Chapter 7
Archer looked up from the padd he was reading on the bridge as the lift door opened and Shran stepped out. His eyes surveyed the room carefully, something, Archer had noted, that every Resistance member did. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw.
'So you should! You've got as many guards as possible on my ship with my crew terrified that they'll get shot if they so much as breath wrong!' Archer yelled in his head even as he gave the Andorian, who looked even more shattered than the last time they'd spoken, a warm smile. Shran gave him a disbelieving look as if to tell him,
'I know exactly what you are thinking so you are not fooling me.' Maybe he could, he seemed to have a sixth sense about him.
"Captain, I hope you haven't been too uncomfortable with my people aboard your ship." A test! He wanted to see how Archer would react to the question.
"It's not very comforting but I understand." he said feeling strained. There was only so much he was willing to put up with. Shran chuckled and gave him an approving look. The Andorian made to say something more when Hoshi's consol beeped loudly.
"We're receiving a communication from the base, it's for Shran." The antennas moved forwards in surprise.
"What do they want?"
"Uh they say you've got an incoming transmission from the Tholians, they're asking for you." The antennas drooped slightly and he rolled his eyes lightly
"Joy!" he said dryly then to Archer he asked, "May I take it here?"
"Of course." At least someone had common courtesy around here. "Put it through Hoshi." She nodded and opened the channel as Shran moved closer to her consol, wrapping his hand around the bar on it.
"Channel's open." she informed him and he nodded in thanks. Through the channel came screeches and clicks and Archer winced as they hurt his ears. Shran had his eyes scrunched shut until it was translated into an understandable language.
"Thy'lek Shran? You are listening?"
"Yes I am here. Thank you for returning our communiqué."
"Why have you once again contacted us? We informed you that we would consider the idea of assisting you further before we contacted you again."
"I know and I do apologise for this annoyance on our part but we need your help in unravelling a mystery." A couple of clicks came through but they weren't translated obviously having no real meaning. "I'm sure you are aware of the starship Defiant and your part in retrieving it from an alternate universe."
"Of course! The Terran Archer stole it from us!" Now it sounded annoyed. Shran threw Archer an exasperated glance and then spoke again, his voice light and friendly, yet business-like.
"Yes well an anomaly has occurred and it matches the records from the Defiant of the anomaly your people created to draw it in. We need your information about this anomaly because a ship has once again entered our universe and we need to send it home. Your people are the only ones with real knowledge of this gateway between the two universes. I would plead with you to allow us access to this information so that we may send these people home."
"Why do you wish to send them home?"
"They have no involvement in this universe's problems and if they stay here they won't survive the next week. We have to send them home! Please I ask you, send us this information so that we may use it to spare someone of the horrors of this universe as it is under Terran rule." There was a long silence and Shran shot a wide-eyed look to Meneait who was nearby. The look was one that screamed 'Can you believe this?' Finally the Tholian said
"We will consider the matter and contact you soon." Shran's jaw tightened and he said in a slightly strangled tone
"Of course we always look forward to hearing from you." The channel was then closed. Shran's hands curled into fists and his shoulders were tight with fury while his antennas moved back to touch his head. Archer braced himself for the onslaught of anger but it never really came. Instead Shran hissed spitefully "Damn Bugs!" and then his whole body carefully relaxed and he turned to Archer. "Commander Tucker has asked to speak with me in engineering, so I will leave you now captain." Archer nodded a little perplexed at where the hell all that anger had gone. Then he saw the fierce concentrated look in the other man's eyes. He knew then why this Shran was so calm and centred. He channelled all his anger into thought and determination. He never let his emotions get the better of him because if he did he risked endangering the Resistance, one wrong impulsive move and the whole thing could collapse. Archer wondered how he managed to do it and if he had a breaking point.
"Commander Tucker, you wanted to see me." Trip looked up and gave a smile to the Andorian who nodded in return.
"Yeah, um, listen I was wondering if you had a spare antimatter injector, ours is in bad need of a replacement."
"An antimatter injector?" repeated Shran slowly, his eyes moving away from Trip as he thought. Trip suddenly chuckled and Shran looked at him sharply, warily
"Sorry." he apologised, "But we've had this kind of conversation before." and he chuckled again.
"You mean my counterpart and you have?"
"Yeah, I asked you-him for an injector and he wasn't sure he ought to give it to me."
"Why not?"
"Because it was a sensitive piece of equipment and it was more advanced than what we had, a lot of the species we've met have rules about not sharing advanced technology with other species."
"I'm glad to hear my counterpart is careful with those matters. Giving a species advanced technology is a very risky thing."
"Why is that? I mean I don't see the reason, it's only an injector."
"Because you run the risk of contaminating the culture's development."
"How can an injector do that?" Trip smiled
"How could one ship bring about disaster for billions and billions of people?" Shran countered. Trip's smile vanished. "No, no I'm sorry commander, I cannot give you one of our injectors, they are based on information from the Defiant, I won't risk contaminating your timeline." Trip sighed but nodded in acceptance. Shran nodded too and then turned to leave.
"Shran wait!" he called suddenly. Shran stiffened as he stopped and turned around. Trip came closer and spoke softly. "Look, I know you and the other members of this Resistance don't like Terrans but would you give us a chance? We are good people. Let us prove that to you."
"No we can't!" Shran exclaimed before he could stop himself. "We can't!" he repeated and then he ran out. Trip stared after him feeling thoroughly bewildered.
Thy'lek ran away from engineering and finally stopped in an empty corridor. He gasped and leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling drained. His emotions were all over the place and he wished he had T'pol near him to ground him. He felt her emotionless concern in his mind but it wasn't enough right now. He felt his chest heave against the restraints of his skin that felt too tight for him. He couldn't stand being around them it was too hard! Too hard! His feelings were being torn two ways; he was in danger of jeopardising the Resistance. He closed his eyes and did like T'pol had taught him, deep breaths, breathing in clarity and exhaling the panic. He managed to regain his control and then he straightened up.
"I think you need a break." Thy'lek nearly jumped out of his skin. Gral grinned broadly behind his whiskers, it wasn't everyday he could catch this Andorian off guard.
"W-what?" Thy'lek stuttered, embarrassed and still a little shaky.
"I said, I think you need a break." Gral repeated, "You look awful!"
"Not looking so great yourself." Thy'lek retorted softly. Gral rolled his eyes slightly,
"Just take today off, I already spoke to the other tactician leaders, as well as other section leaders and they all agree with me, you look terrible! You need a break. Go and play with your son and take T'pol with you, until we hear something from the Tholians we're at a dead end and we're all busy with refitting the new ships we got. It wasn't as many as we'd hoped but we do have new ships." Gral crossed his arms and dared Thy'lek to go against him. Knowing that the Tellerite was as stubborn as himself Thy'lek decided to give in. It wasn't everyday he was offered a break anyway.
"Alright then." he agreed then an idea struck, "Oh Gral, about the ships, could you give Commander Tucker an antimatter injector from the newly acquired ones. The Terrans are about the same as theirs, maybe even a little behind. Do NOT give him one of our modified ones, clear?"
"As crystal. Now get lost blue skin!"
"I will once you tell me where my wife is."
"I think she's in the science room with her double." Thy'lek rolled his eyes.
"It's counterpart Gral! Not double."
"Same thing." Gral waved his clawed hands at the taller man. "Now get out of here before I change my mind." He probably wouldn't but Thy'lek decided not to risk it. He turned and walked towards the science room. He nodded to the Resistance members he passed and each of them gave him a pleading look. Each was hoping he'd reassign them. Sadly he couldn't, no one else would take the job of guarding these Terrans and some one had to do it. He was relieved when he arrived at the science room. He pressed the button and entered, stopping short when he saw that not only was Tucker there, but so was the rest of the senior staff, including the two T'pol's. They all looked at him as he entered and he felt some colour rising in his cheeks as Tucker gave him a concerned look. T'pol went over to him instantly and held out her hand. He gave her the Vulcan greeting automatically and then, as always, kissed her cheek. He didn't really register the shock on the Terrans' faces as he did this.
"What is it?" asked his wife. Thy'lek quickly said
"Excuse us for a second." to the Terrans then he pulled her outside the door. "How have you been coming along?"
"Not well we do not have enough information to be able to determine a way home for them." He nodded then said
"Gral just gave me and you a day off; apparently they don't need us at the moment. So I was wondering if you'd like to pick up Soval and we can have some family time." She stared at him carefully and her eyes seemed to smile.
"I believe that would be acceptable." He smiled at her and they re-entered the science room just in time to catch
"-in hell would this be possible in our universe." from Archer, who was grinning from ear to ear. It didn't take a genius to guess what he was talking about. Thy'lek fought an urge to roll his eyes. Even in this universe their pairing was unlikely. T'pol spoke up
"I don't think there is anymore we can do for the time being." T'pol nodded
"I agree. Until we have more data, we are at an impasse."
"Since that is the case we shall leave." T'pol informed them.
"I'm sure you have work you need to do."
"Yes, what we are doing is requiring much attention." Thy'lek agreed. "Oh Commander, we may have an injector for you after all. We recently acquired new ships and we're refitting them, so we'll probably have an injector to spare. Just be careful, it's less advanced than yours, you may need to make some adjustments."
"I appreciate it." Tucker smiled, Thy'lek felt nervous again. He surreptitiously tugged on T'pol's elbow. She bid them a quick goodbye and they both left.
"Captain Archer and his crew were surprised by our marriage." T'pol noted.
"Surprised is an understatement ashaya, you obviously didn't get a good look at their faces, particularly Tucker's and Archer's."
"No I did not." she agreed as they made their way to the docked shuttlecraft.
One of the downsides to pregnancy, apart from lack of emotional control, was that regardless of species it was simply too dangerous to use the transporter. The risks of miscarriage were severely increased, as were the chances of a defect of some kind. Since they already had high risk of both they refused to take any chances. Thy'lek opened the docking area and as he stepped in held his hand out for hers. She slipped it gracefully into his and let him lead her into the empty shuttle. They undocked and began their descent, taking their time since they were in no hurry. Thy'lek's eyes were on the consol before him but he had his other senses tuned into his wife so when she suddenly came up behind him and began to nibble on his neck, wrapping her arms across his chest he was not taken by surprise. Tilting his head slightly to the side to give her better access, he mused that even without pregnancy she seemed to alternate between the strong desire to touch and be touched and being almost repulsed by the idea. He'd become used to it and by now he could actually tell when she was liable to change her attitude. Her fingers began running slowly through his hair and he was beginning to lose concentration.
"Ashaya…" he said warningly.
"Yes nelai?" she purred softly using his own peoples' word for love like he used hers.
"You don't really want me to crash the shuttle do you?" he asked dryly.
"Not particularly." She continued lavishing attention to his blue skin that was tight on his neck. Did she realise just how delightfully distracting that was? On second thought, of course she did.
"Well if you don't stop that I may just do so."
"I'm sure you will manage to land the shuttle safely without my halting."
"If it's-" he got cut off by a slight gasp that suddenly escaped his lips as hers touched a very sensitive spot along the base of his skull. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather you stop."
"I'd rather not." she responded, once again kissing the spot he enjoyed. He sighed softly but tried to resist her for a little longer. He could feel her desire beginning to burn within her and knew he was inevitably going to give in to her. Still if she was that insistent and that needy she could wait a little longer. The consol beeped, demanding his attention very like Soval's screams did. He checked the screen.
"We're approaching the landing site. Now come on T'pol, cut it out!" She ignored him, her fingers carefully pulling at his shirt's neckline to expose more of his skin.
Her fingers traced the end of a scar that came onto his shoulder from his back. He resisted the urge to shrug her touch off but she sensed his wish that she not touch it and retracted her fingers from it, moving to smooth skin nearby. She traced a symbol into his skin, the only sign of it being a slight change in skin tone where her fingers applied a light pressure that quickly vanished. He didn't need to look to know that it was the Vulcan IDIC symbol. She often traced it to his skin, or whispered it as they lay together. In her opinion that's what they were, that's what their son was, an 'infinite diversity in infinite combination'. It was her way of being romantic he figured. It was sort of true anyway. He was glad they finally landed the shuttle and he rose with her still holding onto him. He gently grabbed her wrists and unwrapped her arms turning around as he did so. "We ought to get Soval now."
"Why not wait a little while."
"T'pol we have all day to do that!"
"And we have all day to see him." It wasn't that she didn't want to see her son… she just was very hungry right now.
"Please T'pol, I want to see my son." Thy'lek found himself pleading, he missed his son desperately, every time he saw him he was bigger, more mobile, more like a little person with a distinct personality. She seemed startled by his tone and regarded him curiously. "Please T'pol." he repeated, softer now, stroking his first two fingers down her cheek. She nodded nearly straight away. She must not have realised how much it pained him to not see Soval. She wasn't quite as busy as him and she didn't have the kind of instincts Andorians, particularly males, did about their children. Being unable to be with them, see them all the time could drive parents into frenzies. They walked silently to the nursery but T'pol slipped her hand into his as a sign of care and love and they collected Soval. Thy'lek's face lit up with delight for all the universe to see as he held his son in his arms. Soval seemed just as delighted to see his father as he was lifted into his strong arms. Thy'lek nuzzled against the side of his little head breathing in his scent. He smelled a lot like T'pol, a soothing smell for him. When they reached their home Soval was set down on the furry (fake fur of course) white rug that was surrounded by couch and chairs. They weren't much but they were comfy. Since neither of them was overly into comfort they were nice and firm too. Soval loved the rug; he would rub himself against it like he was marking it with his scent, claiming it for himself. It was as soft as a cloud looked. As Thy'lek set him down on his back Soval kicked his legs in the air, nearly getting his father in the mouth, and then rolled over onto his front. Thy'lek gaped at his son who laugh and drooled as he snuggled into the rug.
"He's already rolling over?"
"He is?" asked T'pol coming closer to see.
"How long has been able to do that?"
"I don't know, but I doubt he has had the ability for very long." She was trying to reassure him that he hadn't missed much. "Perhaps this is his first time." Thy'lek didn't answer; he just leaned forward and kissed the top of his son's head. A little chuckle caught his attention and he smiled tenderly to hear his son laughing. T'pol leaned over him and copied his action on his head. He reached out and pulled her down on to the rug and he lay on his side so that they were both stretched out on it with Soval between them. They used their hands to gently communicate their love for their son and for each other through gentle strokes and caresses. They pressed their fingertips together, making a temple over Soval, like they were signifying their devotion to him was formed through their devotion to each other. This was as close as they ever could come to perfection. Suddenly T'pol pulled his hand to her stomach and he smiled broadly to feel the strong kick under her skin.
"She's strong and fiery." he whispered.
"What makes you so sure it is a girl?" the question suggested a great bewilderment within her.
"I just know." He sat up slightly, leaned over Soval and nuzzled his face into her stomach. She held him there for a moment, enjoying the feeling.
"Would you mind rubbing my lower back? It has been paining me."
"Sure." he moved behind her and began to massage her back slowly and gently. She relaxed against his touch and felt the sore muscles unwind beneath his skilled touch. He knew exactly where the worst areas were from experience. While he did this she reached out and scooped up Soval, resting him in her crossed legs. She played with his fingers and tickled his stomach making him gurgle and laugh. He blew spit bubbles at his parents and T'pol wrinkled her nose in slight distaste. Thy'lek chuckled in amusement, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.
"He will be crawling soon." she noted.
"Mmm and then walking, talking, reading, writing-"
"Fighting." she added suddenly. They both fell quiet so the only sounds were from Soval, who was presently squishing something he'd found in his mouth between his fingers, and from outside. They mused slowly over the one word. Fighting. Fighting Terrans, killing Terrans. Fighting… dieing.
"No." Thy'lek whispered in her ear firmly, "No fighting, we won't allow it. No child born in the Resistance will fight. They will study science, art, literature, all the things we were denied. They will bring about peace and friendship."
"They will bring about the Federation." T'pol agreed. Thy'lek stiffened very slightly.
"…We'll see." he murmured.
T'pol woke with a start and looked around. She was in the living area sitting on the couch. Thy'lek had his head in her lap and Soval was lying on his chest, both were asleep. She was beginning to feel stiff from her position. She carefully slid out from under Thy'lek's head and lay it gently down onto a cushion. She then headed into the bedroom and changed into her pyjamas. She stared at the bed that seemed suddenly too large and cold and then back out at the two sleepers. She made up her mind and went over to the couch. Carefully climbing over both she settled into the meagre space between Thy'lek and the back of the couch on her side and snuggled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He stirred and then his arm moved, lifting up and moving over her to pull her closer, the other arm moving to rest on Soval's back to keep him secure. She reached out and silly though it was, stroked his jaw and whispered
"You mean more to me than you can ever know." Although he didn't seem to wake she thought she saw the barest hint of a smile on his lips and it comforted her as she fell back asleep.
I hope everyone liked the romance. I did! XD
Night's Darkness
