Title: Mistakes .
Chapter 7
=/\=
On Enterprise
August 26, 2154 (BTP)
Evan's face lit up the screen. "Hoshi, it's been a while."
Hoshi returned his enthusiasm with nothing more than a weak smile. "Yeah, it has."
Evan picked up on Hoshi's mood. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine." She tried reassuring him with a more convincing smile. "I'm just tired is all. We've been really busy. I'm sorry it's been so long since I've contacted you."
"I was worried I'd lost you there for a while. Like I said, a member of Enterprise would be great for the cause."
Hoshi frowned. "I'm not sure how much longer I'll be on Enterprise," she said softly. Evan looked confused, but didn't say anything. "I may be discharged soon."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. May I ask why?"
Hoshi shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The point is that I want to help you while I still can." Evan nodded. "I've spent my entire life studying languages, and for the majority of my adult life, alien languages." Hoshi smiled. "I love it. Each language is like a song. Learning how to speak them is more an art than a science."
Tears filled Hoshi's eyes. "No matter how much you love something, whenever the struggles grossly outweigh the gains, it's no longer worth anything. I've spent the last three years of my life out here, I've met dozens of different aliens, and more often than not they would like nothing better than to kill us."
Evan seemed to flinch at the coldness that crept into her voice.
"I've never lost so many friends or suffered as many hardships as I have at the hands of these aliens. But we stay out here because everyone hopes that "next time" things will go better, "next time" we'll gain an ally instead of an enemy. But we won't. Despite the good that may have come from our mission, the pros no longer outweigh the cons."
Evan was silent, his previous jovial attitude completely squashed. "I don't really know what to say."
"Let me help you."
Evan nodded his head. "I'll talk to Susan and get back with you. With the position you holdm you have the ability to really influence some things."
Hoshi thanked him and cut off the transmission.
She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. The dull throbbing that had been in the back of her head all day had turned into a steady beating against her temples. Finally, she got up and went to the bathroom to wash her face in cool water, hoping it would provide some relief. It helped a little. Hoshi patted her face dry and paused as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
When had she changed so much? On the outside it was little things, a tiredness in her eyes, a sadness in her face. She looked older, and by much more than three years. She hadn't aged nearly as much as Trip or the Captain, but it was still there. Aging that had come from grief and hardship. On the inside the changes were even more obvious still. Her heart felt heavy and the world was not as bright as she had once remembered it being. Hoshi knew that she would never be the same person she had been before she left, and while it caused her some sadness, at the same time she was relieved. That Hoshi had been ignorant and weak.
Hoshi filled a cup with water; she drank half of it then dumped the rest out into the sink, setting the cup on the counter. Her headache wasn't really getting any better. She lay down on her bed, deciding that sleep would probably be the best thing for it. Hoshi concentrated on the rhythm of her breathing while trying to block out the steady thumping in her skull. Finally, consciousness left her and she was at peace.
=/\=
Present- On Enterprise
November 2, 2155 (ATP)
Trip leaned in closer to try to identify the sound, a low whining. He realized what it was a second too late; the conduit exploded sending sparks and small pieces of debris towards Trip. He instinctually shielded his face with his hands, leaning away from the spray. Trip hissed in pain as he felt something hot and sharp rip through his hand. Sparks still sputtered from the open conduit, but two of his people were already working on putting it out. Someone else came over to help him up. Trip glanced at his hand to assess the damage.
"Shit," he cursed. A thick jagged piece of metal stuck a half inch out of his hand. It didn't seem to be that deep, but he wasn't about to try and pull it out himself. He pulled a clean rag from his pocket and wrapped it around his blood-smeared hand, then pushed the comm. with his free hand. "Hess," he barked, "I need you to take over for a while."
"Is everything okay, sir?"
Trip realized how harsh he sounded and tried to calm his voice. "Yeah, it's alright. There was some type of malfunction; the conduit I was working on exploded. But it's under control. I hurt my hand, but I shouldn't be gone for more than an hour. I need you to cover while I'm gone."
"No problem, sir."
"Thanks, Hess." He looked over at the conduit and was pleased, but not surprised, to see that his people were already taking care of it. "Is everyone alright?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Everyone nodded.
"Yes, sir," answered Moyer, the most senior of the group. He was also one of the newest of his engineering crew. "Sir, your hand…"
"It's okay. I'm about to head down to Phlox." Trip glanced at the group of four people standing around him. "I want someone to figure out what happened here. If it was faulty equipment, I don't want the same thing happening to anywhere else."
Moyer nodded his head. "I'll take care of it, sir."
"All right, be careful. I want a report no later than 1500." Trip turned around and walked toward sickbay.
Today was not going well. His shoulder was still tight and sore from the injury on the moon, two of his people had called in sick so he was shorthanded, and T'Pol was three hours late getting back from Vulcan. When he entered the sickbay, Phlox looked at him expectantly. "What can I help you with today, Mr. Tucker?"
Trip held up his hand; blood had already soaked through the rag. "There was a small malfunction with one of the conduits I was working on." Phlox nodded his head and motioned for Trip to sit on one of the biobeds. When Trip sat down, Phlox pulled up a chair and took hold of his wrist, examining the injured extremity.
The doctor made a small exclamatory grunt. "That's quite extraordinary, Mr. Tucker. It seems that it's missed all of the tendons and bones in your hand. It's going to hurt when I pull it out, but it should heal fairly quickly." Phlox gave him a reassuring smile then picked up a pair of forceps. Trip gave a pained grunt as Phlox carefully pulled the object out of his hand. Phlox then dabbed the area with an antiseptic and a numbing agent. He squeezed skin adhesive into the small gash and pushed the edges together, then taped a small clean piece of gauze over the wound.
"That should do it," he said cheerily, then gently cleaned the blood off the rest of Trip's hand. "If the wound reopens, I would appreciate it if you didn't wait to come see me." Phlox handed him a small roll of gauze. "Change the dressing twice a day. On a scale of one to ten, how bad does your hand hurt?"
Trip shrugged. "About a two." Phlox poked his hand with a swab and Trip winced. "More like a four," he amended.
"And how is your shoulder today?"
"It's still pretty tight, but I think it's okay."
Phlox nodded. "And everything else?"
Trip didn't speak for a while, but then finally answered, "Better. It's easier with T'Pol."
Phlox nodded and injected Trip with a hypo. "Okay, that's about all I can do for it. I want you to take the rest of the day off."
"Oh, come on, Doc. I can still get some paperwork out of the way."
Phlox thought about it for a moment, then agreed. "Alright, but I'm going to tell Anna to keep an eye on you."
"Don't worry about it; I'll go straight to my office." Trip smiled and lifted up his wrapped hand. "Thanks, Phlox."
Phlox smiled again. "I'm always here, Commander."
Trip nodded his head and left the sickbay.
Later that day
Trip was changing the dressing on his hand when he heard the chime from his door. He got up to answer it then smiled when he saw who was standing in front of him. "I didn't know you had gotten back yet."
T'Pol nodded her head. "I arrived less than fifteen minutes ago." She set down her bag as the door closed behind her. Trip pulled her into an embrace; T'Pol felt a warmth fill her body as she relaxed into his arms.
"I was worried when you didn't come in on schedule."
"It took longer than I expected." Trip smiled and caressed her face with his uninjured hand; he kissed her gently on the lips. "There is something we need to discuss," T'Pol said gently.
Trip's brow furrowed, "What is it?"
T'Pol took his hand, but released it immediately as he winced in pain. "You've injured your hand," she said, a hint of concern in her voice. She took him by the wrist, much like Phlox had, to inspect the damage. "How did this happen?"
Trip shrugged. "Don't worry about it. There was just a malfunction in engineering."
T'Pol's voice took on a distressed edge. "Are you sure it wasn't sabotage?"
The thought had actually crossed Trip's mind, but still it seemed a little far-fetched. "You're being a little bit paranoid, don't you think?"
T'Pol picked up the gauze from the bed and finished wrapping his hand. "It seems to be very unlikely that you would be injured so soon after what happened with Paxton. I am simply concerned for your safety."
"Masaro was an isolated incident. I know all of my people," he said soothingly. "Despite what happened we have to trust that the people on this ship are our friends. They have our backs, T'Pol."
T'Pol nodded her head but still didn't seem convinced.
"I have one of my teams going over it. I'll know if they find anything in a couple of hours. If it'll make you feel better, I'll have one of Malcolm's teams go over it with them."
"That is acceptable."
"Okay," Trip smiled, "Now, what did you want to talk about?"
"We can discuss it later." T'Pol kissed the wrist of Trip's bandaged hand. "I missed your presence while I was away."
Trip smiled. "I missed you too." He ran his hands over her short-cropped hair, tracing her ears with his fingers. A small gasp escaped her lips, and she pulled him closer to her, closing the distance between them. Trip kissed her gently on the lips, and she reciprocated more hungrily, her need seemingly more desperate than his.
Trip stopped her, his eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alright?"
T'Pol didn't say anything.
"I feel something... like you're… I don't know." Trip touched his head indicating the bond.
"It's very complicated. We can discuss it later." She kissed him again, but he seemed hesitant. "Please."
"We'll talk about it later?"
She nodded her head.
"Alright." He smiled and kissed her ear. "Later."
=/\=
TBC
