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When is a Choice Not a Choice?

Author - Shouldknowbetter | Genre - Action/Adventure | Genre - Angst | Main Story | Rating - PG-13 | W
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When is a Choice not a Choice?

By ShouldKnowBetter

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters, the Star Trek franchise and the universe. I just use them for my own private, non-profit making amusement.
Summary: When Archer, Tucker and T’Pol explore an abandoned vessel, things are bound to go horribly wrong.


Author’s Notes:
1. A long time ago, I worked out to my own satisfaction why Archer thinks he’s attracted to T’Pol and I finally found a story to expose him. Inspired by TOS ‘Gem’.
2. This would take place between ‘First Flight’ and ‘Bounty’. Minor spoilers for ‘The Cogenitor’ and ‘Desert Crossing’.

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

Enterprise edged cautiously closer to the hulk that was barely visible against the starlit blackness of space and Archer leant forward in the command chair, eyes glued to the view screen. “T’Pol, is there anything in the Vulcan database on a ship like this?”

“Negative.” The science officer was still bent over her scanner. “It is proving difficult to obtain readings from within the hull, but the material of which it is composed is not one that I am familiar with.”

“Any life signs?”

“None.” The Vulcan woman straightened and turned to face her captain. “The damage to the outer hull indicates that it has been in space for some considerable time.”

“How long?”

“I would estimate … several thousand years.”

“Several thousand?” The only response to the unnecessary repetition was a lifted eyebrow. “I’m surprised no one found it before.”

“I see little reason why they should have done so. This area of space has been mapped but there is little of interest to encourage closer investigation. If Commander Tucker had not wished to take the warp drive off-line for maintenance, we would not have undertaken a detailed survey ourselves.”

“Well,” Archer pushed himself up from his chair, “I think this calls for a closer look. Malcolm, tell Trip to prep a shuttle pod. T’Pol.” She followed him to the lift, only a fractional tightening of her lips indicating that she would prefer her captain not to leap feet first into every mystery that the universe offered.


***********


The rear seat of the shuttle pod felt cramped to Tucker as he monitored the hull of the derelict for possible docking ports, while Archer maneuvered the small craft slowly along the length of the other vessel. Even knowing that the feeling wasn’t due to any physical lack of space didn’t help the engineer dispel it. This was the sort of away mission that should be headed up by Enterprise’s chief engineer, yet here he was, relegated to the back seat, while Archer and T’Pol discussed possible theories for the hulk’s presence in their sector and didn’t once ask his opinion.

Tucker knew it was his own fault. He had been massively, sickeningly wrong over the congenitor and this loss of trust was the result but … He was still chief engineer, still third in command of Enterprise – unless someone had forgotten to tell him otherwise – and he felt entirely shut out. It wasn’t even the first time he had felt this way. His sense of isolation from command decisions had been growing all year even if, in his more introspective moments, he wondered if it was simple jealousy that made him think that. He’d thought of Archer as his closest friend for a long time despite the difference in their age and rank, but now … When was the last time Archer had come to him to talk out a problem? The captain used his first officer for that now and that was as it should be, except that Tucker was fairly sure it wasn’t to maintain the command structure that Archer turned to T’Pol. He had known Jonathan Archer for a long time and he’d never seen him quite so assiduous in his attentions to a woman. The fact that Tucker entirely understood the attraction – hell, hadn’t he even felt it himself? – didn’t make the slightest difference. No, that was a lie. It made it worse. He hadn’t just lost his best friend but also the woman who was becoming at least another friend, if not something more.

“Commander Tucker!” Startled out of his depressing thoughts, Tucker looked up sharply at Archer’s interjection. “What do you make of that?”

Hurriedly, Tucker directed his attention to the readout in front of him. This was no way to regain his captain’s trust – if that was even possible. “It could be a go-er, sir. Our docking ring can adjust to that configuration.”

* * * **


They had to use environmental suits and flashlights in the interior of the other ship, following T’Pol down curving corridors as she led the way towards what appeared to be a residual power signature. Tucker hoped it would prove to be the engine room so he would have something to do, because he felt entirely useless at the moment. Idly, he ran gloved fingers over the seamless wall beside him and pulled back sharply as a faint glow appeared. “Hey, take a look at this!”

The science officer directed her scanner at the wall as he repeated his action. “Some substance in the material appears to be sensitive to heat. Perhaps the effect was used to provide lighting when this vessel was operational.”

“Better keep your hands to yourself, Trip,” Archer cautioned and peered over the Vulcan’s shoulder. “Where now, T’Pol?”

Tucker followed the pair again, gritting his teeth to avoid saying anything that could be picked up and amplified by his suit’s microphone. He thought it was interesting and a light source built into a wall sounded like a neat idea, but hey, he was just the engineer, who didn’t know better than to mess with alien technology. Didn’t anyone remember that he had puzzled out a dozen other systems just as weird as this one?

The power anomaly wasn’t in an engine room, it was in a large circular chamber with a central column about a metre high and otherwise unfurnished apart from the selection of desiccated corpses strewn around. The trio of officers halted in surprise in the wide entrance before moving slowly forward, automatically separating to widen their survey.

“T’Pol?” Archer queried after a few moments, and she studied the readout on her scanner.

“There are twenty three bodies, all from different species.” She raised her helmeted head, the inner glow illuminating her face. “I am unfamiliar with most of them.”

Archer frowned, coming to stand beside her. “That doesn’t sound right. Even in the most mixed crew, I’d have expected to see a few from each species.”

“It could be that other areas of this ship contain further representatives.”

“Could be a zoo,” Tucker suggested facetiously and went to study the central plinth. There was one simple touch panel visible. Too simple, the engineer thought doubtfully. It was tantamount to a ‘please press here’ sign. “What d’you make of this, cap’n?” Archer came to look, running a hand over the slick surface, apparently oblivious to the hypocrisy given his earlier rebuke to Tucker. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this place, sir.”

“It’s certainly a puzzle.” Archer was still frowning at the interface as T’Pol joined them.

“While I do not share Commander Tucker’s ‘feeling’, I believe it would be wise to leave. There are anomalies here that may prove of interest but it would be prudent to investigate them from Enterprise.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Archer agreed, dealing Tucker’s self-esteem another blow. “Gather what data you can and we’ll pull out.”

“I have completed a preliminary survey. We may leave at once.”

The captain nodded and headed for the wide entrance, Tucker and T’Pol at his heels. He was within a metre of the doorway when it vanished, leaving nothing but a smooth, seamless wall in its place.


***********


Reed had one eye on the clock and another on the sensor output, not happy at having all three of his senior officers off the ship, even if it did mean he was at liberty to instigate a tactical alert if need be. His vigilance meant that he was the first to note the change and leant in for a closer look. “That’s odd.”

“I’m seeing it too, sir.” Mayweather had also been monitoring the sensor readings from the other vessel, having little to do with Enterprise in a holding position. “An atmosphere’s developed on that ship.”

“Hail the away team, ensign.” Reed didn’t like the unexpected and his fears were confirmed when Sato shook her head a moment later.

“No response, sir.”

The Englishman’s mouth thinned as he turned to the man at the science station. “Can you locate them, crewman?”

“There are life signs in the central section, sir, but I can’t get a clear reading. There’s too much distortion.”

Of course there is, Reed thought sarcastically to himself and started to assess options for retrieving his colleagues –assuming they couldn’t rescue themselves, which with Captain Archer was always a possibility.


***********


Archer thumped a gloved fist into the non-existent doorway that was now glowing as brightly as the rest of the walls. “Looks like you were right to be suspicious, T’Pol.” The science officer was again inspecting her scanner. “Anything?”

“This vessel now contains a Minshara-class atmosphere and its ambient temperature is 294 Kelvin.”

Archer stared grimly at her and activated a communicator. “Archer to Enterprise.” He wasn’t surprised at the lack of response and T’Pol supplied the answer.

“Something in the wall’s structure seems to be blocking communications.”

“How about a way out?”

“I am detecting no discontinuities in the walls that would indicate an exit.”

Cautiously, Tucker cracked the seal of his helmet then pushed the faceplate up as nothing worse occurred than a draft of cool air on his skin; he always got hot in an environmental suit despite the temperature regulation. “That central column’s lit up.”

“See what you can make of it.” Archer indicated the now clearly visible corpses. “We’ll see if there are any clues to what’s going on here.”

As Tucker had already observed, the plinth’s controls were extremely simple, that is, there was one control. Even after several minutes careful scrutiny and a scan that produced nothing except the information that the construction was so alien that Starfleet instrumentation could make nothing of it, he came up with no option but to press the button. After all, what else could go wrong?

A gloved hand on what looked like the pressure sensor achieved nothing and on gut feel, Tucker tugged off a glove and laid his palm on the control surface. The result was gratifying. Where there had been a blank wall, a wide space appeared.

The slight change in light attracted Archer’s attention. “Good work, commander.”

“I’m not sure I can take the credit, cap’n.” Something still felt wrong to Tucker. Nothing was this easy.

“Well, let’s not waste the opportunity.” Archer headed for the exit but as Tucker removed his hand from the panel the exit promptly returned to unmarked wall. “Trip?” The captain turned questioningly to his engineer, who slowly returned his hand to the panel and was rewarded with the exit again.

“Looks like they don’t want everyone leaving,” Tucker murmured and then sighed as T’Pol lifted an eyebrow at a warning bleep from her scanner.

“We would appear to have a problem.”


***********


“Have you tried boosting the power to the pattern buffer?”

Reed leant over the side of the engineering console on the bridge and Hess shot him a frustrated look. “I could try that, sir, but we’d still need a pattern to put there. We can’t cut through the interference.”

He grimaced acknowledgement of the uselessness of the suggestion and came to a conclusion.
“Mayweather, take Shuttle Pod 2 over there. I’ll send a security team with you. See if you can find another docking port where they can get in.”

“You’re not coming, lieutenant?”

Reed shook his head, sighing with frustration. “Not when I’m in command here, ensign. Get moving.”


***********


Archer swung to face the science officer. “Now what?”

“The theta radiation level within this chamber has started to rise.”

Tucker grimaced, well versed in the deadly effects of that particular warp by-product. “What’s the intensity?”

“0.016.”

“That’s not so bad.”

“And rising.”

“How long, T’Pol?” Archer asked and she hesitated a moment before raising her face to his.

“Less than an hour before the effect on human physiology becomes irreversible.”

“Then we’d better find a way out.” Archer ignored Tucker’s grimace. “T’Pol, try to see if you can modify a communicator to cut through the interference. Trip …”

“Captain,” the Vulcan woman sounded mildly irritated, “it would be more efficient if I assisted Commander Tucker with the modifications. I believe,” and she shot the engineer a sideways look from the corner of her eyes, “that he can fix any ‘radio’.”

“All right.” Archer didn’t react to the rebuke, if that was what it had been. “You two work on that. I’ll keep searching the corpses.”

Relieved to have something to think about other than what the theta radiation was doing to his body, Tucker moved to T’Pol’s side, accepting the scanner she handed him. “The interference is broad-band white noise, with no perceptible modulation. I believe that it is caused by sub-atomic excitation of the material of the walls.”

“That’d make sense. Could be related to the light-emitting properties.” He spared her a brief glance. “Thanks for sticking up for me there.”

For a moment he thought that she was going to deliberately misunderstand him then she said quietly, “Your engineering competence is not under question, commander. You have demonstrated your ability many times.” The soft voice hardened. “Now I suggest that you do so again – quickly.”


***********


Sato looked across the bridge to where Reed was still frowning over the scans from the derelict vessel that was looking less and less harmless with every moment that passed. “Shuttle Pod 2’s hailing us, sir.”

“Put them on.” The armoury officer raised his head to concentrate on Mayweather’s report. “Go ahead, ensign.”

“We’ve not been able to locate a second docking port, sir, and we can’t disengage Shuttle Pod 1.”

“Have you tried accessing the vessel from Shuttle Pod 1?”

“Yes, sir. The hatch is locked solid.”

Reed nodded as if he wasn’t terribly surprised by the bad news. “Return to Enterprise, Travis. We’ll try a more direct approach.”

“Lieutenant,” Mayweather hadn’t finished with the bad news, “now we’re close, we’re getting some strange readings. It looks as if … well, as if a warp engine’s being brought on-line.”

“What?” For a moment, Reed was aware of the first stirrings of panic but he clamped down on it. “Clear the area, ensign. Let’s see what the phase canons make of that hull.”

***********

“Tucker to Enterprise.” Again only static came back and the engineer mouthed a silent curse and looked over to where T’Pol knelt a few feet away. “Any luck?”

“Indeed.” The calm voice was dry. “The modifications you suggested have allowed me to penetrate beyond this chamber and locate the source of the theta radiation: an unshielded warp core.”

“Excuse me?” Tucker grabbed for the scanner, which T’Pol released with a raised eyebrow. “How the hell did we miss that from Enterprise?”

“It was not there before.”

He frowned at her but could not continue the discussion as Archer came to crouch beside them, holding out a small tubular device. “One of the aliens was holding this. Could be a recorder.”

T’Pol retrieved her scanner to run a check. “So it would appear.” She made some adjustments. “I can access the data, although whether it can be decoded with the limited facilities available here is another matter.”

Archer slumped onto the floor at her side while she worked, running a hand over his face. “How much longer have we got?”

“Twenty eight minutes.” An eyebrow rose. “It would appear that we are fortunate.”

“You’ve decoded it?”

“Indeed. The language must bear a close resemblance to one held within my scanner’s memory.” She touched a control and a husky voice issued from the device.

“Log entry, first officer Threatha recording – although why I bother I really don’t know; only the dead’ll ever hear this. The others left. I hope they got off this charnel house but I’ve no way of telling. I can feel the ship getting ready to go to warp. Wonder if I’ll survive long enough to feel the jump or whether the radiation’ll get me first? I tried to rig a warning but there wasn’t time. Goddess forgive me for the deaths of all those who’ll come after me whom I couldn’t help – and may She punish those who built this death trap, for I know we never will. End log.”

In the silence that followed, Enterprise’s officers stared at each other in frozen horror.


***********


Whatever the hull was made of, it was impervious to Enterprise’s phase canons and try as he might, Reed could not locate a power source that they could try to disable. Grimly, he stared across the bridge to the engineering console. “Let’s take another look at the targeting scanners for the transporter, Lt. Hess.”

She shrugged reluctant agreement and followed the Englishman from the bridge.


***********


“It would seem,” T’Pol stated flatly after a short interval, “that our imprisonment here is no accident.”

“But why?” Tucker was outraged. “What sort of sick bastards would build a ship that’s designed to trap people and kill them?”

The Vulcan woman regarded him with resignation. “There is no reason to suppose, commander, that the motives of alien races must be understandable in terms of human morality.”

“At least we know the score.” Archer rose to his feet and headed determinedly towards the central column. “I want you two out of here.”

They scrambled up behind him, exchanging a look that clearly said their captain had just lost their support, but before either one could put an argument into words Archer had slapped his hand onto the touch panel … and nothing happened. He glared at it and tried again with a similarly negative result, looking up as Tucker and T’Pol joined him. “Trip.” Reluctantly, the engineer laid a hand on the column’s top and at once the exit appeared.

“T’Pol.” She stared at the captain for a moment then repeated Tucker’s action with the same effect.

She withdrew the offending hand as Archer rubbed his hand across the lower part of his face, forehead creased. “It would seem,” T’Pol said slowly, “that you are required to make a choice, captain.”

“No!” he said harshly and swung away, hands clenched at his sides. “I don’t accept that.”

“There is no other option. I estimate that in twenty minutes …”

“Then we have twenty minutes to find an alternative.” Archer spoke over his shoulder. “Get started.”

An eyebrow quirked up at a typical human refusal to accept the inevitable but she bent to retrieve her scanner, moving closer to the section of wall that held the illusive exit.

Tucker did not follow orders, just held his position staring at Archer’s still averted back. He didn’t believe they could find a way around the alien technology in twenty minutes, which meant that his captain was just delaying the decision and Tucker knew Jonathan Archer well enough to know that such a decision wouldn’t come easily to him. Why make him do it? the younger man questioned himself, suddenly aware that he had already made his choice. Wasn’t it all very simple? If he stayed then Archer and T’Pol would survive and he wouldn’t have to watch them growing ever closer together and further away from him. And if Tucker took the decision out of Archer’s hands, then he saved his captain the pain of making a difficult choice and himself the hurt of knowing that his best friend preferred to save someone else. So … no choice at all. Tucker’s hand was steady as he quietly drew his phase pistol and checked the setting then leveled it at Archer’s back, although it required a deep breath before he could force himself to pull the trigger.

The sound of the weapon’s fire snapped T’Pol around in time to see Archer fall. She stared at his crumpled body for a moment then turned wide eyes on Tucker.

“Get him out of here.” Tucker gritted his teeth, hearing the shake in his voice, but T’Pol didn’t obey, moving slowly to stand face to face with him. “Just go.” He wanted them gone before Archer regained consciousness but mainly before he lost all common sense and said something stupid. He didn’t want his last memory to be of a slap round the face from an outraged Vulcan. He preferred to remember T’Pol looking at him with … well, he didn’t know what, to be honest, but at least it was preferable to the disapproval he had grown used to seeing. “Look after him.” He bit his lip hard; this was taking too long. “T’Pol, go. Please.”

“Why?”

One word and he couldn’t even give her the whole answer. “Because … it’s better this way. He … needs you … and me … I’m just a liability to him.”

For a second longer she remained facing him, then stooped to grasp the unconscious captain under the arms, heaving him easily towards where the exit would appear. Tucker gulped and reached out blindly for the top of the column. Couldn’t you say something, T’Pol? Even ‘goodbye’ would be nice.

The Vulcan didn’t speak, however, just gave him another long look as she dragged Archer into the corridor and the wall reappeared between them as Tucker let his hand fall from the touch pad.

Alone in the chamber that was to be his tomb, Tucker sunk to the floor and dropped his head onto his folded arms, eyes tightly closed as he struggled for control. Then he gave into the grief that had been building for weeks, over lost friends and Charles and every other botched opportunity, and finally let himself cry.


***********


The shuttle pod was nearly back to Enterprise when Archer stirred, although after a half glance T’Pol merely returned her full attention to piloting their craft towards its mother ship with all haste. Archer pulled himself up slowly, shaking his head, then took a wild look around as his mind abruptly focused. “What happened? Where’s Trip?”

“Commander Tucker chose to remain behind in order that we could escape.”

There was no inflection in the quiet voice and Archer exploded. “And you let him?” He lunged for a forward seat. “Take us back.”

“Our only hope of retrieving Commander Tucker is to return to Enterprise.”

“Take us back! That’s an order!”

His first officer spared him a brief glance although she did not change course. “Your reaction is emotional and illogical.”

“Damn right it is! This is Trip we’re talking about, T’Pol. I’m not leaving him to die.”

She did not reply for a moment, but when she did the tone was oddly implacable. “Perhaps you should consider, captain, why one of your most loyal officers, who considers you a friend, felt that you would not regret his death.” She turned for another brief look and continued as if she had not just caused the shock on Archer’s face. “Returning to Enterprise is the logical course of action.”


***********


Reed met the shuttle pod, staring past Archer and T’Pol. “Where’s Trip?”

“Still over there.”

Archer brushed past the armoury officer, who appeared as shocked as his captain had been minutes before. “But … we think that ship’s going to go to warp.”

“I know that, Lieutenant.” The captain’s voice was savage. “I hope you’ve got a plan, Sub-commander, because if not …” He broke off, unable to contemplate the alternative, and his science officer ignored him in favour of addressing Reed.

“Lieutenant, have you tried re-configuring the transporter to cut through the interference from the alien ship’s hull?”

“Yes, but we couldn’t …”

“I have additional data that may be of use.” She left at a run and the two humans exchanged a brief look of surprise before racing after her.


***********


“I still can’t get a lock.” Hess sounded desperate. “Maybe if there was a comm. signal to provide a location fix …”

Archer and Reed moved together and got in each other’s way, which gave T’Pol unimpeded access to the transporter chamber. “Energize.” Her tone and still more the hard stare meant that the woman at the controls reacted without even looking to her captain for confirmation, but then she was one of the engineering team and none of her colleagues would forgive her if she failed to extract their chief from this situation.

Archer watched his dematerializing first officer with his mouth half open to protest, caught Reed’s eye and exchanged a shrug with the armoury officer. They wouldn’t have hesitated to risk their lives to save Tucker and evidently T’Pol felt the same.

When T’Pol materialized there was no immediate sign of Enterprise’s chief engineer then she located him behind the central pillar, curled into a fetal position. She could feel the vibration of the ship becoming active through the deck plates under her feet and didn’t waste time with a pointless check as a human might. Whether Tucker would survive or not, she needed to get them both off the vessel with dispatch, which probably accounted for the fact that she pulled the unconscious man close with one arm even as the other hand activated her communicator. “T’Pol to Enterprise. Do you have a lock?” It took less than five seconds before the tingle of the transporter beam enveloped them, but that was a long time to watch a dying human rather than the interesting light effects as the distant warp coils approached full charge.

In the transporter chamber, Archer nodded absent acknowledgement as Mayweather reported over the comm. that the other ship had gone to high warp and held back from leaping to help the medical team transfer Tucker to a trolley. He kept his eyes on T’Pol instead, where she remained kneeling for a moment after the engineer was removed from her partial embrace. “You exceeded your authority, Sub-commander.”

She rose gracefully, unruffled. “Time was of the essence, captain, and I was the logical candidate to retrieve Commander Tucker. Vulcans have a higher tolerance for radiation than do humans.”

“I’m sure they do, T’Pol.” He paused, expression thoughtful. “Will you tell Trip that you went back for him or shall I?”


***********

Sickbay was quiet when Archer finally goaded himself into paying a visit, although Phlox popped up immediately as the captain halted by the side of the bed where Tucker lay. “How is he?”

“I’m afraid Commander Tucker won’t have his normal hearty appetite for a few days but I hope to have him back on duty within the week.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Archer pressed his lips firmly together, not meeting the Denobulan’s eyes. “Would you give me a moment, doctor?”

“Of course, captain.”

Archer waited until the doctor was safely within his office then took a step nearer the head of the bed. “Trip, I know you can’t hear me …” He broke off, biting his lip again, a rueful smile trying to break through. “Hell, I wouldn’t be saying this if I thought you could. Trip, I know I’ve not been fair to you lately. Not as a commanding officer and certainly not as a friend and … I need to tell you why. Last year, on that desert planet, when I thought I’d killed you by making you to go down there with me … it forced me to admit how much you mean to me … and not just as a friend. I know it can’t happen and not just because of the command structure, but … I wanted to say it. Trip, I’m sorry, pushing you away wasn’t fair and using T’Pol as a substitute … that was worse.” Archer stopped to take a deep breath. “Trip …” He grimaced, biting back the rest of what he wanted to say but dared not, even now. “I’ll do better by you in future, Trip. You have my word on that.” He halted again, one hand half reaching out although he pulled it back. “Good night, my friend.”

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

What a lovely story. I love the interaction among the three officers. Please say you have a sequel to this story.

Yes a sequel would be great. I really look forward to reading one.

Oh, the truth has been exposed! Did I sense a little interest from a certain Vulcan, as well as a certain captain, in our brave engineer? You know, a sequel could prove VERY interesting! :-) Thanks!

Whoo! Did you out the Captain? Or am I reading way too much into this? No matter, you took a point of view and expressed it brilliantly, keeping me reading to the very end.

This was excellent. I loved the whole set up with the empty ship being a trap and the enforced isolation bringing the friction between Trip and Archer to a head. Loved how it was all seagued together in a quite flawless piece of fiction. The way it fitted so snugly with the series was the icing on the cake. Thank you! Ali D :~)

sniff sniff... do i smell a sequel? hint hint.

Sequel,sequel,sequel!!! Please!!!!!

That was marvellous. The interaction between the three officers was entirely believable, and I agree a sequel is crying out to be written, even if you have Jon 'coming out'!

Great stuff. Loved it all. Had me on the edge of my seat right 'til the end. Thanks.

Ah, yes! Now we know Jon's true feelings, but he can't tell. How sad! Poor Trip may never know why Jon pushed him away and used T'Pol as a shield.
Thanks for the excellent read; my attention was riveted the entire time.

SEQUEL??!!!! I was looking anxiously for the link that said "continue to chapter 2" but where is it? Then I thought 'where are those 3 happy letter usually tacked on the end of stories like these?' you know....TBC Pleasseeeeeeeeee!

Okay I think there must be an HTML error on this page because the continued in Chapter 2 link was not at the end of the first chapter post....

Wow. Love the little Trip 'n T'Pol scene were he thanks her.... very nice.

I'm waiting......... I have reread this story three times. I have enjoyed it all three times. I demand a sequel! Pretty please with sugar on top.

I loved this story and it picks up on what I suspect is an unintentional theme that has carried through this season of when archer feels isolated from trip he gets a little closer to tpol.

The interaction among the three plus malcolm back on the ship was very believable.

And you really got across the amount of angst, loss and sorrow that Trip would be feeling through this time.

I cried when he finally allowed himself to cry.

I have one small quibble/./ i notice you set it between first flight and bounty.

I dont know if you have gotten a chance to see most of the second season yet but it would fit perfectly and beautfully in between regeneration and first flight.

Trip would have the ship out of warp to fix the damage from the borg and get all the otherwordly circuitry out.

And it would explain why for the first time Jon refused to let trip go along on an away mission without the usual reasons.. i need you here to be in charge.. the ship needs her engineer.

Instead he tells him out right it is too dangerous
(the life support in the shuttle might fail)

great story and a sequel would be nice because a lot of questions have been raised..
and well I want to see how jon deals with this, what tpol thinks of jon's reaction in the shuttle and how trip reacts when he finds out tpol saved him..

This was really different. So sad that Trip was considered cannon fodder by Archer until the critical test came of leaving him behind. T'Pol as Trip's protector was well done! The Archer in this story was really unlikeable even in the end. Good job!

Hi I just finished reading the story again. It has left alot of questions unanswered. I wonder if a sequel is in the works. Nicely written and good character studies of the three principles involved.

I´ve just re-read this story for the "hundredth" time. I would sooo love to read a sequel. Like the others have already said: there are quiet a few answers needed... or possible ;-)

This is a story that one reads again and again and again. It is wonderful. I know we are nagging you but this story begs to be contined!!!!

You never fail to surprise me -- so you outed the Captain! I suppose I shouldn't be quite so surprised, given the immoral/amoral Trip in one of your earlier AU stories, and a suggestion in one of your other stories that when Archer and Trip first met, Archer had asked him out on what was supposed to be date if Trip had only realized it. An interesting take on the characters. I would enjoy a sequel -- just as long as it's Trip and T'Pol who ultimately end up together!!

I'd wondered why I hadn't reviewed this sooner and then realized I was out of the country when it was posted. Wonderful job! This one ranks among my favorites.

Nicely done. You left us wanting more and you have raised many questions for us. Will you be answering these questions shortly? I have read all of your stories and loved them all but this one has become one of my favourites. Thank you.