Daybreak - Chapter 7

Daybreak

by ShouldKnowBetter

Disclaimers in Chapter 1

~~~~~~~

Chapter 7 - A Slippery Slope

It took them three weeks to reach the mining planet, half the time it had seven years before, but their welcome was none the warmer for that. There were orbital defences in place this time, and Mayweather shook his head over the output from the tactical station. “It doesn’t look good, captain. They could rip through the hull plating in seconds.”

“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Tucker observed evenly, and glanced over to the comm. station. “See if they’ll talk to us, Hoshi.”

It seemed that they would, but the mine manager’s response to the request for Trellium ore wasn’t polite. On the main screen, he threw back his head and laughed. “Do you know the price that amount of Trellium ore will cost you?”

“No.” Tucker was on his feet, best captain’s manner in place. “That’s why we’re asking.”

“More than you can afford!”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know your species. The Xindi destroyed you. How could you pay for anything?”

“D’you really wanna pass up the opportunity of selling to us?” Tucker’s voice had hardened, but he remained reasonably polite. “Let me bring a shuttle pod down. We can discuss your price face to face.”

“Very well.” The man changed tack abruptly. “We’ll send landing coordinates.”

“Then I’ll see you soon.”

“I fail to see why you need to visit the planet,” Soval remarked as soon as the connection was severed. “Negotiating from orbit would entail a lower risk.”

Tucker scowled at the Vulcan, who was occupying a space near the back of the Bridge; that remark came close to breaking their agreement. “If he’s reluctant to sell to us, he won’t do it from orbit.” He nodded to Mayweather. “Prep a shuttle pod. I’ll ask Malfor to come along.”

“Do you wish me to join you?” Soval enquired, and Tucker shook his head.

“Not this time, ambassador. I don’t think you’d like the planet.” He glanced over at the woman at the science station. “You can see that T’Pol keeps out of trouble while I’m gone.” She gave him a look of dispassionate forbearance and he grinned, crossing for a quick, farewell hug. “This shouldn’t take long. I don’t intend to wade through shit to get back to Enterprise again.”

~

It was a different man in charge of the mine, but that didn’t mean that Tucker warmed to him anymore than he had to the man who had imprisoned him and Archer on their previous visit. “I don’t have any kemocite on board and I can’t spare any portable power cells. Is there anything else you’d accept?”

The man grinned, swinging idly in his chair, all too well aware that he had the upper hand. “I’m always short of mine workers. Three or four of your crew would pay for what you want.”

“Forget it.” Tucker headed for the door, out of patience: maybe he should have brought Soval after all. “Sorry I wasted your time.” He knew that something was wrong as soon as he stepped through the door, but by then it was too late. The two MACOs they’d left outside were gone, replaced by a number of Xindi-Reptiles, guns levelled. For a second, he thought of making a fight of it, but common sense intervened, and he caught Mayweather’s wrist as the younger man reached for his phase pistol. However Tucker’s expression reflected his deep and abiding fury at being so easily trapped, when sensors had shown no trace of Xindi bio-signs or technology on the planet.

“Very wise.” The lead Xindi’s tone was as smug and arrogant as that of any other Reptile Tucker had encountered over the last few years. “My commander prefers to have you alive.”

“What are you doing here?” Tucker had learnt that it paid to ask. Some Xindi-Reptiles were stupid enough to brag, and any information was better than none.

“We supervise production.”

“And then you take the lot?”

“Naturally.”

“Nice work if you can get it.” Tucker glared at the mine manager, who had joined them. “Thanks for the warning.”

“I did say you might not like the price you’d have to pay.”

He looked back at the Xindi-Reptile. “What are you planning on doing with us?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” A gesture brought a trio of guards around behind the group from Enterprise. “Take them away.”

“No!” Malfor had been a silent spectator until that moment, but now stepped past Tucker’s shoulder, a hairy paw held out in supplication. “Don’t make me stay with them! I’ve been a prisoner on their ship for weeks. Please, as one Xindi to another, set me free.”

Tucker scowled, while the Xindi-Reptile said doubtfully, “You worked for them?”

“They enslaved me. Please, help me.”

The Reptilian head nodded slowly, and Malfor scuttled away from the Humans, casting an anxious look behind him, seemingly afraid that they might still find a way of restraining him. But the guards just hustled Tucker and Mayweather away, the latter sending the Xindi-Arboreal a killing look.

~

The captain’s dining room was silent, despite the presence in it of two people who ought to have had a great deal to say to one another. And since neither T’Pol nor Soval had eaten more than a few mouthfuls of chef’s salad, the exercise of dining together seemed pointless. That was certainly the elder Vulcan’s opinion, and one he shared once they had both finished pretending to eat. “Why did you wish to see me, T’Pol?”

She stared back across the width of the table. “We have seen little of each other since you joined Enterprise. I thought we should take the opportunity to meet.”

“As you state, we are both on this ship.” Soval paused to refill his water glass. “Had you wished to see me, I assume you would have taken the opportunity before now.”

“You imply that I have ignored your presence?”

He paused a moment, studying the reflection of the ceiling lights in his glass, before raising his head to give T’Pol a very straight look. “Yes.”

“That is not true.”

“Is it not? I am your father, T’Pol. It has been many years since we spent time together. I hoped to come to know you again.”

She looked away uncomfortably. “I do not have the time.”

“So I see.”

The dry tone brought her head up sharply. “It is not as if you lack companionship. I believe that you spend a great deal of time with Sergeant Cole.”

“She is not my daughter.”

“Indeed!” T’Pol could be as sarcastic as her father when she wished. “People believe that your relationship with her is far from platonic.”

Soval’s mouth compressed in irritation as his frown deepened. “People would be wrong. If it concerns you, I suggest you tell them so.” He went on the attack himself. “You do not look well, T’Pol. Is your relationship with Captain Tucker not what you would wish?”

“We are fine!” She glared at him, eyes snapping with anger. “What of yourself, father? You appear tired. Is Sergeant Cole making unreasonable demands upon your time?”

“You are irrational.”

“I am not!”

Soval came to his feet, pausing to stare down at his daughter with less anger than might have been expected. “Do you not see how dangerous this path is, T’Pol? We cannot choose what emotions to experience. You will destroy yourself and Captain Tucker unless you are more restrained.”

Her eyes flicked away, mouth threatening to shake. “I chose this path. I cannot change it.”

~

Mayweather was pacing around the small cell where the Xindi-Reptiles had taken them, although Tucker was taking their imprisonment much more calmly, slumped in one corner of the narrow bed that furnished the cell, hands clasped around a leg pulled into his chest. Eventually Mayweather grew tired of his captain’s apparent indifference, turning aggressively on the seated man. “I guess Humanity’s luck’s still holding. We put our heads straight into a nest of Xindi without even noticing.”

“We’ll have to upgrade the sensors.”

“Great plan, captain!” Mayweather had failed to return to Starfleet-approved behavioural patterns on rejoining Enterprise. “Just two small problems: we’re locked in a Xindi holding cell and your pet Xindi engineer changed sides on us.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, come on, Trip! You heard Malfor.”

“I heard him.”

Mayweather blew out his breath in frustration and flung himself down on the other end of the bunk. “So we just sit here and wait?”

“For now.” Tucker turned his head slightly and the younger man saw that the blue eyes were hard. “Just until we know which way the wind’s gonna blow.”

“Against us, Trip. I’ll put money on it.”

The captain smiled abruptly. “How much?”

~

T’Pol was seated in the command chair when Soval entered the Bridge, her expression as unreadable as his when she rose to face him. That did not prevent the shrewd look he directed at her. “A problem?” Her calm faltered slightly, mainly with irritation that he had anticipated her, and he sighed. “A logical deduction when Humans are involved. What has occurred?”

“We have received a message from the mine supervisor. He states that Captain Tucker, Commander Mayweather and their escort are being held captive, pending their transport off-planet by the Xindi-Reptiles who oversee the operation.”

She paused to allow Soval to comment, and he obliged. “Why does he supply us with this information?”

“Because he suggests that he may be willing to free them – if we offer him sufficient inducement.”

Soval’s mouth tightened at the venal illogic of other species. “And what price are we to pay for this privilege?” Silently, T’Pol handed across a PADD that he scanned rapidly. “If we should believe in this offer, can Enterprise supply this?”

“No.”

“Then tell him so.”

“I have done. He suggested that he might be willing to negotiate.” There was a suspicion of vengeance in T’Pol’s tone as she continued. “You are our negotiator, Ambassador Soval. I suggest you negotiate.”

~

Tucker and Mayweather both came to their feet as the door to their cell opened, but any thought of escape was thwarted by the handguns aimed in their direction. Mayweather took a long look at the hair-ringed faces of the armed Xindi-Arboreals facing them and let out a long-suffering sigh. “You owe me, captain.”

There was no response from the other man as their new guards beckoned them out into the corridor beyond, but, on closer inspection, Mayweather could see the muscles shifting along Tucker’s jaw. His captain was angry, and that wasn’t a good thing. He might have lost the bitter fury that had carried his crew through the immediate aftermath of the Xindi attack on Earth, but, while he occasionally acted the part of the light-hearted Southern gentlemen for his crew’s benefit, that man was as dead as five billion and more other Humans. Someone was going to be sorry that they had captured Enterprise’s captain – Mayweather just hoped that it wasn’t going to be him.

~

“I don’t believe you.” The mine manager was in the driving seat and well aware of it. “What ship would venture into deep space without sufficient anti-matter reserves?”

“A Human one.” Soval’s voice betrayed his impatience, and earned him a concerned look from the woman listening in on the conversation. “We cannot meet your demand for anti-matter. You will have to accept warp plasma instead.”

“I don’t need warp plasma.”

“Then consider what you do need and contact us again.” Soval snapped the channel closed and remained facing forward, staring at the large screen in the command centre, that was showing a schematic of the mining facility.

Cole moved to his side, arms folded. “That wasn’t very diplomatic.”

“We do not need to reach a compromise.” The Vulcan didn’t look around. “Merely delay.”

“By antagonising the guy who’s holding our people?”

“Will you not for once accept my judgement?” His tone was harsh. “The man is a greedy fool. He will be back.”

“Are you okay?”

Soval flicked Cole a quick, irritated look at the abrupt change of subject. “Naturally.”

She frowned doubtfully at him, but stepped back as the doors opened to admit T’Pol, who didn’t waste time on non-essentials. “Have you formulated a plan, sergeant?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cole’s chin rose. “But it’s gonna take time to search the facility.”

“We have no choice.” T’Pol sounded no happier about that than the Human woman. “Scanners have not been able to penetrate beyond the first two levels and we must free the captain before the Xindi send a ship to retrieve him. We must hope that Ambassador Soval can disguise our real purpose.”

“Yeah.” Again Cole sent the elder Vulcan a worried look, then shook her head slightly. “I can have the teams assembled and briefed in fifteen minutes, ma’am.”

“Then do so. We cannot afford to wait longer.”

“Will you be accompanying us, ma’am?”

For a second, T’Pol hesitated. “I will remain on Enterprise. I am confident that you can handle the rescue attempt, sergeant.”

“You can rely on me, ma’am.” Cole’s tone had been brisk as she addressed the Vulcan woman, but it turned teasing when she turned to leave. “Hey, Soval.” He turned his head barely enough to observe her. “Don’t get my butt kicked.” He glowered, but she only grinned and strode out through the doors as soon as they parted.

T’Pol watched as her father’s eyes lingered on the departing woman in a way that brought back memories of how she had once tended to watch the behind of a certain chief engineer, then the comm. activated and she lost the opportunity to reprimand Soval over the incident.

~

Tucker waited until the cell was some distance behind them, with the tunnels of the mine opening off on either side, then exchanged a quick look with Mayweather and went on the attack. The two Xindi-Arboreals weren’t prepared for the assault, falling back in apparent surprise. The first dropped his weapon with a howl of pain when Tucker’s foot impacted his wrist, and the second immediately threw his gun at Mayweather’s feet, backing away, hands spread wide. The Humans snatched up the fallen weapons, then paused a beat, exchanging another glance, a puzzled one this time.

“Have we missed something here?” Tucker asked after a moment, and the first Xindi, the one whose wrist was probably broken, glowered.

“Malfor asked us to bring you down to him. He said you’d trust us.”

“Oh.” The captain raised a hand to scratch his cheek. “Maybe you could have mentioned that.”

“The cells are bugged.”

“Right.” Tucker drew a breath, still angry but prepared to acknowledge when he’d been in the wrong. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. Will you still take us to Malfor?” He got a nod and, after a moment’s further thought, reversed the gun, holding it out butt first. “Maybe you’d better have this back.”

“It doesn’t work. The Reptiles don’t let us carry live weapons.”

“Fine.” Tucker’s head nodded a little, in recognition of the fact that Humans had been made to look like fools. “But you’d still better carry it. The Reptiles like armed Humans even less.”

The Xindi-Arboreal shrugged indifferently and took the weapon back. “This way.”

~

When Tucker entered the small cave to which they were led, he recognised the feeling that gripped him. It was the same feeling of having gotten involved in something rather bigger than he had anticipated that he had experienced when Soval had forced him to address the inter-species conference on Vulcan. It had reoccurred when Bernin had greeted him so happily on the Xindi-Reptile ship back in the Alpha Quadrant. And now he was again facing an expectant crowd of Xindi-Arboreals, and Malfor was also smiling happily at him. “Captain Tucker. We were waiting for you.”

“Thanks for setting us free.” Tucker got the pleasantries out of the way, and tried to take command of the situation. “We should be getting back to Enterprise.”

“Oh.” Malfor’s face fell. “But I told my friends that you would help them first.”

He’d just known that Malfor was gonna say that. “What help do they want?”

“To be liberated from the Reptiles running this facility.”

“Okay,” the captain drawled slowly, “and they can’t do that themselves?”

“No.” Malfor’s headshake was echoed around the room. “We’re not an aggressive people, captain. But I was sure you’d be happy to help.”

Tucker raised a hand to rub his eyebrows, aware that Mayweather was grinning. The urge to ask ‘why me?’ was very strong, but seemed pointless. He knew the answer: because he was the captain of Enterprise, and captains of Enterprise helped other people. But just sometimes, he’d like to be on the receiving end of the help. “Then I guess we’d better see what we can do. Any chance you have access to a transmitter?”

~

T’Pol strode into the command centre, starting to speak almost at once. “Captain Tucker has contacted us. He requires our assistance to …” She broke off abruptly. “Ambassador Soval? Father?”

The elder Vulcan pushed himself slowly upright from where he had been leaning forward over the main console, braced on his outstretched arms, and turned to face her. “T’Pol?”

“Father, are you unwell?”

“I’m fine. You were saying?”

She hesitated, but her main priority was Enterprise’s captain – as it had always been. “Captain Tucker requires our assistance.”

~

The Xindi-Arboreals might not be aggressive, but Cole and her people were, at least when faced with members of the Xindi sub-species who had persecuted Humanity for the last four years. Given leave to use whatever tactics necessary, and assured by Malfor that anyone who wasn’t in league with the Reptiles had found an excuse to visit the lower levels, Enterprise’s security personnel hit hard and thoroughly. The Xindi-Reptile garrison had not been large, and it was soon reduced to zero, for once without any serious Human casualties. Cole was mildly apologetic about the damage to the facility itself, but Malfor assured her that his fellow Arboreals would soon put that right – and take the opportunity to re-programme the orbital defence grid at the same time. The next Xindi-Reptile ship to enter orbit would be in for a nasty surprise.

All in all, it was a remarkably satisfactory conclusion, but for one thing: a ship had been through only the previous week, and taken away the entire Trellium stock. What was left would barely coat a shuttle pod. Malfor brought Tucker the news in the ready room, surprised when the Human laughed a little. “Captain?”

“Sorry, Malfor. But I just knew our luck wouldn’t hold.”

“We could wait until enough Trellium has been mined. Hralk assures me that all the workers will do their best for us.”

“How long would their best take?”

“Five weeks.”

Tucker shook his head ruefully. “Tell them I’m grateful for the offer, Malfor, but we can’t wait that long. We’ll have to look for another source of Trellium.” The Xindi looked doubtful, and Tucker came to his feet, reaching up to give the Xindi an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Trust me, I’ve got an idea.”

“Of course, captain.”

Malfor brightened at once, and Tucker grinned in self-mockery at the other’s confidence in him. Perhaps it was a good thing that Soval was along for the ride, to counter the Arboreal’s faith in Enterprise’s captain. “Let’s go see about setting up a facility to refine that Trellium. We never had to process large quantities last time around, and I’d hate for it to go wrong.”

~

A little miffed that her captain had chosen to spend the evening in Engineering rather than with her, T’Pol entered the Mess Hall in search of tea, and found Soval just ahead of her at the drinks’ dispenser. He didn’t even notice her presence until he turned away and nearly bumped into her. “Ambassador?” She frowned at the uncharacteristic clumsiness and he stared tiredly back.

“My apologies.”

She bowed her head in acceptance. “Green tea.”

“T’Pol.” She turned her head to where Soval was still standing close beside her. “”I have been experiencing some,” he hesitated and dropped his voice to a level no Human could hear, “discomfort from a headache.” They regarded each other awkwardly for a moment. “If you can spare the time, perhaps you would consider applying neuro-pressure. Dr Phlox recommended the therapy.”

Soval’s daughter repeated her earlier question. “Are you unwell, ambassador?”

“The neuro-pressure, T’Pol?”

Her concern retreated in the face of the dismissal of her question. “Tonight. 2030.”

Again Soval hesitated then inclined his head. “Very well.”

~

The session did not go well, perhaps because neither party approached it in quite the right frame of mind. T’Pol eventually moved from behind Soval to glare at him. “You are not cooperating.”

“Am I not?”

“The technique is meant to be therapeutic.”

“Do not lecture me on facts with which I am familiar.”

“You are tense!”

“So I noticed!”

Father and daughter locked belligerent gazes until T’Pol turned away in frustration. “I see no point in continuing. You clearly do not wish for my help.”

Soval drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I did not say that.”

His attempt at conciliation came too late. T’Pol had already retreated into the defensive shell that only Tucker – and sometimes not even he lately – could penetrate. “Perhaps you should ask Sergeant Cole to assist you. I am sure that she would be more than willing.”

“T’Pol …”

“Perhaps you are not aware of her reputation.”

“T’Pol …”

“She is immoral and unprincipled.”

“You mistake her.”

“She seduced Charles from me!”

“She did not.” Soval breached protocol, even between close family members, to take T’Pol firmly by the shoulders. “T’Pol, listen to me. Listen to yourself. You are acting on emotion, not logic. It will destroy you.”

“You wish me to be a perfect Vulcan. I can no longer be so.”

“I wish you to be content!” She tore free of him and headed for the door, and he added harshly, “T’Pol, think on this. If Amanda had not accompanied Captain Tucker to Earth, he would have died by his own hand. You owe her his life.”

She whirled back, furious. “And you accuse me of acting on emotion? Examine your own behaviour, father.” She was gone before Soval regained sufficient control to risk replying.

~

If Cole had appeared more than ten minutes later, she might not have noticed anything wrong, but their appointment was for 2100 and she was a MACO: she was never late. As it was, she took one look at Soval’s face when the door opened and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He turned away. “Why are you here?”

“Target practise.” She looked around at the scattered candles. “Sorry, were you meditating?”

“No.” He refastened the light robe he wore, concealing the fact that he wore nothing underneath apart from a pair of thin cotton trousers. “My apologies. I had forgotten. Perhaps you will excuse me?”

“Only if you tell me what’s wrong.” He frowned at the impertinence and Cole sighed. “Soval, you look awful. Please tell me.”

“I believe I have mentioned my culture’s respect for privacy many times before.”
“Yeah, but I never promised to respect yours. What’s wrong?”

He grimaced, no more than a slight contraction of muscle, but noticeable on his usually impassive face. “A headache.”

“Again?”

“As you say.” Cole continued to regard him expectantly, and Soval sighed in resigned surrender. “I asked T’Pol to attempt neuro-pressure to relieve the symptoms. It was not successful.”

“She made it worse,” Cole guessed shrewdly, and continued to frown at the Vulcan. “Let me try.”

“No!”

“Why not? It can’t do any harm, not if you’re supervising.”

“You lack the physical strength necessary.”

“Hey! I’m a MACO.”

“But still Human.”

“Then I definitely can’t hurt you.”

“It would not be appropriate.”

“Why not? Come on, Soval, you helped me when I was ill. Where’s the difference?”

“You are impossible.”

“That’s me.” Cole had worked her way close enough to see the deep shadows around the Vulcan’s eyes, and her tone unconsciously softened. “Let me help.”

Soval shook his head at her and turned away, but only to access the computer terminal, downloading data to a PADD. “Very well.” Cole managed to hide her triumph as she took the PADD, studying the screen. “I have highlighted the nodes that require manipulation.”

“Okay.” She kept her attention on the PADD. “So take off your robe and sit down.”

He resisted the inevitable for a moment longer, then turned his back, seated himself on the edge of the bed, and tossed the robe to one side. Cole perched behind him and carefully fitted her thumbs in position, one eye on the PADD. “Here?”

“Yes.”

She leant in hard – and then harder still when nothing gave. “Can you feel that?”

“Barely.” Soval gathered himself, already half off the bed. “This is pointless.”

“Not so fast.” She grabbed one shoulder, pulling him back then frowning as she ran her hand over his rigid muscles. “No wonder you’ve got a headache. You’re so tense, you could snap.”

“Sergeant!”

She grimaced and withdrew her hand. Evidently stroking wasn’t therapeutic for Vulcans, but if Soval had been Human, she’d have recommended a hot shower and a back rub: possibly combined. “I’m not done yet. Lie down.”

This time Soval didn’t bother arguing, stretching out on his stomach, forehead resting on his clasped hands. Cole straddled his hips, relocated her thumbs, and put her whole body weight behind it. He drew in his breath sharply and she backed off at once. “Sorry. Did that hurt?”

“No. That was,” there was a fractional pause, “satisfactory.”

“That good, huh?”

“Continue.”

She grinned at the unequivocal request and leant into the same spot again, keeping up the pressure for a longer period. Soval made another soft sound, more obviously of pleasure this time, and Cole shook her head as she moved onto the next pair of nodes. The strength of Vulcans never ceased to fascinate her. If she had been doing this to a Human, he or she would have been in agony. Soval – she could feel his muscles softening under her hands and his breathing deepening – Soval enjoyed it, for all he had insisted for years that it was a medical procedure and nothing else. She’d have neuro-pressure for her next birthday, whatever the mean old Vulcan claimed. Chocolate was good, but neuro-pressure made her feel even better.

By the time Cole had worked her way down the indicated nodes, Soval had been silent for some time. She sat back on her heels, regarding him a little wistfully. “Soval?” There was no response and she sighed, moving to kneel by the side of the bed, careful not to disturb him. He’d looked exhausted, so it was hardly surprising that he’d fallen asleep as soon as he’d relaxed a little, but it was hardly a flattering reaction and she had wanted to talk to him.

Cole yawned, suddenly aware that she too was tired. It was peaceful in Soval’s cabin, which always seemed quieter than the rest of Enterprise. She was tempted to curl up on the couch and take a nap, as she quite often had in his rooms on Earth, when she had been so depressed she couldn’t think straight. But she could hardly do that here, particularly without his permission. Too many people already had the wrong impression, just because she was the only one on board who wasn’t scared of the Vulcan ambassador. She knew what people would say if they knew that she’d spent the night in his cabin, however innocently, and she wouldn’t wish that on Soval. Tomorrow she’d definitely find her way down to Engineering and see if Rostov was up for a little flirtation. He was a nice guy and it would stop the gossip about herself and Soval.

Then she grimaced as the idea of spending time with Rostov failed to spark her interest. She didn’t want another casual affair. She wanted someone to love, someone to spend her life with, someone to father her children. But there were only a few thousand Humans left, which didn’t give a girl much choice.

Cole sighed and leant over to pull a cover carefully up over the half naked Vulcan, idly trailing her fingers down his upper arm afterwards. “What am I gonna do with you, you mean old Vulcan? Men don’t usually go to sleep when I’m with them.”

“No doubt because you talk too much.”

Soval’s voice was muffled because his head was still tucked down on his folded hands, but Cole couldn’t doubt that he’d heard her – and felt her meaningless, Human gesture of affection between friends. She snatched her hand back from warm, smooth, alien skin. “Well, you should be asleep!” The degree of irritation in her voice pretty much reflected her level of embarrassment. “You’re exhausted.”

He turned over slowly, as if he ached. “I must meditate.”

“Where’s the rule that says you can’t meditate in the morning?” He still looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, but the tight lines of his face had relaxed a little. “How’s the headache?”

“Much improved.”

“Then go to sleep. That’s an order.” Cole scrambled to her feet, scowling down at him. “You hear me, Soval?”

“If I promise to sleep, will you leave me in peace?”

He was looking back at her from narrowed eyes, so that she couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or not, but the words made her flinch. “Sure.”

She hurried towards the door, and Soval added quietly, “Amanda.” Doubtfully, she looked back over her shoulder. “Thank you.”

She flushed, touched by the simple courtesy. “What are friends for?” He didn’t respond and she reached for the door release, promising herself that this wouldn’t be the last time Soval let her treat him. The stubborn old Vulcan wouldn’t ask, but the neuro-pressure had clearly helped him. If he were still unwell, she’d just nag him into submission. He was her friend; it was the least she could do.

~

T’Pol was nearly back to her quarters when the pain struck: definitely pain this time, not the discomfort she had been able to ignore before. Fortunately the corridor was empty, so no one saw her halt, gasping, a hand going to her lower belly. It took a few minutes to suppress her awareness of the pain enough to move, and she was grateful for once that Tucker had abandoned her in favour of Enterprise. She had no need to invert more excuses as she made her way slowly into the small bathroom, retrieving the drug capsules from their hiding place. The hypospray she administered took time to take effect, but the pain eased eventually and she returned to the outer room, setting out the meditation candles. Emotion made the symptoms worse, she was sure, but meditation no longer seemed to work – or perhaps she was simply too tired to achieve the necessary degree of concentration.

The candle flame was steady, in direct contrast to how T’Pol felt. She had considered asking Soval to assist her, but he would want to know why, and she was not yet ready to tell him the full story, not before she had told Charles what she had done. It had seemed so logical a course of action at the time, but she had not anticipated that Charles’ foolhardy offer to return to the Delphic Expanse would be accepted. Then it had been too late. She had to live with the consequences of her action, and she had to live with them alone. Neither her lover nor her father would approve, and her doctor certainly would not.

Miserably, T’Pol tried to focus, to centre herself, so that when Tucker finally came home she could continue to deceive him.

~

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