Tempest
Hammerhead Class Frigate (NC-114)
Captain's Ready Room, Deck A

Trip woke up on the floor.

It took a second or two to uncross his eyes and focus a little…and to peer around Doctor Andrews' shoulder, since he was in the way…

Navy grey paint up there, type 2 high stress bulk plating…the forth light flickered every couple of seconds…

Right. The ready room. On the Tempest.

Need to remember to fix that light…

Crap!

He jerked up, trying to at least get on his butt. And he immediately regretted that.

"Ow." He said, one hand flying to his suddenly throbbing skull. His brain seemed to have gotten too big to fit comfortably in there anymore.

"Relax, Captain." Andrew soothed. "Your system's still recovering. Let's not aggravate things."

Right, Trip thought. Not supposed to aggravate things…

Wait, where was T'Pol with her nice, warm hands? That'd sure hit the spot right about now…

"Wha happen?" He mumbled, still holding his head. Peeking out with one eye now at least.

Andrews was busy scanning him and focused primarily on that.

"It would seem Commander T'Pol stunned you." Andrews said, distractedly. "Stunned you again, I understand."

"Yeah, she…no, wait. Malcolm shot me las' time." Trip slurred. "And what's the…thing with the ship?"

"We're out of danger for the moment, Captain. Currently at max warp, on course to bring us back to our originally projected route in approximately one hour."

Trip nodded. Then stopped that immediately when the thing with his brains happened again.

Funny, though. Andrews sounded kinda…

"Sound like a Vulcan." Trip said.

"I would assume that is because I am."

Mm hmm.

Wait…what?

Trip opened both of his eyes now. And focused them again.

No, Andrews hadn't turned into a Vulcan…

But T'Pol had. Or…already was…

She was standing over him, peering down curiously over Andrews' shoulder.

"Oh, hey." Trip said. "Wondered where you were."

"I'm here. Doctor Andrews is assessing you for nervous system damage. You should cooperate with him, Captain."

"No problem." He said, relaxing into the thinly cushioned carpeting on the floor. "How'd I end up in here?"

"You were in the way." T'Pol explained.

"Oh…okay, what's our status?"

"We are on course as I've stated. Lieutenant Shran and Commander Hess are conducting repairs. There is minimal structural damage to the ship, the majority being energy dispersal damage. With the exception of a minor hull breach in the cargo bay…"

"The missiles?" Trip asked, anxiously.

"Intact and secured until repairs are affected there."

"Okay, good."

But…she'd said 'conducting repairs', not 'overseeing repairs'.

"How many engineers do we have?" He asked. "And…for that matter, where's all the crew? And what are you doing here, Doc?"

"You need a physician on duty, Captain." Andrews said, tearing his eyes away from the scanner just long enough to answer. "Commander Song approached me and asked who I would recommend. I recommended myself."

"No medics?"

"Uh…no. Just me. But I'm sure I can handle whatever…"

"No, that's fine, Doc." Trip assured. "I get it. I didn't want to ask any of my people either. Wouldn't have, if I could fly the ship all by myself."

Andrews nodded, turning his attention back to where it belonged.

"I think I can clear you to get up off the floor, at least." Andrews decided, grinning. "But if you could avoid being shot for a few days, I'd appreciate it."

Trip grinned back. "Believe me, I'll do my best."

As he rolled himself up and took to his feet again, Andrews stepped clear and waited. In case he became disoriented again with the change in blood pressure.

He didn't, so he nodded, satisfied.

"I think you'll find it much the same with the rest of the command staff." Andrews said, shrugging. "No one wanted to ask their people or even give them the opportunity to volunteer."

Trip stretched his back a little, grimacing. "Alpha and Gamma bridge crew, department heads and seconds. At least, that's what I gather."

Andrews shrugged again, apologetically. "Jenson managed to figure out something was going on, so he volunteered. Hastings and Breckinridge from security as well. That's…well, that seems to be it."

"It'll do." Trip nodded. "Thanks, Doc."

Doctor Andrews produced a prepared hypospray, offering it to him.

"This will help with the stiffness and speed up recovery with that bruise on your shoulder." He said. "One shot every four hours until it's healed. Then you check in with me, so I can be sure it's healed."

"Gotcha." Trip said, accepting the hypospray.

Andrews nodded. "Well, I've still got an Ensign with a broken leg in sickbay. We have Ensign James as well, by the way, but he'll still be out of commission for a while. And I have a couple of other minor injuries that could use a second look…"

"Sure, go ahead, Doc." He nodded. "And…thanks. I hate to say I'm glad you're here but…"

Trip grinned shyly. "Well, I'm glad you're here."

Andrews nodded, smirking back a little.

And he left.

Leaving Trip with Commander T'Pol.

After a moment more Trip squinted at her, quirking his mouth aside thoughtfully.

"So…you shot me." He said. Pointing that out.

"Yes." T'Pol said.

"Why?" Trip asked, prompting maybe an answer to that.

T'Pol thought it over for a short moment.

"It seemed logical." She decided. "I wasn't entirely sure what you meant when you said we would 'wing it'…until you made your bigoted remarks toward Vulcans…"

Trip winced. "Right. Yeah, sorry about that. I got this idea it'd help if I…seemed…you know…"

He waved a hand a bit, trying to conjure up exactly what he meant here.

"Like a bigoted, speciest terrorist?" T'Pol supplied.

"Right." Trip nodded. "I didn't really mean…I mean, I wasn't really…"

T'Pol watched, waiting patiently for him to communicate successfully.

"I guess I just kinda tapped into the old Trip there for a minute." He explained, at last. "So…sorry. I was just…"

"Captain, you are being very Human."

"I…huh?"

"You are apologizing for being successful." She explained. "I assume because you are suffering an emotional reaction to the prospect of having caused offense. I am not offended, however. In fact, I found your improvisational acting very helpful. Without it I would not have fully understood…'winging it'."

"Winging it." Trip repeated. "Like, when you shot me."

"Indeed." T'Pol nodded. "I am of course familiar with the concept, though I haven't heard it referred to in that manner. But my actions provoked a dramatic amount of shock in the bridge crew of the Enterprise, following your own as they did. This made our attempt to delay them all the more effective in conjunction with one another."

"Yeah, I bet." Trip said, dryly.

Then…considered that again.

"Yeah, I bet it did." He said appreciatively. "Good work, Commander."

"I expected you would approve."

Trip gave her another look then. An appreciative look.

And T'Pol found the amused 'twinkle' in his eye very agreeable. Which provoked her to some measure of confidence.

So she decided to try her hand at taking advantage of his emotional state.

"Captain, concerning the ship's 'Echo system'…"

"Yeah?"

"I would assume that this is Project Mayhem?"

Trip grinned. "The first rule of Project Mayhem, Commander."

T'Pol considered that.

"It is not, then." She decided.

"No, just one of the little gadgets we were supposed to field test." Trip said, shrugging.

Then he frowned. And put his hands on his hips, giving that a proper evaluation.

"One of the things we had to pull our transporter to make room for, come to think of it." He said. "So I guess that wasn't exactly a good trade. Sure could have used a transporter."

T'Pol found that curious. "It seemed very effective."

"Well, sure." He said. "Once you sabotaged their sensors and we knocked out one of their targeting arrays. And it still didn't stop Malcolm from almost ripping us a new one. But, then again, all it's supposed to do is make it harder to lock on targeting sensors. I guess it did that alright. And actually…I bet that's really gonna help if we manage to find the Romulan fleet."

"Unfortunately, Lieutenant Shran reports the system suffered significant damage." T'Pol said, regretfully. "She used the term 'feedback cascade' in a manner that suggested it was central to the point."

Trip winced at that. Because, apparently, that was bad.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that." Trip said. "We've got a pretty good engineering team all of a sudden, so I think I can demand a miracle or two."

He smiled slightly then, T'Pol noticed. Almost staring at the wall behind her as he did so.

Looking...wistful, perhaps? T'Pol wasn't quite sure what word best captured the look, being an emotional look, but that seemed to qualify.

"I gotta admit I won't mind working with Hess again, anyway." He said.

Which T'Pol did not find agreeable. Commander Hess was an obvious security risk that had yet to be addressed.

"…but then again maybe that's not a good idea."

And that demanded investigation and clarification.

"From your remarks in the cargo bay," T'Pol ventured. "I assumed you shared a positive working relationship. If not a personal affiliation."

Trip shrugged, returning his attention to her. "Yeah, well…things might be a little more serious there than I thought. I mean, we always played around. Flirted a little, sure. And I always liked her. It's just, I'm not sure…"

He suddenly reexamined her interest, she could see. And she wondered if she'd overstepped the mark somewhat.

"What am I telling you this for?" He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about that sort of thing…"

"I don't mind, Captain." She assured. "If I am to work with a Human crew, it is logical to be aware of interpersonal relationships and their potential impact on the ship."

"Oh." Trip said, uncomfortably. "Well, don't worry about it."

Then he suddenly reassessed her yet again.

And squinted at her, thinking.

For a short while. Long enough to cause her some discomfort.

"Captain?" She asked, hoping to prompt an explanation for this.

Trip nodded.

"So let's talk about T'Lea and the Sisco system, Commander." Trip said, evenly.

T'Pol blinked.

So…he hadn't overlooked that after all.

"Of course, Captain." She said, "It was purely a precautionary measure…"

"A precaution against what?"

"Any unforeseen circumstance that might require remote access and control of operations functions."

"Like, for example, you and your team deciding that taking over the ship might be logical?"

"Or, more relevant, as a means of resisting the attempts of a highly skilled Starfleet comm officer from doing the same. While simultaneously hacking their systems…"

"And I suppose you had that sort of situation in mind when you ordered Subaltern T'Lea to do that." Trip said, frowning at her.

Almost glaring, actually.

"I admit, I did not." T'Pol said. "No more than seizing the ship, as you suggest."

Trip continued to stare.

With perhaps more hostility and distrust than she would have preferred.

"This is a problem, Commander." He said, lowly.

T'Pol nodded slightly. And folded her hands properly at her back.

"I understand your concerns." She said.

But that did not seem to mollify the Captain at all.

"I hear you and Song already had this talk." Trip said. "I think she said something about how this sort of thing can't happen again. Maybe something about airlocks?"

So Commander Song had apparently relayed their understanding to the Captain. Which may prove unfortunate for her now.

"She did." T'Pol acknowledged. "However, I ordered this action prior to that discussion. And subsequent circumstances did not allow a reassessment of those orders…"

"Let's not miss the point here, Commander."

T'Pol…found herself in a difficult position.

And she spent a moment considering that. Specifically, what to do about it.

"I find myself in a difficult position." She admitted, still standing at ease. But at least looking somewhat uncomfortable.

"What are we gonna do about that?"

"I am uncertain." T'Pol said. "It seems I have given you a number of reasons to question your trust. And yet your trust is required if I and my team are to be of any significant benefit here."

"Let me see if I can help you out." Trip said.

And he began pacing a bit.

A very obvious and very Human behavior, utilized to expel excess emotional energy. Which did not bode well here.

"You lied about your prisoner on the shuttle." Trip pointed out. "Then you lied again to delay us long enough for the Kolinahr to run off with them. And you played a little game with Commander Benning, so the Major could get into the brig and interrogate another prisoner before we could. And now there's this. I'm sure I'm missing a few things, but that's probably because they got lost in all the other little lies and misdirections I haven't missed."

Trip stopped pacing. And he stared at her, waiting.

T'Pol waited as well. Standing at ease.

Betraying nothing. But not so much because that was her intention. Merely because it was her nature.

Trip kept staring, until he was sure there would be no response.

"Alright." He said. "If I've got to say it, then there's something you're scared to death we're going to find out about. Something that first prisoner knew, the one you pulled off a Romulan listening post. And something you were afraid the other prisoner knew, since he could have been working with the Romulans. Something to do with the Romulans, then. And that's what you were in the Centauri system for in the first place."

T'Pol said nothing.

"And whatever it is," Trip said, more pointedly now. "It's big enough that you were prepared to seize control of the ship if we managed to figure it out."

Trip stared some more.

And T'Pol waited patiently again.

Until he finally threw out his hands in frustration.

"Your turn to talk, Commander!"

She nodded.

"I understand your concerns…"

"That's not cutting it with me, T'Pol." Trip said, firmly. "You want my trust? Then you need to give me something here. Show me I can trust you."

T'Pol hesitated.

And even Trip could see she was having a difficult moment.

"Captain," She said, at last. "You are correct. It is a significant matter and one entrusted to us by High Command. And, indeed, it is a matter significant enough that seizing control of the ship was not an unthinkable precaution. However…I find I can only reiterate my previous assurances that we are here to help. Perhaps that is based entirely on our loyalty being first and foremost to High Command, but aiding you in your endeavor serves that purpose almost directly. Just as acting against the success of your mission would betray that."

Trip had his arms folded before him now. That was defensive body language, T'Pol noted. In most emotional species, in similar situations, it strongly suggested closed mindedness.

Again, this did not bode well.

He shrugged then. "Didn't stop you from hacking our systems, T'Pol. I don't know how comfortable you expect me to be with that."

"I do not expect comfort with that assurance." T'Pol admitted. "But I can find nothing else to offer you."

"You could offer just what it is you're all so afraid of." He pointed out. "Then I could at least understand. And I'd know where we stand with each other."

"That…is not possible, Captain."

Trip considered that.

Then looked away. And sighed slightly.

And again she noted what this emotional expression passively communicated there.

He was giving up. Specifically on his trust in her.

"Captain," She said, quickly. "Understand that I cannot answer you here for the same reasons that you could not offer your assurances that this answer would not be relayed to your superiors. You are asking more from me than you would be willing to give in return."

"If you're saying you can't tell me unless I promise not to tell Starfleet, then of course I can't promise that. It seems to be pretty important, Commander. It's probably something they need to know."

"Yes, exactly. It is considered very important. And so I hope you can understand that there is no choice for me."

Trip frowned.

"Well, it's got something to do with your relationship with the Romulans." He said. "That much is obvious."

Then he looked at her strangely all of a sudden.

So she was aware her disciplines must have slipped for a moment. And she'd betrayed her shock at that.

"Well, that hit the mark." Trip said, curiously. "You know, maybe Humans haven't been on the scene all that long but we're not stupid. We know there's something there between Vulcans and Romulans. I can't figure how anything like that could be so important that it'd justify taking over my ship, though."

"In fact, it is not." T'Pol admitted.

Partly because she was still somewhat shocked at how close he'd come to the truth.

She should not, perhaps, have voiced that opinion…

"What do you mean?" Trip asked, pouncing instantly.

So…

T'Pol resigned herself to answering that point.

"It is my opinion that the matter is not important enough to warrant that level of intervention. In fact, I find it difficult to accept that the matter can be contained for much longer, considering direct interaction with the Romulans has become unavoidable. And so all of my actions, which have provoked your distrust, have likely been in vain."

"You just said it was important."

"I said that it was considered important. By my superiors and by most in High Command. I personally disagree."

Trip squinted at her again.

"But you're still not going to tell me."

"That would betray High Command and the orders I have been given. I'm sorry, Captain, but I will not do that."

Trip quirked a grin at that.

"Kinda leaves us at an impasse, doesn't it?"

"Yes, unfortunately it does." T'Pol agreed. "And it is also ironic, as another large part of my decision to give T'Lea that order involved the fact that Starfleet is seen as an organization that offers its trust too easily. Detecting a number of apparent weaknesses in security aboard the Tempest regarding that, I ordered this measure as much in preparation to respond to such a security breach as anything else."

Trip mulled that over, still looking at her critically while he did so.

"Okay." He said, after a long, uncomfortable time doing that.

Then he simply nodded at the door.

"I guess we can spare your people for a while." He said. "You probably need to meditate or something. I'm gonna to do the math and figure out how we're going to rotate the crew we've got. Try to give some of my people an actual break. Been a hectic couple of days…or few days, now that I think about it….I'll call a staff meeting then and we'll have something like a duty schedule for everyone."

And…that was apparently that.

T'Pol was a little surprised. A little off-balance, in fact.

But she was quick to avail herself of the apparent reprieve she'd been afforded. At least until she had the opportunity to figure out what exactly had just gone on in the man's head.

"That is agreeable, Captain." She said, casually. "If you require anything, I am prepared to make myself available at any time."

"I've no doubt." Trip said. "Get some rest, Commander."

T'Pol nodded.

And, since it seemed appropriate, she excused herself and left. To assemble her team and discuss how best to go about regaining the trust they'd lost here.

Trip stared at the door for a while. Squinting at it, considering matters.

Then he made his decision.

"Alice, online."

"Hello, Trip. I have successfully recalibrated my root language and self-diagnostics indicate I am operating at peak efficiency. Would you like to review engineering diagnostics and repair manuals for the HBG Mark III hull polarization grid?"

"Thanks, Alice. Not right now. Pull up the Sisco operating system, put it on the screen here. I want to look into something."

"Understood. Schematics and operational data are now available at your desk. I am ready to begin."