-1
"You're sure you're ready?" the admiral asked
Lieutenant Archer as she stood on the transporter pad.
"Of course," she said with a bit of a smile.
"Good luck then," he said. "Energize."
T'Lin held her breath as the transporter kicked in. She could swear she felt everything being taken apart. She just hoped that this contraption worked just as well when transporting through time as it did when transporting through an atmosphere. T'Lin moved around the ship quietly, trying to blend in as she tried to locate Hallee. She knew the lay out of the ship fairly well, but not well enough to be able to get around with out directions. That was something that was going to cause her problems. She knew Enterprise had the same crew as she did the day she left space dock and asking for directions would make her stick out like a sore thumb.
She quietly slipped into a set of empty crew quarters and accessed the computer system. She spent a moment glancing over official logs for what had been going on and found very little.
"Big surprise," she muttered to her self.
She quickly broke the encryptions on the personal logs and found what she was looking for. She gathered the information that she needed and logged herself out before slipping back into the hall way. She headed for the med bay, hoping to find the little girl that she was looking for. "Why does he have to be here?" Hallee whined to Hoshi about the security guard that was with them.
"Captain's orders," she answered.
"Why?"
"Because."
"That's not a real answer," Hallee told her as she stopped walking.
"Come on, we're going to be late," Hoshi said as she stopped.
"I'm not moving until you tell me why!"
Sato sighed as she came over and picked Hallee up. They didn't have time for this. She had a bridge shift and Phlox was expecting Hallee.
"Tell me!"
"Fine. The invisible men crawling on the walls are real and they want to take you."
"You're lying," Hallee said, not believing that the monsters would ever really be real.
"I'm not. That's why there's always a security guard with you. That's why you can't play with Porthos in the cargo bays any more. That's why you can never go anywhere on your own any more," she said as they neared the med bay.
The little girl thought about this
for a moment and decided she didn't like this at all.
"This
is why we didn't really say anything, we didn't want to scare you,"
she said as she sat her on a bio bed.
"I don't want you to go," she said quietly.
Hoshi picked her up and held her close for a moment, she felt sorry for Hallee. The little girl had been through so much since she had gotten there and the crew still didn't know where she came from. It was all a mystery.
"You'll be fine. Lieutenant Groves is going to stay here and so is Dr. Phlox. I'll come and get you for lunch, okay?" she asked.
Hallee nodded as she sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
"Okay," Hoshi said as she put Hallee on the ground as Phlox came out to greet her.
She ran over to him quickly and took his hand, glancing back at Sato for a moment. She nodded and watched the two go off to tend to the animals before she left for the bridge, hoping that she wouldn't be turned into a liar.
"She knows," Hoshi told Trip as she walked past him on the way to her station.
His head shot up from the panel he was looking at and he looked at her.
"Whadda ya mean?" he asked as he followed her over, kneeling down to act like he was checking something on her panel.
"She asked about Groves and it just kind of came out."
"Things like that don't just come out Hoshi," he said as he stood up.
She looked at him, feeling the anger starting to boil in her. He didn't know what it was like having to look into those little eyes and lie all the time, he didn't have to spend all that time with her. She watched as he swallowed hard and started to back away.
"I think we should head down to engineering and see if we can't work this bug out. Don't you Commander?" she asked.
"Uh yeah, yeah that's a good idea," he said as he headed for the lift.
"I won't keep her all day," he told Archer as they headed for the lift.
Jon nodded and turned back to his PADD, not catching the vibe between the two. The silence and professionalism lasted until the doors to the lift closed.
"Things like that that do just come out!" she told him as she poked him in the chest. "It's hard to keep secrets day after day like that. You, you can get away from her and tell them to some one else and me? I'm stuck with her unless I'm on duty and I couldn't do it any more."
"Hosh," he started, raising his hands in defeat, backing away from her as much as she could.
Trip looked back when he bumped into the wall. Were things getting smaller in here? he wondered. Hoshi sighed and rested against the opposite wall of the lift and crossed her arms as she glared at him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to formulate a reply or something but he couldn't. When the lift doors opened, she breezed out a head of him and around the corner before he had even gotten out of the lift.
Hallee wished she had never asked Hoshi why there was always some one following her around. She was nervous all the time, every little noise making her clutch at Phlox's hand and turn to see what was there. She wanted him to stop and do something sitting down so that she could sit for a while. She was sort of glad that he had gotten rid of Groves. He was kind of creepy, just standing around all the time. She wasn't really sure where he had gone, but he'd pop back into the med bay every once and a while.
"How long until lunch?" she asked.
Hoshi would come at lunch and she could sit with her. Phlox looked at her for a moment.
"Are you hungry now?"
"No, I just wanna know," she said.
"Not for a while yet," he said as he let go of her hand again to tend to some animal or another.
Hallee sighed and leaned against him a little as she looked around the room. She was bored and tired of this now. She knew that she could go and colour or something else, but that meant having to go by herself.
Phlox watched her for a moment and listened to her sigh before finishing with the last animal. "Why don't we do something else now?" he asked.
She looked at him for a moment.
"What would you like to do?" she thought for a moment before going to find some of the things that were kept in his desk just for her.
Hoshi wandered for a while. Letting her self cool off and re-evaluate what had happened between her and Trip before she went off to find him in Engineering. She almost wanted to smile when she saw him gulp a little when he saw her.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly as she came over to him. "I overreacted and let things get away from me."
"S'alright," he said with that smile. "I was just kinda expectin' that to happen when we weren't in a lift, when I had somewhere I could escape to." She smiled a little.
"I promised Hallee I'd get her for lunch," she told him. "Want to join us?"
"Are you propositioning me ensign?" the engineer asked.
"Oh yes, completely," Hoshi said with a wink.
"How can I refuse an offer like that?" he asked with a smile.
They laughed a little as they worked on something. Hoshi wasn't ready to back to the bridge yet and since Trip had already gotten her excused, she figured she should use the time for something.
"Security to the med deck! On the double!"
Hoshi and Trip's heads both snapped up at that.
"Jensen! Keep an eye on things down here!" he called as he headed to the lift. He grabbed Hoshi's hand to make sure she kept up with him.
By the time they got there, Archer was trying to talk to a semi-conscious Phlox as Liz Cutler buzzed around him, trying to help him out. Malcolm was yelling at Lt. Groves in another part of the med deck as he tried to explain that Phlox had told him to leave for a while and that he had only been out side. A few other security officers where talking about the burns on the wall from the phase pistol and debating if they could be used to help track the Suliban.
"Where is she?" Hoshi asked as she looked around.
She knew she was gone, but kept hopping that she was hiding some where.
"Hallee's gone, they got her," Archer said as he left Phlox's side and came over just as T'Pol came in.
A security team followed behind her with T'Lin in between them.
"Who are you?" Archer asked her.
T'Lin stayed quiet as she glanced around the room at that phase pistol burns on the wall, then to Phlox on the bed and finally to Hoshi and Trip. Malcolm came forward from the back of the room and drew his phase pistol training it on her.
"I believe you were asked a question," the captain said slowly.
T'Lin hesitated and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment.
"Archer," she finally got out. "Lt. Alexandria," she finished as she watched Archer look to the other officers in the room.
She looked to Malcolm when she heard the click of the phase pistol being adjusted.
"Try again," Reed said. "There are no other officers named Archer on this ship and there never have been."
She sighed.
"I can't."
"Sir?" Malcolm asked.
Archer looked at T'Lin for a long moment as he decided what to do.
"Take her to my ready room."
"Sir, I must. . . "
"Leave the security detail with us if you must, but bring her there," he kept looking at her.
There was something about T'Lin's face that he knew was familiar, but he couldn't place it. Malcolm sighed and sent the security team with T'Lin on they're way before glancing around the room and leaving with them.
Hoshi watched in disbelief as people started to leave the med bay already. Liz stuck around because Phlox was still on the bio bed, but Archer and T'Pol were off to talk to the new woman who had just appeared and the security team was leaving to work on simulations and soon, her and Trip were the only ones left standing. The linguist watched as everyone leave, and then she drew in a deep breath and held on to Trip's hand tighter.
"I suggest you start talking and you start now," Archer said as he came into his ready room and found T'Lin sitting calmly in a chair facing his desk.
"Just you and me," she said. "I have no hidden weapons, Lt. Reed has made sure of that." Archer looked to Malcolm and nodded.
"I'll be right outside, sir," he said as he and his detail left the room.
"Now then," Archer said. "If you wouldn't mind?"
"Where would you like to start?" T'Lin asked, watching the other Archer carefully.
"From the beginning. Who are you?"
"I told you. . . "
"I don't believe you," he said.
The two stared at each other for a moment before she sighed.
"I am an Archer," she said quietly. "One of your descendants."
The captain sat back for a moment, disbelieving.
"And what are you doing here?"
"Hallee was never supposed to see the inside of this ship let alone spend two weeks here," she told him, as she sat forward in her chair, ignoring his original question.
"And what was she supposed to see?"
"She was supposed to see Ensign Sato, Commander Tucker, Lt. Reed and Sub-Commander T'Pol."
"What do they want with her?" he asked after a moment, still trying to figure things all out.
"That, I can't tell you," she said as she reached a hand up subconsciously to tuck the hair behind her ear and she stopped, but not before he had seen what she had been hiding.
"You're not human," he said slowly.
He stood up quickly and spun her around in her chair before moving the hair away for himself. She closed her eyes for a moment, regrouping her Vulcan side.
"Archer. Lt. T'Lin," she said as she looked at him, deciding to spare him the trouble of asking. Admiral Tucker would understand.
"Vulcan," he muttered. "T'Pol's descendant too, right?" he asked turning to her.
She nodded.
He turned away from her to look out the window.
"Okay," he said slowly. Things had just gotten far more complicated than he would have liked them to have. "Maybe you should start from the beginning." She let out a very unVulcan sigh and he smiled a little as she started to tell him the whole story.
Hallee stayed still as her captor kept a firm hold on her with one arm around her waist and the other across her mouth. Her eyes darted around the new space, trying to figure out how she had gotten there and what was going to happen to her.
"No screaming now," a soft voice said as the hand over her mouth was removed.
She stayed quiet as she was gently lowered to the ground.
"I wanna go home!" she yelled immediately. The voice laughed.
"Of course you do," Silik said as he slowly came out of the shadows.
He walked over to her and circled her, slowly bringing a hand up to feel a lock of her hair. He smiled to himself.
"So soft," he commented. "You're a very pretty girl," he told Hallee as he bent down to look her in the face.
She sniffled, but didn't look away from him. He stood motioned for the guard to leave.
"Are you gonna let me go?" she asked quietly when she felt the guard move away from her.
"You're a very special little girl," he told her. "So special, that you're going to have to stay with me a little longer."
"How much longer do I have to stay?" she asked, inching away from him in fear.
"Oh, not long," he said with a creepy little smile that she picked up on.
"I wanna go home!" she yelled again, starting to cry. "I wanna go!"
"All in good time, Little One," he said. "How would you like something to eat?" he asked as some one stepped forward to offer her a plate of something.
"No!" she said as she pushed it away and made a run for it.
Silik snapped an arm out and grabbed her.
"Naughty girl," he told her as he handed her off to a guard who stepped foreward. "We don't tolerate behaviour like that."
The guard took her hand and found he had to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder to get her out of the room.
"I hate you! I wanna go home! I want Hoshi!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
Silik laughed to himself as she left. She was spirited. This would be far more fun then he thought it would be. Trip looked around the med bay slowly as he watched people file out. In a few seconds, they were alone with Cutler and Phlox.
"Come on," Trip said quietly as he gave Hoshi's arm little tug. She looked around the room again before numbly allowing him to guide her.
"She's gone," she whispered quietly after he had deposited her on the couch in his quarters.
Trip left her only to ask if either of them would be needed for a while. He came back over and sat beside her.
"We'll get her back," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her.
She let herself be gathered into his embrace and the two sat for a long while until she started to drift into a troubled sleep. He got up slowly and carried her to his bed.
"Don't leave me," she said sleepily as she held out a hand for him as he turned to leave.
He debated for a moment before kicking his boots off and climbing in with her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She snuggled back against him and the two drifted off into silence again.
Hallee screamed to be let out of the cell until she had lost her voice. She sat in the corner farthest away from the door for a while, trying to decide what to do. The guards were still out side, she could hear them talking. It was good to know she wasn't all alone on this ship. She hugged her knees to her chest and waited for something to happen, anything to happen before drifting off to sleep for a while.
"Get up!" she woke with a start as she was roughly pulled to her feet a few hours later.
"Am I going home?" she asked sleepily as she rubbed at her eyes.
The men didn't answer her.
"Ow! Let go! You're hurting me!" she said as she tried to stop his hand from pulling at her arm. "Stop! It hurts!"
"Mitan! Are you deaf? Let her go," Silik said.
Mitan let go of her and slunk off to a corner.
"My apologies," he said quietly.
"Can I go home yet? Please?" Hallee asked hopefully as she walked over to him.
He smiled.
"Not just yet," he told her. "I need your help with something."
"What?" she asked, starting to step back a little every time she saw a face like that, she usually ended up in trouble afterwards.
"Why don't you come and have something to eat first?" he asked as he showed her the table.
"I'm not hungry," she told him as her stomach growled. "Traitor," she whispered to herself.
Silik smiled.
"Come, we spent a lot of time to prepare dishes you would like."
The little girl approached the table slowly as she looked over what was up there. None of it looked very appetizing.
"Never judge a book by it's cover," Silik reminded her as he handed her a spoon and pushed a dish towards her.
She tentatively took a small bit of the food and tried it.
"It tastes like hot dogs," she said as she looked at the bowl.
It was filled with what looked like purple mashed potatoes.
"That's good then?" she shrugged a little as she move around the table to try something new. This went on for a while until she was full.
Silik showed her into another room where she found some things that looked like toys. She watched Silik for a moment. He was different from the others. She wasn't sure how to deal with him, but she was starting to trust him.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Silik," he told her. "And you are Hallee."
"How did you know my name?" she asked.
"I know many things about you," he answered. "Like now, you're tired, no?"
"Maybe a little," she whispered.
He walked over and picked her up, far more gently than the others had.
"Sir?" one of the men asked as he saw them together.
"Just a few more days Sila, then things will be ready," he said. "Until then, we must show our young guest the proper respect."
T'Lin stood out side of T'Pol's door for a moment, hesitating before she rang for entrance. Much to Malcolm's displeasure, Archer had decided that she wasn't a threat after the conversation and had given her free reign around the ship.
"Lieutenant," T'Pol said calmly as she answered the door.
"I trust I wasn't interrupting?" she asked calmly as she looked the Vulcan in the eye.
"Not at all," she answered.
"I was wondering if I could possibly borrow your meditation lamp for a while."
T'Pol arched an eye brow at her.
"The fire safety protocols will not allow it to be lit any where but here," she answered.
T'Lin felt her self sigh internally.
"That's fine," she answered. "Sorry to have disturbed you. Good evening Sub-Commander."
As the other Vulcan turned to leave, T'Pol watched her.
"Lieutenant," she called after her. Archer turned around. "I would not be opposed to you joining me."
"I would be honoured," she said as she returned.
T'Lin stood silently as T'Pol lit the lamp before joining her on the floor.
T'Lin closed her eyes and let herself drift for a while, just enjoying the quiet and the dark before focusing on keeping her Human side controlled and on top of her Vulcan side, at least for a little while longer. As she did this, her mind began to pull at old memories she was sure she had gotten over. There were children on the play ground making fun of her for acting Vulcan and then others making fun for being human with Vulcan ears and she paused on that thought. How odd to have a job that required her to be what she had always longed for. She had always wanted to be human, to please her father but at the same time, had wanted to please her mother by showing the appropriate control. Her parents had compromised on her siblings; they would practice meditating, but strict emotional control wouldn't be required. When they had decided this, she had been too old to simply keep things under control with meditation. That had always been something that had given her trouble. She shook the thoughts from her consciousness and went back to corralling her mental discipline and finding a happy medium between the two.
"Captain Archer's behaviour has been erratic the past few hours," T'Pol commented when they were done. T'Lin glanced at her.
"Having a mysterious person appear on your ship would alter any person's behaviour," she commented simply.
T'Pol nodded.
"There is something else though; something specific when he is in proximity to me." T'Lin closed her eyes for a moment and let a sigh loose. "You know what is transpiring?"
"Perhaps," T'Lin said.
"You're lying."
"Exaggerating the truth," she specified. "It is complicated."
"Enlighten me," she said calmly as she put her cup down on the table.
"I told Captain Archer several details about myself that I most likely shouldn't have. They have no doubt changed the events that will subsequently lead to my conception and birth. Not to mention the fact that I've broken the temporal prime directive enough to get myself court marshalled many times over."
T'Pol looked at her.
"Which events are these?"
T'Lin sighed as she mentally kicked herself. She paused for a moment before telling T'Pol what she had told Archer.
Hoshi woke up slowly before feeling reality set in around her. Hallee was gone, captured by the Suliban and no one had any answers for her. She sighed as she glanced out the window for a moment and watched the stars streaking by before looking to the foot of the bed to realize these weren't her quarters. She paused for a moment and felt the arm thrown over her waist and looked hind her. Trip snoring lightly behind her and when she moved, he tightened his grip on her slightly. She smiled a little and relaxed into him. At least some one hadn't forgotten about her.
She knew she shouldn't be wallowing right now, she should be helping to find Hallee, but she didn't really care. She wanted some one else to worry about the big picture while she focused on how she felt for once. Then again, she'd really like some one to worry about her and as she thought about that, she decided that had already happened, because why else would he have stayed after she had called out to him sleepily. She liked this feeling. It had been a long time since some one had stayed because they were worried about her feelings. She rolled over and stared at him for a moment, just taking everything in. Her memorization was interrupted when he woke up.
"Hey," he said slowly as he brought a hand up to rub at his eyes. "How ya feelin'?" he asked.
She shrugged a little as she continued to stare at him.
"Okay then," he said as he stared back at her.
She brought a hand up to run it over the side of his and he watched her carefully for a moment before he brushed some stray hair from her face. The two stayed quiet and still for a moment before he finally gave in and made the first move, kissing her softly, waiting for her to push him away.
