THE BRIAR PATCH

By Dinah

Disclaimer: I don't own the Enterprise characters. I do, however, claim ownership of the characters that are the products of my imagination. I have not benefited monetarily from writing this.

Author's note: Thank you very much for the reviews. They're the things that really make writing worthwhile. I also want to thank Blacknblue for giving this chapter the once over and offering his suggestions. Please keep in mind that I write slowly. It will be awhile between new chapters.

CHAPTER 4: T'POL

"What in the hell is going on out there!"

T'Pol saw Archer tense in response to the angry tone of Admiral Gardner's voice. Glancing at the viewscreen, she noticed that Erika Hernandez, the third member of this three-way comm link obviously heard it, too, because she shifted uncomfortably in her command chair on Columbia.

"Have you seen the pictures from ECS Beneficence?"

"We've seen the transmission," Hernandez managed to squeeze in before Gardner barreled ahead.

"We're just lucky that freighter captain's a lousy navigator. If he hadn't wandered off course, we'd be completely in the dark. Five Vulcan battle cruisers at dead stop! It looks like a damned parking lot out there!"

"Yes, sir." As always, Erika's voice was calm and controlled, but the look she exchanged with Archer made it clear that she was uneasy.

"Seven ships went out, not five. Seven! What happened to the other two?"

T'Pol watched as Archer's hands balled into two tight fists. "We aren't sure," he said grudgingly.

"You aren't sure! Columbia reported that the ships were there one minute and gone the next. Isn't that correct, Captain Hernandez?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, where'd they go? It's been over an hour and a half since you passed along that information. Are the Vulcans in trouble? Or – heaven help us – have they developed some sort of cloaking device? It would be just like Kiran to pick a high-profile event like this to show us up."

"I wish I could provide you with an answer, Admiral," Erika replied, "but given what we know now, I'm afraid that isn't possible."

Gardner pointed a finger accusingly. "That's not good enough. Archer, you've got a man on board one of those Vulcan ships. Damn it, I need to know what's happening."

"So far we haven't been able to get through to Commander Tucker," Archer replied. T'Pol could detect more than a little defensiveness in his voice. "My communications officer has tried to contact the Tar'hana for the past ninety minutes, but it's no go. Kiran just ignores our hails."

"We can't get through to any of the ships," Captain Hernandez added, seemingly to draw attention away from Archer. "Perhaps they're unable to respond."

"Can't Captain V'Lin do anything to remedy this situation?" Gardner's eyes moved rapidly around the bridge. "Where is he, by the way? Please tell me you haven't lost him, too. I don't think I can handle any more vanishing Vulcans today."

T'Pol glanced at Archer's clenched jaw and stormy expression and decided it might be best if she was the one who responded to the admiral's questions. "Captain V'Lin asked to leave the bridge not long after the two ships disappeared from our sensors. He maintained that he was not…comfortable around humans."

"Let me get this straight." Gardner appeared to be peeved and perplexed in equal measure. "All hell's breaking loose and V'Lin's looking for a place to hide? Are you sure this guy's the captain of a Vulcan ship?"

"Yes, sir," T'Pol replied. "I believe Captain V'Lin may have had an ulterior motive when he requested a private room. Since he left the bridge, Ensign Sato has picked up snatches of two unauthorized transmissions coming from inside Enterprise. We believe the captain wanted to contact his superiors without going through regular channels."

"What have you done to put a stop to it?" Gardner was clearly troubled by what he'd just been told.

"Nothing, as yet," Archer said. "We have a security team stationed outside his door, but so far we don't have any solid evidence that he presents a danger to the ship. Besides, if Ensign Sato can break the code he's using, we may be able to turn the situation to our advantage."

"I see. What are the chances of getting that done?"

"I don't have much to work with," Hoshi answered, a frown briefly settling over her face, "and the code isn't one in common usage, but given time, I think I can figure it out."

Gardner nodded. "Do what you can, Ensign. I'm not crazy about eavesdropping on our guest, but maybe it will give us some clue as to what's going on."

"As soon as Hoshi has anything, we'll pass it along," Archer said.

The right side of the viewscreen changed as Admiral Uhlani clapped a hand on Gardner's shoulder and slid into the chair next to him. After saying a few whispered words to his colleague, Uhlani turned his attention to the two Starfleet captains.

"I want to bring you up to date on the situation here. The Ti'Mur and Thorsh-yel broke orbit fifteen minutes ago and headed in your general direction. They barely waited to clear the system before going to maximum warp. Five minutes later the Sas-a-shar tore out of here like a bat out of hell. Do you have them on your sensors?"

The heads of both captains swiveled toward their science officers in perfect unison.

T'Pol was the first to respond. "Long range sensors show that all three ships are on course to rendezvous with Admiral Kiran's squadron."

"So something is up," Gardner said with a groan. "I was afraid of that." He nervously began tapping his index finger on the table in front of him. With his prematurely white hair and the pronounced laugh lines around his eyes, he usually looked like a rather benign grandfather instead of one of the most powerful men in Starfleet. Today, however, he looked every inch the warrior.

"We've been trying to locate someone from the High Council," Uhlani said, "but they've all gone to ground. The same holds true for representatives of the Vulcan fleet, the Security Ministry, and every other Vulcan agency right down to the Ministry of Sanitation. As a matter of fact, for the past hour and a half the only Vulcan I've seen above the rank of assistant flunky is Commander T'Pol."

"If they're locking things down this fast, the situation must be pretty serious," Gardner said. "How long will it take you to reach the Vulcan ships?"

"Our ETA is 45 minutes," Archer replied.

"Columbia is about an hour away," Captain Hernandez added.

"Tucker modified those engines to exceed warp 5," Gardner growled. "Redline them."

"Yes, sir," both captains answered simultaneously.

"We're recalling the other ships in your squadrons," Uhlani said. "The captains should have received their orders by now and changed course for Vulcan. Until we know what we're up against, we can't afford to be strung out from one end of the sector to the other. As things stand, we're perfect sitting ducks."

"We need answers," Gardner said. "Contact us as soon as you reach Kiran's squadron. If the Vulcans need help, offer whatever assistance you can. Just keep us informed."

When the right side of the main viewscreen went dark, the picture automatically adjusted so that Columbia's bridge filled the screen.

"We have our work cut out for us, Captain," Erika said. A half-hearted smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

"See you soon." Erika motioned with her right hand and the transmission ended.

"You heard the man, Travis. Go to 5.2." The captain walked over to his command chair and sat down heavily. Pressing the comm button on the arm of the chair, he said, "Archer to engineering."

"Lieutenant Hess here, sir."

"We've got two missing Vulcan ships and Starfleet wants us to investigate. I need all the speed you can squeeze out of the engines."

"For how long?"

"About 40 minutes."

"I can't guarantee that we can hold 5.2 for that long, but we'll give you everything we can for as long as we can."

"I guess that will have to do. Archer out."

The captain turned to his communications officer. "Hoshi, try to contact the Tar'hana. If she still doesn't answer, try hailing the Sas-a-shar or the Ti'Mur. I'm not in a position to be too picky. I'll talk to anyone who speaks Vulcan."

"Aye, sir."

T'Pol took a moment to study Archer. The strain from negotiating with the Vulcans, while simultaneously trying to hold the Coalition together, was clearly taking a toll on him. She wanted to reassure him, but there was little she could say that would ease his mind. No matter where she looked these days, there seemed to be nothing but trouble on the horizon.

Finally, when the silence on the bridge became too oppressive, Lieutenant Reed said, "At least we know the Tar'hana isn't one of the missing ships." He cast his eyes anxiously around the bridge as though trying to draw support from his colleagues. "We know Commander Tucker is all right."

"He'd better be or I'll have Kiran's hide." Archer leaned forward and gripped the arms of his chair. "I just want to get Trip back on board. Maybe then we'll find out what's going on. I almost hope the Vulcans have perfected a cloaking device." He turned toward T'Pol. "But I don't think we're going to be that lucky. What do you think?"

T'Pol didn't know what to say. She knew something catastrophic had occurred. The wave of shock and fear which had emanated from Trip made that much clear. Beyond that, she knew only that her husband was still alive. She wanted to reveal what little she knew, but there would be the inevitable questions about the source of her information. That subject – the bond she shared with Trip – was off limits; she'd given her word. Unfortunately, that meant that she had no choice but to speak in generalities.

"I do not believe my people have a cloaking device," she finally said in a quiet voice. "I wish I could be of more help."

Restless, Archer once again got to his feet and began to pace. "Years ago when Malcolm and Travis got into trouble on that comet and Captain Vanik offered to use his ship's tractor beam to rescue them, you told me that there was no shame in accepting his help. Do you remember that, T'Pol?" He looked over at her and she nodded her head. "That was good advice. Now the tables are turned and we're offering to assist the Vulcans. Why can't your people see that there's no shame in accepting the help that we have to give?"

"Captain, I cannot speak for…"

"Starfleet is getting sick and tired of all this secrecy. Damn it, we're supposed to be allies. The people of Earth are just about fed up, T'Pol. We're tired of being ignored. I hope the Vulcans realize that before it's too late."

T'Pol knew that the captain was upset by recent events, but she hadn't expected such a grim pronouncement. The thought of her people being isolated in a hostile universe was troubling, to say the least. Feeling the need for reassurance, she reached out to her husband, but all she caught were snatches of his anger and frustration. Whatever he was doing, he was concentrating so intently that she was effectively shut out. Sighing, she realized that she, too, would be forced to wait just like everyone else on Enterprise.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hurry up and wait.

T'Pol had heard Trip use that phrase on more than one occasion, but it had never seemed quite so apt. Following Admiral Gardner's directive, Captain Archer had pushed the warp engine to the limit only to be forced to sit and wait – it was going on 70 minutes now – once they reached the Vulcan ships. T'Pol could have told Gardner that this would be the result of their mad dash, but she had spent enough time with humans to know that her warning would have fallen on deaf ears. She knew her people. She knew they would not welcome what they perceived to be Starfleet's interference in a Vulcan matter, regardless of the humans' good intentions or their offers of aid and support.

So the Enterprise crew sat…and waited…and watched as the Sas-a-Shar and Ti'Mur circled Kiran's squadron like a pair of great ringed guard dogs intent on keeping nosy passers-by at a safe distance.

Finally, a welcome break in the monotony came when Ensign Sato announced, "Captain, I have an incoming transmission from Captain Hernandez."

Archer stopped pacing and looked expectantly at Hoshi. "Put her through."

"Aye, sir." As she completed her task, all eyes turned toward the viewscreen in anticipation.

Unlike Enterprise, Columbia was doing more than waiting around for something meaningful to happen. She had been dispatched to search the area around the last known positions of the two missing Vulcan ships. Her crew was well trained. T'Pol was sure that they would undoubtedly be able to provide some much-needed answers.

The senior staff of Enterprise had managed to remain somewhat optimistic until Erika Hernandez appeared on the viewscreen. One look at her face told them all they needed to know: the news was not good.

"Did you find anything?" Archer asked, wasting no time on social niceties.

"I'm afraid so," Erika replied in a somber tone of voice. "I don't think we have to worry about a Vulcan cloaking device."

Leaning his head back, Archer took a deep breath. When he focused on Captain Hernandez again, there was a look of supreme sadness in his eyes. "The ships have been destroyed?"

"The evidence points to that. We found two large debris fields."

"You're sure it was the Vulcan ships. Maybe something else caused…"

"As soon as we realized the Thorsh-yel was patrolling the area, we knew we were in the right place. You and I both know the Vulcans wouldn't station a ship there without a good reason."

"Did they try to prevent you from searching?"

"Surprisingly, no. When I sent out our shuttlepods, they never made a move to stop us. We managed to collect enough bits and pieces to tentatively identify the detritus as Vulcan." Erika wearily leaned back in her command chair. "I'm not sure that we'll ever be able to make a positive identification of either ship, but I don't think there's any question that they're both gone."

Two ships lost with all hands – so many lives lost in an instant. T'Pol took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Even though she'd known all along that something dire had happened, it was still upsetting to have her suspicions confirmed. It went without saying that she would grieve for the victims, along with the rest of her people, but she could not deny her sense of relief that Trip had been spared.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" Archer asked. "Were they attacked?"

Hernandez shrugged her shoulders. "There were two massive explosions. That much is obvious. Beyond that, we can only speculate."

"Have you informed Starfleet?"

"Yes. Admiral Gardner was unavailable, but I talked to his chief of staff. Evidently Starfleet is just as tired of waiting as we are. We have orders to return to Vulcan if we don't make contact in the next two hours."

Archer swung his head around, looking to his communications officer for confirmation.

"Orders are coming in now, sir," Hoshi said quietly in response to the captain's unspoken question.

"We're ordered back?"

Hoshi glanced at the others on the bridge. She obviously was uncomfortable discussing the captain's orders so openly. "Captain, the message is marked for your…

"Is it encoded?"

"No."

"Then tell me. Are we ordered back? Yes or no."

Hoshi lifted her chin. "Yes. In two hours, unless we…"

"…unless we're able to make contact with the Vulcans. Thank you, Ensign." Archer scrubbed a hand over his face before turning back to face Hernandez once again.

"Did the admiral's chief of staff have anything to say about Trip?" he asked.

"I'm afraid Commander Tucker's name never came up."

"Well, that was a bit of an oversight, wouldn't you say?"

"Perhaps, but…"

"He's a Starfleet officer. He belongs on Enterprise, not on some Vulcan ship."

"Captain V'Lin must be eager to return to the Tar'hana. Maybe he could initiate a swap?"

The look on Archer's face darkened. Captain Hernandez had touched on a sore subject. "I can't make a swap because V'Lin's no longer on board," Jon said through gritted teeth.

"He isn't." Erika was clearly surprised. "What happened?"

"As soon as we reached Kiran's squadron, the Vulcans transported V'Lin off Enterprise."

"If that worked for the Vulcans, why don't you try to recover Commander Tucker in the same way?"

"Don't you think we've tried? We can't get a lock on Trip. The Vulcans are blocking his signal." Archer rubbed one hand over his eyes. Tension and fatigue were apparently beginning to take their toll. "Look, what it all boils down to is that I'm still without the services of my chief engineer. I have no intention of running off and leaving him."

"You may have to. Orders are orders, Captain."

Archer shook his head mulishly. "Admiral Gardner's going to have to give me that order personally."

"If you feel that's necessary, I'm sure the admiral will be happy to accommodate you."

Seeing Archer stiffen in response to her statement, Erika seemed to have second thoughts about the tack she was taking. After studying him briefly, a warm smile spread across her face. "I really don't think you have anything to worry about. We both know that Admiral Kiran isn't going to want a human cluttering up his bridge any longer than absolutely necessary."

Although T'Pol could tell that he was fighting against it, one corner of Archer's mouth turned up. He was still wound tight, but Erika's new approach seemed to take the edge off his tension and frustration. "Maybe you're right," he said. "Besides, a lot can happen in two hours."

"It certainly can." Erika raised an eyebrow and gave Archer a knowing look. "We'll join you as soon as possible."

Archer continued to stare at the viewscreen for a few moments after Erika signed off as though lost in thought, then he turned to his communications officer. "Hoshi, I want you to keep trying to…"

"I know, I know," she replied wearily. "Anyone who speaks Vulcan."

With a brisk nod of the head, Archer turned and headed for his ready room. "Let me know if you get lucky," he grumbled.

Sometime later, Columbia arrived, joining Enterprise in her surveillance of the Vulcan ships. Looking for something useful to do to keep her mind off Trip's absence, T'Pol asked Captain Hernandez if she could be of assistance to those who were processing the debris from the two ships. Somehow it seemed like the least she could do for those who'd lost their lives in the line of duty.

Hernandez was more than happy to accommodate her and, within a very short time of receiving Columbia's scans of the debris fields, T'Pol was completely engrossed in the project. With no time for meditation, she found data analysis to be comforting. Order and method were just what she needed.

After what seemed like mere moments, T'Pol glanced at the chronometer near her work station. When she realized that the two hours allotted by Starfleet were almost up, she felt a cold hand close over her heart. This was all wrong. She had given her word to Trip that she would never abandon him again, but here she was preparing to fly away, leaving him alone on an alien ship, just when he needed her the most. No doubt this was one of the reasons why Starfleet preferred not to assign married couples to the same ship. Where did her duty lie? Did she owe her primary allegiance to her husband or to her ship and its crew?

Taking several deep breaths, T'Pol focused her thoughts on her mate. It didn't take her long, however, to realize that Trip would not be joining her in the white space they shared. Whatever project he was working on was all-consuming. He still sent intermittent waves of intense emotions coursing through their bond, but today she welcomed them. They served as undeniable proof that he was still with her.

With a subtle shake of the head, T'Pol reluctantly decided that it was time to forego any further attempts to make contact with her husband and focus instead on her responsibilities as first officer. With that in mind, she rose and walked across the bridge to the ready room.

Archer admitted her immediately, but when she entered the room, he remained standing in front of the viewport, staring out at two of the ships in Kiran's squadron.

"You're here to tell me that our time's up, aren't you?"

"Yes," she answered quietly. "Our orders are clear. Since our hails have gone unanswered, we must return to Vulcan."

After a moment of silence he turned to look at her. "I can't explain it, T'Pol," he said beseechingly, "but I know that if we follow orders and head back to Vulcan right now we're going to miss out on something important. I can't tell you what that 'something' is, but the day will come when Starfleet is going to regret pulling us out."

"Be that as it may, we still…"

"…have to follow orders," he said, finishing her sentence for her. "I know." He briefly lowered his head and studied the deck plating. Finally he sighed and met her eyes. "Okay. Let's get this over with."

Archer allowed T'Pol to exit the ready room first. As soon as he was through the door he said, "Hoshi, inform Columbia that we're preparing to get underway."

While T'Pol proceeded to the science station, the captain walked over to Ensign Mayweather and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "We're going back to Vulcan, Travis. Lay in a course."

"But, sir…" Ensign Mayweather turned his head so that he could look up at Archer. "…what about Commander Tucker? Are we really going to leave him here?"

A pained look flashed across Archer's face, but he quickly tried to cover his lapse with a half-hearted smile. "I think Captain Hernandez was right," he said, giving Travis' shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sure the Vulcans will bring…"

"Captain!" Hoshi exclaimed, her eyes gleaming in triumph. "I have Minister T'Pau. She wants to speak with you."

"It's about time," Archer muttered under his breath. With a brisk nod of his head, he said aloud, "Put her through, Ensign."

The elfin face of T'Pau immediately filled the viewscreen. As usual, her emotional control was impeccable, but T'Pol thought there was something unsettling about her, as though some pent-up force of nature was waiting to break free.

"Good day, Captain Archer."

"Minister T'Pau, what can I do for you?"

"It is unfortunate that circumstances forced Admiral Kiran to end the joint maneuvers so abruptly, but I think that it has proved to be a valuable experience for both our peoples. Please inform Starfleet that our ships will remain here for the next 24 hours. While we appreciate your repeated offers to help us, we do not require assistance. You are free to return to Vulcan. We have everything under control."

"Do you really?" Archer replied in a sarcastic tone of voice. Unconsciously, he must have clamped down on his helmsman's shoulder because Travis winced. "In case you haven't noticed, Minister, you're missing two ships. I'd say you can use all the help you can get."

T'Pol was rather surprised by Archer's biting remarks, but T'Pau seemed to be completely unfazed.

"I assure you, Captain, their absence has been duly noted."

"Have you also noted that there are two large debris fields not too far from here?"

"That was unworthy of you." T'Pau took a few moments to study Archer. "The Thorsh-yel has served as our eyes and ears in much the same way as Columbia has performed that task for you. I assure you that we are actively trying to determine what happened to our ships."

"So why all the secrecy? We're here, ready to help. So is Columbia."

Mayweather must have twisted his body just enough to send a subtle signal to Archer to release his grip because the captain dropped his hand. With his attention focused squarely on Minister T'Pau, Archer appeared to be unaware that he had caused Travis any pain.

T'Pau drew herself up and regarded Archer coolly. "This is a Vulcan matter. We neither need nor desire outside assistance."

"Then I guess we'll just have to find out what happened for ourselves."

"Do what you must. By allowing Columbia to search the area in question, we have already given you every opportunity to begin the process. You are free to draw your own conclusions."

T'Pol could tell by the scowl on Archer's face that that was not what he wanted to hear. She only hoped that he could continue to keep his anger in check.

"All right, T'Pau," he snapped. "You've made it clear that we aren't wanted here. We'll go just as soon as Commander Tucker is back on board."

"I'm afraid that will not be possible, Captain. Commander Tucker must attend a debriefing. He may have vital information which will aid us in our search for the truth."

Archer stiffened noticeably. "If Trip is going to be interrogated, I want to be with him. He deserves to have at least one friend in the room."

"It will not be an adversarial situation. Commander Tucker will not be inconvenienced in any way. When the Tar'hana returns to Vulcan, you may collect him."

"Absolutely not. He's my chief engineer. I'm responsible for him. I have no intention of stranding him on a ship full of strangers, who don't give a damn about him."

"Then we are at an impasse, Captain," T'Pau said. The stern look on her face left no doubt that she was displeased with this turn of events.

Crossing his arms defiantly, Archer glared back at the leader of the Vulcan High Council. It wasn't hard for T'Pol to understand why he was upset. She knew he desperately wanted the Vulcans to do more than pay lip service to treating humans as equals. Now, when a tailor-made opportunity presented itself for Starfleet to prove their value as allies, the Vulcans quickly reverted to their old ways, effectively shutting out the humans once again.

Archer lifted his chin and took a deep breath. "If another human isn't welcome at your debriefing, how about my first officer?" He jerked his head in the general direction of the science station. "T'Pol's a Vulcan. She already knows the secret handshake or whatever it is you're trying to hide from us."

T'Pol hadn't expected this, but she had to admit that she welcomed the opportunity to go aboard the Tar'hana. She wanted to see her husband, to prove to herself that he was all right.

"Get this straight, T'Pau," Archer snapped when T'Pau cast a doubtful look at T'Pol and remained silent. "Somebody from Starfleet is going to be there with Trip when you put him through the wringer. You have a choice of Commander T'Pol or me. Take your pick. Which one of us is it going to be?"

T'Pau appeared to be unimpressed by Archer's ultimatum. T'Pol could only hope that she was politically astute enough to see how damaging her refusal could be to future relations with Starfleet and Jonathan Archer in particular.

"If you insist, Captain…"

"I do."

"We will certainly comply with your wishes. I will dispatch a shuttle to collect Commander T'Pol. It will not be necessary for Enterprise or Columbia to remain here. We will see that the commanders are returned safely to Vulcan."

"We'll wait," Archer replied firmly.

"As you wish," T'Pau said and turned her attention to T'Pol. "Commander, we look forward to your arrival." She raised her left hand in the ta'al. "Live long and prosper."

When the transmission ended, T'Pol said, "With your permission, Captain, I would like to go to my quarters and get ready."

"Permission granted."

While T'Pol rose and made her way to the turbolift, Archer added, "T'Pau probably won't let much slip, but find out as much as you can. And try to keep Trip out of trouble."

Looking back over her shoulder, T'Pol said, "I'm not sure that's possible, but I'll do my best."

"I can't ask for more." Archer managed a weak smile. "Good luck."

TBC