A/N This chapter starts at the end of chapter 10 and is from Charles' point of view. Some quotes are taken from the ST Enterprise episode In a Mirror Darkly, part one.

Many thanks to my beta Cap'n Francis and to my kind reviewers.

Music: Everbody want to rule the world by Tears for Fears

When he woke up, he felt almost happy. In the shower, he enjoyed the hot streams of water coming down. There was a lightness in him, a sense of contentment bubbling inside him. He was glad to be alive.

He realized the days ahead of him would be difficult. T'Pol might not be able to contact her mother. They might fail to escape. Perhaps he would not be able to enhance the shields of the shuttle they were going to use. Or the shuttle would collapse under the enormous strain of an interphase corridor at the time they went through. There were so many uncertainties that the plan to get Trip and Ko-Kai T'Pol home.

He had no reason to be optimistic. And yet he was.

Out of nowhere, a headache started looming. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. In his mind an image rose. He saw himself in T'Pol's arms. His face was closed, grim lines around his mouth. "Nobody, nobody wants you," a horrible voice yelled. He could see how the face of the man – his face – looked up with anger, hurt, and disgust. And then there was only darkness around him. An overwhelming feeling of pain and fear washed over him.

He blinked. What just happened? He killed the water and reached for the towel. As he dried himself, he realized this was not the first time he had experienced memories that weren't his. Was it all because of what T'Pol had done to him? And why was he sensing them now, so long after T'Pol had played with his mind and not when it just happened. It must have been some weird Vulcan stuff. It would go away as time passed.

He got dressed. It was still very early in the morning. He liked the quiet hours. He didn't mind an early breakfast in an almost empty mess hall. As he wanted to leave his quarters, his communication device chirped. Sato had sent him a video message with an attachment. It was his first communication from her since their last surreal meeting on the bridge of Enterprise after the explosion.

His good mood vanished. He clicked, and immediately the video started. He saw himself in the agony booth, with Archer and Reed nearby. It was the day Archer had accused him of being a saboteur.

Who ordered you to sabotage the cloak?" Archer said.

"I didn't," Charles heard himself say. He saw Reed at the controls, clearly enjoying himself. He shouted, "Reed, I'll kill you when I got out of this." Reed was not impressed. "'I'd like to see you try."

Archer went on. "I checked the records. Admiral Black recommended you for Chief Engineer. He insisted Forrest replace his own man with you. You're working for the Admiral, aren't you? What have you told him?"

Charles saw himself begging for his life. "Captain, you've got it all wrong. It wasn't me!"

"What have you told him?" Archer asked.

"Please, Captain. I've always been loyal to you!"

"Break him," Archer said.

He sat down. Seeing the events played again before his eyes had been a physical blow. Archer's wish had come true. He clearly remembered how helpless and betrayed he felt at that moment, how much he wanted to kill Reed to get that smile off his face. He should have done it.

A sound made him look up. The video had continued, another surveillance recording. He could see the date, the time, and the place: Engineering.

"The Captain wants a progress report," T'Pol said to him. He was working.
"I'll need another minute to calibrate the field converters. I spent four hours in the booth because of you," he replied.
"Perhaps you should direct your anger at Commander Archer." T'Pol's voice sounded cold.

"You disabled the alarms in that junction and made it look like I did it," he said.
"You're mistaken," T'Pol lied.

"The hell I am! I think I'd remember if I had sabotaged the ship!"
"Not necessarily,"
"What did you do to me?"

He stopped the recording. He knew what she had done to him. T'Pol had explained in detail exactly what she had done. She had invaded his brain and used all kinds of tricks to extract the information and remove the memory of her deeds. He felt sick to his stomach.

He went to the bathroom to get a glass of water. As he took a sip, he stared at his own disgruntled face in the mirror. He only felt hurt, pain, anger, disgust, thinking about T'Pol. He was a fool to trust her. Last night, he had been an idiot. He would not make that mistake again.

A hail from his communication device brought him back to the present. He walked back and pressed the button. "Tucker." A smiling Sato filled the screen. He recognized the ready room of Enterprise. "I see you got my message."

"What do you want?" he growled.

"That's no way to address your Empress," Sato said, still with that smile on her face like she was devouring her prey.

"I have asked Reed to join our conversation," she added. The screen split in two, one side Sato, the other Reed.

The always impeccably dressed major wore only a shirt and uniform pants. His uniform jacket was missing, and his hair was uncombed. There was an annoyed look on his unwashed face. It took Charles a second to realize Reed looked different and another second to find the cause—his goatee was missing. This was the same man Charles had just seen enjoying himself while he was being tortured. He had a hard time suppressing his rising rage.

"Mister Trip and his T'Pol don't seem to be cooperative. We also heard rumors that they are planning to escape together," Sato said. "The most efficient way to deal with them is to get them killed."

A shiver of dread went through him as he struggled to keep his face neutral. It was obvious she wanted to see if he knew anything about an escape plan.

Reed protested, "That's not what the Council has decided."

"You're correct," Sato replied. "The Reed faction wants to stick to the original plan and use Mister Trip. That's why we are sending Trip Tucker to the Academy on Earth tomorrow. Today he will attend a training on Enterprise. I think he needs to be reminded of the tremendous achievements of the Terran Empire, its greatness, and wonders. And we want the interphase transporter on Enterprise. Dismantle it, Commander, and bring it to Enterprise. Council orders and mine."

A feeling of despair threatened to overwhelm him, but he fought it with all his might. He needed to focus on finding solutions. His mind was spinning, thinking about possibilities to get out of this mess.

Dismantling wouldn't be easy, but not impossible. And he could place the parts of the transporter in the escape shuttle in case the plan with T'Pol's mother didn't work. He still had to work with T'Pol to make the plan work. His whole being protested that very fact.

Sato had been nothing but cold, but now her voice was like ice. "You're no fool, Commander. You must have known about Trip's plans." She smiled before she presented her verdict. "I question your loyalty to the Empire. You know the price for treason. I give you 24 hours. Tomorrow at this time, your counterpart will be heading to Earth and you will have killed both T'Pol's. Only this will prove your loyalty."

Charles took his phaser and presented it to Sato's image on the screen. It felt cold in his hand. "I will prove my worth and complete the mission."

"Good," Sato said. With a smirk, she addressed Reed. "I heard you have a new girlfriend. Or most I say old? You look better without that goatee."

Reed's face darkened. "You better let your spies work on someone who has been to a freethinker meeting, like Tucker's sister."

"We do." She glared at Charles. Her voice was soft, but there was an unmistakable threat in the tone that Charles didn't miss.

Behind Sato, he could see a steward quietly entering the ready room and putting her meal on the table. "There is my curry ramen with a portion of cheese. Your orders are clear, Commander. Don't fail or face the consequences. Sato out."

Sato's part of the screen went black, and it was just him and Reed.

"I still have to do my job in the midst of your nonsense," he said to Reed. "Today, I have to go to Velusius IV to retrieve dilithium. We almost out of supply, and we would be sitting ducks without it. On the way to Velusius IV, I will rendezvous with Enterprise and drop off Trip."

"Today Trip is on Enterprise. Tomorrow the Defiant will escort him to Earth. We have been assigned to another mission, according to Command," Reed said. "You have no objection to killing those Vulcan women? You seemed rather fond of them." Disdain was written on his face. "

"I will gladly take my revenge," he said, thinking of all the hurtful things T'Pol did to him. He hoped that the tone of his voice would convince Reed.

"I didn't think you had it in you," Reed responded coldly.

"Think again. And get those guards away from them. I need room to execute my plan. And I intend to have a little bit of pleasure with one of them before they become cold corpses."

He knew it was a bold move, and Reed wouldn't let him off the hook so easily. But to his surprise, Reed shrugged and said, "The guards have more useful things to do and will be reassigned. We keep tabs on the T'Pol's through their monitor devices. We will also be watching you, Tucker."

"If you want to waste your time, just go ahead," Charles said, trying his best to appear cold and collected. "Tucker out."

As the screen turned back, he took a deep breath. It was going to be a long, difficult day.

He had to save Trip, Ko-Kai T'Pol, and T'Pol while trying to protect Lizzy. During the meeting, a new plan had emerged in his mind. And with the guards now out of the picture, phase one of that plan had just been successfully completed.