TITLE: Weakest Link
AUTHOR: MikeJaffa
SYNOPSIS: In "Vox Sola," T'Pol said some nice things to Hoshi. What motivated that? Here's one possible answer.
DISCLAIMER: CBS owns the rights to *Star Trek: Enterprise.* I am making no money off this fic
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"What if we used a bilateral algorithm?" T'Pol asked. She was sitting at one of the tables in the mess hall, bent over a portable computer as she assisted Ensign Hoshi Sato.
From behind her, at the next table over, Hoshi said, "Already tried." They were attempting communicate with a life form that had established itself in the cargo bay and was in the process of absorbing the captain, commander Tucker, and two crew members into its being. An attempt to neutralize it had already failed, so now they were attempting Hoshi's plan to communicate with it.
"Did you compensate for frequency drift?" T'Pol asked.
"Wouldn't be much of a com officer if I didn't," Hoshi replied.
T'Pol noticed the edge in Hoshi's voice. She turned in her chair and looked at the young woman. "Allowing your emotions to control you won't help solve this problem, ensign."
"Neither will questioning everything I do."
"You asked for my help."
"I didn't ask you to keep count of every time I made a mistake or second-guess all of my decisions."
"As first officer, it's my duty to supervise you."
Hoshi's anger was becoming more evident. "This goes beyond duty, Sub-Commander. You've been looking over my shoulder ever since you came onboard, double checking my log entries, my translations."
"It's my job."
"Is that all we're talking about?" Hoshi asked. "You don't think I belong on *Enterprise,* do you?"
T'Pol's gaze met Hoshi's. As she considered what to say, memories from ten months ago intruded…
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The holographic schematic of NX-01 *Enterprise* floated above the conference room desk in the Vulcan consulate. T'Pol studied the schematic. She was alone in the room, a dozen PADDs splayed out on the desk.
Ambassador Soval entered. "Am I intruding?"
"Not at all, Ambassador."
"I came to tell you the humans will probably not be taking Klang after all."
"Why not?"
"I remembered you are getting married soon. That must take precedence over this trivial matter."
"My wedding is several months away. This voyage will not conflict with it."
"But you are to serve as both science officer and first officer. That is quite demanding, and perhaps you should return to Vulcan to stay abreast of your wedding plans. I know how some brides are quite involved in the preparations. My wife certainly was."
"I am not like some brides. My betrothed's family is handling the preparations. I trust their judgment. There is no need to recommend that the mission be cancelled, especially now that preparations are almost complete."
"Logical." Soval gestured at the PADDs. "What are you doing?"
"I was hoping to introduce myself to the senior officers before the mission got underway. It has been my habit when commanding a combat unit or serving in a position of authority on a starship to meet my subordinates prior to the mission beginning. I see no reason to deviate from that practice. However, so far, none of them has been willing to talk to me, much less arrange a meeting."
"'So far'? You have not spoken with all of them, T'Pol?"
"One is left, Ambassador: Ensign Hoshi Sato. I was about to call her."
"I recall her file. She's Archer's translator. She seems to be a bit young for that role."
"She has a unique gift for languages that is rare, even among Vulcans. She is highly qualified and intelligent."
"Yes, but also suffers from some emotional disorders, like claustrophobia. Is she fit for the job?"
"Archer seems to think so, and as his second, it is my duty to follow his direction, even if it is temporary. I have already taken her claustrophobia into account, and if we make contact, I intend to meet her in either a large room or, weather permitting, in the consulate garden."
"Very well." Soval left.
T'Pol keyed in the contact information into a panel. Moments later, a wall screen lit up. The young human woman on it had curly brown hair and was not Hoshi Sato. "Doctor Sato's office. May I help you?"
"I'm calling for Hoshi Sato."
"She's not available. I'm her teaching assistant. Can I take a message?"
"My name is T'Pol. I am to be her superior officer on the *Enterprise.* I was hoping to meet her in person before we embark, to familiarize myself with her."
"Doctor Sato is spending the weekend in the Amazon. Communication is intermittent at best. But I will try to get a message through to her."
"Thank you."
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T'Pol kept herself busy with other matters. In the late afternoon, the teaching assistant called back. Sato would be in San Francisco the following Monday and would be available after 2:30 PM. T'Pol made an appointment for 3 and gave directions to the Vulcan consulate.
On Monday, T'Pol found herself looking forward to the meeting with Ensign Sato. She spent the morning rereading Sato's Starfleet file and everything Vulcan intelligence on her as well. T'Pol hoped that between the file and the meeting, she would be as familiar with her subordinate as possible, even if it was only going to be for 8 days. T'Pol was determined that if, as expected, the *Enterprise's* mission ended in disaster, it would not be because the Vulcan first officer had failed to give her best effort.
In the hour before the meeting, T'Pol decided to dull her anticipation by reading on related matters. She was still doing so at 2:47:36 PM when Soval entered her small office.
He said, "What are you reading?"
"A memoir by Henry Archer," T'Pol said. "I copied it to a data disk over the weekend. Captain Archer is motivated by a desire to see his father's work on warp engines reach its logical conclusion."
"Are you going to credit Captain Archer with understanding family honor?"
"It would be a hypothesis worth entertaining."
"Perhaps." He hefted a leather bag. "These documents must be delivered to the North Beach annex. I want you to do it immediately."
"I cannot. Assign the task to another courier."
"There is no one I trust more."
"With respect, Ambassador, I have a meeting with Ensign Sato in less than an hour."
"Use one of the atmospheric transports if you must, T'Pol. You will be a half an hour at most. I will have my staff attend to Ensign Sato until you return."
"Very well." She stood and accepted the bag. "I have arranged to meet Ensign Sato in the garden. Please conduct her there after arrives."
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T'Pol sat in the copilot's seat of the transport. Next to her, the pilot was making the final checks. "We await only clearance from Starfleet control."
"Very well." T'Pol pulled the small portable reader out of a pouch, then hunted for the disk with the Archer memoir. She couldn't find it….
…because she had left it on her desk. "I would seem I have been on Earth long enough to acquire their habit of forgetfulness," she said. "I left a data disk I was reading on my desk."
"The flight is short. You can come back to it later."
"No, there was a passage I wanted to finish. I know exactly where I left it. I will be right back."
She found the disk on her desk and slipped it into her pouch. She turned to leave and stopped at a sound. The consulate had been built by humans with indigenous materials, so it was not as soundproof—to Vulcan ears—as a Vulcan made structure would be. So she could here what sounded like shouting from the basement. T'Pol thought she could make out the words 'let me out.'
T'Pol followed the sounds into the basement, into the small detention block used by Vulcan security for the rare Vulcan incorrigible. It was a woman's voice: "Let me out! Let me out!" A pause, then, "I can't breathe! There's no air!"
T'Pol hurried to the cell. She opened it and saw Ensign Hoshi Sato, pale, sweating, and terrified, acting like she was gasping for air.
T'Pol grabbed Sato and put an arm around her shoulder. "There is oxygen here," she said as she all but carried Sato out of the cell. "You are not suffocating. Take deep breaths."
They got up the stairs and into the lobby. Then she heard Soval's voice: "T'Pol!"
"Ambassador?" T'Pol found themselves surrounded by Soval's aids. Sato was pulled out of her embrace.
"What are you doing here?" Soval said.
"What has transpired?" T'Pol asked. "I found her locked in a-" She turned at commotion behind her. She could make out Sato's head as she was surrounded by a crush of taller Vulcans. Then one of them staggered and Sato stumbled out of the group.
Soval took a step forward. "You come here and attack one of my men?" Soval said. "Is this how Starfleet treats its allies?"
"She suffers from claustrophobia," T'Pol said. "She is having a severe panic attack." She slowly approached Sato. "It's all right," she said, hoping she sounded as soothing as possible. "No one is going to hurt you-"
Sato had adopted a fighting stance. "Keep back! Don't you touch me!"
T'Pol stopped advancing. "As you wish."
"Let me out of here!"
"No one is going to restrain you. The entrance is behind you." T'Pol nodded to the guards. They cleared a path. Sato ran out the door.
Soval said, "T'Pol, you have an errand at the North Beach Annex. Attend to it."
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At the annex, they dragged their feet in accepting the package. It was almost 5 when she finally left. She'd spent the time waiting reading more of Henry Archer's annex and found her personal experience helping her relate to his point of view.
The next morning, after she started work, she contacted Stafleet and called for Admiral Forrest.
He appeared on her monitor. "Yes?"
"Admiral, I am Sub-Commander T'Pol. I was assigned to be the *Enterprises's* first officer."
"Yes."
"I was calling to inquire as to the condition of Ensign Hoshi Sato, and to apologize for her treatment yesterday. I can assure you the responsible parties will be disciplined."
Forrest's manner softened a bit. "Thank you, Sub-Commander. For your information, Hoshi is ok. Captain Archer spent last night talking her out of resigning her commission, and then I had to talk him out of going over to the consulate with a plasma grenade. Whoever did this didn't make any friends, but thank you for your concern. I'll pass it on."
"Thank you."
The call ended.
Then the console beeped. It was Soval. "Come to my office."
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Soval wasted no time when T'Pol got to the office. "Sub-Commander, why are you trying so hard?"
"What do you mean?"
"With the humans. Your intervention yesterday and your call today."
"You monitored that?"
"Of course. But again, why are you trying so hard?"
"You assigned me a position of responsibility among that crew. I take my responsibilities seriously."
"You have a responsibility to Vulcan. Do you think it's in Vulcan's interests for the *Enterprise* to succeed?"
"Ambassador?"
"We have attempted to delay them, for their own good, but they have not been deterred, and now they are taking advantage of these circumstances to launch *Enterprise* early. So we must use more unorthodox means to get them to delay themselves."
Swirling data points came together in T'Pol's mind. Her shock strained the limits of her emotional control. "That was no error yesterday," T'Pol said. "You deliberately locked Ensign Sato in a cell, on some pretense, to provoke a claustrophobia attack. You may have also hoped that she would resign from Starflleet."
"To use a human analogy," Soval said, "she is the weakest link in the chain of Archer's crew, and the one with the strongest connection to Archer. If she breaks, it would undermine his effectiveness. And if, as a result, the mission is a failure, it would be a failure the Earth government might not wish to repeat. But any success would lead to Starfleet launching more ships before we can stop them. We have run out of time."
"Indeed? I still possess some skills from my intelligence training, Ambassador. Shall I take a bomb aboard *Enterprise?*"
"Of course not. We will observe the letter of our agreement, but nothing says we cannot exploit any weaknesses they put in front of us. Hoshi Sato is a deeply flawed and troubled individual, more so than she lets on. If you apply enough pressure, she will break. And as long as you are the first officer of the *Enterprise,* you will try to break her. I trust you will be able to do so in a manner that does not arouse suspicions."
"I will do no such thing."
"Mind your place, Sub-Commander. Your position is more precarious than you think. And then there is the matter of your mother. I ask you not to be hostile, merely to be has hard as possible. And if she breaks, it will be the humans' fault for allowing such an individual into that circumstance. It would be in your best interest to do as I instruct. Understood?"
"Perfectly, Ambassador."
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Months later in the *Enterprise's* mess hall, T'Pol's gaze met Hoshi's, and not for the first time T'Pol wondered if Hoshi remembered her from that day at the consulate. But did it matter?
T'Pol said, "On the contrary. It would be a great loss to Starfleet if you were not a part of this crew. If you feel I have been unfair to you, I apologize. But I hold you to a high standard, Ensign, because I know you are capable of achieving it." She saw Hoshi's posture soften a bit. "Shal we continue?"
"Yes."
T'Pol turned back to her computer. Of course, she was honor bound to follow the letter of Soval's orders. But if Hoshi became stronger instead of breaking, could T'Pol really be to blame for that?
Hoshi said, "Um…why don't we take another look at the subharmonics? I was thinking we could run them through the decryption matrix, see if we can find a pattern." T'Pol turned back and they looked at a PADD. "All I see is numbers, codes," Hoshi said.
"Any code can be broken," T'Pol said. And she thought, 'And any chain can be strengthened.' And if Sub-Commander T'Pol had anything to do with it, when she was done, Ensign Hoshi Sato would be unbreakable.
THE END