Title: Time and Again
Author: Rogue
Category: Plot Summary #5, Trip/T'Pol Summer Challenge
Rating: PG
Disclaimer:  Paramount owns all, lucky people.  If I could make money doing this, I would be, but I'm not.  sighs
Spoilers: Through Season 3.  Since I've actually now seen seasons 1 and 2!
Summary:  After the Alien-Nazi timeline is reset (because the concept boggles my mind), Trip and T'Pol learn how to live in a post-Xindi, post-Temporal Cold War era.

Prologue

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"Go!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.  "Get out, we're running out of time!"

The engineering crew raced out, and he counted heads as he shut the door behind them.  The ship trembled as particle weapon blasts from their overly armed adversary plastered the hull.  "Go for it, Malcolm!"

Archer nearly stumbled as another laser blast came too close to hitting the bridge, nearly blocking out Tucker's declaration of readiness.  "We're only going to get one chance at this."

T'Pol didn't look up from her station.  "Ensign, pull us alongside their bridge.  Lieutenant, keep firing.  Their hull plating is nearly compromised."

"Aye," the Briton acknowledged as the ship shuddered again.

"We're in position, but we're not going to stay here long," Travis shouted over the screeching of EPS conduits fusing. 

Archer sunk down into his chair, pressing the comm button.  "All hands, brace yourselves!"

T'Pol placed her hands on her console, still not looking up from her display.  "Now!"  Malcolm pressed the button on his console. 

The starboard nacelle exploded.

The power went out, the bridge as dark as it had been during the outage of their maiden voyage, and thuds sounded across the bridge as crewman went flying.

The backup power generators whined into action, and the faint light illuminated Archer's blood-stained face and clothing as he turned towards his science officer.  "T'Pol—where are we?"

She leaned over her controls.  "We appear to be one hundred thousand kilometers beyond the ninth planet in the Sol system."

Archer rose, hand pressed to his ribcage, to look over Travis' display, the main viewer blank.  "But when?"

"Checking star positions," T'Pol said.  "According to our readings, the date is February 18th," she said.  "2154."

The bridge was quiet with the memory of too many false hopes dashed, and Archer turned to the communications console.  "Hoshi?"

She grinned.  "Starfleet Command sends their compliments and welcome home."

The bridge broke out into cheers, and the weary captain sunk down into his chair.  "Sir?"  Hoshi said over the congratulations and back-slapping.  "Admiral Forrest wants to know where the hell our starboard nacelle is."

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The Colombia towed Enterprise back into space dock with a skeleton crew made up of Starfleet admirals and captains.  Trip had adamantly refused to restart the engines after the starboard nacelle had disappeared, and in doing so, had found himself here, in the mess hall of the Colombia, looking out at his ship.  "Oh, my God.  You have any idea how long it's going to take me to fix that ship?"

Malcolm clinked his glass of Scotch against Trip's own.  "The happiest eight month refit of your life?"

"More than that, probably," Trip replied mournfully.  "The Starfleet Corps of Engineers wants to put a whole slew of experimental systems into the ship and bypass all the stuff I just got fixed from where they screwed it up last time they refitted the ship."

"And?" T'Pol prompted from her position on his other side.

"Over my dead body," he swore.  "No experimental systems replacing my stuff."

"Most of the systems on Enterprise were experimental when the ship was launched," she reminded him.

"Well," he said, unable to refute her logic.  "It's my ship and the Corps of Engineers can bloody well stay out of it."

"My God," Malcolm breathed, ignoring the latter half of Trip's rant as a blue ball came into view.  "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It's all in one piece," Trip said, his gaze transfixed on the planet below, all thoughts of the Corps of Engineers driven out by the sight of their home.

T'Pol turned him away before the scorched mark still running through Florida could come into view.  "Your families will be waiting for you when we land."

Malcolm clapped a hand on Trip's shoulder.  "We're home."

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