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Uneasy Alliances - Ch 2

Author - Quills
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Uneasy Alliances

By Quills

Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com
Series: ENT
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain from this story.
Codes: A Captain Soma Adventure
Summary: The crew of the U.S.S. Argo, under the command of Captain
Jonathan Soma is ordered to rendezvous with a mysterious party in a remote section of space for a mission that may lead both Soma and his crew into the hands of an enemy.

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

Chapter 2

The doors parted and Captain Soma entered the transporter room, with security officer Tav right behind him. The Tellerite was completely livid and made no effort to hide that fact from his captain.

“You can’t do it Jonathan,” protested Tav. “You can’t trust that shifty Andorian.”

Soma stopped in front of the transporter controls, glancing over at Tav. “I don’t.”

Tav’s eyes widened to large black orbs. “Then how in the name of Beshel and Megela can you even think of going over there by yourself?”

Soma smiled as he set the coordinates for the transporter. Tav called on the great Tellerite debaters of Teller Prime’s golden age whenever he was in a losing argument. “Tav, I have my orders. The Andorians transmitted Starfleet’s encoded instructions and Ensign Calvert verified them. I’m to meet with Shran…alone.” Soma stressed that last word. The Vulcan liked to keep things informal aboard his ship, but one thing he didn’t tolerate was abusing that informality by having his officers casually question his decisions.

“Aye,” said Tav shaking his head. “I checked them myself. They’re legitimate, but that only means one thing.”

Soma gave the security officer a questioning look. “And what might that be?”

“Starfleet Command is full of idiots!”

The captain laughed in spite of himself. There were far too many times when he was hard pressed to disagree with Tav’s assessment. “That may be Tav, but until you and I can convince the crew to mutiny and take up a life as privateers, we’ll just have to do the best we can with whatever Starfleet throws at us.”

Tav snorted at Soma. As far as he was concerned, the Vulcan took too many risks when it came to his own personal safety. A point he had brought up on numerous occasions as the Argo’s security chief.

Soma glanced over at Tav, motioning the Tellerite to the transporter console. “Besides, aren’t you being a bit paranoid?” quipped Soma, heading for the transporter platform. “The Andorians are our allies.”

Tav snorted again as he looked down at the console. “Some allies, I’d rather trust the Klingons!”

Soma just shook his head. Tav’s hearts were in the right place, even if he was being overly protective of him. Starfleet was about taking risks. Archer had always told him a captain had to decide when the risk was too great. Soma did take risks, but only when he thought the gains outweighed the losses.

Climbing the steps to the transporter pad, Soma turned and looked over at Tav as the Tellerite stood behind the console. “I’ve already verified the coordinates Thala gave us.”

“Thala?” Tav gave Soma a hard stare and then shook his head. “You're hopeless Jonathan.”

Soma grinned. Tav had a point. If Soma had a weak spot, it was for assertive women.
And Sub-Lieutenant Thala was definitely assertive.

“Just watch your butt, Captain. I have no doubt that Andorian ice-princess has you on her mind,” said Tav, pointing a pudgy finger in Soma’s direction, “but not in the same way you have her on yours.”

Soma cocked his brow and gave Tav a nod. “Duly noted, mother… energize”

___________________________________

The soft blue hue of the alcove lighting flickered as the materializer engaged. A cascade of shimmering blue rain appeared to fall from the alcove ceiling as a form coalesced inside. Within seconds, the shimmering light began to fade and when it had completely disappeared, a rematerialized form stood in the alcove.

“Captain Soma,” said a voice from the opposite side of the room.

Soma turned to the direction the voice had come from. “Sub-Lieutenant,” replied Soma stepping out of the alcove as he briefly glanced around the room. He had not been on an Andorian ship but once before and that was when he was a lieutenant. Although he noted that Andorian décor had apparently changed very little since he had last been aboard one of their ships. Spartan to the end, he thought.

He looked at Thala, giving the Andorian woman a smile. She was attractive, Soma thought, remarkably so. Her beauty was that natural kind, so rare in both men and women. She didn’t need any enhancements, nor did she wear any. Her hair was short
and cropped, which was uncommon for Andorian women who preferred their hair much longer. Her uniform hugged her short, solid frame; giving anyone who dared to take a lingering gaze, a full view of her breathtaking attributes. Her eyes were pale blue orbs that stood out against her much brighter toned skin. She had full pouty, lips which she pursed tightly as she looked him.

Looking past Thala, Soma noticed another person in the room. There was an Andorian male several feet behind her. Soma was fairly certain the man was a guard and that he was meant for him. Looking back at Thala, he gave her a slight smile.

“Permission to come aboard?”

The Andorian glared at him. Clearly she either didn’t understand why he was asking for permission or she wasn’t inclined to give it. Soma suspected it was the latter but treated the look as if it were the former.

“It's a human custom,” explained the captain. ”When you board another person’s ship, you ask for their permission to come aboard. It’s to establish that you’re welcome aboard their vessel.”

“I see,” scowled Thala.

Definitely the latter, Soma corrected himself.

Thala turned abruptly and headed for the archway in the room. Soma watched her, but made no move to follow. When she noticed the Vulcan was not behind her, she stopped and turned.

“General Shran is waiting, Captain,” she said in a condescending tone.

Soma remained motionless for several moments. He knew the most sensible thing to do was follow the Sub-Lieutenant, meet with Shran to discover why he and the Argo had been dragged all the way out here and then get the hell off this ship as quickly as possible. That would be the sensible thing to do.

Soma smiled. “You haven’t welcomed me aboard yet.”

Thala shot him a piercing stare. She loathed Vulcans. They were arrogant and deceitful beings with no passion. Soma, in particular, was even more arrogant than the ones she’d had the displeasure of interacting with.

“We don’t have time for your games, Captain.”

Raising his brow, Soma slowly approached Thala. The Andorian guard that stood at the transporter console tensed as he watched Soma walk up to Thala. Placing his hand on his disrupter, the guard followed Soma’s movement, but made no effort to stop him. Soma caught the Andorian out of the corner of his eye and was careful not to make any sudden moves that might alarm the trigger-happy guard.

Soma stopped, leaving a scant few inches between himself and Thala. He knew Andorians hated having their personal space violated as much as Vulcans did. It was something the two species actually had in common but would probably never admit to. Looking at Thala, he leaned down so that they were both eye to eye. “I will not see Shran until you welcome me aboard…Thala.”

She curled her lip as she heard her name roll off his tongue. It incensed her and she did little to hide the fact. If Shran hadn’t ordered her to bring Soma too him and to be civil with the Vulcan she would have gladly beamed him back to his ship with the transporter set for wide dispersal.

“General Shran is waiting,” he said parroting her earlier words.

She raised her chin defiantly at the Vulcan, her eyes narrowing. “Very well…you’re welcome aboard,” she responded with all the civility of a Klingon.

“Thank you,” he said and smiled warmly at her.

Thala stiffened and Soma was certain he saw a deep blue tinge color her cheeks.
Turning on her heels, she headed for the exit, leaving Soma to follow or stay. The captain was certain she wasn’t going to give a repeat performance so he had best follow her now or find himself lost on the Andorian ship; an unfortunate circumstance for a Vulcan to find himself in.

Looking over at the guard, he flashed a quick smile as he headed for the arch. “Fiery, isn’t she?”

___________________________________

Soma followed Thala down a short corridor just off the bridge. He was grateful they didn’t spend long crossing it to the inner corridor. The Andorian officers definitely gave him less than cordial glances. Andoria and Vulcan were allies in the Federation, but it was clear that many people on both sides didn’t see it that way. He was beginning to regret not bringing Tav along, orders or not.

Thala stopped at the end of the corridor and pressed a signal buzzer. When she heard a response, she pressed another button and the door open slid to one side. Entering the room, she motioned Soma to follow.

The captain entered the room and his attention was immediately drawn to the Andorian seated at the far end of a smooth black oblong table. Shran.

“Have a seat, Captain,” said the elderly general, gesturing to a chair at the opposite side of the table. “Some Andorian ale?”

Soma didn’t move and Shran didn’t expect him to. The Andorian was well aware of how the captain regarded him…and why. Soma was the one Vulcan the old Andorian had no trouble reading. A healthy and honest loathing, that was what he saw in Soma. Shran found it almost refreshing. He’d dealt with far too many Vulcans whose passive and expressionless gestures were merely masques of duplicitous subterfuge.

“Well, you won’t mind if I have one,” Shran said smiling.

The old Andorian picked up a glass decanter from the table. Its long and elegantly fluted shape was in stark contrast to the sparse and industrial look of the room. The long black table was bare and looked functional but not the least bit ornamental. There was what appeared to be a view screen behind Shran, but beyond that there were no other wall decorations, not even a view port. The lighting was simple, low level overhead lights that cast long shadows, very austere…very Andorian.

Shran watched as the blue liquid slid down the decanter’s long neck and into the small crystal goblet in front of him. When he had filled the glass, he put the decanter back on the table, replacing the thin glass stopper.

“How is your father?” Shran picked up his glass. “I hear he’s still teaching.”

Soma eyed him cautiously. “Now where would you have heard that?” It wasn’t a question and Shran didn’t take it as one. He knew Soma was aware that the Andorians still made a practice of keeping tabs on high profile Starfleet officers; even retired ones.

“And that delightful and dear mother of yours…how is she?”

Soma’s brow furrowed. “In the first place Shran, you have never found my mother either delightful or dear and in the second place…what the hell do you want?”

Shran laughed loudly at the Vulcan’s response, as he leaned back in his chair. “Didn’t I tell you he wasn’t like other Vulcans,” smiled Shran looking over at Thala. The woman stood in the adjacent corner, arms behind her back as she watched the two men interacting. “So full of spirit!”

Thala glanced at Shran, an air of deep respect bordering on reverence exuded from the woman. Glancing at Soma, her expression changed to distaste but with less indignation than before. Shran’s respect for the Vulcan seemed to confuse the younger Andorian, but she wasn’t about to question him.

“You’ve already been introduced to Sub-Lieutenant Thala,” said Shran gesturing towards the Andorian woman. “My daughter.”

Soma glanced at Thala for a moment. He was surprised, but not unduly. He knew Shran had a daughter serving in the Imperial Guard; he just didn’t know that it was Thala. It went far to explain her attitude, both towards Shran and himself. Soma returned his attention to Shran. He wasn’t going to let the Andorian side track him from his purpose.

Shran could see that polite small talk wasn’t something Soma was going to engage in.
Sighing, he pulled out a data padd from beneath the table. Placing it on the smooth surface, he slid it down to Soma. “Five days ago, Andorian intelligence discovered the location of a probe that was presumed lost almost four decades ago.”

Soma glanced down at the padd for a moment. Picking it up, he turned it in his hand and noticed the script was in Terran. Andorians would never translate it to Vulcan. He could see it had the official Starfleet codes. The orders placed him under Shran’s command. Scrolling down, he studied the displayed information as he listened to Shran continued his explanation.

“The probe apparently crashed on the fourth planet of the Antaes system.”

Soma looked up at Shran. That name sounded familiar to him, but he wasn’t certain why.
Thala noticed the Vulcan’s curious expression. She glanced at her father who gave her an approving nod.

“The planet was discovered forty six standard years ago by an Andorian survey ship,” she explained. “The fourth planet was found to be inhabited: roughly g-minus on the industrial scale, feudal society, no technology to speak of.”

“The inhabitants are Vulcanoid,” added Shran.

It was all Soma needed to jog his memory. Antaes was one of the outer systems that been under dispute between Vulcan and Andoria. At the time, it was clearly within Andorian colonization rights. However, when the Vulcans discovered the inhabitants were Vulcanoid in nature, they pressed for a complete withdrawal of Andorian presence from the system. Naturally, the Andorians refused and the conflict led to several skirmishes, all the while the Antaes system lay in the middle.

Eventually, Earth mediated a settlement between Vulcan and Andoria. Both sides would withdraw from the region, which would be deemed a non-aligned system; a decision that would later prove a costly mistake with the expansion of the Romulan Empire’s own border very close to the Antaes system.

Soma looked up from the data padd. It was beginning to make sense now and he had his suspicions where this meeting was headed, but he wanted to hear it from Shran. “Why me?”

“We need a Vulcan,” said Shran flatly. “The Federation has deemed the Antaes system to be protected from outside influences so that the inhabitants may progress at their own pace. An Andorian presence would upset that delicate balance.”

Soma continued to stare at Shran. If they needed a Vulcan they could have gotten any of a dozen, from the Science Academy, who would have been willing to go for even a brief chance to observe the Vulcanoid culture. He wasn’t convinced by Shran’s explanation and he made no pretense of hiding that fact.

“We needed one we could reasonably trust,” added Shran.

Soma looked at the padd again. After a moment, his eyes moved to Thala and then Shran. “This is a military probe,” said Soma, shaking his head, “isn’t it? That’s why you couldn’t…or rather wouldn’t ask for help from the Vulcans.”

Shran didn’t say anything, but his lack of response was enough for Soma. He shook his head in disgust. “Andoria and Vulcan just can’t seem to escape their past, can they?”

Shran arched his brow in mock Vulcan style. “It would seem so.”

“You represent Starfleet,” said Thala icily. “You’re a neutral party.”

Soma glared at her. “I’m still a Vulcan.”

“Yes,” agreed Shran, “and there are still Andorians who only see you as a Vulcan.” He glanced over at Thala. She stiffened, but did not look away. He gave her a brief smile.

Shran rose from his chair and walked the length of the table. Soma watched as the Andorian favored his right leg. No doubt one of the many wounds he’d received in the service of the Imperial Guard. When he reached the end of the table, Shran stood in front of Soma, short and slightly hunched over. A shadow of the man he had once been in younger days. Shran leaned against the table for support. Although the Andorian did it so subtly that most people would think he was merely being casual with them.

“I am not one of them,” Shran said looking up at Soma. The elder Andorian smiled at the Vulcan. “I know you have pink skin honor.”

Soma regarded Shran for a moment. His silence caused Shran to sigh deeply as he nodded his head. There was no getting around the matter.

“You don’t like me very much, Jonathan,” he whispered as Soma continued to stare at him. “I regret if I have given you reason to dislike me personally.” He paused for a moment as he considered if he was exposing too much to the young Vulcan. “Admiral Archer was my friend as well.”

Soma arched a brow at the wizened Andorian. Shran was trying to be flattering and conciliatory to him, it wasn’t going to work. “Why the secrecy?” he asked, ignoring Shran’s comment. “You could have requested the Argo retrieve the probe and returned it to Andoria.”

Thala interrupted. “Because it lies dangerously close to Romulan space.”

Soma looked at Thala and shook his head. “And if the Argo or any other Starfleet vessel entered the system, the Romulans would more than likely show an interest.” He turned back to Shran, giving the Andorian a questioning look. “But why do you care about a forty-year old military probe? It can’t possibly hold any secrets of value.”

“We can’t let that probe fall into Romulan hands,” said Shran, his voice taking on a deadly serious tone. “Even after forty years, the probe has…data the Romulans could cull from it. It’s vital that they not get it. It is a matter of security for Andoria…and the Federation”

“I see,” said Soma, still not completely convinced.

Shran cocked his head slightly. “Vulcan and Andoria are allies in the Federation, Captain. Our differences are behind us. We merely wish to maintain that alliance by discreetly retrieving a probe that is best left in the past along with any conflict our two worlds may have had.”

Soma regarded Shran for a long moment. He still didn’t trust the Andorian, but it didn’t really matter. He had his orders and he would follow them.

“What do you propose?”

Shran nodded at Soma. “You and Sub-Lieutenant Thala will proceed to the Antaes system in a long range Andorian fighter.” He paused allowing Soma to raise an objection, but when he saw that one wasn’t forthcoming, he continued. “The fighter has a number of stealth capabilities, and it’s small enough for you to enter the system undetected.”

“The two of us?” said Soma glancing at Thala. “I didn’t realize this was a suicide mission.”

Thala stepped towards Soma, anger brimming to the surface. “I am quite capable of handling this mission.”

Soma cocked his brow. “I’m sure you are. I was referring to the Romulans.”

Thala stiffened. She had assumed Soma was questioning her ability. She chided herself for acting defensive in front of him. She would not do it again. Never show a Vulcan weakness, she thought.

“I’ll admit the mission is a risk, Captain,” replied Shran. “But we don’t have any choice. You and Thala will have to work as a team and make the most of your resources. With any luck, you’ll be able to locate the probe without making contact with the inhabitants and then return with it. Simple.”

Shran studied Soma as the Vulcan considered what he had told him. Truthfully, Shran didn’t think this assignment was ‘simple’. A fact he had made clear with his superiors. He had argued the wisdom of going after an obsolete military probe. But his superiors were adamant. The probe had to be retrieved for the security of Andoria. More cloak and dagger nonsense, thought Shran. He had, had his fill of it long ago.

“I’d like to get some equipment from the Argo,” said Soma as he laid the data padd on the table.

Shran nodded, “Of course, Captain, but let me make it clear…you are not to divulge the nature of your mission to your crew. Do you understand?”

Soma looked at him for a moment before he nodded. “I understand.” He turned and headed for the exit, glancing at Thala. “I’ll show myself out.”

Thala eyed the Vulcan as he exited the room. She found herself strangely sympathetic to his position and the thought alarmed her. Still, she would not want to be given orders that kept her subordinates in the dark; it was an all too common practice within the Andorian military, one Thala disapproved of.

“Father, I am not one to question your decisions…”

Shran smiled at her. “You are as dutiful as you are beautiful, my dear."

“But this Starfleet captain,” she said hesitantly. “Can we really trust him? After all…he is a Vulcan.”

Shran smiled at her. “My dear, no matter how far we have come with the Vulcans, I will never trust them completely.” Taking a deep breath, he looked at the door and smiled briefly. “But that Vulcan I trust. He is a man of honor.”

“As you say, father,” she didn’t sound convinced. “But all I see is another dishonorable Vulcan. I will work with him because it is your order. I will not place my life in his hands.”



Chapter 3

Chapter 1

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Eight hardy souls have made comments

This is a good story and I loved Soma but I am getting a little anxious. Where's Trip? Do you intend to include him at all in this story? Just asking because I live for that Southern charm...
Ali D :~)

Alison...

No..this is a Soma solo story for those hard core fans who like Soma. Trip and T'Pol will be talked about during the story, but they won't make an appearance. As you've read...Trip is retired and
teaching.

If you want a Soma story with Trip and T'Pol,
check out my story, "Enemy of the State", which will be updated this week or "Shadows" by Triplover. Who is doing her own Soma story with
HEAVY romantic shippage.
Q

Glad to hear there will be more Enemy of the State. What about 2084?

Is Soma the Lothario of the universe? He seems to like the ladies and has much more confidence than his father ever did. I'm looking forward to finding out what happened to Archer for Soma to dislike Shran so much and to the mission. I'm especially happy to see the Andorians and Vulcans because that is the direction I think TPTB should have taken with Enterprise, rather than this Xindi storyline. So I'm enjoying this story very much. Thanks!

I couldn't agree more and maybe we'll see them in season four.

Lothario...well, he definately has a weakness for the ladies. Maybe it's his Vulcan libido not being controled by logic? He is Trip's son, but he's also his own man so there are similarities as well as differences.

Yes, both Enemy and 2084 will be updated this week. I have some very irreverent plans for guest stars in 2084, so I hope you like the coming chapters.
Q

dumb

tish,

You obviously have a large vocabulary.

Looks up at the commentary. Tee hee.

Love this! Man, I'm totally getting into your timeline of Trek. ;)