A/N: I saw a meme made by a new, but dear friend online, hinting at some special tension *wink wink* between Soval and Shran. I got inspired. I slapped together this fic. Emily and Ellis, my loves, if you're reading this, I hope you love it! #pervgang !

Disclaimer: Much of the dialogue is taken directly from the episode "Kir'Shara" as this is set then. Star Trek and its characters are not mine, the smut is :)

"Open a channel."

Commander Tucker's face twitched, a flash of incredulity flashing across his face as he peered at the Vulcan beside him, "To who?" When Soval offered to help him find Shran to warn him about an impending attack from the currently corrupt High Command, hailing a lifeless nebula was not what he had in mind.

"The nebula,"Soval looked back at him, feeling the slightest bit of exasperation that he was sure the human wouldn't pick up, with a look that said Just do it. He knew that the crew did not trust him, but did the commander really believe he would bring him all the way here as some sort of joke? Tucker nodded to Hoshi seated at the comms station. With a quick few punches of some buttons, a channel was open to the cloud of ignited gases that supposedly shrouded a number of Andorian vessels. "This is Ambassador Soval. I have come on an urgent mission. I must speak with Commander Shran."

Nothing.

Soval flicked his gaze to the floor and back up to the viewscreen. He knew they wouldn't give away their position at just that. And so he continued despite all eyes on the bridge turned to him in uncertainty. "The High Command has decrypted your security protocols. We are well aware that your task force has been hiding in this nebula."

Still nothing.

Tucker looked distinctly uncomfortable at encountering a rare situation: a wrong Vulcan. He quickly thought of ways to phrase that respectfully to the Ambassador. "Maybe your information's out of date." He intended it to sound more like a statement but it came out more like a question. He wasn't confident in this situation at all. Soval appeared completely unfazed at the situation, though Tucker also never saw T'Pol truly look fazed by such things. Maybe Soval just didn't show it if he was?

"He's in there." The lilt in the middle of that sentence revealed that indeed he wasn't and that he had no doubt that someone was in there. That hit Tucker as quite expressive, for a Vulcan at least. Maybe due to so much contact with Humans.

If Shran really was in there, then maybe he'd be more likely to respond if a Human addressed him rather than the Vulcan.

"This is Commander Tucker of the Enterprise," he paused a beat, "We've got some information you're gonna want to hear." Immediately after, a repetitive chirping sounded from the helm. Mayweather's scanners picked up another ship's presence.

"Sir," the helmsman chimed as the comms station beeped, indicating an incoming hail. Hoshi confirmed it. It was from the Andorian ship that finally appeared from the shroud of the nebula. At Commander Tucker's nod, Shran's scowling face appeared on the bridge's display.

"Commander Tucker. You have a poor choice in friends," the Andorian commander not-so-subtly sneered, his antennae drawing forward in distaste.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"An invasion?!" Shran not quite shouted, incredulous. He turned from the screen displaying Soval's copy of maps that showed the locations of both the High Command's and Imperial Guard's ships to face the Ambassador and the commander.

"That is correct," Soval affirmed. Shran still wasn't convinced of course.

"We keep a very close eye on your fleet. We would know if the High Command were preparing to attack," the Andorian countered boldly, his eyes glued to Soval's, watching for a reaction. He saw no trepidation, only a hardness that bore deep. The Vulcan moved quickly toward the viewscreen that Shran had just turned his back to. Shran mirrored his movement, but the way that the Vulcan was leaning over to point at various markers on the screen left part of his chest millimeters away from touching Shran's upper back. The Vulcans mouth was also rather close to his right ear. His antennae straightened up tall before settling again in surprise. If he breathed a little more deeply, that movement would for sure make their bodies touch. A slight nudge of the head would bring Vulcan lips to Andorian ears. It unsettled him being this close to any Vulcan, especially this one.

"V'Las has been assembling ships near Regulus, beyond the range of your listening stations." Soval retreated backward to his former position. Shran let out a quiet breath. His expression hardened.

"Your leaders may be fools, but they are not suicidal. They know we will respond!" Shran was furious and every bit of it showed as his face contorted with every word and the way his hands immediately balled into tight fists. Soval, as always, did not rise to his display as anger.

"They were told you are adapting Xindi weaponry and that you are planning to use it against Vulcan." Shran's expression soured further. He could laugh at how ridiculous that sounded, but the rage he felt trumped any vestigial amusement.

"That's absurd! Captain Archer destroyed the Xindi prototype before we could examine it. That gave Soval pause, however it was only momentary. The small furrow between his brows decreased in depth. That was not what he had expected to hear, but he was relieved nonetheless. He took a small breath.

"That fact was… conveniently omitted," he admitted. Shran took a step towards the Vulcan, leaving mere inches between them. The Vulcan's nostrils flared at their proximity, the action also causing him to involuntarily inhale. His senses were filled with the Andorian's scent. If cold had a scent, Shran's would be it. The slight tingling the sensation brought reminded him of smelling mint. Shran looked him deep in the eyes as he unleashed his frustration with his people,

"You people are so used to lying that you don't even tell the truth to each other!" Soval's eye twitched very slightly in response to the volume of the other man's voice assaulting his sensitive hearing at such close quarters. "How do I know you weren't sent here as a diversion?"

"You don't," he replied simply. Shran inched even closer.

"Do you have any idea what will happen when the Imperial Guard RETALIATES?!" the decibels of Shran's rose with every word, "It will be a disaster for both our worlds!" Soval continued to stare him down. He was fully aware of the circumstances. That's why he was here, informing Shran against the wishes of his government. He knew Shran well enough from past interactions to predict a reaction of this sort. What he did not expect was the continuous invasion of his personal space. Even less expected was his continuous allowance of it.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he noticed the lengthy closeness of the two other men. Tucker very briefly wondered if Shran was planning on assaulting the Vulcan or kissing him, as absurd as that sounded. He instantly mentally berated himself for allowing himself to ponder that at all, especially given the circumstances. He continued to watch their exchange with interest.

"Which is why you must convince them to intercept our fleet," the Vulcan returned gravely, eyes refusing to break contact. Shran narrowed his eyes at the Vulcan and his jaw slacked the tiniest bit. He was understandably appalled.

"You're betraying your own people by telling me this."

"I am aware of that."

"Why are you doing it?" Shran asked, still not seeing the Vulcan's motivation for committing the very definition of treason. Soval straightened his back impossibly further than how he normally held it.

"The High Command is counting on the element of surprise. If they meet resistance, I believe V'Las will be forced to call off the invasion." Shran finally moved to turn away, breaking their very long stare down and put some distance between Soval and himself as he processed all of this invaluable information. He turned back to the other man.

"When does this invasion begin?" Soval's features hardened.

"Soon," his eyes widened a fraction to communicate his sincerity and to attempt to further sway Shran to heed his advice. Shran's face soured again.

"That's the best you could give me? ...Soon?" Receiving such a vague indicator of time only replaced the edge that he had slightly lost as the exchange wore on and he had deemed Soval's information credible enough to act on. Soval nodded.

"Yes." Shran swung his head to face Commander Tucker, eyes searching his face as he moved toward him.

"Do you believe him, pink-skin?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," he returned solemnly. Shran's antennae lowered a fraction in acceptance, once again faced Soval, then moved past him to the viewport on the side of the conference room they were stood in.

"I'll need to consult with my superiors," he sounded slightly resigned, if anything. He was as disappointed as he was furious at the situation. His interactions with the humans over the past few years had helped him see a bit past his prejudice about Vulcans because they were able to trust Soval and their own T'Pol. That maybe they weren't horrible. He feared the humans had themselves fooled and that his people were right all along.

"I suggest you do it fast," said Tucker.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Bridge to Commander Shran."

"This is Shran."

"We've isolated the Vulcan's biosignature. He's alone."

"You're certain Enterprise won't detect the transport?"

"All they'll see is a brief energy surge." the female voice from the ships comm reassured, "They'll think it came from the nebula." At Shran's lack of response, the officer tried again, "Commander?" Shran took a long, deep breath.

"Energize when ready."

A/N: Sexy times being served real soon, stay tuned ;)