TITLE: Two Days... And A Temporal Integrity Error; 2/5
AUTHOR: Serit
PAIRING/S: Tucker/Reed, but not here.
RATING: T
WARNING/S: AU; Profanity;
GENRE/S: Deception;
SUMMARY: Begins as "Two Days and Two Nights," goes AU in the cellar, and there's angst, but each chapter veers closer to "2D2N";


2525 C. E.: At the Temporal Integrity Agency, Director Pike was reprimanding two agents who were (are) aboard Enterprise NX-01: Chef and Roberts (Daniels' replacement). "Reed wasn't supposed to die in 2152!" Pike was angry‑‑no, make that enraged. "Tucker was so devastated by his death he took medical leave and was killed with his sister when the Xindi attacked! Without Tucker and Reed aboard Enterprise, the ship was destroyed in the Expanse, and then Earth was destroyed! Now, go back and fix it, and don't screw it up!"

"Yessir!"

"Yes, sir." They stopped outside of the Director's office to divide the mission. Chef pulled out an ancient Greek coin he'd gotten on his first temporal field trip. "Heads, Tucker; tails, Reed."

"Thanks a lot for nothing, pal," Roberts said sourly, "I swear that coin is weighted."

"Well, it's not," He flipped the coin. It came up heads.

"See? I said it was weighted."

"Would you like to try two out of three? I'll let you flip."

"Don't bother; I'll still get stuck with Reed. I'll see you after the crisis point."

"Yeah, right; and make sure you get to your shift on time, pal!"
*****

Commander Tucker loped happily into the Mess hall, looking for breakfast before boarding the shuttlepod to Risa. Before he knew it, an over-muscled, tattooed arm yanked him into the Galley and shoved him against a bulkhead. "You, get over here, you, and pay attention! I'm only going to say this to you once, and I expect your complete attention!"

"Uh, yeah, Chef, what do you want?" Tucker asked, confused and slightly alarmed by Chef's behavior.

"I'm gonna give you some advice you're not gonna forget, alright?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "Don't go to any Risan nightclubs or casinos, don't get pissed drunk, and don't try to pick up any alien dames! I'd have thought you'd have learned that lesson by now! This is a list of cultural and educational sightseeing spots, because you need all the culture you can get, pal!" he slapped a thin datapadd against Tucker's chest, "They're free, so don't complain about money; take a taxi back to the hotel by sundown, and eat there! Here‑‑" he gave the engineer an elegantly foil-embossed Risan business card, "‑‑why don't you take Lieutenant Reed to dinner at the hotel's roof-top restaurant? I just hope you know how to behave properly in a formal restaurant! Now, get out of here, and try to stay out of trouble, will'ya?"

"Uh, yes, sir; right, Chef, you got it," Tucker stammered, stuck the padd and card into a pocket, and left the Mess without eating breakfast.

Reed was heading to his quarters to pack after he drilled his staff on Armoury procedures during his absence. He turned a corner and collided with another crewman. "Oh, excuse me, Lieutenant Reed! I'm so sorry, sir! Um, I know it's not my place to make suggestions, and you're very proficient at your profession, and we've been told that Risa is very safe, but‑‑"

"‑‑But what, Crewman Roberts?" Reed asked icily.

"‑‑But, well, sir, it seems that almost every time you go off the ship, you get injured, and um, well, I shouldn't be saying this," Roberts stammered, "but your staff admires and respects and likes you very much, and they're always very apprehensive when you get injured and you're in Sickbay, but I guess they don't know just how to go about telling you how they feel."

"Thank you for this information, but looking out for the crew is myduty," Reed said, stepped around him, and strode away. Roberts watched Reed enter his cabin and felt his stomach churn anxiously. He hoped Chef had better luck with Tucker. Roberts decided then that he hated time travel.
*****