Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters. Seriously. I mean the show wouldn't have been cancelled if Star Trek was mine.
I stole this idea partly from the TNG episode Attached. I liked that one and I wanted to try something similar with Trip and T'Pol.
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„I'll need someone who can translate the inscription. T'Pol can read Vulcan but I don't think anyone else here can. And besides the writing will be in ancient Vulcan so there's even less chance," Hoshi complained. She really wanted to see the ancient ruins and translate the myths that had been carved in stone 3000 years ago. But the UT wouldn't work because of atmospheric interference. Now she tried to convince Captain Archer that she needed someone to go to the planet's surface with her.
"I think Ensign Lar took some courses at the academy. What do you think, can you spare her in Engineering, Trip?" the Captain asked his Chief Engineer. Hoshi turned to look at him. For some reason he looked like he was ashamed of something.
"I don't think I'll need to spare her. The thing is, Cap'n, I can read and speak Vulcan pretty well. So I can go down to the surface with Hoshi and T'Pol. We'll translate those writings and then we can get on the way again. I hate doing stuff for the High Command. They're always complaining."
Hoshi was surprised. She never would have thought that the Commander had the talent or interest to learn a new language. Maybe she'd been wrong about him and he wasn't an obnoxious, yet funny jerk after all. But everyone, including the Captain, seemed surprised about this revelation.
"I'm not gonna ask you where you had the patience to learn this, but I'm glad you did. I want to get this over with as soon as possible, too. You know how the Vulcans get. Prepare a shuttle and get under way and remember we can't use the transporter, because of the interference."
"Aye, Sir," came the answer and everyone left, except Hoshi, Trip and T'Pol.
"I'm gonna be in the hangar in 15 minutes, Commander. I'll just pick up some things and then I'm ready to go," Hoshi informed them and got a nod. She headed for the turbolift, but just a moment before the door closed, she saw something strange. Commander Tucker and Subcommander T'Pol were staring at each other across the table. It seemed like he'd done something stupid and she was figuring out whether to punch him or ignore him. The doors closed before Hoshi could see the outcome.
She was really looking forward to this mission. It promised to be absolutely devoid of any adventure or firefight. And she loved to be on a planet with Commander Tucker. He was always so optimistic and funny. Well at least he used to be. Ever since the Terra Nova incident he was more subdued than before, but she guessed that could be expected after losing a child. Anyway she hoped this mission would be as unadventurous as a walk through the fields at home.
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20 minutes later the three Starfleet Officers sat in Shuttle Pod 1 on their way down to the surface. Commander Tucker was piloting and Hoshi was preoccupied with not throwing up, because the turbulences and Trip's practically non-existent flying skills were making it hard to keep the contents of her stomach were they belonged. Maybe her hope had been in vain and this mission would be absolutely horrible.
She was really glad when the shuttle Pod finally touched the soil and made a last bump.
"Sorry about that," Commander Tucker grinned.
"No apologies necessary Commander. We all know that the Captain didn't want you on this mission for your flying skills," T'Pol remarked drily before leaving the shuttle. Hoshi followed her, eager to get her feet on solid earth.
T'Pol already had her scanner out: "The ruins are about 500m in this direction," she pointed at a bunch of trees, "But I suggest we take another route. There seems to be a gorge behind those trees that we cannot pass. Commander Tucker, you were not supposed to land here, but 200m north. Now we have to walk more than 2km to reach the old temple."
"I'm sorry, but this turbulence threw me of the course. And besides, are you afraid to get footsore?" he chuckled in response.
Hoshi wasn't thrilled with walking so far, but there was no reasonable way round it. So she grabbed her gear and followed T'Pol.
While they were walking, she asked the Vulcan why these Ruins were so important to the High Command.
"At the time of the Awakening," T'Pol answered, "a group of priests left Vulcan to experiment with their mental skills. They improved a technique to mind meld and several other telepathic methods. But when they set out on their journey, no one knew what they wanted to accomplish. We are here to find out what they were doing here and what they found out. Ever since the Captain found the Kir'Shara more Vulcans are interested in finding out something about our mental abilities. And since the High Command knew we would be in this system, they asked us to have a look at the ruins."
"So they knew about this place before and never bothered to translate the inscriptions?" Hoshi wondered.
"No. Melders were an unwanted minority in our society. But that has changed. Even more so since T'Pau has been on the Council of Elders."
After half an hour of walking and climbing on rocks, they reached the ruins. Hoshi immediately told the two officers where they should begin to translate the writing. Commander Tucker looked as if he was bored out of his mind and Hoshi wondered again when he'd had the time to learn a new language. It was obvious that he rather wanted to be scrubbing a plasma manifold than translate ancient Vulcan. But after she'd begun to read she forgot about this mystery and was completely focused on the knowledge the Vulcan Priests had written down.
It was fascinating. Apparently the Priests had spent their time sitting in circles, meditating and talking in their minds. Only occasionally they had come out of this trance to eat and drink. Hoshi spent an hour reading and dictating the translation, until she was interrupted by Commander Tucker.
"I can't believe this. These Vulcans were insane. They tried to kill with their minds. But I can't read if they could really do it. There seems to be another chamber here, but the way is blocked."
He didn't sound too disappointed by that fact.
"Maybe we could use one of the shovels from the shuttle to get the debris out of the way," T'Pol suggested and immediately earned an evil stare from Tucker. But Hoshi thought it was a good idea. She really wanted to get this done.
"Commander I think she's right. Maybe you should go back and get the shovels from the Pod. T'Pol and I will continue here."
He seemed to think about that for a moment and then mumbled something like "at least I don't have to read more of this crap" and turned in the direction where the shuttle pod had to be.
Hoshi stared at his back for a moment and then turned to look at T'Pol. The woman was staring at the Commander as if she wanted to follow him. Hoshi again wondered what that was about. It seemed like she'd missed part of a conversation between these two. But then T'Pol turned to continue her translation and Hoshi again tried to get the meaning of a particularly convoluted sentence. There was something about mind meld and physical contact, but she couldn't find out what the connection between these two phrases were. After five minutes she gave up trying and called for T'Pol. Maybe she could make something of it.
"I can't read this sentence. Could you have a look at this, Commander?"
"Of course, Ensign," came the replay. T'Pol joined her and concentrated on the letters and words.
"This is extraordinary. Apparently the priests have found a way to initiate mind melds without actual physical contact. No wonder you couldn't read this. It's a very old form of Vulcan language that has been used only on very rare occasions. I can't translate all of it. This part for instance…"
T'Pol had her fingers on an intricately woven character and murmured something that Hoshi recognized as something like Vulcan, but she couldn't really grasp the meaning. It sounded like that "My mind to your mind" stuff the Vulcans used when beginning melds. But there was also a sound to it that made Hoshi shiver. It was …. kind of mysterious. She tried to repeat the words, but T'Pol interrupted her:
"I suggest we take a picture of this particular inscription and send it to the priests on Vulcan. They are the only ones who can translate this. You should get back to work. If we work efficiently we will most likely be finished by the time Commander Tucker comes back."
Hoshi nodded and made a mental note to ask those priests for a little lesson in ancient, ceremonial Vulcan. It bugged her that she couldn't understand this. She rarely had trouble with a new language.
"I doubt that the priests on Mount Seleya will share their knowledge with you. They are very reclusive, Ensign."
"Commander?" Hoshi was puzzled. Had she said that out loud?
"Is there a problem, Ensign?"
"Uhm…., no, of course not, Commander."
She was really going nuts. But that was old news. Ever since her accident with the transporter, when she'd thought she was vanishing, Hoshi felt as if she was losing it.
She returned to her inscriptions and didn't think about anything else for a few minutes.
But then she could hear T'Pol talking to herself while reading the texts. She tried to ignore it, but it was really driving her crazy. At last she turned around and faced the Commander, who was leaning towards the wall, intensely studying the writing.
"Commander, could you please stop reading that out loud? I really need to concentrate here," she asked as politly as she could. T'Pol turned slowly.
"I haven't been reading anything out loud, Ensign. Are you sure you are alright?"
Huh, maybe she wasn't. Who knew what this atmosphere could do to the human body. Hoshi was now really starting to doubt her sanity. She turned and looked at the forest they had crossed earlier that day. Maybe there was some microbe living in there that affected her brain. She shuddered involuntarily.
"Ensign, the possibility that such an organism lives here is extremely low. You should know that. And besides these inscriptions would have mentioned anything unusual," T'Pol assured her, although her expression was as emotionless as ever.
"Commander, I didn't say anything about a microbe," Hoshi told her. And this time she was sure she didn't say anything. There was something really weird going on here.
"Ensign, I heard you speculating about a microbe living on this planet. Maybe you should sit down and rest for a while," T'Pol suggested, but Hoshi wasn't giving up.
"I'm sure I didn't say anything about a microbe. I thought about it, but I sure as hell didn't say anything," Hoshi tried to suppress her anger. Maybe it was the Commander, who was going nuts and not her.
It was silent for a time, while T'Pol seemed to think about what she'd said and Hoshi was wondering, if the Commander had entered a trance or meditation.
"I have not Ensign. I may have an explanation for this. Could you try to focus on me for a moment?"
"I don't know why…" Hoshi objected, but was cut off again.
"Please, trust me just for a moment and try to focus on me."
Hoshi sighed and stared at T'Pol. Nothing happened for a moment. And then….
"Can you hear me Ensign?"
"I can hear you. Why can I hear you. You didn't say anything. Your voice was in my head, just like the time when we had that mind meld…" Hoshi was stammering. She was getting hysterics.
"It's just as I feared," T'Pol said, "I must have inadvertently initiated a mind meld by reading the instructions to you. It is a most curious experience."
"Yes, and how can we stop. I don't want to be in your head," Hoshi almost shouted, ignoring the fact that she didn't even have to speak to convey her thoughts to the Vulcan. The mind meld had been bad enough and now T'Pol didn't seem to even know how she could get their minds disentangled.
This was definitely not the quiet, relaxing kind of away mission.
"You are right, I have no idea how we are to terminate this meld. But I have no doubt that the method will be described somewhere here in these ruins. We should continue translating and should look for a clue."
Apparently Hoshi's approval was so loud that the Commander didn't have to wait for her answer, because she'd already turned to examine the writings. But Hoshi wanted to know something else before she got back to reading.
"Why can't I hear you as clearly as you seem to hear me? It sounds like a badly calibrated subspace signal. Kind of blurry, I really have to concentrate," she thought. She could at least try this thing.
"My mind is more disciplined. I have some mental barriers to suppress my thoughts. Every Vulcan is taught how to contain the thoughts in their mind. Now I suggest you get back to work."
Hoshi couldn't agree more, but the voice of the Commander made it difficult to concentrate on her task. But at least she had something on her own mind. To keep her occupied. And most importantly she didn't have the time to think of anything she wouldn't want anyone to hear. For instance… NO, she stopped herself. Focus on the language. Try to figure out what this means. How you can get this mind meld out of your head.
The next minutes were relatively manageable, until Hoshi heard something from T'Pol.
"And again he is not concentrating on the job at hand. I find it fascinating how he finds problems to occupy his mind even in areas devoid of anything engineering related. Most curious."
"Commander? Who are you thinking about?" Hoshi was curious. In her mind it sounded as if T'Pol was fond of whoever she was thinking about. And wasn't that an emotion?
"That is private, Ensign. Please try to focus on the writing. That will give us both more privacy."
T'Pol seemed to be ashamed of what she was thinking, which made Hoshi even more curious.
"You do know that I'm in your head. I will find out sooner or later. Maybe you should tell me about it now. And besides I have a distinct feeling that you're thinking about Commander Tucker."
"Why should I think about him?"
Hoshi raised a mental eyebrow to show her skepticism.
"I thought it was obvious. There are rumors about you two since we've entered the expanse. I thought you knew about that. Commander Tucker certainly did. I heard him talk to Lieutenant Reed about it. He denied everything, of course. And then that second Enterprise we encountered. The captain was your son, for God's sake. Everybody on Enterprise waits for the revelation that you two have been together for a while without showing it."
"I didn't know those rumors existed. I don't fraternize much with the crew."
Hoshi shook her head. And she'd always thought they both knew. But there was another thing about what the Commander had said. She hadn't denied that she was thinking about Trip. That was certainly…. fascinating.
Then something else came to Hoshi's mind.
"It is certainly not the logical conclusion, Ensign," T'Pol answered to her unspoken thoughts. "Commander Tucker and I are not the ideal couple you have in mind. And now could you please get back to work?"
"No," Hoshi felt rebellious today. And there was so much going on in the other woman's mind. It was as if she was compelled to find out more about it. But before she could get anything else out of T'Pol an outcry of pain made her jump. She looked around. It was definitely Trip who had hurt himself, but she couldn't see him anywhere. And yet after the first moment of shock she somehow knew that it wasn't serious. He'd cut his arm with a branch of a tree he had passed. Nothing she had to worry about and she was relieved. Had something happened to him…. Hoshi stopped herself. Sure she would be sad, but she wouldn't feel that kind of devastation that hovered over her mind for a moment. These were certainly not her thoughts. Not her emotions. She looked at T'Pol who was turned away from her, but apparently staring at nothing in particular.
"I knew it," Hoshi cried mentally. Even without showing it, Commander T'Pol definitely felt something like love for Commander Tucker.
"Ensign, I suggest you keep this to yourself. My thoughts don't concern you." Came the almost angry response to Hoshi's realization.
"I know. They concern a certain Chief Engineer. You are aware that I'm in your mind right now? It's very confusing which feelings belong to me. If Commander Tucker shows up right now, I may make a pass at him." T'Pols mental reaction was instant and more forceful than Hoshi would have anticipated. A wave of jealousy flooded her mind and made her lose focus for a moment. She recovered after a moment and grinned at T'Pol. It was that "I knew it" grin mothers showed their kids when they had dropped the spoon they were playing with.
"You know I won't tell anyone. But maybe you should seriously consider telling him. That guy is in love with you. Everybody can see that. And maybe he waits for some sign from you."
"I don't experience feelings like Love and jealousy," T'Pol started, but Hoshi interrupted her with a good dose of incredulity.
"And even if I did, Vulcans don't express their emotions," she continued after a moment when she realized that her subconscious thoughts betrayed her mental words. Hoshi considered the situation briefly. Then she had an idea.
"You know, maybe he just needs to hear that it would be very agreeable to consider him your partner. And tell him that you don't express your emotions the way we humans do."
"He already knows that I won't declare my undying love for him, like the humans in his movies always seem to do," T'Pol objected, but Hoshi knew that Commander Tucker was aware of the Vulcans inability to express themselves. He needed to be certain that T'Pol would declare her undying love for him if she was human. Then maybe that would be enough to get the two together. She decided to let this idea sink in and returned to her work. But she was preoccupied with what she had just learned. She was aware that it wasn't really her business, but Trip was a little subdued ever since their daughter had died and she felt that he would get better if he was relatively sure that T'Pol was still there for him. And she liked Trip better when he was gung-ho and always the optimist. She was the kind of person who wanted to help everyone to be happy.
"Do you really think it would make him happy?" the sudden statement made Hoshi jump, because it had been actually said. After their mental conversation it seemed very loud to her.
"The questions is not would it make him happy but would it make both of you happy. You have to consider what you want. But the way I see it there's nothing that would make you happier than being with him. So I think you already know that answer."
Again she tried to concentrate on her work and this time it worked for a whole five minutes before her thoughts were interrupted by a feeling of anticipation. Trip was coming back! He was only five minutes away. She vaguely wondered why she knew where he was and what he was doing. The answer that involuntarily came to T'Pol's mind didn't really surprise Hoshi. A psychic bond was something only the Vulcans could think of.
"You're wrong. We didn't think of it. It is part of who we are. I would appreciate it if you couldn't mention our meld to Commander Tucker…. to Trip."
"He will know anyway. With that bond of yours," Hoshi wondered. Why shouldn't he know about it?
"I don't think he'll know. His human mind isn't as accustomed to telepathic contact as mine is. And the bond isn't as strong as our meld is."
"I see." And Hoshi could see. The bond was only a loose connection. Involuntary. A mind meld on the other hand wasn't designed to last as long as theirs did, because it was normally initiated voluntarily.
It relied on physical contact. At least under normal circumstances.
When she returned to reading her part of the wall she discovered what she was looking for. At the bottom of the paragraph was a note that told of one priest who had shared a mind with another one for days before finding out how to terminate the connection. There was also a mentioning of another chamber where that particular priest had worked.
"I think it is the one Trip tried to get into. We have to wait until he returns and we can get in the chamber. Chances are that we'll find the solution to our problem there." Naturally T'Pol had known what Hoshi had discovered and immediately responded to it.
And as luck would have it Trip chose that exact moment to appear on the scene. He carried three shovels and looked like he had really hurried. There was a bloody gash on his upper arm, but as both T'Pol and Hoshi had known it was only superficial.
"Hey girls," Trip shouted, a grin on his face, "you get any work done while I was away? Or were you gossiping about me?"
Hoshi was startled, did he know what was going on? She checked with T'Pol and realized that he was just trying to lighten the mood and had by chance come close to the truth. Without saying anything she grabbed a shovel and began working on the debris. The earlier she could get out of the other woman's head the better. It had been an interesting experience, but thinking for two wore her out. Focusing on the physical pain helped to keep her mind empty of anything. But she couldn't help admiring Trip. The way he looked…. she tried to get that from her mind. It was time they got this wall out of their way.
And finally they did and crawled through the tiny space.
"Now all we have to do is find the right passage," she sighed looking at the multitude of inscriptions.
"I suggest we skim over the writing and look for any unusual markings. That way we are likely to find what we are searching for much faster," T'Pol replied and immediately turned to work near Trip. She unconsciously oriented her around him as if to show her claim. Hoshi grinned. They really were in love. The way he didn't seem to concentrate on what he was reading was not only a lack of appreciation for the language, but also an appreciation for her. He was constantly stealing sideway glances at her, when she stumbled he was there to steady her.
Against T'Pol's prediction it took them almost half an hour to find what they were looking for. In thi half hour Hoshi learned more about the Commander than she had in four years. And probably she gave away most of her secrets to the other woman. It was an impossible situation. The finding of that particular passage was the most important discovery of her day, although it looked very insignificant the way it was cramped at the bottom of the wall. T'Pol found it and summoned her in her mind. Hoshi knew it was to keep Trip from noticing anything, but the way he was aware of T'Pol there was no way he wouldn't know.
"What have you found there. Another of those killing strategies?" he moved towards them, but stopped when T'Pol told him that she had trouble with a symbol and needed Hoshi's assistance. He wasn't interested in some boring description of meditating techniques. Suddenly Hoshi realized why he had seemed so reluctant at admitting that he could speak Vulcan. He'd never learned it. It was an intuitive reaction to the bond. He could speak Vulcan, because T'Pol could. Interesting.
"Ensign, keep your mind on the task. You are going to have to repeat what I say, understood?"
"Yes. You know, telling him is the logical thing to do. And you always do what is logical, right?"
T'Pol shot her an icy look and Hoshi decided it would be best for her health if she dropped that topic. T'Pol drew one breath and said a few words in the ancient language and Hoshi repeated it after her. She held her breath for a moment, but she could still hear what the Commander was thinking.
"I think it will take some time to come into effect. I believe the meld is established gradually." Hoshi agreed to that assessment. It had taken them some time to become aware of the link, so maybe it would take some time to dissolve. She turned and nearly ran into Trip who had come to stand behind them. She suddenly found herself in his arms.
"Hey, hey Hoshi. Careful," he said, helping her to her feet. She mumbled an excuse and hurried to another corner of the room, so he couldn't see her blush. Even if the meld was terminated, she still had some pretty inappropriate feelings for him.
After a while of studying the wall, she heard someone behind her, when she turned she saw T'Pol behind her. Although there was not a change in her expression Hoshi knew that she was relieved. The last hour or so had told her many things about the Vulcan including that there was always an emotion hidden under the carefully composed surface.
And Hoshi was relieved, too. For she couldn't hear anything in her head beside her own thoughts.
"It worked."
"Yes, it worked. We should finish here as soon as possible before we find another achievement of the priests." Hoshi nodded. As fascinating as T'Pol's mind was, she was glad that she was alone again in her head.
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By the end of the day, they had accomplished their mission and Hoshi was glad to be back on the ship. On the way to the shuttle pod she had fallen behind to allow the other two some privacy and she could clearly hear that they were having an argument. She knew now that these arguments were about nothing in particular, they just loved to argue. In the pod it hadn't been different except for the fact that she didn't pay any attention, because she was preoccupied with not throwing up.
When she left the shuttle first, the Captain was there to greet them. He asked about the mission and the planet and expressed his intention of leaving immediately. They had gotten a distress call from a klingon cargo ship.
"Yeah, not a day goes by without rescuing some freighter captain from his dangerous pet Targ," Trip joked. "I'll go get a little sleep before we need to repair his confinement beam."
And with that he took his bag and left the shuttle bay. T'Pol excused herself, too and followed him. Hoshi grinned. She had a distinct feeling what was going to happen now.
"So how was your trip Hoshi?" captain Archer asked.
She chuckled: "Very…. Fascinating!"
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So what do you think? Please review!