The Rival
Part Two – Catch me if you can
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"Trip! What have you done to this ship? She was perfect the last time I saw her – now she looks like she's been patched up in a scrap yard." Andy Sawyer lifted his eyebrows comically. Trip gave an impatient wave of his hand.
"Ah, she might not look pretty but she's a tougher girl now than when she left. You know we didn't even have all the weapons online when we left Earth? Andy – it's a testament to Enterprise's engineerin' team that she still space-worthy."
"I'll take your word for it," Andy said with a grin. He walked slowly around the pulsating warp core that dominated engineering and breathed in the atmosphere. He came to a stop opposite Trip and let out a sigh, his eyes slightly closed. "I love that smell," he smiled. "That's the smell of a working engine room. You wanna know why I left Jupiter station? There's your answer. I wanted to be on a living, breathing star ship, actually moving through space. Not stuck on some oversized production-line churning out the next generation of deep space engines."
"But you'd have been next in line for whatever ship you wanted. All you had to do was wait a couple of years, and Star Fleet'll be sending out a whole bunch of ships."
"A couple of years," Andy repeated. "You know how long that sounds when we saw what you guys were up to out here? No – you couldn't. I didn't want to sit on my hands any longer, Trip! I went to Vulcan 'cos I thought I'd be able to serve in space, and maybe learn something even you wouldn't know."
"Well, you got what you wanted I guess," Trip said, sensing something amiss in his friend but not sure what or who was causing it.
"Oh didn't I," Andy gave a rueful laugh. "I spent the first ten months on Vulcan basically being the message boy everytime they got themselves all worked up over you guys. They wouldn't let me near any research centres or construction stations – security, you know? Then I spent a while being a mobile engineering unit for all their merchant cargo vessels… Anyway," Andy roused himself, "you don't want to hear about all of that. I want to hear about this engine. Sounds like you've had more than your share of adventures."
"I'll say," Trip answered breezily. "We even got her up to warp 5."
"You did?" Andy looked surprised. "What happened?"
"Whole damn ship nearly blew apart," Trip laughed. "An' I've got about ten years left to live, but we're still in one piece."
Just as they spoke, a small fire broke out behind them. Neither of the two men flinched, but Andy watched thoughtfully as one of the engine crew put the flames out and shut the panel down before it shorted the whole room.
"That thing still blows every time you switch power relays?" he asked Trip.
Trip had walked to his station to check no serious damage had been done. He looked back at Andy.
"Yeah – I've given up tryin' to fix it. I figure it's just goin' to be a quirk we have to live with."
"Mind if I have a look? I saw something similar on a Vulcan freighter and we managed to sort it."
"Do your worst, Commander" Trip gestured to the troublesome panel with his hand. "
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"Good afternoon, Trip," Hoshi smiled a greeting as Trip entered the turbolift after her. He had been running and didn't see her until the last minute.
"Oh, Hoshi, sorry - hi," he panted.
"Bridge?" she asked, reaching for the control panel. Trip nodded and leant back against the lift wall.
"How are ya doin' today?" he asked with a smile. "Still busy?"
"It's getting there," she said confidently. "I'm looking forward to tonight though."
Trip looked at her blankly, a sudden panic arising in his brain that he'd forgotten something very important.
"Poker? You were going to teach me how to play so we could start a regular game with the others. We arranged it a couple of days ago…"
"Ah, Hosh, I'm so sorry but I forgot!" Trip exclaimed, mentally kicking himself in the backside. How could he have forgotten her? "I've been run off my feet this week and I was kind of expectin' to spend some time with Andy while he's onboard. Could we take a rain check? Just till things die down a bit."
"Of course," Hoshi waved a hand dismissively, trying not to look too bothered. "It's not important is it? We can play cards anytime. Of course you want to see Commander Sawyer while he's here. Is he enjoying his stay on Enterprise?"
"Sure," Trip replied. She was acting as normal as possible but her tone indicated she was a little put out at his behaviour.
"Good. I enjoyed meeting him at dinner yesterday – he seems very personable."
"You think so?" Trip squeaked, a sudden fork of jealousy passed through him as he remembered her laughing and joking with Andy the night before.
"Yes. And he speaks Vulcan very well – it's interesting that he went to so much trouble to learn it, considering they didn't expect him to. I think even the Sub-Commander was impressed."
"Yeah, Andy's very impressive alright," Trip answered tightly. The turbolift reached the bridge at this point and Hoshi stepped out. Trip waited a second, took a deep breath and followed her out.
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Andy left the Captain's dining room early. He'd had enough of eating with Vulcan's. Seeing T'Pol tackle her breadstick with a knife and fork had driven him almost berserk. Archer had kept asking him questions but he didn't want to answer with her there. He was surprised how much Jonathan and Trip trusted her, especially Trip. He'd lost his position of first officer, after all, with her arrival. He'd agreed to meet Trip and Malcolm for a drink but, seeing a dark head sat alone in the almost empty dining room, he headed for the mess hall instead.
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"Well hello there, Ensign Sato," a deep voice spoke into Hoshi's ear, making her jump.
"Oh! Commander Sawyer," she greeted him, turning round. "I didn't see you." She was sat alone at a table reading a novel from a data padd, her evening all uneven after Trip's change of plans.
"I didn't mean to startle you," Andy grinned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And I told you to call me Andy." He scooted into the seat opposite. "You don't mind if I join you? I've just had dinner with the Captain and the Sub-Commander – I could use some unstilted conversation."
"Don't you have something arranged with Cmdr Tucker?"
"I've been with Trip all day," Andy shrugged, a charming smile on his face. "Given the choice I'd much rather get to know you a little better."
Hoshi smiled, a little embarrassed.
"So can I stay?" he asked, twisting his smile into a grin.
"Okay," she agreed, putting down her book.
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"So did he fix it?" Archer asked of the rogue panel in engineering.
"Well it hasn't blown today, and we've been switchin' relays all afternoon for Malcolm's test firing. I guess he has," Trip acknowledged, a little reluctantly.
"I'm glad he's been able to help while he's been onboard. Maybe we should request to Star Fleet we need another senior engineer – you know he even fixed that scratch on the hull you were 'getting around to'?"
Trip smiled rather weakly.
"I was joking, Trip," Archer emphasised. "But it does seem a shame Andy has to go to this mining colony when he's obviously much happier onboard a star ship."
Trip nodded.
"Has he said much to you about his time with the Vulcans?"
Archer shook his head.
"No. We had dinner last night, but with T'Pol there, I don't think he felt that he could talk freely. What about you?"
"He said some stuff yesterday, but he didn't go into details. I got the impression he was angry about something."
Archer was thoughtful, pacing his floor a little.
"If you get the chance, maybe you should ask him about the mining colony. Why he's being sent there, how long he's going for? The Vulcans were a little vague on details."
"Sure – I'm meetin' him in the mess hall anyway. I think Chef might be enough to bring him back to Star Fleet."
Archer laughed. "There are worse reasons."
"See you later, Captain, leave it to me."
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Trip saw Andy from the doorway. He was sitting in the centre of the room talking animatedly with Hoshi. She was laughing in that way she had with strangers, her hand going up to cover her mouth shyly. Trip stood watching for a moment, a strange pang in his chest making him hesitate joining them. Only when a crewman walked into him did he leave the doorway, making his way over to the table.
When he did sit down to join them, he immediately noticed Hoshi's uncomfortable ness. She blushed a little as he greeted her and his heart sunk at the thought that she might regret his interruption. After a minute or two she excused herself and left himself and Andy alone. Trip looked after her helplessly.
"Somethin' I said?" he offered, hoping his disappointment wasn't too noticeable.
"She probably feels awkward socialising with her commander," Andy suggested, with a grin.
"You're a Commander too, Andy."
"Well it's different with an outsider. I'm not her boss."
Trip didn't say anything to that, and Andy changed the subject, going on to discuss various aspects of the ship's engineering, but Trip followed inattentively, his mind still on Hoshi.
"I don't think you should… be so friendly with her," he blurted out.
The statement was so unrelated to the inner workings of the protein resequencer that he had been talking about, that Andy paused for a moment to do a mental double take.
"Sorry?" he shook his head.
"Hoshi," Trip said again. "I don't think its right that you're spending so much time with her."
"I like her," Andy shrugged. "And I'd like her to like me. How's that going to happen if I ignore her?"
"Well maybe it shouldn't happen, Andy. You're only here a few days, you shouldn't mess her around," Trip said sharply, not looking his friend in the eye.
"Trip, where's this coming from?" Andy asked, puzzled at the reaction. "Hoshi's a grown woman. I'm just having a little fun, not proposing marriage. She knows that… What interest is it of yours anyway?"
Trip looked at his hands, not sure how to answer. "It isn't, I guess" he shrugged eventually. "Only… I'd like it to be."
Andy put his drink down with a clunk.
"You're telling me there's something going on between you and Hoshi?"
"No! And keep your voice down."
"You like her, though. You like her enough to ask me to stop seeing her." He stared at his friend, honestly surprised. "Well I'd never have guessed if you hadn't told me," he sighed. "What would Hoshi say about this if I asked her?"
Trip looked genuinely alarmed this time. "Nothing! And I don't want you to say anythin' to her. I haven't told her how I feel exactly… it's difficult."
"So what you're saying is, you think you like Hoshi, but not enough to tell her. You have no idea if she feels the same way, and you want me to stop spending time with her so you can carry on… doing nothing?"
"That's about the gist of it, yeah," Trip nodded wryly.
Andy drained his glass and stood up.
"Forget it."
"What?"
"I said forget it. You want Hoshi? Then tell her, and see what she does. In the mean time she's a free agent and fair game as far as I'm concerned. It's up to you, Trip."
And with that, he left Trip to his quandary.
To be continued… Please read/review
