A/N: *This story does not go along with any of my previous stories.* **still haven't figured out how to use the chapter feature.**
I'm not up to date with the Trek universe and wasn't able to get too much information about the 1701-G. I simply used the Captain's name and commission date for my story. Any other details about the 1701-G are my own for this story.
Somewhere in Chapter 6… well… let's just say I might get some flak for this one…
Future Mine
Chapter 1
Captain Archer was sitting in his ready room reading the message on his PADD for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, trying to decipher its meaning, when his comm beeped at him. "Archer."
"We're entering Earth's orbit sir." Travis' disembodied voice announced.
"Have Malcolm and Trip meet me in the transporter room. Archer out."
XXX
The three materialized at Starfleet Command Headquarters and was escorted directly to Admiral Gardner's office. All three were confused as to why the Admiral had summoned them here, in person, and why his messages had seemed so cryptic.
"Good. I'm glad you came so quickly, Captain."
"Well sir, you did say that this was an urgent, high priority matter. If I've learned anything in my years with Starfleet is that you don't keep an Admiral waiting. I am concerned with all of the secrecy though."
"Yes. I'm sorry I had to keep you in the dark, but you'll soon understand why." Gardner turned their attention to a large view screen on the wall and pressed a button that brought up an image of what appeared to be a piece of scrap metal. "This is a piece of the first Xindi sphere that exploded after it began its attack. It was recovered only a little over a year ago and we've been studying it ever since."
"What part is it, sir?" Trip's curiosity was piqued.
"It seems its some sort of mission targeting data feed. Although the spheres' primary goal was to destroy Earth, there was a secondary intent. It was to target specific locations around the world." He pressed another button to change the image to a global map, highlighting the specific targets. "Do you recognize these locations, Commander?"
Trip took a step towards the screen and studied it for a moment. "Yes sir. They're all mining facilities."
"Tucker Mining Unlimited to be exact, Commander."
Trip had deliberately left out that detail and was a little perturbed that the Admiral mentioned it.
Malcolm seemed a little confused. "Tucker is a common name. I highly doubt that this has anything to do with our Commander Tucker. Does it? Commander? Are you related to those Tuckers?"
Jon chucked before dropping the bombshell. "Malcolm, Trip's parents are those Tuckers."
Malcolm's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You're parents are... Are you serious? Tucker Mining supplies Starfleet with the majority of dilithium used. Not to mention silver, gold, tritanium and a slew of other precious materials. You're like the richest family on the planet!"
"We are?" Trip said nonchalantly. "I never gave it any thought."
"Easy for you to say." Malcolm muttered.
In reality Trip was aware that his parent's wealth was beyond comprehension but, his parents were always modest about their wealth and passed that modesty on to their children.
Even his own father, who was an engineer himself, was no stranger to rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty when one of the mining equipment needed repairs.
They made their children get jobs when they were old enough, to teach them that money and possessions were earned rather than given, to live by the sweat of their brow and within the means of their own earnings. Of course Trip had his trust funds to fall back on if things had ever became that desperate for him, but it wasn't something that was meant to take the place of hard work and earning his own way.
"I don't understand why the Xindi would encode a secondary target attack. Destroying Earth would automatically destroy Tucker Mining as well. Well, except the off world facilities, but that's a different story, I guess."
"We wondered about that too, Commander." Gardner continued. "Then we noticed a detail that seemed odd. The reason we called you here, hoping you could shed some light on the subject."
"Me sir? I don't have anything to do with the family business...not much anyways. My parents could give you more details than I could."
"We already talked to them. They won't tell us anything, and since they're not Starfleet personnel..."
The lightbulb went off in Trip's brain. "Ah. I see. So you're ordering me to give up trade secrets about the company. Sorry sir, I can't do that. Not that I'm disobeying orders, but like I said, my inside knowledge of the business is limited at best, sir."
Gardner again pressed a button that zoomed in on an area of Antarctica where a small point of light pinned a location. "This piece of land in Antarctica was purchased by Tucker Mining in the mid twentieth century, but doesn't seem to be an operational facility. It's heavily guarded by private security, not to mention dampening fields to prevent satellite scans and surveillance. As far as we can tell, there isn't anything of value here. This location seemed to be of great interest to the Xindi. We need insight, Commander."
"Yeah. I know that location. When I was younger, before Starfleet Academy, I accidentally found out about it when I was helping my daddy with some company affairs. I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me anything. All he said was that I'd receive a messaged detail regarding that location when the company is passed down. Trust me sir, when daddy says to drop a subject...you drop it." Trip instinctively reached his hands behind him and placed them on his butt cheeks.
"Sorry to do this to you Commander, but we need to know what's so important down there that your parents have gone through the trouble of keeping secret...even if that means you need to take a spanking."
"Switch, sir. Daddy uses a switch...sometimes a strap."
Gardner and Malcolm looked at Trip, horrified. Jon and Trip looked at the floor. Jon had once witnessed, first hand, the type of discipline Trip's father doled out. To this day it made him sick to his stomach. "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Trip's daddy had said. Trip's father wasn't abusive, but did believe in corporal punishment and wasn't ashamed by it.
Gardner put a caring hand on Trip's shoulder. "Son, I'm sorry to have to put you in this position, but if the Xindi were once that determined to destroy Earth, just because of something that's in Antarctica, we need to know what we're dealing with."
"All due respect, sir." Jon chimed in. "The Xindi attacked Earth because they were led to believe, by a temporal faction, that humans would destroy their homeworld. We proved to them that it wasn't the case and they've left us alone since then. I doubt they would try another attack against us. Can't we just let this pass?"
"Can we really take that risk, Captain?"
Trip sighed. "It's ok, Cap'n. The Admiral is right. We can't chance it. I'll go talk to my dad and see if I can't get him to tell me what's so special about Antarctica." Then quietly added. "Even if that means get'n the switch."
Chapter 2
The three arrived at the Tucker house. As they exited the transport, Malcolm took a look at the house and scrunched his face.
"What? What's wrong?" Trip asked him.
"Oh. Nothing sir. I was just expecting something...I don't know. Something more I guess."
"Let me guess. You were expecting a hundred room mansion, complete with servants, private transport pad, manicured gardens, and a huge swimming pool in the back yard. Right?"
"Something like that, I guess."
"We don't live like that, Malcolm." Trip put his tongue in his cheek and rolled his eyes up. "Well, we do have a small swimming pool, but that's about it. No, a four bedroom house is good enough. Actually, momma says it's too big and they're considering get'n some'n smaller."
As they walked into the house Trip called out. "Momma? Daddy? Y'all home?" Trip's mom came from the kitchen, towel in hand.
"Trip! Oh my baby!" Rushing to hug him in delight at seeing her son in the room. She called down a hallway. "Junior! Come here! Trip is home!"
Trip's father emerged from the hallway. He was a big man. Tall, muscular and well built. He stood a full head over Trip and Malcolm could see why Trip would fear getting hit with a switch from him as he gave his son a big hug.
"Let me look at ya, son. Looks like ya been put'n on a few pounds. Need to start exercising more."
"Oh you hush, Junior. If noth'n else he's skin 'n bones. C'mon now. Dinners gonna be ready soon. Y'all need to eat. All of y'all look like skin 'n bones."
Trip's father narrowed his eyes at Jon and Malcolm then looked at Trip. "You ain't got yourself in some kinda trouble, have ya boy?"
Trip was quick to reply. "No sir! I ain't in no trouble. But...uh, I do need to talk to you about some'n."
"Not until after we eat. C'mon 'n sit down." His mother demanded.
"Momma, we really don't have time. I just need to talk to daddy for a few minutes then we gotta go."
"You heard your mother, no one is leaving with an empty stomach."
Jon could smell the food that was cooking and remembered how great Mrs. Tucker's cooking was. "Yeah. Come on, Trip. We have time to eat. As long as we're not imposing?"
Trip's mother gave him a big smile. "You're never imposing, Jonny."
Malcolm raised his eyebrows. "Jonny?"
Jon raised a finger at Malcolm. "Hey! That woman is the only person in the universe that gets away with calling me Jonny. Understand?"
Trip chuckled. "Yeah. I tried calling him that once. He damned near took my head off. Don't do it Malcolm. Trust me."
As they sat at the table, Malcolm was amazed at the spread laid out in front of them. Fried chicken, potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn on the cob, salad, and cornbread (he assumed). "So much food. Did you know we were coming?"
"Naw. Momma always cooks like this." Trip replied.
"Never know when someone might drop by, I always say." His mother smiling at them.
Malcolm started to reach for a piece of chicken when Trip smacked his hand. Looking up, he saw Trip shaking his head at him, then Trip folded his hands together and bowed his head. Malcolm looked and noticed the rest of the people at the table doing the same, even his Captain, who didn't believe in religion. He followed suit as Trip's father began the prayer.
"Our heavenly Father, bless those at this table. Bless this house. Watch over and protect our son, his shipmates, and his Cap'n. Guide them with strength and wisdom, dear Lord. Bless this food that it be for our bodies use and bless the hands that prepare it. We pray in thy name. Amen."
"Amen." They all said collectively as Trip's mother started picking up the dishes of food to pass around the table.
As they ate the meal, they talked about things other than business, as it was a rule in the Tucker household: no business talk at the table. Trip took a big bite of the bread. "Woo-wee momma! This pone is so good! I haven't had corn pone since last time I was home. I really need you to send the recipe to our chef."
"Now Trip, you know that's a secret." As she smiled at him. "Besides, if your ship's chef gets my recipe, you won't have no reason to come home."
"You know that ain't true momma."
Jon scoured the table of food, what was left of it anyways, before asking. "Trip is always talking about corn pone. What the heck is corn pone anyways?"
Trip's mother gave a little laugh. "Well honey, you're eating it."
Jon pointed at the piece of bread in his hand. "This? Oh. Ok. Cornbread. Same thing. Got it."
Trip and his father simultaneously dropped their forks, clanging as it hit their plates. Trip shot his hand up to cover his eyes. "Oh dear God." He muttered.
"Boy! Ain't you learnt this city slicker Cap'n of yours anything yet?" Trip's father asked.
"I'm try'n daddy, I'm try'n. Look Cap'n. Cornbread and corn pone are NOT the same thing."
"What's the difference?" Jon inquired.
"Cornbread is cornmeal, flour, sugar, eggs and milk baked in a pan. Corn pone is cornmeal, baking soda, water and lard and it's always, ALWAYS cooked in a cast iron skillet. Pone is denser than cornbread. You throw a piece of cornbread in a pot of soup beans and it disintegrates instantly. You throw some pone in soup beans, three days later...it's still pone."
"Well...either way, it's still delicious." Jon said as he took another bite of his corn pone.
As they continued talking, Malcolm deduced Trip's father's nickname was "Junior" and he joked. "You're a big man. Not exactly what I would consider as a junior."
Trip laughed at that, knowing that Malcolm already knew, but he explained anyways. "My pappy was "Senior", daddy is "Junior" and then there's me..."Trip", short for triple. Ya know...the third."
"Well thank God you didn't nickname Charlie "Quad", or "Four", or something like that."
Trip grinned and shook his head. "Naw. Charlie is a good name."
"When we ever gonna meet that grandbaby of ours anyway? He's so adorable. I hate only being able to see him through a view monitor. I just wanna pinch those cheeks and eat him up with a spoon." Trip's mother said.
"T'Pol took him to Vulcan for a few days while we're here. If there's time before we leave, I'll bring him over so y'all can meet him in person."
XXX
Charles "Charlie" Tucker IV, four years old now, was the product of an accidental pregnancy between Trip and T'Pol. Even though their relationship had ended more than a year before the pregnancy, they were still bonded to one another.
T'Pol had entered into her Pon Farr and, as Jon and the rest of the crew quickly discovered much to everyone's surprise, Trip was affected by the Pon Farr as well. The two practically tore the ship apart seeking out one another. Jon had no other choice but to have them both sedated until they could be moved and locked behind closed doors before they woke and did what they had to do to quell the calling of the Pon Farr.
Jon was confused by Trip being affected and Phlox didn't have any answers, as there was very little information about Pon Farr available. Jon knew this was a subject that Vulcans didn't discuss, especially with off-worlders, but took the chance and contacted the one Vulcan that might speak to him about it.
Soval was openly shocked when he discovered that Trip was affected. It wasn't thought that a human could be bonded with a Vulcan, much less experience the call of the Pon Farr. It made him wonder, even though he knew it was impossible and very illogical, if the Commander somehow had some Vulcan DNA somewhere in his ancestry.
The impossible question piqued Phlox's curiosity and he studied Trip's DNA that he had on file. As expected, Trip didn't have a Vulcan ancestor but there was an oddity in his DNA sequence. One strain held a minute mutation that was similar to Vulcan DNA and surmised that was the reason that Trip and T'Pol were able to bond and why Trip had been affected by the Pon Farr.
When T'Pol informed him of the pregnancy, Trip feared that Vulcan customs dictated that they were obliged to be married, if for nothing else, but to save face. T'Pol assured him that the obligation wasn't a custom and that she would not force him into an unwelcome marriage.
They both agreed to raise the child together, but separately, sharing custody and visitations.
They had to fight with Starfleet, Jon pulling as many strings and calling in markers as he could, to allow the family to stay on board Enterprise. It was experimental, a test of sort, to see if a family could live on board a starship.
The entire crew knew that Trip, T'Pol and their son were being closely watched and were determined to make this work since it meant that their success would result in the possibility of a future with all deep space starships being allowed to have children on board.
T'Pol searched extensively to find a way to break this bond between them as she knew Trip had to move on with his life, finding a mate that would make him happy. Oh sure, Trip had his flings but never became serious with anyone, fearing that anyone he was with wouldn't understand the mate bond he and T'Pol shared.
As more time passed without finding a way to break the bond, they were both concerned what would happen when the seven year mark came around again. "It's a screwed up way of life." Trip had once said to her.
She never intended for the two to become bonded as he was her first, her only, and she didn't know it was possible that they would be bonded, and neither of them knew about his mutated DNA strand at the time.
XXX
As Mrs. Tucker began clearing the dishes from the table, Junior stood. "I think I'll get some air. Trip?"
Trip followed his father to the porch and watched as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, taking one then offering one to Trip, which he accepted.
As the two stood on the porch smoking their cigarettes, Trip began. "Daddy, I know I'm not supposed to ask about this, but please understand it's a Starfleet matter, I need to know."
"About the Antarctica facility? Yeah. I pretty much figured that's why y'all was here. I'll tell ya the same thing I told those bureaucrats at Starfleet. It's not an operational facility. It's a private sector that Starfleet has no jurisdiction over. Nothing is going on that's harmful. No need to panic."
Just then Jon walked out onto the porch and his eyes instantly went to the cigarette in Trip's fingers. He looked at Trip in disgust.
"What? You know I still enjoy a puff now and then." Trip defended himself.
"I know, but you remember how hard it was for you, for both of us, to quit?"
Junior offered a cigarette to Jon. Jon put up his hands defensively. "No thank you, sir. When I quit I vowed I'd never look back. And I haven't." He shot a look at Trip.
"Good for you son." Junior said as he put the pack back in his pocket. "Look, the two of ya can stand fast all ya want, I'm still not gonna to tell ya about Antarctica. It's top secret company business. That's all ya need to know."
Jon tried to reason with him. "Sir, you need to understand that this is pretty serious. Starfleet needs to know what's going on down there."
"Why? Are they try'n to take over the facility? Try'n to take over the business? Yup. I could see that. They want the mining facilities to themselves so they don't have to shell out anymore payments for goods and services and they send in my own son to do their dirty work. Figures."
Jon let out a sigh. He knew this would be a breach of protocol, but he was up against the wall now. "Tell him Trip."
"Daddy, it's about the Xindi. They attacked Earth, partly because of Antarctica."
Junior shuddered at the memory of their Palm Beach town being destroyed and the memory of his only daughter being lost in that destruction. "Alright. I guess you boys need to come with me then." As he tossed his cigarette into a can of water sitting on the porch.
Chapter 3
They were in Junior's study as he pulled down a small wooden box from the shelf. Holding it he said "Y'all need to understand, what I'm about to show ya is a highly protected secret. For generations only those Tuckers, who the business has been passed to, has been given this information. No one else."
They both nodded as Trip said. "We understand daddy but we need to know what's happening here. You know we'll have to inform Starfleet, but if it's that serious, I'm sure they'll make it a high priority classified case."
Junior sighed then opened the box and pulled out a small shard of metal, handing it to Trip. "It was discovered in Antarctica in the 1940's by your fifth great grand pappy. It was tested at the time, but the technology wasn't like it is today. He purchased the land there, knowing that the then military establishments of the world shouldn't have access to what's there, and it's been a family secret since. Even today, we need to protect this secret from our governments as the world, the galaxy, isn't ready for this yet."
"What is it?" Trip asked as he turned the shard over in his hands studying it.
"It's part of a ship. The best guess is that it crashed in Antarctica some centuries ago and has been buried under the ice ever since. Every time there is a new breakthrough in technology we have it tested. It's made from a metal that has yet to be discovered."
"So it's not a human vessel then?" Jon asked.
"I'm not sure. We can't penetrate the haul to get inside. All of our equipment isn't able to even put a scratch in this metal."
Trip questioned the possibilities. "Maybe a Xindi ship that crashed here? Maybe that's why they were so interested? Maybe they sent a probe to Earth centuries ago to check our threat level and when they found out that we didn't have the technology for space travel at the time, left us alone until now."
Trip's father continued. "It's more than that, Trip. It's from the future. We had it quantum dated. Sometime in the twenty-fifth century."
Trip quickly dumped the shard back into its box as if it were poison. His eyes wide. "Oh my God. Cap'n, you don't think..."
"I don't know Trip, but we definitely need to tell Starfleet about this. If it is, we don't need to be messing around down there. Mr. Tucker, I should caution you, when I give my report to Starfleet, most likely they will want to take over the Antarctica facility. I urge you to allow them to do it. If this is what I think it could be, it would be for your protection, and Earth's protection as well."
Junior narrowed his eyes at Jon. "The Tucker family has been guarding this secret for generations. There hasn't been any issues. What are you boys so afraid of?"
"Dad, we can't tell you. It's highly classified, but Cap'n is right. It would be for Earth's protection."
Junior noticed Trip's use of "dad" rather than "daddy". Whatever was going on it was something very serious. Just then a light knock on the door. "Is it ok to come in?" Mrs. Tucker's voice through the door.
"We done here?" Junior asked the pair. They both nodded. "You can come in, mother." Junior responded.
The door opened and Mrs. Tucker informed them that she had made up Trip's room and the other two guest rooms for them all to sleep for the night.
"It is getting late. We could stay the night and head back to San Francisco in the morning." Jon decided.
Trip was in his room looking over some old items from his childhood that his parents had kept when there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Jon entered the room, closing the door behind him. "You don't think that ship really belongs to those humanoid machine people do you?"
"I don't know Cap'n. If it does, it needs to be destroyed. You remember what happened when we ran into them last time. Do you think maybe that's why the Xindi attacked? They thought those creatures were from Earth?"
"I don't know Trip. Anything we come up with now would all be speculation. Let's not get ahead of ourselves on this one. We should get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
"Ok. G'night Cap'n."
"Good night, Trip."
XXX
Back at Starfleet Headquarters, Jon and Trip gave their reports as to what they learned from Junior. The committee was equally concerned that the ship might belong to the machine people, which was the only way to describe them as they didn't know what species they were, let alone what planet they came from.
It was decided that Jon would go to Antarctica to investigate before deciding what actions to take next.
Chapter 4
Jon, Trip and Malcolm arrived at the facility. They had to leave the shuttle some distance away and walk to the entrance since the area was a "no fly zone" and fields put in place to disable any vessel that attempted to pass over.
As they got to the entrance, they could see a figure coming out of a hut that was just outside the gate, with a phase rifle in hand. "Stop right there! This is private property, turn around and leave immediately."
"We're here on a Starfleet matter." Jon tried to explain.
The security guard wasn't impressed. "I don't give a damn why you're here. This is private property and Starfleet has no jurisdiction here. Leave...now!" He tightened his grip on the rifle. This guy wasn't playing any games.
"Do you know who I am?" Trip asked in a huff.
"No, and I don't care. You have three seconds to get moving before I start shooting."
Trip held up his hands. "Ok. Look. I'm just gonna reach in my pocket and show you my ID. Don't shoot. Ok?"
"I don't care about your damned ID. Your three seconds is up." The guard started to lift his rifle.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hold on a sec!" Trip said urgently as he reached for his ID and handed it to the guard.
The guard looked at it. Even though his face was covered to protect him from the cold, Trip could tell he turned whiter than the ice and snow around them. The guard started to stammer. "Uh. Uh. Mr. Tucker, sir. I didn't know it was you. Uh. I'm sorry sir. No one told me you were coming. Uh. I'm sorry. Oh geez! I'm going to be fired aren't I?"
Even though the guard couldn't see it through Trip's own face coverings, he grinned. "Naw. You ain't gonna be fired. You was just doing your job. But if you don't let us inside soon, I might reconsider it. I'm freezing my ass off here!"
"Oh! Yes sir. Right away sir." The guard scrambled back into the hut to work the control that opened the gate. When he came out he said. "Right this way, sir. I'll take you straight to the building. This way, sir."
Inside the building it was still a bit cold, but warmer than outside. Trip had asked that the shuttle be brought inside the facility walls, so they wouldn't have to walk back when it was time for them to leave.
They were escorted down a shaft that led to the area where part of the ship had been exposed. From their view point, it just looked like a metal wall.
Jon took out his scanner and scanned the ship but wasn't able to get any useable readings.
Trip pulled his phase pistol, being Starfleet issue, it was a little more powerful than the rifles the private security carried and aimed it at the "wall".
"I don't know what's gonna happen here, but yeah. Everyone hit the deck."
Everyone in the corridor, except Trip, laid on their stomachs as flat as they could and covered their heads with their arms and hands as Trip fired.
The shot ricocheted off the metal. Trip barely had time to duck as the shot whizzed by his head before blasting into the ice to one side. "Let's not do that again." He said looking at Jon wide-eyed.
Trip took a step forward to inspect the place he just shot as Jon got up to join him. Jon ran his hand over the spot. "No blast mark. Not even a scratch. Incredible!"
Jon decided to get an aerial view of the ship. Trip instructed the security to lower the damping field to allow them to do this.
As they made several grid passes, to map out the outline structure they made a terrifying discovery.
After landing they looked over the scans they took and there was no doubt in the minds of the three Starfleet officers. They could clearly see the shape of a saucer section, the warp nacelles and the main body that housed the deflector array. It was a human vessel. A Starfleet vessel.
After much debating between Trip and his father, Junior finally agreed to allow Enterprise to use their phase cannons from space to blast away the ice that covered the ship. Once the ship was unearthed, they had access to the port hatches and would be able to get inside.
Jon put together a small boarding party comprised of Trip, Malcolm, Hoshi, T'Pol and a few MACOs. He had them assembled in the transporter room to make his speech before beaming down.
"I don't know what we'll find down there. The technology will be well beyond anything that we can conceive of. Our job is not to study this technology, only to gather the details as to how this ship got into our timeline and how it met its demise. I'm sure we'll find bodies there. Keep in mind that this is their final resting place. Give the utmost respect. Let's go."
Chapter 5
The landing party boarded the ship and made their way to the bridge, passing frozen bodies along the way.
Once on the bridge they were amazed at what they saw. A spacious area. Science station without a view scope, two navigation stations, and security station directly above the Captain's chair which was flanked on both sides by two other chairs. "Wonder who the other chairs are for." Malcolm said out of curiosity.
"One of them is most likely the first officer's chair. The other, perhaps for a dignitary." T'Pol stated.
"Damn! Two nav stations? This ship gotta be one powerful mother to take two people to handle her." Trip chimed in.
"Ok. That's enough drooling, let's get on with why we came here. Hoshi, see if you can get the Captain's logs downloaded." Jon told them.
Trip started walking around the bridge, his engineering curiosity in overdrive. As he walked around he spotted something on a wall and ran his hand over it to get the snow and ice off. It was a plaque and he bent slightly to read it.
"Uh. Cap'n. You might wanna take a look at this."
Jon looked at the plaque and read out loud. "Commissioned Stardate..." Jon looked at Trip. "Stardate?" Trip shrugged his shoulders then Jon continued reading. "Commissioned Stardate 41025.5. NCC-1701-G. USS..." Jon gulped. "ENTERPRISE."
Jon stood eyes wide. "Nice to know the Enterprise name will live on...I guess."
"Sir. There isn't any power to these stations, I can't download anything." Hoshi explained.
"Trip, find your way to engineering and see if you can figure out how to get power going to the computers. The rest of you take a look around the ship and see what you can find that might help us solve this mystery." Jon said.
XXX
Trip found his way to engineering and let out a whistle when he walked into the room. His eyes went to a vertical device in the center of the room. "Are you the warp core? What I wouldn't do to take you out dancing just one time." He said to the empty room. He went over to the control computer, addressing the bodies on the floor. "Sorry to invade your space but I need to get the power up. Hope y'all understand."
As he worked around the engineering computer trying to figure it out, his eyes kept darting to a Vulcan woman sitting up on the floor in front of the computer. He couldn't explain why this woman continued to catch his attention.
As he was becoming exasperated by the fact that he wasn't making any headway, he knelt down to get a better look at the woman. He studied her face, her ears, and her body. Everything about her had him strangely intrigued. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Hey chief. I'm a little outta my league here. Think you could give a guy a point in the right direction? Naw? Well thought I'd ask anyways." He reached out and cupped her face with his hand. He felt a strange shock and the answer he was looking for seemed to come to him like a clap of thunder.
Trip jumped up and began pulling and bypassing the wire connections as if he'd been doing it his entire life, even though the system was much more advanced than anything he'd ever seen. When he bypassed the final connection the computer systems flickered then came back to life.
He looked down at the woman and tilted his head to the side. "Did. Did you do that?"
He knelt down in front of her again. "If it was you. Thank you." Trip closed his eyes and said a silent prayer for this woman that he knew he'd never know. All he knew was that she was...will be... a fellow engineer.
He took her face in his hand again. "Who are you? Who will you be? Why do you fascinate me so much? Why do I feel so much pain for you?" He traced her cheekbone with his thumb and felt a tear run down his face. "I'm sorry this happened to you. You didn't deserve to go this way."
Jon had been standing watching the interaction Trip was having with this woman. "Trip?"
Trip jumped, startled by the sudden voice behind him. He quickly stood, wiping the tear away. "Uh. Got the computer going Cap'n."
"I see that. Good job. So uh, what's going on here?" Glancing down at the woman.
Trip glanced down at her. "She's Vulcan."
"Yeah. The ears kind of give it away. Anything else?"
Trip shrugged. "She's an engineer, the chief I think. Kindred spirit I guess."
"Seemed like something more than kindred spirit. I mean I don't see you making a pass at any of the other engineers here." Jon grinned to show he was only joking.
Trip couldn't explain it but something about that comment made his blood boil. "I wasn't making a pass at her! How could you imply that?"
Jon put his hands up defensively. "Hey whoa. I was just joking. Sorry. But you do have to admit it was a little...weird."
"Yeah. I guess. I don't know. I just feel like I know her from somewhere. Or should know her from somewhere."
Jon crinkled his eyebrows. "Trip, you do realize we'll all be dead long before any of these people are born. Her included. It's impossible that you would know her."
"Yeah. I know. Maybe that's it. Just the thought that here we are on a ship from the future surrounded by dead people who aren't even born yet, when to them, we're the ones who have been long since dead. Footnotes in their history books. Who are the real ghosts here?"
"Ok Trip. You've been hanging around T'Pol too much. You're getting too philosophical. You have just successfully blown my mind."
Chapter 6
Back on their own Enterprise, Trip walked into the crew mess to grab some lunch. As he walked across the room he noticed people were looking at him differently.
Some of the women that had never given him a second look before were now suddenly very interested in him. Their eyes sparkling as they met his eyes. He even noticed a few of the men looking his way as well. He had been down this road before and knew exactly what was going on.
As he filled up his tray, he noticed an ensign, Jack Anderson, looking at him. Trip knew for a fact that Anderson was homosexual and the ensign had had a crush on him since he first came on board. In a completely inappropriate, impish impulse that he couldn't explain, Trip winked and blew a kiss at him. Anderson was flustered.
Trip spotted Malcolm and walked over to the table, grinning with pride that he had flustered Anderson. Trip didn't ask Malcolm if he could sit, he just sat.
"Did ya really have to go and blab to everyone?" Trip asked, slightly irritated.
"Blab sir? What do you mean blab?"
"You just had to open your big mouth and tell everyone about my parents, didn't ya?"
"I didn't tell everyone. Ok, I might've mentioned it to Hoshi and Travis in passing, but that's it. Must've been one of them that blabbed. So your parents are rich. What's the big deal?"
"Because, whenever people find out who my parents are, they treat me differently. Look, I grew up being the "rich kid" in school. Nobody really wanted to be my friend, they just wanted me to buy them things or take them on vacations with us, but not any true friends. When I got outta my parents' house and on my own, nobody knew who I was. I wasn't the "rich kid" anymore and I was able to make some real friends. I don't want to go back to being known as the "rich kid". Get it?"
"Yeah. I guess. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything to them, but I truly didn't think they were going to say anything."
"I know ya didn't mean any harm by it. Just watch what ya say and to who ya say it to from now on. Ok?"
"Sure, Commander. Just one thing though. How long did you really think you could keep it a secret on a ship this size anyway? Eventually someone would've put two and two together."
"Ya said it yourself, Tucker is a common name. Anytime someone questioned, I'd just tell them it was a coincidence. Been working so far."
Ensign Anderson walked up to the table and seemed a little nervous. "Hey...uh, Commander. Hi."
"Hello ensign, something I can do for ya?"
Anderson rubbed the back of his neck before answering. "Well...Uh... I was wondering... That is if you don't have any plans... Maybe after shift we could grab a couple of beers and go to the rec room for some nine ball? That is if you don't have any plans... That is."
"Sorry ensign, I'm pretty busy with this mission. Maybe some other time."
Anderson got a big smile on his face at the thought of the promise of some other time. "Oh. Yeah. Sure, I understand. No problem. Some other time, sure. Just let me know. We'll do that another time. I'll bring the beers. See you around, Commander."
Trip turned and watched him walk away. Poor guy. Guess it's kinda mean to lead him on that way. He is kinda cute though. Trip thought to himself.
"You know, Jack is on my security team. Nice fella. You ought to go out with him sometime." Malcolm said before shoving a fork full of food in his mouth.
"I'm a Commander, he's an Ensign. See the problem? Besides, he's a bit young for me."
"Oh, yeah. I guess you do like them a little older."
Trip knew that was a jab at T'Pol's Vulcan age and shot Malcolm a dirty look.
Malcolm had discovered Trip's sexually when they were on shore leave at Risa. The two of them took to cruising the bars to pick up some women.
At one of the bars, Malcolm mistook a man for a woman that Trip quickly corrected him on. Malcolm was taken aback when the guy came over and started chatting up Trip. And more so taken aback when Trip started flirting with him.
Nothing came of it however, and the pair moved on to another bar where they met two drop dead gorgeous, clearly females. That didn't turn out so well as they were tricked into going with them into the basement, where they discovered the "women" were actually alien men who could change their appearance and were mugged.
They spent the night tied up in the basement and Malcolm asked Trip about the fellow at the other bar. That's when Trip told him that he's bisexual. When Malcolm asked Trip why he didn't go out with the first guy, Trip responded "I was looking for fun. He was looking for a wedding ring. That's when I knew it was time to go."
Even if that incident hadn't happened, Malcolm would have figured it out eventually. The signs were all there.
He had caught Trip more than once checking out some of the guys on the ship. Then there were the Vissians that need a cogenitor, a third gender, in order to conceive a child.
It was difficult using the clunky term "cogenitor" and the crew thought it was rude to use the term "it". The cogenitor appeared and carried itself more like a male and had even chosen a male name, "Charles". So the crew took to using the male gender terms "he" and "him". Trip was the only one to use the female gender terms, "she" and "her". It was very obvious that Trip was attracted to him...her...
Then there was the time that Trip got pregnant. That was a funny story in of itself.
Malcolm had also noticed that when it was a woman that turned Trip's head, no matter how petite her appearance may have been, it was always the strong, dominating type.
It wouldn't be that difficult for anyone who was observant to realize that Trip was not heterosexual.
As Trip and Malcolm ate their lunches, Trip began to entertain a thought. It's not like he reports directly to me, and he is kinda cute. Maybe I should consider that "some other time".
XXX
Trip was sitting in front of the Vulcan woman studying her. There was just something about her that seemed so familiar. He just couldn't place it. He was beginning to question why he was becoming obsessed with her when he heard Jon's voice. "I figured I'd find you here."
As Trip started to stand he inquired. "Has Hoshi been able to download the Captain's logs?"
"It's slow going, but she's making some progress. The technology here is so far beyond us. Downloading the logs from their computer to ours is like trying to match up a shuttle pod with a horse and buggy."
Trip chuckled. "Yeah, and we're the horse and buggy."
"So. What's the deal here? Why are you so interested in this woman?"
"I don't know Cap'n. There's just something about her. Just something I can't quite understand. She seems to speak to me."
Jon got a little worried. "Trip, are you saying that you hear her talking to you? Like she's actually getting up and talking to you?"
"No, no. Not like that. I mean. I don't know. I can't explain it or put it into words. It's just when I look at her, there's something that strikes a chord in me. Like somehow we're a part of each other. Like somehow our souls connect. I don't know. Like I said, I can't explain it."
Jon opened his mouth to begin to say something when his communicator beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Archer."
Hoshi's voice cracked over the device. "Sir. I think I found the solution. I should have the logs downloaded in a few minutes. Are there any other logs I should download that might help?"
"No Hoshi. I don't want to download too much and risk contaminating the time line..." He saw the way Trip was looking at him. "Stand by. What Trip?"
"Might not hurt to have the engineering logs downloaded as well. If there was some kind of issue here that caused all this, it would be in those logs. Oh! And Cap'n, maybe download the crew's personal logs too. You know, sometimes crew says things in their personal logs about a situation that they don't dare put in a report."
"Good idea. Hoshi, did you get all that?"
"Yes sir. Give me about ten minutes or so and it should all be completed."
"Good. Have it sent directly to my computer, no place else, understand?"
"Aye sir. Understood."
"Good. Archer out." Jon closed his communicator and put it back in his pocket when Trip asked an odd question.
"We can't contaminate the timeline and we can't leave this ship and these people here either. What will happen to them? I mean, they should have a proper burial, shouldn't they?"
Jon didn't know how to answer that question. That would be something for the people higher up than he to work out.
Chapter 7
Jon had listened to the Captain's logs and had called T'Pol and Trip to his ready room to discuss it with them.
"These are the last log entries by the Captain. It's a little disturbing, but I thought you two should have a listen." He pressed the button to start the recording.
Captain's Log Stardate 43708.3 Captain Neil Cross, Commanding Officer. This may be my final log entry. After confronting the Xindi regarding their construction of some sort of temporal device, there was a massive exploitation. We have been hurled back in time to Earth. We haven't figured out why Earth, as we were over a hundred light years away from Earth at the time of the explosion. We have been trapped under the ice for over two weeks now. According to the small amount of data we've been able to gather, we believe somewhere in Antarctica in the early to mid-twentieth century. There are only less than a handful of us left now. Some of the crew were killed from injuries when the Xindi device exploded. Others perished from the crash landing. As we began losing power and heat, most had succumbed to the cold and died of hypothermia. Others, to my great sadness, chose their time. We have diverted what's left of our power to the bridge, but it's draining quickly and we're losing heat. I'm pretty sure that when we go to sleep tonight, it will be for the final time. Should the Federation find us sometime in the future and receive this recording, please contact our families when the time is appropriate. Let them know what happened to us. Let them have closure. End log entry.
There was a heavy sadness in the room when Jon spoke. "This is the Captain's personal log."
Captain's personal log Stardate 43... Oh hell does it matter? We're trapped in the past, who the hell knows what the Stardate is? Just make something up if you have to. Those damned Xindi. It's their own fault their homeworld was destroyed. Messing around with something they had no business doing. Whatever possessed them to screw around with time travel is beyond me. This is why we have rules and laws in place about these things. I don't know why the Federation ever granted them entry in the first place. They're so stubborn, always going off to do whatever fool thing that pops into their heads. I tell ya. If I was on the first Enterprise, the NX-01? I'd kick Jonathan Archer's ass for not taking them out when he had the chance!
Jon paused the recording and looked slightly amused.
"Bet he wouldn'a said that if he knew you'd hear it." Trip chuckled.
"Yeah. Probably not." Jon resumed the recording
No, not really. I guess that wasn't a very professional thing to say. I'm just so frustrated by the whole situation. Watching my crew die off, freezing to death, suicide. I found my chief medical officer this morning. He hung himself in his office. I was pretty sure it was going to happen. I didn't try to do anything to talk him out of it. Hell, I've put a phaser to my own head a few times. My biggest regret, I never told her how much she means...meant to me and now I'll never get the chance.
The recording ended there.
"So, the Xindi's future homeworld was...will be destroyed and the Xindi of our time was told by some temporal faction that we did it, in reality they did it to themselves. That other Enterprise was just caught in the cross hairs." Jon said sadly.
"I wonder who the "she" was he talked about." Trip muttered.
"None of our business Trip, that's who." Jon was a little too quick to state that. He knew something but Trip wasn't going to push it.
Trip and T'Pol got up to leave and Trip had an afterthought, staying behind. After the door closed he asked Jon. "Cap'n. Do ya think I could get a listen to her log?"
"Why Trip?"
"I don't know. Maybe putting a voice to the face. Can't ya just at least tell me her name?"
"No Trip, I can't do that. I can't release the names of any of these people. Knowing the Captain's name is bad enough."
Trip tilted his head to the side. "What's so bad about knowing a person's name?"
"Ok. What if you, for example, were to go to one of Cross' relatives living today. Say his great-great...whatever grandmother, and told her what was going to happen. She could pass this information down to the generations until Neil was told about it. It might cause him to change the course of his life. He might not even ever join Starfleet or become a Captain. We don't know what he did before this incident with the Xindi that shot him into the past to die. For all we know he could be...will be responsible for saving an entire solar system, saving billions of lives. We just can't risk it."
"Ok. I get it. What about some'n that won't do any harm? Don't tell me her name then. I just...just need to hear her voice. That's all."
"No Trip. I'm sorry, but the answer is no."
Defeated, Trip left and went to his quarters. He was sitting at his desk in front of his computer, looking at a picture of the woman and asking the same question he'd been asking himself since he first saw her. "Who are you?"
Trip had snuck his camera onto the other Enterprise and snapped the picture. He knew Jon would be furious if he'd found out, but at this point, Trip was so obsessed he didn't care. His door chime chirped. "Come in"
The door slid open. "Daddy!" Charlie rushed in and Trip hoisted him onto his lap.
Charlie had spent the past few days with Trip's parents getting to know them. "Hey buddy! Did you have fun with grandmamma and pappy?"
"Yeah. Who's that?" Charlie pointing to the computer. Trip reached over to turn off the monitor before T'Pol had time to see it.
"Nobody. Just some work daddy's doing. So, tell me about your time on Earth."
"Pappy took me fish'n and I got a fish this big!" Charlie spread his arms as wide as he could.
"Really!? That's a big fish! You're lucky it didn't gobble you down in one bite! Grrmummum" Trip mocking eating at Charlie's neck as Charlie giggled.
Charlie wasn't yet near the age of Kolinahr and it wasn't unusual for him to giggle or express other emotions, much like human children do.
Trip and T'Pol agreed that when he was old enough, they would let Charlie decide if he wanted to take part in the ritual that would teach him to suppress his emotions.
Secretly, Trip was hoping that he would not choose to go through the ritual, holding onto his human side, but whatever choice Charlie made, he'd respect it.
"Uh-huh and grandmamma made some cookies! They was good. She said I was her taste tester. And she kept pinching my cheeks. I don't think I'm agreeable to that, but it made her happy. And at night pappy put up a tent in the back yard and we went camp'n. And we made some'n called s'mores. They was good. I had lotta fun. I wanna go back again sometime."
"Don't worry, you will. I'm glad you had fun. Maybe next time daddy won't have to work and can go fish'n with you and pappy and catch a fish this big!" Trip spread his arms as wide as he could.
"I'm not sure if I'm agreeable to you and your father teaching our son how to be less than truthful." T'Pol said raising an eyebrow at Charlie.
Trip rolled his eyes at her. "Oh c'mon. It's just fish tales. Everyone knows that you exaggerate when you talk about the fish you caught, and you exaggerate more about the one that got away. Ain't that right, buddy?"
"Yeah. I guess the fish was really only twenty point thirty-two centimeters." Charlie sounding ashamed that he had exaggerated.
"Hey. That's still a pretty good catch. You should be proud of that. When I was your age I was lucky to catch a bluegill." Trip put a hand up, spreading his thumb and middle finger to show how small a bluegill is.
"Charlie's bedtime is in one hour. Make sure he gets to bed on time." T'Pol demanded.
Trip rolled his eyes again. "I know when Charlie's bedtime is. You don't have to tell me every time you drop him off. Thank you."
T'Pol cocked an eyebrow. "Apparently I do. Seems every time he spends the night with you, he's awake well past his bedtime." She gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek and gave Trip a peck on the lips.
There wasn't anything sexual about the peck, just simply to show that they still cared about each other and could still be good friends despite ending their relationship.
As T'Pol left, she called over her shoulder. "Bedtime. One hour." And the door slid shut.
Trip narrowed his eyes at Charlie. "You been tattle'n to your momma about me?"
"No daddy. I swear. I ain't said noth'n. She just knows." Charlie sat up as straight as he could, raised an eyebrow and in a mocking voice said "I am Vulcan. I know these things." Father and son giggled together.
Trip grinned and winked at Charlie. "You wanna watch a movie?"
Chapter 8
Jon walked into his ready room shocked at what he saw. "Trip! What the hell are you doing?"
Trip was under the work station trying to bypass the computer system. He stood up, trying to quickly think of an excuse but was drawing a blank. "Uh...umm."
"Are you trying to break my security code and hack into my computer?" Jon demanded.
"Umm... I was uh... Fixing something?" Trip stuck his tongue in his cheek and rolled his eyes. He knew he got caught in the cookie jar. "Yeah. Alright you busted me. But I just have to know. I can't explain the reason. I just have to know!"
"You know you can be court martialed for this, right?"
"Yeah. I know. But I hope you won't. I just don't know what's come over me lately. I'm just so obsessed by her. Not in a sexual way, just in a way that I should know her. I need to know who she is."
Jon eyed Trip for a moment. "You know, Phlox and Soval both told me that obsession is a symptom of Pon Farr. Is it possible...?"
"No. It's not Pon Farr. That much I'm sure of. Besides, my Pon Farr won't come back around for a few more years yet."
It was strange to Jon that Trip had referred to the Pon Farr as "my" Pon Farr but let it pass.
Jon lowered his head and sighed. "Ok Trip. Obviously you're not going to let this go. Your obsession has driven you to doing things that could get you in serious hot water. You need to realize that should I disclose this information, and I'm not saying that I will, just should I disclose it to you, you will have to treat this as a high priority classified matter. You can never breathe a word about it to anyone. Not even you and I can ever discuss it again. Understand?"
"Yeah Cap'n. I understand. I'll never say a word to anyone about it. I'll take it to my grave. I swear."
Jon sighed again. He knew what he was considering would get him into more trouble than Trip's attempt at hacking his computer. "Alright. Let's go."
"Where we goin'?"
"Sickbay."
"Sickbay? I ain't sick. I told you my Pon Farr ain't due for a couple years yet."
"No Trip. The information that's reviled about this woman, well I guess it's best if you hear it from Phlox."
XXX
"Are you sure about this, Captain? The consequences to the timeline are unimaginable. I'm not sure Mr. Tucker needs to know this information." Phlox was protesting.
"Trust me doc. I need to know. It's gonna kill me if I don't find out soon." Trip was practically begging.
Phlox was still not sure if he should disclose what he had discovered. "Sharing this type of information could cause problems for me with Starfleet."
"Don't worry about Starfleet. If anything comes down, I'll make sure it's only my head that will roll, not yours. You're just following orders." Jon reassured Phlox.
"Well...it's still against my better judgement, but if it's an order..." Phlox directed them to the medical screen on a wall. He pressed a few buttons until he had what he wanted displayed.
"Captain Archer asked me to check every individual on the other ship to determine cause of death, when I found it." Phlox informed Trip. Trip was surprised by this and turned to Jon.
"Cap'n? Why'd you want each person checked? We know what happened."
"You heard Cross' request. When the time comes, he wants the families notified. I thought it would help if they knew their cause of death."
Trip raised his eyebrows. "What about the ones who committed suicide? Do ya really think their families need to know that?"
Phlox had the answer for that. "Their causes of death will be listed simply as other."
"Well, better than noth'n I guess. Ok Phlox. So what's the story with this woman?"
The screen showed five different DNA double helix images. Phlox started with the top one and worked his way to each one as they became relevant. "This is the DNA that belongs to the woman on the other Enterprise. As you can see, she is one quarter human."
Trip raised his eyebrows but remained silent as Phlox continued.
"These are her parents. Her mother, who is, rather will be, full Vulcan. Her father is half Vulcan, half human. We don't know about the mother to draw anything on, however the father, we can match his paternity to. His mother is Vulcan and his father is human."
Trip was trying to make sure he was comprehending what Phlox was telling him. "So her grandmother is, or will be, Vulcan and her grandfather will be human? Is that correct?"
"Yes Mr. Tucker, that's correct."
Trip crossed his arms in front of him. "Huh. Would ya look at that? Guess me and T'Pol kinda started some'n here. I mean, guess other humans and Vulcans start to pair off at some point in the future. Cool."
Jon gave Phlox a look that Trip wasn't sure what it meant. "Tell him, Phlox."
Before Phlox could say anything Trip interrupted. "Her name? You know her name?"
Phlox shrugged. "Guess that would be one way to do it. Yes Commander, I know her name. Her name was...will be Commander T'Ahl... T'Ahl Tucker."
Trip was a bit confused as the wheels in his mind began turning as if they had been frozen of rust for the past ten years. "Tucker? Her father half human? Her grandfather human? Tucker?" He felt as if he were drowning. He couldn't breathe. His heart had stopped beating. "Oh. My. God. Y-you mean. She's my..."
"Granddaughter. That's correct, Commander." Phlox finished for him.
Trip stood in complete disbelief when suddenly he felt a strange shock run through his body and it came to him like a clap of thunder. Trip's grin got almost as wide as a Denobulan's. "I'm gonna be a pappy! You here that? I'm gonna be a pappy! Oh. I can't wait for the day I get to bounce her on my knee. God. I hope my knees still work by then. Wait. Her daddy? Is he Charlie or will me and T'Pol...?"
Phlox looked at Jon rather or not to answer the question. "We've come this far. May as well tell him everything we know."
"Yes Commander. Charlie will be her father. I checked the DNA I have on file when Charlie was born. It's a perfect match."
Trip's eyes sparkled even brighter. "Charlie's gonna be a daddy someday. I'm gonna be a pappy. Can't wait to be there to see how well T'Pol can suppress the shock when she gets told she's gonna be a grandmamma."
Jon looked at Trip sadly and the sparkle left Trip's eyes. "What? What's wrong?"
Jon decided it would be best if this part came from him. "Trip, I had Hoshi download her service record. Charlie will be well over a hundred years old before T'Ahl is born. I'm sorry Trip, chances of you still being alive then are pretty much impossible."
Trip felt a stabbing pain in his heart. "You mean? I'll never get to see my grandbaby?"
Phlox tried to give a little comfort to Trip. "Who knows? Perhaps she will have older siblings that you will get to know."
As Trip's excitement to someday meeting T'Ahl died down another horrific thought came to mind. "Oh God. Phlox. Her cause of death. Is she listed as...other?"
"No Commander. She died from injuries when the ship crashed."
"She froze to death? Suffered?"
"No and no. Her neck was broken. It was instant. She didn't suffer."
"Well. I guess there's that. Some comfort at least knowing she didn't...won't suffer."
Chapter 9
Trip was sitting in front of T'Ahl. "I'm sorry this had to...has to happen to ya. I wish I could tell your daddy someday, to warn ya. But I can't. I don't know why the universe is playing this cruel joke on us."
He looked around the engine room. "I bet you will be the best engineer in Starfleet. Yeah. Ya gotta be. You got Tucker blood in ya." He cradled her face in his hands.
"I know it's tempting, but you can't tell Charlie, T'Pol or anyone. Remember that." Jon's soft voice came from behind him.
Trip didn't budge. He continued looking at T'Ahl and cupping her face. "Has Starfleet decided what they're gonna do? With the ship? With the...bodies?"
"The ship will be dismantled, destroyed if possible. The..." Jon cleared his throat. "The bodies will be placed for mass cremation."
Trip jumped up and spun to look at Jon, tears in his eyes. "Please not her. Not T'Ahl. Not my grandbaby. Give her to me. Let me put her to rest in the family cemetery. She doesn't have to have a marker. At least I'll know she's there."
"We can't take the chance that even one of these bodies somehow be exhumed and examined. It's too much of a risk. Cremation is the only way to protect their identities as being from the future. I'm sorry."
"Then do her separate. Give me her ashes. She's a Tucker. She needs to be laid to rest proper. Please Jon. I'm begging you. Please." Tears flowed heavy down Trip's face.
"I can't make any promises but I'll see what I can do. In the meantime. You should have this. Listen to it then destroy it. Do not. I repeat DO NOT make any copies or keep it. Understand?"
Jon handed Trip a data card. "What is it?"
"A recording. An entry from her personal log. She mentioned you. Oh. By the way. You're assumption? You were right. She was...will be chief engineer."
XXX
Back in his quarters Trip loaded the personal log and began listening to it. He was surprised that her voice had a lightness to it. Her way of speaking was more human than Vulcan and he wondered if that was Charlie's influence.
Personal Log of chief engineer T'Ahl Tucker Stardate 42989.7. We'll be heading out in a couple of days to confront the Xindi about them mucking around with a time travel device. I swear I don't know what gets into them sometimes. Neil...err... Cap'n Cross is pretty much fit to be tied about it. He asked me to the Cap'n table for dinner tonight. I don't know if I should wear the blue dress or the red one. I think I'll wear the red one. He seems to like that one. I doubt it has anything to do with the fact that it's cut a little lower than necessary. Ha ha. Yes. The red dress for sure. Daddy sent me a box with some old pictures in it from when he was a kid. I'm not sure why he sent it to me. He's get'n up there in years. Guess he just wants to make sure I have it while he has the chance. I found a picture of pappy when he was chief engineer in Starfleet. Looks like he's standing next to the ship's warp core. As ancient as that engine is, I still wouldn't mind take'n her out dancing just one time. Guess it's just the Tucker blood that loves an engine. (She sighed.) Pappy looks so happy there. I wish I got the chance to meet him. I bet he was a great guy. I don't know. Some'n tells me that someday, somehow we will meet each other. Oh! Oops! I'd better get ready if I'm gonna make the Cap'n table on time. Don't wanna keep Neil...uh Cap'n Cross waiting. End log entry.
Trip listened to the recording several more times before erasing it. He was sure that the "she" that Captain Cross referred to in his recording was T'Ahl and it was obvious she felt the same way about him.
Trip wondered if they had... will have a relationship or if it was an unspoken attraction between the two. He being a superior officer, it would be inappropriate but hoped that they might take a chance anyway. Then Trip's mind wandered to something else as his door chime chirped.
He opened the door to find T'Pol and Soval standing on the other side. "Uh. Ambassador Soval. This is a surprise. Please come in."
"I have come with news, Commander. I have found a way to break the bonding between you and T'Pol. If that is something you both still wish."
"Uh. Yeah. I mean... T'Pol?"
"It is agreeable with me. It would be illogical for the two of us to continue with a mate bond when we are no longer agreed to being mated."
"Ok. Let's do this then. Whada we gotta do?"
Soval dipped his chin slightly at T'Pol then turned to Trip. "I will caution you, Commander. This process has only been performed one time in recorded Vulcan history. Its details buried so deeply in books that it has been almost lost. I have already explained to T'Pol that there will be a great deal of discomfort in the process. The discomfort could last several days."
"I understand. But it is for the best. For both of us. Charlie as well. It is...the logical thing to do."
T'Pol and Soval both raised an eyebrow at Trip when he said that.
Are they sure he doesn't have a Vulcan ancestor? Soval wondered to himself.
XXX
It had been two days since the "debonding" as Trip called it, and he was feeling better. Soval had greatly understated the discomfort level.
Even though Trip and T'Pol will be bonded through Charlie and their friendship for the rest of their lives, they were at least out of each other's heads and Soval was confident that Trip would no longer experience the calling of Pon Farr.
Trip went into the crew mess to get something to eat. He spotted Anderson sitting alone and walked over to the table. "Is this seat taken, ensign?"
"N-no sir. Please." Anderson gestured to the chair.
Trip sat and rubbed the back of his neck. "So...uh nine ball? You any good?"
"I've been known to pluck a pigeon or two."
Trip leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, interlocking his hands and rested his chin on them as he grinned. "Good. I like a challenge. How about tonight. After shift?"
"Sure. I'd love to. Just make sure you bring your A-game."
"I always do." Trip gave him a wink, then his communicator beeped.
"Tucker."
Archer's voice came over the device. "Trip. I just got a delivery for you. It's in my ready room."
"Is it what I think it is?"
"Affirmative."
"Ok. I'm on my way."
Trip closed the device and put it back in his pocket. "Uh. Look Jack, I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to get this delivery for another day or two, but it's some'n I need to take care of. Personal matter. I hope you understand. Raincheck? Tomorrow night? I'll bring the beers to make it up to ya, ok?"
"Sure, Commander. I understand. Tomorrow night. With bells on."
Trip started to get up and gave Jack a wink. "It's Trip by the way."
Chapter 10
Trip stood on the edge of a cliff. The waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing below as he gazed into the starry night.
He gently rubbed the urn with a hand as he said a soft prayer over it.
He looked down at the urn. "Even though I'll be long gone before you're born, just know that you'll always be in my thoughts. Oh, and forget about ranks. Just be happy. Pappy loves ya. See ya on the other side."
He opened the urn and dumped out the ashes and watched as the wind carried the ashes up into the stars and into the future.
The End.
Epilogue:
T'Ahl checked herself in the mirror, pleased at her red dress cut lower than necessary. She smiled at the thought of flustering her Captain. She thought that maybe tonight might be the night one of them would get up the courage to tell the other how they feel.
She looked down at the pictures scattered on the table and picked one of them up to look at.
It was a picture of her father, Charlie, when he was a young teenager. He was standing beside his father, her "pappy". Each of them were holding up the fish that they had caught and smiling.
She thought about her father, being half human, half Vulcan and how he had found a good balance between his two cultures, compared to her contrast in choosing to relate more to her human side, even though it was only one quarter.
Unlike her older brothers, she chose not to go through the Kolinahr ritual, much to her mother's displeasure. She did however, tap into her Vulcan logic when it suited her needs.
As she put the picture back in its box, she picked up another picture. The picture of her pappy standing next to the warp core smiling happily. She thought that she should get a frame for the picture and display it.
She looked out the window at the stars, squinting her eyes trying to peer into the past when she felt a strange shock run through her body and a brush against her cheek as if someone were cupping her face. Like a clap of thunder it came to her.
"Pappy? Is that you? I know we never got the chance to meet, but you have always been in my thoughts. I love you pappy. See you on the other side."