*Author's Note: This story may be a bit distasteful to TnTers at times. But before you crucify me, I just ask that you give it a chance. If you hate it after reading, then you can crucify me. But I hope you enjoy it! Bri

Chapter One

Six Months Later.

Jonathan Archer had comfortably settled into his role as Commodore and Fleet Captain of Starfleet's growing space contingent. He had never planned on commanding a war ship nor leading a fleet of war ships. But, then again he had never planned on being the most experienced officer between the MACOS and Starfleet as it related to space travel, dealing with alien races, fighting and successfully defeating alien hostiles, and forging diplomatic relations with multiple alien races as well. With that kind of resume, Jonathan Archer was the right man for the job at the right time, and the right time, was now.

His closest friend of fourteen years, Charles Anthony Tucker, III, "Trip," who had served as his Chief Engineer aboard the Star Ship Enterprise, had been promoted to Captain and was now serving on Jupiter Station cranking out the fleet that would defend United Earth in the looming war against the Romulans. Trip and his engineering team had already successfully upgraded and refit some 40 of the slower warp two vessels, 25 Daedalus Class star ships and 50 or so of the smaller Frigates to warp five capability. They had recently finished upgrading and refitting Enterprise and Columbia with the warp seven and defensive shield technology and Jon and Erica were still serving as Captains of their respective ships. When the first warp seven vessel rolled out of space dock, Erica would be named its Captain and Jon would be housed there as Fleet Captain. Presently, the two ships were patrolling Earth's air space as far out as Vulcan and Andoria, just in case there was trouble or any uninvited guests looking to start the war early. Since the Xindi attack it wasn't uncommon for several starships to patrol Earth's realm.

Hoshi and Travis were promoted to Lieutenant and still serving on Enterprise. But Jon had plans to move them to the new warp seven ship as soon as it rolled out. After all Travis was the best pilot in the fleet so it only stood to reason that he should fly the new flagship of the fleet. And Hoshi's skills were matchless, although Starfleet continued to try and steal her away to headquarters, she kept saying no and Jon kept fighting to keep her. After all, she had more than one reason to stay aboard Enterprise for now.

The new warp seven ship, Xfinity, would be twice as big as anything in the fleet and would house 200 crew members. It would have four nacelles and twice the engine capacity. Ninety days after Xfinity rolled out, Intrepid and Tuscany was scheduled to roll out. After they were tested and approved, three more warp seven ships would then be built within a year's time with the assistance of the Tellarites, who had been commissioned to assist in building them for Starfleet with the Vulcans supplying raw materials and other resources. As of now, Tellar and Vulcan were providing parts and raw materials directly to Jupiter Station to aid in building the current ships.

Enterprise, Captain's Mess.

"So Xfinity is looking good, ahead of schedule," Erica said to Jon who seemed distracted this evening.

"Uh huh," he replied as he played with his food. "Trip and his team have done an excellent job."

"And the other warp seven ships are set to roll out of space dock even sooner than expected?" she asked trying to engage Jon in conversation again.

"Yeah that's right."

"With the ships Tellar have committed to building for us, and the re-fits on the warp five ships, that's six warp seven ships to lead the fleet, three different contingents, with over 100 warp five vessels, not to mention the mass array of warp three frigates we still have to run interference." Jon didn't reply.

"And I think I'll have my other head attached while I'm at it!" Erica said loudly.

"What?" Jon frowned.

"You haven't heard a word I've said," Erica snapped.

"Of course I did. You said Xfinity was a great ship, I concurred."

"Jon, what's the matter with you? Why are you so distracted? Everything's going well, better than expected, but you've been nothing but moody and grumpy for weeks. Lighten up will you."

"That's just it Erica. Everything is going just fine and dandy! Better than any of us could have ever hoped or expected! Well, I don't like it. In all my years of space travel, I've always followed my instincts and something smells funny to me. Things are going too well. We can't lighten up, we can't relax. Something is wrong, I can feel it, and the minute we lighten up, the minute we relax, it's gonna blow up in our faces!" With that he threw his napkin down on the table and got up and started pacing around the room. Erica got up and walked over to him stopping him in his tracks.

"Commodore Archer, you're wrong," she started. "You're over reaching. Don't go looking for trouble. You may just find it. Now sit down, let's enjoy this evening together. When this war does get underway, we won't have this luxury." Then she stood on her toes and kissed him. He looked at her with a most troublesome look on his face for a few moments. Then, he blew out a long sigh as he pinched his nose between his eyes. He then smiled and kissed her back.

"Yes ma'am, you're the boss," he finally said. Then they sat down and finished dinner. But he secretly continued to worry.

That Same Evening.

Malcolm and Hoshi had convinced Trip to take a day off from work and to actually leave Jupiter Station for dinner for a change. So they went down and had an exotic meal at a beautiful restaurant in Napa Valley, California and sampled the various wines. Having tasted Andorian Ale, Coridian wine and the like, it wasn't all that say, different. But it was still very nice. They even went dancing. At least Hoshi and Trip did. It was like pulling teeth to get the stiff brit and the self-contained Vulcan to let loose. They later went for a long stroll in one of the vineyards before they returned to Jupiter station.

Jupiter Station, Trip's Quarters.

"That turned out to be a great evening," Trip smiled at T'Pol as they both stripped out of their casual clothing, tossing them onto a chair, then crawled onto the bed naked. "I'm glad we took time out to do it."

"I am glad you took time out to do it," T'Pol replied. "You have been putting in an excessive amount of overtime. There is no need to wear yourself out."

"There's a war on the horizon babe," Trip replied. "I just want us to be ready. Who knows when this thing is gonna hit. The last thing we need is to be caught off guard, like when the Xindi hit us."

"That was unfortunate," T'Pol said. "But United Earth has grown a lot since that time. No one could ever get away with such an unprovoked attack again. You have border patrol now and understand a lot more about hostiles and potential threats out there."

"Yeah, you're right about that, but still, I'll just feel better when we have a formidable fleet. That's the job I've been given and I'm gonna see to it that that job is done. Then I'll think about taking a rest."

"I am sure that is an exaggeration," T'Pol replied. "After the fleet is completed, you will assume command of one of the warp seven vessels and I will have to threaten you with bodily harm to get you to take care of yourself."

"That's not true," Trip said. "I take care of myself, a whole hell of a lot better than I used to anyway. What with you tryna turn me into a vegan and working me out on a regular."

"You have never complained about my work-out methods," T'Pol said. "Actually I was thinking of working you out in just a few minutes. I have been reading the collective works of a 20th century Earth author, Jaqueline Suzanne. I wanted to try out some of the work-out methods described in her books." Trip laughed at that.

"T'Pol you are a bad girl, you know that?"

"The badder, the better," she replied.

"And now you're using incorrect English too! What am I going to do with you?"

"I could make a few suggestions," she said, then jumped on top of him.

"Whoa!" Trip yelled. "Darlin' you're gonna hurt me if you keep doing that without any warning."

"Captain Tucker," she replied, "I haven't begun to hurt you!" Then she kissed him aggressively.

"So let the hurtin' began," Trip gasped when she finally let him up for air… for a moment anyway.

Later that night Trip quietly slipped out of bed unable to sleep. He went into the living area and sat on the sofa, rubbing his eyes and his forehead.

"Maybe I am working too hard," he thought to himself. He got up slowly trying to fight off the dizzy sensation he was feeling. The dizzy spells had been happening a lot lately, but he had been hiding them from T'Pol. He was also hiding the weird dreams and thoughts he'd been having as well. He was afraid of what they meant. "Just put it out of your mind Trip," he said to himself. "Put her, "It" I mean! Put "it" of your mind! What the hell am I sayin? What's happenin' to me?" Then he got up slowly and strode into the kitchen. He poured himself a half glass of wine, hoping it would relax him and help him sleep, without dreaming that is. The last thing he wanted to do is have another one of those dreams.

The Next Morning.

Trip was surprised when Hoshi came to see him on the station early the next morning before her shift began on Enterprise.

"Captain," she said knocking quietly on his office door and peeking her head through his office door.

"Well hey Hoshi," he said. "Didn't expect to see you this morning."

"I'm not disturbing you am I?" she asked.

"Of course not. Come on in," he said smiling, gesturing for her to sit. She did so on the other side of his desk. "Some night we had last night huh?"

"I'll say," Hoshi replied. "It was good to get away from all this for a change, admit it."

"When you're right, you're right," Trip said. "Now tell me, to what do I owe this wonderful early morning surprise." Hoshi looked down at her hands, having second thoughts about why she had come. "Is there something wrong?" he asked sitting straight up.

"Well," she said, "Now that I'm here, I just feel really silly, but, we're friends, right?"

"Of course we are."

"And we can talk about most anything, right?"

"Yeah…most anything," Trip said warily wondering where this was going.

"It's uh…Malcolm."

"What's he done," Trip said frowning.

"Nothing!" Hoshi said quickly. "Nothing wrong, or bad, I mean. It's just that… well. Trip, can I ask you something? Does T'Pol ever say it?"

"Say what?" Trip asked curiously.

"It," Hoshi replied, "the "L" word."

"The "L" word?" he asked as if perfectly clueless.

"Oh for heaven's sake," she said exasperated. "Does she ever tell you that she loves you?!"

"Oh!" he said, "that!"

"Yeah, that!"

"Well… yeah…maybe a couple of times… when I insisted that she say it, and she did it because I wanted to hear it. She did say it once when she thought I was dead, or dying and she thought I couldn't hear her."

"But if she never says it, how do you know? How do you know she really loves you?"

"Oh, I know, believe me, I know. Look Hoshi, with T'Pol it's different. She may not ever say it, it's just not her way. But because of our connection, our bond, I know what she feels; what's on the inside; and that's deeper than anything she could ever verbalize. Besides she shows me plenty how she feels about me." Hoshi looked down.

"Oh," she said. "I just wish I could be sure."

"You mean Malcolm's never said it?" Hoshi just shook her head no. "Well, can't say that doesn't surprise me all that much. Hoshi," he said and moved around the desk and took one of her hands in his as he sat on the edge of the desk. "Maybe he hasn't said it. But that doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. I mean, I wish you could see the way he looks at you the way I see him looking at you. And oh my god he can't shut up about you!"

"Really?' Hoshi said beaming.

"Sweetheart, he talks about you more than he talks about weapons!" Hoshi laughed. "Now, that's better," Trip said.

"Thanks for that Trip," Hoshi said rising. "I gotta go to work." Trip leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't worry about Malcolm," he told her. "I happen to have it on good authority…he loves you to pieces, okay."

"Okay," Hoshi said quietly, smiled, then turned and left. Trip stood there smiling with his hands on his hips as he watched her leave. Then his smile quickly faded and turned into a frown. He threw his hands in the air and shook his head.

"Okay… I gotta have a long talk with one Commander Malcolm Stuart Reed," Trip said out loud. Then he exited his office to start his day.

Several Days Later.

The Xfinity was two-thirds complete and looking to be a magnificent piece of machinery. Trip was pretty proud of his handiwork so far if he said so himself. Starfleet was pretty impressed too. Now that the ship was almost complete, new Captains would be assigned to Enterprise and Columbia. Trip was pretty pissed off that Malcolm was not immediately named as Enterprise's Captain and had voiced his objections to all the Starfleet brass rather loud, and clearly. Jon had even recommended Malcolm for Captain, but the corps of Admirals argued that he had only been promoted to the rank of Lt. Commander just six months ago and that he needed more command experience. Accordingly, he was promoted to the rank of full Commander and named XO of Enterprise.

On this particular day Malcolm was going about the business of preparing to greet the new Captain of Enterprise, Dean Phillips. Phillips had been Captain of one of the smaller warp three frigates for the last five years, and had a stellar reputation. Reed had been promised that if this stint as XO went well for the next year, he would see a promotion to Captain and his own command, so he put his feelings aside and vowed to himself to do everything in his power to make this assignment work. He was just about to leave his quarters for the day when his comm went off.

"Reed here," he said.

"You have a high security clearance communication Lieutenant," the Alpha shift comm officer said.

"A high security clearance communication?" Malcolm replied, puzzled. "By all means put it through crewman." A few moments later Malcolm was surprised to see Admiral Wallace and Harris of Section 31 fame appear on the screen. What were these two doing together? This couldn't be anything good.

"Commander," Wallace said.

"Sir," Malcolm replied.

"Good to see you Malcolm," Harris grinned. Malcolm hesitated.

"I'm not sure I can say the same. With all due respect Admiral, what is this all about?"

"I have an assignment for you Commander," Wallace replied. "And it's highly classified."

"Classified?" Reed said. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting. That I am not to tell my Captain about this?"

"There's no need for Phillips to know," Harris said. "No one needs to know."

"We've been down that road before Harris," Malcolm spat out. "I promised my last Captain that I would never betray his trust again, never!"

"This doesn't involve Archer," Harris said.

"I won't do it, I don't care who's involved or what it is."

"Mr. Reed, I need you to do this," Admiral Wallace said. "When I learned about this situation, a potentially dangerous situation, I went to Harris myself. He suggested you for this mission, but he said you'd never listen to him."

"What exactly is the situation?" Malcolm asked.

"We have intelligence that leads us to believe that there's a spy aboard Enterprise."

"What?" Malcolm said. "Another Terra Primer?"

"No. We believe there may be a crewman aboard working with a Vulcan operative of the old High Command, and that particular Vulcan has ties with a Romulan cell group discovered on Coridian. But Coridian isn't the only place they've set up shop."

"Someone aboard Enterprise in cahoots with a Vulcan spy," Malcolm replied. "Why would a Vulcan be working with Romulans?" The two men looked at one another.

"Reed, what I'm about to say is highly classified, and no you cannot tell your Captain. He will be briefed in a few weeks anyway," Wallace said. "This war with Romulus is on the horizon, but there's a possibility that the Romulans are recruiting. The Nausicans may be aligning themselves with the Romulans, and even a group of Vulcans gone rogue."

"What!" Malcolm grimaced bent over as he held onto the edge of his desk with both hands. "And you think there's someone feeding one of these rogue Vulcans information about Enterprise on board?"

"And in turn, feeding their Romulan operative," Harris said. "We have reason to believe that this operative is a former High Command agent, surgically altered to look human. That's where you come in. We've got to find out who it is."

"What do you need," Reed replied reluctantly.

"We need you to get close to the suspect here on Enterprise. Crewman Allison Wells."

"Wells! She's an engineer! Oh no!"

"Yes. We think she's supplying her contact with vital information about our warp capability and anything Captain Tucker has done in the way of upgrades beyond warp five, about our warp seven project, and God knows what else," the Admiral added.

"Shouldn't Captain Tucker be told?" Malcolm asked with concern.

"No. We don't want to tip out hand. We want Wells to continue what she's doing because we want to find out more about her contact. Hopefully that'll lead us to the information about the cell group that's still out there."

Malcolm considered this. "What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Get close to her, so that she'll take you into her confidence, make her think she can trust you; perhaps even try to recruit you."

"The only possible way I could do that is if I were to…"

"Get involved with her," Wallace said finishing the sentence.

"Involved with her? As in…."

"Sleep with her. Whatever it takes," Harris said.

"I- I can't do that," Malcolm finally said. He was concerned about deceiving his new Captain, but mostly Commodore Archer again, that was for sure. It had taken him a long time to regain his trust after what happened a year ago when Phlox was kidnapped. But he was also concerned that he was already involved, sleeping with a crew member. He was sure that he was in love with her too, and he didn't want to hurt her. But he couldn't very well tell this to Admiral Wallace.

"I'm sorry," Malcolm said. "But I'm not the person for this mission. You'll need to get someone else."

"Commander," Wallace said with a stern tone. "You don't understand. This isn't a request, it's an Order! I need you to do this, Starfleet needs you to do this, and do this you will!"

"But… Commodore Archer…"

"Leave Archer to me. Now, you have one week to get something going with crewman Wells. Dinner, a movie, a ride in a space shuttle, I don't really give a damn what it is, but approach the woman and find a way to get in her pants! I'll respect a report in 10 days!" Then the screen went black. Malcolm sat down hard on his bunk and put his head in his hands, tearing at his hair. This was an impossible situation.