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Consequences-Part 15

Author - Samantha Quinn
Fan Fiction Main Page | Stories sorted by title, author, genre, and rating

Consequences

By Samantha Quinn

Rating: R
All disclaimers in Part I

*****

Part 15

Awakenings

Ensign Sato, Lieutenant Reed, and Captain Archer sat with Ambassador Soval at the Captain’s table, waiting patiently for Ambassador Shran to arrive. At least, Soval and Hoshi were waiting patiently. Both Malcolm and Archer’s thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

**Trip is innocent, I’d bet my life on it,** Malcolm thought. **But are Vulcans capable of lying?**

Archer’s thoughts, however, were not as optimistic. **I can’t believe he did something so stupid. Jeopardized the entire peace conference. And for what? Because he mistakenly believed Soval hurt T’Pol? That’s ridiculous. He knew better. He was standing right next to me when the incident happened.**
Fighting down a sigh, Archer mentally hoped there was more to the Trip and T’Pol relationship than just a comfortable role in the hay. **Because if what Soval says is true, then Trip’s sacrificed his entire career for T’Pol.
Whatever happened to Vulcans only having sex once every seven years, anyway
?**

Irrationally, Archer determined that he had never hated Vulcans more than he did at this moment.

The door opened to revel a very animated Ambassador Shran. “Archer, why didn’t you tell me all humans weren’t pink skins?” he demanded.

Jerked from his reverie, Archer was a bit confused. “Well . . .what brought you to that revelation?” he asked the Andorian, hoping he didn’t sound too condescending.

“I just ran into a most interesting member of your crew on the way here-and he’s a decided shade of brown. I immediately noticed that instead of being a ‘pink skin’, he in fact was a ‘brown skin.’”

“You said that to him?” Archer asked in astonishment.

“Well, yes. And he acted precisely as you are now, a bit outraged. I don’t understand why. I stated no more than the truth. Logical, isn’t it, Soval?” the Andorian asked of the Vulcan Ambassador.

Soval, who was feeling much better since he had purged his illness simply nodded. “It may be indeed logical to you, Shran. However, humans are highly emotional creatures who place value on strange people . . .”

**Like Vulcans** Archer thought irritably.

“. . . and words. While I am uncertain as to what prompted the crewman’s outrage, no doubt it was driven by the human tendency to over-react and take offense,” Soval finished.

“And that is a trait you believe Andorians share, isn’t it, Ambassador?” Shran mocked.

“Indeed,” replied Soval.

“Ambassador Shran,” interrupted Archer. “Allow me to introduce you to Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, my armory officer, and Ensign Hoshi Sato, the ship’s linguist.”

The Andorian turned to look at the two thoughtfully, allowing his gaze to rest on Hoshi a minute. “You aren’t really pink, either,” he noted. “You’re much paler than the rest of the pink humans,” he decided.

Hoshi smiled at the Andorian. “That’s true, Ambassador. Humans have varying shades of skin tone. Some Vulcans do as well. Do Andorians?”

Shran looked a bit surprised. “All the Vulcans I’ve seen look the same to me,” he replied.

“Perhaps it would benefit you to look a bit closer,” Soval replied dryly.

Shran rolled his eyes at the Vulcan. “To answer your question, Sato, most Andorians are blue. Although occasionally there are other skin pigments as well. Green is the most common.”

“I have not seen a green Andorian before,” Soval noted.

“Have you seen every Andorian on the planet?” Shran demanded.

“Ambassadors, perhaps we should move on to the subject of the peace treaty,” Archer interrupted, not liking the direction this was heading.

“That would be a most logical action, Captain,” Soval replied. Turning towards Shran he asked, “What does the Andorian government seek to gain from the peace treaty?”

“As you know, Soval, the Vulcans and Andorians have a long history of war. While our previous treaties sought only to end hostilities, with this peace treaty, the Andorian government seeks an alliance between the Andorians and the Vulcans,” replied Shran.

“What type of alliance?” asked Archer.

“A mutually benefiting one,” replied Shran.

Archer resisted the urge to roll his eyes. **What other type of alliance is there?** he wondered inwardly.

“What would be the details of this alliance?” asked Soval.

Shran sat back in his chair. “The climate of my home planet, Soval, is not hospitable to plant life, as you may know.”

Soval nodded. “Yes, I am aware of that.”

“It has been partially for that reason that the Andorian government has sought out new planets to colonize,” Shran continued.

“Such as Weytahn,” Archer supplied, giving the name of the planet that had seen the birth of the original peace treaty.

“Paan Mokar,” Soval corrected, giving the Vulcan name for the planet .

“Yes, such as Weytahn,” Shran agreed.

**If I had not purged my illness, I would be tempted to strike both the human and the Andorian. It is fortunate Commander Tucker is serving as a host.**

Soval noted. “I assume you anticipate the Vulcan government’s help in some way?”

“Yes. Our terra-forming abilities are quite advanced. Yet they are not stable. Vulcans on the other hand, have the technology to-"

“Vulcans do not share technology with inferior species,” Soval replied.

Thankfully their food arrived at that moment.

It was, Archer reflected, going to be a long dinner.

*****

In sickbay, Trip was awakening.

*Son of a bitch,* Trip thought to himself. *I have one hell of a headache.* It irritated him. In fact, Trip noticed, he was pretty irritated to start with. The headache only added to his irritation.

“Ah, Commander Tucker, you are awake,” came the cheerful voice of Doctor Phlox.

“Yes, I’m awake. What happened? Why the hell am I in sickbay?” he demanded.

Phlox paused a moment to take in the Commander’s reactions. His tone was angry, defiant. While most patients did not like to be in sickbay, Commander Tucker was usually quite jovial. Or at least amicable. The tone he spoke in was much too angry to be defined as either.

“You have been the victim of a Vulcan nerve pinch, Commander,” Phlox replied.

“Damn Vulcans. Who was it, T’Pol? Was she gettin' even with me for givin’ her the headaches? Isn’t like it’s my fault she can’t handle emotions. Damn emotionally uptight species,” Trip rambled angrily.

**This is most peculiar. Only five days ago, Commander Tucker was in this sickbay full of concern for T’Pol.** Phlox noted. **Now he is not only uncaring, but he is seemingly angry with her whole species.**

“I assure you, Commander Tucker, I have not made any attempt to ‘get even’ with you,” came T’Pol’s voice from behind them.

**I had hoped she would not awake until after I could discern what was wrong with the Commander,** Phlox lamented inwardly.

“Ya all right?” Trip demanded. Although he had been full of wrath only a moment before, at the sound of T’Pol’s voice, his anger involuntarily dissipated. **She’s so beautiful. If only I could touch her. Just once.**

**Most interesting. While the Commander was highly irritated only moments ago, now he speaks to T’Pol as gently as though she were a child,** Phlox noted.

**I shall never understand humans,** T’Pol realized. **Only a moment ago, the Commander was ranting and expressing emotions of anger. Now when he speaks, such anger has vanished. ** “I am fine, Commander Tucker. I am curious as to why you were the victim of a Vulcan nerve pinch. The only other Vulcan on board is Ambassador Soval.”

“I know,” Trip replied, feeling his irritation rise again. **Can’t yell at T’Pol. She’s hurt. Sick. Can’t yell. . .at her. Not. . . her . . . fault.** Turning towards the Denobulan, he demanded, “It was Soval, wasn’t it? That arrogant bastard did this, didn’t he?”

Phlox regarded Trip for a moment. “Yes, Ambassador Soval provided the nerve pinch.”

Trip could feel his irritation increasing. To his great frustration, however, he noted that he was having great difficulty concentrating. “Is he in the brig?” he demanded.

“No,” Phlox stated quietly.

“Well, why the hell not?” Trip snapped. “He’s assaulted two members of this crew so far-“

“Two?” interrupted T’Pol. “Who else did the Ambassador assault?”

“Well, you!” Trip erupted. **No, no. Must not yell at T’Pol.** “I-I’m sorry, T’Pol,” he said, lowering his voice. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“I am not offended,” T’Pol replied. “However, you are mistaken. Ambassador Soval did not assault me.”

Trip’s hands balled together into two fists. “Why did you collapse then?”
T’Pol hesitated. **How much of the truth do I tell this man?** she asked inwardly. “The hand gesture the Ambassador initiated is known as an affectionate gesture. His doing so reminded me of my own affectionate gesture with you in the Mess Hall.”

Trip’s face blossomed into a wide smile. “I can be a lot more affectionate than that, darlin’,” he whispered.

“Considering the reactions I have been having towards you, Commander, I believe that to be unwise,” replied T’Pol. “Further, it is inappropriate to refer to me as ‘darling’.”

**Of course. I only want to make you happy. Make you feel as good as you make me feel. But I make you sick. I hurt you.** “ Oh, T’Pol, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world,” Trip murmured. Turning towards Phlox, his voice rose in anger several degrees. “I’m going to leave now, Doctor.”

“Just a moment, Commander Tucker,” the Doctor objected. “You have been experiencing large fluctuations of adrenaline in your body.”

“So? Maybe it was that damn Vulcan nerve pinch,” Trip replied.

“That is unlikely,” replied the Denobulan. “The nerve pinch often serves as a relaxant and as you are awake now and still irritated, it is unlikely to be caused by the nerve pinch.”

“Actually, Doctor,” corrected T’Pol. “It is quite likely that the Commander’s body is still undergoing change due to the nerve pinch. The pinch has not been performed on many humans. The few that have been subjected have had reactions of a varying degree. Thus, in all likelihood, Commander Tucker’s symptoms will wane within a week.”

The Denobulan physician looked at T’Pol and then back to his anxious patient. His gut instinct was telling him there was something wrong with the engineer that had nothing to do with the nerve pinch. Yet, T’Pol did know more about the nerve pinch than Phlox, even if the physician had studied on Vulcan for some time.

“All right, Commander. You can go. But if you experience any additional symptoms, I want you to come see me immediately. And I expect to see you in a week for a checkup regardless,” Phox instructed him.

“Sure thing, Doc,” Trip replied, hopping off the bed. “See ya around.”

As Trip turned to leave, the Denobulan turned back towards T’Pol. “Now, Sub-Commander, let’s have a little chat about your illness, shall we?”

****

Archer rubbed his eyes tiredly after his guests had retired to their quarters. Turning towards Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato, he flashed a small grin. “Well, that didn’t go too badly, did it?” he joked lightly.

“It was less than catastrophic,” Malcolm replied.

Hoshi laughed. “You’re both being too fatalistic. Ambassador Soval did promise to contact his government to discuss the possibility of sharing technology with the Andorians. That’s a good start.”

“A hell of a better start than the Vulcans ever gave humans,” Archer grumbled.
Malcolm and Hoshi exchanged a glance. It was definitely time to excuse themselves.

“Well, sir, thank you for inviting us,” Malcolm said, rising to his feet.

“Yes, Captain, it was delightful,” Hoshi remarked, rising to hers as well.

“Say, Malcolm, Hoshi, why don’t you join me for breakfast tomorrow morning? Since Shran wants to explore the various skin shades of the crew, he’s eating in the mess hall and Soval has indicated that he wishes to dine with the Sub-Commander alone, if she is awake at that time. ” Archer suggested.

**Oh, not again,** Malcolm bemoaned. **Of course, if Hoshi’s joining us . . . **

Hoshi nodded. “Certainly, Captain,” she replied and slipped Malcolm a small glance out of the corner of her eye.

“I’d be delighted to, sir,” Malcolm agreed readily. “But in the meantime, I have armory reports to write. You’ll call me if there’s any change in the Commander’s condition?”

“Absolutely. Good night, Lieutenant,” Archer greeted. “Ensign, can I speak with you a moment?”

Perplexed, and a bit disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to accompany Malcolm on the turbolift, Hoshi nodded sat back down as Malcolm exited the Mess Hall.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Hoshi,” Archer began. “Tomorrow during breakfast, see if you can get Malcolm to open up a little. Tell us a little about himself.”

“I’ll try, sir. But the last time I tried that over a meal, I wasn’t very successful,” Hoshi remarked.

“But the Sub-Commander was right. He does seem to relax around you. I’m certain that if I had invited him by himself, there’s no way he would have agreed as readily as he did this evening,” Archer replied.

“The Sub-Commander?” Hoshi asked a bit confused.

In reply, Archer related the conversation he had conducted with T’Pol in the turbolift. Hoshi felt her cheeks turn involuntarily pink. Still, the Captain didn’t seem to be picking up on the fact that T’Pol had been playing matchmaker.
“I’ll try my best, Captain,” Hoshi replied.

“Thank you, Hoshi.”

As Hoshi left the Mess Hall, she shook her head in wonderment. A Vulcan playing matchmaker? It gave a whole new meaning to “To seek out and explore strange new worlds . . . "

Fortunately, since T’Pol was her roommate for the next couple of days, Hoshi would be able to question her about it.

As Archer left the Mess Hall, he fought down a sigh. Malcolm and Hoshi had been wonderful company. But he missed Trip and T’Pol. **I hope Hoshi can get Malcolm to open up a bit. With Soval threatening to report Trip and T’Pol’s relationship to the High Command and Trip facing a possible court martial, Malcolm and Hoshi may become my permanent dinner companions.**

With that thought in mind, Archer headed towards sickbay.

To Be Continued

****

A/N: Yeah, I’m not sure how much of the peace treaty conversation we needed. But. . . here’s some anyway.

Please R/R. As I’ve said before, Feedback’s the only payment I receive for this stuff.

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


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Two folks have made comments

I swear I reviewed this chapter.

Excellent. Need more and soon. Shran is a hoot!

Malcolm!

Any chance that the right margin can be fixed... making it hard to read as is.

I would like to do something extremely nasty to Soval - and without anaesthetic! This was another excellent chapter but I do worry about our Trip. Somehow I don't think T'Pol will let anything too bad happen but Jon seems to be pretty clueless. Can't wait for the next part! Ali D :~)