— Chapter 37 —
It was a bright and sunny Monday morning when the shuttle ferrying Ayvok, Trip, T'Fel and Erika from Florida to San Francisco landed at the private spaceport nestled in StarFleet's HQ campus.
"All right," said Erika, rising out of her seat and stretching. "Here's where we split up. Ayvok, take this shuttle to the Iron Mountain shipyard and assume command of the Columbia. The crew has 'till Wednesday to report for duty, but they'll begin trickling in tonight, and all day tomorrow. Make sure the ship's still in once piece by the time I get there."
"Yes, Captain," said Ayvok.
"Trip, you and and I have a meeting in the Operations Building, 5th floor, conference room 47," said Erika, consulting her watch. "Precisely two hours from now."
"Aye, Captain. What's going on?" said Trip, as he'd spent the flight in sleep, while Erika had caught up on her correspondence and received her orders for this day.
"Just a mixed bag of Fleet business," said Erika, then looked at at T'Fel. "T'Fel, you're on your own for the next two days. Have fun."
"May I tag along with you and the XO, Captain?" said T'Fel. "You may find some use for me."
"Sure. I'm going to shower and change before the meeting. Ayvok, see you Wednesday," said Erika, then looked at Trip and T'Fel. "You two, see you in the conference room. Don't be late."
With that, the captain left the shuttle while Trip and T'Fel lingered to make small talk with Ayvok, as they went through the motions of disembarking. Comically, while Trip, Ayvok and the captain had just packed a single bag with a few sets of clothing for the Thanksgiving weekend, T'Fel had packed a full sized suitcase, and the Vulcan blushed as Trip wrestled that beast out of the storage space.
"I guess I should have brought a smaller bag," said T'Fel, clearly repentant, which made Trip laugh and Ayvok squint a bit in suppressed amusement.
"Don't be silly, T'Fel," said Trip, as he set the suitcase on the floor. "If our shuttle had crashed on a deserted island you'd be well dressed for the rest of your life."
Even T'Fel gave a slight chuckle at that thought as she took hold of her suitcase, then smartly extended the corner mounted handle and deployed the small wheels which would make transporting the suitcase a breeze.
"Nice touch," said Trip, then turned to Ayvok. "See you back on the ship, Ayvok."
"Yes," said Ayvok. "Once again, appreciation for hosting us this weekend. I had an enjoyable time with your family."
"I know," said Trip, looking darkly at Ayvok. "Elizabeth is crushing on you, and my dad wants to give me the boot, and adopt you."
Ayvok nodded in agreement with Trip's words, and said, "Elizabeth is clearly wise beyond her years, and your father is a shrewd man, XO. I am certain that his reasons for wishing to make the switch are perfectly logical."
Trip snorted at that, and gestured that T'Fel should lead the way out of the shuttle. Once outside, they made their way to the Dormitories building, for lack of any other destination at the moment.
"What do you want to do until the meeting?" said T'Fel, once they'd dropped their bags off in their rooms. "We have 82 minutes to kill."
"Let's hit a coffee shop," said Trip. "You can buy me a coffee, a cinnamon scone, and a red velvet cupcake."
"Very well," said T'Fel.
Even after coffee and some sweets, Trip and T'Fel reached the conference room in the Operations building with few minutes to spare. Conference room 47 was a mid-sized room, with a long table seating twenty people on each side, and those seats were filled by various StarFleet captains, a number of whom had brought along some lieutenants. Without the need for orders, Trip sought out Erika and stood behind her chair and a bit to her left, while T'Fel took a place against the wall, directly behind her captain and XO.
Even as Trip and T'Fel had entered the room, T'Pol's bright eyes sought them out, head swiveling as neatly as a falcon's to focus on Commander Tucker. She was standing behind Archer, and Archer was seated across the table from Captain Hernandez, so Trip made eye contact with Archer and gave the man a friendly enough nod, all things considered, and then, feeling T'Pol's fixed gaze, Trip looked at the Vulcan. T'Pol's face was properly composed, but her eyes were bright and alive and focused on him to a degree which would have been uncomfortable if he'd truly given a damn: he didn't. Accordingly, he raised a brow in imitation of T'Pol's habitual mannerism, and T'Pol's response was a slight sideways tilt of the head, as if she was asking a question.
Maybe a Vulcan knows what that the hell that look means, thought Trip, but I don't give a shit.
Just then Trip noticed T'Pol shift her gaze and bring that focus to bear on T'Fel, and with that he was done, and merely looked past T'Pol, allowing his mind to wander.
That red velvet cupcake was sooo good, thought Trip, but it would have been better with a coconut cream frosting, or maybe—
Just then Admiral Forrest stepped into the room and the man's arrival spared Trip from making any more culinary suppositions, for Forrest began the meeting without further ado. The next two hours or so were devoted to the latest intel briefings on Romulan movements in space, courtesy of Section 31, a rundown on the latest Romulan attacks on the space ships of the federation species as well as a discussion of their recent tactics. Afterwards, Forrest delivered a public commendation to Captain Hernandez and the crew of the Columbia for the destruction of a Romulan Bird-of-Prey, and then dismissed all captains, save for Archer and Hernandez.
The two captains were already seated close to Forrest's end of the table, due to their seniority, so it made for a cozy little meeting, when Forrest said, "Ok, before I send you on your way, tell me how you're doing on the crew transfers from the Enterprise to the Columbia. Any problems we need to hammer out?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," said Archer. "They're asking for our best people, Admiral. I can't spare them. Captain Hernandez and her XO will have to pick others."
"My XO assures me that the Enterprise can spare those people," said Erika. "None of us wants to strip Enterprise of her best people, but even so, this is a temporary reassignment, Admiral."
"I could see my way to agreeing to that swap," said Archer, ever the horse trader, "if you take Dillard, and give me back my Chief Engineer. I want Commander Tucker back on my ship."
Well that request got Erika's hackles up, in no time at all.
"You're not taking my XO, Captain," said Erika. "No deal!"
"That's for the Admiral to decide," said Jon, a grin on his face, as he'd known Erika long enough to recognize her anger, suppressed though it was.
"Listen and understand—" said Erika, slapping her hand on the table and leaning forwards to make her point, then stopped her intended tirade in mid-stream when Trip placed his hand on the captain's shoulder and gently drew Captain Hernandez back a few inches to rest her back against the chair, and just like that, Jon's mood soured…
That a subordinate should touch a superior in public was a rare thing indeed, and suggested a very close relationship… at the very least. Not necessarily a sexual relationship, though that was Jon's first instinct, but quite intimate. And it was bullshit!
Trip, you son of a bitch, thought Archer, if you've involved yourself with Erika as payback for T'Pol, I'm going to beat the stuffing out of you!
"You're not taking my XO," said Erika, seemingly as cool as a cucumber now, a smug look of satisfaction on her face at recognizing Jon's jealousy written plainly on his face. "He's the best subordinate officer I've ever had."
"And you're keeping him," said Forrest. "Trip's one of the senior officers on the first deep space ship we've fielded. He's not going back to Engineering, now that he's on track for command. Forget about him, Jon."
"Yes, sir," said Archer, looking at Trip now, but the man wouldn't even meet his eyes and that just confirmed Archer's initial thoughts.
"And for God's sake," said Forrest, "Tucker take a seat, and you as well, young lady. T'Fel, right?"
"Yes, Admiral," said T'Fel, and by the time she'd walked up the to table, Trip had taken a seat to Erika's left, and so T'Fel took a seat to Trip's left, from where T'Fel looked towards Forrest even as she felt T'Pol's blatant and intense scrutiny: how rude!
For her part, T'Pol felt nothing short of a cold irritation as she stared at T'Fel, and that was understandable, for she'd come to see clearly by now that she and Commander Tucker were Bonded mates! And this… this interloper deserved no courtesy for intervening between Bonded mates!
Even modern Vulcans, logical Vulcans, disciplined Vulcans, would understand T'Pol's emotions now, and forgive them, for nowhere did the Old Vulcan blood surge as strongly as between mated and Bonded couples. And this T'Fel was an interloper, that much was clear to T'Pol's sharp senses as she inhaled T'Fel's scent, mingled with that of her mate, and though it was conceivable that they'd simply been forced together in tight quarters, that explanation was lacking, given their body language, subtle though it was.
Trip suddenly turned his head and looked sharply at T'Pol, and something about the man's glance threw T'Pol off balance, and dispelled her agitation. She sensed a whisper of Trip's thoughts and emotions, just a hint of them, and the contents of that whisper was distressing, for T'Pol hesitated to displease her mate once more.
Forrest kept speaking of important things and that diverted them all for a while, though T'Pol could not help but steal surreptitious glances back and Trip and T'Fel, her stomach sinking with each passing moment. When Trip's pen ran out of ink as the man was taking notes, he sighed in frustration, but just then T'Fel slipped her pen to the XO, her fingers all but caressing his as he accepted the pen, at least to T'Pol's eyes… and then, there was the matter of T'Fel's body language. It was subtly revealing of her inner state, for her body faced Commander Tucker much more so than Admiral Forrest, and given that particular seating position, T'Pol guessed that T'Fel's right leg was tossed over the left, rather than flat on the floor, and thus much closer to Commander Tucker. But at last, Forrest wound down the meeting and left the room, and Archer immediately asked to speak with Erika privately.
"With your permission, Captain," said Trip, looking at Captain Hernandez, "I'll take my leave."
Erika nodded, and T'Pol saw Trip heading for the door, that damnable T'Fel next to him, speaking about something which Forrest had said, and T'Pol watched them go in frustration. She'd need to speak with Commander Tucker, but not just yet. She had no idea how he'd take to being Bonded to a Vulcan, and she had to present that fact to him in a proper light.
"What the hell's going on with you and Trip?" said Archer.
"What do you mean?" said Erika.
"Are you guys sleeping together?" said Archer.
"That's really none of your business, Jon," said Erika. "We're on again, off again, every other month. You can't make up your mind if you want me, or not, so why don't you tone it down a bit."
"If you're doing something with Trip, that's against regulations," said Jon, reaching for straws.
Erika laughed at that, and said, "Are you serious? I have no idea what you did to make Trip leave the Enterprise, but it must have been a doozy, given how far you two go back. He's kept his mouth shut 'till now, but maybe I'll order him to tell me. I'm just guessing here, but he's been crushing on T'Pol for two years now, and from what I saw in the conference room, he can't even stand to look at her now… or you. You want to talk about that, Jon?"
Jon paled a bit at that, as did T'Pol, and Erika nodded, then said, "That's what I thought, Jon. Until you're interested in something more than casual sex with me, please stay out of my business. It was nice seeing you both, but I have to go now."
And with that Erika turned and left Jon behind, as the man was too flabbergasted to say a single thing at the present moment.
That evening, T'Pol had herself transported to the ground floor of the Dormitories building, where she knew that Commander Tucker would be staying until his return to the Columbia, and she approached the information desk in the lobby.
"How may I assist you, sir?" said a young StarFleet cadet, once T'Pol had shown the man her StarFleet ID.
"I need a room number for Commander Tucker," said T'Pol.
"One moment, please," said the cadet, and typed the commander's name into the computer.
Twenty seconds passed and T'Pol wondered at the delay: she'd made a simple request.
"I'm sorry, sir," said the cadet. "I've looked twice. I don't have a Commander Tucker registered at the moment. He's checked out. That's T-U-C-K-E-R, no?"
"Yes, that's correct," said T'Pol, then had a second thought. "What about a Vulcan named T'Fel?"
"She's checked out as well," said the cadet a few moments later. "They both checked out at 1400 hours."
"Thank you," said T'Pol.
T'Pol had herself transported back to the Enterprise, and from the privacy of the Ready Room, she had the Comm officer place a call to the Columbia, which was a trivial matter since both ships were in-system. A moment later a Vulcan male answered the call.
"Since you are calling from the Enterprise," said the Vulcan, "I will assume that you are T'Pol. I am Ayvok."
"Greetings, Ayvok."
Ayvok nodded, and said, "May I be of service to you, T'Pol?"
"I am trying to reach Commander Tucker."
"He is not here," said Ayvok, "and he is not scheduled to return until Wednesday morning."
"You are certain of that?" said T'Pol.
"I spoke with the man just twenty minutes ago," said Ayvok.
"Did he mention his whereabouts?" said T'Pol. "He is not staying in StarFleet's Dormitories building."
"No, T'Pol," said Ayvok. "He did not."
"I have heard another of our people serves aboard the Columbia," said T'Pol. "T'Fel, I believe. Is she there now?"
"No," said Ayvok.
"Do you know her whereabouts?" said T'Pol.
"As a matter of fact, I do," said Ayvok. "She is with Commander Tucker."