Chapter 2 - Meetings
The door chimed.
"Got a sec?"
Jonathan Archer opened the door and said, "For you, I've got sixty. Come in". Trip walked in, sat himself down and started fidgeting.
"I'm presuming this isn't business. What's wrong?"
"Well, I went to see her."
"Her? Aaah."
"Whaddya mean, 'Aaah'?"
"You have your 'T'Pol' face on. You find out if anything's wrong?"
"Something is. Something pretty big. She's a mess, Jon." Archer waited.
"It's got something to do with Commander Haynes, the guy in the boarding party" Trip stopped fiddling and looked at his captain.
"Haynes? The tall guy?"
"Yeah, she said she'd met him before. At the embassy."
"And?" Archer watched his friend struggle.
"Y'know, I can't even put it into words. She was frightened I would go and ask him if there was a problem"
"You're not going to right?"
"God, no. I just wish I knew what was up. She's. Aah, hell. Why am I doing this again?" Trip got up to leave.
"You're a good man, Tucker. Let me know if I can help." Trip smiled at him weakly.
"Thanks." Trip left the Captain's quarters, his mind mulling over the events over the past two days. Two days, was that all? It felt like longer. He headed towards the mess hall, remembering his promise about food. Two days. The party had boarded Enterprise, guests from a Vulcan ship on their way to some godforsaken science station where Enterprise was supposed to leave them. A firm request from Starfleet to treat their guests with the respect that was due to them yada yada yada. Trip had ruefully admitted to himself that he had tuned out by then, obsessing over something, strangely he couldn't remember what it was now.
He'd only remembered about the party when his deputy had reminded him that he was due to greet these very important visitors in just under 5 minutes. "Damn! Why the hell didn't anyone remind me sooner?" His deputy had tactfully not mentioned the fact that every 10 minutes for the past hour he had been reminding him to go and get cleaned up and bustled away, picking up the sheaf's of paper that Trip had strewn across the floor, in his rush to get to his quarters to get rid of some of the grease that he had somehow managed to accumulate all over his uniform. "Interesting that he never leaves tools lying around like that..." his deputy chuckled to himself.
Trip had made it down to the party just as they had boarded and introductions were being made. Archer had just introduced himself and was saying, "This is our science officer, Sub-Commander T'Pol. T'Pol, Dr Stephen Myers, Commander Isobel Lang and Commander Thomas Haynes". He had seen T'Pol's face when Haynes was introduced. She had blanched white and remained that colour for the past two days. Her eyes had dilated as she murmured a greeting. Trip hadn't thought much of it at the time. "Probably forgot to meditate this morning" and he'd strode out and greeted the rest of the party, not noticing T'Pol slipping off as soon as it was possible for her to leave unnoticed.
The door chimed.
"Got a sec?"
Jonathan Archer opened the door and said, "For you, I've got sixty. Come in". Trip walked in, sat himself down and started fidgeting.
"I'm presuming this isn't business. What's wrong?"
"Well, I went to see her."
"Her? Aaah."
"Whaddya mean, 'Aaah'?"
"You have your 'T'Pol' face on. You find out if anything's wrong?"
"Something is. Something pretty big. She's a mess, Jon." Archer waited.
"It's got something to do with Commander Haynes, the guy in the boarding party" Trip stopped fiddling and looked at his captain.
"Haynes? The tall guy?"
"Yeah, she said she'd met him before. At the embassy."
"And?" Archer watched his friend struggle.
"Y'know, I can't even put it into words. She was frightened I would go and ask him if there was a problem"
"You're not going to right?"
"God, no. I just wish I knew what was up. She's. Aah, hell. Why am I doing this again?" Trip got up to leave.
"You're a good man, Tucker. Let me know if I can help." Trip smiled at him weakly.
"Thanks." Trip left the Captain's quarters, his mind mulling over the events over the past two days. Two days, was that all? It felt like longer. He headed towards the mess hall, remembering his promise about food. Two days. The party had boarded Enterprise, guests from a Vulcan ship on their way to some godforsaken science station where Enterprise was supposed to leave them. A firm request from Starfleet to treat their guests with the respect that was due to them yada yada yada. Trip had ruefully admitted to himself that he had tuned out by then, obsessing over something, strangely he couldn't remember what it was now.
He'd only remembered about the party when his deputy had reminded him that he was due to greet these very important visitors in just under 5 minutes. "Damn! Why the hell didn't anyone remind me sooner?" His deputy had tactfully not mentioned the fact that every 10 minutes for the past hour he had been reminding him to go and get cleaned up and bustled away, picking up the sheaf's of paper that Trip had strewn across the floor, in his rush to get to his quarters to get rid of some of the grease that he had somehow managed to accumulate all over his uniform. "Interesting that he never leaves tools lying around like that..." his deputy chuckled to himself.
Trip had made it down to the party just as they had boarded and introductions were being made. Archer had just introduced himself and was saying, "This is our science officer, Sub-Commander T'Pol. T'Pol, Dr Stephen Myers, Commander Isobel Lang and Commander Thomas Haynes". He had seen T'Pol's face when Haynes was introduced. She had blanched white and remained that colour for the past two days. Her eyes had dilated as she murmured a greeting. Trip hadn't thought much of it at the time. "Probably forgot to meditate this morning" and he'd strode out and greeted the rest of the party, not noticing T'Pol slipping off as soon as it was possible for her to leave unnoticed.