He pulled her closer to him.

“Hoshi, I love you.” Her eyes opened.

“What?” He smiled and kissed her lustily on the lips.

“I love you.” She pulled back and searched his face. He made the most vulnerable expression he could muster. After a few moments it seemed like she was satisfied. She grinned, but she couldn’t quite keep the wicked glint out of her eye. Archer pretended not to notice.

“You think so?” she said playfully. He kissed her again.

“Yes,” he answered between kisses, “You’re the only woman I want.” That was partly true. Juggling one woman that might try to slit his throat as he slept was plenty enough for him. Besides, she sated his appetite well enough.

She smiled wider, “You really mean that don’t you?” He looked into her eyes intensely, and answered.

“Why else would I say it? I love you.” She pulled him to her hungrily and as she began her ministrations, his mind was already on the second phase of his plan.

Chapter Five—DISAGREEABLE

T’Pol sat at her desk in her darkened quarters. A PADD rested in her hands, casting an orange glow on her features. She was reading, and the glint in her eyes said that she was displeased. It was a letter from her family informing her that Koss’ family intended to move up the wedding. That was no small feat since it meant releasing her from her commission early. Of course, his family had connections in the High Command, so it wasn’t impossible. In fact, a letter from High Command would most likely be arriving shortly. T’Pol felt her stomach tighten.

She knew that the request had not originated from Koss’ family, but from Koss himself. He did not see any logic in delaying the marriage as they had, even for her tour of duty. She had actually requested this particular commission for the opportunity to get to know her betrothed better. Highly unusual for a Vulcan, but T’Pol wasn’t a typical Vulcan—not that she was trying to be a radical, but sometimes her logic was a little different.

Should I speak to Koss about this, she asked herself. No satisfactory answer came to her thoughts. It seemed that Koss cared a great deal for her. He was protective of her, and sought her company whenever possible. Admitting to him that she did not return his affection might damage him in some way. Not telling him, however, would be akin to lying.

T’Pol chose to do nothing for now. In time, her answers would come, and forcing her thoughts on the matter would not make anything clearer. She set the PADD down on her desk and walked over to her bed. She knew that she should probably meditate, but her fatigue was overwhelming.

As she closed her eyes, the image of Commander Tucker invaded her thoughts. He smiled at her. If his scent hadn’t been so overpowering, it might have startled her. Upon reviewing their earlier interaction his smile appeared sincere—unlike during their first meeting. In fact, his body language appeared to show a desire for mating. That had confused her. He had acted contemptuously towards her at first, but in the second meeting he had been reasonable. Perhaps by striking him she had inadvertently initiated a Human mating practice. T’Pol realized that her knowledge of Human culture was limited.

She also realized that she might very well have two suitors now, one of which she found almost repugnant. As to the other, she found herself oddly pleased by the thought of his pursuit. It was an illogical thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He grabbed Jonathon Archer by the hair and thrust his dagger at the captain’s throat. Both men were sweating and panting from the exertion of the duel. He hesitated.

Trip found himself standing over Archer lying in the pool of blood. The dagger clattered to the floor, echoing in the empty room.

Trip sat up in the bunk of the brig. He rubbed his eyes in the dim light. You’d think I’d be used to the nightmares after all this time, he thought ruefully. He could remember a time when his world was much more innocent—when he was home on Earth, before he had been educated in the unspoken laws of conduct in space. It was not that life on Earth was wholly innocent, but it was quite jarring once the realities of space life set in. Trip was a product of that environment in more ways than one, and none of them suited him deep down inside.

Oh, Lizzy, he thought of his younger sister, what would you think of me if you saw me now? She would ever see him this way, though. She had died in a transport accident on her first trip to the lunar colony on the moon over a year ago. It had devastated Trip and hardened him even more. The painful memory of that time threatened to overtake him. He rubbed his eyes again, and focused his thoughts on escape once more.

There was no point in dwelling in the past. There was only the here and now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Archer stood in the doorway of the engineering room, and watched Lieutenant Kelby work. The young man was no where near as brilliant as Trip, but he had kept the ship together well enough. Archer had overlooked the young man for quite some time now. There was a time that Kelby was in the Captain’s favor, but that had been more than a year earlier. It was obvious that the Lieutenant had become bitter about Archer’s neglect. Winning the boy over might take some work.

Archer hadn’t decided how he was going to approach the young officer. He was fairly certain that Malcom had already talked to him; the security chief was getting cockier everyday. What the Captain didn’t know was what Malcom’s sales pitch was, and whether or not Kelby bought it. Should he threaten Kelby, or lay on the bribery?

At least Mayweather had been easy. He was as squarely in the Archer’s pocket as Trip had been. Archer chose not to dwell on the thought that it was questionable whether Trip had been in his pocket, or that he had been in Trip’s. Damn, he didn’t need his Chief Engineer gone when Malcom was poising to strike. You’re getting soft, Archer, he chided himself, you didn’t become Captain because of Trip—you can manage to stay Captain without him.

Kelby had noticed Archer scowling at him. He strode over to the Captain with a fairly confident gait that belied the fear in his eyes.

“Captain?” he asked. Archer looked him over, still deciding how to play his cards. He nodded towards the engine.

“Is she going to fall apart?” Kelby glanced over his shoulder, and sighed.

“She’s holding together with a little spit and string,” he looked back at the Captain as he replied, “but she isn’t going to last much longer.”

“I’m sure she’ll hold together long enough,” said Archer. Kelby’s face hardened, indicating that he knew exactly what Archer meant.

“Aye, sir” came the younger man’s terse reply. This wasn’t exactly heading in the direction that Archer was hoping. It was time to change tactics.

“Lieutenant,” Archer began more thoughtfully, “I’d like for you to report to me at eighteen hundred hours. I don’t want to run this ship into the ground, and you’re going to tell me how to avoid that.” The Captain smiled, somewhat good-naturedly. “I promise I won’t kill you.”

Kelby smiled back, but it was a sickly, fearful smile. Archer had his work cut out for himself it seemed. He just hoped the boy’s loathing for Malcom was at least on par with his loathing of Archer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trip sat on the cold floor studying the components that he had obtained from the walls after managing to pull down a few more panels. It was difficult to make heads or tails of this Vulcan technology. It was so… alien. Trip barked a sour laugh at that thought.

Even with the foreign engineering, Trip thought that he was beginning to see the logic behind it. (Logic? He laughed again. I need to get off this damn ship!) It seemed as if the key to understanding was just out of reach. It would only take a little while longer before he had it figured out, then he would be out of this hole along with the rest of the away team. Getting past the guard on the other side of the door was another thing… one step at a time, though.

A small part of him hoped that T’Pol would be the first one that learned of his escape. She had mocked his attempts—well not mocked exactly. Damn, it was hard to read these cold Vulcans. Then again, she hadn’t been that cold, he had gotten her angry enough to hit him. Of course, he played the fool the last time they met. What was going on with him then anyway? He had been positively syrupy at their last encounter. The memory was uncomfortable, and at the same time made him angry. The princess isn’t going to get the better of me next time, he resolved.

He heard the door open, and he knew it was T’Pol. He didn’t look up, forcing his mind to focus on unraveling the mysteries of Vulcan technology. It wasn’t easy. He could hear her soft breathing and her footsteps as she walked over to him. Focus, he reminded himself, on what’s in your hands. Staring at the components, he realized that he wasn’t really seeing them at all. Why won’t she talk? That bothered him. He knew a power play when he saw one. There was no way in hell he was going to be the first one to break the silence.

He heard her footsteps again, and thought for a fleeting second that she was going to leave. Instead, however, she seemed to be walking around the small cell. Trip was getting agitated. Talk woman, he mentally ordered. She remained silent still. He couldn’t concentrate with her in the room. If she wasn’t going to question him, then she might as well leave him be. Inside he was a boiling mess of anger and frustration. The frustration was mostly how she rattled him just with her presence. No other person could make the engineer loose focus just by proximity alone, even an attractive one of the feminine persuasion. That infuriated him even more, that loss of control. He was grinding his teeth.

“You appeared to be displeased, Commander,” she said in a soft voice that startled him. Trip liked the sound of her voice, and was angry that he liked it at the same time. He continued to stare at his hands.

“Why has your demeanor changed from our last session?” she inquired clinically. Gee, I don’t know, he thought, maybe I don’t like being a prisoner. Trip still stared at his hands. After a moment, she crouched next to him, and her nearness made him grip the components tighter.

“I do not understand why you refuse to speak,” she stated in a clearly perplexed tone. Finally he turned to her, making them nearly nose to nose.

“Do I smell pretty enough for you now, darlin’?” he asked. It wasn’t what he was planning to say, but what the hell, it worked. Her brows furrowed, and her eyes made a small twitch. Even though he was furious, he got a small thrill from that tiny break in her Vulcan reserve. His game was going to be on today. Of course, it might earn him another smack—but then again, that might be worth it.

“Bathing offends you?” At this, Trip smirked.

“Of course not,” he answered, “I just wanted to make sure that our session wouldn’t get interrupted by your little Vulcan nose.” She stared at him for a moment, both still so close to one another.

“That is surprisingly thoughtful of you,” she said, not catching the sarcasm in his tone. Trip grinned at her, but it wasn’t the enigmatic smile from yesterday. No, his expression was much more feral.

“I aim to please, sweetheart.” Flicker. Oh, he was going to get himself smacked for sure.

“If that were true, then you would tell us the reason for your presence in this sector,” she pointed out. Trip rolled his eyes.

“Is that the only question you Vulcans know how to ask?”

“It’s the answer that we require, yes,” she replied. Her lips were very full, very red. Why would they be red, he wondered, with her green blood? Focus admit, he scolded himself, don’t let yourself be distracted by her! He was angry with himself once more.

“I’ve already given you the only answer that you’re going to get from me,” he practically spit the words out. T’Pol stood up and gave a small sigh.

“If you would tell us—“

“You’ll what?” he said, cutting her off, “You’ll release me, and my men? Somehow I doubt that, princess.” This time he stood, bringing himself face to face with her again. “I’ll bet that if I told you what you wanted to know, I’d be no better off than I am right now—probably worse off.” Damn, her lips were distracting. He subconsciously licked his own. Stop looking at them, you idiot!

“Commander, I feel constrained to tell you that if you continue to refuse my questioning,” She said, “that we will be forced to use other methods of extracting information that you will find less desirable.”

“Is that so, darlin’?” Flicker. Why was it that the only Vulcan that he was able to crack was so damn attractive? She was so close, just inches away. On one level he knew that he was angry with her, but on another level thoughts were crossing his mind that no prisoner should be thinking about his interrogator. Stay focused, she’s a VULCAN!

“Why do you insist on creating difficulty for yourself?” she asked.

“I’m a stubborn fellow.”

“Indeed,” T’Pol agreed, “I believe that you will come to regret not cooperating with my interrogation.”

“Was that a threat?”

“I was merely pointing out what is obvious,” she answered rather arrogantly. Her tone grated on Trip’s nerves.

“Well, we’ll just have to see about that won’t we?” he growled at her. Trip made a point of stepping away from her to pick up the components that he had been studying earlier. He felt her hand on his shoulder and it was as if a small jolt of electricity went through him. What the hell? He turned around to look at her. Her face appeared composed, but her eyes showed a hint of the surprise that he felt. So, it wasn’t just my hormones on hyper-drive, he reasoned.

“I believe that further questioning would be futile,” she stated, adding as an afterthought, “for now.” Trip somehow didn’t think that was what she was going to say when she had grabbed his shoulder. He found himself licking his lips again.

After a few tense moments she finally broke eye contact with him and headed for the door. T’Pol paused when it opened, and said over her shoulder, “Commander, I hope you will consider what I’ve said.”

“Fair enough, sweetheart,” he replied, and then she was gone. It was more than an hour before Trip could fully concentrate on his escape plan again.

Chapter Six—ORDERS

If T’Pol had been walking any faster, she would have been running. She hadn’t even bothered to look at the guard when she left the brig, let alone converse with him. She needed to get to her quarters, to meditate.

She shouldn’t have touched him. It was disturbing… and interesting, the sensation she had felt when she had touched his shoulder. He had felt something too, she was certain. The expression on his face was plain that he had been startled by the unusual sensation. What this would mean to their future encounters, she didn’t know. Frankly, she was afraid to know. Afraid? How odd. Why would she be afraid?

T’Pol passed another Vulcan in the corridor that raised a questioning eyebrow. She merely nodded at him, unaware that her lips had been turned downward in a small frown—an unusual expression on a Vulcan face. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

When she had almost made it to her quarters a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Were you successful?” inquired Koss as he seemed to step out of nowhere. T’Pol found it remarkable that he was close at hand most of the time. Again, she felt a small regret that she did not return his apparent affinity for her.

“I was not;” she answered stiffly, “Commander Tucker refuses to divulge any information.”

Koss was quiet, most likely considering the next course of action to take with the Humans. T’Pol waited patiently, a myriad of possibilities floating in her mind, none of which she was sure Commander Tucker would find pleasing.

“You will meld with him, then,” he said. The words sank in slowly; it was an option that she had not considered, though it was the most sensible. It was also the last thing that she wanted to do.

“Surely one of the others would be more qualified…” she trailed off, knowing already that wasn’t true. Koss gave her a perplexed look.

“T’Pol,” he said as he walked toward her, “You are the most qualified.” He reached his hand toward her face, and she involuntarily flinched as he moved a stray hair on her brow. His eyes held hers for a long moment before he broke contact.

“I will leave you to prepare,” he said as he turned to leave. Within seconds he was gone, leaving a wide-eyed T’Pol in the corridor alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lieutenant Kelby stood outside of Captain Archer’s ready room, his hand hovering over the door chime. He felt as though he were going into the lion’s den and didn’t know if he would survive. Did Archer know that Kelby had met with Reed? A chill went down Kelby’s spine.

He took a deep breath, and pressed the button. Archer’s gruff voice came over the comm.

“Who is it?”

“Lieutenant Kelby with the report that you requested,” he answered, adding “sir” quickly.

“Come on in, Kelby.” That sounded far too pleasant for Kelby’s worried mind. The door opened, and he stepped into the dim room with as much confidence as he could muster.

Archer didn’t look up from where he was sitting at his desk when Kelby entered the room. Instead he was studying a PADD with an impassive expression on his face. Kelby knew better than to speak. In the silence, the young engineer pondered how his fate might meet out.

Kelby hadn’t given Reed a firm commitment, but had just listened to his pitch and promised to consider the offer. It was true that Archer’s position was weakened by the loss of Commander Tucker, but Kelby still wasn’t confident that it was weak enough. There was Mayweather, the psychopathic helmsman, who was the captain’s lap dog. While he didn’t incite fear like Tucker did, the young man was still not one to be reckoned with. Mayweather had grown up on a cargo ship, and was more than prepared for the unspoken rules of space life in Starfleet.

And then there was Doctor Phlox, a thought which sent another chill down Kelby’s spine. That witch Doctor seemed more loyal to Tucker than to anyone else, but Kelby supposed that in the case of the chief engineer’s absence, Phlox’s loyalties would fall to the Captain.

“Kelby,” Archer said, breaking into the lieutenant’s thoughts.

“Yes sir?”

“Well, report.” Kelby was flustered for a moment. Perhaps this meeting wasn’t a political move after all, but a regular meeting between the Captain, and the acting Chief Engineer. Kelby didn’t know if he should be offended that Archer thought so little of Kelby’s worth in the ship’s power play, of if he should be nervous that Archer had assumed Kelby’s alliance with Reed. If that were the case, should Reed fail in his little mutiny, then Kelby would go down with him on that assumption alone.

“These are a few of my suggestions for keeping the ship together while we pursue the Vulcans,” Kelby replied as he handed Archer a PADD. The Captain scanned the information, and then looked up at him.

“I see that the first suggestion is to slow down.”

“Not by much, sir,” Kelby explained, “According to our readings, the speed would still overtake the Vulcans by a day—long before they reach their High Command.”

“I see.” Archer searched Kelby’s eyes and after a moment he seemed to find whatever it was he was looking for. The Captain stood up and reached for the bottle of bourbon on a shelf behind Kelby, as well as two glasses.

“Why don’t you have a seat,” he said as he began pouring drinks for the both of them. So, it is about politics after all, thought Kelby as he took a chair. The notion brought no reassurance to the Lieutenant.

“To the empire,” Archer toasted as he raised his glass.

“To the empire,” responded Kelby in kind. Archer drained his liquor and slammed the glass down on the table; a dreadful grin turned his lips upward. Kelby only took a small sip of the burning liquid, reasoning that it would be best to keep his wits about him for the rest of this meeting.

“Kelby,” Archer began, “are you aware that I specifically requested you to be assigned to the Enterprise?”

“Yes, sir,” answered Kelby with a grimace. He was aware that it had been when Tucker and Archer had been rivals, before that event that had somehow created the unholy alliance between the two men. Reed had been around then too, scheming and plotting just as he did now—but Commander Tucker had despised the Chief of Security just as much as the Captain, or else Archer would have been “retired” long ago. When Kelby had been assigned to the Enterprise, Archer had immediately begun grooming him as Tucker’s replacement, should the Chief Engineer meet an untimely end. The Commander had, hadn’t he, mused Kelby, but then in space nothing ever turns out quite as planned.

“Then,” Archer said as he leaned forward, “you know how highly I value loyalty.”

“I have an understanding.” Kelby wasn’t sure if he had just been bribed or threatened. Most likely both. The Lieutenant resented being “romanced” once again. Kelby had been all but forgotten when the Captain and the Chief Engineer finally saw eye to eye.

“I’m thinking it’s time for a promotion, don’t you?” asked Archer as he sat back in his chair once again, “Perhaps when this thing with the Vulcans is over, we’ll have to make you a Lieutenant Commander.”

“Uh, thank you, sir.” When this thing with the Vulcans is over? Unless Commander Tucker is dead, I don’t think I’ll be seeing any promotion, thought Kelby with bitter honesty.

“Well, I won’t keep you from your work any longer,” Archer spoke as he stood, “Dismissed.”

Kelby set his glass down and went to the door.

“Oh, Kelby,” said Archer, stopping the Lieutenant, “I’ll slow the ship down, but your calculations had better be right.”

“They are.” Kelby stepped through the door, fuming at Archer’s arrogance. After the last year of neglect, how could the Captain just think that Kelby would happily jump on his side? On the other hand, Reed had never treated Kelby as anything other than a subordinate to be ignored, until the other day. Yeah, he thought, playing both sides might be the best choice for now… I just hope it doesn’t bite me in the ass in the end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T’Pol stood outside Commander Tucker’s cell, concealed in the shadows as she watched him through the window. It was curious how he continued to take things apart in his cell, most likely in a useless attempt to escape. She had actually been quite surprised to realize how much damage the human had been capable of.

The Commander kept himself quite busy, moving about the small room with components at hand. He stopped every once and a while and seemed to mumble to himself. He certainly had a purpose.

What would it be like to meld with him? she wondered. What would she find in the human’s mind? She felt an unusual trepidation regarding the meld. T’Pol had never felt fear when melding with anyone, including another alien species. There was no logical reason for her unease. She had meditated in preparation, but it did not alleviate her apprehension. After a time, she realized that further meditation was useless. It only served to prolong the inevitable.

As she pulled herself from her contemplations, she was taken aback to find Commander Tucker leaning against the door, staring at her through the window. He smiled and winked at her. T’Pol narrowed her eyes. The Human appeared to be in better spirits, which might make the task of melding with him less difficult.

Her stomach felt like lead.

Part 3 (Chapters 7-9)

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Eight hardy souls have made comments

I'm loving it! Can't wait for the mind meld! More, more, more... soon, soon, soon! :)

Just thought that I would tell you that I love your story so far. Great writing.

Oh, this is so good - and it is going to get better, I just know it!!

Really enjoying it; looking forward to the next chapter.

Oh. That´s wonderful! A mind-meld!!! Write more - sooon!

BRILLIANT can't wait for more.........

Great story, more please!

Meld, eh? Should be good, can't wait for more! :)