Guess We've Got a Lot of Work to Do - Part 5

Guess We've Got a Lot To Do

By: TLR

Rated R
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.
Summary: This story begins where part 4 left off. Trip and Ensign Edmunds are in the brig. T'Pol is concerned that her mate may not be able to control the feelings of jealousy that this male is creating within their bond, and both are worried that other members of the crew will get wind of their renewed intimacies if they are not careful.

October 5th, 2005

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Part 5

Archer was in his quarters after leaving the Captain's mess. He lay on his bed with the sounds of a tape recorded water polo game playing in the back ground. Porthos was lying beside him, as his master gently stroked the canine's head and back. He seemed almost mesmerized by this action, the coarse hairs of the pet scraping past his fingers with a prickly feel. The buzzer brought him back to the here and now.

"Come in." the captain called out over the game. In stepped T'Pol dressed in her shimmering blue cat suit. She walked past the closet area and came to face her superior officer directly. Her hands clasped together before her in a nervous manner.

"T'Pol …..What can I do for you?" Archer looked at her standing there fidgeting.

"I would speak with you." She returned noticeably annoyed by the noise. Jon reached back and hit the volume button on the comm panel above his head. The sound of the game faded quickly to quiet.

"You wish to speak with me?" Archer echoed that he heard his science officer the first time. He pointed to a chair in the far end of the room. T'Pol went over to sit down.

"Yes sir….You have Commander Tucker and Ensign Edmunds in the brig over night." She started and was cut off by the captain.

"Fighting between crewmen is a serious charge….What would you have me do with them?" Jon thought it curious that his second in command was here on behalf of the two crewmen.

"I believe I may have played a small role in their disagreement." This statement by the Vulcan made Archer's eye brows raise.

"How did you have anything to do with their scuffle…..Were you even in Engineering when the fight broke out?"

"No but I had spoken with Commander Tucker about Ensign Edmunds' inappropriate behavior toward me a few times today. He was helping me to come up with an appropriate way to get it to stop. This afternoon in the mess hall, the Ensign grabbed me and Commander Tucker was present to witness it."

"Grabbed you !!!!" Archer interrupted a bit defensively. "Where did he grab you?" T'Pol realized the captain was assuming some sort of sexual battery had occurred and was quick to clarify things.

"It's not like that Captain, he grabbed me on my wrist as I was walking away. It may have been quite innocent for a Human, however for a Vulcan, it is an undesired action."

"And Trip saw this….Why didn't you just correct the man right then and there?" The captain was at a loss with the problem with her correcting the inappropriate behavior.

"Human behavior is still a bit complex to me. I must maintain a working relationship with the crew and didn't wish to misread the circumstances."

"So you turned to trip for a better perspective." Jon was also concerned for her welfare seeing as how he was the one that ordered her to start fraternizing a little.

"Yes…Apparently I am not the only female Mr. Edmunds has been inappropriate with. He's got somewhat of a reputation with the male members of the crew already. Trip was going to address him today in the mess hall, but I stopped him."

"Well perhaps he should have been there to back you up. Maybe that would have halted the altercation later." Archer looked down at the dog on his lap to avoid the look she was giving him.

"I doubt it Captain…..According to Lieutenant Reed addressing him hasn't been effective. Commander Tucker saw his aggressive behavior toward me in the mess hall. I'm afraid it only escalated tensions between the two. He'd already reassigned Edmunds to Jeffries tube maintenance to get him away from me while I'm helping in engineering. This apparently annoyed the Ensign. He felt he was being demoted, assigned to such trivial duties."

"Trivial duties?...He said that they were trivial duties?" Archer was now the one annoyed.

"Yes he felt them below his rank. Edmunds readily admits he is not up to speed on many of the modifications to the engines, but feels he will never learn these modifications if he's assigned to less complicated tasks." T'Pol lifted then lowered her folded hands on her lap.

"There are no trivial duties aboard a star ship. It's time this crewman learns that. Be damned that he's the grandson of ranking Admiral Edmunds of Star Fleet headquarters." Jon was now almost as pissed off as his best friend.

"Captain…perhaps Ensign Edmunds feels the rules are different for him because of that. Often that is the case when growing up with privilege." T'Pol was trying to rationalize but Archer would hear none of it.

"He is a crewman aboard this star ship. He will perform the duties assigned him and not comment about them. If he has a complaint about things then tell him to see me."

"I believe that is the message Mr. Tucker tried to impart to the young man just before the fight broke out." T'Pol's brows lifted expressing her restrained bemusement at this Human's reaction.

"I thought you said you weren't there. How do you know what Trip said?" Archer sat forward a bit with his curiosity.

"I wasn't there however, during my discussion with Mr. Tucker, he stated he was going to impress upon Mr. Edmunds much the same message." T'Pol felt a bit less defensive having explained it so easily.

"Obviously, the message didn't get through. Course Trip decided to deliver it the second time with his fists. I have witnesses that said Trip threw the first punch. I can't ignore that….He's a Commander for pete's sake." Jon's frustration was showing.

"It is true that type of behavior isn't appropriate especially from one of such a high rank, but I believed my concern over Mr. Edmund's actions only heated the situation, resulting in the subsequent altercation." It was T'Pol's turn to show her frustration. She swallowed hard and cast her gaze to the floor.

"What are you asking me, T'Pol?" Archer decided to cut to the chase.

"Both crewmen participated in the fight and both have been locked up for 6 hours now. Perhaps they could be released with a warning. Engineering has many more repairs to tend too. Having both your experienced engineers locked up in the brig at this time is very inefficient." Archer hated when the Vulcan had a good point. And he couldn't ignore the fact that the Klingon's that attacked them could have friends lurking nearby. Enterprise limping along at full impulse was an easy target for anyone of them looking to retaliate. "All right…I'll confine them to quarters for the rest of the night then return them to duty tomorrow, but I want to speak with each of them first. Notify security to send them up one at a time starting with Commander Tucker." Archer looked back and forth across his lap to come up with an acceptable decision that didn't diminish the severity of the act.

"Thank you Captain…." T'Pol stood to leave.

"In the meantime, why don't you stay out of Engineering. I want you to work with Malcolm on the weapons upgrade but run the calculations with Trip first to be sure we don't overload the systems."

T'Pol nodded her understanding and moved out of his quarters quickly before the Captain could change his mind. At the nearest comm panel, she alerted security to the new orders and returned to her quarters to gather the data on the Klingon's weapons signature.

***

Trip walked down the corridor flanked by 2 security guards. He felt ridiculous but wasn't sure it was from his escort or from his outrageous behavior this afternoon. To make matters worse, he'd been sitting in a cell beside the cause of his frustration trying not to give into the feelings of jealousy this bond of his was generating. The flanking guards stopped on either side of the door as Trip pushed the door bell. The voice from inside bid him enter.

Once through the security detail left to return to the brig. Trip stood there inside the doorway of Jon's cabin feeling very stupid. His old friend had turned off the game and was bouncing his favorite volley ball against the far wall. Its thud reminded Trip of how easy going his friend could be and he hoped this was one of those times.

"Cap'n…" Trip moved into view.

"Nice shiner" Archer looked at the large blackened area around his left eye. Trip just stayed silent and nodded.

"Well Commander Tucker…Have you gotten this fighting stuff out of your system or do you need to spend a little more time in the brig?"

"Yes Sir." Trip lowered his head. "I mean, No Sir.... I mean.....the fighting is gone." The engineer fumbled with the right words to say. Archer looked at him in understanding.

"Well, you gonna tell me what went on?" Archer stopped his ball play.

"It's my fault Cap'n, I shouldn't have let him get to me like that." Trip's eyes were still fixed on the deck plates.

"He tried to goad you into punching him?"

"Not exactly, Cap'n, but he wasn't too appropriate when he was referring to Commander T'Pol." Trip dug his hands into his pockets.

"Well what did he say that made you cold cock the guy? How was he disrespecting Commander T'Pol?' Archer turned a bit more towards his old friend's direction.

"It's not exactly what he said……" Trip paused a long moment, his face scrunched up trying to explain his irrational reason for the action. "It's the way he said it that makes me think he's not gonna let this drop Cap'n."

"Well I guess it doesn't help that you and T'Pol are such good friends." Archer decided to convince his friend the he was more aware of the couple's special circumstance than most.

"Of course, it didn't help Cap'n…You're her friend too. ….Would you allow someone to disrespect her openly like that?" Trip still wasn't getting his gist.

"No but I also wouldn't read into a seemingly innocent slip….as a big threat to my girlfriend." Trip suddenly went from studying the floor to staring at his friend.

"Cap'n" he said trying to start a half hearted excuse. Jon held up his hand to stop him.

"Look Trip….I know you guys are close and officially, I don't want to know how close. I just don't want to see you guys get found out. You are both senior officers and there is no rule about relations between two people of the same rank, but you know star fleet…..If they were to become aware of you two, they would surely transfer one or both of you before this relationship turns into a family situation. You guys have managed to this point, to be fairly discrete but you gotta get a hold on this Trip before everyone in star fleet knows about you guys." Archer's sympathetic manner eased up the young engineer. His gazed went back to his shoes again. "Aye Sir"

"Now, as for Ensign Edmunds…I'll speak with the guy….This isn't the first time he's tried to get ahead by romancing a superior officer. Aboard the Columbia, the chief engineer, Commander Margaret Anders found him so charming he was promoted to Ensign and became second in command of engineering." The captain was tired of this situation.

"If he is trying to get ahead….Then why is he going after T'Pol…I am his superior officer."

"So is she…..and I guess he figured you weren't his type. I suppose he thinks she could be as easy a mark." Trip came up and stood over his friend.

"If you knew about this, why did you accept his transfer?" Trip was getting annoyed again.

"Since I stole Erika's chief engineer just 3 weeks after she got him, I guess I owed her one….a big one….She needed him off her ship and it seems this was payback time." Archer's face showed his displeasure with the trade. He stroked Porthos' head as the dog lay relaxed in his master's lap.

"Add that to the fact that he's fleet admiral Edmunds grandson and you’ve really got a fine kettle of fish." Trip was feeling a bit better now that he and his friend were both on the same page about the Ensign.

"Well, I got us into this mess, I guess I'll have to handle it. You're confined to quarters tonight, Commander. Return to duty tomorrow, first shift." Archer scratched at the beagle's ears.

"Understood Cap'n" Trip's voice held a noticeable disappointment.

"I've asked T'Pol to stop by and go over with you her calculations for improving the weapon yields. I'd like to get your okay on the specks before we implement any changes. Don't keep her up all night though. I want her rested when she and Malcolm start the revisions, understood."

"Yes Sir" Trip's demeanor went back to the cheerful state he was in this morning. The Captain couldn't help but notice the change and chuckled softly.

"Dismissed" he ordered and watched his friend scurry from the room.
Archer then hit the comm button and ordered security to bring Ensign Edmunds to his quarters immediately. (This would be a very interesting talk and he wasn't at all lost at how Trip could loose his temper with the male. Now if he could only keep it together for this.) Archer looked down as he thought and noticed his furry friend fast asleep on his lap.

***
In his quarters, Trip quickly showered and changed into a fresh pair of sweats. He applied several cool rags to his eye to hold down the swelling and ease the pain. He thought about seeing Phlox, but didn't want to miss his mate's visit. After another 20 minutes, the door buzzer sounded and the engineer moved quickly to answer it.

There stood T'Pol holding a tray of food items and a lone palm padd atop it. There was a full glass of milk and a covered dish, no utensils were visible, just a single napkin folded beneath the plate.

"What's that?" he asked realizing for the first time this evening he was ravenous. He lifted the tray from her hands and motioned her in with his eyes.

"Chef reported you sent back your dinner from the brig untouched. You didn't eat any lunch and I was sensing an overwhelming hunger in you that I assume was due to those reasons." She watched as her beloved moved over to the desk and began uncovering the dish. He saw the tuna sandwich and pickle chips on the plate and his mouth began to water.

"I apologize I could not bring you a more appropriate choice of dinner items, however there was little left this late in the evening." T'Pol saw him grab a few of the chips and pop them into his mouth.

"No…this is great…I am starving." Trip then snatched up a sandwich half, twisting and turning his hands to keep the moist pasty content within the confines of the bread slices. He brought it to his mouth and took an oversize bite of the item. The fishy smell wafted through the room hitting the delicate Vulcan senses quickly. T'Pol backed over and seated herself on the commander's bed. She noted his quick bites and the look of satisfaction on his face with every swallow. After downing the first half of sandwich, he picked up the glass of milk and polished it almost all the way down.

"I will get you some more milk." T'Pol stood and began to leave the cabin.

"No…that's okay. This will be enough…Thanks for bringing it to me. With the way I have behaved today, I dare say my mother would have sent me to bed without my supper." He picked up and started working on the other half of sandwich.

"Your missing lunch didn't assist your emotional control either. Hunger is a powerful emotion stirrer in Humans. You should learn to avoid it whenever possible." T'Pol eased back down on the bed. She took great satisfaction in her ability to handle her mate's most primary needs so effortlessly, as she felt his hunger diminishing and their bond normalizing again.

As Trip finished his meal, he began brushing the crumbs from the front of his tee shirt. He polished off the remainder of his milk and recovered the dish. Once finished, he went to join his mate on the bed. As he drew closer, he felt a slight uneasiness growing within her. This startled him a moment, wondering what he could have done to make her feel this way.

"Look….I know what I did with Edmunds wasn't right, but I would never do anything to harm you….You must know that." Trip began reassuring her in the best way he knew how. He was confused by her reaction and wondered what more he could do to help her ease this discomfort he was feeling. Suddenly a thought hit his brain like a lightning bolt. It was simple and basic and almost made him break out in laughter when the reason for her uneasiness came to his realization. He held his hand up to his mouth and exhaled out a few times. The fishy smell on his breath hit him like a ton of bricks. "Ah…Just a minute." The engineer quickly removed himself to the bath room and opened the medicine cabinet. He took out a bottle of mouth wash, and began rinsing the offensive odor quickly away. He washed his hands and dried them on a near by towel. Smelling once more, he was sure there was no longer any trace of the offensive odor, he returned to the main room and to his beloved.

"Much better…wouldn't you say?" He joked as he sat down beside her and found no further feeling of reluctance.

"Indeed…" She returned quietly, which made the Human's smile grow wider.
Trip brought his arms about her and eased his way next to her body. His own body relaxed and the feeling of calm that washed over him made them both very complete and serene.

"What a difference a hug makes." He murmured absently into her delicate pointed ear.

"It completes the bond and brings things back to normal." She uttered, eyes closed and equally entranced by this gesture.

"If only we could do this all the time. Then when jerks like that Edmunds show up, I could be less affected by his intrusive ways." Trip squeezed into her harder feeling the pleasure it caused her reflected back to him.

"It is normal to try and protect your bond. These emotions you are feeling are expected. You must learn to control them, and not let them control you.

"You mean you'd feel the same thing if it were some female crewman trying to get close to me?" He asked a bit surprised by her admission to feeling emotions.

"Yes….I would simply control my response to them better." Trip thought back a moment and wondered if his time with Corporal Cole was as disruptive to his mate as Edmunds was to him.

"Did you feel that way about Amanda's and my friendship?" He asked wondering what else his mate would admit to now that they knew of their bond.

"I had strong feelings against her, however at the time I was not able to comprehend why….It is evident now that our bond was already in place and that your spending time so closely with her was affecting me through it. I had to control myself severely to keep from demonstrating my displeasure on the subject." Trip pulled away and looked into her eyes. He knew how hard it was to fight these feelings toward Edmunds, and that guy was the one chasing after a disinterested female. He wondered how much harder it was for T'Pol to watch him openly flirt with the MACO.

"I guess I didn't make it easy for you…I mean I know how strong these feelings are and you're not even encouraging his attention. I can just imagine what my hanging with Amanda was doing to you." Trip took her hands and clasped them in his lap. He looked deeper into her eyes and saw the truth she was loathed to speak of.

"You were unaware of our bond….as was I…Had you known the extent of discomfort your actions were causing, I dare say you would have continued your relationship with the female." T'Pol's words seemed understanding, but a small feeling of hurt came through them unintentionally.

Trip pulled her back into a huge hug. He wrapped his arms about her small frame and nuzzled his face in her neck. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine, as her mate felt the arousal building within her. He leaned back and kissed her mouth, taking her face in his hands and bringing it deeper into the kiss. Every nerve ending in her body screamed to have her mate inside her, as T'Pol's hands began grabbing at the back of his shirt. Trip's as well, started fishing for the small hook of her zipper to help his mate out of her tight fitting garment. It wasn't until a brief thought came into the Vulcan's head, did she ease out of his embrace.

"The Captain said we must review the calculations before morning." She stared right at him and to Trip's surprise was as serious as ever.

"Well, morning is many hours away." Trip leaned back into her and began nibbling at her neck. T'Pol's arms came up in reflex and began embracing her beloved's body, though her mind was still on the subject.

"You and I both know, if we don't tend to this now….it will be morning before we finish our sexual relations." T'Pol was stating the obvious, since the previous night was a good example at how much time they had to make up for. He eased back and took a long draining breath. After a moment of consideration he nodded and took the pad from beside her. He stared down at the numbers and schematics.

As the young engineer did so, T'Pol took inventory of her mate's most appealing features. His eyes were the color of earth's oceans. His sloped nose was uniquely inviting, not to mention useful in their intimate encounters. But the feature that drew her attention most was the defined lump that sat in the middle of his throat. It was puzzling, since her mate had a well defined muscled torso, meaty strong thighs and substantially more than adequate male sexual organ, that this defined bulb at the base of his chin would so fascinate her. It bobbed up and down when he spoke or swallowed, drawing her attention from the subject matter into a mesmerized daze state. Her first instinct was to take this protrusion into her mouth and suck madly on it. The Vulcan in her kept her from fulfilling this fantasy however her thoughts on the matter didn't go unnoticed to her mate.

"T'Pol…..you okay?" he asked, the Vulcan now realizing he had been addressing her for a while during her exploration of the subject.
She startled back into the here and now and tried to pick up where her mate had been studying last. The palm padd had changed at least 6 pages since her mind wondered and she could sense a distinct sense of pleasure at her being found out for her thoughts.

"And they say human males think about nothing but sex….." Trip smirked a bit then his smile and his eyes grew gentle and inviting again. "Now getting back to the equations, I think you are on the right track however you need to increase your energy output by at least 100 Kelvin…..Doing any less may destabilize the reaction and lead to implosion of the device before delivery. Now if you look right here…." He continued to point at different parts of the equation, showing his mate the needed changes. This time T'Pol's attention was with his, as they debated the different sides of their basic understanding of fusion reaction theory. It would be at least an hour before their differences would be worked out in a compromise that was acceptable to them both. Once in harmony, the commanders picked up on their love in and would exhaust themselves several times before falling into a dead like state, too tired to even dream.

***

04:30 AM, T'Pol left her sleeping mate wrapped lovingly in his blankets and headed back to her quarters. She first thought of using the time to meditate, but found herself too keyed up to succumb to its healing benefits. Instead she donned her workout clothes and decided the gym to be desolate this time of morning. A workout would help her achieve a more accepting state. As expected, when she entered the facility, the room was empty and quiet. Going to the far side of the room, she boarded the farthest treadmill and began her workout with a brisk walk. Soon she had cranked it up to a 3 minute mile and was comfortably working off the extra sexual desires that her mate was too exhausted to handle.

Sex the human way was nice, but she longed for more of what made Vulcan sex so much better. T'Pol knew that this bond was new to her Human mate, and didn’t' want to expand on its benefits until she knew him ready to handle it. For this reason she didn't express any other needs, save that which her mate could understand at this time. There would be time later in their relationship to experiment with the many perks to a deeper, more intense intellectual relationship which was common for her species. This however didn't stop her need for such things, and the science officer was hoping this workout would help to release some of that type of pent up sexual tension.

She completed her 15th mile, still at a brisk run, and was now starting to feel the frustrations relax when the door to the gym room opened. It was after 05:00AM and who should walk in but the ensign in question himself. He was dressed in sweat pants, topless with only a towel slung over his shoulders. As he came through the doors, he looked up to find the commander at the far end of the room. Edmunds stopped at a near by bench and took off the towel that was draping his muscled pecks. He laid it over the seat and put up his feet one at a time onto the bench to check his shoe strings. As he did so, the back of his sweats dug into his defined glutes and the waistband eased down almost to expose the top of his crack. This seemed an innocent act, and T'Pol went back to running, this time closing her eyes and relying on her extraordinary Vulcan senses to keep her on the machine. There were 7 treadmills in the row, so she didn't consider his presence in the room with her as a threat. But when her nostrils detected a strong odor coming from her right, it was then the Vulcan opened her eyes to find him running a long side her on the closest treadmill. He looked over at her and flashed the female a brilliant smile.

At this, T'Pol realized the talk the captain had with this crewman wasn't effective. She slowed her machine to a walk and gradually to off, dismounting before the mat had even came to a stop. T'Pol grabbed the towel from the bars and draped it over her shoulders as she headed for the door. To her surprise, the Ensign decreased his speed and jumped off the machine after her. He reached out to grab her shoulder, only to have the alien wheel around in a defensive stance.

"You wanted something Ensign?" she asked defiant of his own arrogance.

This took the male by surprise and he lowered his hand quickly. "I wanted to apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable yesterday. I realize my actions were inappropriate and I don't wish to disrespect you in that way again. I just wanted you to know that." His words seemed earnest, but something in T'Pol realized this man was not what he seemed to be.

"I am sure the captain addressed you on your touching others when it is not desired?" She started in on his behavior, not his words.

"Yes….I apologize for that too. You're one of the first Vulcan's I've known. I mean worked with….I didn't know about that….I am sorry." Now his words were more like his act, false and deceptive.

"Then why were you about to repeat your error, Ensign? The point of taking correction is learning from your mistakes and not repeating them." T'Pol wasn't backing down on this one.

"I know…… I come from a family that touches a lot. It will take me some time to unlearn that but I will make a better effort in the future." Edmunds was shocked at her lack of appreciation for his apology.

"Vulcan females are not the only ones that do not appreciate being touched when uninvited. You would do well to learn this with all the female staff aboard Enterprise, or else your unwelcome actions will get you into further discord with the captain." T'Pol seemed almost defiant as she spelled out his misgivings about his own desirability with the female population of Enterprise.

"I am sure the Captain asked you to refrain from approaching me…. It would be wise to heed his rules. I have no say in your advancement here, unlike Commander Anders. There is no logic in your trying to pursue me." T'Pol saw his face drop at the mention of his previous commanding officer.

"Really Commander, I have no intention of pursuing you… I simply wanted to get to know you….I mean get to know Vulcans…. I am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression." Edmunds was backpedaling trying to regroup what he was quickly loosing control of.

"There is one thing you should know about Vulcans, Ensign…..We are empaths…. We can tell what someone is truly feeling and know most times when someone is not truthful with us. I am your superior officer, a married Vulcan female and have no intentions of letting your less than truthful ways disrupt the functions of this ship. Please do as the captain ordered and keep your distance, or I will be forced to report such behavior to him again. Do you understand me, Ensign?" T'Pol stepped off the wall she was forced up against and into his oversized ego a bit.

"Understood." He stepped back and looked to the ground.

"Good day then" and with that T'Pol exited the room and made her way back to her quarters. Her mind was racing, heated with anger at this male's overt actions towards her. The same rage her mate had felt toward him was coursing through her veins now making her blood burn with thoughts of Edmunds' attempts at disrupting their bond. Meditation was pointless at this time, so T'Pol relieved herself in a cool shower, trying to ease her emotions before her mate came too and got a sense of them.

Meanwhile, Edmunds, still licking his wounds from the battle, wondered what the Vulcan female referred to as being married. Ensign Sato stated the Vulcan was divorced, but what if she was wrong in her information. It was clear to him that there was much more going on between the commanders than just a good friendship. But was the Engineer's reaction really due to his not being able to let her go, or was it more. This intrigued him all the more, as he remounted the treadmill and started his run. A soft smirk crossed his lips as he realized a new type of leverage he had over the Vulcan, one he could possibly use to get his promotion after all. (She was a married woman most likely having an affair with her friendly neighborhood Chief Engineer…. I wonder what the Vulcan High Council would think of that. My promotion is as good as in the bag….Just one phone call to grandpa and well that should be all it takes to get some response out of her.) he thought and increased the speed to a 4 minute mile.

TBC

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

wow!!!! Wonderful story loved it !!!
your are a great writer can't wait til next eps.
meterreader@yahoo.com Sam

Edmunds certainly thinks he's all that and a bag of chips. Seeing his eventual comeuppance will be a fine thing.

I think T'Pol will be kicking herself (metaphorically) when she realizes what she's revealed.

Can't wait for the rest of Commander Tucker's lessons. ;D

Overall a very good story. The dialogue could stand a bit of differentiation, though. "I dare say" is okay if a little off for T'Pol, but will never do for Trip. All the "Disrespects" and other nowisms don't quite do for a future story, the terms need to be a little more enduring. A few too many examples of "too" instead of "to" and "loosing" instead of "losing". But overall very good.
One final quibble, it was established during an encounter in the gym during the first year (don't remember the episode) that Archer can run faster than T'Pol. And I don't think he can do a three minute mile.

Good entry. If Mr. Edmunds isn't careful, he's going to have an accident in the airlock. And I'm pretty sure Malcolm can cover it up nicely...

Man, I hate guys like him. Good job.

"A married Vulcan female", this made my day!
Great stuff...

short?! it was a great long post and i loved it. cannot wait for the next part.

wonder when t'pol will realize what she said.

excellent post. great story advancement. continue please, soonest.

Good addition. I'm with graybear that some of the dialogue isn't quite in character, but the messages behind the dialogue is.

Edmunds needs to get some serious come-uppins... The man is a class-A jerk. Can't wait to see what you do to him! >:)

"A married Vulcan female"---NICE!

Greybear... If I remember the episode correctly, all that was established was that T'Pol was aware that Archer was trying to compete with her, and she got off the treadmill, saying that "obviously I can't keep up with you". I always thought she was being ironic, and had gotten off the treadmill to prevent him from giving himself a coronary trying to keep up with her... of course, that's just my interpretation, LOL!

TLR... You've really created a character that's fun to hate. Good job!

thanks....it isn't easy to fit the writing in with school and working 48hrs/week, but at least I got this one out. Right now writing is my only form of stress relief. You're right about T'Pol being faster than Archer, just look back to the forge episode. She took off and left him in the dust. She did stop the treadmill because it was illogical for him to try and compete with her. Also about Trip talking a bit more like T'Pol, I think that may be a bit of a overhang from the bond. She is telling more jokes and he may occasionally use logic without knowing it. T

Distracted, agree with you completely about interpretation of Archer/T'pol on the treadmills.

Good chapter TLR, am relishing thoughts of suitable comeuppance for Edmunds!

Loved it, looking forward to the next chapter. Hate Edmunds.

I don't think that Archer would worry too much about this guy and his pet admiral. Starfleet command would be very leery about interfering in Archer's ship, even if Archer was a nonentity instead of the heroic savior of Earth.

Archer is captain and captains are not second guessed in matters involving their own domain.

In fact it would be T'Pol's job as executive officer to handle matters of discipline and to solve this problem. The guy would simply find himself with so many nasty, dirty undignified jobs and so many bad efficiency reports that he wouldn't have time for anything but work and sleep right up until he was passed up for promotion the third time and beached.

Great job as always TLR.

Cant say I like the character of Edmunds that much,,,, Ok I like to hate him but thats the point any way. I Think Trip an T'pol when puttin their minds together can out smart that jerk,,, Im almost willin to dare that jerk to try an expose TnTs "affair",,,,, An think your right to bout both TnT pickin up some of the others mannerisms,,,,,,, An just for the record yal that episode with Archer an T'pol on the treadmills is,,,,, the 2nd one we should all forget ever happened,,, "A Night In Sickbay",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,An I have to say that if I were Trip,,, I wouldnt feel a damn bit bout hittin that worthless piece of shit,,,,,,,,, Great job TLR an I cant wait to find out whats gona happen next.

Bloody snake in the grass. You know those people you just love to hate? Ahh, Edmunds... I cannot wait until he gets him comeuppance. He is gonna get it, right? Can't wait for more! :)