TITLE: Dear Annie ("Cease Fire")
AUTHOR: Mara Greengrass
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL: fishfolk@ix.netcom.com. Feedback is better than chocolate.
PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes, just let me know.
CATEGORY: Gen
RATINGS/WARNINGS: G
SUMMARY: Hoshi writes home after the events of "Cease Fire."
DISCLAIMER: Enterprise and all its crew belong to Paramount and many other entities with expensive lawyers. I am making no profit from this story.
NOTES: Written on a plane somewhere over the Midwest, with my husband grumbling on one side, and a restless stranger jabbing his elbow into my other side. Typed up during my lunch break on my first day back at work, after three hours of sleep. Thanks for the beta to Captain Average, the superhero who is welcome to gush over my writing any time he pleases ::grin::.
* * * * *
Dear Annie:
Final score? Humans: 1, Vulcans and Andorians: 0. Go humans!
I'm so excited I can barely sit still long enough to tell you about what we've accomplished. Okay, it was scary and there was some shooting, but everyone survived and if we haven't actually created peace out of chaos, we've at least slowed the rate of entropy around here.
It all started with a call from Admiral Forrest, which I put through to the captain's ready room. When he came out about 15 minutes later, he looked like he'd just been told that the moon really *was* made of green cheese, and the Klingons had taken a slice--you know, surprised, disbelieving, and unsure how to react.
I was really worried for a moment, but it didn't seem like whatever had happened was really bad...just strange. And when the captain gathered his wits enough to call a meeting of the senior staff, we were all pretty shell shocked as well. You see, the Vulcans and Andorians were fighting over this tiny planet, practically ready to go to war, and the Vulcans wanted *our* assistance to mediate.
Malcolm's jaw dropped, Trip said hell had frozen over, Travis and I stared at each other. And T'Pol?
She raised an eyebrow. You have to love that Vulcan calm.
Seriously, even *she* looked a bit shaken, although you'd have to know her pretty well to see it. She made the captain repeat himself, which for her is the rough equivalent of screaming aloud in hysteria and running around in circles. After he'd repeated the admiral's message, she seemed more willing to accept that this wasn't some odd example of human humor.
It took us three days to get to this planet and I took the time to read up a bit on what was going on. Apparently, the Vulcans and Andorians have been fighting over this barely habitable rock with little more than an atmosphere for over a century. The Andorians got there first, but the Vulcans say it's so close to their home world, the Andorians must be using it as a military outpost.
They've been yelling back and forth for 100 years with an occasional break to shoot at each other, and for some reason they wanted us there. I was a little concerned they'd decided to shoot at *us* instead, but it was also exciting to go play diplomat.
We arrived and--in grand military tradition--both sides made us wait. Finally, the Vulcans deigned to come by for a visit. Lucky us, our good buddy Soval was there representing the Vulcans.
Did my sarcasm come through clearly enough?
It turns out, the Vulcans hadn't asked for us and, true to form, didn't much want us there (thus restoring my worldview). It was the Andorians.
I don't think I ever told you about our experiences with the Andorians, did I? Well, suffice it to say, they've been ambivalent at best, but apparently the captain impressed the Andorian commander, Shran, so much that he insisted on our presence to oversee and mediate.
I wasn't in the meeting, but I can't imagine Soval was too thrilled by this, and since I know he has a particular knack for annoying Captain Archer, I was a little concerned. But this time, the captain came out of the meeting grimly determined. And Trip said he was quite astoundingly calm and cool during Soval's rudeness. Another point for out side, I'd say.
The captain waited until the last possible minute to tell Malcolm that no security was joining the mission to meet with Shran--only the captain and T'Pol. Malcolm was...furious. Incandescent with fury. Not that he said anything, he really didn't have to. His body was nearly shaking with fury and it didn't help that the captain looked faintly amused.
Oh, I wasn't there, they were in the captain's ready room, but I would have heard any shouting, and I saw them when they came out. It took half an hour for Malcolm to calm down enough to talk, he just went to this station and savagely punched buttons. Scanning the area, I suppose. Even Trip, in command for the duration, left him alone.
The first words out of his mouth, as we waited, were, "They're going to go unarmed."
"They've got phase pistols," Trip said, looking alarmed.
"But he plans to leave them in the shuttle."
"And the Sub-commander agreed?" Travis asked.
"Unbelievably, she did," Malcolm said. "And there I thought she had more sense than that."
They went, they met with Shran, and he demanded to meet with Soval. I still can't believe it worked, but the captain convinced Soval to go down and meet. (Did I mention the Andorian ships on their way to bring reinforcements and heightened tensions?) Once again, they went with no security and plans to leave the weaponry in the shuttle.
Worst of all, as far as I was concerned, once they made it into atmosphere, Andorian jamming kept us out of contact. Do you know how nervous it makes a comm officer to be unable to comm someone? I know I was reluctant to take this job in the first place, but you know me, once I'm committed, that's it.
So, we were all waiting and worrying, when yet another arrogant Vulcan commed us with the bad news that they saw weapon fire and the shuttle going down in an emergency landing. Malcolm and I immediately started searching for any way to track their signal, their biosigns, anything.
Meanwhile, Trip and the Vulcans got into a pissing contest over the rescue efforts and the Vulcan implied we were so inferior, we'd *never* find our crew without them. You know how I react to that kind of attitude. Unbelievably, Malcolm and I did it, through some cross-referencing and filtering and some serious jury-rigging. I was able to isolate something I was 90% sure was human. There seemed to be two other biosigns, so we had some hope for T'Pol and Soval as well.
Unfortunately, just as I was making some progress in pinpointing their location, the Andorian ships arrived and moved into a face-off with the Vulcans. It looked like there was going to be shooting, and Trip got this pissed-off look.
I could tell he was angry and frustrated and worried. Which, oddly, seemed to make him a better captain. He had Travis move Enterprise between the Vulcans and Andorians.
Yup, right in between. Mind you, this was more symbolic than anything, because they could always have shot around us, but symbolism can be useful.
The two sets of ships hailed us and Trip (who looked sick and tired of the whole situation) said he didn't care to take sides and he was going to shoot *anyone* who moved toward the planet. Malcolm got to arm the phase cannons, and the look of glee on his face was a sight to behold. (I think it made up for his earlier frustration with the captain!)
We hung out in space, deadlocked, and I waited for someone else to get tired of waiting and shoot at us, when suddenly both sets of ships started moving toward the planet.
Trip really didn't want to shoot anyone, but Malcolm was getting ready to, when the captain hailed us, saying the ships had everyone's permission to approach. This prompted palpable relief on the bridge.
There was a lot of toing and froing, as Captain Archer helped sort things out, and I got the story of what happened on the planet from Trip. To make a long story short, they were shot down by Shran's second-in-command, who has no desire for peace with the Vulcans.
They chased each other around, Soval was snide, there was shooting, and Shran and Soval finally met and managed to not kill each other, thanks to T'Pol and the captain.
Negotiations and such will continue, but we've made a contribution. It may be the mission I'm proudest of, although I'm glad it's over.
Yes, I'm glad there's no more immediate danger of shooting, but also...did I mention that the last treaty took eight years to work out? It's 1200 pages long. (Reminds me of Reshma's dissertation, actually.) I'm glad we don't have to stick around, if that's normal.
I was going to close by saying that, for once, nobody got shot, but that's not technically true--Soval was shot in the general disarray. But at least for once it wasn't one of our crew that ended up in sickbay, so I'll count that as a plus.
Hmm, my life is certainly different than I expected, isn't it? Remember when we were going to travel around together, a freelance anthropologist and linguist? I don't think those fantasies ever included Andorians, slime monsters, or treaty negotiations--at least not that I can recall. But I find myself oddly satisfied with my life as it is.
If only people would stop shooting at us. Love to everyone and I hope you two have fun on your vacation. Soak up some sun and drink a few cocktails for me.
Love,
Hoshi
AUTHOR: Mara Greengrass
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL: fishfolk@ix.netcom.com. Feedback is better than chocolate.
PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes, just let me know.
CATEGORY: Gen
RATINGS/WARNINGS: G
SUMMARY: Hoshi writes home after the events of "Cease Fire."
DISCLAIMER: Enterprise and all its crew belong to Paramount and many other entities with expensive lawyers. I am making no profit from this story.
NOTES: Written on a plane somewhere over the Midwest, with my husband grumbling on one side, and a restless stranger jabbing his elbow into my other side. Typed up during my lunch break on my first day back at work, after three hours of sleep. Thanks for the beta to Captain Average, the superhero who is welcome to gush over my writing any time he pleases ::grin::.
* * * * *
Dear Annie:
Final score? Humans: 1, Vulcans and Andorians: 0. Go humans!
I'm so excited I can barely sit still long enough to tell you about what we've accomplished. Okay, it was scary and there was some shooting, but everyone survived and if we haven't actually created peace out of chaos, we've at least slowed the rate of entropy around here.
It all started with a call from Admiral Forrest, which I put through to the captain's ready room. When he came out about 15 minutes later, he looked like he'd just been told that the moon really *was* made of green cheese, and the Klingons had taken a slice--you know, surprised, disbelieving, and unsure how to react.
I was really worried for a moment, but it didn't seem like whatever had happened was really bad...just strange. And when the captain gathered his wits enough to call a meeting of the senior staff, we were all pretty shell shocked as well. You see, the Vulcans and Andorians were fighting over this tiny planet, practically ready to go to war, and the Vulcans wanted *our* assistance to mediate.
Malcolm's jaw dropped, Trip said hell had frozen over, Travis and I stared at each other. And T'Pol?
She raised an eyebrow. You have to love that Vulcan calm.
Seriously, even *she* looked a bit shaken, although you'd have to know her pretty well to see it. She made the captain repeat himself, which for her is the rough equivalent of screaming aloud in hysteria and running around in circles. After he'd repeated the admiral's message, she seemed more willing to accept that this wasn't some odd example of human humor.
It took us three days to get to this planet and I took the time to read up a bit on what was going on. Apparently, the Vulcans and Andorians have been fighting over this barely habitable rock with little more than an atmosphere for over a century. The Andorians got there first, but the Vulcans say it's so close to their home world, the Andorians must be using it as a military outpost.
They've been yelling back and forth for 100 years with an occasional break to shoot at each other, and for some reason they wanted us there. I was a little concerned they'd decided to shoot at *us* instead, but it was also exciting to go play diplomat.
We arrived and--in grand military tradition--both sides made us wait. Finally, the Vulcans deigned to come by for a visit. Lucky us, our good buddy Soval was there representing the Vulcans.
Did my sarcasm come through clearly enough?
It turns out, the Vulcans hadn't asked for us and, true to form, didn't much want us there (thus restoring my worldview). It was the Andorians.
I don't think I ever told you about our experiences with the Andorians, did I? Well, suffice it to say, they've been ambivalent at best, but apparently the captain impressed the Andorian commander, Shran, so much that he insisted on our presence to oversee and mediate.
I wasn't in the meeting, but I can't imagine Soval was too thrilled by this, and since I know he has a particular knack for annoying Captain Archer, I was a little concerned. But this time, the captain came out of the meeting grimly determined. And Trip said he was quite astoundingly calm and cool during Soval's rudeness. Another point for out side, I'd say.
The captain waited until the last possible minute to tell Malcolm that no security was joining the mission to meet with Shran--only the captain and T'Pol. Malcolm was...furious. Incandescent with fury. Not that he said anything, he really didn't have to. His body was nearly shaking with fury and it didn't help that the captain looked faintly amused.
Oh, I wasn't there, they were in the captain's ready room, but I would have heard any shouting, and I saw them when they came out. It took half an hour for Malcolm to calm down enough to talk, he just went to this station and savagely punched buttons. Scanning the area, I suppose. Even Trip, in command for the duration, left him alone.
The first words out of his mouth, as we waited, were, "They're going to go unarmed."
"They've got phase pistols," Trip said, looking alarmed.
"But he plans to leave them in the shuttle."
"And the Sub-commander agreed?" Travis asked.
"Unbelievably, she did," Malcolm said. "And there I thought she had more sense than that."
They went, they met with Shran, and he demanded to meet with Soval. I still can't believe it worked, but the captain convinced Soval to go down and meet. (Did I mention the Andorian ships on their way to bring reinforcements and heightened tensions?) Once again, they went with no security and plans to leave the weaponry in the shuttle.
Worst of all, as far as I was concerned, once they made it into atmosphere, Andorian jamming kept us out of contact. Do you know how nervous it makes a comm officer to be unable to comm someone? I know I was reluctant to take this job in the first place, but you know me, once I'm committed, that's it.
So, we were all waiting and worrying, when yet another arrogant Vulcan commed us with the bad news that they saw weapon fire and the shuttle going down in an emergency landing. Malcolm and I immediately started searching for any way to track their signal, their biosigns, anything.
Meanwhile, Trip and the Vulcans got into a pissing contest over the rescue efforts and the Vulcan implied we were so inferior, we'd *never* find our crew without them. You know how I react to that kind of attitude. Unbelievably, Malcolm and I did it, through some cross-referencing and filtering and some serious jury-rigging. I was able to isolate something I was 90% sure was human. There seemed to be two other biosigns, so we had some hope for T'Pol and Soval as well.
Unfortunately, just as I was making some progress in pinpointing their location, the Andorian ships arrived and moved into a face-off with the Vulcans. It looked like there was going to be shooting, and Trip got this pissed-off look.
I could tell he was angry and frustrated and worried. Which, oddly, seemed to make him a better captain. He had Travis move Enterprise between the Vulcans and Andorians.
Yup, right in between. Mind you, this was more symbolic than anything, because they could always have shot around us, but symbolism can be useful.
The two sets of ships hailed us and Trip (who looked sick and tired of the whole situation) said he didn't care to take sides and he was going to shoot *anyone* who moved toward the planet. Malcolm got to arm the phase cannons, and the look of glee on his face was a sight to behold. (I think it made up for his earlier frustration with the captain!)
We hung out in space, deadlocked, and I waited for someone else to get tired of waiting and shoot at us, when suddenly both sets of ships started moving toward the planet.
Trip really didn't want to shoot anyone, but Malcolm was getting ready to, when the captain hailed us, saying the ships had everyone's permission to approach. This prompted palpable relief on the bridge.
There was a lot of toing and froing, as Captain Archer helped sort things out, and I got the story of what happened on the planet from Trip. To make a long story short, they were shot down by Shran's second-in-command, who has no desire for peace with the Vulcans.
They chased each other around, Soval was snide, there was shooting, and Shran and Soval finally met and managed to not kill each other, thanks to T'Pol and the captain.
Negotiations and such will continue, but we've made a contribution. It may be the mission I'm proudest of, although I'm glad it's over.
Yes, I'm glad there's no more immediate danger of shooting, but also...did I mention that the last treaty took eight years to work out? It's 1200 pages long. (Reminds me of Reshma's dissertation, actually.) I'm glad we don't have to stick around, if that's normal.
I was going to close by saying that, for once, nobody got shot, but that's not technically true--Soval was shot in the general disarray. But at least for once it wasn't one of our crew that ended up in sickbay, so I'll count that as a plus.
Hmm, my life is certainly different than I expected, isn't it? Remember when we were going to travel around together, a freelance anthropologist and linguist? I don't think those fantasies ever included Andorians, slime monsters, or treaty negotiations--at least not that I can recall. But I find myself oddly satisfied with my life as it is.
If only people would stop shooting at us. Love to everyone and I hope you two have fun on your vacation. Soak up some sun and drink a few cocktails for me.
Love,
Hoshi