CHAPTER 3
Standing very straight with her hands clasped behind her back and no expression on her face T'pol addressed the Commander, "I finished going over your figures and I believe your plan will be successful with a few modifications, however I am concerned with your reluctance to inform the Captain of your endeavor.
At the sound of her voice the Commander, whose head was under a panel, jerked upwards and thumped soundly on the panel. "Dammit T'pol, do ya have ta sneak up on a guy?" He crawled out rubbing his forehead where a large red mark had formed. "Ya tryin' ta kill me?"
"I apologize Commander, I forgot you are easily startled." Trip gave T'pol a dirty look. Changing direction Trip grinned at her, "So ya really think it'll work?"
Arching an eyebrow at him she answered, "I just said it would Commander, why do you need me to reassure you?"
"Well, I know you like to feel superior to us humans so I'm giving you a chance to shoot me down. Tell me what modifications are needed and I'll get right on it."
"Commander I believe the captain should be informed, if anything goes wrong the crew and Enterprise could be in danger. You should not allow your pride and fear of failure cause you to make this mistake."
Trip chuckled lightly, "T'pol you worry to much, and the captain could use something positive right now. He's become rather grim lately, what with all the encounters with hostile species, I think he'll enjoy my little surprise. Besides you're goin' to help me every step of the way. You can make sure I don't screw up and blow us all back to earth."
"I will help you on the condition Mr. Reed is also part of this project. You're going to need his help re-routing some of the power from the armory to the consoles in engineering."
"I'm on it Sub-Commander and quit worryin', with you and Malcolm helpin' nothin' can go wrong."
T'pol looked heavenward and commented, "Commander you're optimism at this point is over-rated you should take this more seriously and consider the consequences if something goes wrong."
Trip countered, "If we humans considered every consequence of our actions we wouldn't be here now. It's because we are constantly pushing the envelope that we have arrived at this very spot. Now if you'll excuse me I have an armory officer to sweet-talk into helpin' us."
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"Malcolm. Malcolm wait up," the Commander's raised voice entreated. Malcolm turned around and stopped waiting for him to catch up.
"Commander, you needed something?"
Trip threw his arm around Malcolm's shoulder and turned him in the opposite direction. Malcolm tried pulling away, "Sir, I'm on my way to the mess hall in the other direction. It is lunch time you know, and an officer needs his nourishment if he is to remain fit and ready for action at any time."
Trip tied a fake noose around his neck and pretended to hang himself while listening to Malcolm's oration. "Are ya aware just how pompous you sound when spouting all your British regulations?"
Malcolm smiled slightly and said with a superior attitude, "I'll have you know the British once ruled most of the civilized world and they got there because of their disciplined attitude and ability to follow orders, not like you who has a habit of questioning orders before deciding whether to follow them or not. You would not have survived our military schools in fact I'm quite sure you would not have made it to the front door. Now if you don't mind I'm going to the mess hall."
"I do mind Malcolm, when I have time we'll discuss American-British relations, right now I have an important matter to discuss with you. I want you to hear me out before spouting your famous regulations at me. in here." Trip pulled Malcolm into a storage room and turned on the light. "I doubt we'll be disturbed. Pull up a bucket and sit."
"Sir, are you feeling alright?" Malcolm asked looking around him. "Why can't we talk about this over lunch, I'm sure you're hungry too."
Exasperated, and annoyed Trip replied, "Will ya forget about your stomach for a few minutes this is important. I need ya to help me with a little project I'm workin' on."
"What kind of project?" Malcolm asked suspiciously. He pulled up a bucket and sat directly in front of the Commander.
"I need some of the power from your weapons," seeing the skeptical look on Malcolm's face he added, "just for a little while. I'm going to enhance our warp drive and I don't have all the power needed to achieve warp 7."
"Warp 7, are you daft!?" Malcolm uttered disbelieving. "We can't do warp 7 it's impossible."
"Not accordin' to my figures," Trip exclaimed, "and if ya can believe it T'pol agrees it is possible with a few modifications."
"What does Captain Archer think?" Trip looked down at the floor and back up at Malcolm. "Don't tell me, you haven't told him." Malcolm jumped up and started pacing the small confines of the room. "So you want me to go against the captain and help you with this harebrained scheme possibly getting us all killed in the process? I won't do it Sir, and if you're smart you'll either tell the captain or shelve your scheme."
Trip said sincerely, "Malcolm, T'pol and I have gone over all the problems that could arise and we've planned for every one of them. You can trust us; we wouldn't do anything harmful to the ship or the crew. Look, just go over the figures yourself and if you're not satisfied than I'll scrap the whole thing."
Trip pulled a small PADD from a pocket in his uniform and handed it to Malcolm. "Remember not a word to anyone, this is between the three of us, o.k.?"
"If you'll let us out of this room I'll still have time left for a sandwich or something left over from lunch." Trip got up and opened the door stepping out directly into the path of Captain Archer. The captain stopped abruptly preventing a collision with the commander. Malcolm, seeing the captain, quickly tried to disappear back into the storage room.
TBC....So what do you think? I'm having fun with this chapter are you? Feedback is welcome please continue.
Standing very straight with her hands clasped behind her back and no expression on her face T'pol addressed the Commander, "I finished going over your figures and I believe your plan will be successful with a few modifications, however I am concerned with your reluctance to inform the Captain of your endeavor.
At the sound of her voice the Commander, whose head was under a panel, jerked upwards and thumped soundly on the panel. "Dammit T'pol, do ya have ta sneak up on a guy?" He crawled out rubbing his forehead where a large red mark had formed. "Ya tryin' ta kill me?"
"I apologize Commander, I forgot you are easily startled." Trip gave T'pol a dirty look. Changing direction Trip grinned at her, "So ya really think it'll work?"
Arching an eyebrow at him she answered, "I just said it would Commander, why do you need me to reassure you?"
"Well, I know you like to feel superior to us humans so I'm giving you a chance to shoot me down. Tell me what modifications are needed and I'll get right on it."
"Commander I believe the captain should be informed, if anything goes wrong the crew and Enterprise could be in danger. You should not allow your pride and fear of failure cause you to make this mistake."
Trip chuckled lightly, "T'pol you worry to much, and the captain could use something positive right now. He's become rather grim lately, what with all the encounters with hostile species, I think he'll enjoy my little surprise. Besides you're goin' to help me every step of the way. You can make sure I don't screw up and blow us all back to earth."
"I will help you on the condition Mr. Reed is also part of this project. You're going to need his help re-routing some of the power from the armory to the consoles in engineering."
"I'm on it Sub-Commander and quit worryin', with you and Malcolm helpin' nothin' can go wrong."
T'pol looked heavenward and commented, "Commander you're optimism at this point is over-rated you should take this more seriously and consider the consequences if something goes wrong."
Trip countered, "If we humans considered every consequence of our actions we wouldn't be here now. It's because we are constantly pushing the envelope that we have arrived at this very spot. Now if you'll excuse me I have an armory officer to sweet-talk into helpin' us."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Malcolm. Malcolm wait up," the Commander's raised voice entreated. Malcolm turned around and stopped waiting for him to catch up.
"Commander, you needed something?"
Trip threw his arm around Malcolm's shoulder and turned him in the opposite direction. Malcolm tried pulling away, "Sir, I'm on my way to the mess hall in the other direction. It is lunch time you know, and an officer needs his nourishment if he is to remain fit and ready for action at any time."
Trip tied a fake noose around his neck and pretended to hang himself while listening to Malcolm's oration. "Are ya aware just how pompous you sound when spouting all your British regulations?"
Malcolm smiled slightly and said with a superior attitude, "I'll have you know the British once ruled most of the civilized world and they got there because of their disciplined attitude and ability to follow orders, not like you who has a habit of questioning orders before deciding whether to follow them or not. You would not have survived our military schools in fact I'm quite sure you would not have made it to the front door. Now if you don't mind I'm going to the mess hall."
"I do mind Malcolm, when I have time we'll discuss American-British relations, right now I have an important matter to discuss with you. I want you to hear me out before spouting your famous regulations at me. in here." Trip pulled Malcolm into a storage room and turned on the light. "I doubt we'll be disturbed. Pull up a bucket and sit."
"Sir, are you feeling alright?" Malcolm asked looking around him. "Why can't we talk about this over lunch, I'm sure you're hungry too."
Exasperated, and annoyed Trip replied, "Will ya forget about your stomach for a few minutes this is important. I need ya to help me with a little project I'm workin' on."
"What kind of project?" Malcolm asked suspiciously. He pulled up a bucket and sat directly in front of the Commander.
"I need some of the power from your weapons," seeing the skeptical look on Malcolm's face he added, "just for a little while. I'm going to enhance our warp drive and I don't have all the power needed to achieve warp 7."
"Warp 7, are you daft!?" Malcolm uttered disbelieving. "We can't do warp 7 it's impossible."
"Not accordin' to my figures," Trip exclaimed, "and if ya can believe it T'pol agrees it is possible with a few modifications."
"What does Captain Archer think?" Trip looked down at the floor and back up at Malcolm. "Don't tell me, you haven't told him." Malcolm jumped up and started pacing the small confines of the room. "So you want me to go against the captain and help you with this harebrained scheme possibly getting us all killed in the process? I won't do it Sir, and if you're smart you'll either tell the captain or shelve your scheme."
Trip said sincerely, "Malcolm, T'pol and I have gone over all the problems that could arise and we've planned for every one of them. You can trust us; we wouldn't do anything harmful to the ship or the crew. Look, just go over the figures yourself and if you're not satisfied than I'll scrap the whole thing."
Trip pulled a small PADD from a pocket in his uniform and handed it to Malcolm. "Remember not a word to anyone, this is between the three of us, o.k.?"
"If you'll let us out of this room I'll still have time left for a sandwich or something left over from lunch." Trip got up and opened the door stepping out directly into the path of Captain Archer. The captain stopped abruptly preventing a collision with the commander. Malcolm, seeing the captain, quickly tried to disappear back into the storage room.
TBC....So what do you think? I'm having fun with this chapter are you? Feedback is welcome please continue.
