Retrieval- Ch. 3

Retrieval
By zealousgirl

Rating: PG-13, general
Disclaimers in Chapter One

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CHAPTER 3

Destination

It had been a rather uneventful voyage. Every attempt on the commander's part to obtain more information was met with either a vague comment or a raised eyebrow.

Trip was starting to adapt to his new appearance, although he had gained a new appreciation for women with long hair. It kept getting caught in the equipment, as he tinkered with various components of the shuttlepod, trying to keep himself busy.

He did catch himself on several occasions gawping at T'pol. Although he had noted that she was attractive before, her embellishments accentuated this. She had a softness to her features. He even caught himself daydreaming about stroking her silky skin. 'Whoa, Trip. . . gotta get a hold of yourself.'

T'pol, on the other hand, seemed to have no difficulties keeping herself occupied. She had paperwork and some reading that she needed to catch up on. However, she did get some amusement out of watching Trip trying to keep himself busy. On 2 occasions, she was prepared to reach for a pair of scissors just as he was able to free his entangled hair from the circuitry he was working on. She did not let on that she was observing him. She did however notice that he watched her from time to time - a strange look on his face and a semblance of some sort of ongoing inner dialogue.

He woke the following morning to overhear her answering a hail, apparently from the planet that could now clearly be seen in front of them. He quickly got up and went to stand behind T'pol, peering over her shoulder to look at the viewscreen. He caught only a glimpse of the alien talking to her before it signed off. But it did not look like a Scaniran.

"Who and what was that?" Trip took a seat next to T'pol. "That alien looked more like an Axanar."

"You are correct. He was an Axanar. He is responsible for all arrivals and departures on the planet. The Reina system has inhabitants from several hundred different species." T'pol continued, as if she had sensed his next question. "We are going to a region predominantly populated by Scanirans."

Trip scrutinized her. 'I guess that she'll tell me what she thinks I need to know, whenever she thinks I need to know it.' He prepared for the landing procedure, while mentally trying to prepare himself for the uncertainty that lay ahead.

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Trip stepped out of the shuttlepod and quickly looked around him. The docking bay was bustling with activity. Unfamiliar creatures could be seen all around. Some were bipeds, some were quadripeds, and even some were "non- peds". (These reminded him of the slugs that Phlox had in Sickbay).

T'pol stepped out a moment later. She seemed to ignore the commotion around her, and handed a duffle bag to her companion. "Our names are Tuck and Pela., and we are husband and wife," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. She then advanced towards the exit of the docking bay.

Trip stood next to the shuttlepod and watched her as she walked away from him. 'This could prove to be entertaining.' He contemplated her choice of a name for him and laughed to himself. 'Guess she didn't want to have it too different from my own name, just in case I slip up.' He was not actually insulted by this, though. It was a logical choice, after all.

"Honey, wait for me!" He jogged towards her, and then grabbed her hand.

Looking down at their now entwined hands, she stammered, "Comman. . . I mean, Tuck. " She continued, but now in a whisper, "Please call me Pela. I am not certain that Scanirans are fond of these 'pet names', but I do know that I do not appreciate them."

Trip nodded, but did not release her hand.

Together, they walked towards the land transport that was to take them to the Scaniran sector. Trip was fascinated by his surroundings. He failed to notice that T'pol was more tense than usual. She occasionally looked down at their hands in disbelief. 'Why am I allowing him to continue this inappropriate display of possessiveness?'

They boarded the transport and took a seat near the back. Neither spoke for several minutes. Trip examined those who were sitting around him. He counted 10 passengers other than themselves. There were 7 who appeared to be Scaniran - light colored skin, long blonde hair and pointy ears.

Trip noted, thankfully, that the vehicle's occupants seemed to be oblivious to their presence. 'Maybe it won't be that hard to keep up our cover and find whatever it is that we need to retrieve.'

Suddenly, a soft squeal was heard. In the space between the 2 seats in front of him, Trip could see that someone was watching him. He stood up and peered over the seat, finding a young Scaniran girl, about 12 Earth years in appearance. She placed a hand over her mouth and quickly turned around so that she now facing frontward.

"Hi there!" Trip had always liked children, being the favorite uncle of all his nieces and nephews. "Were you spying on us?" he asked with an amused tone in his voice.

The girl did not respond.

Trip noticed that she was shivering as if she were afraid. "Sorry, if I scared you."

He sat back down and turned towards T'pol to speak to her. He was startled to find that she had fallen asleep. He really had never seen T'pol asleep. Actually, he had never thought her capable of relaxing enough to be able to take an impromptu nap, especially in such an environment.

He watched her sleep for a few minutes. The peacefulness of her slumber was soothing. 'Well, she doesn't seem too worried.' Feeling reassured, he positioned himself such that he could catch a few winks himself.

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'There is something wrong with those two. They do not FEEL like other people.' Seema, the Scaniran girl, had turned around again in her seat and was closely observing her fellow travelers as they slept. She decided that she was going to figure out just what they were planning. She had heard the man's thoughts for only a few moments, and replayed it over and over again - '. . . it won't be that hard to maintain our cover. . . .'

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Continued in Chapter 4

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