The Rival

By AnnaPhylactic

Part One

"Trip!  Thanks for coming, sit down."

Archer greeted his friend with a big smile on his face.  He had been re-reading the communication from Star Fleet headquarters when Trip rang the door chime.  He swung round in his chair and grinned at his friend.

"We're getting a visitor," he announced.

Trip raised an eyebrow at his captain. 

"First contact?" he asked.

"Not quite," Archer said, the smile still playing about his lips.  "I suppose you remember Andy Sawyer?"

Trip's eyes opened wide.

"Andy Sawyer?  Are you serious?" he drawled.  "How the hell'd he get all the way out here?"

"I thought you'd know more than me."

"We haven't really kept in touch since I left earth – hell, he was even busier than me."

"Turns out he got a placement on Vulcan – part of the engineering exchange programme."

"Don't tell me the Vulcan's let Andy see a warp 7 engine?"  Trip asked excitedly.

Archer chuckled and shook his head.  "Ask him yourself – he'll be here on Friday.  We're rendezvousing with the Vulcan ship Shelan."

"Is it just a social visit?"

"No," Archer turned back to his data padd, checking for details.  "We've been asked to take Commander Sawyer to a mining colony in the next sector – he's going to be working there for a while."

Trip frowned.  "Sounds like a strange place for an astroengineer to be, if you ask me."

"Well ours is not to reason why," Jonathan replied.  "At least not until Friday, anyway.  It'll take us over a week to get to the colony – think you can handle a little extra help down in engineering?"

Trip grinned.  "I guess I can find a couple 'a things for Commander Sawyer to do – that's if he doesn't mind getting' his hands dirty after livin' it up on a Vulcan ship."

Archer smiled.

"It'll be good to see the two of you in action again."

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Trip mused over the news as grabbed a quick lunch break in the mess hall.  Andy Sawyer.  He hadn't seen the guy since Enterprise left Earth, but he must have seen him everyday while they were there.  There was a point once when he thought Andy was sure to get the Enterprise gig.  It would be good to have him on board, Trip thought, but he couldn't help idly wondering just what Andy had been up to on Vulcan.  They weren't likely to have been giving away any secrets… were they?

"Good afternoon, Commander," a familiar voice said from behind him, interrupting his train of thought.

Trip twisted in his seat and smiled.

"Hey, Hoshi, will you join me?"

The young ensign nodded and sat down with her lunch tray opposite Trip. 

"How does it taste?" she asked, seeing he'd chosen the same as her.

"Great," Trip answered, "you'll enjoy it.  You still up for movie night tonight?"

"Of course," Hoshi smiled.  "I've been looking forward to it all day – it's been a nightmare up on the bridge."

"Anythin' interestin'?"

"A new language," Hoshi hummed, tucking into her food.  "The Captain said we'll be going down to a mining colony next week – he gave me a Vulcan database of their language, so I've been imputing data all morning."

"That'll give you a headache," Trip nodded.  "You should come take a space-walk with me this afternoon.  We're doin' some work on the hull – fresh air'll do you good."

Hoshi gave a rich laugh.  "Fresh air in an oxygen can?  I'll stay inside thanks – where I can keep my feet on the ground."

"Fair enough," Trip laughed.  "But you're missin' out."

She just gave him a sassy look and looked back to her food, but Trip's gaze lingered a little longer.  He could feel himself being drawn closer to Hoshi.  For some reason their easy friendship wasn't satisfying him anymore.  He felt as if he could offer more somehow.  But Trip didn't try to analyse his feelings any deeper than that – and he didn't think to wonder about hers.

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"Hi, Trip!  Going in?" Malcolm bumped into Trip as he waited outside the Mess Hall that evening before movie night. 

"Hiya, Malcolm.  I am, but not yet - I'm meetin' Hoshi."

"Ah, the lovely Ensign Sato," Malcolm said with a smile.  "Well I'll leave you to it then – I wouldn't want to ruin your date."

"Malcolm, it's not a date," Trip protested.  "I jus' agreed to meet her here – that's all."

"Well by my reckoning it's about the fourth or fifth "non-date" you two have had.  You'll be walking down the aisle before you actually admit anything."

"Malcolm, come on, I'm not even allowed to date an ensign," Trip sighed.  "It's not like that."

"Oh yeah?" was all Malcolm had to say about it.  He started for the door as Trip called out to him.

"Yeah, go on, Travis is waitin' for ya!" Trip said loudly, causing a few passing crewmen to look curiously at Malcolm.  The lieutenant hurried in.

"Hi, Trip."  Hoshi had come up beside him while he was looking back.  He jumped slightly then did a double take as he turned around.

"Hosh – you look fantastic," he breathed, staring at her.  Her hair was down and although she was just dressed in casual clothes, for some reason the effect was startling.  "You make me feel like I should've made more of an effort," he looked down at his own slightly scruffy shirt.  "You'll get people talkin', what with us walkin' in together."

That's the idea, Hoshi thought to herself, as she let Trip lead the way.

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"So this Commander Sawyer we're picking up, he's a friend of yours?" Hoshi asked later on, as she and Trip walked back through the deserted deck.

"Best friend I have in Star Fleet, after the Captain," Trip answered.  "Andy and I joined the academy at the same time – he's an engineer same as me.  He's a great guy – I've never known him to be scared of anythin'…  It'll be great to see him again," he added, with that tone in his voice that all the Enterprise crew used when talking about friends back home.

"I think all the crew's excited about having someone from Earth come aboard," Hoshi smiled.   "The whole ship's been buzzing.  Commander Sawyer will be the first person from home that's seen Enterprise really at work."

"Give us a chance to show off, you mean," Trip grinned. 

Hoshi smiled back at him.

"Well, this is me," she said as they stopped walking, nodding towards the door to her quarters.  "Thanks for walking me back."

"My pleasure, Hoshi," Trip said, pausing a little.  He was unsure of himself now the evening had actually come to an end.  He wasn't quite sure what he should do.  He knew what he wanted to do.  "Well, I guess I'll say goodnight then," he spoke at last.  "Thanks for the movie – I'll see you tomorrow, Hoshi."

"Goodnight, Trip," Hoshi called out as he walked away from her door.  She leaned back against it and watched until he had turned the corner out of sight.  She threw her head back so that it knocked against the wall with a thud.  Damn, she thought.

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"Well?"  Captain Archer asked impatiently, as the vista of empty space loomed large upon the view screen.  "Where are they?"

"We are not scheduled to rendezvous with the Shelan for forty-minutes, Captain," T'Pol's even voice spoke up from her station.  "It is likely that they will not arrive before that time."

Archer smiled round a little at his bridge crew. 

"Well, I guess we'll have just have to be patient then," he said cheerfully. 

"If you wish Captain, I can inform you when the Shelan arrives," T'Pol said, her eyes indicating Archer's ready-room, "- if you have other things to do."

"No, it's alright, T'Pol, I'll wait," Archer said with a tight smile.  "They can't be far away.  After all, travelling at warp 7, there won't be much holding them up."

"The vessel Shelan does not have warp seven capabilities captain," T'Pol said evenly.  "She is a large transport vessel that can travel no higher than warp four."

"Hm," Archer murmured politely.  "I stand corrected."  After a pause, he turned with a smile to the comm.  "How's that language coming along, Hoshi?"

"I think we'll be ready by the time we reach the mining colony, Sir," Hoshi said, checking her data.  "I've entered most of the data the Vulcan's gave us into the UT.  By the time I've run some tests it should be working pretty smoothly."

"Good; well done, Hoshi."

Thus followed an unusual period of inactivity on the bridge.  Travis sat fidgeting, with nothing much to do now they were at a virtual stop, but not wanting to look like he had nothing to do.  Malcolm ran tests of the ship's weapons, his subconscious disliking their sitting-duck position, even though he had no reason to suspect danger.  Only Hoshi and T'Pol worked as usual, running through stacked-up work methodically.

After half an hour or so, Trip broke the monotony by appearing on the bridge.

"They here yet?" he asked, characteristically abrupt.

Archer turned around and shrugged his shoulders.

"Not yet."

"So you're all jus' sat here twiddlin' your thumbs?" Trip asked, raising his eyebrows.  "Well I'd never have taken the Vulcans for not bein' punctual."

"I think you will find, Commander, that it is the Enterprise that are early, not the Shelan that is late," T'Pol said.

Archer gave Trip a quick look. 

"Yes, we did seem to be a bit, er, presumptuous," Jonathan coughed.

"Well, mind if I hang around?" Trip asked, "– join the welcoming committee?"

"Of course, Trip."

"It looks like you might be just in time, Commander," Hoshi said, looking across the bridge to Trip.  "We're receiving a transmission from the Shelan – they'll be dropping out of warp in three minutes."

"Stand-by, Hoshi," Archer ordered, getting settled in his chair once more.

In exactly three minutes, the bridge crew of the Enterprise saw the Vulcan ship Shelan drop out of warp and appear on the view screen.  Hoshi hailed the ship and the face of the Vulcan captain replaced that of his vessel; at his side a tall man with messy brown hair in Star Fleet uniform, grinning like a lunatic.

"Captain Archer?" the Vulcan said brusquely. 

"Yes, Captain," Archer replied pleasantly.  "We've been expecting you."

"I am to deliver Commander Sawyer to your ship as ordered by the Vulcan High Command," the Captain continued dispassionately.  "We will send a shuttle craft directly."

"We're ready for you, Captain," confirmed Archer, with a nod to Malcolm, who set off for the shuttle bay.  "How are you, Andy?" Jonathan said, looking now at the second man on the view screen.

"I'm fine thank you, Captain, it's great to see you again," Sawyer grinned widely.  Hoshi's tuned ear detected a slight burr in his speech.  "I was beginning to feel a long way from home out here. Hiya, Trip!" he added, turning a little to the left.  "Hell, it's good to see you, man."

"Hey, Andy!" Trip was smiling too.  "Why don't ya come on over here and we can have a drink?"

"Sounds good to me, if Captain Puruk's ready?"

"If you are finished," the Vulcan captain replied, a little tersely.  "Stand by," he spoke to Archer and terminated the transmission.

"Friendly fellow," Trip commented with a glance towards Archer.  "Bet Andy's had a whale of a time with him."

"Commander," reprimanded the captain, with a twinkle in his eye.  "Why don't you go and tell the doctor to prepare the decon chamber?"

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"Time's up, Commander," Phlox spoke into the decon chamber.  "Commander Tucker's here to see you."

Andy Sawyer came out of the ante room, still zipping up his uniform.

"Trip!  I can't believe I'm here!"

They greeted each other.

"Andy – you're not the only one.  I couldn't believe it when the Captain told me who we were going to be pickin' up. How'd you end up on a Vulcan ship anyway?"

"It's a long story, my friend," Andy smiled.  "And I'm sure you'll get to hear it, but first things first.  I've been eating nothing but Vulcan food for the last six months, apart from the occasional resynthesised dish.  Tell me – you guys got any real food on this tin can?"

"How about a steak?" a grinning Trip offered.

"Ah, you're kidding me!" Andy stared at Trip, his mouth watering.  "Man, it really is great to be here."

"Hope you find the company as invitin' as the food," Trip laughed. "Come on, I'll show you where the Mess is."

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"You got it made on this ship, Tucker," Andy said, tucking into his steak with enthusiasm.  "Good food, adventure – your own engine room.  It's everything we used to talk about."

"I expected you to be commissioned to a deep space vessel by now, Andy," Trip said, reaching for his drink.  "Star Fleet can't afford to go throwing all our best engineers to the Vulcans."

"I wanted to go," Andy said quickly.  "How often do we get the chance to see technology like that first hand."

"Did you see a seven engine?" Trip lowered his knife and fork and leaned forwards conspiratorially.

But Andy leaned back and just smiled. 

"You know the Vulcans would never let me see their warp specs," he said with a wink. 

Trip wasn't entirely sure he trusted his friend, but the full and chattering Mess Hall told him he should drop it for the time being.

"So what are you planning to do while you're on Enterprise?" he asked to change the subject.  "I was thinkin' you might want to take a look at our engines, if mere human technology still interests you."

"Sure, 'course I will," Andy said, his eyes following something behind Trip.  "But I'm hoping to enjoy a little R&R while I'm here as well.  You can start off by telling me the name of that ensign."

Trip turned round with a knowing grin on his face that soon disappeared when he saw the crewmember that had caught Andy's attention.

"That's Hoshi Sato," Trip answered shortly, turning back round and starting to eat again.  "Our comm. officer."

"She married?"

"No."

"Got a boyfriend?"

"No… no I don't think so."

"Well, good," Andy said, his eyes still on Hoshi.  "I think I'll ask her to join us."

To be continued…  Please read/review