The Warp 7 Project: The Enterprise Trials: Part 3

The Warp 7 Project - The Enterprise Trials

By TLR

Rated PG-13
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of UPN and Paramount Pictures.
Summary: This story picks up where Part 2 left off. I backed it up a bit to give you a running start. Trip and the captain are just about to take their first Warp 7 prototype out for a spin. Catherine and Charles have arrived and brought alone Trip's older brother Jimmie, all of which weren't allowed on the base during today's test, so they elected to stay at home with the kids. Lizzie, who had been attending her first few classes at school, was kept home today as well in the case that if something bad were to happen to her father and uncle, she'd be with family and would be protected from the drastic injury a severing of the bond would bring. Let's get back to the show.

October 5, 2006

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Part 3

The vehicle eased its way out of the hanger and into the open air of Vulcan early morning. It paced the long length of the plateau, and put some distance between it and the containment tanks at the far end of the factory. Then suddenly it rocketed upward, leaving behind it, a large swirl of dust and debris. The exhilaration that came along with that move was equally dramatic, as Trip's already happy mind began to grow more delirious. In her head, T'Pol could hear the laughter and happy thoughts of the man she so loved. It made her heart glow with warmth, that what he'd worked for was now coming to pass.

As they rounded the first moon, Trip studied the panel yet another time. Archer, who was piloting, sat back and just handled the controls like an old pro. He had one chance to take this vessel out before she was refit with the prototype and knew exactly where her touchy spots were. His smile matched the oversized emotions his friend and co-pilot was feeling.

"How she doing, Commander?" Jon asked playing into the man's 'back on Enterprise" fantasy just a bit.

"Runnin smoother than a baby's bottom…Sir." Trip giggled happy to feel the camaraderie the two men shared for so many years slipping back into place like no time had passed at all.

"That's good…. Keep it like that." Archer quipped back taking a look at the differing star patterns this part of space held. He checked his controls again and nothing was showing up red. Meanwhile Trip was behind him in the back up seat, flipping through screens and doing diagnostics faster than his friend had ever seen. It was almost like the man was possessed, wanting to document every moment of this monumental feat. He was happily getting the intermix ratio's into balance for their attempt at warp jump when a loud alarm came over the ship's intercom. It took over the comm system, not allowing for communication between the ground and the craft.

Trip moved quickly to try and silence it, taking his eyes off the intermix ratio's. His delay in monitoring allowed the ratio's to go grossly out of balance, a fact that shouldn't have happened even if the Human had ten pairs of eyes on the control panel. By the time the loud alarm was turned off, a secondary alarm had taken its place. This one, a warning toward overload.

Knowing all too well that sound, Trip and Archer prepared to power down the vessel. The override switches were not functioning and the two men worked frantically to pull circuits and side panels out to correct the problem. The intermix ratio's continued to grow progressively out of whack, a fact that the people on the planet could see as well on their sensors.

From the control room, T'Pol continued to attempt to get in contact with the vessel, but the intercom was down, most likely due to the first malfunction. When unable to call the crew, she used her empathic connection to warn her mate of their impending danger. She saw the numbers on the screen push past the critical limits and sent a single message out to her husband.

(Now….my beloved….. Now.).

From the control room as well as the observation lounge all the plant workers could see the implosion of the ship's engines as it lit up the already orange sky. The room fell silent as everyone working at their consoles were too horrified to speak. T'Pol stood behind Malcolm, who was seated at the main ops screen. In the distance a very worried Hoshi tried over and over again to contact the test vessel. The comm was silent except for the sound of background static cluster that usually accompanied a detonation of such magnitude.

Soval, who was to this point very confident in the test facility, leaned forward helping the young communications officer try to reach the ship. T'Pol wavered, as if the force of the blast reached out and got her too. It wasn't until many moments had passed, did anyone in the control room realize the true extent of the vessel's damage.

Finally a lone voice appeared on the comm. The screen was blank, audio only and this voiced seemed to be fighting off its own problems with speech. "Henry 1 to base com." Archer coughed out as he tried to steady his breathing. There was a background noise that sounded like a second survivor was trying to catch his breath.

"Base com control here…" Hoshi was both nervous and relieved by his voice on the line. "Captain, are you both okay?"

"Yes…..just was a little too close to the blast when it went off. We tumbled a bit, but Trip's finally got us stabilized." Jon coughed and sputtered the whole time he spoke. "Tell T'Pol it's a good thing she told Trip to install the ejector system. It really came in handy." This was followed by a huffy "AMEN" from the captain's right wing man.

In her mind T'Pol could feel her connection coming back fully and realized her mate must have lost consciousness if only briefly. (Are you all right?) she asked in a very concerned and loving tone.

(Yeah…..we got through this one okay.) He reassured T'Pol feeling just how scared his little near death experience made her.

"We're gonna need a tow." Archer continued now feeling a bit more confident in his voice.

"One's on its way, Captain." Hoshi returned pressing a few more buttons and signaling the lead ship to go out and assist the escape pod back to the planet. It moved quickly from its orbit, arriving at the injured vessel within a matter of minutes. Docking, the rescue vessel took the survivors straight to its sickbay for a full exam.

Everyone in the control center then turned to T'Pol, whose presence there made her in legal command of the test. She could feel the many pairs of eyes on her as they anxiously awaited her decision. "Begin lock down procedures, Beta 2." The Vulcan spoke evenly but firmly, as the operations crew began flicking switches and pressing buttons. The large doors of the plant bolted, as security guards took up positions at key exits. The investigation into the matter would start that very moment, not allowing anyone to remain free from suspicion.

Back at the Tucker residence, Lizzie and Lorian went from playing happily in the garden with their pets, to clinging frantically to their grandmother's leg. Catherine shocked by this sudden turn, worried that something may be seriously wrong with the test flight. She tried to calm herself down and called for her husband Charles and their son Jimmie to help with the children. Once calm, the elder Tucker used the comm to try and get through to the warp 7 plant. There was a serious tightening of security that kept them from talking to Trip, T'Pol or Soval, which made them worry all the more. As they began to speculate what disaster might have befallen their beloved son, Catherine noted that the children had genuinely relaxed. They played with their sehlats and their biological uncle as if there was nothing wrong at all. Puzzled by this, the couple decided that if something had gone wrong, they would most assuredly have heard about it by now. Instead of getting any more keyed up, they simply sat down and watched their grandchildren at play, deciding when the little ones got upset then it would be time to panic.

***

Aboard the E'karan vessel, Acellia began preparing for her observation posting aboard the Human ship. She was a lovely woman standing just a few inches taller than T'Pol. Acellia had long dark hair, straight with such a luster it almost appeared to be like glass. It was down to the mid part of her back, but remained tightly tucked behind her uniquely shaped earlobes. These lobes, not pointed exactly had a little dip in the middle that made them almost look like exotic flower petals. To either side of these dips, she wore tightly curled bands of a coppery color. There were three bands in all, two above and one below denoting her rank as a commander. This subtle difference, along with the slight ridge that ran the middle length of her nose, were the only things that made her look any different from the Humans whom she was about to study.

The E'karans had warp 7 engines, although they hadn't had them for too long but were well equipped to help the Humans with problems that might arise. Acellia's occupation as a researcher and her engineering knowledge made her the most logical choice for this assignment. The E'karans were always looking for a new and better product, constantly changing and adapting their technology with each new species they'd meet. Before, when the spacial anomalies filled the expanse, her people were severely limited in the distance they could explore. Now the universe was the limit and this woman was gonna make the most of it. She studied heavily the information council woman T'Pol gave her on the species and especially the data on the Captain of this vessel called Enterprise. His likes and dislikes, his strange habits, the foods he seemed to favor. Though T'Pol wasn't sure why this woman wanted to know this, it didn't seem too inappropriate of information to give. As T'Pol prepared for her assignment at the Vulcan embassy, Acellia was doing so too, a wise and logical start to a very long six month mission.

The young woman put in the tape that T'Pol provided and it lit up the screen. There before her was a bizarre water sport that made her wonder what she'd find upon this ship. The men, all wearing skull caps bobbed excitedly trying to get control of this white round object, as it made its way hectically around the screen. As she read the accompanying notes on a palm padd, Acellia realized the goal of the ritual was to sink the ball into one of the large nets at each end of the water filled area. Although she understood the "whats" of the game, the 'whys' still eluded her. After just a few seconds more she turned off the spectacle and sat up straight in her darkened quarters. Acellia would need a few moments of quiet to get rid of the horrible racket the polo match had brought.

*****

T'Pol stood beneath the hot spray, her mind a whirl with all the data she'd reviewed the day before. As her fingertips gently scrubbed at her scalp, the Vulcan didn't hear the foot steps of her husband as he entered the room. Eyes closed, it wasn't until Trip came up behind her and offered to help T'Pol with her back did she return to the here and now.

"Let me get that for you." The Human's hands came up to guide the warmness through her soapy strands. Secretly Trip loved the feel of her hair, even more so since T'Pol let it grow. The science officer was the first girlfriend Trip had that ever had short hair, though he made it a point not to make that remark. It was only the feeling T'Pol could sense from her mate every time he combed through his daughter's curly silk that made the Vulcan realize that she'd be more appealing with a longer mane.

The touch of her mate's hand upon the woman soothed much of her uneasy nerves about the current situation. This slow grooming routine was by no means sexual, just meant to lend comfort. Trip knew how distressed his near death experience made his mate. Even through her cool even Vulcan control, the connection between them told the male exactly how it was for her. Trip made slow long strokes down her hair just as lost in the comfort as she when he was startled by a nudge to his hind parts.

"What the???" he snorted looking backward and moving into the spray even more. There stood Keller, head half drenched from the bouncing droplets. The animal remained though the water was not making him happy. The sehlat shook his head repeatedly, giving back a little of what he got.

"Will ya stop that!" Trip sounded as annoyed as he looked. "Well if you don't like it, then get out." He watched and saw the creature sit down just out of the parameter of the spray,

"What is he waiting for?" The human continued perplexed by the creature's determinedness.

"I think this is what the animal is waiting for." T'Pol added softly as Trip turned to face her. The female's eyes went southward as her hand came up to indicate the item. There standing next to her and holding her thigh was Lorian. The little boy entered the shower stall unnoticed and eased his way around to T'Pol. Fully clothed in his jammies, the child was drenched. His blond hair matted to his head and large drops of water dripping from his chin. Lorian blinked repeatedly trying to clear the down pour from his vision. Both parents watched the scene. Neither able to understand how the little tike got into the shower without them knowing. They looked to each other wondering how to divide up this new set of chores. T'Pol moved to the outer edge of the water stream and attached her son onto his father's leg.

"You take care of him, I will get the sehlat.' As T'Pol left the stall, Trip grabbed onto her arm and pulled his mate back to him briefly. He planted a soft kiss upon her lips and lingered long enough to convey the love behind the gesture. Parting, he uttered "Good morning sweetheart" and saw the annoyance melt from her features.

"Good morning to you." She whispered back in a tone that conveyed her need to connect with him later to further this moment. T'Pol grabbed the nearest towel, dried and dressed. Meanwhile Trip knelt down and removed the wet P.J.'s and diaper from his son. He handed them to a waiting T'Pol who placed the clothing items into a nearby recycler then went about using her towel to dry off the front half of the sehlat. It's matted fur and droopy ears gave it a rat like appearance.

When all was cleaned up, adults, child and sehlat moved to the living area to begin the day. Trip took Lorian to his room to dress and T'Pol stopped by Elizabeth's room. To her surprise, the little girl was up, showered and dressed already. She sat at her console desk playing with the portable computer.

"You are ready for school?" T'Pol questioned even though she could see the child was.

"Yes" Lizzie beamed up showing a very toothy grin.

"Very well done." T'Pol praised. "Would you like to help prepare the morning meal?" The child's mother was slowly allowing her new responsibilities and learning experiences. Lizzie's beam got brighter as she got up and came over to where her mother stood.

"Very well then, let us begin." The duo turned and headed off in the direction of the dining room. They were joined by Kelmouth who'd been out in the garden checking out some strange noises he'd heard.

In the kitchen, mother and daughter worked at getting the morning meal prepared. Elizabeth was given the job of setting the table from a pile of dishes and utensils that her mother brought out from the cabinets. As T'Pol stirred at the vessels on the synthesizer, Catherine joined her. It was about another 15 minutes before the male compliment of the household started to filter in. Elizabeth sat at the table waiting for the meal to be served. She brought out her portable computer, which had become a permanent fixture in the child's life since she got it. Walking into the room, Jimmie came over to greet the curly topped little girl.

"Hey there Lizzie… Good Morning." He patted her shoulder seeing that the child was less resistant to touch then her mother. He gazed at the screen that had her so entrenched and noticed a square root symbol displayed.

"Whatcha working on?" He asked looking closer at the symbols as they changed. It hit him instantly, the child was looking at some beginning algebra equations. James turned to his brother, who was easing Lorian into his booster seat.

"She's doing algebra..?" he exclaimed almost too surprised for words.

"What?" Trip answered back and leaned over to confirm his brother's statement. Sure enough he saw the square root symbols and his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Well T'Pol did say that thing teaches her at her own pace…. I guess that's where she's gotten too." As he finished that thought, Lizzie looked up and smiled widely with pride. Jimmie sat down beside her still very amazed by the thought of this little dynamo.

"I'm gonna have to get you to help my son Andrew with his math homework." The older Tucker child quipped looking over to his little brother. Trip came up to T'Pol, who was just starting to plate the hot food.

"Is she supposed to be up to pre algebra by now? I mean she just started school a week ago." He leaned in and whispered at the woman for whom he'd changed his entire life.

"It is a little above average for someone of her age, however she has genetic markers for extreme intelligence from her forefather, as well as from her distant ancestry." T'Pol made a reference to their bloodline being from Surak.

"Gee.. thanks…." Trip returned realizing that compared to T'Pol's half, Elizabeth got little from her human side.

"She also gains much from her paternal nature. She shows a high aptitude for math, science and physics. Elizabeth will become a brilliant engineer one day." T'Pol picked up the dishes and crossed the room as she spoke. The part about Lizzie's future got the child's attention and she gave the entire room a huge grin. This warmed the heart of her father, who realized long ago that he couldn't say "no" to the little girl if he tried.

*****

"It looks clear that the sabotage was done at this point and, "Malcolm moved his finger to the other side of the screen. "Again here."

"We do not know it was sabotage, Lieutenant." T'Pol reminded the male who used to have such a crush on her. "Let's stick to the facts of the investigation."

"It's gotta be sabotage." Trip bellowed out just as sure as his friend that the explosion was not just mechanical failure.

"Where is your evidence…..I don't see any thing pointing to out right sabotage." Again the former science officer tried to bring a dissenting voice to the table.

"It's gotta be….." Trip repeated. "I ran every simulation in the book over and over again. That engine should have purred, not billow smoke and explode before she was even put into first." He tossed down a grease rag he had in his hand. It hit the counter near where the Vulcan sat going over the data.

"The fact that the simulations were successful has no bearing on whether or not an actual model will run. There are always missed variables that can't be predicted. Alterations in manufacturing, changes in the quality of raw materials used in the components, even the installation itself could have been in error." T'Pol was merely being thorough but was starting to wear on her mate's patience.

"I tell ya…… that engine was perfect. I would bet my own mother on that fact….. It has to be sabotage." Trip felt the hand of his old friend come up from behind and try to relax his edginess.

"Trip…… T'Pol is just being thorough…. She wouldn't be Vulcan if she didn't. Give her a chance to review the data." Jon seemed as though he was on T'Pol's side but secretly shot a look to the commander and lieutenant that he would see them in private. "Come on…. Let's get some tea." He glared in the direction of the door and cocked his head to the side indicating them to follow.

"Some tea would be quite lovely right now." Malcolm replied rising from his seat, leaving two other Vulcan engineers to take his place at the console. As the men left the room, Archer saw that T'Pol was too engrossed in her work to notice the obvious retreat. They gathered in a vacant room just down the hall from main control.

"All right while they look into malfunction, lets us start to look at anyone with a motive." Archer began this meeting satisfying the Human's need to look for espionage.

"Well, Sir….during the times indicated on the maintenance logs, Ensign Jackson seems to be our main culprit." Malcolm pulled a palm padd from his uniform pocket.

"I knew it……that guy just complained from day one." Trip reminisced about the man's not getting supervisor and how it had made things quite tense between them.

"You think his not getting a management position is a good enough reason for attempted murder?" Jon was playing devil's advocate, being very skeptical about the motive.

"It is if you understand that a Vulcan got the job he should have had. He's always treated Skieck like an enemy, distrusting and back stabbing." Trip was very worked up, not so much about his near demise, but because almost a year's worth of work just went up in smoke. If this guy's jealousy was the reason, there was gonna be hell to pay.

"I can't believe this guy would risk so much under such strict security measures, all for a job that went to a Vulcan instead of him." Jon was still not convinced.

"Well it's all right here, Sir.." Malcolm changed the screen on his padd and handed it over to the captain. "You see these entries here… and here…" He continued to indicate the security retinal signatures that showed Jackson responsible for a ton of last minute changes to the system.

"The biggest one is right here Cap'n." Trip interjected reaching over Malcolm's shoulder to point out something.

"This is where some of the changes could have been made that would have caused a malfunction like that to occur." The human put his hand down and allowed his friend to take in the information.

"We'll have to run a detailed data scan on the logs to verify exactly what changes were made, but I'm sure with the scanners here all details of the changes can be pulled up with little difficulty." Trip seemed self assured, while Malcolm supported his reasoning thoroughly. Archer thought a moment then nodded.

"Get to it then…… In the meantime, I will have a talk with this Mr. Jackson and see if he was truly angry enough to carry out such a desperate act." Jon agreed this direction in the investigation was a correct one. He knew that it would be a while before T'Pol would give up the hope that the engine malfunctioned was due to natural causes. Archer remembered the concern he heard in his old first officer's voice as she detailed the data the Ministry of Security gave her about the Terra Prime threat reaching Vulcan. He knew part of that concern was for her children, who were now well known on Trip's home world. Though Xenophobia was rarer these days, there were still a few groups running around on Earth trying to stop the invasion of their planet by these visitors from other worlds.

The hatch sprung open taking all three men by surprise. There in the doorway stood a lovely young woman, with long dark hair and deep smoky eyes. The ridge on the bridge of her nose told them instantly that she was neither Human nor Vulcan. She faced them unsure if they were pleased by her presence. By their reaction, it would seem she'd been an unwelcome addition to the group.

"Pardon the interruption…. I am looking for council woman T'Pol." Acellia held open the hatch where she stood, not allowing any of the occupants to exit the room before she got what she sought.

Trip remained unaffected by the woman's beauty, however Malcolm and the captain both sprang to attention. They both took a step forward, but Malcolm seeing his captain's interest quickly fell behind. "I'm sorry… I didn't catch your name." Jon said politely not just being careful for security reasons.

"My name is unimportant… do you know where the council woman is or don't you?" Acellia snipped back totally unaware she was speaking to her future boss.

"Lady T'Pol is working in the main control room…. My name is Jonathan Archer…perhaps I can assist you." He walked up closer to her seeing just a hint of his great grand daughter in the woman's eyes.

"Captain Archer?" Acellia asked feeling a bit ill from the realization.

"The same….. And you are?" Jon was not about to let this one go.

"My apologies captain… My name is Commander G'narneleck…. However most people call me Acellia…. I am to be the one assigned as an observer to your vessel, after it undergoes its refit. I heard about the explosion of your test run and wanted to offer my assistance with future attempts." The young woman became uncomfortable with the scrutiny she was getting from this very charismatic male. "The sooner your ship gets refit, the sooner my mission can commence and be completed. You said that the council woman was in main control…. Where is that?" Acellia eased back and allowed Archer to join her in the doorway.

"It's right down here to your left…" The captain felt a definite pull from the young woman who had totally captivated his dreams for over a year. He didn't know who she was or what she looked like until now, but he still longed for that life where he had someone other than his ship to worry about. "I'll be glad to take you there personally." He added totally oblivious to her blunt manner toward him. Malcolm and Trip on the other hand saw the cold shoulder this woman gave out and were quite surprised that the captain didn't give her as good as he got. Trip couldn't help but remember the welcome T'Pol gave him upon their first meeting. He felt it would be interesting to see what takes shape. If this woman was as intriguing as his mate was, could he be looking at the future Mrs. Jonathan Archer?

*****

"I tell ya, you got the wrong guy." Jackson protested as two of Malcolm's security force yanked him from the production line and into Trip's office. He was plopped into the guest chair in a somewhat un-ceremonial way and hit hard unto its surface as the men crowded around. The two goons took places at the back of the room, while Malcolm, Trip and Jon all surrounded the guy from behind.

"Oh yeah…. Then explain why the sensor logs document you making the changes that caused the crash….Let's see how you talk your way outta that one." Trip spit at the man still very angry at the loss of his work.

"What changes…. I don't know what you are talking about…. I didn't make any changes.." Jackson's level of panic reached an all time high.

"These are the changes we are referring too." Malcolm held the palm padd before the male and left it there long enough for him to see just how damaging their evidence was.

"I didn't make these changes…." He stated totally perplexed by the information on the screen.

"Yeah, well the retinal signature says you did….. You wantta explain that." Now Archer was breathing down the man's neck.

"What,… you didn't like getting passed up for a Vulcan, so you decide to sabotage the whole mission. That's just sick." Trip wheeled off and tried to get his angered feelings under control.

"I swear to you….. I would never do something like that….. Please you gotta believe me.." Jackson was truly horrified by what these men were suggesting.

"So Skieck getting the job as section manager didn't make you angry in the least?" Malcolm was trying to bait the man and it was working.

"Of course it did…. I have been working in Star Fleet for over ten years, and I should have had that job, but they needed Vulcans to have as many management positions as humans. But I wouldn't attempt to kill anyone over it…." He sat back trying to make sense of what was happening. The grilling continued for more than an hour while in another room, T'Pol and Soval went through the data to find proof of this conspiracy theory.

Meanwhile back home, Catherine was putting Lorian down for his nap. Jimmie decided to make himself useful, and went out into the garden to help his father tie up the plants. The irrigation system Trip installed was working beautifully, bringing the slowest trickle of water past the vegetation. This irrigation was exactly what the plants needed, as they were lush, green and taller than the senior Tucker had ever seen before.

"I tell ya Jimmie, Trip is sure a whiz when it comes to building things." Charles marveled at the simplicity that was his son's invention.

"Yeah dad…. Never saw a pipe filled with water before…" The older child was always in the shadow of his younger brother and sister. Secretly Elizabeth's loss was as painful for him, but James kept it too himself, not being a burden to his parents in their time of sorrow.

"Now Jimmie." Charles started a bit of scolding in his voice. "You can't imagine how hard it was for Trip to build this system… I was here… I saw all the hard work he put into it."

"I'm sure he did Dad…. Just like always…Trip did this, Trip did that…. Trip became a big shot in star fleet and now lives on a planet far away with the head of this civilization as his wife. Why not build a kick ass irrigation system?" James was sounding a bit envious, although it was nothing new to his father, who'd had to break the quarrelsome siblings up from time to time.

"Jimmie….. where is this coming from…?" The parent was both perturbed and concerned.

"It's the same as always Dad…. He just constantly out does me….You'd think I don't exist sometimes if you look at all he has accomplished. And Lizzie….." Jimmie's voice drew a bit of sadness. "She's one of the victims of that horrible attack on Earth… She will forever be the one remembered for being so young, beautiful and whose life was so tragically cut short." A tear started to form in the young man's eye as he thought about just how much was lost on that horrible day. Charles came over and put an arm about his child's shoulder.

"Don't forget, you taught them both to be so independent…" He looked into the man's face and saw a bit of recognition. "When Elizabeth was being bullied by that girl at school, who taught her how to wrestle…"

Jimmie acknowledged. "I did…"

"And when Trip had that crush on Melissa Lyles, who taught him how to two step so he could ask her to dance?" Charles was reliving many pleasant sibling memories.

"I did…..And boy did he have two left feet." James added with a small smirk on his face.

"And who kept taking Trip's toys apart, so he'd have to put them back together…" This brought a soft laugh to the young man's throat.

"I did….But you gotta admit…. He'd get real pee-oo'ed when he'd wake up and find his bicycle in parts on the driveway." James was remembering just what fun it was to be Trip's older brother after all.

"You taught him to swim… to snorkel, to scuba dive, to fish and even how to get is first date…..Hell you even made him a great engineer every time you tormented him…. I'd say that makes you something very special in this family right there." Charles squeezed him hard then drew him into a hug. He eased back and saw the smile return to his child's face.

"I guess I just miss him, that's all…. He's so far away," Jimmie looked about the garden filled with strange looking plants and a sand filled floor. "He's out here in the desert without any of us here to protect him…. What if something happens, we won't be here." Charles was getting the true gist of the conversation. The explosion had affected his son more than anyone knew and now it was coming to the surface in ways unimaginable to the elder male.

"Listen son…. Trip is a big boy now… He knows what he is doing and he's married to a woman who would give up her life to save him….Hell she's saved him in the past. It is important that we learn to accept it. I know that being so far away is frustrating, but until things are settled on Earth, this has to be Trip and his family's home…. You gotta see that."

"You're right Dad…. I just don't have to like it." James picked up another piece of string and began to tie up a hanging vine. He felt a prick on his finger and moved the foliage to see what it was that stuck him. It looked to be a thorn that had attached itself to the stake which held the plant in place. "That's odd….. What type of plant is this?" Jimmie looked to his dad as V'Lmir entered the area.

"Are you in need of assistance?" The woman came in from the kitchen where she'd been helping Catherine prepare the mid day meal. She saw the two males standing on the far side of the garden staring at something in the vegetation. As the young woman approached she could hear the men trying to guess exactly what was implanted among the vegetables.

"What is that thing?" Charles scratched his head and put out a finger to touch the item. As V'Lmir saw what they were questioning, she shouted out quickly.

"Don't touch it." The dark haired beauty pushed forward and moved the Humans out of her way.
"Move back carefully." She reproached easing back the greenery and taking a closer look. As she thought, it was the spine of a huhsh'vedik plant, poisonous and quite rare.

"What do you mean, don't touch it……" James sounded off very worried. He stared down to his finger now bleeding from the abrasive bush. He saw the concern in the young alien's eyes as she took his hand and immediately started to squeeze it. He felt a bone crushing intensity, as V'Lmir tried to stop the poison from reaching the Human's blood stream.

"Get to the transport, immediately…. He needs to be treated as soon as possible." At her request Charles sprinted out of the garden, passing his wife on the way. He told her briefly what happened and instructed her to keep the children and animals from the garden until they returned. Charles continued moving toward the front gate, while Catherine then saw V'Lmir carrying her son in the same direction. Her eldest child was passed out, pale and breathing very rapidly. She cringed as her boy looked so defenseless against what ever it was that held his life in the balance. The mother in her wanted to run after them, but knew someone had to be here with Lorian. Instead she immediately got on the comm and tried to contact Trip, who would have to be pulled out of the meeting to take the call.

*****

"You saying you had nothing to do with these modifications?" Trip brow beat the man feeling justified based on the evidence.

"For the twentieth time Commander…. I didn't make these changes…." Jackson was worn out by the hardness of this interrogation.

"Well the retinal signature says you did….." Malcolm secretly enjoyed ganging up on this man seeing his guilt in the data they had accumulated. He through the padd before him once more to exaggerate the point, but just then Jackson spotted something familiar about the pattern of signatures they were accusing him with. He took the padd from the Lieutenant's hand and stared it down hard making sure he was right about his revelation.

"These aren't my changes…….They're Lieutenant Johnson's…."He declared almost relieved at his remembering the events.

"That's impossible…… The retinal signatures say their yours…That's low even for you,..... to accuse another man of doing your dirty work." Trip was truly offended by the gall of this male.

"No really…. I signed them, it's true, but it's because he asked me too." Jackson began to stutter a bit as he tried to clear himself.

"Oh yeah….. how's that?" Trip was becoming really mad and wanted to get this guy once and for all.

"He said that all this retinal scanning was giving him migraines and his medication wasn't taking care of it. Said he was gonna go to the clinic in Shi'Karr and see if the Vulcan doctors there could give him something stronger when he got a minute. But he was so busy with things that he hadn't gotten around to it yet." The sincerity of the man's voice bounced off Malcolm and Trip, but got through to Jon who was less close to the situation.

"Are you saying you retinal scanned his changes for him?" Archer came up and put a hand on the exasperated male's shoulder.

"Yes… many times, especially toward the end. When you installed the new security protocols, that's when the retinal scanning made his headaches worse, and that's when he started asking me too. I swear ….." Jackson's eyes were wide, his face held the long streaks of sweat which had been pouring down for the past hour. He added," Ask Skieck…. Johnson asked him to sign a few things too…."

This was the first bit of evidence that the man might be telling the truth. Jon knew if Skieck backed up Jackson's story, Trip would then have to look at his very good friend for the act. There was nothing good about this day's events. At that moment, T'Pol came into the room. The look on her face denoted the seriousness of the problem. Explaining to Trip what had happened at home, her mate left the room and all thoughts of the sabotage behind as he made his way at a run toward the plant exit. As they left, Soval explained the problem to the Captain and Malcolm who were just as concerned, but stayed behind to take care of checking into Jackson's story.

As the Tuckers arrived at ShiKarr's medical center nothing could keep Trip from running through the hallways. T'Pol kept up at a respectable walk, accompanied by her two assistants. They found Charles Tucker standing outside a large glassed in room. He peered through the clear walls at the very limp body of his son, tears streaming down his face.

"Dad.." Trip yelled from several meters away. "What's happening?" He reached his parent and saw his pained look as it turned from the glass to him and back again.

"They haven't told me anything, but I know it's not good Trip." T'Pol glanced past the man and saw the doctors working feverishly to help the young Human. She moved in closer and took a more detailed look at what they were doing to him. She could see V'Lmir standing in the corner of the room and left the Humans to see if she could get an update on the situation.

Meanwhile Trip and his father huddled close trying to send as much positive thoughts into Jimmie as possible. They saw the worried look on all the caregivers and considered for a minute that they might loose him much as they had his sister. That thought gave both Tucker males a sickening feeling down in the pit of their souls.

T'Pol eased into the glass enclosure and slipped over to where V'Lmir stood. She spoke low and in Vulcan about what had occurred. Alarmed at the prospect of this dangerous plant in their home, she went directly to her assistants to expedite the matter of disposing of it and quickly. They left her, turning for the first comm they found to call for the appropriate assistance to take care of the problem safely. When she returned, she found V'Lmir was now joined in on the procedure. She stood with a master healer and was in contact with Jimmie's body trying to help draw his life force back into his consciousness. T'Pol knew how serious this was, in that healers only became involved once there was nothing more doctors could do. She knew that her brother-in-law's life hung in the balance and wondered how to tell her mate that he may be losing yet another of his loved ones to an alien attack.

TBC

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Sorry about the wait guys, but school and work have been a bear. We are now doing mandatory overtime, because we are so short staffed, and so I have to get my school work done first. I will try to keep up as much as possible. Next part out by next Friday hopefully, but I gotta get the last part of "Competition" out first.

Part 4

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

What the heck happened? Oh well. I am about to read it. Hot ziggity anyway. Glad to have it. Thanks. :)

Mandatory overtime = mandatory errors and sick workers. Your tightfisted bosses aregoing to regret that. Short sighted fools. But you can never tella bean counter anything. My true sympathy lady.

At least we got this!

Just finished this one. I new it! Johnson is the mole. Hah! The plot thickens. Sweet. :)

Nicely done, and I can't wait to see what happens next! :)

Great! very interesting. Waits for more. :-)

Keep yourgood humor as best you can in stressfull situations. It is difficult but you will make it.

HtH

Black'n blue....I wouldn't be too quick to pat yourself on the back....He didn't do it....T

I still think Archer did it. You can't trust him ... he's always pacing ...

Good chapter, TLR. And I totally get the mandatory OT. I recently quit my job because they didn't understand why I was complaining about 60-90 hour work weeks...

He didn't do it? Whadda ya mean he didn't do it? It's circumstantial evidence! That's enough to convict anybody in teh court of public opinion anywhere in the world!

*grumble gripe mutter snort fuss fume*

Okey. Then it's the Vulcan what's his name. The one that wanted to bond his kid with Elizabth. He's the mole. A leftover Rommie that didn't get purged. (grasping at straws here).

Remember Black'n'blue....I have a really warped mind... hee. hee. hee.....:) You just gotta wait and see.

And thanks everyone for understanding. Now instead of working 36-48 hrs a wk, we have to work 48-60hrs a week. That's constantly on your feet and wrenching your back. Yikes...am I looking for a new job. School is lightening somewhat but I have a major test to take next week that I gotta study for. I will write as quickly as possible through. T

You are an ICU nurse, right? 48-60 hours a week. Horseshit. How many people are hurt or die each year because of mistakes made from simple exhaustion on the part of medical personnel that are simply worked to the point of collapse and beyond? Nurses are already working under the most instensely high stress and exhausting conditions imaginable. To add insult to injury by asking them to put in farm laborer hours is absolute hog crap.

My mother is, even as I write, laying in step down after bypass surgery. Last night there was one nurse on duty for the entire ward. One nurse, 36 beds. No shit, I am not lying. What happens if three patients code at the same time? Eeny meeny miney moe?

Goddam penny pinching sons of bitches. I hope someday they end up in a car crash and have to lay there in an emergency room, bleeding and in agony in one of their own hospitals, waiting to get looked at because they were too f***ing tightfisted to hire enough help to staff the place properly.

I better stop. Bucky is going to beat me up for using this space to rant and rave instead of talking about the story. OK, I am going to talk about the story. Since you are a twisted and warped individual, I will change my vote and say that it is V'Lmir. She is tired of Trip. All these years she has secretly been nursing a gay crush on T'Pol and, consumed with mad jealously, she has finally gathered the courage to take action.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it until I come up with a weirder one.

Another great chapter! With a cliffie and with more questions about who did the sabatoge. Hmph. I love waiting for the next chapter! Good luck with school/work.

Just finished my final and got a 98%, Yea !!!. Unfortunately, now I have a viewing and funeral to go too. My best friend's father died and she is a wreck.

Hope to get back to writing over the weekend. Glad you like it so far. T.

Very, very exciting. This story moves right along and with vivid images. But as a mom, I hate to say it but I gotta - homework comes first! Get cracking on those books TLR, we can wait for the next part of your story, even if we are clammering for more, more.

Sorry about your friend's father. Sounds like your friend really needs you right now. Life is so complex at times, pulling us in several directions at once. Take care of yourself too.

TLR,

I hate cliffhangers but I know Rl can be a bgger at times. Hang in there. Be there for your friend she sounds like she will need you. And remember school matters and so does work. But relaxing keeps you sane. Hang in and hod on. I look forward to the next part when you finially have it.

Lisa

Are ya still there? Yoo Hoo!

Great one. Looking forward to the next installment.

Yes I am still out here. I hope to have the next chapter up by mid week. I had a couple of funerals to go to. One family, one not. That's life. School is also getting ready to restart, so I will work as quickly as possible. T.

Ouch. That's terrible. Don't worry about this. You gotta take care of family first and always. And don't neglect to take care of yourself. We will be here waiting. Take your time.

How are things going? Feeling any better after the funerals?

Wherefore art thou? TLR? Yo? *Waves*

I have not forgotten you. Work and School have been kicking my but. I am off this weekend and will get both stories next chapters out. I am sorry for the delay but sometimes other things have to come first. T.

Ain't no need to apologize. Just wanted to make sure you are ok, that's all.