The Past Will Catch Up With You
By: Reldra
Disclaimer: I don't own the Star Trek Universe, Paramount does, but I like to wander in and move stuff around.
I thank: Zane Gray, who, unbeknownst to him, got me reading, and writing again, just from his excellent storytelling.
I Exhaustion
He awoke in his office again, head on the desk, not knowing how long it had been since he had passed out. Trip had not slept at all for almost 6 nights straight. It was probably the third time, he had felt the floor come out from under him and then.nothing. A good thing he was sitting in his chair each time.
Isabel. The picture on the table seemed so shiny and alive. The frame's polish and glare on the glass from the overhead lighting hurt his eyes. But it was a ghost. His stomach lurched. He hadn't eaten in, well, he didn't know how long. He didn't care to eat or sleep. But he knew this was affecting his job. In defeat, he stood to hit the comm button on the wall.
"Trip to Phlox." Trip's voice was a raspy whisper, it sounded odd in his own ears. "Go ahead, Commander," answered the speaker, almost an echo. "Doc, I ain't feelin' so well." Trip's hand slid down the wall and his mind into darkness. "Commander, what's wrong?" Phlox said with alarm. "Commander Tucker! "
Dr. Phlox gathered his medical bag and headed to engineering. He had treated Commander Tucker for sleep disorder, mild anxiety and aggression for the last 6 weeks. The odd environment of the Expanse wasn't helping matters. Other members of the crew had similar complaints, sickbay had been busy, but thankfully not with more serious matters. However, Commander Tucker and Sub-Commander T'Pol had taken up a significant amount of his time.
When he arrived at the open door to Commander Tucker's office, he quickly moved to the floor, where the man had fallen. He took the medical scanner from his bag and held it in front of him. It beeped and hummed as Dr. Phlox mumbled things like "Mmm hmm." Phlox hit his comm badge. "Phlox to Crewman Cutler." "Cutler here, Sir." She answered. "Please bring a team with a stretcher to Commander Tucker's office." "Right away, Sir."
II Dreams
She was walking the path that led first to her parent's garden and then to their comfortable, yet functional home. The dusty sky was brilliant in sunset and the imported orchids perfumed the winds. She was restless, she was nervous. The talk she would have with her father would be uncomfortable. With her mother, worse. The pon pfarr treatment was slowly failing in the Expanse. There was only one other solution. She was trying to get straight in her mind how she had gotten to her parent's garden path when she was actually 6 weeks into the Delta Quadrant. Her keen sense of smell sensed danger behind her. An insect-like tentacle entwined her neck. She spun, furiously, kicked, only to awaken and find she had injured her foot on the bulkhead next to her bunk.
It was midnight. T'pol decided meditation would soothe her and control these unwanted emotional events in sleep. Vulcans should not dream.
She sat on the floor at her table. She lit 3 blue, candles in ornate holders on the table. "Computer, lights at 10%." She said as she closed her eyes.
She fell into a deep meditation. Every inch of her body felt a light energy. Sunlight energy coming in through her head, the energy of Vulcan soil rising up through her feet. She was now deeply inside of her own mind and felt her consciousness move slowly to peaceful, tempered, evenness.
She was now in a place of candles and caves. Hooded figures moved slowly past her as she knelt at a stone altar. She lit a single candle that had been placed in the center of the altar. She felt a light, floating presence of someone approaching. Not threatening. She did not move. Someone was now kneeling beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell that this person was Vulcan, taller than she and male. He wore a hooded robe, similar to hers. "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la,"* he said in her mind. "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la" T'Pol answered. His voice sounded strange in her mind, as if from so far away, though he sat right beside her. His tone was also that of one of a superior, though he had such a wall put up, it was impenetrable. She wanted to know what he looked like, though she had feeling it may be inappropriate. She turned her head nonetheless. He took her breath away. Perfect, angular features, older than she, yet mesmerizing. "Welcome, little one." he thought. She heard him and asked who he was. "In time, he answered. Meditate with me."
*Live long and prosper, friend.
III Circumspection
Jonathan Archer stood several feet away as Phlox administered medication and monitored various machines connected to Trip. He was afraid this would happen, a breakdown. He had been feeling the effects of the Exapanse himself and luckily, distanced himself from them. His best friend and, not to mention the best engineer that could be had, lay in a state of utter exhaustion, recovery time unknown. 'Best engineer that could be had,' he sarcastically thought to himself. There were no others to be had where they were.
A bad thought crossed his mind and he immediately and silently cursed himself for it. It was a vague thought of Trip being out of the way and T'Pol not being in Trip's office, constantly. 'What the hell is the matter with me??' he thought. He firmly focused on the well-being of his best friend and sat in a chair in the corner. His thoughts began to wander to how he had brought his crew here and if he could keep his mind in check under these odd influences of the area of space they were in. Had he underestimated his and their strengths? Had he sent them all to death? He held his throbbing head in his hands.
IV Memories
The Florida coastline was beautiful. It was a perfect day. An excellent day to try out a new board. The waves were incredible. Trip had just 3 days before he returned for the last modifications on Enterprise. He sat in the sand looking out at the water, getting ready to go as he squeezed Tara's hand. He was torn between the high tide coming in and this magnificent creature at his side. She wore the engagement ring he had given her just the night before and a really neat bikini, he thought.
His parent's white porch, which encircled the entire house, was the place he had chosen. A thunderstorm was just beginning, blue and white lightening far away in the sky. He had gotten down on one knee. He had looked into her dark eyes. God! She was beautiful. Dark hair like onyx, cropped and licking her ears. Lithe, like an elf, but strong. Strong enough to keep them together. She had smiled and gave him a firm 'yes'. Trip had yelled out 'Woo hoo!!'. Kissed her, picked her up, spinning her around. Saying 'Yes, yes, yes!" Until his parents had come outside to see what the commotion was about.
Now he was gonna show his 'wifey to be' how a real surfer rode the waves. He kissed her and sprinted to the water, his board under his arm. He walked into about 4 feet of water before lying on the board and paddling with his arms. He felt seaweed at his toes and water spray on his face. He looked back at her once with a broad grin. She waved. He paddled out further and was finally able to get on the board, kneeling. A big wave was coming up and he attempted to stand, successfully, thank god, didn't stumble like a fool. As the wave came behind him, it rose higher and higher. 'Damn he thought, this baby is mean." The wave caught him and he was higher above the surface water than he had ever been. It was harder and harder to keep his balance and he was further out than he thought. Tara was just a little dot on the beach.
He held his arms out straight and bent his knees more. He was half way up the tallest wave he had ever surfed. He felt the board tremble and his head slammed into the water.
Trip couldn't tell if he was going up or down, the water was so deep. He had swallowed some water. He wildly moved his arms and legs in the direction he thought was up as he choked and the blackness overtook him.
He came to, sputtering and gasping for air. Someone was pounding on his chest. He turned his head abruptly and about a quart of water shot out of his mouth. He heard voices, muted at first and then clearer. He opened his eyes to see a lifeguard over him, sweating. "Damn, we thought we lost ya buddy!" was the first thing Trip clearly heard. He opened his eyes and heard the whine of an ambulance siren.
He turned his head to see, as if a mirage, 2 lifeguards. They were about 25 feet from him. One was breathing into the mouth of a small body, the other pushing on the body's chest. "Taraaaaaaa!!!!!!!!" He tried to scream, but little came out of his mouth. He tried to get up. The burly lifeguard held his arms. "Now sit still here boy. You're still in a world 'a hurt." Trip just realized he was bruised all over. "That's my..that's my.." He tried to say, but was coughing and sputtering. "That your girl?" the lifeguard asked. Trip could only nod his head up and down between coughs. "She dove after ya after you crashed. That wave was the mother of all waves. I'm sure she'll be fine bro."
Tara was dead before the ambulance doors opened.
Tears were running down Trip's face. Phlox heard the word 'Tara' and was perplexed. "Captain," Phlox nudged Archer's shoulder. "I think he's waking up."
V Intrusion
T'Pol stared into the eyes of the other in her meditation. He held his hand out to her, fingers spread. The invitation to a kiss. "I cannot." She thought to him. "I wish for another." He nodded, yet kept his hand out. The Expanse has reversed your pon pfarr treatment. You may injure or even kill you chosen one in this state. Kiss." "I cannot." T'Pol firmly answered. "T'Pol, you and he must survive if the war is to be won." he looked at her gravely. "The war against the Xindi?" she thought. "Much more than that. Your 'Jonathan' has described the real war to you." he said as he moved his outspread fingers a little nearer. "The Science Directorate has determined that time travel.." He cut her off. "The Science Directorate has much changed in my time." T'pol felt a rush of heat and desire. She spread her fingers and reached slowly towards his. They touched and her eyes went wide in desire.
He suddenly pulled her to him, ravenously. They kissed, mouth to mouth and she felt his mind opening. Her hesitation vanished. She felt an age-old plan foretold in this. He laid her on the sandy ground before the altar. A small crowd of hooded figures surrounded them, almost instantly. He pulled off her robes to reveal her body. He moved his slender, soft hand across her neck, down to her breasts and across her nipples. T'pol let out a groaning sound and pushed her hips towards him. His mouth was now all over her, over her breasts, down to her stomach, down to her throbbing clitoris. She grabbed his ears and shouted in Vulcan "You are the prophecy, you are the life." He moved slowly back up her body, caressing every inch. T'Pol moaned loudly and grabbed onto his hips. He threw his robes off. There were now 2 naked bodies writhing before a very quiet, robed gathering. The very candles in the room blazed in a flash of light as he entered her. A wind whipped through the cave as they came together with a force to ever be reckoned with. He grabbed her hair and called out her name. She scratched bloody marks down his back as she felt her orgasm coming. With one last thrust he groaned so that it echoed in the cave and she screamed. Release was hers at last. He stroked her hair and whispered soothing words into her ear. For almost an hour they lay like that. The hooded figures that had been witnesses , each lit a candle they carried from the altar candle and disappeared one by one.
"I must leave you, little one, but I will return." He stroked her neck and whispered. "But you must find your mate. The future depends upon it." T'Pol stared at him in silence, fathoming what she may be a part of. "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la, T'Pol" "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la, Spock."
To be continued.
By: Reldra
Disclaimer: I don't own the Star Trek Universe, Paramount does, but I like to wander in and move stuff around.
I thank: Zane Gray, who, unbeknownst to him, got me reading, and writing again, just from his excellent storytelling.
I Exhaustion
He awoke in his office again, head on the desk, not knowing how long it had been since he had passed out. Trip had not slept at all for almost 6 nights straight. It was probably the third time, he had felt the floor come out from under him and then.nothing. A good thing he was sitting in his chair each time.
Isabel. The picture on the table seemed so shiny and alive. The frame's polish and glare on the glass from the overhead lighting hurt his eyes. But it was a ghost. His stomach lurched. He hadn't eaten in, well, he didn't know how long. He didn't care to eat or sleep. But he knew this was affecting his job. In defeat, he stood to hit the comm button on the wall.
"Trip to Phlox." Trip's voice was a raspy whisper, it sounded odd in his own ears. "Go ahead, Commander," answered the speaker, almost an echo. "Doc, I ain't feelin' so well." Trip's hand slid down the wall and his mind into darkness. "Commander, what's wrong?" Phlox said with alarm. "Commander Tucker! "
Dr. Phlox gathered his medical bag and headed to engineering. He had treated Commander Tucker for sleep disorder, mild anxiety and aggression for the last 6 weeks. The odd environment of the Expanse wasn't helping matters. Other members of the crew had similar complaints, sickbay had been busy, but thankfully not with more serious matters. However, Commander Tucker and Sub-Commander T'Pol had taken up a significant amount of his time.
When he arrived at the open door to Commander Tucker's office, he quickly moved to the floor, where the man had fallen. He took the medical scanner from his bag and held it in front of him. It beeped and hummed as Dr. Phlox mumbled things like "Mmm hmm." Phlox hit his comm badge. "Phlox to Crewman Cutler." "Cutler here, Sir." She answered. "Please bring a team with a stretcher to Commander Tucker's office." "Right away, Sir."
II Dreams
She was walking the path that led first to her parent's garden and then to their comfortable, yet functional home. The dusty sky was brilliant in sunset and the imported orchids perfumed the winds. She was restless, she was nervous. The talk she would have with her father would be uncomfortable. With her mother, worse. The pon pfarr treatment was slowly failing in the Expanse. There was only one other solution. She was trying to get straight in her mind how she had gotten to her parent's garden path when she was actually 6 weeks into the Delta Quadrant. Her keen sense of smell sensed danger behind her. An insect-like tentacle entwined her neck. She spun, furiously, kicked, only to awaken and find she had injured her foot on the bulkhead next to her bunk.
It was midnight. T'pol decided meditation would soothe her and control these unwanted emotional events in sleep. Vulcans should not dream.
She sat on the floor at her table. She lit 3 blue, candles in ornate holders on the table. "Computer, lights at 10%." She said as she closed her eyes.
She fell into a deep meditation. Every inch of her body felt a light energy. Sunlight energy coming in through her head, the energy of Vulcan soil rising up through her feet. She was now deeply inside of her own mind and felt her consciousness move slowly to peaceful, tempered, evenness.
She was now in a place of candles and caves. Hooded figures moved slowly past her as she knelt at a stone altar. She lit a single candle that had been placed in the center of the altar. She felt a light, floating presence of someone approaching. Not threatening. She did not move. Someone was now kneeling beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could tell that this person was Vulcan, taller than she and male. He wore a hooded robe, similar to hers. "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la,"* he said in her mind. "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la" T'Pol answered. His voice sounded strange in her mind, as if from so far away, though he sat right beside her. His tone was also that of one of a superior, though he had such a wall put up, it was impenetrable. She wanted to know what he looked like, though she had feeling it may be inappropriate. She turned her head nonetheless. He took her breath away. Perfect, angular features, older than she, yet mesmerizing. "Welcome, little one." he thought. She heard him and asked who he was. "In time, he answered. Meditate with me."
*Live long and prosper, friend.
III Circumspection
Jonathan Archer stood several feet away as Phlox administered medication and monitored various machines connected to Trip. He was afraid this would happen, a breakdown. He had been feeling the effects of the Exapanse himself and luckily, distanced himself from them. His best friend and, not to mention the best engineer that could be had, lay in a state of utter exhaustion, recovery time unknown. 'Best engineer that could be had,' he sarcastically thought to himself. There were no others to be had where they were.
A bad thought crossed his mind and he immediately and silently cursed himself for it. It was a vague thought of Trip being out of the way and T'Pol not being in Trip's office, constantly. 'What the hell is the matter with me??' he thought. He firmly focused on the well-being of his best friend and sat in a chair in the corner. His thoughts began to wander to how he had brought his crew here and if he could keep his mind in check under these odd influences of the area of space they were in. Had he underestimated his and their strengths? Had he sent them all to death? He held his throbbing head in his hands.
IV Memories
The Florida coastline was beautiful. It was a perfect day. An excellent day to try out a new board. The waves were incredible. Trip had just 3 days before he returned for the last modifications on Enterprise. He sat in the sand looking out at the water, getting ready to go as he squeezed Tara's hand. He was torn between the high tide coming in and this magnificent creature at his side. She wore the engagement ring he had given her just the night before and a really neat bikini, he thought.
His parent's white porch, which encircled the entire house, was the place he had chosen. A thunderstorm was just beginning, blue and white lightening far away in the sky. He had gotten down on one knee. He had looked into her dark eyes. God! She was beautiful. Dark hair like onyx, cropped and licking her ears. Lithe, like an elf, but strong. Strong enough to keep them together. She had smiled and gave him a firm 'yes'. Trip had yelled out 'Woo hoo!!'. Kissed her, picked her up, spinning her around. Saying 'Yes, yes, yes!" Until his parents had come outside to see what the commotion was about.
Now he was gonna show his 'wifey to be' how a real surfer rode the waves. He kissed her and sprinted to the water, his board under his arm. He walked into about 4 feet of water before lying on the board and paddling with his arms. He felt seaweed at his toes and water spray on his face. He looked back at her once with a broad grin. She waved. He paddled out further and was finally able to get on the board, kneeling. A big wave was coming up and he attempted to stand, successfully, thank god, didn't stumble like a fool. As the wave came behind him, it rose higher and higher. 'Damn he thought, this baby is mean." The wave caught him and he was higher above the surface water than he had ever been. It was harder and harder to keep his balance and he was further out than he thought. Tara was just a little dot on the beach.
He held his arms out straight and bent his knees more. He was half way up the tallest wave he had ever surfed. He felt the board tremble and his head slammed into the water.
Trip couldn't tell if he was going up or down, the water was so deep. He had swallowed some water. He wildly moved his arms and legs in the direction he thought was up as he choked and the blackness overtook him.
He came to, sputtering and gasping for air. Someone was pounding on his chest. He turned his head abruptly and about a quart of water shot out of his mouth. He heard voices, muted at first and then clearer. He opened his eyes to see a lifeguard over him, sweating. "Damn, we thought we lost ya buddy!" was the first thing Trip clearly heard. He opened his eyes and heard the whine of an ambulance siren.
He turned his head to see, as if a mirage, 2 lifeguards. They were about 25 feet from him. One was breathing into the mouth of a small body, the other pushing on the body's chest. "Taraaaaaaa!!!!!!!!" He tried to scream, but little came out of his mouth. He tried to get up. The burly lifeguard held his arms. "Now sit still here boy. You're still in a world 'a hurt." Trip just realized he was bruised all over. "That's my..that's my.." He tried to say, but was coughing and sputtering. "That your girl?" the lifeguard asked. Trip could only nod his head up and down between coughs. "She dove after ya after you crashed. That wave was the mother of all waves. I'm sure she'll be fine bro."
Tara was dead before the ambulance doors opened.
Tears were running down Trip's face. Phlox heard the word 'Tara' and was perplexed. "Captain," Phlox nudged Archer's shoulder. "I think he's waking up."
V Intrusion
T'Pol stared into the eyes of the other in her meditation. He held his hand out to her, fingers spread. The invitation to a kiss. "I cannot." She thought to him. "I wish for another." He nodded, yet kept his hand out. The Expanse has reversed your pon pfarr treatment. You may injure or even kill you chosen one in this state. Kiss." "I cannot." T'Pol firmly answered. "T'Pol, you and he must survive if the war is to be won." he looked at her gravely. "The war against the Xindi?" she thought. "Much more than that. Your 'Jonathan' has described the real war to you." he said as he moved his outspread fingers a little nearer. "The Science Directorate has determined that time travel.." He cut her off. "The Science Directorate has much changed in my time." T'pol felt a rush of heat and desire. She spread her fingers and reached slowly towards his. They touched and her eyes went wide in desire.
He suddenly pulled her to him, ravenously. They kissed, mouth to mouth and she felt his mind opening. Her hesitation vanished. She felt an age-old plan foretold in this. He laid her on the sandy ground before the altar. A small crowd of hooded figures surrounded them, almost instantly. He pulled off her robes to reveal her body. He moved his slender, soft hand across her neck, down to her breasts and across her nipples. T'pol let out a groaning sound and pushed her hips towards him. His mouth was now all over her, over her breasts, down to her stomach, down to her throbbing clitoris. She grabbed his ears and shouted in Vulcan "You are the prophecy, you are the life." He moved slowly back up her body, caressing every inch. T'Pol moaned loudly and grabbed onto his hips. He threw his robes off. There were now 2 naked bodies writhing before a very quiet, robed gathering. The very candles in the room blazed in a flash of light as he entered her. A wind whipped through the cave as they came together with a force to ever be reckoned with. He grabbed her hair and called out her name. She scratched bloody marks down his back as she felt her orgasm coming. With one last thrust he groaned so that it echoed in the cave and she screamed. Release was hers at last. He stroked her hair and whispered soothing words into her ear. For almost an hour they lay like that. The hooded figures that had been witnesses , each lit a candle they carried from the altar candle and disappeared one by one.
"I must leave you, little one, but I will return." He stroked her neck and whispered. "But you must find your mate. The future depends upon it." T'Pol stared at him in silence, fathoming what she may be a part of. "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la, T'Pol" "tich tor ang tesmur t'hy'la, Spock."
To be continued.