Bang the Drum- Ch. 3

Bang the Drum

By stub&Joe

DATE: 01-24-03

RATING: PG-13 – R (for some swears, naturally)
DISCLAIMER in Chapter 1
**Authors’ Notes at The End**

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

Chapter 3

She was waiting for him at the lift. Trip should have known. T’Pol had remained unusually silent from the second she’d laid eyes on him and Kaitama down on the planet. Now that Kaitama was gone, he knew T’Pol was going to pounce. He wasn’t in the mood for this. He hadn’t even had a chance to think. Trip didn’t like the annoying swirling in his belly. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it; a combination of dread, guilt and fear. He looked up at T’Pol again, meeting her glare head-on.

“What do you want, T’Pol?” Trip asked as he reached the lift. His voice held barely contained patience.

T’Pol raised an eyebrow at him and said, “May I have a moment?”

“A moment?” Trip inwardly rolled his eyes. “T’Pol, I’m tired, I’m hungry and I’m downright beat. Can’t this wait ‘til later?”

She continued without missing a beat. “I trust you were a gentleman while you were absent.”

“Beg your pardon?” he said. He bent his head dramatically towards her as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Your track record in dealing diplomatically with alien females is not the cleanest, Commander,” T’Pol replied coolly. They stepped into the lift. “I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

“You mind tellin’ me what makes you think this is any of your business?” Trip snapped. “An’ why would I need ‘the benefit of the doubt’ anyway?”

“You were in your underwear.”

“So? Did it occur to you to ask why?”

She said nothing, so Trip pressed on. “Lemme tell you why: I had to use my uniform to make a dummy to lure that sonofabitch into my trap. I had to make him think it was me he was firin’ at.” He looked at her.

T’Pol raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve gotta be kiddin’,” Trip sighed. “You don’t believe me? Why am I not surprised?”

She cast him a sidelong glance. “You won’t turn up pregnant this time?”

His head snapped around to face her, a scowl etched across his forehead. “God, T’Pol! Are you ever gonna let that go?” His temper was being tested.

Again T’Pol didn’t respond.

Trip continued, “If I didn’t know any better, Sub-Commander, I’d say you were jealous.” He looked expectantly at her.

Taking a deep breath, she replied, “Obviously you don’t know any better. For your sake, Commander, I hope that whatever actions you took on that planet will not come back to haunt you or Enterprise.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. She was beating around the bush. Trip wasn’t sure why this was so damn important to her, but he was quickly growing tired of this conversation. He decided to end it.

“If you really think it’s so goddamn necessary…” She started to speak but he cut her off. “You’re one hundred percent correct this time, T’Pol,” Trip said evenly. The lift stopped then, depositing them on the Officers Quarters deck. They stepped out and continued down the corridor.

“Correct about what, Commander?” She looked at him cautiously.

“I just couldn’t keep my dick in my pants this time!” Trip said angrily. At her raised eyebrow, Trip’s tolerance dissipated further. “I fucked her, T’Pol. Is that what you wanna hear?”

A second eyebrow joined the first near her hairline. “I hope that it was worth any diplomatic nightmares that you may bring upon yourself and the crew.”

Trip snorted. “Would it change anything if I told you she fucked me? That I didn’t even like her? That maybe she took advantage of me?” He realized in that moment that he hadn’t wanted Kaitama at all. But she was there and she was willing and she was…familiar somehow.

They reached his quarters and he keyed the lock. The door swooshed open. Trip turned to face the Vulcan. She looked like she was thinking. Her gaze met his.

“Why did you do it then?” T’Pol asked quietly.

Noting her change in tone, Trip’s demeanor softened. Stepping into his room, he silently invited T’Pol in to continue their conversation. She entered hesitantly.

“I dunno, to be honest,” Trip replied with a sigh. “One minute we were arguin’ an’ the next thing I know she’s kissin’ me. An’ then before I could say anything she’s on toppa me an’…well…it kinda went fuzzy after that.” His cheeks reddened. “I guess you can figger out for yourself what happened next.” He gestured to the chair at his desk for T’Pol to sit in.

“I think you filled in the blanks well enough, thank you,” she replied, sitting down. Something crossed her face for a moment. “You said things got fuzzy?”

“Yeah, like I wasn’t even in control of myself anymore,” he said. Trip sat heavily on the bed. He looked up at T’Pol. “I had no intentions of sleepin’ with her, T’Pol. I swear I didn’t.” He covered his face with his hands, absently rubbing his temples. He wasn’t sure why, but it suddenly became very important that she know he was being honest.

“She is from Krios Prime?”

Trip peeked out from behind his hands, nodding. “Yeah, that’s what she said. Why?”

T’Pol’s gaze wavered for a split second. She shrugged and stood up. T’Pol strode to the door. Trip followed. “Perhaps you should get some sleep, Commander.”

“Oh I plan on it,” he replied, a ghost of a smile on his lips. As she turned and opened the door, he said quickly, “T’Pol, I’m sorry I was so crude with you. I’m jus’ tired.”

She merely bowed her head once and made a hasty exit. “Damn Vulcan,” he muttered as he flopped onto his bed and fell fast asleep.

***

The chief engineer was certain he hadn’t set his alarm. He was off duty for the next 36 hours, yet there was an annoying beeping that slowly pulled him out of a wonderful dream. Trip’s eyes fluttered open as consciousness swam back into focus. That beeping was coming from his computer.

Trip dragged himself off his bed and padded to his desk. He sat down and turned on his monitor. There was a message blinking from T’Pol. He smiled as he read it. She wanted to talk to him. She’d discovered something and needed his assistance. He had no idea what she was talking about, but it’d been a couple weeks since they’d worked on anything together. He was looking forward to it.

It was then that Trip remembered the dream. Or rather had an impression of the dream. T’Pol was in it. He frowned, trying to remember details and wondered idly why he felt guilty. He had nothing to feel guilty about, right? Stupid dream, he thought. He shrugged and wandered into the bathroom for a quick shower.

After cleaning up, he buzzed T’Pol. She requested Trip meet her in her quarters at his earliest convenience. He chuckled at her formality and told her he’d be there shortly. He had to admit, he was expecting more of a lecture than what he got. At least what he’d gotten so far. Maybe it was all a ruse to get him there and then she’d tear into him. But Vulcans don’t do that, do they? T’Pol wouldn’t be vindictive, would she? And why would she have a reason to? It wasn’t like he cheated on her.

Whoa, Trip thought. Where’d that come from? He was appalled with that notion.

He arrived at her door and rang the buzzer. He heard a faint “Enter” and keyed the door open. Stepping into her quarters, Trip saw her perched in the chair at her desk.

“Sub-Commander,” he greeted. Trip was suddenly nervous.

“Commander,” returned T’Pol. “Did you sleep well?”

“Um, yeah,” he said. “What’s up?”

She stood and approached him. “I’ve done some research about Krios Prime. Based on your comments about being unable to control yourself around Princess Kaitama, I’ve discovered something that may provide some insight.” T’Pol gestured to the computer.

Trip’s brow furrowed in confusion as he sat down at her desk. He read the information on the screen. “What the hell is an ‘empathic metamorph’?” he asked, looking up at the Vulcan.

“In her culture, once every seven generations there is a rarity that occurs. A female empathic metamorph is bred. She is able to unconsciously mold her personality to meet the desires of those males around her,” T’Pol explained. Her expression was impassive.

Trip’s jaw dropped open as he processed this information. “So what you’re sayin’ is, Kaitama fought me tooth an’ nail ‘cause that’s what my subconscious desire was? She seduced me because that’s what she was bred for?” He narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

“I believe so,” said T’Pol. “I was able to determine from Doctor Phlox that the levels of pheromones in her bioscan were elevated drastically. I do not think, however, that Princess Kaitama intended to do what she did. Perhaps she herself is not aware of her…condition. Although, one might surmise that perhaps her captors knew of her abilities.”

"And that's why they had her in that stasis chamber," Trip finished. "It makes perfect sense. They knew damn well what she was capable of doin’ and they kept her in there so she couldn't influence them to possibly let her go."

"I concur," replied T'Pol. "It would stand to reason that your loss of control was directly linked to her invading your subconscious. Even though she may not have known it, she took advantage of you."

Trip looked at T'Pol. "Ya think so? Heck, if that's the case, I s'pose I'm not really responsible for my actions down on the planet. That’s not like me."

T'Pol looked thoughtful. "Perhaps, Commander. But those feelings had to come from somewhere."

The engineer sat silently. Kaitama molded her personality to fit that of a raving bitch for his sake? That didn’t make any sense. He didn’t find that set of qualities all that attractive. There had to be something he was missing.

“It doesn’t make any sense, T’Pol,” Trip said aloud. “I’m not even attracted to that kind of person. She was sparrin’ with me. Gettin’ under my skin. Drivin’ me crazy.” He shook his head. “Why would she fight with me like that?”

T’Pol wandered to her bed and sat on the edge. Locking her gaze with Trip’s she replied, “Perhaps she was able to pinpoint something inside you, a feeling that you have for a member of the opposite sex. It had to be someone you already know and are attracted to. It could even be someone with whom you disagree on a regular basis. She was able to appeal to those feelings by emulating them to fit what she believed was your ideal woman.”

He was still confused. “The only person I know that I disagree with on a regular basis is-“

Oh God, Trip thought. He looked away quickly. He could feel his cheeks flaming again.

“-is me,” T’Pol finished quietly. Her eyes focused on the floor. They sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes.

“T’Pol,” Trip started. “I dunno what to say.” He chanced a glance at her. She was staring at her feet. His brow furrowed as he opened his mouth to speak again. Nothing came out. He looked up at the ceiling, hoping that something would come to mind.

“Commander, you were correct about something,” the Vulcan finally spoke. Her voice was almost a whisper.

Trip turned towards her cautiously. “I was?” He was confused. At her nod he added, “About what?”

T’Pol lifted her gaze to his once again. “I was…envious.”

His eyebrows shot up his forehead. “You were?” Trip was flabbergasted. “I didn’t mean that comment when I said it, T’Pol. I was jus’ pissed.”

T’Pol took a long, deep breath. “Regardless of your intentions, you were right.”

“You were jealous,” Trip repeated. “About me and Kaitama?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “I did not like seeing you with that woman.”

Trip was still stunned. “Hell, I didn’t like seeing me with that woman.”

Jealous, huh? He liked the sound of that. But then a thought struck him. “What about the Cap’n? I thought you two…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. Trip looked down sheepishly and then back up at her. “You know…”

T’Pol allowed her confusion to show for a moment. Then a look of comprehension passed across her face. “You thought Captain Archer and I were…involved?”

Trip nodded. “You’d been spendin’ so much time together. Hell, I just assumed it was for…personal reasons. Somethin’ to do with more secret missions or whatever.” He stopped himself before he let that line of conversation go any further. Guess she’s not the only one jealous. He waved a hand absently. “I’m sorry, T’Pol.”

She raised an eyebrow at his confession. “Is that why you’ve been distant lately?”

Trip thought about it for a second. “I guess so. Figgered I’d leave you two to it,” he replied with a shrug. “I think I was a bit green myself. I’m glad you’re not…involved with anyone.” He couldn’t control the smile that formed on his lips.

“With Captain Archer?”

Trip nodded. “Yeah, with the Cap’n. Especially with him.”

T’Pol considered that. “I do not want to place myself between the two of you.”

“You won’t,” Trip said quickly. “We won’t.” He looked at her and smiled.

“So now what do we do?” asked T’Pol.

Trip stood and strode to the bed. He sat next to her. They both looked down into their laps.

“I dunno,” Trip sighed. “I guess I never allowed myself to think about it. I never wanted to admit to bein’ attracted to you. But now that the cat’s outta the bag, I guess I’d better step up, huh?”

“Indeed,” she replied. Tentatively, she reached a hand out to his.

He watched as her fingers laced with his own, his stomach flopping nervously. Trip looked up at her face where his gaze met hers. He bit his bottom lip.

“What’s goin’ on here?” he asked in a whisper. His free hand reached up of its own accord to gently stroke her cheek. She flinched slightly at his touch. “Sorry,” he muttered, but his hand remained.

Trip realized they’d been slowly leaning towards each other. His eyes closed a split second before her lips touched his. A shudder ripped through him. He felt T’Pol stiffen and then melt into him. Her lips slid against his in silky earnest. Trip deepened the kiss, his hand slipping behind her head. He felt her grip on his other hand tighten.

After what seemed like forever, the Vulcan pulled away to catch her breath. She looked into his eyes. “I think we’ve just taken a huge step in Human/Vulcan relations. Though as you know, Commander, I’m no princess,” she said quietly. Something tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Trip chuckled and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her close. “Good. I never cared much for royalty anyway,” he replied with a wink.

The End

***Authors’ Notes: We got our information about the metamorphs from the TNG’s “The Perfect Mate” episode. Since neither of us watched it before writing this, we’re not sure if we got it right or not. We’re doing it more from memory than anything, so hopefully y’all were able to suspend your disbelief (or were just flat out blissfully ignorant and everything fell perfectly into place) to enjoy the explanation of this. As was mentioned earlier, stub was very unhappy with Trip’s actions in “Precious Cargo” and this version ties everything together nicely. At least we think so.

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

LOVED IT !!!!!!!!

Great job rationalizing Trip's behavior in precious cargo, with what I consider a plausible explanation for his attraction to the princess. Also, really enjoyed the last few paragraphs - gave me shivers!!!!

Thanks

Your story was well ploted and thought out.I just recently saw the Perfect mate on tv and the information you had was exactly matched the tng episode.Trip and T'Pol jealousy was very in character for both of them.I liked how Trip and T'Pol resolved their situation at the end.I look forward to more of your stories sometime.

AWWWWWW write more....I want to see them sneaking around behind archer's back- and I want to see the conflict for t'pol- her sexual thing with trip, but her personality thing with archer.....oooh go on please.....

Loved the story!! Please write more.

This was so good, I could feel Trip's confusion, frustration and jealousy and then when he was caught with the Princess that was so funny and awkward. Loved how Trip and T'Pol came back to each other and began to put the green eyed monster back in its' box. Great, Ali D :~)

Like this one, particularly the Archer-bashing. Good characterisation of Trip.

Nice story, stub--& Joe, too! Very masterful way to get around the "problem" of "Precious Cargo." I liked the way you tied Trip's behavior to his own jealousy--and that his overt jealousy was for Archer's affections. Nice consistency in character behavior throughout.

Very, very good. I loved it!
You were right, I hated him and Kamlia together and this does tie it together.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved how you tied the story back to other Trek episodes. You know Trek far better than I do - believe me, I will be sure to look for A Perfect Mate! A very thoughtful response to Precious Cargo. Thanks!

The only part about the empathic metamorph thing that didn't fit with the story was that in The Perfect Mate, the metamorph was trained from a very young age about her abilities and role, so she was very well aware of what she was doing.

Great story, as all of yours are.