Chapter 2

"What's the problem now?" groaned Shran as he entered the control centre. He was spending more time here than he was with his wife and son and it was beginning to drive him mad.

"The Terrans are beginning to come up with ways to counter our new defences!" Gral shouted, letting out a small snort when he was finished.

"What? That's not possible! This technology is one hundred years ahead of its time, how could they have already developed countermeasures?" Shran matched Gral's volume.

"Especially when they're having as much trouble inward as outward." added Sten in his usual calm voice that was a counterpoint of Thy'lek's and Gral's tones. He was right; the Terran Empire was beginning to fall apart with so many aliens beginning to rise up against them.

"We don't know!" Telev sighed, pushing wearily away from the table. "But they are. Thankfully at the moment it's only slight. They've just managed to improve their shielding slightly so that they better withstand our attacks."

"Anything that lessens our chances of destroying their ships is a grave danger!" Sten reminded him. Shran assumed Telev's previous posture of resting his hands on the table and leaning on it with his head bowed.

"I knew we should have put in more resources towards the weapons!" Gral grunted. Thy'lek shook his head

"We put as much as we could into each of the projects."

"Then we should have given weapons more than something else!"

"Like what pig? Hm? Less going to defences? Less going into medical care? What good is an army if all of the people are sick or injured?" Shran snapped.

"We didn't need to put so much into engine improvements!" Gral sneered, "But nooo! Thy'lek says we had to build better engines, Thy'lek says we needed more speed,-"

"If you have something to say about the way I'm running this resistance then say it!" Shran slammed his fist on to the table violently, "Otherwise shut your snout and find out how they are making these improvements so fast!" Gral looked like he wanted to say something but he held back and began snapping orders to some of the people in the room. Shran still had no idea what to call them. Officers? Soldiers? Yes they were these things but calling them that made them sound exactly like the Terrans, military overlords. People or Freedom fighters as someone had called them was all he could think of that sounded right.

He noticed that Sten and Telev were eyeing him cautiously and he repressed a sigh. He was rarely so temperamental but he had the odd explosion of anger like that and he knew it bothered them, since he was meant to be the second calmest one of the tactician leaders, the first being Sten of course.

"Sir?" A young Orion called him from the comm. station. Thy'lek looked up. "We're receiving a transmission."

"From whom?"

"It's the Tholians sir." Telev looked up in surprise

"They're probably calling to tell us their decision." Shran nodded,

"Let's hope they've agreed to our offer." Shran nodded to the Orion, "Put it through." He complied and brought up the sound of clicks and screeches that was Tholian language. Shran winced as it hurt his ears. After a moment or two it was overlapped with the robotic voice of the Tholian translator.

"Thy'lek Shran. You are listening?"

"Yes I am." Shran swallowed nervously, this could be the conversation that would make or break the Tholian-Resistance Alliance. "Have you considered our offer?"

"We have."

"And?" he prompted as politely as he could.

"We find it intriguing." Not quite what he was hoping to hear. He had to be careful now and chose his words carefully.

"I'm… glad. I believe that we can help each other, work together to overthrow the Terrans, which would be mutually beneficial to both our species. If we succeed then we could continue the alliance afterward, start a new way of working together. We could-"

"We are aware of your intentions!" interrupted the Tholian. "While the idea is… interesting, what do you have to offer us?"

"We have data on the critical weaknesses of the Terran ships, and we have significantly improved our own technology, which has been able to do some significant damage."

"Then why have you asked for our assistance."

"A good question." he praised, sharing a look with Sten and Telev, it was suck up time, "Your web tactic is one of the most impressive attack strategies I have ever seen. While we have been able to bring down the numbers of ships in their fleet you are much more capable of doing so. If we were to work together using your tactics and our information I am sure we could annihilate the Terrans!" There was silence and Shran felt his three heart chambers begin to pound in his torso. Had he said something wrong?

"We will consider the matter further and shall inform you of our decision when we have reached it." Shran's first reaction was to exclaim, 'You won't help us?' but he restrained himself and only said softly

"I understand. We'll be hoping to hear from you." The comm. link closed. There was silence for a few moments as they realised their failure and absorbed the shock, and then Telev swore sharply,

"I knew asking the Tholians for help was a mistake!" Shran hid his flinch. Everything he did seemed to elicit that comment these days, that it was a mistake. He told himself it was, as Terrans called it, a rough patch, but he was seriously beginning to question his capabilities as a leader. He'd never wanted the position in the first place, but when he'd eventually taken it he had tried hard to keep a working cooperation between all species (except Terrans). Now it seemed to be failing.

"Any word from the Klingons?" he sighed. The Orion shook his head.

"No sir." His voice, extremely deep, was sympathetic. Shran hated sympathy, it meant his worry and misery was showing.

"The Bajorans?"

"No."

"Cardassians?" Now he was beginning to feel desperate.

"Sorry sir."

"What about-"

"No one has contacted us blue skin!" exclaimed Gral, "They either don't care or they don't want to risk angering the Terrans!"

"Agreed." Telev spoke up sharply, "We should concentrate on our fleet, not on getting help."

"Perhaps if we improve our chances of success they would be more inclined to join us." Sten mused thoughtfully as the four came closer around the table again.

"Maybe." Shran sighed and rubbed his forehead, his fingertips traced over the over imposed Klingon ridges thoughtfully. He remembered how agonizing it had been to acquire them, and that brought forth the memories of what had happened afterwards with the Defiant and how it led him to the Resistance. Talk about a life shattering experience.

"Thy'lek!" He jumped and realised Telev had been calling him. Satisfied that he now had his attention Telev said

"I was saying that we should concentrate on attacking the fourth fleet. It's vulnerable right now. Destroy it now and try to claim more ships." Shran held his tongue; he hated the tactics to gain new ships. They were worthy of Archer in their cruelty, but it couldn't be denied they produced results. In the last raid alone they'd acquired twelve brand new ships and they were now attacking the third fleet.

"No, no. I say we attack the colony on Rigel X. It's a weapons development centre according to our intelligence." Gral pointed to a consol with a diagram of the colony on it. Apparently he'd just been reading up on it. Sten nodded

"I agree. Rigel X is a critical base for weapons development; it would be a tactical advantage towards us if we destroyed it."

"But the fourth fleet is more vulnerable than it. Do we have the resources to take Rigel on?" Telev pointed out logically. It always came back to resources. The Terrans had everything at their fingertips and the Resistance had to scavenge and claw for every little thing.

"Think about this." Shran said calmly, getting their attention, "If we attack the fourth fleet and put all we can on it, then if we gain more ships… we'll have the resources to attack Rigel X."

"But what if it doesn't work? We'd give them a chance to finish whatever it is they're doing in that colony!"

"We don't even know what's happening in that colony, for all we know they could be developing a… a poison dart!" Gral snorted loudly, Shran sighed "My point is, we have no idea what they are actually building in there except that it's a weapon. I'd rather we had more information before we open fire on it."

"You think we should attack the fourth fleet?" It was more a statement than a question. Shran hesitated before answering,

"I think it has a better chance of succeeding, with higher gain for us. We need more ships."

"True enough." Sten conceded. So it was agreed, they would send out an attack on the fourth fleet. As they moved onto Terran ship weaknesses the door opened and Sheli ran in. She was the head of the medical sector of the Resistance and she looked flustered, unlike her usual composed self. She skidded to a stop before them and gasped out breathlessly

"Jek- crashed! Nothing I-gasp- could do." She managed to catch her breath and said a more composed, "I'm sorry." The four men bowed their heads in remorse. Jek was their Orion representative; they worked with her in their plans like they were doing that very moment. But because of a recent brawl between some Orions, Andorians and a traumatised Vulcan, she'd been severely injured and they hadn't know if she would survive or not. Now it seemed she'd given up the fight. After a moment of silence, which was all they could afford at the moment Gral asked

"Why did you run here?"

"Because you said to be notified immediately if there was a change and the comm. system was jammed with so many signals so I decided to run up and tell you." Thy'lek swallowed and said

"Thank you Sheli." She nodded knowing she was being dismissed and walked out. Shran sighed softly and suddenly felt comforting feelings that were not his own emanate from his mind, warming him. 'T'pol.' He realised quickly and smiled slightly in gratitude, sending those feelings to her.

He then turned to the others who stared at him with almost hopeless expressions. He gave each of them an encouraging look and then looked at a consol, which depicted the schematics for the standard Terran ship. He studied it even though he knew the Terran ships upside down and inside out. He knew them so well he could walk through it blindfolded, repair any system with ease; he knew Terran ships! And he was using it to his advantage; he'd used the fact that the warp core leaked radiation to ignite the plasma and blow the ship up; he'd used the deflector to send feedback pulses through all the systems; he'd created a special transmission that would be broadcasted from the bridge to every other area on the ship, using the specific high pitched tone to render the Terrans unconscious the same one that had saved himself and T'pol two years ago.

"Got anything new for us Thy'lek?" Telev's voice was softer, warmer now. Thy'lek shook his head.

"No, nothing, I'm starting to run out of weaknesses."

"Well then we'll just have to find more then, won't we?" Telev smirked. Gral suddenly squealed,

"Look there!" He had wandered away and begun watching surveillance footage of a fight. "Look! When the left necel is hit!" Joining him they watched the readings as a new and improved photon torpedoes hit the left necel. As it did in the first five seconds afterwards the power fluctuated severely before restoring itself. Shran's eyes widened and he grinned slowly, a sign that he had an idea. Gral and Telev copied him in glee; Shran hadn't smiled like that in a very long time. Sten just raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh I just had an idea." Shran grinned broadly. "And if it works… oh they will not know what hit them."

"T'pol are you here?" he called for his wife as he shut the front door to their apartment.

"I am in the bedroom." her voice replied, deadpan as always. He strolled into the bedroom dropping his jacket on the chair as he passed it. The bedroom wasn't very large but it housed a well-sized bed and a crib with breathing room. T'pol was just picking up Soval as he came in. He smiled at his wife and approached her, holding his hand out, as he always did to greet her. Freeing one arm with Soval in the other she stroked her first two fingers against his, both enjoying the feeling it gave them; a feeling of security and comfort. As he dropped his hand he came closer and kissed her cheek. She leaned into the touch slightly before pulling away and making sure Soval was comfortable. Thy'lek beamed at him and tickled him under the chin making the five month old baby smile toothlessly at him.

"How's my boy?" he crowed to his son.

"Requiring a change and a feed." T'pol commented dryly. Instantly Thy'lek held out his hands

"I'll do it!" he exclaimed in delight. As he settled the baby in his arms he said with equal dryness, "It's a testament to how desperate I am to spend time with him that I practically jump for joy at the prospect of changing his dirty nappy."

"Clearly." She twitched an eyebrow at him, giving him her patented look, slightly pouted lips and curious eyes. "I shall prepare his food for him."

"All right." he nodded and went to change his son. While he did he played with his toes and blew loud noises on his stomach making him shriek in delight. He beamed at his son and found himself imagining the future, a year from now he'd be walking and talking no doubt… and playing with his younger sibling.

He shook his head, still smiling, as he thought of Gral's reaction to his announcement of T'pol's second pregnancy. The pig had squealed and toppled off his chair in shock and, once he'd recovered, went on a rant about Andorian and Vulcan mating habits that made the people around him stare at him in embarrassment. He looked up to see T'pol staring at him curiously, her head slightly cocked to the side, a bottle held in her right hand and a small jar and spoon in the other. He blushed slightly, knowing she'd gotten an idea of what he was thinking about. He really needed to work on his mental barriers. He wordlessly held out his hand for the bottle, which she deposited in it. He then scooped Soval up in his arms and gave him the bottle. His little hands curled around it making sure he wouldn't be denied a single drop. Thy'lek sat on the bed and settled the baby more in his lap.

"So what happen today in the science department?"

"We were working on installing the new upgrades you wanted done on the photon torpedoes." Shran felt proud of his wife's efficiency, it had only been two days since he'd come up with the idea for the torpedoes and given it to her, the head of the science section of the resistance. Many people would not believe how useful it was for a resistance to have a science sector but without it half the improvements made to the ships would never have worked. Thy'lek was a good engineer, hell he was a great engineer, but he was no scientist and engineering and science went hand in hand.

"When will they be done?"

"In a few days." T'pol sat down beside him and stared at the hungry Soval, her face carefully blank and her mental barriers firmly in place, deliberately blocking him out. He said nothing, only watched her circumspectly. He noted her hand went to her stomach and gently stroked it. Two months pregnant and showing a definite bump now. It was slight but you instantly knew to look at her. He knew that their child was a girl, he was sure of it. He was already rebuilding his old list of names.

He looked down at Soval who was gazing at his mother or rather her hair. Neither was sure where his obsession with hair came from, but if it was long enough he'd grab it in his tiny fist and it'd be hell to get him to let go. T'pol's was his favourite particularly when she fell asleep beside him and her hair, which was now well past her shoulder blades and still that lovely bronze, would spread out behind her. He'd wriggle his way over and nestle in it and sleep like a glacier. A cute image, one that Thy'lek had made permanent and stuck on the bare grey walls. T'pol wasn't quite as fond of it for two reasons; one, freeing herself was an awkward job and two, Soval sometimes drooled in his sleep. Not exactly appealing. Soval finished his bottle and whinged for more. T'pol opened the jar, which was full of puréed plomeek root and began to spoon it into his eager mouth. He tried to chew despite his lack of teeth and then swallowed. His mouth opened up again automatically.

"He should have started teething now." Thy'lek commented.

"Vulcan children don't begin to grow teeth till they are seven months old." T'pol said stiffly. Thy'lek's antennas drooped, he must have upset her somehow; she only used that tone if she was really upset. Of course for anyone else it was hard to notice, but for him it was like reading a book.

"Are you upset with me?" He was blunt, that was how they were, neither bothered to fiddle with pointless words, it would aggravate the both of them. She drew in a breath and seemed to almost sigh but restrained herself.

"No." she finally answered as she spooned another mouthful into Soval's mouth. The baby was beginning to feel full so he let most of the food dribble down his chin rather than swallow. She caught the food and put it back in his mouth with the spoon.

"Well then why are you tense?" She paused in her repetitive movements. Finally she answered curtly,

"I am frustrated." She continued feeding Soval, "My team insisted I sit there and do the equations of the torpedoes and won't even allow me to walk around to examine the work being done. They are treating me like a child. I am not a child!" Her voice raised half a decibel at the last sentence. Soval was finished and Thy'lek wiped his mouth and rubbed his back to make sure he had no wind.

"No you're not a child, but you are carrying one, and we've already established that the pregnancy is always going to be dangerous with us. After all," he gave her a little smirk, "there's only so much I can do." She narrowed her eyes slightly at him and he continued, "Have you forgotten how many times we came close to loosing Soval because our species are so different?"

"I have not forgotten!" She stood up before she could control herself and glared at him with her eyes, even though her face was still schooled. He gave her an apologetic look

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said that." He freed a hand and patted the spot beside him, asking her silently to sit down again. Slowly she did so. "All I mean is that the more you rest the better chance we'll have for things to go smoothly. That's all I want. The team is trying to show you they care they aren't doing this to annoy you."

"I don't need to be cared for like an invalid." Thy'lek regarded her carefully and weighed an idea in his mind as he stood up with Soval who was beginning to nod off already. He carefully laid him in his crib and nudged the stuffed sehlat closer to him. Soval yawned widely, his hands rubbing his cheeks, his legs stretching out, along with his antennas. Suddenly T'pol exclaimed, "I don't enjoy feeling like I have no value to the Resistance." So that was the problem, Thy'lek had figured as much, he knew his wife well enough to know that she loved being in the middle of the action. Not that she'd ever admit it. He turned to her, his antennas moving towards her in a kindly way.

"Tell you what; you know the others won't leave you alone about taking care of yourself right?"

"It does seem likely." she agreed, twitching her eyebrow very slightly.

"Well why not take some time off."

"Time off?" She looked at him as if she'd never heard the words in her life.

"You said that you wanted more free time so you could spend it with Soval instead of leaving him at the nursery."

"I also included you in that wish." She spoke softly, looking at the ground as if embarrassed. He smiled looking charmed but his eyes went slightly sad. She felt it in her mind and looked up at him anxiously rising to her feet. He looked down shamefully.

"I know I'm not here enough but I wish I was, you know that."

"I do, but… despite the fact that Vulcans don't miss people I find myself longing for your company." He smiled at her and stroked her cheek softly.

"What did Soval say? 'Vulcans do a lot of things that they aren't supposed to.'" She nodded, remembering the wise words. He leaned forward slightly and they nuzzled their faces against each other, his antennas working their way into her hair, gently stroking her scalp, something both of them enjoyed. She let out a heavy breath not quite a sigh but close.

"Perhaps I shall… 'take it easy' for a time. I can do some work while I am here anyway." He beamed at her and she allowed herself the enjoyment of pleasing him. Suddenly the comm. system beeped loudly. Soval woke with a start and let out a cry.

"I will have to adjust that again." Thy'lek's smile turned sheepish, he'd adjusted the volume setting so that they'd hear it over Soval's screams. "It's probably Gral, he mentioned he might have us over for dinner tonight."

"That is kind of him."

"Kind nothing! He just wants to preen over himself and his little victory in today's argument." Thy'lek laughed. The comm. beeped again and Soval screeched this time.

"Will you answer him then." T'pol said dryly as she went and picked up Soval to sooth him. As soon as she did he grabbed a fistful of her hair. Thy'lek answered the comm.

"Thy'lek here!"

"Thy'lek we need you in the Control Room now!" It was Telev and he sounded very worried. Thy'lek shared a look with his wife, who seemed resigned.

"What is it Telev?"

"Just come down, you need to see this!" He sighed and looked back at T'pol who looked away, rocking the baby in her arms. Feeling anger well up inside his chest, he forced himself to remain calm; Telev knew better than to call him unless it was something massive. He sighed again and kissed T'pol on the cheek before he left. She acted as if she hadn't noticed him, although her grip on Soval tightened. He ran all the way to the control centre, arriving in two minutes since it wasn't very far.

"Telev this had better be good!" he announced, making it clear he was not here because he wanted to be.

"Trust me, it is. One of our fleets picked this up while they were chasing some Terran ships." Telev's eyes were sparking with a familiar fire of excitement. Everyone was rushing around, the consoles were flashing with data of all forms, numbers, pictures and words. On the main screen in front of him was… something. He hadn't a clue what it was all he could figure out was that it was some kind of spatial anomaly. He gave his fellow Andorian a glare of impatience. Telev, guessing he was on thin ice, quickly explained,

"I know you don't like science, but I was hoping you'd recognise this. It's the same kind of recordings that were in the logs from the Defiant. You know, the ones that detailed the anomaly that brought it to our universe." Shran stared at him dumbly for a minute then said in a voice filled with barely contained excitement.

"Alright, you have my attention. When did our ships detect it?"

"Ten minutes ago, and it's growing."

"Sir!" The Orion boy from earlier called them, "There's something emerging from it… I think it's a ship."

"What kind?" Gral grunted beside him.

"I'm not sure… wait I think it's… sir, it matches the style of Terran Empire ships." Telev stared at him for a second as he grasped this and then barked,

"Red alert! Contact that fleets commander, tell them to assume an aggressive posture, weapons on full."

"But don't fire!" Shran exclaimed, "Use the dampening field and bring it here."

"Here! Thy'lek-"

"Don't argue with me Telev! I said bring the ship here."

"What about the crew?"

"Use the neutraliser."

"But it only works on Terrans. What about the other species on board?"

"Send a message informing them that if the Terrans are untouched then all will be well."

"What if they refuse to follow that order?"

"… Then continue bringing them here, even if the crew is revived, they'll have the hangovers of their lives for several hours, they'll be in no condition to do anything."

"I hope you're right Thy'lek." Gral said softly.

"Me too." Shran admitted. He needed to be right this time, he had to be right. 'Please let me be right.'

"Why do you want these Terrans alive?" Sten questioned pointedly.

"Because! What if these Terrans are from the same universe as the Defiant! They won't be like Terrans we know." Shran explained excitedly. Telev came close to him and whispered

"Are you sure we should find out?" Shran looked at him questioningly, "It may not be a good idea to learn of a 'good' kind of Terran, it could affect how we behave with the Resistance."

"You mean it may make me more sympathetic to the Terrans, which would make me a risk to the Resistance, which would mean you'd have to kill me." Shran gave him a pointed look.

"I'm not saying you are easily swayed… but you tend to look for things that don't really exist, and to be honest Thy'lek, you are too careful with what you do. It's done us well in the past, we've made few mistakes, but that could change if your feelings change." Shran faced him and put his hands on Telev's shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze.

"Trust me my friend, yes I have reserves about the things we do, and yes I'm still not sure of what I want to happen with this resistance and everything else I've mentioned before, but my feelings for Terrans will never ever change. I mean it." Telev stared at him hard, his eyes narrowed slightly, giving him an oddly haughty expression. Shran was struck, like he had been many times before, by his friend's very interesting, yet beautiful, appearance. His face was completely smooth, except for his cranial ridges, there were no lines, no wrinkles, even expression lines on his face. Even Vulcan's, despite having the expression range of a stembolt, had lines. He didn't look young, he looked eternal. He also had a very smug face so it was easy to think he was mocking you when he wasn't. Telev's antennas moved forward, curving towards each other. Finally he said

"I hope so. I'd hate to have to kill you." Shran grinned at him and he slowly grinned back. Releasing the younger man Shran asked

"When will the ships arrive?"

"In eight hours." Shran clapped his hands in a business like way and said loudly

"Right then! I don't want a peep from anyone in that time; don't call me over the comm., don't shout for me outside my door or from anywhere else, I want to be left alone. Understood?"

"Yes." The room chorused in amusement.

"Great! Now I may still have a wife if I run home." Shran ran out the door before anyone could even laugh.

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Night's Darkness