Chapter Ten:
The meeting had started before Hoshi and Trip arrived. They were the center of attention as they made their way to the conference table. Captain Archer's face stiffened, T'Pol raised a brow, Reed rolled his eyes and Travis grinned. Hoshi was surprised to see Travis in a meeting with the command staff. Was the meeting called for all?
T'Pol continued speaking as the two new lovers entered. She was discussing the events leading up to their memories being tampered with and what has been happening since then.
"Apparently we are all remembering seven hours that were wiped from our minds," T'Pol explained the obvious.
"You never forgot though, T'Pol," Archer added.
Her eyebrow rose again. "That is correct."
She realized that not having her memory tampered with was possibly a questionable thing and someone would inquiry about the rationale behind it.
"Why didn't you forget?" a suspicious Travis asked.
"I remember because Mishkra did not wipe my memory."
"Why not?"
"The Vulcans are aware of her people's existence."
"So they are aware of time travel," Travis assumed.
T'Pol's eyebrow arched again.
"That assumption is partially accurate. The majority of the Vulcans are aware that time travel exists, though we do not speak of it to less sophisticated races."
"Now, jes' wait a secon," Trip burst. "Your people withheld information that time travel exists from us? How's that fair?"
"Life is not fair, Commander Tucker," the sub-commander pointed out.
"We're going off subject here," Archer warned.
Hoshi spoke up next.
"I forgot and then remembered long before everyone else remembered," Hoshi said.
Travis shot her a fleeting look.
"I don't know why I remembered but that's beside the point. I don't think these aliens, Mishkra's people, are harmful. I think they're peaceful. But these Jalashk are dangerous and we need to be careful," Hoshi finished.
"The ship's phase cannons are in tip-top shape," Reed announced.
"The warp core's doing jes fine," Trip added.
Archer gazed at the schematics on the console. He nodded his head in satisfaction thanked the group for their hard work in getting him all that he had asked for. They had to be ready for the Jalashk, for they could attack at any moment.
When the meeting was over with, Archer pulled Trip and Hoshi aside to speak with them. He quietly voiced his frustration that they were late for the meeting and said he did not want to know why they were late, just that next time they arrive on time.
Trip was relieved that Jon didn't ask why they were late. He didn't know how to tell his best friend that he and Hoshi had a long discussion on things and everything got heated. He decided not to tell the captain about his new relationship with Hoshi right now, but knew there would be a time that he would have to discuss it. Hoshi, on the other hand, only nodded and informed Archer that she would not be late the next time he called a meeting.
The captain left it at that and walked over to his chair. He sat down and thought about the reasons why the commander and the linguist had both come in late at the same time. He knew there was chemistry between the two and believed there was something other than friendship going on between them. Jon just hoped their attachment would not interfere with their work.
Trip headed toward engineering and checked his warp core. All was going smoothly and his crew was bustling about. He thought about last night, how soft Hoshi's skin was and how beautiful she was to him. She was incredibly strong and smart. He smiled at the memory of her smell; it attracted him to her so strongly. Trip wondered if she was thinking about him.
***
Hoshi smiled secretly to herself, thinking about the commander. She had put lotion on his hands that morning, trying to work out the calluses that made him the strong man he was. She told him that his hands were rough and needed softened and he laughed at that. Just as Hoshi began to think about what the two of them could do their next encounter, she heard T'Pol announce that two Jalashk ships had flown out of subspace.
The Jalashk ships approached Enterprise and attacked.
"Polarize hull plating," Archer snapped. "Mr. Reed, fire at will."
Sparks flew from consoles everywhere as the ship shook from the attack.
"Captain, six more ships have appeared. We're completely surrounded." The armory officer quickly calculated the odds of survival. "There's no way we'll be able to fight off all of the, sir."
The Enterprise continued to shake under the barrage of enemy fire coming from weapons the crew had never seen before. Several bridge officers were knocked off their feet from the explosions on board. The crew was getting frantic.
"Dammit!" Archer yelled out when Reed said the hull plating couldn't hold much longer.
Hoshi's eyes widened when she saw more Jalashk ships pull out of sub-space. She forced herself to think. Think Hoshi! Think! What was it you were supposed to say in case this happened again? And then it hit her. She looked around the room at her grim colleagues yelling and scurrying about trying to handle all the explosions and whatnot. She doubted the words would do any good.
"Captain, our hull plating is offline! We'll be destroyed in a few moments," Reed felt sick with even the thought of being defeated.
She had to say it; if it didn't work then it didn't work.
She stared at the captain as he asked her to hail the Jalashk and surrender. She shook her head.
"Avree'shkree," Hoshi muttered and turned back to her console.
"Ensign, hail them and surrender to them!" Archer ordered again.
The captain's voice trailed off as he watched the view screen fill with luminescent ships that came out of nowhere. They did not use warp, they were far too advanced to use such unreliable systems. There were hundreds of the alien spaceships surrounding the area of space. They fired only a few times at the enemy ships, which exploded immediately. A couple Jalashk ships tried firing back or escaping, but they did no damage and were too destroyed.
Captain Archer stood in awe at the beautiful ships. Cheering and clapping erupted on the bridge.
Hoshi looked at the view screen and then heard her console beeping that they were being hailed.
"Sir, we're being hailed by one of the ships."
"On screen, Hoshi," Archer replied.
A very familiar woman with red hair appeared on the view screen. She had a ravishing smile on her face, a smile of victory. She stood and bowed slightly, greeting the captain. Archer slightly bowed in unison and began to thank her.
"I can't tell you how pleased I am that you came when you did. There was no way we were going to defeat that many Jalashk ships," Archer said humbly.
An'rah'mishkayala'h'sha'vree replied, "Jonathon Archer, you are welcome. My people are grateful that you informed us of your predicament. You have allowed us to destroy much of the enemy."
"Are your people at war with them?" Archer wondered.
"Yes, they attack us for our solar system is rich in minerals and theirs is depleted. Though they are too foolish to realize they stand no chance against us."
Archer finally sat down. "We can't let them know of Earth."
"That is what I told you the other day. But your planet is safe; we have ships surrounding your Milky Way galaxy at all times," Mishkra explained. "There is no way they will be able to enslave your people."
"Thank you," Archer felt the need to do something for the beautiful alien. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
Mishkra shook her head and smiled playfully. "You need not return the favor. Your ship will be completely repaired within the hour."
"You're repairing our ship?" Reed asked, amazed.
Mishkra laughed, amused at how limited their thinking was.
"We have the ability to completely repair your vessel in a matter of moments. Did I not explain that we are an extremely superior race?"
"You told us, but we didn't know just how superior you were," the captain said.
"Very," she replied back.
Trip's voice came through the commlink, interrupting the captain and Mishkra.
"Cap'n, the ship was all screwed up and now everything is back to tip-top shape. What the hell happened up there?"
"Mishkra had her people repair it."
"In five minutes?" the engineered said, surprised.
The alien on the view screen smiled. She drank a mug of something one of her crew had brought to her and sighed. She looked tired all of a sudden and so did the alien who brought her the drink.
"My people mainly psychokinetically repaired your vessel," she replied, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Your people?" Archer asked. "What did you say they were called?"
"I didn't," she replied. "We are known as The People to most."
"The People, isn't that kind of broad?"
She shook her head. "We have no name."
"Ah."
"There is a saying among my people," she began. "Life or space is like a great river. It runs through everything, creating more life and even confusion to go with that life. The river runs through our lives, creating our destiny."
Archer thought about that, this woman was very confusion with her analogies.
"Until," Mishkra replied, just about the close the connection.
"Until what?"
"Until we meet again. You are almost out of the area of space. We wish your race luck in advancing the proper way," she said, waving her hand.
Captain Archer nodded as the connection ended.
Hoshi stared at the screen, in awe at the majestic alien ships that just disappeared from space. She wondered if this was the end of all that had happened lately.
Then she realized it couldn't be the end. There were so many things left unfinished.
The meeting had started before Hoshi and Trip arrived. They were the center of attention as they made their way to the conference table. Captain Archer's face stiffened, T'Pol raised a brow, Reed rolled his eyes and Travis grinned. Hoshi was surprised to see Travis in a meeting with the command staff. Was the meeting called for all?
T'Pol continued speaking as the two new lovers entered. She was discussing the events leading up to their memories being tampered with and what has been happening since then.
"Apparently we are all remembering seven hours that were wiped from our minds," T'Pol explained the obvious.
"You never forgot though, T'Pol," Archer added.
Her eyebrow rose again. "That is correct."
She realized that not having her memory tampered with was possibly a questionable thing and someone would inquiry about the rationale behind it.
"Why didn't you forget?" a suspicious Travis asked.
"I remember because Mishkra did not wipe my memory."
"Why not?"
"The Vulcans are aware of her people's existence."
"So they are aware of time travel," Travis assumed.
T'Pol's eyebrow arched again.
"That assumption is partially accurate. The majority of the Vulcans are aware that time travel exists, though we do not speak of it to less sophisticated races."
"Now, jes' wait a secon," Trip burst. "Your people withheld information that time travel exists from us? How's that fair?"
"Life is not fair, Commander Tucker," the sub-commander pointed out.
"We're going off subject here," Archer warned.
Hoshi spoke up next.
"I forgot and then remembered long before everyone else remembered," Hoshi said.
Travis shot her a fleeting look.
"I don't know why I remembered but that's beside the point. I don't think these aliens, Mishkra's people, are harmful. I think they're peaceful. But these Jalashk are dangerous and we need to be careful," Hoshi finished.
"The ship's phase cannons are in tip-top shape," Reed announced.
"The warp core's doing jes fine," Trip added.
Archer gazed at the schematics on the console. He nodded his head in satisfaction thanked the group for their hard work in getting him all that he had asked for. They had to be ready for the Jalashk, for they could attack at any moment.
When the meeting was over with, Archer pulled Trip and Hoshi aside to speak with them. He quietly voiced his frustration that they were late for the meeting and said he did not want to know why they were late, just that next time they arrive on time.
Trip was relieved that Jon didn't ask why they were late. He didn't know how to tell his best friend that he and Hoshi had a long discussion on things and everything got heated. He decided not to tell the captain about his new relationship with Hoshi right now, but knew there would be a time that he would have to discuss it. Hoshi, on the other hand, only nodded and informed Archer that she would not be late the next time he called a meeting.
The captain left it at that and walked over to his chair. He sat down and thought about the reasons why the commander and the linguist had both come in late at the same time. He knew there was chemistry between the two and believed there was something other than friendship going on between them. Jon just hoped their attachment would not interfere with their work.
Trip headed toward engineering and checked his warp core. All was going smoothly and his crew was bustling about. He thought about last night, how soft Hoshi's skin was and how beautiful she was to him. She was incredibly strong and smart. He smiled at the memory of her smell; it attracted him to her so strongly. Trip wondered if she was thinking about him.
***
Hoshi smiled secretly to herself, thinking about the commander. She had put lotion on his hands that morning, trying to work out the calluses that made him the strong man he was. She told him that his hands were rough and needed softened and he laughed at that. Just as Hoshi began to think about what the two of them could do their next encounter, she heard T'Pol announce that two Jalashk ships had flown out of subspace.
The Jalashk ships approached Enterprise and attacked.
"Polarize hull plating," Archer snapped. "Mr. Reed, fire at will."
Sparks flew from consoles everywhere as the ship shook from the attack.
"Captain, six more ships have appeared. We're completely surrounded." The armory officer quickly calculated the odds of survival. "There's no way we'll be able to fight off all of the, sir."
The Enterprise continued to shake under the barrage of enemy fire coming from weapons the crew had never seen before. Several bridge officers were knocked off their feet from the explosions on board. The crew was getting frantic.
"Dammit!" Archer yelled out when Reed said the hull plating couldn't hold much longer.
Hoshi's eyes widened when she saw more Jalashk ships pull out of sub-space. She forced herself to think. Think Hoshi! Think! What was it you were supposed to say in case this happened again? And then it hit her. She looked around the room at her grim colleagues yelling and scurrying about trying to handle all the explosions and whatnot. She doubted the words would do any good.
"Captain, our hull plating is offline! We'll be destroyed in a few moments," Reed felt sick with even the thought of being defeated.
She had to say it; if it didn't work then it didn't work.
She stared at the captain as he asked her to hail the Jalashk and surrender. She shook her head.
"Avree'shkree," Hoshi muttered and turned back to her console.
"Ensign, hail them and surrender to them!" Archer ordered again.
The captain's voice trailed off as he watched the view screen fill with luminescent ships that came out of nowhere. They did not use warp, they were far too advanced to use such unreliable systems. There were hundreds of the alien spaceships surrounding the area of space. They fired only a few times at the enemy ships, which exploded immediately. A couple Jalashk ships tried firing back or escaping, but they did no damage and were too destroyed.
Captain Archer stood in awe at the beautiful ships. Cheering and clapping erupted on the bridge.
Hoshi looked at the view screen and then heard her console beeping that they were being hailed.
"Sir, we're being hailed by one of the ships."
"On screen, Hoshi," Archer replied.
A very familiar woman with red hair appeared on the view screen. She had a ravishing smile on her face, a smile of victory. She stood and bowed slightly, greeting the captain. Archer slightly bowed in unison and began to thank her.
"I can't tell you how pleased I am that you came when you did. There was no way we were going to defeat that many Jalashk ships," Archer said humbly.
An'rah'mishkayala'h'sha'vree replied, "Jonathon Archer, you are welcome. My people are grateful that you informed us of your predicament. You have allowed us to destroy much of the enemy."
"Are your people at war with them?" Archer wondered.
"Yes, they attack us for our solar system is rich in minerals and theirs is depleted. Though they are too foolish to realize they stand no chance against us."
Archer finally sat down. "We can't let them know of Earth."
"That is what I told you the other day. But your planet is safe; we have ships surrounding your Milky Way galaxy at all times," Mishkra explained. "There is no way they will be able to enslave your people."
"Thank you," Archer felt the need to do something for the beautiful alien. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
Mishkra shook her head and smiled playfully. "You need not return the favor. Your ship will be completely repaired within the hour."
"You're repairing our ship?" Reed asked, amazed.
Mishkra laughed, amused at how limited their thinking was.
"We have the ability to completely repair your vessel in a matter of moments. Did I not explain that we are an extremely superior race?"
"You told us, but we didn't know just how superior you were," the captain said.
"Very," she replied back.
Trip's voice came through the commlink, interrupting the captain and Mishkra.
"Cap'n, the ship was all screwed up and now everything is back to tip-top shape. What the hell happened up there?"
"Mishkra had her people repair it."
"In five minutes?" the engineered said, surprised.
The alien on the view screen smiled. She drank a mug of something one of her crew had brought to her and sighed. She looked tired all of a sudden and so did the alien who brought her the drink.
"My people mainly psychokinetically repaired your vessel," she replied, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Your people?" Archer asked. "What did you say they were called?"
"I didn't," she replied. "We are known as The People to most."
"The People, isn't that kind of broad?"
She shook her head. "We have no name."
"Ah."
"There is a saying among my people," she began. "Life or space is like a great river. It runs through everything, creating more life and even confusion to go with that life. The river runs through our lives, creating our destiny."
Archer thought about that, this woman was very confusion with her analogies.
"Until," Mishkra replied, just about the close the connection.
"Until what?"
"Until we meet again. You are almost out of the area of space. We wish your race luck in advancing the proper way," she said, waving her hand.
Captain Archer nodded as the connection ended.
Hoshi stared at the screen, in awe at the majestic alien ships that just disappeared from space. She wondered if this was the end of all that had happened lately.
Then she realized it couldn't be the end. There were so many things left unfinished.
