A/N Disclaimer: see the first chapter.

The story so far: at a planet called Pardoxa Charles (MU Tucker) and Trip (RU Tucker) made the necessary adjustments to their shuttle. It's part of the plan for Trip and Ko-Kai T'Pol (RU T'Pol) to escape and go back to their own universe.

Music: Escapar/Escape by Enrique Iglesias

Many, many thanks to Capn Frances and Dinah.

Z minus 14 hours – planet Pardoxa

Trip clapped him on the shoulder. "It's time," he said, gesturing to T'Pol and Ensign Hess, who were approaching the shuttle. "It's a good plan, Charles. It will work."

"You play a crucial role, Trip," Charles answered. "When you hear the alarm, transport the women to the shuttle and get out as fast as you can. I will take care of myself."

Trip frowned at his words. "I still don't like leaving you behind."

"Don't worry about me," he said, in the most optimistic tone he could muster. "I have to stay onboard the Defiant."

Deep down in his heart he was more than ready to go with Trip. They had joked about it, but he really saw Trip as the older brother he never had. He could talk to him without his words being used against him. Trip was a friend in a hostile world.

Hess and T'Pol came within hearing distance. T'Pol was still wearing her cap to hide her ears, pretending to be a Terran ensign. She and Hess carried on an animated discussion about Terran music. Music was Hess's hobby. "If you like, you can borrow my Terran music through the centuries PADD," Hess said while taking his seat. T'Pol only nodded in response.

They took off. Every minute they came closer to the Defiant and Charles felt the knot in his stomach tighten. He expected Reed to show up at the shuttle bay; to remind him of the order Sato had given him.

As they arrived in the Defiant's shuttlebay, Hess handed T'Pol his music PADD. "Maybe until next time, Ensign Snow," he smiled. His smile made Charles wonder. Did Hess know about Ensign Snow's true identity? Had he chosen not to expose T'Pol? Charles certainly hoped so.

After Hess was gone, Charles and Trip quickly checked on Ko-Kai T'Pol. She was still in the storage room. They transported T'Pol to the same location.

"Commander and Mister Tucker," a distinctly British voice slid through the silence of the shuttle. Standing in the doorway, Reed looked at them with a broad grin on his face. Behind him stood two guards, Rivers and Perez. Charles braced himself for whatever might come.

"I heard such good reports from your instructor," Reed said to Trip. "We're pleased you have become part of the Terran Empire. And as such, you have your own quarters for the night. Rivers will show you."

Trip frowned, clearly not at ease. "You can go," Charles said to Trip, "Come back later to the shuttle bay for the transport of the dilithium."

As soon as Trip and Rivers were out of sight, Reed turned to him, face grim. He checked the shuttle logs Hess had made. "The logs confirm you're on an away mission today for the purchase of dilithium. During the day kept both Vulcan women working in the storage room with the door locked," he said coldly, in his eyes the look of a predator. "Why did you wait to kill them? If you can't execute the order, I will."

Charles stepped closer, only inches away from Reed's face. Staring right at him, he made sure his message was clear. "I kept them in the storage room for a reason, Major." He tried to sound as cold and detached as possible, emphasizing every word. "The Empress wants Trip Tucker to work for the Empire. If you kill his Vulcan wife, he will not go to Earth. But if you kill her after he is gone, he will not find out until it's too late."

"She is not his wife. The documents from their ship never mentioned a marriage," Reed protested.

"Those documents are incomplete. They're sharing a bed when we transported them, remember?" he cut Reed off. "But after Trip is gone, I will have my revenge."

Then he stepped out of the shuttle, deliberately brushing against Reed's shoulder as he went out.

He went straight to the storage room. Reed and Perez followed him. The first thing he saw was T'Pol. She had been safely transported. Standing next to her was Ko-Kai T'Pol.

Charles looked around. Everything was neatly ordered on the sideboards, and the place looked cleaner than ever. A meditation candle was placed in the corner. Ko-Kai T'Pol had no doubt spent hours in the storage room efficiently ordering, cleaning, and meditating. It was so typical it almost made him smile.

Reed rushed in to check the women's monitor devices and the registration panel in the storage room. He looked up sharply. "According to these readings, you both worked the entire day in this place." Skepticism was written on his face. "You're not going tell me that you needed a whole day for some cleaning and organizing."

"We also have been working on the antimatter injection project of Commander Tucker," Ko-Kai T'Pol answered. She handed Reed a PADD. He scrolled quickly through its contents. With a brusque gesture he gave the PADD to Charles. To Charles's surprise, the PADD contained a detailed plan. No doubt Trip and she had already working on a similar project in their own universe.

With an annoyed look on his face, Reed growled at Charles ,"I expect results tomorrow, Commander," and left.

Joined by the Vulcan women, Charles walked back to the shuttle bay. Trip was standing at the entrance. Ko-Kai T'Pol's eyes lit up when she saw Trip. As he smiled at her, her whole face softened. Standing close, she didn't seem hindered by Trip's pungent odor due to his training adventure.

After bringing the dilithium to Engineering and having a quick meal, Trip went to his quarters for that long overdue shower. Ko-Kai T'Pol and T'Pol went to the brig and Charles marched to his quarters. He closed the door and inhaled deeply. They were in the clear. For now.

The first thing he did in his quarters was to patch the surveillance of the brig to his cabin. In this way he could keep an eye on the women in the last hours before the escape. After an hour Trip joined them in the brig, his hair still wet from the shower. Charles couldn't shake the feeling the women needed protection against Sato and her workers. He was glad Trip was there to protect them.

Trying to ease his nerves, he took a seat behind his desk, determined to stay awake. Instead, he fell asleep, exhausted by the tension of the day. The next thing he knew, hours later, he opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep – the tension of the whole day had worn him out. His mind was foggy, his body felt stiff and his neck hurt from sleeping in a chair. He realized he'd been awakened up by a scream from the surveillance video.

He checked the surveillance. Ko-Kai T'Pol spoke softly to T'Pol. She must have been the one who had screamed. He could only think that a nightmare would cause this. A horrible, dreadful nightmare. His resentment and rage at Tolaris and what he had done to T'Pol grew even deeper. He was glad T'Pol would escape tomorrow from this place.

He wished he could escape, too, but he had to protect Lizzy from the revenge of the Terran Empire.

Sleep was eluding him, so he went to get some water and stared into the darkness of his quarters.

A sudden desire to see his baby sister made him turn on the lights and reach for his communication device. He checked the time in her time zone and contacted her dormitory at the university. Lizzy wasn't there, but her roommate said she was at her parents' house. He hadn't spoken to his mother in four years, but his wish to talk to Lizzy was greater than his fear of being confronted with his stepfather, William Laci.

To his relief, when he contacted his mother's home, her familiar face filled the screen. She looked older than he remembered. "Charley," she said, clearly surprised to see him. "I assume you're looking for Lizzy?"

"Can I speak to her?" Charles asked.

"You just missed her, Charley. She is visiting a friend in the neighborhood. Shall I tell her you called?"

He pushed down his annoyance that his mother still would call him Charley after everyone else had called him Charles for the last ten years. "I would appreciate that."

"You're still working as Chief Engineer?" his mother asked with obvious interest in her voice.

They talked about his life and work and hers for a few minutes, sometimes hindered by awkward pauses. "It was good talking to you, Charles," his mother said at the end.

"I thought so too," he said. He wanted to say that he loved her, but he couldn't find the words. So, he ended the transmission.

Later that night, Lizzy contacted him, and they spoke briefly. After he ended the transmission, he stared at the dark screen and swallowed hard.

What would happen tomorrow? Would he ever see his mother and Lizzy again?

Z minus 7 hours

Phase one of his plan had been executed without any trouble. Charles had ordered two men from his crew to collect three boxes from his safeguarded storage at his office and bring them to the shuttle. Inside were the parts of the inter-universe transporter. Instead of sending them to the shuttle for transport to Enterprise and Empress Sato, the parts would be stored in the escape shuttle.

He had downloaded all his data about the inter-universe transporter into a PADD. He planted the old Vulcan virus in the systems to be executed within five hours to destroy any information about the transporter. He deleted all his tracks. No one would know he was the source.

He arrived early in Engineering, just before T'Pol, Trip, and Ko-Kai T'Pol.

The two guards from yesterday, Rivers and Perez, also reported to him. Reed had probably send them to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, their presence didn't fit into Charles' plan.

As he walked back to his console where he had been working, he noticed T'Pol watching him. Her eyes went to the guards and then to him, and she gave him a slight, almost unnoticeable nod. It was like she was saying she would take care of the guards as soon as his planned mayhem started. He sure hoped she would.

Two hours later, he pretended he'd noticed some unusual readings from the warp core. He called Trip and showed him his data on a PADD. In a hidden file, there was also a program crucial for their escape. Only a slight flush on Trip's face showed the gravity of what he read.

Charles gave the PADD with the transporter information to Trip, who casually placed the PADD in his shirt pocket.

Three aggravatingly long hours passed before he noticed Trip staring in his direction. Their eyes met and Trip nodded. "I want you to check the thrusters of the shuttle we used yesterday," he told Trip. "There was a slight asymmetry in the readings. Perhaps nothing, but I want to make sure." With a quick nod, Trip left and headed to the shuttle bay.

In the hour that followed, several crewmen reported system malfunctions. They were minor, and Charles knew exactly what was causing them. He executed several sensor sweeps to make it appear he was trying to fix the problems.

It was three minutes past one when the light on his console indicated a private message. Sato. It read: the time is now.

Thoughts of his father, falsely accused of treason and taken away from him, flowed through his mind.

He gripped his phaser and walked to T'Pol. "There's a virus in our systems. The famous Vulcan virus. It's clear you downloaded it. Now you're going install the anti-virus, or I'll shoot you."

He accessed the console and showed T'Pol the anti-virus program.

T'Pol's eyes ran over the data. Her face was immobile. "That program isn't completely tested."

"No excuses," he shouted, feeling like a lousy actor. "Download it now. I will test it."

"Download complete," the computer confirmed after 10 minutes. "Systems are restoring. 40...50... 70 percent. All systems are back online."

"Run a full diagnostic," he ordered Rodriquez, one of his engineers who he had worked with for years. Before Rodriquez could act, an alarm began to shriek.

"Red alert! Magnetic containment fields are failing!"

Immediately, the bridge contacted him.

"We have a problem with the fields holding the antimatter," Charles told them. "I am going to stabilize them to prevent the core from exploding."

"Acknowledged, Engineering."

The surveillance cameras were going offline. The shrieking of the alarm reverberated from all sides. "Everybody out!" Charles screamed above the noise. The engineering crew rushed to the exit.

"I'm staying, boss," Rodriquez said. Charles held back a sigh. As much as he appreciated Rodriquez's loyalty, his staying complicated the escape.

T'Pol, Ko-Kai T'Pol, and the guards, Rivers and Perez, had also stayed behind. The women moved behind the guards, and before Charles knew it, both men crumbled onto the floor. He had no idea how they had done it, but he was thankful for small favors.

Ten seconds later, before his eyes, Ko-Kai T'Pol dematerialized and was gone. Trip had transported her into the shuttle.

He refocused his attention on T'Pol. She was standing there with a familiar-looking phaser in her hand, pointing at him. His hand reached for his own, only to realize T'Pol had taken it.

She stepped closer. The cold metal of the phaser pushed against his skull. Charles could feel T'Pol standing behind him, her body only inches away. One arm was holding him in a tight grip, the other arm lifted with her phaser in hand. There was no hesitation in the way she was pressing the phaser against his head.

"Let me do my job!" he said angrily. "I have to stabilize the fields to prevent a warp breach."

T'Pol intensified her grip, hand reaching to his communicator. "Bridge, this is T'Pol. I have taken Tucker," she said in an icily calm voice. "We'll return him in exchange for prisoners of the Resistance."

He pressed down his anger and hurt at her words. If he couldn't save the ship, someone else had to do it. "Stabilize the magnetic containment fields," he ordered Rodriquez. "If you don't succeed, eject the warp core." Rodriquez gave him a sharp nod and ran toward the fields.

"We're leaving," T'Pol whispered in his ear. Her fingers pinched his neck. He collapsed, but she grabbed him by the arm, preventing him from falling. Then the familiar buzz of the transporter went through his body, and darkness came.

When Charles awakened, he was lying on the floor facing a wall, feeling a soft vibration beneath him - an indication he was in a shuttle. A flying shuttle. His whole body ached and felt bruised, like he'd been smashed against the wall. He felt a burning sensation in his neck, and it all came back to him. He ignored the pain and tried to stand, but his knees buckled under him.

On the floor again, he raised himself slightly and craned his neck. Trip was in the pilot's seat, and Ko-Kai T'Pol was navigating. T'Pol worked on a console. On the floor, there were the remains of her surveillance device. He assumed she had used a phaser to destroy it. Around her wrist, where the device had been, he saw cuts and bruises.

T'Pol turned around. Her eyes went quickly over Charles' face before she continued working.

He managed to stand and walked towards her. "I'm not supposed to be here," he said hoarsely.

Trip and Ko-Kai T'Pol turned around quickly, exchanging a look he couldn't decipher. In the time he'd known them, they'd done that a lot. Like they could communicate without speaking. Trip loosened his seat belt and stood up. Ko-Kai T'Pol took his place in the pilot's seat without a word.

Walking towards him, Trip smiled broadly. "Welcome aboard, Charles. The cloaking device is working, thanks to Ko-Kai T'Pol, and I was able to disguise the warp trail. Shields are holding. No one is in pursuit. We're safe."

He felt himself relaxed by Trip's words. "That's great news, but T'Pol risked the entire plan."

Trip smiled. "I think she thinks otherwise," he said and returned to the pilot seat.

"It was only logical to take you with us," T'Pol replied, without looking up. "According to my calculations 20 seconds after Ko-Kai T'Pol was transported, Trip would transport me. So I took a calculated risk."

"For logical people, you sure have a flair for the dramatic," he said, stepping closer. For a second, T'Pol's eyes lightened in a way that could only be described as amusement. It had been so long since he had seen that expression "I guess you didn't want to kill me, T'Pol."

"However tempting, I found other ways to incapacitate you," T'Pol said. "You only wanted to stay behind because of your sister. Now Rodriquez will tell Sato the Vulcan resistance kidnapped you. Your family is safe."

She searched his face quickly with her big, beautiful eyes, eyes where you sink right in. One more time, he thought how stunningly beautiful she was. "I prefer you alive, Charles." She sounded almost happy about the fact.

T'Pol continued in a more neutral tone. "I suggested to Trip that we first head to a planet where we can dispose of the shuttle and find a new means of transport. This Defiant shuttle will not endure the strains of any interphase corridor. Without a good ship the chances of returning Trip and Ko-Kai T'Pol to their own universe are slim, no matter what ideas Korek has."

"This plan will work," Trip said, from his place at the pilot seat.

Ko-Kai T'Pol turned around and spoke for the first time. "We will find our way, Charles."

Which way would that be? He had just lost his position, and he would be hunted forever. Yet, he felt like a free man.