TITLE: Hidden Truths Part Thirteen

SUMMARY: It's finally here!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing trek related.

NOTES AHAHAHAHA! I finished! I actually finished! Okay, the last line is really lame, I just thought it was kinda nice at the time. So here it be, here be it, the last part, the last chapter, the END!! Thanks are due to everyone who reviewed and emailed, I really appreciate it. Hope I didn't disappoint!

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Chapter Thirteen

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Trip found himself surrounded in a white light he had almost forgotten. He had not been to his home plain since his first orders. He had hoped he would return under better circumstances. He felt out of place in his human form surrounded by the non-physical presence of the elders.

"I'm sorry. I made a terrible mistake." Trip started. It seemed like the most obvious thing to say.

"The human emotion known as compassion. It is a powerful force and a compelling drive. We know this much." The merged voices of the elders spoke into his mind. "Your actions are understood."

"I caused so much trouble."

"Kamidari are not infallible." Came the reply. Trip smiled internally at the saying. It bore much resemblance to the human one - 'Everyone makes mistakes.' The word understatement sprang to mind.

"How can I fix it? I tried to close the rift but it was too large."

"We will take care of everything." The voices replied.

"And me?"

"You are to continue your place on the starship."

"Thank-you. But ....what about - "

"We will restore all that must be restored."

"And Hoshi?"

"Everything will be as it should be."

Trip didn't like the sound of that but his protest had barely begun, when he found himself in his quarters. When was it? Had he returned to before the Rigis Jata mission, or was it after Hoshi's death?

"Archer to Trip, report to the bridge."

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Trip didn't like not knowing the date one bit as he made his way to the bridge. If it was before the Rigis Jata mission, was he expected to allow Hoshi to die once more? He wasn't sure if he was capable of such a terrible act.

When he reached his destination Trip found Hoshi sitting at her station. T'Pol and Jonathon were standing around the main console and Trip's heart fell. He approached the station trying to remain calm, as he awaited T'Pol to start talking about Rigis Jata's atmosphere and the Nistet.

"Something very, uh, odd is going on Trip." Jon began.

*What? This isn't the way the conversation should be starting....* When Trip looked at the console in front of him, he saw not Rigis, but a strange anomaly. It wasn't the rift, thank god, but it was indeed very odd. The date in the corner read July 14th. It was after Rigis, after the rift opened and after everything that Trip had caused. What were the elders playing at? Had they made a mistake? Trip decided to play it by ear.

"What's goin' on?"

"It seems the entire crew have been unconscious for 24 hours."

*24 hours? The mission never happened! The elders fixed it, and Hoshi is still alive, everything's right!*

"Unconscious? Why?" Trip asked, securing his happiness to the confides of his own mind.

"This is why." Jon said, gesturing to the console, and on it, the anomaly. "It was here a few moments ago, then disappeared. This is the only information we received before it just vanished."

Trip said the only thing he could think of. "Weird."

"Yeah." Jon smiled. "I'm sending a full report to Starfleet. We'll figure it out somehow. Anyway, the, uh, next item on the agenda is Rigis Jata."

"Rigis Jata?"

"A planet nearby, was apparently destroyed while we were unconscious. We plan to find out what happened. Looks like we'll be in this system for a while."

Trip didn't mind at all. As long as they left with a full crew, Trip didn't care if they stayed for a month.

"Well I better get to engineering, check everything's okay." Trip announced, and left the room feeling very much like grinning.

Jon watched his chief engineer and friend walk away in a very different light. He didn't know exactly what had happened. The last thing he remembered was begin in the shuttle with Trip, then him disappearing and the ship getting hit by the rift. The next thing, Jon was waking up in his room, apparently the next day.

He guessed the 'anomaly' was some kind of ruse to cover everything up. As for no-one else remembering, that was a mystery. Why was Jon the only one that recalled? Because he was struck by the rift's energy? Whatever happened, Jon made a conscious decision not to tell anyone, not even Trip.

He understood why it was so important for Trip to remain hidden, so to speak, and he understood why he did what he did. As for the years of deception, he supposed he could forgive. After all, Trip hadn't really lied, he'd just hid certain truths.

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END OF THE ENTIRE STORY!!!!!!

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