This Chapter is dedicated to Pookha and Bucky, who have patiently, (like two endearing vultures) hovered and encouraged me to continue. 

Thanks so much to all the wonderful reviews!  Even the obnoxious whine, Ravyn, was blessed encouragement.

StEves, Reanok, Shuttlepod_1, Rae, Arrate – I may post shorter chappies but hope to do them more often.  Hope this meets with your approval!

Gotta Love Trip – The bad guy knows a lot about humans – but that's gonna be covered in a later chapter… Bwahahahahaha.

Zealous Girl – If nothing else, I hope that the delay in my post has given you time to rent and watch Gunga Din.  There's a bit of Cary Grant's charm, goofiness, tendancy toward disaster and need for medical attention in our boy Trip, no?

Tracy – my favorite nagging cube!  Thanks for sticking with me since the start!

And Pookha – Keep those cards and threatening letters coming (LOL).  I need a good kick in the muse from time to time.  You're a peach!

Chapter 12 - Revelation

Archer could feel the presence of his Chief Engineer behind him.  If it wasn't for Trip's slightly uneven gait and Jon's determination to arrive in his ready room first, Jon thought that his friend would leave tread marks on his back.  He understood Trip's anxiousness.  But he would not open the discussion until the Doctor arrived.  Undoubtedly, it would take longer for Phlox, as the doctor did not have a subordinate trying to lap him around the ship. 

They arrived none to soon, as Jon felt just a tad breathless and he was loath to show it to his friend. 

"Captain, I want…"

"Phlox isn't here yet"

"Jon"

"No, Trip."

Jon could see the Commanders jaw set in a stubborn line that did not bode well for an agreeable meeting.  The Commander rolled his eyes and his head bobbed slightly like he was in an all out internal fight to prevent his mouth from opening up and welcoming one of his size elevens from taking up residence inside.  Instead he spun on his heel and walked over to one of the seats and unceremoniously planted himself there.  In the thick silence, Jon could swear that he heard the Chief Engineer's teeth grinding in impotent frustration. 

As Trip had moved away, Jon noted that the brace he had sported since the attack was no longer on his leg.  Laying somewhere between here and the science station, Jon mused.  Phlox would not be as amused as the Captain. 

Phlox picked that moment to amble through the ready room door.  As the Captain predicted, Phlox was as in tune with his patients as Trip was to the change in vibration in the warp engines.  Phlox's gaze settled on the Commander and with a deep sigh, his eyes rolled up as if in search of divine inspiration on how to manage uncooperative patients. 

Seeing no sense in postponing the inevitable, Jon opened up the discussion.  "Recommendations?"

With a look of grim determination, Trip proposed his plan.  "We need to take a security detail down to the planet.  I'd like to lead it Capt'n."

Archer rarely shut down an officer with the finality of an immediate "no."  Every protective instinct urged him to shout just that message at the top of his lungs.  Instead, quite softly he questioned his engineer instead.  

"So you think that's wise, Trip?"

"Something's wrong down there, Captain.  Something we just don't understand yet."  You need to stay up here and assess the situation and respond to it with a Captain's judgement.  I need to be down there.  I can get you the answers, so you can make those judgments."  Trip didn't know how to put into words the dread that he felt.  And, damn it, not just because it was T'Pol that had gone missing.  He could feel her…how could he categorize it?  Her concern?  For her situation?   If T'Pol felt concern, that would probably be the equivalent of any average human having a case of the screamin' mimis.

Jon was still standing behind his chair, a death grip on its back the only sign of the battle that he was having with his own personal demons.  His own inclination too often was to dive into a house on fire to save even just one person.  Yet he knew, as the commander of this ship, as the ranking officer in any similar situation, it was his duty to direct and coordinate.  T'Pol would often remind him that he had a responsibility, not just for those in peril, but for all who were under his command.  Somehow, Jon also knew that this situation might be bigger than anyone had previously suspected. 

Maybe because they were friends for so long, Trip could sense that his cause still had a chance.  The indecision was stamped clearly across the Captain's face, but Trip feared that his recent medical problems might end up being the deciding factor.  With some trepidation he looked up at the doctor, who had finally decided to take a seat.  Likewise, the Captain stepped around the chair and sat down.  Only then did the three men realize what made them all so uncomfortable.

They all seemed to focus on the same spot simultaneously.  One seat, to the Captain's right, was hauntingly vacant. 

"Doctor, is Trip cleared to lead an away mission."

Phlox cleared his throat.  For such nuanced creatures as he found humans to be, it was a paradox that they always expected so much of the universe to be reduced to simple answers of either black or white.  "Without a doubt, Captain, you have noticed that the Commander's leg is still stiff.  He could use at least one more week of physical therapy."

Jon could feel Trip's argument coming on like seeing storm clouds gathering on the horizon.  He only raised his hand to stay the engineer's imminent argument and turned his attention to doctor again as a signal to proceed. 

"His mobility is not greatly impaired, as I have supervised the Commander's return to full time duty in engineering."  Trip's cocky nod at this statement seemed to imply that this conclusion had never been in doubt, at least in his mind.  Of course, the sheen of sweat on his forehead made a lie of this to Jon's practiced eyes. 

What came next surprised both men.

"Captain, I would recommend that the Commander, and not yourself, lead this away mission.  You see, he has a developed a mental link to the Subcommander that might prove advantageous in locating her whereabouts."

If Phlox was telepathic, he would have received two very loud signals from the other men in the room.

"Trip can do WHAT?"

"How the hell does he know THAT?

TBC…