Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Rewrite and repost. How did Chief Engineer Phlox end up with a Pyrithian bat in Engineering? While this story focuses on Chief Engineer Phlox, there's still plenty going on w/the other characters in the background.

We see Commander A.G. Robinson here. In this universe, A.G. is Admiral Henry Archer's right-hand man in Engineering Research and Development, and a friend of Phlox, Trip and Jon. Canon never established what "A.G." means...we'll find that out in this story. It's not "Alexander the Great". LOL

Rating: T

Pairings: TnT and R/S

One

March 2, 2154

approximately 2 weeks after "Empathic Tendencies"

"Chief! Chief! You gotta take a look at this!"

Commander Phlox hurried to Lieutenant Richard Kelby's side. Kelby's face was wreathed in smiles, a welcome change from his usual dour expression. "We've gotten the results of the tests on the new warp core injectors."

Phlox read the results and his smile grew as wide as Kelby's. "Very good, Richard! Warp 6.2!"

"I think we can manage it, if we modify the power consumption flow here, here and here." His voice rose in excitement. "We'd have to re-align some of the circuits, though—"

Lieutenant Michael Rostov looked over Phlox's shoulder and asked, "Richard, I think we've got some DY-523's in storage. If we link those with the new multi-phase capacitors and swap out some of the DY-449s, they should be able to regulate the power flow, so we don't have a burnout."

Phlox rubbed his chin with his hand as he contemplated the possibilities. "Then we'd have to worry about the discharge build-up. I would think Captain Sato wouldn't want us to blow a connection when the warp drive is engaged."

"Blow a fuse, you mean?" piped up Lieutenant Anna Hess. She'd squeezed her lithe frame between Rostov and Kelby. "Divert the extra discharge here, to structural integrity—"

"We'd need a way to convert that kinetic energy into something that won't blow the hull to pieces, Anna," Kelby objected.

"Mmm...perhaps the same kind of transformers that the Vulcans use on the shield generators?" Phlox thought aloud.

"Could work," Rostov said, "but we'd have to do some major modifications on the design...you think the Vulcan Space and Ship Operations Ministry would sue us for infringement?"

"What they don't know won't hurt them," Kelby quipped.

That touched off a storm of argument in Engineering. Unknown to the younger officers, Lieutenant Commander Trip Tucker leaned just inside the main hatch and watched the by-play among the engineers with a huge noticed Tucker seemed calmer and more in control after his ordeal on Betazed. It wasn't an obvious change, but Phlox saw it. Perhaps Lieutenant T'Pol had something to do with it. Yes, he should ask her.

"Ah, Lieutenant Commander Tucker! What can I do for you?"

"I'd hate to interrupt your staff meetin', Phlox—"

"Nonsense. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like. The more minds, the merrier!"

"I'd be hornin' in on your territory, an' if there's one thing I know engineers hate, it's someone steppin' in where they aren't wanted." Trip shrugged and ignored Kelby's cold glower. Even now, nearly six months in space, Kelby still had some kind of grudge against Tucker. Phlox didn't understand it. "Sides, thought I'd stop by briefly and ask ya a favor."

"Of course." Phlox nodded at his team. "I believe you have the beginnings of an idea, Mister Rostov. I have every confidence that you all can work out the particulars. I will be right back."

"No problem, Chief. We'll probably still be here when you get back," Rostov said cheerily.

Phlox gestured Trip into his office, which was tucked into a corner of Engineering, but was also scrupulously clean. In comparison, Trip's Armory office always looked like a disaster area. Phlox waved Trip into a chair. "Is this about the power ratios to the Armory?"

"Kinda, Phlox." Trip grinned and handed him a PADD. "Look at these schematics I just got from A.G. Robinson and tell me whatcha think."

Phlox gave it a skeptical look, which dissolved as he paged through the report. "Mmmm. Quite interesting, indeed, Lieutenant Commander Tucker. This could increase the efficiency of the phase cannons by twenty percent. I don't see Arthur's fingerprints on this, though...is this through Admiral Archer?"

Trip chuckled and shook his head and replied, "Nope. A.G.—well, Arthur Gage, as you keep insistin' on calling him—and Henry got this from a different source. The design's from the top weapons developer in Her Majesty's Royal Navy, Admiral Stuart Reed."

"Reed? As in a relative of Doctor Reed?"

"The Doc's dad, in fact. Malcolm's no slouch in the weapons R&D department, either, though it's somethin' he doesn't want spread all over the ship. Told me he learned a lot at his dad's knee, but his interests took a different turn."

"Ah." Phlox filed the information away for future reference. "I will honor the doctor's desire to keep this information confidential. But all this means that you need some extra power for testing the admiral's designs."

Trip nodded. "This'll mean some readjustments and realignments of the phase cannons and that'll take us at least a week, maybe a week and a half on the outside. So we're not gonna need to fightin' over power consumption ratios for a while yet. I thought I'd at least let you know, give you a heads up on what's goin' on, instead of springin' it on you."

Phlox sighed mentally. "I appreciate the prior notice, Lieutenant Commander. Unfortunately, I cannot predict what the ship's needs will be a week, or two weeks from now—"

"I'm aware of that. Just keep it in mind, okay? I really want to improve on what Spacedock stuck us with this time and with our mission, we need all the starship defenses we can get."

The Denobulan couldn't argue with Tucker's line of reasoning, but the engineer within him was reluctant to share any extra power with the Armory. Granted, it was an illogical reaction (a "knee-jerk reaction", as Tucker would call it), but Phlox knew it stemmed from his own ambitious projects to improve his department's performance. Tucker had the same thoughts for the Armory. It was a sign of a good department head, but—

It meant that he and Tucker would have to "agree to disagree" at times.

Finally, he nodded. "I will keep it in mind. I cannot deny you the opportunity to improve Enterprise's defenses, but please remember that the warp engines and ship's systems require an enormous amount of energy, and I can give you what I can spare, but no more than that."

Trip didn't seem happy with that, but he said, "Couldn't ask for more than you can give, Phlox. Thanks."

"My pleasure, Lieutenant Commander. Oh—" Phlox raised a hand as if he just thought of something. "I read the reports of the Columbia's experience on the with the Varra. Interesting reading; it got me thinking."

"Oh?" Trip said, raising his eyebrow a la T'Pol. Hayes's crew had encountered an unmanned ship of unfamiliar design, and when Hayes and Major Nate Kemper had beamed aboard, it had immediately fled at high warp. Luckily, Commander Daniels managed to retrieve them before the ship self-destructed.

Phlox would have loved to have studied all its schematics, but unfortunately, he had to take what fate had given him. That included its defense mechanisms, which was Trip's department."Captain Hayes's physiological reaction on Varra when it was activated makes me believe that their defense systems may have some sort of electromagnetic basis."

"He said he felt rather queasy on Varra's bridge when they boarded it. They didn't find any people, but when the defense mechanisms kicked in—"

"The device affected Captain Hayes and his Away Team's autonomic nervous systems, which could explain some of the practical problems that continued exposure could have a detrimental effect on the human—or Vulcan—physiology."

Trip nodded. "Have you told Doc Reed about this?"

"Indeed I have. He is working on the theory. If we could negate these effects while the new Vulcan defense systems are in effect---

"It could have tactical implications." A slow smile passed over Trip's face. "Good idea, Phlox. Hey, y'know, you almost sounded like a doctor yourself there for a moment."

Phlox chuckled. "I did, didn't I? Well, I'm content to let Doctor Reed attend to medical matters."

"'Kay. I'll let you get back to your meetin' before Rostov, Hess and Kelby takes half of Engineerin' apart." Trip grinned at the scenario, even as Phlox sighed again. "Appreciate you takin' the time to hear me out."

"You're welcome." After Trip left, Phlox sighed and rubbed his cranial ridge. Ah, the trials of a starship engineer. They should rename our position as 'miracle worker'.

Phlox always looked forward to Wednesdays at 1530 hours. No matter how hectic his life, the Denobulan treasured his conversations with old friends. Now Phlox grinned at the man on his communications screen.

"How is construction on the new Warp 7 ships getting along, Arthur?"

Commander A.G. Robinson winced; Phlox was the only one who actually called him by his given name, Arthur Gage Robinson. After endless ribbing by colleagues, Phlox understood why he preferred to be called "A.G." Yet Denobulan custom discouraged nicknames, save for family, and Phlox followed it to the letter. Robinson seemed resigned to it.

"Construction's going faster than when we were building either Enterprise or Columbia. Seems that Starfleet Command's eager to get as many of 'em in service as soon as possible. On the one hand, Henry's thrilled at the positive response. On the other hand, it's kinda worrying."

Phlox nodded soberly. "When will Intrepid and Atlantisbe in service?"

"Soon, maybe six months at the outside, and Challenger's on the drawing board. " A.G.'s tone was casual, but Phlox couldn't shake a sense of foreboding at his friend's words.

"Very well, Arthur."

Robinson gave him a charming smile. "I want to hear every detail of your future warp injector trials, okay? 'Sides, you oughta get my subspace package in another day or two...I want to hear your thoughts about this crazy idea I have on the containment field."

"I'll look forward to it. Thank you."

"No problem, Phlox. Take care, all right? Talk to you next week. Same bat-time, same bat-place."

"Same bat-channel," Phlox echoed. He still puzzled over the strange ending ritual that Robinson insisted on having at the conclusion of their talks. Lieutenant Commander Archer—Henry's son—had said something about an ancient entertainment program that used it to remind its viewers.

And what does this ritual have to do with bats? I should look this up in the entertainment database. He chuckled as he regarded the blank screen, then he touched the comm. "Phlox to Lieutenant Rostov."

"Rostov here."

"Lieutenant, will you watch over Engineering for a short while? I need to consult with Captain Sato."

"No problem, Chief. Everything will still be in one piece when you get back."

"And Michael—"

"Sir?"

"Inform Lieutenant Commander Tucker that I may be able to divert a little more power to the Armory for his next EM trial, if he asks nicely."

Rostov laughed and answered, "I'll tell him, Chief."

Phlox caught Captain Hoshi Sato on her way to lunch at the Captain's Mess. She asked him to accompany her; Phlox chose egg drop soup and dim sum to eat, while Hoshi selected broiled chicken and vegetables. She seemed surprised at his choice, until he explained that he'd gotten quite fond of Chinese food while in San Francisco. Hoshi chose to speak in Denobulan and Phlox didn't mind; it was nice to converse in his native language. Although Jon Archer was quickly grasping the particulars, he still needed assistance with the transitive verbs.

"Faa-je sh'kyu da na'thede?" Hoshi asked him. How is your department doing?

"Dae, dae," Phlox replied. "Eba'nier se-an'ju evem Warp-Nju-je." Good, good. We believe we can do Warp 6.

"Eh? Par kweesah essah. Veh-je?" Really? I'm impressed. How (will you do it)?

Phlox switched to English, for engineering terms were difficult to translate into Denobulan. In fact, the words for radiation and intake differed by two letters and were easily mistaken. Such mistakes could be undesirable. When he mentioned the transformers on the Vulcan shield generators, Hoshi nodded.

"Talk to T'Pol. She worked on several prototype Vulcan ring ships with similar shield generators. Her insight would be valuable."

He nodded. "Yes, I was planning on asking Lieutenant T'Pol when she goes off-shift." Then he told her about his conversation with Arthur Robinson.

She was silent for several minutes, then commented, "I knew they greenlighted Intrepid and Atlantis long before our launch, but this still seems pretty quick."

"Indeed," Phlox said, after he chewed and swallowed his noodles with a thoughtful air.

She didn't say anything and Phlox suspected Hoshi knew more than she let on. "I don't know, Phlox, but as A.G. said, it won't hurt to keep our eyes and ears open."

The whistle of the intercom interrupted her and she pushed the button. "Sato."

"Sorry to interrupt your lunch, Captain," came the apologetic voice of Commander Travis Mayweather, "but we're getting a transmission from Pyrithia."

Hoshi wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I'm on my way." She turned to Phlox. "Don't rush through your lunch on my account, Phlox. Stay as long as you need."

"Thank you, Captain." He smiled at her as she left, and turned his attention back on his dim sum.