Something from Nothing

Something From Nothing

By tigerkitten

PG, General, Romance

Disclaimers: Please insert your own witty "I'm just having fun, Paramount, please don't sue me" disclaimer here.

Authors Notes: This story was a long time in coming...actually since somewhere around the first episode. It's also my first attempt, so constructive criticism really, truly would be appreciated. Please don't flame, I'm terribly sensitive :)

Chapter 1

Caught Unaware

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His hands were soft and strong as they moved along her skin. Everywhere his hands brushed became heightened in sensation. The blue light seemed to deaden all of her senses except for touch. The gel made her skin tingle as she tried not to notice his breath on her neck while he worked. And when he touched her ears....

T'Pol awoke with a start, blinking rapidly several times in her agitation. She raised a delicate eyebrow at her own sign of weakness. She refused to ponder how her sleeping mind could escalate such a minor event. Had she been privy to emotions, she might have thought herself a fool. Pointedly pushing aside the disturbing thoughts, T'Pol closed her eyes and immediately fell into a dreamless sleep.

She awoke the next morning to an odd sense of annoyance. Expelling a small, sharp breath, she prepared to rid herself of the obvious influence that the humans were having upon her. The discipline of meditation would refocus her energies. Before she could begin, the ship's comm emitted a frantic, disgruntled voice.

"Engineering to T'Pol."

"Yes, Commander Tucker."

"Hope I didn't disturb you," he said, causing her to blink in near confusion before she realized he was only talking about his call. "We're getting crazy readings from the planet below. Thought maybe you'd have some ideas."

"I'll be right there," she replied, with an almost overwhelming urge to sigh.

Engineering was a flurry of activity when she entered. She spotted Cmdr. Tucker as he whizzed past her, checking readings and shouting orders. She had to follow him bouncing to three different locations before she could grab his attention and ask, "You asked for my help, Commander?" She thought she saw a small grimace flicker across his face at the question.

Leading her to the sensor's monitor, he began without preamble, "Right here. That's where it's coming from. Hoshi's not detecting any civilizations or higher lifeforms. We just can't get a lock on it."

"On what, Commander?"

"On whatever it is that's messing with the ship," Trip declared in exasperation, not looking up.

Checking the sensor readings, T'Pol replied, "There does not appear to be anything wrong with Enterprise."

"Yeah," he remarked turning to her, his hand flying up to emphasize his point. "Nothing, nothin' at all. Nothin' except we aren't moving," he drawled sarcastically.

"What do you mean?," she asked, struggling to keep annoyance out of her voice.

"Just what I'm saying. The engines are running, everything's fine. We're just not goin' anywhere."

"Archer to Engineering."

"Go ahead, Cap'n," Tucker said, swallowing his frustration.

"Trip, is T'Pol there with you?"

Glancing to the side he replied, "Yessir."
"Good, I need both of you in my ready room."

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The meeting with the Captain hadn't told them anything they didn't already know. The ship had come to a complete halt. That there was some force in the vicinity of the planet holding them back was obvious. Without a sign of intelligent life or civilization to cause the disturbance, they were still at a loss as to the source. The only sign of life had been an abandoned settlement of rock-hewn houses, but nothing to indicate a scientifically advanced culture. Travis had detected massive readings of ion dust storms that were interfering with their scans of the planet, but they were moving too quickly to see through them. "There are dozens of them," he told Trip as they left the ready room, "Every time one moves out of the way, it's only about thirty seconds before another one moves in to take its place. Some of those storms are so big it'll take days for them to pass, even at the speeds they're moving."

As they turned to head for engineering, T'Pol began to lecture. "Perhaps the problem is with the sensors. If there is nothing to indicate a source on the planet, it would seem reasonable to assume that is not the cause of the disturbance."

"There's nothing wrong with the sensors," Trip snapped, stopping short. T'Pol stopped as well. "I've gone over everything about a hundred times. Hell, while Her Lady of Logic was dreaming pleasant thoughts, I was up half the night in engineering trying to figure out what's goin' on." He didn't notice the slight twinge that crossed her features as he went on. "I'm telling you, whatever's got us stuck like a pig on a spit is coming from that planet!" He was facing her head on now, leaning so far towards her that they were almost nose to nose.

"Nevertheless," she went on with a veneer of dignity, "Without adequate information from the surface, speculation on the nature of the disturbance is hardly productive. Therefore it's illogical to assume that no other force could be at work."

"Well if I could get 'adequate information' from the surface," he snapped, "then I wouldn't have to speculate, now would I?" He went on, his voice steadily rising, "or maybe you'd prefer that we just sit here for the next hundred years while you try to think of a *logical* source?"

"My thoughts exactly," interrupted the Captain. They snapped their heads as one in his direction, she with her usual enigmatic countenance, he with his lips pursed in irritation. "Trip, T'Pol, I want you two down on the surface. Try to figure out what's causing the disturbance, and dismantle it if you can. Hoshi's been able to detect mild fluctuations from the region of the village, but it'll be up to you two to pin it down."

"Cap'n, with all due respect," Tucker began, "I appreciate the chance to get down there, but I don't think I can fly through those storms."

"You won't be," he replied as realization began to dawn on the engineer, "The air is heavy, but breathable, so you can travel light. Travis says we've got a good window coming up, so I need you two to the transporter. Pronto." He nodded his head at them both, ignoring the nauseated look on Trip's face.

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"You sure you know how to operate this thing, Travis?," Trip said, looking up in apprehension at the ceiling of the transporter pad. "It could get a little tricky with those storms blowin' around down there."

"No problem," he replied, "The window's good for at least thirty seconds. Plenty of time to get you there safely."

"Somehow, that ain't all that reassurring. Thought we were only using this thing for emergencies."

"This is," Travis replied a bit sheep faced, "At least we already know it works. Not like we have much choice, really. We can’t stay here or pretty soon we’ll have to tap into emergency systems just to keep life support going." He looked down as the console beeped in warning.

"Wow."

Seeing the raised eyebrows on both of the passengers, Travis went on. "Uh, well, this could be a problem. There's a huge storm rolling in behind this next one. Looks like you'll have maybe an hour to get out of there before you get stuck for days."

Trip sighed in resignation "It’s alright. We've got supplies for a day or two if we need 'em. We can't just sit here waiting for it to pass." Glancing at T'Pol for confirmation he said, "We're ready."

Trip held his breath as he watched Travis push the controls forward. Before he thought to let it out again, they were on the surface. The sudden feel of uneven ground beneath his feet already had him off balance when they were hit with a forceful gust of grit filled wind. "Looks like the next storm's picking up already," he yelled over the grating howl, but T'Pol shook her head to show she couldn't hear. Ducking his head further, he pointed to the nearest structure and they started towards it.

"Phew! That was somethin'," Trip yelled over the muted howl as they stood just inside of a windowless hallway. "That thing got a door or something?" T'Pol nodded and moved to close the door as he craned his neck to see into the room behind him. When he'd turned back she had the door already closed and was walking towards him. Trip opened his mouth to remark on her strength when a strained groan shuddered through the ceiling and T'Pol began to run. He'd barely registered the deafening crash of the falling stone when all turned to blackness.

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