Chapter 7

T'Pol awoke a few hours later. The room was dark as was stretched out on her bed. Next to her, Archer was sitting in the shadows in a chair in the far corner of her quarters.

" I can't go back, can I?" She asked him.

"No. But if you could, would you really want to?"

Deep down, T'Pol already knew the answer. It was too late to go back now.

"I feel that I must owe you an apology. There is a rule that we don not set a mind free once it reaches a certain age. It is very dangerous. They have trouble letting go. Their mind, no matter how much mental training they have had, turns against them. I've seen it happen. I broke the rule because I had to." Archer explained.

He stared into the darkness as he spoke it was like he was confessing to himself more than he was to her.

"When planet Matrix was first colonized there was a woman born inside that had the ability to change and remake that world as she saw fit. It was this woman that freed the first of us and taught us the secret of the war. Control planet Matrix and you control the future.

Archer paused and then he spoke again.

"When she died, the Prophet predicted her return and envision an end to the war between out two planets and freedom for all life forms. That is why there are those of us that have spent our entire lives searching planet Matrix looking for her."

Through the dark she could feel Archer's eyes on her as he continued to speak.

"I did what I did because I believe the search is over."

Archer stood up.

"Now get some rest, you're going to need it."

"For what?" T'Pol asked.

"Your training." Archer answered.

Eight hours later the lights were turned on in her quarters. The door wooshed open and Wesley a young man with short dark hair in his early twenties stepped inside.

"Morning. Did you sleep?" He asked her.

"No." She answered.

"You will tonight. I guarantee it. I'm Wesley. I'll be your operator."

He offered his hand and T'Pol shook it. He noticed that he didn't have any jacks.

"You don't have ..."

"Any holes? Nope. Me and my mom Beverly, we are 100 percent pure, old fashioned home-grown organic life forms. Born free. Right here in the real galaxy. Genuine children of Zion."

"Zion?"

"If this war ended tomorrow, planet Zion is where the party would be."

"It's a planet?"

"Yes the last M-class planet in the galaxy and the only place we have left." Wesley said.

"Where is it?" T'Pol asked.

"About twenty light years away near the only sun that is left in the star system. The climate is warm. You live long enough, you might even see it."

Wesley smiled at her.

"Goddamn, I gotta tell you, I'm fairly excited to see what you are capable of. I mean if Archer is right and all. We're not supposed to talk about any of that right now. But if you are, well then this is an exciting time. We got a lot to do, so let's get to it."

A few moments later they were in engineering. T'Pol was already plugged into her chair and Wesley was shuffling through several data disks.

"We're supposed to load all these operations programs first, but this is some seriously boring shit. Why don't we start with something a little more fun."

Wesley smiled as he sat down in the operator's chair. He began flipping through a carousel of small data disks

"How about some combat training?" Wesley said as he pulled out a random disk and handed it to T'Pol. She read the label.

"Bat'leth? I'm going to learn the Bat'leth?"

Wesley took the disk and slid it into the drive with a grin.

"No way." She said.

Wesley punched in the load code. Her body jerked against the harness as her eyes clamped shut. The monitors kicked wildly as her heart pounded and adrenaline surged through her, she could hear her brain sizzling. An instant later her eyes snapped open.

"Holy shit!" She sounded like she was out of breath.

"Hey Mikey, she likes it! Ready for more?" Wesley asked.

"Hell yeah." T'Pol answered.

Several hours later, Archer walked into engineering to check her progress. Wesley was watching the screen and monitoring her progress as the programs downloaded into her brain. Fighting styles such as Kung Fu, Jujitsu, Klingon Karate and even Drunken Boxing were being processed into her brain.

"How is she doing?" Archer asked him.

"Twelve hours straight, the woman is a machine." Wesley told him.

T'Pol's body spasmed and then relaxed as her eyes opened. A single breath escaped her lips and the look on her face looked as if she had an intense orgasm.

"This is incredible. I know Klingon Bat'leth fighting."

"Show me." Archer told her.

A few seconds later they were in a dark room which looked like a battle arena. Both were dressed in Klingon battle armour and each had a Bat'leth of equal weight and size.

"This is a sparring program, similar to the programmed reality of planet Matrix. It has the same basic rules. Rules like gravity. What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken."

Archer assumed a fighting stance as he turned his Bat'leth.

"Attack me." He ordered.

T'Pol assumed a similar position circling Archer cautiously until she gave a short cry and lunged at him with her weapon. He blocked her every move, he was no match for her.

On the other side in engineering both T'Pol and Archer seemed serene in their chairs as they were jacked in. Wesley monitored their life systems. He noticed that T'Pol was wildly lit up and it was a constrast compared to the slow steady rhythms of Archer.

A few moments later, a young red-headed girl by the name of Dawn busted into the mess hall interrupting the crews' dinner.

"T'Pol is fighting Archer!" Dawn said with an excited tone in her voice.

All at once everyone bolted for engineering.

Back in the arena, T'Pol's teeth were clenched, she hurled herself at Archer.

"Good. Adaptation. Improvisation. But your weakness isn't your technique." Archer told her.

Archer attacked her at lightening speed. His Bat'leth was a blur as he backed her up and then with one blow she was sent flying. She was on her hands and knees, she spit green blood from her mouth, speckling the white floor of the arena.

"How did I beat you?" Archer asked.

"You're way too fast." T'Pol answered.

"Do you think my being faster, stronger has anything to do with muscles in this place?"

T'Pol was getting frustrated by him.

"Do you believe that's air you're breathing now?" Archer asked her again.

She nodded as she stood slowly.

"Again." He said.

This time both their Bat'leths flew at blinding speed. Everyone was gathered behind Wesley watching the fight. It was like watching a game of Mortal Combat.

"Jesus Christ! That vulcan chick is fast!" Dawn said.

Back inside the arena, Archer cracked T'Pol in the face with his weapon over and over again.

"Come on T'Pol. What are you waiting for? You are faster than this. Don't think you are. Know you are!" Archer yelled.

She advanced, but he blocked every single move she made.

"Come on! Stop trying to knock me down and just knock me down already!"

T'Pol face twisted with rage as she let out a battle cry. She blocked his weapon and knocked him down pointing the Bat'leth at his head. In engineering there were several collective gasps from the crew.

"I don't fucking believe it." Dawn sais as she shook her head.

Back in the arena, Archer looked up at T'Pol and smiled.

"I know what you are trying to." She told him.

"I'm trying to free your mind T'Pol, but all I can do is show you the door. You are the one that has to step through. Wesley, load the jump program." Archer ordered.

The scene instantly changed to a rooftop in San Francisco

"Let it all go T'Pol. Fear. Doubt. Disbelief. Free your mind."

Archer spun running hard at the edge of the rooftop. He jumped. He sailed through the air with his long coat billowing behind him as he landed on the rooftop across the steet.

"Shit." T'Pol said to herself.

She looked down at the street below which was twenty floors down and then she looked at Archer who was a hundred feet away.

"Ok. Free my mind. Right. No problem." She said out loud to herself.

She took a deep breath and started to run. Meanwhile in engineering the rest of the crew was transfixed on the screen.

"She's gonna make it." Malcolm said.

"No way. Not possible." Travis said as he shook his head.

"No one's ever made their first jump." Dawn said.

"What if she does?" Malcolm asked.

"She won't." Travis told him.

Tripp stared at the screen with his fists clenched.

"Come on." He whispered.

On the rooftop, T'Pol summoned ever one of strength she had in her legs, she launched herself into the air with a mechanical shriek she was flying through the air and just like in a Wyle E. Coyote cartoon she stopped drastically short. Her eyes started to widen as she plummeted to the ground. Stories flew by as she continued to fall and then she hit the ground, but instead of falling flat the ground stretched like a trapeze net making her whole body bounce and then she was flat on her back. She slowly got up and was amazed that she was still alive. A few moments later, Archer walked up to her and helped her onto her feet.

"Do you know why you didn't make it?" He asked.

"Because ... I did not think I would." She answered.

Archer smiled and nodded at her.

In engineering the crew slowly disappeared.

"What does it mean?" Dawn asked.

"It doesn't mean anything." Malcolm said.

"Everyone falls the first time. Right Tripp?" Hoshi said.

By this time Tripp had already left the room.