Enterprise

The New Officer
The crew was leaving the bridge one by one. The captain sat content in his chair staring at the view screen. Enterprise was docked at a small space station for minor repairs. Archer ordered all but a skeleton crew to take shore leave until repairs were complete. T'Pol never questioned his order, but she did have a question.

"Captain. Will you not be joining us?" She asked.

"Maybe next time. Today, I'm just looking forward to some peace and quiet."

Without another word, T'Pol joined the others. Archer walked over to the console and switched the view from the aft, to the beyond. Nothing but stars, distant worlds, and beautiful purple, blue and yellow clouds of toxic gases were in sight. He hated being at the space dock when they could be out there walking on a moon no other man has set foot on, or seeing a new life form for the first time.

Just when he was about to leave the bridge himself, he heard a familiar chime come from the console. With the press of a button, communications opened and the face of a familiar General came on the screen.

"General Marksmith." Archer said.

"Captain Archer." The general replied.

Archer smiled, "To what do I owe this honor, General?"

"Don't get formal with me, Jonathan." The general ordered.

"Alright," Archer laughed and sat back in his chair, "What can I do for you, Tony?"

The general smiled, "I have a favor to ask, and I know what you're going to say Jonathan, but this is different."

"That's what you said the last time you asked me for a favor." Archer replied.

"I know, but I never meant for you to be imprisoned for carrying that cargo." He smiled, "I just hope the Delaney sisters weren't too overbearing for you."

"If you call marriage proposal's overbearing." Archer replied.

The General laughed.

"So what's the favor this time?"

"I have a brilliant lieutenant who is having a problem finding a crew she can get along with. Now I know you already have a full crew, but she's already been transferred from four ships in the past two months. This is her last request before she threatens to resign from Star Fleet, and trust me when I say losing her would be devastating."

"So what's so special about this officer compared to the others fresh out of the academy?" Archer asked.

"She's a Portassian, found as an infant by the Vulcans over twenty years ago. It was the Vulcan high priest Colesh who recommended that she be trained at Star Fleet. She graduated highest in her class."

"So what's the problem? Why does she keep transferring?" Archer asked.

"Only one of the four transfers was her idea." The general replied.

Archer waited for an explanation.

"Do you know anything about her kind? The Portassians?" The general asked.

"No."

"Well, then she's sure to surprise you." The general said. "Meet her and see for yourself."

"Where can I find her?"

"She's already on board the repair station. And Jonathan," the general replied, "Try to be a little understanding of her position.she's been through a lot more than you could ever imagine."

Archer didn't know how he felt about this 'favor' but he was curious to meet this Lieutenant and see what the fuss was all about. On the station he wandered the crowded halls until arriving at Belushi's Bar. The captain recognized a lot of his crew inside, along with a lot of unfamiliar alien faces. Not wanting to stick out like a sore thumb, Archer ordered a drink from the bartender.

"Captain." Said a feminine voice behind him.

Turning, Archer realized it was T'Pol.

"I thought you would be remaining on Enterprise." She said.

"I had planned on it, commander, but something came up." Archer replied.

Behind the bar came another female voice, "Here's your drink, Captain. Would you like anything else?"

Archer turned to see a beautiful young lady with blue/silver eyes, standing at 5 foot 6 inches, 125 pounds, with hair of many colors like a zebra's stripes. She had alien markings start at her forehead and expand out and trail down the sides of her arms and continued at her ribs all the way to her sandled feet.

"I'm sorry I'm out of uniform, but I didn't know when to expect you." She continued.

"Danae." T'Pol said.

Archer looked over at T'Pol who was staring at the waitress with a familiar glance.

"T'Pol." Danae replied, "Long time."

"Commander?" Archer asked sternly.

"Captain?" T'Pol replied.

"How do you know each other?" Archer asked.

"I was raised on Vulcan, sir. T'Pol's 1st cousin, Palon, was my adopted guardian." Danae replied.

Archer was stunned to learn that T'Pol's family was linked with Danae. 'What a small universe' he thought to himself.

Just then, Archer spotted Trip walking by.

"Commander Tucker." Archer signaled for Trip to come over. "I'd like you to meet Danae. She'll be joining our crew on board Enterprise. Do you mind showing her the way to the guest quarters?"

"Nah, I was just heading back myself." Trip said and led the Danae out of the bar.

Archer turned to T'Pol. "Your cousin's adopted kid, huh?"

T'Pol didn't like the way Archer summed it up. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Captain, but why has Danae been assigned to the Enterprise?"

"Because an old friend pulled a favor out of me, and it just so happens that he outranks me." Archer replied. "Now, I don't mean to pry, but what's she like?"

"Danae is undisciplined with a wild spirit. She had no respect for the Vulcan way of life. She was also never afraid to show her feeling in front of a crowded room. The last time I saw her she was departing on the Vulcan scout ship Onala in hopes to find her own kind. I believe she never intended to return to Vulcan." T'Pol replied.

"So what's so different about her kind?" Archer asked.

"It was rumored that she knew things before they happened, but I never believed them." T'Pol replied, and didn't wait for the Captain's questions to continue. She quickly departed, leaving the Captain at the bar alone.

Back on Enterprise, Trip escorted Danae to the guest quarters and showed her inside.

"I know it's not much, but pretty soon you'll start calling it home." Trip said, standing in the doorway.

"I hope you're right." Danae replied softly.

Trip didn't understand her melancholy, but decided she may just want to be alone. "If you need anything, just holler. And if you get the courage to leave this place, you can find me in engineering. I'd be glad to give you a tour of the ship."

Trip left her alone, and all she could do was stare out the window. The stars in the distance seemed to be calling her name. She only wished one of them knew her real name, where she really came from, where her home truly was.

Lt. Malcolm Reed entered engineering and quickly found Commander Tucker ("Trip") working on the warp manifold.

"There you are." Malcolm said cheerfully, "So, I heard you got to escort the new girl on board. Is she as beautiful as the rumors I've heard."

Trip smiled, but refused to answer the question.

"Come on, what was she like?" Malcolm insisted.

"She's definitely one of a kind." Trip replied.

Malcolm wasn't satisfied with that answer, but no matter how much he persisted, Trip refused to tell any details. The sight of Danae in front of the warp coil interrupted their conversation and had them mesmerized.

Danae, too, was mesmerized, at the warp's design.

Malcolm beat Trip to her side. "Hi, I'm Lt. Malcolm Reed, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said with his hand extended.

Danae took his hand and gave a gentle smile. Then she looked over to see Trip. "I think I would like that tour now, if you're not too busy."

"Nah, I've got time before we ship off." Trip led her to engineering's outer door and continued down the hallway. Malcolm didn't know what he did wrong, but he was a bit jealous of Trip at this moment.

"And the last stop on the tour, is the bridge." Trip said as they got off the turbo lift on to the bridge.

Malcolm was already at his post, and the rest of the crew had returned from leave. Archer noticed their arrival, as did T'Pol.

"I see you found you're uniform, Lieutenant." Archer said noticing Danae had not changed her clothing.

Looking at her apparel, Danae suddenly felt embarrassed. "Captain, I'm."

"It was all my fault, Capt'n. I insisted on giving her a tour of the ship before we departed." Trip said taking the blame.

Malcolm knew better that to speak up, but decided to use it later. He knew something was cooking between Danae and Trip and he intended to rub it in later.

Archer turned back to his post. "Hoshi, contact the station, tell them we are ready to depart."

"They'll be releasing the docking clamps any moment now, Captain." Hoshi replied.

"Captain?" Danae said.

Archer turned to face her.

"The shuttle craft that brought me to the station was a bit crowded, to say the least. I was never able to get a good view of what the station looked like." she hinted, "If it's not too much trouble."

Archer wasn't sure what her true intentions were, but decided it would be harmless to look.

"Hoshi, can we get a view of the station?" Archer ordered.

Within a few seconds, the new view on the screen was displayed. The station was half the size of Enterprise, and was holding their ship by four clamps, two on either side. The view only captured two of the four clamps, but was a great sight to see, especially for Danae.

Archer watched Danae's face light up, but was suddenly distracted by Malcolm's voice.

"There they go." Malcolm said as the docking clamps retracted slowly.

Archer didn't hesitate, "Travis, start at half impulse and when we're far enough away from the station go to warp 2."

"Hold up." Trip said suddenly. "Hoshi, can you get a closer shot of the forward deck?"

Hoshi didn't know the reasoning, but decided to take a look anyway. The captain was also curious to know why Trip was holding up their departure.

"There!" Trip said the second the closer view popped up on the screen.

Everyone was stunned to see that the base of the clamp was still attached to the hull.

"Well done, Trip." Archer replied and then turned to Hoshi, "Contact the station, see if they can't give us a hand in removing the rest of their clamp from our hull."

While Danae congratulated Trip on the discovery, Archer walked over to T'Pol. "What would have happened if we left at half impulse with that thing still attached?"

"Most likely it would have taken the hull plating beneath. That section is connected to the lateral sensor array. If that had been damaged we would have lost our long-range sensors." T'Pol replied.

Archer was glad Trip caught it before it became a problem, but somewhere deep in his thoughts he wanted to thank Danae as well. If she hadn't asked to see the view of the station, then Trip wouldn't have seen the incident happen.

In uniform, Danae arrived on the bridge. Looking around she noticed it wasn't as formal as the day before. Malcolm was sitting on the floor trying to repair the problem in navigation systems. T'Pol and Hoshi were discussing the more logical flight plan around a nearby asteroid belt. Danae found the captain wiping his sweaty brow as he stood from his chair.

"Captain." Danae reported.

Archer was surprised how perfect her figure was in full uniform. The skirt showed how long her legs truly were, and her hair was tied back, but still flowing down her back in beautiful auburn curls. Her eyes, a light silver blue, were outlined with dark makeup, making her seem more mysterious.

"You asked for me, sir." Danae continued, unsure what the captain was looking at.

"Ah, yes." Archer pulled himself together. "Until I can assign you to a post, I'd like you to help Trip in engineering. He's trying to juggle three projects at once, and I'm afraid he's going to burn himself out if he doesn't leave the engine room at least once a day."

Danae was ready and eager to join Trip in engineering, but waited for the captain to finish.

"There's only one problem." Archer continued, "Trip hates it when I give him help he doesn't ask for."

"I understand, sir." Danae replied.

Archer dismissed her, but before she turned to leave the bridge, Archer witnessed the glare T'Pol gave Danae. It was cold and without emotion, as the Vulcan's usually were, but Archer felt there was something else there.

In engineering, Danae found the place a mess. Consoles were ripped open, sections of the floor were missing, and she saw sparks fly where Trip's legs were. She wondered what he could be up to, but wasn't sure what to say to him.

"Hey, there." She said loud and proud.

*Thump*

"Are you okay?" She laughed.

Trip crawled out and got to his feet. "Now, listen." he stopped himself when he saw Danae's smile.

"I want to help." Danae looked around at the mess, "And I think you could use it."

"Look, I'm doing just fine on my own. I'll have this place back in order in no time." Trip replied.

"Whatever time frame you come up with, Captain wants it done in half that time." Danae said without missing a beat.

"You made that up, didn't you?" Trip asked questionably.

Danae smiled, "Do you want my help or not?"

Archer and T'Pol walked in to engineering to find the place was completely restored. Looking around further, they found Danae and Trip in unusual positions near the ladder adjacent the warp core. Together they were making sparks, literally.

"Commander." Archer announced his presence.

Trip nearly fell off the ladder, but when he balanced himself he looked down at his commanding officer. "Yes, sir."

"What are you doing up there?" he asked.

"We finished repairs on the warp core manifold, and the sensor array. Now we're just trying to improve these radiator vents." Trip replied.

"Are you aware that you have not left engineering in over 12 hours?" T'Pol stated.

Trip looked at the Captain, then at T'Pol, and finally at Danae.

"I think you two deserve a little R and R." Archer said. "And that's not a request. You can give me a system's report in the morning."

"Aye, sir." Trip replied.

After Archer and T'Pol left engineering, Trip and Danae exchanged many glances before finally breaking out in laughter.
Want more? All I ask is for a few reviews of good support and I will upload another chapter. Thanks for reading. (