Competition - Part 2

Competition

By: TLR

Rated: R, Adult Language & content
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.
Summary: We left off part 1 with a bit of a cliffie, I know so I backed it up a bit to get you a running start. Needless to say, Catherine Tucker has made life a bit uncomfortable for our resident Vulcan and now this stranger is making things a bit uncomfortable for our resident and beloved engineer. Solving the mystery of Honey is just a small bit, the real fun is about to begin. Hang onto your popcorn, and let's get started.

A/N: I will also confess after the story that I borrowed shamelessly from another action hero that I really wish they'd let T'Pol be more like. If I told you who now it may spoil the surprise. So just for clarification, there is no infringement from any of it. I am not getting a dime for this and I really should be because this is awesome stuff. Anyway, back to "Competition."

September 20, 2006

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Part 2

The shuttle touched down outside a large stone castle. One, T'Pol explained which had been donated to the Vulcan Ministry of Security by a wealthy land owner. The elder Tucker was truly awed by the sight of it. He knew instantly that his day was going to be filled with surprises. The group disembarked the shuttle after touch down and made their way to the entrance. Once in side it was only a matter of minutes the Humans had to wait before T'Pol got them clearance to observe her training sessions. In the hallways, you could hear the sounds of battle being fought, clanking metal and crashing wood hitting at each other with the occasional grunt or angered sound of force. Walking toward the control room, the group encountered many such pairs warring it out freely through the halls oblivious to the passers-by that could watch them battle. The fighting was intense, but seemed controlled in its own way. Both Tucker males thought this a wonderful change from their old favorite Saturday afternoon wrestling.

As Trip and Charles followed along behind T'Pol through the corridors of the old castle, they noticed the strange hesitation she made as they rounded the last corner. There about 20 meters away was a human looking guy that stood joking with a couple of other female operatives. They all wore the same black cat suits that T'Pol had changed into moments before. Something about this male made the Vulcan quite uneasy. Even Charles, who was not privy to her thoughts, noticed the way her muscles tensed.

The man, about 6'-3" in height, was muscular with large bulging biceps popping out of his short sleeved uniform and short cropped blond hair. When he turned, his piercing blue eyes showed even from this distance. A huge smile graced his face as he caught sight of his old friend and partner.

"Well as I live and breathe." He said leaving the others and heading straight for T'Pol. She winced, tightening her barriers and steeling herself for what was to come.

"If it isn't Miss T'Pol…… How are ya, darling?" The taller male came up and threw an arm about the Vulcan's shoulders. He squeezed into the female a bit, just enough to denote his pleasure at seeing her again. Trip and Charles' mouths dropped open collectively, as seething feelings started to enter the Human's mind. The protective mate started to come forward, as the arrogant operative stepped back and gave the woman her space again. T'Pol put out a hand to stop Trip from advancing any further. It caught him in the abdomen, as inconspicuously as possible.

"I am well, Honey…..And you?" T'Pol returned, sensing the shocked reaction she got from both her mate and his father.

( What the hell?) Trip sent a very angered message through to his mate. (You did not just call this guy Honey!) Charles stared at his son as Trip glared daggers into the Vulcan. T'Pol remained unfettered and kept her mind on the alien.

"I'm great as usual…." The smug male leaned in and gave the woman a bit of a devilish smile. "You still pretending to be a science officer?" He quipped being totally oblivious to the two men standing there. He saw the squinted eyes of his old friend and his smirk grew.

"You still pretending to be Human?" T'Pol quipped back trying hard to keep her controls to a level that Trip could handle his anger. This statement brought a chuckle to the male who decided now to look in the Tucker's direction. T'Pol turned to indicate them as well.

"Honey, may I present my friends, Commander Charles Tucker the third and his father Charles Tucker, Jr." She then turned back in the alien's direction and continued. "Gentlemen, may I introduce Agent Honey of the Ministry of Security joint species task force." A large smile grew on the alien's face as he extended a hand to greet them.

"Very pleased to make your acquaintance." He shook Charles's hand vigorously but saw Trip reluctant to meet his greeting. A brief awkward moment passed then he withdrew the extremity and returned to a straight stance beside his old friend and colleague. T'Pol moved to help ease the tension.

"Agent Honey is Argellian. He has worked for the Ministry for many years and has been assigned to an Earth posting for the last decade."

"Well that sounds fascinating." Charles picked up where the Vulcan left off sensing his son was about ready to blow. The look on Trip's face hadn't changed. The glare he shot at T'Pol was now beating down on the male and the elder Tucker wasn't sure it was such a good thing.

For Honey's part, he'd met very angry Human's before and was not concerned with the looks he was getting from this one. He was more concentrated on getting T'Pol ready for her training session. This he began immediately regardless of the affect it would have on the commander.

"Well sweet cheeks, you ready for your training session today?" He grinned a rye smile that told the Vulcan exactly what he was up too. However as T'Pol steadied her control efforts, Trip's mind began to see red.
"Hey….who you calling sweet cheeks? She's a bonded female, have more respect!!!!!" The Human flew up into the taller male's face, his own redder than a fire engine in full sunlight. Honey didn't back off. He simply stood there and let the Human go through his posturing.

"Of course she is….Why else would she have brought you along on her training?" The agent replied coolly which made Trip grow more enraged. He wasn't sure but felt the alien was dissing him in some way.

"What do you mean by that?!!!!" he spat at the agent leaning further into him. T'Pol tried to intercede but found the hand she put out to touch him batted away. Charles, on the other hand stepped back seeing just how much his son's fur was gonna fly.

"I am merely indicating that it is evident that you are very special friends of T'Pol's to be granted clearance to watch her training. It is not logical to make such sessions open to the public." Honey stayed cool even with Trip's hot breath wafting past him.

"That is correct. Your clearance to be here was by special permission from Ambassador Soval." T'Pol added hoping to calm him down a bit. Trip eased back some but kept a bead on the male.

Honey turned back to T'Pol. "You would do well to keep your mind on business today. You know you're a sucker for a good upper cut." With that he turned and began to leave but not before he slapped his old colleague on the behind with the folded set of papers he'd been holding. The action took her by surprise making T'Pol jump slightly before re-composing herself. As he left, Honey turned his head and called out. "Oh yeah…and nice meeting you, too." A large smirk crossed his lips as the agent walked down a long stone corridor.

Trip was speechless, his face a stone sculpture of rage and shock. His mouth open, not a sound could escape his windpipe from the tension his muscles were keeping. The Human's mind was a jumble, full of rage and anger. His first instincts were to go after the male and kill him for daring to touch his mate. It was only T'Pol's voice in his head that kept him from following through.

(He is only attempting to break my control. There is nothing between us. We are colleagues and have worked together in the past.) She kept sending that same message over and over again to her mate but his mind was so dark right now that not much of it was getting through. Charles attempted to smooth out the situation a bit, hearing only the silence between the two of them grow louder.

"Sure is a personable fella." The elder Human was sure his son and the Vulcan had a bit more going on than they were admitting too. Although Catherine was the one Trip went too to confide in about his love life, this seasoned dad knew when his son was head over heels about a girl and this was one of those times. "You said you worked with him before?"

"Yes many years back before my posting to the Vulcan consulate in San Francisco." T'Pol was just grateful for the break in subject. "He will be assisting me in my training. That is why he has come to London." This statement caught Trip's attention.

"That guy is gonna be training with you?" His tone was very confrontational.

"Yes… he is set to be my opponent in tomorrows close quarters battle." T'Pol answered plainly. "That is why he is goading me now. If he can succeed in breaking down my control then I will not be at my best tomorrow and he could possibly win our match." T'Pol saw a look of understanding on Charles' face but Trip's remained the same.

"The Hell he is." His voice was demanding and final. "You are gonna get another opponent right now. I'm not having him get in the same room with you, let alone within reach."

"Trip, really you have nothing to be concerned about. I'm sure this agent Honey has no intention of hurting the little lady." Charles tried to smooth things over but his son was having none of it.

"This is true….."T'Pol joined in. "This test is more about maintaining control. Vulcans need to test their limits from time to time to keep them sharp and well honed."

"Well you can test them with someone else. I said he's not going to be your opponent and that's final." Trip snapped at her oblivious to his father's disapproving look.

"Now listen son. I know you and Miss T'Pol have a very special friendship but I don't think her bosses are gonna listen to what you want just because you and she are……" he left off the rest but got his point across anyway. "If T'Pol says it will be okay then I say we should listen to her." Charles turned his son to face him and away from the petite woman.

"You gotta remember we are guests in this house now. If you continue to make a spectacle of yourself, they may ask you to leave." The words his father spoke began to make sense. He calmed down a bit and gave his father a hesitant nod.

"That's my boy. Now let's go get our seats for the match." This was an old saying Trip and his dad shared from long ago. They were big wrestling fans and loved to hunker down in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn as if they were ringside. This got the man another understanding nod. They turned in unison and followed T'Pol down the remaining corridor to the control room. There they were seated in front of a row of monitors. From here they really would be ringside for the day's events. The screens picked up every inch of the testing room, and the two Humans began to study the rather unusual artifacts and décor.

*****

Back at home, Catherine was smarting over being left alone by her husband and son. Angie, whose supposed meetings were more of a shopping trip, had opted to stay with the elder woman and plan some strategy. She was still reeling over what she witnessed and wondered if the situation was as innocent as the young man said it was or if some thing else was going on behind his parent's back. (Surely Mrs. Tucker wouldn't have brought me down here, flying all that distance from Montana to hook me up with a man who was seeing someone else.) The young woman was in denial of her gut feelings, still impressed by the enticing figure of the male in nothing but a towel. She pondered this throughout the noon meal. Catherine however, was all fired up, especially because her husband decided to go along with them. It was bad enough that her son came all the way home to spend his time off at the Vulcan consulate, but now the alien had succeeded in thwarting her plans to hook Trip up with a really nice girl. (That…) the woman thought (was just down right rude.)

They worked at preparing a nice chicken salad and a pot of hearty vegetable soup to go along with it. They sat down on the veranda over looking Charles' flower garden, now bathed in warm sunlight.

It would be many moments before the tall female said anything. "Tell me more about your son's friend. She seems quite fascinating…. Has he known her long?" Angie was fishing trying to get to the truth of the matter.

"Too long…" Catherine returned taking a displeased spoon of her soup. She grabbed the salt shaker and began heaving it over her bowl.

"They work together….don't they…. Aboard that ship…. The Enterprise I believe it's called." Again the younger woman was trying to lighten the mood, but Trip's mom was having none of it.

"Yes… She's their science officer… She is also his boss, so that's how she probably got him too…." Catherine stopped short of admitting her son's love for the alien.

"Got him too what?" Angie felt something missing. Catherine straightened and began paying more attention to her soup.

"She got him and his father into the London consulate. You gotta have high clearance for things like that I am told." She countered not wanting to discourage the young woman for the job ahead of her. Catherine looked at the blond haired female. Her face was perfection, her body likewise and yet her son desired a fraction of this beauty with pointed ears and a brain. What could this child possibly have to compete with those standards? After a few moments longer, Catherine stopped eating her lunch. Angie noted her change and asked if there was something wrong.

"Catherine… are you feeling ill?" The woman's voice was of genuine concern.

"Nope…. We have a lot of work to do and I don't want to waste time eating. Get your sweater.. We are going shopping." Catherine stood up from the table and took Angie's dishes away before she had time to finish. The young woman sat stunned, wondering what they could possibly be going shopping for. As the elder Tucker female came back, Angie decided to question her co-conspirator.

"What are we going shopping for? A new dress, some shoes?" The woman had a pleased look on her face thinking her mentor was going to dress her to catch the main prize. She was puzzled when she got the real answer.

"Nope…. Technology…. My son's an engineer…. He knows how to fix things. We are gonna get some upgraded things for the house and you and he are gonna install them for me. Now come on, we haven't got all day." Catherine exited the room carrying the last of the dishes. She whipped off her apron and readjusted a light sweater about her shoulders. As she did so, Angie began to picture the two of them beneath a large piece of equipment working side by side. In her mind, the young woman thought the older one a genius. (How better to win the heart of an engineer than by giving him what he loves most.) The beauty thought. (Brilliant!!)

*****

Back at the Vulcan consulate, Trip and his dad had settled in. The monitors showed a slightly darkened room filled with many artifacts and done up like a faro's tomb. The large stone sculptures and hand carved stone blocks formed distinct rooms, like a maze without a ceiling. There was a camera that shot an overview of the large area, which made the two humans come to the conclusion that part of this test must have been deduction. The room also was draped in hanging cheese cloth and ropes from time to time, sand covering the floor forming intermittent piles and small dunes. It wasn't until they saw T'Pol hanging upside down from one of the ropes above the room, did either of the Human's question the purpose of the exercise.

"What is she doing?" Trip asked rather puzzled by his mate's position.

"She is looking for the jewel." This brought a rather questioning look from both the men to the operator of the control room. Benal was a short skinny piece of a man, Rigillian, another species that was part of the inter species ministry force. His dark scruffy hair and pinched face showed years of hard life. As he spoke, there was a rather crude cockney accent, denoting this had been the man's posting for a while. What struck the Tuckers most though were the man's teeth. They were crooked, overlapping many directions in the front, stained brown in many spots, with some vacant spaces where other teeth may have been. Trip remembered as he was being introduced to the male thinking… (Don't these aliens know about preventive dentistry?)

The male flipped some switches as he began to explain the exercise to the spectators. "She must get control of the jewel to get control of her attacker. Until she does so, T'Pol will be at his mercy." The alien picked up a flask of liquid and drank quickly from it. "Once she steps foot into the room, her attacker will be activated, so by hanging above it, she can search the room more affectively and plan out her route before activating the destroyer." That part got the men's attention. (Who would possibly nickname their child, the destroyer?), deep down the Tuckers both thought it to be a code name to preserve anonymity. They watched as the Vulcan remained very still, only moving her eyes from right to left. She hung there without problem, maintaining her own weight like holding a piece of paper within her hands. Their points on the rope, just at her chest level showed no strain or effort on the woman's part. This impressed both Humans who remembered what it was like doing the rope in gym class during their early school years.

After a long moment, T'Pol let go of the rope, plummeting to the floor head first. At the last minute she flipped in mid air and landed on her feet. She stood there a moment, frozen waiting to try and sense where her attacker was, but felt nothing. From her, Trip could feel a great rush of exhilaration, as if she were about to have a ride on an anticipated roller coaster. The glee he got from her was confusing. To this point, Trip thought this training was something she was dreading, but the feelings he was getting from her were far from dread, almost to the point of delight. He watched as she started at a run through the ruins décor, heading for where she'd seen the jewel from her perch. The Vulcan slowed her pace, beginning to sense some movement in the far corners of the gigantic room. She made her way stealthfully around large stone columns and even larger bleached sculptures. As she walked, an eerie calm filled the air. T'Pol's glee grew as she knew that there would soon be a battle, a fact that was totally amazing her mate. Where Star fleet officers hated training, even the MACO's , this Vulcan seemed to revel in it and it was certainly perplexing to the young human.

Upon her last turn, T'Pol could see the jewel on its perch atop a pointed sculpture. She made her way knowing that this wasn't going to be this easy. After a couple of steps, she sensed a deep rumble coming from her right accompanied by the falling of sand and debris off the near by creature shaped statue. She closed her eyes and allowed her senses to help better clue her into the whereabouts of her attacker. Within a split second, the head and body of the creature shaped statue when flying off in T'Pol's direction. She moved slightly, turning her head to avoid getting debris in her eyes. As the dust began to settle, T'Pol turned a rather menacing look slowly back in her attacker's direction.

There it stood, a 7 foot high mechanical being, quadruped in nature, but able to stand on its hind legs. Its silver metallic body shaped like that of a gigantic spider, it had additional arms that folded neatly to its body for later use. T'Pol glared it down, drawing on her strength to deal with what was to come next. With a sweeping motion, the robot took one of its metal limbs and knocked the Vulcan off her feet. T'Pol landed hard onto the sandy stone surface of the floor, clearing her head and looking again to her attacker. This however, made Trip stand up and exclaim violently. "Get her the hell outta there.." He came over to Benal who had his back to the monitors working on another piece of technology. "You gotta get her the hell outta there…. She'll be killed." He grabbed the man's shirt wheeling his 55 kilogram body around with little effort. From behind Trip came another Rigillian to the smaller man's rescue.

"Lady T'Pol is doing as she is supposed too….. Vulcans may not initiate a conflict, only defend themselves from one." This man, Tessor was a taller, well nourished male, with better teeth and a cordial manner. His accent was more proper British and he moved like a well trained butler instead of the geeky computer nerd Benal was. "She now has permission to kick some robot ass." He ended sitting Trip back into his seat in front of the monitors with a substantial hand.

True to form, the robot made yet another swipe downward at the woman, who was still sitting dazed on the floor. She reacted, separating her legs and allowing the blow to go into the stone right between them. From this, she stared hard at the situation and reacted. T'Pol leaned back, kicking off the metal appendage and did a series of back flips to get some distance from her attacker. As she did so, the robot came after her swiping at her tumbling body in mid air. It missed, and finally T'Pol came to rest right side up, the laser pistols she had strapped to her hips drawn and firing. The blasts hit the robot's body, sending beams and sparks flying. The plasma bullets the guns fired were refueled by replacement cartridges that were also a part of her belted equipment pack. They flipped out for easy replacement once the spent cartridge was discarded. The rounds being fired at the attacker seemed only to daze it, not creating any real harm. As it came once again after her, slapping the head off a lion body sculpture, and sending it flying at the Vulcan, T'Pol hopped up on the back of the sculpture and tumbled off onto the floor behind it for protection. She moved back quickly against the stone surface of the base and reloaded her plasma pistols then sat perfectly still awaiting the robot's next move. Between them, Trip could feel her exhilaration growing, as if the more this mechanism came after her, the more T'Pol liked it. She didn't have to wait long for its response, when through the heavy base erupted an appendage. The Vulcan calculated its next move and laid down along the length of the base itself. Another appendage burst through beside the first, hovering just a meter above her body.

To this action, T'Pol rolled out from beneath these tentacles and began shooting at close range at the stuck robot. She then twisted as the machine freed its arms and began to come after her. With a well placed shot, T'Pol clipped a nearby rope, freeing it from what ever it was tied to. She leaped for it, grabbing on and letting the counter weight lift her up and away from the mechanism. As she did so, a large white tarp fell upon the machine, blinding it from her whereabouts. Instead of using this time to make a dash for the jewel, T'Pol continued to fire at the beast, until she realized it was fruitless. Changing her plan of attack, she began firing repeated rounds in to a nearby column until it started to give way. With a tumbling leap, the Vulcan added her own weight to its downward fall, crashing the large stone surface onto the top of the robot. The weight of the structure collapsed the mechanism, sending it sprawling into a heap.

Seeing this, the spectators in the control room roared. Charles who had been holding his breath, felt like he'd seen a spectacular sparring match. Trip, on the other hand feared for her safety, but knew deep down inside the woman never felt threatened by this challenge. If anything, T'Pol was feeling like a kid in a candy store and it made the human very puzzled.

T'Pol walked the length of the column, pistols drawn checking to see if her efforts had ended the match. She watched a moment longer before holstering her pistols back into their proper places. She straightened, looking at the jewel that was just beyond the heaped up mangle of metal. Within a split second, the machine got another wind and lifted the column and its occupant into the air. This tumbled T'Pol backward onto her back against the hard stony surface. Then the mechanism began to toss the column. The Vulcan realized what was to come and rolled off onto the dust covered floor. The momentary shock of the fight's resurgence gave way to a re-emergence of glee over the continued battle. It scared Trip, his body coming to the edge of his seat along with his father's.

The robot rolled over the column that separated him from his prey. He stood at one end of the row, opposite the Vulcan, righted and standing with hands upon her weapons. With a look of delicious vengeance, T'Pol pulled out her pistols. As she did the robot unfolded his additional appendages as well. At the end of each of them was a rotating cutting or sawing tool. It brandished the weapons at the woman as if giving her a view of what was to come. In response T'Pol re-cocked her firing mechanisms holding them up in total determination. All at once the two competitors made a mad dash at each other, fearless of the other's cunning or strength. T'Pol's guns fired off round after round hitting the creature and sending sparks flying. This made Charles cringe, and Trip wondered if his mate had a secret death wish he didn't know about.

As they came upon each other, T'Pol made a dramatic slide beneath the swatting creature. It slashed at her body as she went below him. The mechanism continued its forward momentum, unable to stop on a dime. T'Pol however, turned on her bottom, and prepared to face the return of her attacker, guns a blazing. She continued to fire repeated rounds from her seated position at the mechanism as it crawled up the wall and fell back into a righted position. It covered the Vulcan's body, crouching over like a spider contemplating its dinner caught in a web. T'Pol laid down her weapons, and began fighting off by hand the two appendages that tried to take off her head. First one than the other, the machine tried with all its might to kill the young woman it was designed to test. T'Pol used her foot to keep the machine from getting better leverage, as she continued to deter the buzzing blades and spinning cutlery. Finally she managed to have each of the weapons take out the hydraulics of the front two legs, veering them into the hoses and causing the machine to lurch forward. In doing so, it buried the weapons deep into the stone surface and allowed T'Pol a chance to backward tumble out from beneath it.

As the machine struggled to compensate for the loss of balance, T'Pol climbed aboard, and began using the butt of her pistol to pry open a mechanism cover. After sufficiently dislodging it, she tossed the pistol and grabbed onto the partially bent metal with her bare hand. She wrenched it off, keeping her other hand tight on the creature for balance. It bucked and lurched trying to get the slight Vulcan off its back, but T'Pol held firm. As it came crashing down again, the alien finally got the panel off and began grabbing handfuls of wiring. She ripped at it, gutting the brain like it was the bowels of a fish. There were sounds of buzzing and a slight smoke started to arise from where the wires were being dislodged. Finally, the machine eased back down hard onto the floor, all the fight out of it, as it lay there in a heap.

T'Pol, who by now was totally winded, sat back erect atop this thing. She took many heavy breaths getting herself back to a more relaxed state. As she considered what she'd accomplished and the adventure she'd just been through, the Vulcan let out a soft chuckle. This took both Trip and his father by surprise. Though not as aware of the no no's Vulcans had about emotions, Charles thought this move a bit puzzling. (Why would anyone think something trying to kill you was fun.) He thought.

Meanwhile, Trip knowing that outward displays of emotion were very taboo for Vulcans wondered if something was wrong with his mate. He watched her as she jumped down and picked up the pistol, placing it back into its proper place. As T'Pol walked up to the jewel, the creature came back to life again, rerouting secondary systems along another pathway. It rose above her ready to strike with its cutting tools when the Vulcan reached up and took the jewel in her hand. With a forceful tone she pivoted and yelled "Stop". The machine halted, folding onto its back legs and awaiting its next command.

T'Pol came over and tapped one of the buttons on the panel. A keyboard opened up from its chest and the words 'Kill T'Pol' kept running across the bulletin reader. She tapped a few keys and was rewarded with soothing Vulcan tones that reminded her of her father's playing when she was a child. T'Pol turned her back to the mechanism and closed her eyes. The music along with the battle made her very uneasy feelings about the Tucker's other house guest go melting right away.

*****

Meanwhile, back in Mississippi, Catherine and Angie were using all their might to get the second hand replicator in through the back door. It was the only thing big enough that could hold both her son and the young woman beneath it, as they worked. Mrs. Tucker knew she would have a lot of explaining to do to her husband when he saw the monstrosity she paid good credits for. The large box was bigger than a refrigerator, but stood high enough off the floor to allow more than one body to work on the circuitry beneath it. They slid it over the tiled kitchen floor toward the back wall. The screeching sound it made caused both women to cringe in response.

"I still don't understand, Catherine?" Angie started putting more of her D cups into moving the item. "If you and Charles wanted a replicator, than why didn't you buy a new one. This one is somewhat outdated and I am afraid to say it doesn't even work." The blond thought the elder woman's purchase an unwise one.

"That is precisely why I got it." Catherine turned to her and smiled as they got it to the back wall of the kitchen. "What fun is it for an engineer to install a perfectly good piece of machinery…
Trip will most likely have to work on it for a while, and perhaps he could use some assistance?" She raised an eyebrow indicating her true plan, a plan that was now becoming all too clear to the younger female.

"I can see your point. Perhaps this was a wise buy after all." Blondie returned her smile with a wicked grin of her own.

"And I got such a good price on it too." With this the two women began to laugh. After they got a cool drink, Catherine accompanied Angie upstairs to decide on what the bombshell should wear to be of remarkably good assistance to her son. The two were up there the rest of the afternoon.

Meanwhile back in London, T'Pol had finished her first round. As she brought the machine back out to the control room, Benal was totally immersed in his software programming. The clanking sound the machine made as it bounced down the steps behind the Vulcan got his attention. He turned to find his favorite robot mangled and steaming from many new orifices the young woman had carved out with her plasma bullets. He dropped the headset he was using and came over to where the young woman stood.

"Geez, T'Pol……Not live rounds again?" He seemed to be quite puzzled by the fact that the Vulcan needed to defend herself. "This is a major mess…. I will have to rebuild him from scratch." Again Benal was accusatory.

"Was it programmed to stop before it killed me?" T'Pol responded for the first time without apologizing for her actions.

"Well…" the male started sheepishly…."that would be a no." He saw her eyebrow raise in total amusement. "but you said to make it more challenging." He added in his defense.

"Hence the live fire." She retorted again, turning past the group, not addressing Trip, Charles or anyone. She walked past Tessor who was standing there admiring the damage she had wrought on the mechanical beast. He held out a bottle of clear liquid in one hand and had a folded towel over his other arm. T'Pol took the bottle from him, opening it up as she made her way out of the control room and toward a large staircase. Tessor merely indicated "Huh…live rounds again", then turned to follow the young woman up the stairs. Trip stood there speechless. This was not the T'Pol he knew. She was bordering on arrogant, cocky and full of herself, not at all what he felt her to be. Sure she was stubborn and could take pride to a new level at times, but to blatantly snub him and his father, to damage the equipment beyond recognition and to simply allow people to wait on her hand and foot, was definitely not her style. He started to go up after her and was stopped by a pair of Vulcans in High Council uniforms that held Lirpas, a blunt ended weapon with a half circle blade on the other end. This concerned the human who turned to Benal for an explanation.

"She's going to get a shower and get cleaned up for her next match." He spoke still looking through the maze of burnt circuits and crossed wires.

"Her next match….Wasn't that one enough for today?" Trip was worried that perhaps this training wasn't such a good thing for his mate to be going through. Clearly she was not taking it as she should to become so different a person.

"It's just some light sparring, not at all what she had before. You are to wait here and Ambassador Soval will come for you. He will place you in position to view her next match." The man rubbed his eyes, almost in tears over the work he had ahead of him. In the brief time Trip and Charles waited, the engineer offered his assistance, trying to help the man restore basic power to the robot's transmission systems. When Soval did appear, he was dressed in a nicely tailored Vulcan suit. Gone were the robes he usually wore over them. Trip suspected the robes were merely for outside wear, or when he was called upon to represent his home world. It was clear that was not what he was doing today.

The Ambassador took the two humans down the hall. He put them in a huge library and explained to them what they were about to witness. He also told them how imperative it was not to interrupt the battle, no matter what was being said or done. His fear for them being harmed was clearly up there with his worry that the humans may interrupt T'Pol's training session. They agreed, taking seats at the far corner of the room. There was said to be a bit of a wait, and the Vulcan allowed them to play with some minor technology that was on the desk. A more advanced children's toy, as T'Pol may call it, but this item did serve well to peak the engineer's interest. Charles watched his son pick apart and reassemble the piece in many different ways to see how this thing functioned. It wasn't until they heard the loud noise in the hallway, did either of them realize the show was about to start.

(From the Hallway:)
Loud banging and clanging as two heavy wooden shafts were being wheeled together in fierce combat. The one figure was hooded, in black cat-suit and an added black skirt reminiscent of a Samari warrior's garb. The other, T'Pol wearing much the same, but no protective belting or pads, no face shield and only a stern look of determination and cunning to keep her from being grossly hurt in this battle. The talk, purposely being yelled over the noise was as audible to the occupants of the library as was to the discussers. Benal had joined the Humans at the request of the Ambassador to make sure no fireworks went off when the young star fleet officer saw who had substituted as T'Pol's last minute sparring partner. He sat there with the men, blocking their leaving the corner of the room and worked on a smaller component that he brought with him from his beloved robot. He tweaked at the part as the humans' eyes went to the door to see the full match.

"I am merely saying it is not such a good idea that you interfere in the commander's and my bonding. He is not able to control his anger like a Vulcan would and it could end up getting him hurt." T'Pol grunted as she sent several relentless shots to the mid section of her opponent's shaft.

"Don't take it out on me, just cause you can't control your main squeeze." The response was louder than the initial comment and made Charles feel a bit self conscious about being privy to this conversation. He was blocked in, so he couldn't go anywhere even if he wanted to.

"You should have thought about that before you bagged him. Don't you Vulcans have any scruples or do you just mesmerize the first species you come in contact with and have your way with them." Now her opponent was getting the Vulcan a bit hot under the collar. T'Pol having no knowledge of what was around her, didn't know that Trip could hear this discussion.

"I didn't bag him…. Our bond happened gradually over many years of work and respect for one another." She answered back sending another sharp blow to his shaft at the areas where his hands were clasping tightly. He saw her trying to deliberately hurt him, a factor in this exercise that wasn't part of the program and commented.

"Perhaps you were unaware of your bagging him, just as you're unaware that your anger is clearly showing….." he waved a telling finger at her. "Get it under control darling, or they'll ship you and your mate back to that dust bowl." With that came a counter swipe that hit her mid arm. The force of the strike was very fierce, causing the Vulcan's bones to vibrate to her spine.

"I don't wish to discuss my mate any further." She exclaimed busting through the library door, with the hooded male in hot pursuit. The humans in the room stood, taken off guard by the force of the door slamming open. It closed itself from the strength of its return motion, but not before the two figures got through it. They wheeled their shafted weapons, high, low left and right, each trying their best to come in contact with the other's body. Frustrated by the head dress, T'Pol's opponent yanked it off, tossing the item into the opposite corner of the room. To Trip and Charles' surprise, it was Honey, the male that wasn't supposed to be the Vulcan's opponent until tomorrow. Trip was enraged, the sure hand of the wimpy alien holding him back from breaking out of their observation area. For a tiny structure of a man, Benal had incredible strength. He looked up at the human, still holding onto the component with the other hand. When Trip backed off, the alien went back to his fixing.

"Okay… why don't we talk about your loosing the Ramakaida." This comment took T'Pol aback. Her mind focused on the battle, she didn't see her mate or his father in the far corner. Now this news was distracting her and Agent Honey used it as a window to get in a legal blow to the back. 'Wack' the slap was audible as if hitting yet another piece of wood. This brought the Vulcan back to her training. Trip leaned over the desk wanting to give back to the male what his enemy was dishing out to his mate. Charles grabbed onto his son to keep him on this side of the desk.

T'Pol levied a series of counters, every third one making it past his defenses and landing upon his belt or padded sides. Finally with a sweeping motion, T'Pol took her opponent off his balance and he fell to the floor. Without a second thought, she then took the end of her stick and made a gross thrust toward Honey's windpipe. It stopped just inches from the alien's skin, a fact that surprised the savvy fighter. He froze waiting to see if she would let out her anger and continue the thrust. Instead, T'Pol pulled back and went over to the corner of the room. With a heaving swipe she crashed into a vase that was perched upon a tall stand, the glass shattering from the force as much as her gut wrenching yell that accompanied it.

"AAAHHHHH!!!!!" To this Trip startled back and bumped into his father who was equally surprised.

Honey used this as a chance to regain his footing and picked up his weapon. He took a defensive stance and awaited her next blow. Instead, the Vulcan wheeled the staff downward upon her thigh, which she brought up to meet it. It broke the weapon in two, giving her identical sized batons that she could now fight with.

"What is this about the Ramakaida?" she asked twirling each of them expertly like a martial artist.

"Well your little oops with P'Jem, opened up the door for the factions here to steal back the Ramakaida from the Vulcan embassy in San Diego… What, they didn't tell you about that….You really are behind in the biz….. You should stop playing with those humans and get back to some real work." He countered several more moves, getting hit only a fraction of the time. He managed another loud hit to her hip, which made the woman wince for a moment, but then come back harder. Charles now took offense to the insight he was becoming privy too. Trip, unfortunately heard it all before but still didn't like it.

"My work with star fleet is real work. If you don't remember, the Enterprise saved the earth from destruction as well as several other solar systems." She countered again with a few shots to his padded back side. He in returned tried to aim for her waist, an area that she kept her guard down a lot.

"That sounds like pride talking…. Perhaps Soval is right when he says you've been working with them too long." That statement won him a volley of hits, combos of double mid sections and arm shots finally making the alien retreat a bit. "Hey" Trip yelled from the corner still totally oblivious to the young woman and her training partner.

"I am as in control of my emotions as I have ever been. The humans are not infecting me with their emotions." She continued countering his moves and making a few of her own.

"Well I don't see it… From where I stand, it looks like you've lost your stuff. …. I bet you couldn't even begin to figure out where the Ramakaida is if you tried." Honey got another shot to her waist as the Vulcan was now beginning to guard it more.

"I can find it just as well as you…." T'Pol swiped at his head, showing her anger at his insinuation. Honey dodged it, making a slightly bemused face at her audacity. "Benal!" The woman called out still not seeing the Humans in the room. "What is the status of the investigation to this point?" Her request was more a command, as the slight male put down his component and began leafing through some files on a computer screen.

"It looks as though the last whereabouts of the Ramakaida was with the Terndie in Venice, however they were supposed to have hid it in some ancient Egyptian ruins some where. The key is where." The smaller male looked up at the determined face of the woman.

"Well then we will just have to research every Egyptian ruins known to man…" That statement garnered a surprised look from both her colleagues. Honey grunted back dodging volley after volley of hits, "That's liable to be thousands." He kept up but was really taking a beating. The volley ended with her knocking the staff from his hands, the item hitting the floor with a distinct bouncing sound. Shocked by her prowess, Honey just stood there amazed she had won the match. But for T'Pol it didn't stop there. She was angered by the fact that an artifact she risked life and limb to recover had now fallen into enemy hands. She used her two fists to push Honey into an oversized chair.

"Then we will go through thousands….." She threw one of her batons with unyielding accuracy at the bookcase. It hit hard, sticking into the wall and holding only one of the books upright. The others fell over to the side from the force of the impact. "We will start with that one!" she exclaimed then exited the room to get herself away from the irritation her old partner was causing her. She took yet another shower before coming back to rejoin the group.

It would be a few hours of research, before T'Pol came up with the likely whereabouts of the ruins that the Terndie could have hidden the artifact in. She passed the information off to the head of the ministry and was congratulated on her diligence as an operative. With her day's training completed, T'Pol collected a still speechless Trip and Charles from the library and headed for the awaiting shuttle. The ride home was quiet, except for the occasional looks of disbelief the Vulcan got from her mate.

*****

After a rather uneventful dinner, where Charles went on at length about the exciting matches he saw, the Tuckers decided to divide up. The senior head of the household went to his garden to do some of the work he'd missed during the day. Secretly he needed time away from his wife to get control of the anger he felt from her purchase of such an unneeded and expensive item without his say so. Being married so long, the older male knew that going after the fights that were worth fighting and letting the other things drop was the only secret to a marriage's longevity. So he went, as he'd done so many times before, to his own little sanctuary to blow off some steam and try to forget the reasons he had for being angry. He thought for a moment that T'Pol could probably use a hobby like botany too, seeing how she really tore into her old partner this afternoon in their match.

Meanwhile, a frustrated Trip Tucker was beneath the monstrosity of a replicator that his mother bought today. After a very heated discussion with his dad in agreement, the youngest male of the family finally decided to help his mother out by fixing it. In a way he was finding the work relaxing, helping him to release some of the anger he held from seeing his mate with that male, he deemed as being too familiar with her. He lay on his back, taking out old circuits and readjusting the wiring to help better the unit's ability to function. By all standards, this machine was a piece of junk, but the real task would be Trip's ability to turn it into something that could help out his mom in the kitchen. He considered that since she prepared a nice and appealing vegetarian dinner for his mate this evening, it was the least he could do in return.

There came a soft voice from this side of the kitchen and suddenly Trip realized his little relaxation was over. Before he knew it, Angie had gotten down with him and slipped beneath the mechanism. She looked over the mass of wires and decided she would play up the fact that this was not in the best shape.

"Sure have your work cut out for you….." She smiled at him then turned away when he didn't reciprocate it. "I tried to discourage your mom from choosing this one, but she said that you were a miracle worker when it came to fixing things and that it would save her and your dad so many more credits than buying a new one.

"Well she should have listened to you. I will be lucky if I can even get this thing up and running over the last couple of days we are here. She might have been better spending the extra credits on a new one if a replicator was what she truly wanted." Trip said that last part with a bit of sarcasm. He decided rather than be blatantly rude to the woman, he would simply ignore her presence all together. It was hard though, every time he tried to reach over to his right, the young man's arm brushed up against hers.

"Maybe I can help. You know I am a very experienced engineer as well." Again Malibu Barbie was trying to be his perfect image of a woman. This only made the young male angrier. He decided however that giving into the anger would only get through to T'Pol. He accepted her help and together they began pulling circuits and modules until they systematically replaced everyone of the replicator parts. They were just finishing up, turning on the juice and watching the circuitry come to life when Angie made a fatal error.

Without warning, the young woman, encourage by this man's acceptance of help allowed her hand to brush along the inner part of his thigh. This sent a flash of searing heat through his head, as Trip shot daggers at her angelic features. His point was made very clear by the expression on his face and Angie tried to recoup her losses by adding. "Oh I am so sorry. I was reaching for the cover plate. I apologize…..I am so embarrassed." The woman played it off like an innocent mistake, but Trip knew full well the face plate was the last thing she was going after. He decided before his anger reached his mate, it would be a good time to get away from her.

Making his excuses, Trip crawled out from beneath the item and headed out of the back door to the garden. His last words to the woman, "I think you've got everything under control here. Thanks for the help," were spoken as he marched himself across the room. The screen door slammed hard, indicating to this woman that she seriously misjudged the limits he would allow her to go too.

*****

After a rather upsetting and uncomfortable meditation, T'Pol found herself wandering about the house. She strode onto the front porch and saw Catherine sitting there unaware that her plans had gone wrong. The older woman sat there smugly thinking that while the alien was out here with her, the one she wanted for her son was in there alone with him. (Some psychic connection.) Mrs. Tucker thought as she noticed T'Pol heading in her direction.

For T'Pol's part, she could still feel the distain the elder woman had for her and was hard pressed to understand it. The alien decided to confront her anger head on and address it in a logical manner.

"May I speak with you?" T'Pol asked cordially allowing for the woman to decline. Catherine however knew that it was better to have the Vulcan here with her than in the house looking for her colleague.

"If you wish." She kept it curt, not wanting to appear too friendly.

"I sense you are displeased with me…. May I ask, what is the source of your displeasure?" T'Pol stopped awaiting an answer. When it didn't come she added. "If I have offended you in some way I apologize for whatever action it was that I did."

Catherine fumed. It was hard to be mad at this alien, the calm way she reacted to the southern woman's blatant manipulations was exactly what had her son hooked. "I believe you are totally mistaken… I hold no anger toward you…. Nor any others of your kind." That statement made T'Pol start to believe her suspicions that Trip's mother may actually have become a xenophobe.

"I know Trip told you that Vulcans are empaths. That means we can sense other people's emotions…. From you I sense that you are displeased with my presence. If that is the case, I will be more than contented to return to the Vulcan consulate." She saw Catherine's eyes light up at the prospect. "Unfortunately, Trip may also choose to join me there if I leave, which is why I have not done so to this point. I have tried to speak with him about his desire to have me stay here, but he seems quite persistent that we remain together." To this T'Pol saw the woman roll her eyes and mumble something low under her breath. "Figures you have him so brainwashed into believing that he can't live for one second without you."

The Human apparently didn't know about the incredible sensitivity of Vulcan hearing, as T'Pol repeated back in essence what the woman was accusing her.

"You feel that I have manipulated your son's mind into caring for me?" That comment took Catherine aback. She sat up straight and thought frantically how she was gonna get out of this one.

"I assure you, I have no control over your son. He is his own individual and makes his own decisions. What, may I ask, gave you the impression I had any way of manipulating his thoughts?" As if opening a door, the elder Tucker woman spat out the reasons, not willing to hold them back any longer.

"Cause you knew darn well he was madly in love with you from the start and you just jerked him along, not caring about his feelings, cause you don't have any." That comment came out and it felt so good, the woman decided to get a few more things off her chest.

"You have hurt him so bad, that he's afraid to seek out other women. And why he decided to go back to you is beyond me….. You treat him like a damn dust rag. You use him then throw him back into the closet until you are ready to use him all over again." Now Catherine was getting into the swing of things. Unfortunately, Charles and Trip were walking through the house and heard the ruckus coming from the porch. The engineer burst onto the structure, standing beside his mate and yelling at his mother to stop her accusations.

"Mom… what the hell are you saying…?" He was mad and frustrated all at the same time. Charles too felt his wife had taken things a bit too far, but only silently stood behind the kids.

Catherine, not caring at this point, decided the gloves were coming off. "Well it's true… she had you all happy about going to meet her parents then you come home so dejected that all you did for two weeks was sleep. You moped around here like a wounded animal and it's all her fault."

T'Pol watched as the mother furiously spoke of defending her son. She realized that the woman's angst was more from seeing her child hurting than from anything about her being an alien. Secretly this relieved the Vulcan, knowing that misgivings in individual errors were much easier to correct than misgivings about entire species. She didn't defend herself to the woman, but let her continue venting her anger much as the Vulcan did this afternoon on the robot and Honey.

"She played you for a fool and you just let her come back into your life… Trip what the hell are you thinking?" Now Catherine's voice was almost a plea.

"Mom it's not like that …. T'Pol had to marry Koss to keep her mother from going to prison. She comes from a well respected family and the aliens that had taken over her planet's government needed the pull a marriage between their two houses would bring. They wanted to turn her people back into killers." Trip tried to maintain his cool, but secretly he was boiling about now.

"If T'Pol hadn't gone through with it, she could have been imprisoned too. I knew that… You think I would have let her go through with the marriage if she wasn't trying to help her family? Hell no… I would have stolen her away in the night and got us both on the first transport back to the Enterprise…. But if she left, her mother would have paid the price. As it is, she did anyway." Trip's voice turned sullen as he spoke of the woman who gave her life to save her child and the Captain.

"And what about before… All the letters from your time in the expanse when you said that things between you two were really strained… She was blatantly trying to avoid you, I believe your exact words were." Catherine was unwilling to be swayed by compassion for the alien's loss. This got Trip's dander up more. He realized that what he was about to say was long overdue.

"Mom….T'Pol and my relationship is none of your business." He saw the young blond peak her head in the screen doorway. Suddenly a realization came to him and he blurted it out not willing to hold back out of courtesy.

"That's why you brought Malibu Barbie here, isn't it….. You thought she could turn me away from T'Pol." Trip circled around coming up into his parent's face.

"Well I got news for you mom…. T'Pol and I are by Vulcan standards, legally married, so trying to get me to look at another woman is useless." He wheeled back around and stared at Angie once more.

"And for your information, interfering with a bonded pair on Vulcan is a capital offense and twice now you almost found yourself pushing up daisies. I suggest you pack your things and cut your visit short before my mate finds out about the little hand roving mission you went on trying to find the cover plate for the replicator. I don't think I will be able to stop her from killing you this time, not like I did last night." He saw the wide eyed look she gave him then watched as the woman slipped down the hall and up the stairs to her room.

Trip wheeled around once more. To this point Charles had been quiet, but now it was more from being stunned by the revelation his son was married, than by the insinuations his wife was making against their guest.

"I knew this was wrong of me to try and get you to understand mom…. We should have never come here… I wanted to spend some time with you and dad and let you two get to know T'Pol cause she is the most important thing in my life, but it's clear that this wasn't a good idea." He turned to T'Pol and tilted his head in the direction of the house.

"Come on T'Pol. Let's get packed." Trip started but was surprised by his mate's response.

"Your mother is quite correct in pointing out that my actions were very hurtful to you. You suffered greatly and for that she has every right to be concerned. It is not illogical that she would want an answer to her questions regarding these problems." With that T'Pol turned back to the woman and bowed her head. Trip on the other hand was stunned, his mate taking him quite by surprise. Charles didn't know what to think, but he knew that whatever was to come was gonna be good.

TBC

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

I know, another mean cliffie, but you know me and my little devilish streak. Now as to the blatant borrowing of material, I know it was from my favorite female action hero Laura Kroft Tomb Raider. And again, this by no means is any infringement on either of the Laura Kroft storylines. I just felt tired of watching the show down play T'Pol's abilities, only giving us glimpses and I wanted a really good and creative way to bring them into view. I always felt that Laura Kroft would have made an excellent Vulcan, her straight responses and her not showing fear, but pleasure at dangerous situations was just too good to miss. So please don't read me the riot act for borrowing from the scenes, cause you have to admit, it made for some very entertaining reading. Next part to come after I get part 2 of The Warp 7 trials out. T.

Part 3

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Whoa, now that's the T'Pol we needed on the show! I really liked the action sequences, though that's some intense training. I'm almost sad that everything came out so soon, couldn't all the tension simmer for a bit longer :). Knowing you you've got pleeeenty of things planned for everybody. An excelent chapter, looking forward to both the Warp 7 Trials and the third part of this story. Woo hoo!

Nice, very nice indeed. This is the kind of Vulcan that could survive in the security ministry. This is the kind of Vulcan that I could see being qualified to earn the rank of sub-commander and deserve the responsibility of being posted as watchdog on the human starship. This T'Pol sounds worthy of respect. Nice.

So Barbie is gone. Now. You have to figure some way for Trip to shove Honey's arrogance down his throat. Otherwise he will never feel like a man in T'Pol's eyes again. Doesn't matter whether a woman would call it silly macho pride or not, it is the way we are wired. Trip has been publicly shamed and belittled in front of his woman. He absolutely HAS TO get payback somehow. Not necessarily in the form of violent confrontation, although I personally adore vicarious bloodshed. But he honestly does have to make some kind of response that shoves Honey's arrogance down his throat or there will always be an issue hanging between him and T'Pol. Call it foolish male ego, which it probably is. But he has to do it. Not optional. Not for her benefit. For his own self-respect.

This is going to get In-ter-est-ing.

First off, don't think that because Barbie is gone, that Trip and T'Pol's relationship is safe. Oh no. Momma Tucker has a few more things up her sleeve. As for Trip feeling like a man, well you won't believe how I am gonna cover that. I dare say you will be more than satisfied. You may even call me a goddess when all is said and done. But for now, you gotta wait with the others.... There are two more parts to this story and believe you me, it only gets better......T

BETTER!?!?! *shock*

Better....o my o my. *evil laugh* Ahh...I love it when there's this kind of trouble between TnT...I'll be keeping the bowl of popcorn ready for the next part!

Weeeeeeee! T'Pol is Laura Croft (the menatal imag is prefect, as Angelina Jolie should be cast as TnT's second daughter T'Mir)! WoooHoooooo! I so love this chapter, best fun ever!

liked the action scenes.

liked them more in the tomb raider movies though. guess i just prefer jolie to blalock for hot-chick-that-can-kill-me-twenty-different-ways-with-her-thumb.

honestly though, you could have skipped over the training altogether, and simply concentrated on the mother-hating-t'pol angle. her reasons are justifiable, and it'd probably get more angsty goodness concentrating on t'pol's guilt for causing trip that kind of pain than for trip going into a hissy fit because her trainer is a hot guy that likes to flirt with t'pol to test her control.

still, it's overall a good story. i take it brenal was supposed to be Bryce and the "butler-like" rigelian was supposed to be Hillary?

is it just me, or was he so much funnier on Red Dwarf?

I dunno ... I guess I'm in the minority here as I have a lot of problems with T'Pol doing this sort of thing as a training exercise as it calls for an acrobatic ability that she never displayed during the show. It was TOO derivative of Tomb Raider, IMO, and, as a result, yanked me right out of the story. While I agree that The Seventh dropped the ball when it came to dealing with her past (and frankly did it's level best to assassinate her character entirely), I also don't think that this is the sort of thing she would have been doing. An intelligence operative is NOT, contrary to what Hollywood likes to show, a superhuman killing machine who can do everything better than everybody, and isn't really likely to be running around doing this sort of thing. That's what they have specialized soldiers for - the intel op identifies the target zone and calls in the infantry guys to deal with it. T'Pol is a scientist ... and thus, I would expect her covert operations to reflect that instead of being over-the-top action sequences. I'm sorry, but that whole scene bothered me a lot.

Trip also bothered me a little bit in this chapter although I can't quite put my finger on why - it may be that he's way more emotional here that he was in the last season of the show (which was, IMO, a drastic improvement over season 1&2 Trip) or the fact that he's not very proactive here (I HATE reading a Trip who just reacts). I DO agree with BnB that Trip needs to one-up this Honey guy, although I'd personally prefer it to be by out-thinking the guy instead of defeating him physically as that would be way OOC, in my opinion. Frankly, I'm also surprised Tucker hasn't already left after this nonsense with his mom - I understand that she "thinks" she knows best but I'd have told her point-blank to butt out of my love life once it became clear what she was doing with Barbie.

And speaking of her, If Malibu Barbie doesn't leave ASAP, she's a lot more stupid than I thought as it's patently clear that Trip isn't interested in her.

Right now, I'm sorry to say that the only character here that I'm really liking is Charles Junior who wisely knows when to shut up and let his son live his life, something Mom still hasn't learned to do.

Sorry if I seem so negative ... that's not my intention but I just can't seem to get into this chapter... :(

In fairness Rigil, T'Pol was trained for work in Security, not Intelligence. Security includes undercover police work, which includes SWAT type operations.

Well, honestly... T'Pol as a Tomb Raider... that's crappy.

Don't hold back marc :) Tell us what you honestly feel :D LOL

At least you are provoking strong opinions TLR. Personally I like dangerous women. My wife is a better shot than I am with a rifle, although I can out do her with a pistol (barely). But she is fast, agile as a cat, and literally capable of killing an animal with a thrown rock at 50 feet. I saw her do it. Deadly women are damn sexy. I think this version of T'Pol is great.

SWAT people do not do Tomb Raider stuff. I know a couple of ex-SWAT guys and they're basically infantrymen with badges. They're trained in MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) which is basically entering buildings by force, almost always by the front or back doors. Tomb Raider stuff is NOT SWAT operations. Yeah, they're trained to rappel but that is always more dangerous than going in the front door so it is rarely used.

And yes, she was trained as Security, but speak to any police officer about what their job entails: hours and hours of paperwork and interacting with witnesses and that sort of thing. Only super specialized types (in this case, SWAT) get out there and do hardcore forward assault stuff. That means she's more likely to spend hours and hours and hours in front of a computer doing that kind of work.

You've brought up the whole strength thing before, BnB: why the heck would you put a 5'5" hundred nothing woman in a SWAT team when you could fill it out with 6' Vulcans who are obviously going to be stronger than she is? Again, I point to her being a scientist: she's going to be the person who puts the pieces together and then sends in the grunts.

I have no problem with women being badasses myself but it doesn't really fit her character much. She's more of a thinker ... and if she was that much of a bad ass, then why did she need to be trained again by MACOs? Saying that she was "holding back" for the humans doesn't work as her hand-to-hand expertise would have to be in her record, especially since she displayed her prowess in "Marauders"

I have to say I can see how people could have a problem with T'Pol being like this...I also thought she was a bit too arrogant and dismissive...but Trip noticed this too...change from peaceful first officer/science officer to killing machine. Maybe there's an explanation for it?

I don't think however that Trip would leave his mom yet just because of what she's doing. Too much has happened to the Tucker's for something like this to cause for a walk out, I mean he can be unhappy and get mad but he'll have to work things out.

Personally my favorite type of stories, for whatever reason, have been when Tnt meet the parents...especially when it all goes wrong! For that very reason I'm looking forward to the angstyness that proceeds....and I'm keeping my popcorn nice and warm for the next part!

*grin*

I never said she specialized in first wave assault Rigil. But there is no reason that any and every member of the Vulcan Security Ministry would not receive the same training. Doesn't every soldier in the army go through the same boot camp, regardless of what the specialty is going to be after they get out? A soldier who is going to spend their their entire enlistment assigned to the Pentagon typing reports as a clerk still has to go through training on how to tear down and service a rifle don't they? Even if they never get near combat. Why wouldn't every Vulcan security officer be trained in combat, even if their primary mission is data analysis?

Blackn'Blue: "Doesn't every soldier in the army go through the same boot camp, regardless of what the specialty is going to be after they get out?"

No. The Army SAYS that they do, but that's a fallacy of the highest order. As an ex-infantryman, I've compared my Basic Training experience with a couple of Army people who weren't combat arms (which is infantry, field artillery, tankers, that sort of thing) and a couple that were combat arms but not infantry. NONE of them actually shared the same sort of high intensity focus on combat operations that we did in the infantry OSUT (one station unit training.) The Marines have a saying that every marine is a rifleman first but, from my conversations with some jarheads, that's not accurate either.

I further have a problem with T'Pol so openly expressing emotion during the training operation. It simply does not fit and seems way OOC for her, especially in the wake of season 4 and her refocus on becoming a perfect Vulcan and all. Given that she KNOWS she is being observed, it makes it even harder for me to accept that. Look at her in Terra Prime following Elizabeth's death: there was NEVER a better time for her to weep yet she did not do so ... yet here, she's chuckling?

So, again, I'm sorry but I just didn't care much for this chapter. T'Pol's sudden badassness felt OOC to me based on the show.

I admit that the chuckle bothered me a little too. *sigh* But I was willing to overlook it because the image of T'Pol in a skintight black catsuit got stuck in my mind and wouldn't go away.

I _can_ see how violent confrontation might provoke her ancient VUlcan instincts, especially since Honey is deliberately attempting ot do just that to test her control. No doubt he has been tutored in how to best push a Vulcan's buttons. Poking a Vulcan in the mating bond is probably one of the best possible way to piss them off, and T'Pol is protective of Trip anyway.

I didn't know about boot camp. Like I said before I never served in the military. Most of the men in my family have, but I didn't. I was just going by hearsay, which was evidently inaccurate. Sorry.

Well, like I said, the Army SAYS that all Basic Training is the same but it clearly isn't. Think about it: the drill instructors in an infantry training unit are always infantry themselves and by default, focus on things that they know are going to be more important to a grunt while skipping over stuff that is less important and it stands to reason that the opposite is true as well; why does a hospital medic need to know how to move to contact? Or to know what a three-to-five second rush is? Or what it means to move in Ranger file? Physical conditioning in an infantry unit is obviously more important than in a personnel unit or a mechanic unit.

I suppose my argument basically boils down to this: if Trip was suddenly revealed as a super bad ass martial artist who has been pretending all along that he was just a "good ole boy", a lot of people would grumble that it was OOC. If Mayweather was suddenly the best mechanic alive, it would be OOC. If Archer was suddenly a competent commanding officer, it would be OOC. Look at how OOC it was in "Observer Effect" when Wallflower Hoshi was suddenly transformed into a martial arts butt kicker when, for two or even three seasons, she'd been portrayed as incompentent when it came to HTH. Simply having T'Pol turn into Tomb!Raider!T'Pol simply felt ... wrong to me.

I've made my points though and I should probably bow out of the feedback before I go and make someone angry. :-|

So much macho in here... Has anyone considered that perhaps this training could be a Vulcan's form of play...... Maybe due to her work with the Ministry of Security, they consider using training to be a logical way to mix skills updating with frustration release. They seem to like to have a logical reason for everything they do. I mean when Humans get mad they usually go to the gym, train, hit a bag or something. I would hope with all their special abilities, Vulcans could be more original and creative. Besides if their children play with toys that are far more sophisticated than the Enterprise sensors, then what do you imagine the adults might do to relax, other than meditate of course. And why do they have all those very deadly ancient weapons that they carry around when they have evolved to phase pistols and plasma bullet rifles. In Shadows of P'Jem, the cannon they brought out practically leveled the encampment in one shot. Why still use hand weapons if they aren't still training with them for other purposes?

Remember people, we are talking about a fictional species with fictional intelligence and fictional abilities. Creative license gives anyone the right to go off half cocked. lol. Maybe this is a Vulcan's way of blowing off some steam. Remember in P'jem, they said that during the Vulcan's purging of emotions, often times it could get quite violent. How do you know they weren't talking about a back of the monastary jousting match. You don't. All you can do is open your mind to the possiblities.

Regardless of anyone's feelings on the story itself, you have to admit one thing. It certainly got you all debating, a mark of a good story teller. Score one point for me....hee.. hee.. hee.. hee.... T.

She chuckled. In public. In front of people. How is that in character for T'Pol? No matter what excuse is given, it's absolutely OOC for her to do something like that.

I'm sorry, TLR, but I just buy this. From everything we've seen in canon, Vulcans utilize meditation to deal with their emotions, not suddenly go off someplace and "blow off steam." They are taught from birth control and discipline, and going off someplace to freak out does not fit them as portrayed on any of the shows or movies. The only times they do something like that is when they are out of control.

An open mind is one thing but I just can't buy that this training scenario is logical or even effective.

I will read on though.

I have read, reread and read this chapter, again, and all the reviews before I put my two cents in. I have a lot of issues with this chapter, though there are some great things about this story as a whole.

I for one, really love the whole bringing T'Pol home to meet the folks. And I really enjoyed how you not only made Momma Tucker nervous, but out to kick the Vulcan out of her home. And I loved the whole justification of it, of not due to her species, not due to her logical, unemmotional ways, but rather, due to the fact that she had hurt him in the past. I really like that angle, and I find it very VERY believable.

The parts of this I do not find believable are the reactions, especially of T'Pol. Yes, this is a ficitional story, and for that, we as readers must toss out reality. We are talking about the future where we are flying around in spaceships. However, this is not an original verse. Meaning that we have forty years of canon to pull from when you are talking about a species like the Vulcans. And because of that, you should try to stick with the canon verse for that species. And ontop of that we have four years, though some of them crappy of T'Pol. Does she have issues with her emotional control? No doubt, but even when on trellium, she regretted her outbursts, and tried to maintain control in public. Being of such a highly respected house, would she bring the shame of a chuckle? Especially in a Vulcan Consulate? I do not think so.

And while the Tomb Raideresque made for interesting reading, it was again, well out of verse. We have seen, again from the 40 years of Roddenberry on through, that Vulcan hand to hand is much more low tech then that. It is much more of a way to keep ties with their ancient pasts, no matter how illogical they were.

Ultimately this is your tale, you are the author, allowing us to read it, which is awesome. And I know you will continue to weave it, and perhaps there is some reason that will be revealed to us in the future for all of it. It is just hard to see such massive conflicts to what we know of a ficitional race, and a character we've known for years.

"I suppose my argument basically boils down to this: if Trip was suddenly revealed as a super bad ass martial artist who has been pretending all along that he was just a "good ole boy", a lot of people would grumble that it was OOC. If Mayweather was suddenly the best mechanic alive, it would be OOC. If Archer was suddenly a competent commanding officer, it would be OOC..."

OK. Granted that it is important to maintain continuity. Granted that T'Pol should not have chuckled. I just want to (diffidently) offer one suggestion. It may be that some of us, and I include myself in this, may be in danger of pigeonholing people rather than seeing them as individuals.

For example Rigil, your reference to Travis and being a mechanic. Yes, he is a helsman. But note that he is more than that. He is also a Boomer. He grew up on a family own ship where is Dad was captain and his Mom was chief engineer and everyone on the ship had to learn every job in order to fill in when somebody got sick. So he probably IS a good mechanic just by necessity.

Trip may bot be a martial arts master, but there is no reason to believe that he is incompetent either. Not when his best friend is the chief of security, his wife is a former security operative, they all exercise together every day in the same gym, and he has been taking regular lessons for the past year from earth's finest professional soldiers. Granted he is not a MACO or a modern day ninja. But I highly doubt that Malcolm would hold still for letting any of the senior staff get away with achieving and maintaining less than _his_ acceptable minimum standards of competence at hand to hand combat. Besides, good ole boys are tough, remember? :)

I grant your assertion about Archer however. Does the guy even know he has a staff?

My point, if I have one, is that you can't just say such and such does this jub, therefore they cannot also be competent in this area as well. My daughter is a graphic artist. But I made sure to teach her how to shoot and fight.

So this mild mannered and unassuming young girl is capable of starting with a live hog and a kitchen garden and, using nothing but a rifle and a butcher knife, end up with a well cooked and tasty meal. You would never know it just from saying 'she is a graphic artist'. People can fool you sometimes.

I concede the point about Travis - it was one that I should have reconsidered based on his upbringing. It would have been more accurate, I suppose, if I had stated "how OOC it would be if Travis was suddenly revealed to be an oceanologist or bio-chemist". I do not concede the point about Trip, however, as we have numerous episodes showing how frankly incompetent he is when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.

Aside from "Marauders", T'Pol never displays significant hand-to-hand prowess, even in situations where it would LOGICAL for her to defend herself. "North Star"? That preachy anti-religion episode in season 3? The "Super!Archer Saves the Vulcans" arc? Any of the other episodes where she was relegated to Sidekick!Polly status? That's all I'm saying...

I kinda see what TLC is saying... Why do they have those weapons and learn to master them if they don't need them. I mean these are supposed to be ancient weapons of their ancestors, the warriors, that they only bring out if a vulcan refuses to go through with the marriage. Do you really think that their parents make them learn how to master them just in case they are turned down at the alter.

My other quibble is that all the Vulcans have gone through the military. Even Ambassador Soval and Ambassador Velar worked aboard a ship. T'Pol's great grandmother too. Perhaps it is their habit to raise their people to be ready for invaders. After all they do "keep their ships close to home" (episode home) For peaceful people, they are sure ready to destroy people's ships if they don't comply.... I think that was Fallen Hero. Its not that far fetched to think we possibly don't know all there is to know about these people.

I for one want to see what happens. Of course I didn't like the helpless way they portrayed T'Pol in most of the episodes either. I remember cheering when she kicked that Klingon's ass. Where did she get those moves if she wasn't a trained martial artist. Didn't she know... SusMinar? That is what she couldn't teach the settlers of that one duterium planet because she didn't have enough time for them to master it.

As for Travis not being a cracker jack mechanic, didn't he make some serious modifications to his home ship the Horizon. Not only giving the weapons array an overhaul, but making their shielding and impulse speed improve. I'd say that was the doings of a decent mechanic.

Malcolm often did work on the weapon's systems and helped with engine repairs when Trip was in sickbay. I think to be in any officer position, means you have to be more than just your position. You would have had to work your way through the ranks anyway, probably doing all the other jobs. Uhura was a communications officer, but could take the helm if she had too. Checkov could also do the science station in Spock's absence. There are too many examples of not pigeonholing people into a set, set of circumstances.

I don't know here, I'd say TLr has a pretty good body of evidence to back up some of her fantasies. I got my popcorn buttered. Hurry up and finish this debate for us will ya. Give us the next chapter now.

My god people, don't you all work for a living :D
I love the banter though, it's a hoot. I am almost finished Warp 7 p2 and then I will get back to Competion p3. Hopefully it will be out over the weekend as long as school stays steady. Keep up the debate, don't let me stop you....hee.hee.hee.hee.....T

Actually no I don't. I am retired (disability) so I have endless time to waste. In fact, this kind fo thing keeps me from going quite, quite mad. :)

Hmm, clearly you are a fan of A/T'p as you are going far out of your way to show Trip as a fool, and a loser.

Your T'Pol, isn't anything like T'Pol in the show.

I dunno about that Patrick. I mean she is still Vulcan isn't she?

I think some people could stand to pull the stick out of their butt and cut TLR some slack. This chapter's no less plausible than lots and lots of other stories on this site. And she did say up front this story had T'Pol acting the way she wished T'Pol would have on the show. That seems to me a pretty clear statement the T'Pol here wasn't going to be consistent with what we've seen on the show.

I think as long as it doesn't take away from the Mississippi portion of the story, she should be able to have fun writing "T'Pol Croft, Castle Raider" without catching flak.

The thing that I think is interesting with the story is how little Trip's mom understands what he's looking for. Trip's said in the show he hasn't had many relationships and he hooks up with T'Pol. How she expects blond hair and boobs to pull him away leaves me scratching my head.

Well disspite the Tomb Raider stuff, an T'pol venting her emotions in a public way ;) I pretty much liked the fic.

An While I beleave since T'pol was an agent of the Security ministry, specificly an agent trainded to track down an other agents, she would of required more advanced training, then the average Security ministry agent had, or military personel had. But Even when I watched Tomb Raider I couldnt stop rollin my eyes. Sorry TLR, But I was still rollin my eyes at this Spy Polly Combat training with that Robot scene.

As for the rest of the Fic, yes I can beleave that Trip would be willing to leave his parents home, after the crap His mother had been pullin on him an T'pol. Hell Id do the same damn thing.
Yes T'pol dos owe Cathrine an explanation, yes Trip knows, But his Mother dosnt know exactly what has been going on with Her, Trip, an them combined. At best she has gotten bits an pieces from Trip over the pat 4 years. an Id guess just some of the good, an a whole lot of the bad. As One Vulcan once said, "It is time for total truth between us."

An While Rigil is the resident Militray expert, An I have no doubt he is right about everything he mentioned, I just have to add. That atleast in WWI, an WWII US sailors that were assigend to Submarines were required to know how to operate every system on the ship. Even the Cooks knew how to dive/pilot the ship, fire torpidos, an operate the radio, to the sonar. An while Im not sure about todays modern Subs, but I would hope that the same would still be required. An Id have to think that the closest we get to the way a Trek ship should be run(I was pissed when Hoshi had only ever flown in a simulations), is the way a US navel sub is run, or atleast how one was run.
While the Ground forces, an Air Forces are all assigned one type of job, I would hope that the US Navy would still require that every one on a Sub knew how to operate every system. An I really wish The show producers had followed this concept. Every one on board should know how to fire the weapons, pilot the ship, use the sensors, open a chanel, an so on. So far the Only one Ive ever seen operate every system onboard was Trip, an that should be a agiven since he was required to know how to fix everydamn thing to, so he had better know how they work to. But everyone else should of known how to operate the systems, not repair, or maintain, but operate. ;) After all the continued safe operation of sub, an starship mean the differance between life an death of the entire crew. Its only logical.

Oh an,,
So I have no doubt Trip wasnt the best at hand to hand on the ship, but alteast he could take a hit, an give them to. An he did best Kelby, an that Wierd lizard lookin alien in "Dawn".

TLR, Im quite interested in seeing how things turn out, But if theirs more "Tomb Raider LOL Polly" stuff then just FYI I will be rollin my eyes again.

But I can let that go, cause the rest was still dern good fic. :D

One thing and one thing only puzzles me. Why does the Vulcan High Command have any authority over T'Pol NOW? Didn't she resign her commision and then take a commission with Starfleet? I can see the Vulcans requiring all Vulcan citizens to update their training periodically. I can see Soval persuading T'Pol to agree to updating her training due to her special background and position. All of that makes sense. But unless I missed something crucial, the high command no longer has the authority to reassign T'Pol anywhere. Do They? She is a starfleet officer now. Moreover Honey's remark about shipping her and her mate back to that dustbowl can't possibly apply. Imean that dog won't hunt. Trip is an earth citizen, and by Vulcan law she is his wife. The Vulcans have no authority over him, and he has the authority under Vulcan law to order her to stay with him. Am I wrong?

It's a matter of honor. Remember in the seventh, she said she resigned from the ministry of security, but she had to complete her mission as a matter of honor. I think however, you will find that this training is less an ordered thing and more a needed one. You just got to let it play out. You'll see... I promise.
And for those who think I am painting Trip as a wimp, you will be pleasantly surprised by the end of the story. I just can't rush it or else it lessens the material.
As for mother catherine. I think that even with all the pieces of the puzzle, she may still have an ax to grind. Just gotta wait and see.
Great opinions though. T.

Oh by the way, Black'nblue... It's the Vulcan High Council, the High Command was disassembled after they found it was infested with Romulans. This story is late season 4 just before Terra Prime.

And if it helps Rigil any, I got a little of my inspiration from T'Pol of the mirrored universe. There she was ruthless, cunning and kick ass, the way she should have been from the start. OMO!! T.

My understanding though, from the episode The Kir'shara, that regardless of her enlistment in Star Fleet she is still a Vulcan citizen and subject to their laws, including the ones regarding her protecting Humans from harm. Hope that answers your question B'nB. T.

I would give a snickers bar for a peek at the next two chapters :( Ah well. I will have to content myself with the Warp 7 project and my own little fic, which I started tonight. Do you think Rigil would blow a gasket if Imade Trip a little bit ruthless in defense of his baby girl?

Still, she is married to Trip by Vulcan law. And under Vulcan law isn't she supposed to obey him? So they no longer have the authority to ship her home, because they have no authority over Trip.

I got bored with the fighting and found it a little difficult to follow, to be honest. I still like the characters, though I think telling his parents outright he was 'already married' isn't something a son would do. I mean that would really REALLY upset a mother to think her son had already married and not only that, but she still obviously doesn't approve of T'Pol. I just think he'd have very strongly asserted his feelings for T'Pol, but wouldn't have said anything about being legally married by Vulcan standards. Just said something about how she's the only one for him or something like that.

Other than that I still like this story, I was totally confused by the artifact thing though and the descriptions of the training session was a little hard to follow.

I'm gonna have to side with the comments rigil and marc made. For me, T'Pol as a badass killing machine just doesn't add up. I also don't think that all the action scenes added that much to the plotline, except for "The Honey Incident" (that was funny!). All in all I am enjoying this stroy, but couldn't really warm to this chapter.

Keep Writing!

Y'all need to lighten up.:) Not everything needs to add to the plotline. Some things are just for fun. Just for the pure joy of it. Just to blow off steam, like the vision of T'Pol in that black catsuit.:)

I gotta get my mind on something else. I really do.

I also don't see T'Pol as Lara and am not really getting comfortable with the action scenes. What really bothers me though is that this robot scene is not only like the one in TR but it's exactly the same as in the movie. Could have at least come up with something original, instead of putting the opening scene of Tomb Raider on paper. Other than that I'm enjoying this story a lot. Update soon please.

Just saw the AN where you wrote that you "borrowed shamelessly" from another movie, so just forget what I said about that :D

Geez guys, didn't know you liked T'Pol as that whimpy character.... Well if it makes you feel any better I just turned in the warp 7 project part two. At least there you can have your dimere little Polly back. Will get back to work on Comp p3 tomorrow. T.

Thanks :)

Now, about wimpy little Polly... Nuh-uh. Don't you dare lady. Please. I *LIKE* kick ass T'Pol. You have one male who proudly stands and says gimme a woman who can shoot, throw a knife, swing a mean quarterstaff, kick mule cross-eyed, cuss like a sailor, and still leave a man semi-conscious in the bedroom.

In other words, MORE KILLER T'POL!

Don't like T'Pol as a whimpy character either, just thought here it's a bit over-the-top and when I read it I see Jolie doing it. I'm actually alot into kick ass woman^^

Don't worry, I don't change my stories of anyone. But this next part is coming out with a warning label attached.

"Kick Ass T'Pol on duty, Wimpy lovers beware."

Hee. Hee. Hee.....T

"Whew!"

OK, I am almost done with part one of my sequel. If you can't out write me on a two for one basis, with me a total newbie and you a veteran, well... it's just shameful. That's all I can say. Besides I can't stand it. I just can't stand it. I haven't been so hooked on a story like this since I started reading here. I Have To Know what is going to happen next here. So is the next part done yet? Pokepokeprodprodpesterpester.

Hold your horses, I am typing as fast as I can. T.

*drums fingernails*

click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click.
click.click.click.click....

Do you need yet another yellow Pill? I am going as fast as I can, but not to let it slip, you will really lovvvveeee Catherine in this one. She is so evil. T.

*gleeful cackle*

I turned in part one of my sequel tonight. I am going to catch heck for being ooc, I know it. Oh well.

I predict that Trip will be taking another unwanted journey into a desert. I stand on that one. See if I am not correct. It is 4 PM EST, 9-30-06.

An even more evil Catharine....now I reaaaaaally can't wait!

*checks web site again. Nope. Still no update. Staring thoughtfully at the screen he inserts the crayon in his mouth and begins to chew*

I said I just sent it in.... Can I help it that I had homework to do, not to mention I am just getting over a week long cold with sinus and ear aches. Now just wait over there with the rest of them. It will be out shortly. T..... :]