Title: Causality
Author: Pelbarigan (pelbarigan@hotmail.com)
Fandom: ENT
Disclaimer: If it is in fact true that every possibility is played out in a parallel universe, then somewhere out there is a reality in which I do own Enterprise and its characters. Unfortunately, this isn't it. Here, Enterprise is the property of Paramount. Damn.
Pairing: T/S
Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content.
Summary: Hoshi frets, Archer eats pie, and Trip explains that the future made him do it. A fluffy fic of questionable taste.
Author's Note: I'm relatively new at this, so any comments, observations or constructive criticisms are welcome. As always, thanks to all those who edited and reviewed the first drafts: Rhiannon, James, Marc and Apocalypse.
This story is set during Season 2, probably shortly after "Future Tense." There are some comments in this story that Trip would never make after the attack on Earth.
"Oh, God," Hoshi groaned again, pulling her shirt over her head. She straightened
it anxiously and turning to Trip, let her voice drop to a whisper. "He's still
out there. I just know it."
Trip sighed and zipped up his jumpsuit. He could understand her nervousness,
but he wished she'd calm down just a little. Her mood was infectious, and at
the moment, he was trying to think what they were going to do next.
"Maybe he left," he tried to sound hopeful. "Maybe he was so surprised that he
just....went back to his quarters. And if we're lucky, by tomorrow he'll
convince himself that the entire thing was all just a dream."
Hoshi narrowed her eyes at him in an expression that was anything but
convinced.
"You said no one would be here at this time of night," she accused flatly. "You
said the captain wouldn't be awake for hours."
"Well," said Trip uncomfortably, "Sometimes even the best of us make mistakes."
Hoshi continued to glare.
"Hey now!" he protested. "No one forced you into this. As I remember, you
thought it was a pretty good idea at the time! And talk about laying blame; I
just finished fifteen straight hours in Engineering. I think that puts the
burden of responsibility firmly on your shoulders, Miss Sato, because at this
point, I sure don't have the energy to undress you and think clearly."
Hoshi surprised him and suddenly broke into a smile. He was reminded of
gorgeous she could be when she smiled.
"Trip Tucker, you're so full of it."
He felt himself grin, "Yeah, but rumor has it there's a certain Ensign who
likes me anyway. Now, put on your shoes; we can't stay in here forever."
"Unfortunately," she replied darkly and bent down to find where her shoes had
landed. One had apparently made it under the table and she disappeared
retrieving it. A moment later, she reappeared and settled herself on the floor
to put them on.
"So this disaster is my fault?" she asked casually as she tied the laces.
"That's pretty much how I'm seein' it," said Trip,
gazing absently out the window at the stars.
"So if the captain's still out
there..."
"You explain how you manipulated me in my weakened state."
"And if there's any punishment I suppose it's my duty to 'fall on the sword'?"
Trip grimaced. "Nice choice of words there, Hosh. I
thought linguists were supposed to be good with language."
"I thought senior officers were supposed to look out for those under them."
"Knock it off, will ya?"
Hoshi laughed and stretched out her arms. He pulled her to her feet and drew
her close to him. Face to face, he put one arm around her waist and stroked her
cheek in a gesture he hoped was reassuring.
"Whatever happens, it'll be okay."
She snorted lightly. "What makes you so sure?"
"I'll think of something."
"'I'll'? As in 'I will'?"
"You just gotta give me a second here, Hoshi."
"Wonderful."
"Well, there's not alot else we can do at this point.
Now, are you ready?"
"I guess." She sighed and straightened his tousled blond hair with her fingers.
"Any famous last words?"
"Yeah," he leaned forward to touch the panel beside the door. "This is still
all your fault."
"Bastard."
* * * * *
Jonathan Archer sat in the darkness of an empty Mess Hall, eating a slice of
pecan pie in grim silence. He'd seen his friend Trip devour extra helpings of
Chef's desserts when he was under stress, and all things considered, it didn't
seem like a bad idea. It was either that, or he could walk down to Sickbay and
ask if Phlox had a procedure to bleach his brain.
Absently, he made a move to jab another bite with his fork only to discover
there was nothing left. Sighing, Jon stacked his empty plate on top of the last
two and considered going for fourths. He certainly wasn't finding much
enjoyment in eating, but at least it was providing a good distraction for the
moment.
Jon wondered again if he shouldn't just leave. Admittedly, it would be easier
to simply return to his quarters and go to bed. In the morning, he could tell
himself the entire incident had been a bad dream. Maybe, he'd even be able to
look Trip and Hoshi in the eyes.
Probably not.
As he sat there, waiting for the Ensign and the Commander to emerge from the
Captain's Mess, he kept wondering if he wasn't partly at fault for the entire
disaster. After all, a slightly wiser person, on investigating strange sounds
in an apparently deserted Mess Hall, might have been a bit more cautious. At least
he could have knocked before opening the door to the reserved dining room.
Exactly what he had expected to find he wasn't sure. He was tired, not thinking
clearly and driven by his curiosity. So when the door slid back to reveal his
linguistics expert straddling his Chief Engineer on top of the table, he'd only
been able to stand, frozen and gaping stupidly, while his brain tried to
process exactly what was happening.
The shock must have been mutual because there was a long moment of silence,
until finally Hoshi gave a small yelp and twisted away from Jon, her hands
covering her chest. Trip sat up, looking as if he were about to say something,
but before he could manage a horrified apology Jon was already backing out of
the doorway.
He'd said something that may have been "When you're dressed, Trip," but just as
likely had been incomprehensible stammering. Outside, he quickly pressed the
button to shut the door again. Then he jabbed it several more times, just to be
safe.
So here he was, sitting in the dark, eating pie and waiting for Trip and Hoshi
to appear so he could give them the angry lecture they deserved. As much as the
idea embarrassed him, they were both going to get an earful about the conduct
expected of bridge officers and proper respect for other people's dining
surfaces.
Just then, the door to the Captain's Mess opened. Jon pushed his plate away and
stood as the two reluctantly approached across the Mess Hall. He noted how
Hoshi was looking resolutely at the floor and Trip was clenching his hands at
his side.
"Just what in Hell did you think you were doing?!" he barked as they stopped in
front of him. Both of them jumped. Hoshi glanced up and met his eyes with a
look of sheer misery. Good, he thought grimly.
"Cap'n, I..." Trip managed before words failed him.
"Well, if you're going to say something, say it!" he practically shouted.
Hoshi finally spoke, still looking at the ground. "Captain, we're very sorry."
"Yeah. We never...well, we never meant for you to see that." Trip grimaced.
"Never meant for me to see that!" Archer snorted. "I catch
the two of you - officers - naked on
my table like a couple of stupid, irresponsible, hormonal teenagers and that's
all you can say for yourselves?!"
Jon saw the look of indignation flash across Trip's face.
"Yes, Commander?" Jon asked, easing himself into his
chair and giving Trip a look that dared
him to try to defend himself. "I'm listening."
The strangest thing happened at that moment. Just as Archer was certain Trip
was about to come back with an angry retort, the anger disappeared from his
face to be replaced momentarily by a detached expression. Archer had known his
friend long enough to recognize it. It was the look Trip got while working on a
difficult engineering problem, nearly tuning the rest of the world out while he
focused on finding a workable solution.
The expression was gone the next instant. Instead, Trip was looking him in the
eyes again. There was no trace of anger or embarrassment left, and if Jon
hadn't known better, he would have thought his friend was smiling.
"Well," began Trip quietly, "there's no use goin' on
like this. The mistake's been made and now we need to fix it. There's too much
at stake here."
Archer scowled in confusion, "Just what are you talking about?"
"Trip?" Hoshi looked up in confusion.
"Now, now, Hoshi, it's already too late to pretend." He smiled at Archer and
sighed almost sadly, "Will you look at that? Still playing
innocent. I tell you, it's inspiring. She's been though Hell and back
for the sake of this mission, and she's still actin' her part as flawlessly as ever. But that's our Hoshi
after all, brilliant and dedicated. It's no wonder she was chosen."
"Trip, I -" she began.
"No, Ensign," Trip turned to her before she could go any further. He leaned
forward and gently gripped her shoulders, looking into her eyes with a pleading
expression. "I understand your concern. They warned us both about the possible consequences before this assignment, but
the Cap'n's already seen things he shouldn't have.
Can't you see we're in even greater danger if we don't tell him the truth now?"
"Commander?" Archer interrupted. He knew he should be angry, but instead he
just felt lost.
Again, Trip sighed. Straightening up, he faced his captain and took a deep
breath. The next words out of his mouth were ones Archer would have never
expected.
"Captian - uh, Jon. I know
this is alot to swallow, but the truth is Ensign Sato
and I aren't exactly the same people you saw on the bridge today.....We're from
the future."
There was a long moment of silence.
"The WHAT?!"
Trip continued on, his voice as calm as before. "Eighteen
months, more or less."
Jon gaped at Trip in disbelief. "You don't seriously
expect me to believe that?!"
His engineer frowned, looking almost hurt. "Of course I do. As
you've told us, you've experienced time travel first-hand."
"Only because I was caught up in the Temporal Cold War!"
Trip snorted, "And why do you think we've been brought back to the past?"
"I don't think -" he began, rising
from his chair again.
"Jon, please," Trip pleaded softly, motioning for Archer to sit back down. To
his surprise, Jon found himself doing just that.
Trip gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "Alright,
maybe I should try from the beginning.
"Hoshi and I were recruited for a mission a couple of weeks ago our time -
about a year and a half in the future from your perspective. Now that's a strange experience: one minute
you're dozin' off for the night, the next you're standin' in a strange room in a whole 'nother
century, still in your pajamas. I can't give you too many details without riskin' damage to our own timeline, but it's probably safe
to tell you that we're workin' for some of Crewmen
Daniels' people in the thirty-first century. Nice folks, the ones we met -
couldn't trust humanity's future to a better group of people."
"Even if what you were saying were true, that still wouln't
explain -"
"Captain, I'm not finished yet."
"Oh, well in that case -"
Trip chose to ignore the sarcasm in Archer's voice. "You know better than
almost anyone how important the Enterprise mission is, not just for all of us in the
present, but to the future of humanity! We've already seen just what the other
side will do to tamper with us - they know that even small changes here can tip
the balance in their Temporal Cold War.
"And that's where Hoshi and I come in. Cap'n, this
war's not being fought in any one place and time - it's happenin'
all up and down our timeline. In more places than we might imagine, there's an
unseen struggle to determine the outcome of important events. And now the both
of us -" Trip put his arm around Hoshi's shoulder, "-have been sent back to
protect the future. Our orders are to alter certain events in this portion of
our history so that we have the best shot for winnin'
this war."
Jon sat thoughtfully for a moment. "Alright," he replied finally, "So you're
here to save the future. All well and good, Trip, but you still haven't explained what the Captain's Mess has to do with the
Temporal Cold War."
Trip sighed, "Even I'm not clear on the reasons behind all our missions. Ensign
Sato and I have only been told so much; mostly we're given orders based on
complex analysis of 'historical' events. Sometimes the effects we're working
for are obvious; a major accident prevented, a life saved. Other times, we just
change the tiniest details of everyday life. Why, one of Hoshi's orders has
been to move Chef's coffee cup to a different cupboard. It's totally
meaningless from our perspective, but for all we know that small difference
affects the rate of human expansion into the galaxy."
"Hoshi, is this true? I notice you haven't said much."
She blushed slightly but kept her voice level, "As the junior officer on this
mission, I believe I should leave the explanations to Commander Tucker's
discretion."
"Brilliant, dedicated, and apparently very prudent," Jon commented as the
engineer gave her a look that wasn't quite a glare. When Hoshi didn't respond,
Tucker continued.
"If I could, I'd explain everything I know about this mission to you, sir. But
orders are orders, and if I give you the full explanation now, that right there
alters the timeline and threatens what we've been working so hard to
accomplish. So right now all I can do is ask you to do what I've learned to do:
trust that that we're working for the greater good here even when our actions
wouldn't seem to amount to anything important. After all, the smallest of
events can sometimes have the greatest effects. What is it they say? That a
butterfly flappin' it's
wings in the Amazon can cause a hurricane over the Atlantic?"
"Commander, you're asking me to believe that - that what you and Ensign Sato
were doing tonight is vital to the future of humanity."
"I'm not asking you, sir! I'm pleadin' with you!"
Trip cried, suddenly passionate. "Across centuries, good men and women are
fighting - fighting and dying - to
protect our future! This isn't just about you or me, the Enterprise mission, or even humanity! This war is
for the fate of dozens of species and countless billions of lives across
hundreds and hundreds of years! To you it's just a table -"
"It is a table. It's my table!" Archer interjected sourly.
"It's the battleground on which we're fightin' to
determine our DESTINY!"
Archer leaned back in his chair and regarded his officers. Hoshi, Tucker's arm
still around her shoulder, was staring straight ahead without meeting his eyes.
Trip, meanwhile, was looking at him so intently, so earnestly that it was
almost hard not to wonder.
What if....?
Jon shook his head. What was he thinking?
"Well," he said, "Battle for the future aside, what am I supposed to do with
the two of you?"
"Nothing, sir," responded Trip firmly.
"Nothing?" Archer raised an eyebrow.
"Given the circumstances, I don't see what you could do. You might try to discipline us in the morning, but by
that point, we'll most likely have been brought back to our own time. It will
be the Trip and Hoshi from this present that get the punishment, and franky, they haven't done anything to deserve that. Besides
being unfair, that kind of action could lead to absolute catastrophe. Can you
imagine the pollution to the timeline? You mention what happened here tonight,
and you not only jeopardize what we were trying to accomplish, you risk all
sorts of temporal paradoxes. Our folks in the future already have enough
on their plate. You don't really want
to force them to tackle that sort of mess as well, do you?"
"So what would you suggest?"
Trip was looking thoughtful. "I don't think that you should do anything. I
realize that walkin' in on Hoshi and I upset you, but
to avoid repercussions to the timeline, I think the safest thing you can do is
pretend the whole thing never happened. Don't punish us, and certainly never,
ever mention it."
"Just act as if the whole thing never happened?"
"Exactly."
"To protect your mission?"
"And the outcome of the war itself," Trip nodded.
Archer realized suddenly that he was no longer angry. Genuinely irritated, yes,
but perhaps slightly amused as well. Certainly, it was satisfying to watch Trip
trying to pull himself and Ensign Sato out of this predicament. Trip might be
all self-assurance on the surface, but it couldn't be easy defending his
ridiculous explanation. No matter what he decided to do with his two officers,
the strain on his Engineer was something in itself. One small measure of
revenge for his furniture, he thought with an inward smile.
Still, it wouldn't do to make things too
easy for the pair.
"Ah," Archer said as if Trip were simply stating the obvious, "Naturally. Well,
I hope you can appreciate my initial confusion. Because of course," he dropped
his amicable tone and let his voice take on a dangerous edge, "from my
perspective, it simply looked as if you and Ensign Sato were
having sex in my private Mess."
Hoshi's face went paler. Trip actually blushed, and Jon thought that while
Tucker was trying hard to maintain his calm demeanor, the effort required was
finally beginning to show.
"An understandable mistake, sir," Trip just managed to keep his voice even,
"But of course, under normal circumstances, Hoshi and I would never do something as stupid or
impetuous -"
"Oh, of course not," Jon agreed, enjoying himself now that Trip had been thrown
off balance.
"- I mean, even if we were involved romantically - not to say we are or would
be - but I can assure you we'd show more discretion, not to mention common sense. If the situation were any
different, you never would have seen that, and of course, well, now that we've
followed our orders, you don't have to worry -"
"Glad to hear it," Jon stopped Trip before he could go any further. "Well, I'm
relieved you managed to explain everything to me, Commander. And now that I do
have the full story behind this little incident..." He trailed off and stared
at the two, considering.
Archer felt he should be doing something more to punish the two, but he was
tired, three slices of pecan pie were beginning to give him a stomachache, and
he wanted desperately to go back to bed. The idea of accepting Trip's
impossible story and ignoring the whole incident was undeniably appealing.
On the other side of the table both of his officers waited expectantly, and he
let the silence stretch. After a full minute of Hoshi's pleading expression and
Trip's strained composure, he finally relented.
"Well, far be it for me to jeopardize the future of the species," Jon said,
rising from his chair.
Trip brightened. Hoshi actually looked hopeful.
"I don't suppose," he added, before he turned to leave, "that giving my table a
thorough cleaning would have a
negative impact on the timeline?"
"I think, sir" Hoshi said tentatively, "that copious amounts of disinfectant
could only aid our cause."
"Excellent!" he replied. "Well, goodnight then. I'll see the both of you - uh -
later."
* * * * *
Back in his quarters, Archer got into bed and was almost managed to fall asleep
again before a thought occurred. Going to his desk, he turned on his computer
and recorded a brief message for the ship's steward.
"Anderson, I just wanted to let you know I won't be
having breakfast in the Captain's Mess tomorrow. I'll be taking my meals in my
quarters for the next week. Hmmm...actually...I think
I'll be making that the next two."
* * * * *
Bent over the table in the Captain's Mess, Trip wondered if he would ever get
the smell of lemons off of his hands. The scent of the chemicals was
overpowering, and the fumes were starting to make him dizzy.
On the other side of the table, Hoshi was scrubbing furiously with her rag.
Once again, she'd managed to work herself into a state of anxiety.
"Oh my God, I just had a thought! What the captain has breakfast in here with T'Pol? Vulcan women have a strong sense of smell! Do you
think she'll be able - ?"
"Hoshi," Trip said wearily, "I think we have enough cleaner here to blind Porthos's sense of smell."
She fell silent but continued scrubbing with the same nervous energy.
"Calm down, will ya?" he said, "Everything turned out
just fine."
She looked up and glared, "Fine? Excuse me if I can't share your confidence,
Commander."
"Oh, don't start with the ranks -"
"Fine? You say everything is fine after trying to use that preposterous explanation on Captain Archer? He may have left, but
do you actually think he actually believed any of it? So now, not only do we
have the fact that he found us -" she made a wild gesture at the table between
them, "But the indignity of watching us attempting to use such a blatant, stupid -"
"Hey now!" Trip interrupted angrily "I was never dumb enough to think he would
believe any of it."
"Oh?"
"Of course not. I wasn't trying to convince him we were from the future, I was just trying to convince him not to punish
us!"
"Uh-huh."
Trip sighed. "Listen, Captain Archer didn't want to be there for
that lecture any more than we did, but as the captain, he has to address bad
behavior among his people. What he needed was a pretense so that after
he's finished givin' us a piece of his mind, he could
send us on our way and act like the whole thing never happened. By the
way, don't bother to thank me for saving us both from any formal
discipline. For that matter, don't bother thankin'
me when all three of us can carry on like normal on the bridge tomorrow."
Hoshi shook her head, "Trip, you realize you could have saved us all the
time and preposterous story and just asked
the captain if we couldn't just ignore the whole thing."
Trip gave her a lopsided grin, "You may not have noticed there, Hosh, but Archer wasn't exactly happy with either of
us. I doubt he was going to ignore his responsibilities just to do the
two of us any favors."
"Then why - ?"
"Well, I didn't put it to him that way, did I? Hell, he probably
thought I really was trying to convince him we were from the future, but he
played along because he understood it's easier for all of us that way.
Don't think he didn't have me worried there for a minute, but, in the end, I
gave him an opportunity and he took it sure as anything."
Trip laughed suddenly, "Forget butterflies in the Amazon,
Hoshi! That's causality."
Hoshi snorted delicately, "Such brilliance, Mr. Tucker. I'm sorry I ever
doubted you."
Trip sniffed indignantly. "You should learn to have more faith in your
Engineers, Hoshi. We're good for more than fixin'
plasma manifolds."
"So I hear," she replied slyly.
"Speakin' of which..." he looked at her meaningfully.
"Oh no! You may have gotten out of one tight situation tonight, but don't think
you've made it back to my good side just yet. I think the future holds at least
a good week of sleeping alone for you, Trip."
"Harsh, Ensign! Harsh!"
"Now who's bringing up rank?"
She laughed and threw her rag at his face. He caught it neatly in midair and
walked around the table to return it to her, standing close enough for their
bodies to touch as he placed it back into her hands.
"So it's a lost cause? There's nothing I can do to change your mind?"
She looked up and gave him the barest of smiles, "Well, seeing as you did get
us out of the situation with the captain, I suppose I could give you the
opportunity to convince me."
"Really?"
"It'll have to be pretty good though..."
He smiled widely and turned back to scrubbing the table in front of them.
"Well, Commander? I'm waiting."
"I'm workin' on it," he leaned over to kiss her cheek
and take a moment to stroke her dark hair.
"Just be patient, Hoshi darlin', and give a guy a
minute to think."
