To Have Learned Nothing At All- Ch 7

To Have Learned Nothing At All

By Samantha Quinn

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer in chapter one.

As always, thanks to my fab betas: K.Phillips and HopefulNebula.

A/N: Remember this story? Still crawling along. . . I do apologize for the slow pace. But apparently that’s how my longer stories want to be written. Bah.

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Chapter Seven

Away Below the Chimney Tops

The Enterprise team had been on the planet for four days out of their designated seven when Malcolm’s team had completed their work. Although the lieutenant was exceedingly pleased, he had no plans on relaxing. A bit of guilt was felt by Malcolm for the amount of work he had ended up doing in comparison to that of Commander Tucker. Contrary to their opinions when they had first arrived, Reed’s team had ended up with a lighter load along with a larger team. Commander Tucker, on the other hand, had a much larger problem than a tiny “leak.”

Thus, rather than enjoying three days of well deserved shore leave, as he had instructed Tanner and Luxin to do, Malcolm was going to assist Commander Tucker.

“Are you sure you won’t take a break, Malcolm?” Hogan asked.

Malcolm shook his head. “I can’t. I need to help the Commander.”

Hogan beamed at him and then shook his head. “Such dedication is admirable, Malcolm. You’re a good man. I hope I have the chance to show you around our colony before you leave; I’d love the chance to try to convince you to stay. We could certainly use someone like you.”

Malcolm surveyed the man’s attire and mentally wondered if he could live in a place where his only clothing was a loin cloth, even if circumstances were different. “I hope to take you up on your tour before we leave. But Enterprise is my home.”

Hogan chuckled. “Dedicated and loyal. Come then, Malcolm, I’ll walk with you to find Commander Tucker. I would like to thank him personally for fixing our side of the colony’s showers first.”

*Oh, I’m sure he’ll appreciate that while he’s still working on the other side’s plumbing systems,* Malcolm thought inwardly. To his companion, he answered only, “That would be splendid.”

Having been on the planet for a week working on the security system, Malcolm had a good sense of where things were located. Hence, he knew that Hogan insisted on giving him the scenic route to their destination. *He doesn’t take no very well, does he?* Malcolm was more than slightly irritated by Hogan’s stubbornness, but the lieutenant allowed the incident to slide. After all, he reasoned, the man had good intentions.

As they walked, Malcolm was struck by the dual efficiency and beauty with which the colonists had built their community. Such frequent ionic disruptions had forced them to construct homes and businesses that looked starkly different from Earth’s architecturally. As a result, the architectural style gave a distinct foreign look to the human colony. *Slightly ironic, given their determination to keep humanity untouched by alien civilizations.*

Bypassing women as they walked, Malcolm was initially surprised to discover that their garments covered a great deal more skin than that of Hogan or their greeting party. The ankle length white dresses appeared to flow in an unrestrictive manner, but their high necks and wrist length material appeared exceedingly uncomfortable and stood in direct contrast to the loin clothes worn by the men that had greeted Malcolm thus far. As he contemplated mentioning it, however, he began passing other men who, although not clothed as extensively as Malcolm was, nonetheless wore substantially more than Hogan and company had worn.

Walking along the insulated tunnel, the armory officer surveyed the advancement of the civilization and marveled at its beauty. *There are few places on Earth as beautiful as this,* Malcolm acknowledged. *It’s almost understandable that they left Earth to build such a place.*

But Malcolm didn’t believe in paradises. Unquestionably, given the number of problems the Enterprise crew had been called upon to fix, as beautiful as the underground colony was, the colonists were certainly paying the price for it.

^^^^^^^^^^************^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*I hate this damn colony,* Trip decided.

Given that his conditions had improved little over the past four days, it was perhaps understandable that he felt that way. Considering his thoughts when Malcolm had informed him of the completion of the security system, perhaps the thoughts were more than a *tad* maudlin. Nonetheless, Trip allowed himself to wallow in his self-pity, even as he worked harder on the system.

In theory, that wasn’t entirely true. The waste was not as deep as it had been and the flood had been stopped. *And three-fourths of the colony has plumbing that works correctly.*

*But only three-fourths.*

But the initial problem still remained and unless Trip could figure out why the back-up systems weren’t working, there would likely be future floods. A tiny, sadistic portion of Trip’s brain pointed out that such an arrangement was only fair. If he had to suffer, why shouldn’t future engineers?

*Because no one else is subjected to such embarrassment,* Trip thought self-pityingly to himself. The last four days without sleep and primarily wading around in human waste had made Trip a tad maudlin. *Actually, that’s not true. I’ve been sleeping. Just having some crazy nightmares.*

To make matters worse, of course, Trip was working against the clock. According to the reports they’d gathered when they first arrived, the seismic activity would begin almost immediately after the ion storms let up. *And I certainly don’t want to be underground when the Earthquakes start, now do I?* That would be bad. Very, very bad.

Trip’s thoughts were decidedly up-lifted when he heard a warmly familiar voice say, “Do you require assistance, Commander Tucker?”

Turning to face Malcolm, Trip crossed his arms and feigned sternness that wouldn’t work with the stubborn lieutenant anyway. “Didn’t I tell you to take a break, Lieutenant?” he demanded.

Malcolm pursed his lips before nodding slowly. “Yes, Commander, you did. However, a certain peculiar smell kept interrupting my shore leave so I decided to investigate.”

Trip’s face fell. “You can still smell it on the other side of the colony?”

Malcolm chuckled softly and shook his head. The man beside Malcolm, meanwhile, laughed loudly and Trip turned to look at him curiously. “No, no, Commander Tucker. The other side of the colony smells like roses, even if this side is a bit. . . foul.”

“Putrid,” Malcolm suggested, which earned him a glare from Trip.

“Well, I’ll leave you gentlemen to your work, but I just wanted the chance to thank you, Commander, for all that you have done for our colony so far,” the blond haired man beside Malcolm said.

“You’re certainly, welcome, Mr. . . . ?”

“Hogan. Call me Jack.”

“Well, you’re certainly welcome, Jack, but it’s a long way from being done,” Trip told Hogan ruefully.

“If you are anywhere near as dedicated as Malcolm, I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it,” Hogan replied. “I’ll see you later, gentleman. And Malcolm, if you finish in time, I’ll be happy to give both you and Commander Tucker that tour.”

Trip waited for Hogan to be gone completely before he turned to look at Malcolm skeptically. “If I’m anywhere near as dedicated as you?” he repeated. “What exactly have you and loincloth boy been doing the past four days?”

“Working,” Malcolm replied calmly. “That is how we finished our task, remember? Now, what do you need me to do?”

“Dig.”

“What?”

Trip sighed. “There’s a power grid underneath that pile of shit, Malcolm,” he said tiredly as he motioned to the pile in front of them. “I need access to it. Don’t worry; the colonists gave me plenty of supplies. I’ll get you a shovel.”

Malcolm wrinkled his nose in disgust, but took the offered tool silently from Trip.

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“Mal?”

“Yes, Trip?”

“Thanks for helping me. I’m sorry I was . . . cranky before.”

“You don’t have to thank me for helping you, Trip.”

“All the same, I’m sorry I was cranky.”

Malcolm gave an undignified snort before replying. “Considering where you’ve been spending most of your time the last four days, I’d say a little crankiness was understandable.”

Trip scowled. “Ya aren’t kiddin’.”

“Do you have any indication what’s causing the disturbance, yet?”

“No. The information I’ve been able to glean from the control panels have been contradictin’ each other. Each of the ten major panels appears to be workin’ fine, yet the system is still backed up. Uncoverin’ this grid should make a difference, as it seems to be the main source of power, but I don’t know if it will.”

Malcolm looked up as if to indicate that it certainly had *better* make a difference, and he’d better not be shoveling feces for the hell of it. “I hope so,” he muttered.

“Yeah, me too. But this civil engineerin’ business really is almost out of my range, Mal.”

“I’m sure if it’s fixable, you’ll be able to, Commander.”

Malcolm was aware of the pleased smile that crossed his friend’s face, and decided that his sacrificing his own comfort – as well as that of his nasal passages – had definitely been worth it.

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The two friends worked in companionable silence for some time as they finished uncovering the grid.

“Hmm,” Trip murmured thoughtfully. “If I’m readin’ this correctly, no wonder nothing’s workin’ quite right. Malcolm, I need you to monitor this thing while I work on the control panels. Let me know if you see any change in the readings.”

Malcolm nodded and Trip made his way carefully over to the panel. Pressing what had to be the main power switch on the panel, Trip looked at Malcolm expectantly, only to see Reed shake his head silently. Trip walked to the other panel and again pressed the main power control. Rewarded with yet another headshake from Malcolm, Trip continued to the third control panel.

“Hey, Mal, can I ask you a question?” Trip asked.

“Yes? There’s no reaction from that panel either.”

Moving to the fourth, Trip contemplated how to phrase his question and still respect the privacy due to the person in question. Vowing to be vague, he decided to throw in an added security measure. “It’ll stay just between me and you, right?” he questioned before testing the panel.

Malcolm glanced up curiously at that. “Yes, of course. There’s no response from that panel either.”

Scowling and cursing the poor bastard that had been exiled from the colony before they arrived, Trip moved to the fifth panel, taking time to ask, “So. . . let’s say, hypothetically, that there’s this girl--"

“Is this girl on the Enterprise? There’s no response there, either.”

“Where else would she be?” Trip asked, moving to the sixth panel.

“Well, we’re heading back to Earth. You could be planning some type of welcome home rendezvous. No response.”

“Will ya quit tryin’ to figure out who I’m talkin’ about?”

“What exactly is the point of me listening to the story if I don’t have any idea what –or who-you’re talking about?”

“Why are you so stubborn? Any response?”

“Pots and kettles, my friend. And no.”

“I’m not stubborn, thank you.”

“You are.”

“I am not. Any response?”

“No. Are you going to finish your story, Trip, or are we going to continue playing ‘yes you are’, ‘no I’m not’?”

*You started it.* Shaking his head, Trip acknowledged that that did sound distinctly childish. *Lack of sleep. Four days of stupid nightmares about drowning in some damn swamp. I’ve grown entirely too dependent upon that neuropressure.* Moving to the ninth panel, he questioned, “Okay, so there’s this hypothetical girl, and she hypothetically invites you to do somethin’ and you assume that it’s something for the whole ship to do-"

“Why do I assume that? There’s no response.”

“One more to go. You assume that, because well, it’s something you do with a large group of people most of the time.”

“Such as?”

“Such as. . . readin’ a book, for example?”

Malcolm glanced up at him skeptically. “There is no response, Commander. Since when is reading a book a group activity?”

“You know, like a book club,” Trip offered, walking back over to the power grid and kneeling down beside it. “Help me get the cover off, will ya?”

As they began to tear the top layer off, Malcolm shook his head. “I don’t know. Must be an American tradition. Continue.”

“Well, let’s say she offers to do this activity with you and you tell her that you don’t think a whole lot of other people are gonna be interested. Then she gets all pissy and says that she wasn’t plannin’ on invitin’ anyone else, just the two of you. What would ya take that to mean?”

Malcolm paused long enough to give his friend another incredulous look. “I would assume that she had been attempting to arrange . . . intimate . . . time with me and was disappointed that I hadn’t agreed to it.”

“So you’d take it as a date invitation, right?” The stubborn cover to the grid finally released, Trip noted the cracked tubing. “Ah. I was right. This side of the colony has been havin’ problems because none of the control panels are connected to the main power grid anymore.”

“Do you believe the seismic activity caused this? And yes, I’d take it as a date invitation,” Malcolm replied.

*Damn. I DID screw up.* “I think that’s a safe assumption. The colonists did say that this side of the colony received the worst of the activity.”

“Has Anders made any progress?”

“Not the last time he checked in.”

Pulling out his communicator, Trip contacted the geologist.

“I’m sorry, Commander, but I really don’t have anything for you. As you know, there hasn’t been any activity since we’ve been down here, so I’ve had to rely primarily on the colonists’ past recordings thus far. This information – these patterns, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Anders told him.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Trip permitted his voice to demonstrate the urgency of his next words. “Well, I don’t mean to push you, Doctor, but we really need you to come up with something soon. Whatever Malcolm and I do to repair these tubes is only going to be temporary at best unless you find someway to stop the seismic disruptions.”

The other man sighed. “I’ll do my best, Commander, but this is really out of my realm of expertise. This is much more arid and sandy world than I’m used to. The Sub-Commander-"

“The Sub-Commander can’t come down to investigate, so if you need her help, you’d best be contactin’ her over the communicator. Is that clear, Anders?”

Malcolm gave his friend a curious look at the sharpness of his tone. He chose, perhaps wisely, to say nothing.

“Yes, Commander. The ion storms should be letting up tomorrow. I should be able to get some more information in the next day or two.”

“Good. Tucker out.”

Trip turned back to Malcolm and forced the scowl off his face. “The fastest starship in the fleet, Malcolm. Is it too much to ask that we have a competent geologist?”

Ignoring his question, Malcolm asked, “How do you intend to fix it?”

“Well, short term, it’s nothin’ a couple spanners won’t fix. Ya wanna take the even ones and I’ll take the odd?”

“That’s fine, but I wasn’t really referring to the power grid,” Malcolm responded, taking the offered spanner.

“I have no idea. Any suggestions? After all, you’re the one currently livin’ in domestic bliss.”

To Trip’s surprise, Malcolm’s initial response was to snort. *Not exactly the response of a happily involved man, is it?* Sneaking an occasional concerned glance at his friend between repairing his tubes, Trip waited patiently for Malcolm’s response.

When it finally came, it was posed as a question. “Do you care about her, Trip?”

“That was the generally feelin’ I was tryin’ to convey, Malcolm.”

“Do you want her to care about you?”

“Absolutely.” Trip surprised himself with that admission. Even more with the ease with which it came.

“Does she know you well?”

*Probably better than anyone on the ship at this point.* After all, all of the neuropressure sessions had culminated in T’Pol being the only person he’d really felt comfortable confiding in on the ship. Although he had been pleased to listen to Malcolm’s problems, and anxious to find out what was bugging the Captain, he hadn’t wanted to burden them with his own problems – even though Malcolm had assured him that it wasn’t a burden; it wasn’t a belief Trip could shake. “Yeah, she knows me pretty well.”

“The real you? Not some idealized version?”

*What’s this about?* “Nope, she doesn’t hold an idealized view of me at all,” he chuckled softly. “She’s well aware of all my faults-and she points them out to me on a frequent basis, just in case I’m in danger of forgettin’ ‘em.”

“And she still wants you?” Malcolm shook his head softly in wonderment.

Trip was slightly offended. “Hey! Is there a reason she shouldn’t want the real me?”

Malcolm looked up from his tubes. “No, that’s not what I meant. I simply meant that you have something very special that you’re about to permit pride to get in the way of. I presume you know the real her as well as she knows the real you? No illusions?”

“Yes,” Trip said, acknowledging the irrational pride that swept through him at being able to say that one syllable. *After all, there aren’t many that know the real T’Pol.* “And not only do I know her well, I wouldn’t want her any other way.”

“You know you messed up; tell her. Apologize. Ask for her forgiveness and then ask her on a date.”

Trip inspected his friend’s face. “I take it your domestic bliss is in danger of collapsing. . . hypothetically speaking?”

Malcolm snorted again. “Oh, no. Hypothetically speaking, all’s well. It’s reality that’s a pain in the arse.”

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To Be Continued. . .

A/N: The next chapter is finished and simply needs editing by moi. It should be up within the next week if anyone is interested. :)

Feedback is good.

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A handful of people have made comments

Yay, you continued with this story! I was beginning to wonder where it had gone, and I was so excited to see the new chapter.

As always, it was extremely well done. I love the converstation between Trip and Malcolm. It's so true to character that I would expect to see the exact words in an episode. Can't wait for more!

I think you story is great, Can't wait for the rest of it.

I am a regular reader of your writing. Great to have you back Samantha. Always a pleasure to read.

Obviously I control the world events with my wishes! Just yesterday I was thinking about this story and asked myself, if there ever would be another chapter. YES! Thank you! And please continue soooooon!

I love the way you have delineated the easy friendship between Trip and Malcolm and the thought of them being up to their ears in excrement and having such a good rapport speaks volumes. Very good. Can't wait for more though I think I'll bring a nasel suppressant next time! Ali D :~)