Here we are! Another chapter and results happen! I can't believe it! You'll have to see what I'm on about by reading ;)

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

T'Pol tried not to grimace at the smell as she stepped aboard the Klingon ship. The smell was terrible, as was to be expected, but T'Pol couldn't help but wish that Klingons would shower more often.

'You and me both.' said the katra. T'Pol sighed to herself a little. As the time had passed since she'd taken the katra of the clone, it had become more and more predominant in her mind, even speaking directly to her, not just having separate thoughts like it was still within its own body (although it seemed to forget this sometimes and attempted to control her, but her own mind was stronger than it and so it had little success). It was like having another mind within her own, which, she admitted, was technically the case. Still it was disconcerting, not to mention irritating, since the katra seemed to lack the ability to remain quiet.

'You ought to know me better than that T'Pol.' it smirked and T'Pol thinned her lips as she followed Keval through the ship, he was in turn being shown the way by a Klingon officer.

'Please be quiet. I must concentrate on the situation at hand and you are not helping.' she directed her thoughts towards the katra.

'I may not be the real Shran, or even the clone, but I do have his memories and I know more about how to handle these Klingons than you ever could. But if you think you can manage alone, then fine. I'll just sit and watch.'

The katra fell quiet, and seemed to be sulking or fuming. T'Pol felt a headache coming on.

The bridge was dark, with red lighting being the only source of illumination. Klaang sat in his captain's chair, leaning deep into it, almost slouching. His uniform made his bulk even larger, and as T'Pol and Keval approached him, she couldn't help but notice that Klaang was almost twice the size of Keval in terms of height and broadness. Still, she had heard that Andorians in the Imperial Guard were trained to take on adversaries such as the Klingons before they graduated from the Academy. A rush of smugness from the katra confirmed this rumour for her.

"Klaang, on behalf of the Imperial Guard and my captain, I thank you for your assistance." said Keval, the words sounded rehearsed.

'Tholos' been training him.' sniggered the katra. T'Pol fought the urge to roll her eyes. 'Being quiet again now.' sighed the katra.

"It will be my pleasure if it means that my debt will be repaid." growled Klaang. Then his eyes fell on T'Pol. "What is this Vulcan female doing here?"

T'Pol wondered which was more annoying to the Klingon, her race or her gender.

"Commander T'Pol is with us because a comrade of hers is possibly with Shran on the planet we are heading to. I expect you to treat her with respect. She's not bad… for a Vulcan."

"This is the Vulcan that worked with the humans! She was there in the council when my message was delivered ten years ago! She may as well be a human for all the difference there is!" Klaang jumped to his feet.

Keval pulled a dubious expression, then said in a false-light tone,

"I've no idea what you're talking about and I really couldn't care less whether you have issues with her or not because she's here now and she's coming with us. Her knowledge with sensors is invaluable. Now, hopefully this will be a simple operation. We sneak into the Orion territory, get to the Ir'can system, scan the fifth planet and report back."

"If he's there? How will you know?"

"We won't. But if we pick up an Andorian lifesign we'll be able to tell the Imperial Guard, who will in turn be able to let the Orion government know that we'll be attacking the planet and thus we'll avert war with the Orions."

Klaang looked confused, as did T'Pol.

"If you tell the Orions you'll be attacking them, then they'll be ready to defend themselves!" snarled the Klingon who appeared to be the first officer. Keval looked at them and sighed,

"Neither of you has had much dealings with the Orions I see."

"We only encountered them five years ago, and aside from one or two incidents, we have had very little to do with them." said T'Pol, "The only things we know are that they engage in slavery and the women are the masters, while the men are the slaves."

"The Klingon Empire has had no dealings with them, on the advice of your government Andorian. We only know their territory boarders and what they look like. They are far from Klingon territory and they have yet to pose any threat worth noticing."

"Then you both don't know that the Orion Syndicate and the Orion Government are two very different things. The Syndicate is the one who does the slave dealings and all that underhanded stuff, like forcing abducted aliens to work in their mines, but the Government is neutral and does not work with the Syndicate. They ignore them."

"Ignore them?"

"If Syndicate activity causes a dispute the Orion Government don't defend them, in fact they don't do a thing. They act as if it isn't happening. If an enemy pins a Syndicate movement, and the Syndicate will undoubtedly have been up to something that committed crimes against the enemy, then the members are expected to commit suicide. If they don't then it doesn't matter to the Government. As far as they're concerned the Syndicate isn't a part of them, so they've no need to control or discipline them. But in order to prevent war with them, we need to inform them oh-so-politely that we are attacking the Syndicate, not the Orion people."

"Dishonourable petaQ!" snarled Klaang.

"That is highly illogical." said T'Pol, well aware she was stating the obvious.

"On the contrary. To them it makes perfect sense. The Orions aren't like any of us here. They do not feel bound by honour or ethics to defend their own or try to control them."

'If they did, they'd have made their women wear more so they wouldn't be so damn distracting.' muttered the katra and T'Pol had a sudden image in her head of an Orion Slave Woman, barely wearing anything, dancing like a wild animal in heat.

"You don't need to tell us T'Pol. I wouldn't have expected Vulcans, especially the females to be so affected by them." said Keval, eyeing her with some confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You just said if the Orion government did try to control the Syndicate then they'd make the women where more clothes."

"I did not."

"Yes you did Vulcan, I heard you, and so did the Andorian." grunted Klaang, staring at her with irritation. T'Pol furrowed her brow and then widened her eyes in shock as she realised the katra's thought's had come out of her mouth.

"I apologise, I am… distracted."

"Clearly." Keval stared at her hard, then looked at Klaang. "Shall we be off? The sooner we get there the better."

"Agreed." Klaang turned to his helmsman and ordered him to depart. "We shall arrive in the Orion system in seven hours."

"I believe I will meditate until then. Is there somewhere I may retire in solitude?" asked T'Pol, wishing she had thought to take a nasal numbing agent before she'd come aboard. After so many years among humans they'd ceased to irritate her and now she even came to regard the scent of a human with a slight warmth in her stomach that she'd learned was affection.

"This isn't a luxury cruiser Vulcan!" snapped Klaang. "You'll take what accommodations you are given!"

"I am not asking for anything extravagant, merely that it will give me the opportunity to meditate in order to work my best."

"A grumpy Vulcan is a useless one Klaang, just stick her in a room and let her be. That's how they like it. You and I can discuss other matters over a bottle of Ale I know you've got hidden somewhere. Or bloodwine if you prefer. So long as I'm not entirely sober when we get to the Ir'can system, I don't care what I drink."

T'Pol gave Keval a mild frown of disapproval, but said nothing. The katra was silently informing her through a simple exchange of knowledge that Imperial Guardsmen could be tipsy but still perform very well on duty, and that alcohol helped in difficult situations. It could offer comfort when none was available. She was able to guess from this that Keval needed comfort now that he wasn't with his brothers in arms anymore.

Klaang grunted at one of his junior officers, who said,

"Follow me Commander. I will show you to your accommodations."

"Thank you." T'Pol glanced at Keval and Klaang and then followed the officer out of the bridge, through the ship, until she reached a small room. The beds were nothing more than holes in the walls, but they would suffice. T'Pol had no intention of sleeping if she could help it. That was when the katra was most evident in her mind, giving her disturbing dreams that were a mixture of happy memories and terrible nightmares that had once been a reality. One thing was certain, Shran had been far more complex than she'd ever given him credit for.

Once the officer had left T'Pol knelt on the floor, wishing the lighting wasn't so glaringly red, but acknowledged that this was due to Klingons perception of the light spectrum. Closing her eyes, she quickly found herself in meditation. Pushing the katra away from her she focused on building her barriers in her white room. She did this for several hours. Then suddenly she heard his voice.

"T'Pol?"

T'Pol stood up in her mind and stared at Trip, standing right in front of her.

"Trip?"

"Am I dreamin'?"

"No… I don't believe you are, unless we both are."

Trip reached out a shaking hand and touched her arm. T'Pol stared up at him, then grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him, devouring his mouth. Trip threw his arms around her, holding her against him, their mental bodies fitting perfectly against each others.

When they finally pulled apart Trip chuckled, "Gotta be the best hello I've ever gotten."

"Trip. Are you all right?"

"Been better. The Orions are literal slave drivers and that damn implant is driving me mad! Oh God T'Pol! You haveta get me outta there. I can't take it anymore. I can't take the cold, I can't take the work, the lack of food, the smell. I can't take watching them do what they do to Shran." Trip's face crumpled into tears, just like when he finally broke down over the loss of his sister, all those years ago. He sobbed softly, "I can put up with everything else. But I can't take watching him let them beat him, use him. I can't take him letting me use him. He's a mess."

"Do you know where you are?"

"No. Some mining planet. I couldn't even guess where or how long I've been there. I've lost complete track of time."

"Trip, we're heading for a location, which we believe is the planet you are on. But the informant has been out of contact with the Orion Syndicate for five years. We are trying Trip. I swear it."

"I know you are… it's just so hard to keep going. So far I've kept thinking Enterprise will show up, and that I've gotta stay alive to keep Shran alive so we can both get out of there. You wouldn't recognise him T'Pol."

T'Pol was touched by his obvious concern. It was clear Trip had become close to Shran.

"We are trying. I cannot say how long it will take for us to retrieve you and I do not wish to give you any false hope, but I assure you we won't give up. I won't give up."

"Always were a stubborn woman." sighed Trip, looking weary. "I'll try T'Pol. But you don't know what it's like there."

"Tell me."

Trip shook his head, "I can't. It's… too soon. I just can't describe it while I'm livin' it."

"I understand."

"No you don't." Trip was matter of fact, if a little bitter but T'Pol understood why that was. She squeezed his shoulder in comfort and Trip looked at her with sparkling blue eyes. Then he flickered in front of her like a bad connection. "Wha-?" He vanished and T'Pol's eyes snapped open as she lost her hold on her meditation.

'No!' T'Pol actually lunged forward, reaching a hand out to grab him, but her hand closed over air. She was panting in shock, and clenched her fist as she realised he was gone.

"Keval to T'Pol. We're approaching the planet, could you come to the bridge?"

It took T'Pol a moment to compose herself. "I am on my way."

Trip jerked awake with a yelp of pain, feeling like crying at the loss of contact with T'Pol. He glared up at Shran who quailed at the look and shrugged helplessly, gesturing at the other miners, all of whom were getting up.

They expected him to work after what they'd done to him? They must have been out of their minds! He could barely move for pain. Trip let out a pained moan and shook his head. Shran shrugged again, and tried to make him sit up. Trip knocked him away, still angry with the Andorian for waking him.

"I'm NOT moving! You hear me? I won't! Now get lost!"

Shran backed up a little, but then he scowled, a strange change coming over him. Reaching out the Andorian grabbed Trip by the front of his new shirt and pulled him into a sitting position, then dragged him out of the beds, setting him on his feet. Trip collapsed to the ground with a curse.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he snarled, glaring up at Shran who shifted, looking torn between fear, anxiousness and determination. He pointed at Trip in a familiar gesture Trip remembered from years long past. The Andorian's voice was very faint, rough and he stuttered, but in the stunned silence among the miners he was completely comprehensible.

"Keep-ing… you… alive. You… d-d-don't work… y-you die. I- I won't let you." Shran stuck his chin out in an attempt to look menacing, perhaps trying to appear like the commander he used to be. Trip stared at him in complete shock, amazed that Shran had the strength and courage within himself to be so forceful. Admittedly the struggle for speech, and the way his hands shook detracted from the full image, but it was a good attempt. Shran turned his head to the side and spat on the ground. The blood glistened and Trip realised that in speaking so loud and so much, Shran had made his damaged vocal cords bleed. This, more than his own life being threatened, gave him the strength to get to his feet and stagger to Shran's side.

"Thank you." he said sincerely. Shran met his eyes and smiled a little, his expression returning to the child-like image. But Trip had hope now. He knew T'Pol was searching for them and now Shran was gaining some kind of strength from somewhere he couldn't fathom. It was this that got him through the day, even though by the end of the day he was almost dead on his feet and Gwelita and Shran had to half carry him to the beds. Shran then went to the better that had won him for the night, but not before stroking the top of Trip's scrub brush hair in a gesture of soothing comfort. Trip fell into an exhausted dreamless asleep smiling with hope.

"We're approaching the fifth planet now." said Keval as T'Pol walked onto the bridge. The Andorian smelled of alcohol but he was fully in control of himself, so T'Pol didn't consider disapproving of him. Keval was a hardened solider, not a child.

"I assume we've been cloaked since we entered Orion territory."

"No, we've just meandered our way into enemy territory and they're too busy staring at their women's breasts to notice us." Keval rolled his eyes at her, as if the answer was obvious. "We're not fools Commander."

"I was merely being sure, I did not doubt you'd be careful." said T'Pol, fighting the katra's impulse to snap back with a responding sarcastic barb.

Klaang snorted at T'Pol and grunted to his officers in Klingon.

"We're here. Now what?"

"Now we need to scan the planet for human and Andorian lifesigns."

"Not in that order of preference I hope."

"Of course."

T'Pol couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes and she blamed the katra. It was exerting to great an influence on her for her to act like a proper Vulcan. The fact that the two men were exasperating had nothing to do with it.

"We can't penetrate the planet's surface." snarled Klaang, "And those satellites concern me. They could be calibrated to detect cloaked ships."

"Don't be a fool Klaang. Orions have very little investment or experience in cloaked ships. They wouldn't know how to detect them."

"If you say so Keval. I find it hard to believe."

"Let T'Pol try to recalibrate your sensors, she might be able to get them to penetrate the surface. We can't just give up at the first attacking wild zabanthu."

"Can you do it Vulcan?"

"I can try. I may need some assistance."

"I'll give you a hand. I'm not Tholos, but I know my way around a Klingon ship." said Keval, huffing. "I cannot wait for us to be able to form a plan of attack. That's my department."

"You are a strategist?"

"I'm a tactical officer of the highest form. Thon's all about Intel and undercover data. Tholos is the engineer, he can turn faeces into a transponder and piss into plasma. And of course, Thy'lek was the leader and interrogator."

The katra appealed to her not to ask. T'Pol said nothing, only began her work. She knew it would take her several hours and she wanted to hurry. She had to know if the planet held her mate within or not.

"There. All done." sighed Keval, wiping the back of his hand across his brow. "That should do the trick for the sensors. Try them now."

Klaang nodded at him and then at his officer. The officer spoke in Klingon to his captain. Keval sighed.

"What did he say?" asked T'Pol, she'd come to realise that she was the only one present not fluent in Klingon.

"He said he's detecting hundreds of lifesigns all over the planet just a kilometre beneath the surface. Only a handful of them are Orion. He's working on distinguishing them now."

T'Pol nodded and found herself watching the officer with intense eyes. The officer ignored her. Finally the consol beeped at him and he began to speak again. After a few words Keval's eyes lit up.

"What?"

"He said that there's various alien species down there, but one lifesign is Andorian, and the other is human."

T'Pol's eyes lit up and her heart began to beat a little faster.

They'd found them!

T'Pol was certain that the lifesigns were Trip and Shran and seeing the look on Kevel's eyes she knew he thought the same. Klaang turned to Keval, looking pleased… or T'Pol thought he looked pleased.

"It appears you have a reason to attack Keval."

"Yes, so it seems."

The comm. officer let out a sudden noise and said something in rapid Klingon. Klaang spun around to stare at him. Keval's eyes widened and then he tried to hide a triumphant grin.

"What is it?"

"The sensors have picked up Klingon lifesigns on the planet. The Orions have taken Klingons as slaves. Oh the council won't stand for this."

"No it will not! Dishonourable, motherless petaQ!" snarled Klaang, looking furious. Then he said more in Klingon to his helmsman who obeyed.

"What are they doing?"

"They're turning around, bringing us back." said Keval in irritation, then he looked at Klaang, "I suppose this means we'll be able to count on your assistance? It's no small feat to take on a planet deep in Syndicate territory. We'll need help and there's only so many ships the Imperial Guard can spare."

"The Coalition will no doubt assist since this was part of a plot to collapse this sector of space into war." said T'Pol.

"We will join you! These Orion dogs must suffer the penalty of dishonouring warriors of the Klingon Empire." snarled Klaang. Keval was grinning like a feral animal that had its prey in sight.

"Excellent! Might I make a communication with Tholos? He'll be waiting to hear from us?"

"Not yet, we're still too deep in Orion territory. In a few hours. Meanwhile, you could help me make a plan of attack for my government to look over. It will make things move much quicker."

"With pleasure!"

Wheeeeee! I hope everyone else is as excited as I am. I cannot wait to get into this part. This is what I've been waiting to write!

Reviews are always appreciated!

Night's Darkness