Children of Enterprise

Estellio

Rating: Pg-13 (T)

Summary: When Archer is kidnapped by unknown aliens and the Enterprise is dead in the water, it seems like there is no hope for rescue but there's more to this than meets the eye and it could have something to do with the child in T'pol's arms.

A/N: Sorry about the last chapters summary. For some reason it didn't come out properly. Ah well, here is the next chapter, enjoy.

IOIOIO

Scaron saw the Enterprise hanging out in space, completely unaware they were being surrounded. The ships he commanded were from all across the timelines he'd vanquished in pursuit of the perfect timeline. A timeline where the Empire was strong and prosperous. But the Federation was like a cancer that ate at the Empires foundations. Picard and his ideals, PAH! And if it wasn't the Federation it was the Klingons. Little more than uncouth barbarians with ideals of honour and loyalty that were as perverted as the Ferengi's view on latinum.

"The last of the ships are in place." He looked over to the Vulcan at Comm. and nodded.

"Alright. Send a message to…" He was cut off by the human at science.

"Sir…Enterprise, it's…disappearing!"

"What?" He shot up off his chair and watched as Enterprise shimmered and disappeared.

"They've…they've disappeared into the temporal null. Sir, if we follow them in then…"

"I know!" Scaron snapped. "I know." He sank back into the chair and steepled his fingers. "When they re emerge they will have to renter the timeline here. We will wait. After all…we have all the time in the world."

IOIOIO

Lorian sighed with relief as the little dots blinked out. All he did was place a hand on the controls and suddenly the ship powered up and began to glow brightly, then it died as suddenly as it had started. The red alert sounded all over the ship and Lorian left the shuttle bay and made his way to the bridge. What had he done now?

IOIOIO

"I sleep for seven hours and THIS is what happens?" Archer swallowed a laugh and looked at the chastised Lorain who was the object of her fury. "For the love of Surak, can I not even catch forty winks without someone fiddling with my stuff?"

"I merely placed my hand on the console. You did not tell me it ran on mental commands." Rialta closed her eyes, her mouth working open and close for several seconds.

"Why? Why were you in the ship and why were you at the console? If you give me a good reason I may not self combust. Go." Lorian smirked.

"I was merely retrieving some parts for the sensors when I heard beeping from the console, I approached it and saw Scaron's Bird of Prey and several smaller vessels surrounding the ship. I placed my hand on the console and they disappeared." Rialta nodded through his story and sighed.

"Alright, okay…you are aware that when we renter the temporal line he'll be waiting for us? Right? Unless we stay here for the next thousand years in which case a whole hour will have passed in the timeline and he might get bored." At this T'pol perked up.

"What is the difference between normal space and this region of space?" She asked, looking at the readings, or lack thereof, on the padd.

"This isn't space, this is time. We are in the temporal null. Literally, day 0 of the universe. There is nothing here, not anti matter, matter or…anything. There's just nothing here. Time doesn't move here and the longer we stay here the more we'll be affected. We'll start noticing the computers getting sluggish then hot food getting cold fast or staying hot really long and it's only a matter of time before…well…we lose matter and time and we cease to exist."

"How long to you estimate that will take?" T'pol asked and at this Rialta smiled.

"There is no time here. I can't say. It'll just happen and we probably wont even notice. The temporal null is unlike anything you can explain. It has no rules. It has no time! Maybe if we convince ourselves that time is still flowing properly we can stay here indefinitely, but time has stopped and it affects linear beings strangely. I don't know what to do!" Trip finally sat up and spoke.

"Can't we just transport ourselves back using your ship?" Rialta shook her head.

"No, sorry, the powercells are totally depleted. They can't recharge in the null, power is weird in the null."

"Couldn't we find someway to hook up Enterprises power systems to your ships?" Archer asked, looking out the window into a voidless sky.

"What, you mean like use the Enterprise as a..a…" She faltered a moment and put a hand to her temple.

"Are you alright?" Lorian asked, half rising to aid her.

"I'm fine." She shook her head, brushing Lorian off and looked back to Archer. "You mean use the Enterprise like a battery, right?"

"Something like that." Archer saw T'pol shift uncomfortably out of the corner of his eyes
and Phlox, who was at the end of the table, was fast asleep.

"I'll get on it right away." Trip said, standing up and motioning to Lorian.

"You'll need my help." Rialta said and stepped forward but ended up stumbling into Lorian's arms.

"Rialta? Are you sure you're alright?" She jerked out of his arms and brushed herself down.

"I'll be fine, it'll pass, it's just the null. It'll have some strange effects." She turned and walked stiffly out the door. Trip cast a look at him and shrugged his shoulders before following her out leaving Archer, T'pol and a now snoring Phlox at the table.

"T'pol, are you alright?" She was flushed green and breathing deeply.

"I'll be fine. I'll aid Commander Tucker." She got up and walked towards the door but Archer reached out and grasped her arm. She gasped as their skin came in contact and jerked away, looking at him as if he had just grown into a monster before she promptly left.

"That was…odd." He said, standing in the briefing room alone. His stomach ached and he realised he hadn't breakfast yet. He'd see what cook had made then sit in the Captain chair, because it seemed he had very little else to do.

IOIOIO

Lizzy stirred in her bed restlessly for a few moments before rising and making her way into the bathroom. She was tall for her age but still didn't even reach the top of the sink in height. With the some acrobatics only a child could perform she found herself on top of the sink, perched on the edge of the basin. With a bit of fumbling she managed to turn on the tap and half fill the basin. Careful not to spill any over the edge she began the task of washing her hands and face meticulously. Her mom was a stickler for hygiene, dad didn't care as much as mom but Rialta was a little afraid of T'pol and impressed the great need for cleanliness on her. Once she had her hands, arms and face scrubbed well she hopped down from the sink and began working her jaw. The dental fluids that filled her mouth were nice and tasted vaguely of almonds but she knew better than to try and swallow it, instead she swirled it around her mouth and spat it into the toilet, leaving a large purple stain from the fluid. She smiled at the mirror to examine her teeth before she returned to the main room. She opened the closet and dismayed at seeing only adult clothes, her own were wrinkled from sleeping in them and everything in the wardrobe was miles too big for her. If she understood Lorian correctly then this was before she was born and daddy wouldn't have clothes for her in his wardrobe, neither would mommy who, for a strange reason, kept a different quarters on Enterprise…or at least did. Enterprise was decommissioned long before Lizzy was born but she had been told stories by Uncle Mal about how they used to have polls on who'd catch Archer sneaking in and out of T'pol's quarters. T'pol was never caught, she was just too Vulcan to be caught. She wondered briefly why Uncle Mal looked so different. His hair was a different colour and he looked so grumpy all the time. Maybe he hadn't met Aunty Mal yet, he was always smiling around her. Using the reasoning of a child she decided to go look for Aunty Mal so that Uncle Mal could smile again.

She made her way out into the corridor and looked around.

"Computer," She said loudly and when it didn't respond she sighed. This was before voice activation obviously. How was she supposed to find Aunty Reed now?

"Hey they skipper." She looked over to see Trip coming down the corridor towards her and looked around to see if Malcolm was with him but he was alone. "Where are you off to?" Trip asked, coming to crouch down beside her.

"Where's Aunty Reed?" She asked and Trip stopped.

"What, Malcolm?" He asked confused. Liz turned back to him, her eyebrows in her hairline.

"No…Malcolm is Uncle Mal, I'm looking for Aunty Mal." A slow smile spread across Trip's face and he beckoned her closer.

"What's Aunty Reed's first name. Are you sure she's on the ship?" Liz smiled and nodded.

"Course. This is where they met, like mommy and dad." Trip grimaced at that. John and T'pol. He didn't like the sound of that.

"What department is she in and what's her name?" Lizzy smiled up at him but before she could answer Hoshi came around the corner and Lizzy giggled with delight.

"AUNTY HOSHI!" She ran up and wrapped her arms around the woman's legs causing Hoshi to beam and bend down to pick her up.

"Hello there, where did you come from?" The girl giggled again and wrapped her arms more firmly around Hoshi.

"I'm hungy." She moaned into Hoshi's shoulders and the Comm. Officer smiled.

"Well, I was just on my way to the Messhall. Let's see if Cook can get you something, okay?"

"YEAH!" She jumped down from Hoshi's arms and grabbed her hand, pulling her along.

"BYE TRIP!" Hoshi shouted over her shoulder, laughing with the eager child.

Trip's eyes narrowed as they followed the child. She looked so much like John it was uncanny but there was this underlying hint of T'pol that would no doubt show itself in her later years. There was no doubt that she would grow up to be a beautiful young woman with all of T'pol's grace and beauty and this irked Trip more than he could bare. He shouldn't judge this child by her parents but the idea of John and T'pol was burning in his mind worse and worse and worse and this child was a testimony to that dark thought in his mind.

Is that what John felt when he found out about Lorian? Trip wondered briefly as he made his way down the corridor to Engineering to work on the rig from his end.

Hoshi, however, took an instant warming to the child. She didn't know who the girls parents were and presumed she came with the new woman who had come on board but she reminded her of John when he was younger. Before the Expanse. Bright eyed, bushy tailed and peering into every crack and crevice with a childlike wonder that fused the smile onto Hoshi's face.

"What's you name?" She asked the little girl when they came to the Mess and the girl beamed up.

"Elizabeth T'less but everyone calls me Lizzy." She said, hopping into a chair by the dark porthole.

"My name's Hoshi. What do you want to eat?" The girl peered out for a few minutes then turned back and shrugged.

"Not meat." She offered, unsure of what they had to offer and open to suggestions.

"I'll see if I can get you some cereal then, okay?" The girl nodded and resumed looking out the window.

"Where'd the stars go?" She asked and Hoshi shrugged.

"I don't know, must be an anomaly…now where did cook go?" The chef that usually inhabited the kitchen was no where to be seen so Hoshi pottered around herself, looking for something to eat. She made a sandwich for herself and poured out a bowl of Enty-O's. It was basically NX shaped fruitloops put in a silly looking box with chef on the front. It was a joke from the kitchen staff from when they were in space dock. They had ordered a crate of them for the ships eight year of service only two weeks before . It may be the tackiest cereal ever but they tasted pretty good.

"Here you go." She said, putting the bowl in front of the child and sitting across from her.

"Thank you Aunty Hoshi." Hoshi.

"Do I know you?" She asked, peering at the girl.

"You're daddies friend, Hoshi." The girl said, digging into the cereal with enthusiasm.

"Who's your daddy?" Hoshi asked, confused. Who was this child? The girl looked up and giggled, shaking her head. "Well then, can I guess?" The girl nodded, smiling.

"…The man who came on board today?" She shook her head.

"No, not Techie." She said with a mouthful of cereal.

"…Erm…is it someone on the ship?" The girl nodded once, smiling at her little game. Since Hoshi had first encountered the child with Trip it was a good place to start.

"Is it…Trip?" A shake was the child's only response and Hoshi thought for a moment, staring at the girls elfin face. She was obviously not human, the ears and green complexion gave it away, but there were no Vulcan males on the ship…only T'pol…the child's resemblance to John was uncanny. What if…

"Is it…is it Captain Archer?" The girl nodded.

"Lizzy Archer!" She said, patting her own head. "You're my Aunty Hoshi!"

All the colour drained from her face. How could such a thing be possible.

"How old are you, Lizzy?" Without looking up Lizzy held up three fingers. Hoshi wracked her brains for any possible way this child could be John and T'pols…none came to mind. T'pol hadn't taken any extended leave of absence or shown any signs of pregnancy, those catsuits she sported definitely would have shown any sign.

"Lizzy, who's your mom?" The child chewed for a moment then swallowed.

"T'pol." She said, looking up at Hoshi. "Don't worry, it's'kay if ya don't know. I'm not born yet." Hoshi raised a single, slim eyebrow.

"Sorry, say that again?"

"I said, I'm not born yet. Lorian told me that I travelled backwards in time to before when daddy and mommy had me or Charles or anyone."

"Charles?"

"My big brother." Hoshi dropped her sandwich and stared at the child in shock.

"You're from the future?" Lizzy nodded. "How far in the future?" The young girl shrugged.

"I dunno, twenty years I guess cause Charlie isn't born yet and he had his twentieth Birthday a while ago." She said, taking another spoonful of cereal. "We had cake!" She added on suddenly as if this made all the difference.

"What's it like in the future?" Hoshi asked, curiosity niggling at her heels.

"Techie says I shouldn't tell you." The girl said, looking up at Hoshi seriously and Hoshi nodded understandingly.

"Alright, but can you tell me one thing, Lizzie? Can you tell me my name?" The girl raised an eyebrow, confused by the question.

"You're Hoshi…Hoshi Sato-Reed." Hoshi's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"You're Uncle Mal's wife, Aunty Mal. He looks grumpy, you should cheer him up. He always smiles when you're around." John chose that moment to walk in.

"…Captain…what's going on around here?" Archer sighed and moved to the replicator for some coffee. He cast a look between Hoshi and Lizzy who gave him a cereal filled smile.

"Hoshi, it's a very, very long story…but I suppose we've plenty of time."

IOIOIO

Lorian watched Rialta surreptitiously out of the corner of his eyes. She didn't look well, in fact, she looked as if she should be on her death bed rather than the crawl space between two power conduits.

"Rialta, I was talking with Doctor Phlox before I came up here. He wanted to know something about you." Lorian said conversationally as he began rerouting main power.

"Oh? What?" She asked, putting down the hydraspanner and turning onto her side to face Lorian as best she could. Considering her legs were halfway up the opposite wall and she was half standing on her head it was quite a sight.

"He wanted to know what your average body temperature was." Lorain said, watching her and wondering what her reaction would be.

"What an odd thing to ask, too bad you didn't know." She said, returning to her work.

"30 degrees." She froze, spanner half way to the restraining bolt of the pressure gauge.

"How did you know that?"

"When I first met you, you were talking with Doctor Ichabod. He said you were running a fever at 34 degrees. He wanted to get you back to thirty. I'm guessing that's you average."

"It's 31 but close enough. Why is this relavent?"

"Rialta, you're running a temperature of 36. That's hotter than a Vulcan. What's happening to you and don't tell me it's the null, this was going on before we entered this region of space." Rialta's eyes took on the look of a cornered animal that had just been wounded. Afraid, confused and maybe even a little dangerous.

"It's nothing. Never mind. Get on with your work. I want to get out of the null as soon as possible." She turned away, deliberately turning her back on him and he returned to his work. They had a seven hour job ahead of them and then they had to prepare the ship for battle against a superior foe that outnumbered them. He had plenty of time to figure out what Rialta was hiding…and she was hiding something.

IOIOIO

A/N: Another chapter, another secret, another plot peice. My, my. I have been drinking to much caffine. No more Jolt for me! Anyway, drop me a line, tell me what you think, demand this faster and more sensical. (My stories making sense? Never!) Nah, I'm joking. Don't worry, the story line will pick up a lot faster here on in and it'll start to make more sense (I hope) pretty soon. Anyway, the sooner I finish this Authors Note the sooner I can post this so...Huzzah! (Yes...Waaaay too much caffine.)