A/N Thank you so much to EroSlackerMicha, noro, and aria1210 for the wonderful reviews. They are truly the nectar of the Gods. I am still only borrowing these characters.

Captain Nathan Hale Tillman was stunned when Gardner told him of the new mission for the George Washington. He quickly assured him that he had no problem with Admiral Archer taking command. In truth, he was thrilled. Not only would he be involved in a mission of great importance, he would have the opportunity to learn under a legend.

He was also surprised and excited when he was told he would be First Officer, knowing that Commodore T'Pol would normally fill that role.

Now as he sat in his station, he studied Archer in the Captain's chair. There was no doubt that is where he belonged. He looked over at T'Pol at the Science Station. He could not help but think how exotically beautiful she was. Ever since they had come on board, he had sensed a great bond between them. He could not conceive of them being apart.

He was brought out of his musings when Archer spoke to him, "Well, I think I will call it a day. You have the Com until Commander Wilkins arrives with the Beta crew."

"Yes, Sir."

Archer turned to T'Pol, "Will you join me, Commodore?"

T'Pol nodded and finished up what she was doing. As Archer rose, he continued, "Captain Tillman, would you like to join the Commodore and I for supper tonight? Say 1900 hours in the Captain's mess."

"I'd be honored, Sir."

As they left the bridge, Tillman brought everyone to their feet, "Admiral leaving the Bridge."

Archer cringed a little, Normally, he would have quickly put an end to such trappings, but he decided this would soon not be his ship and he would let Captain Tillman decide if he wanted to keep them.

As T'Pol proceeded Archer into the cabin, Archer came up behind her and kissed and licked her on the back of her neck, knowing how good that felt to her. As she leaned back into him, his hands came up and fondled her breasts.

They stayed that way for some time until T'Pol turned and they engaged in a passionate kiss. They continued to touch and kiss as they undressed each other. When they were both naked, he pushed her down on the bed and proceeded to kiss and lick her everywhere.

Not to be outdone, she soon reversed their positions and did the same to him. She slid down on to him and their minds and bodies shared the intense passion and pleasure.

Afterwards, they laid side by side, their fingers intwined in a Vulcan kiss.

Finally, T'Pol broke the silence, "If we still plan to have supper with Captain Tillman, we need to think about getting ready."

"Maybe we should contact him and postpone it."

"What excuse would you give?"

"That I am lying next to a naked, beautiful woman and don't want to leave, ever."

She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth, "I agree…" She started to rise, "But duty calls."

Smiling he said, "Spoilsport," but he rose to join her.

After showering together and donning clean uniforms, they barely made it to the dinner on time.

After greeting their guest, dinner was served. Although it was good, Archer regretted that Chef was no longer in the galley. He also felt guilty that he would likely not be able to attend his grand opening.

When the dishes were cleared away and the men were sipping coffee while T'Pol had her tea, Archer spoke up, "Well, Captain, I looked over your file. It is very impressive. First in your class at the Academy and nothing but plaudits for your service aboard the Potomac."

He smiled, "Knowing Captain Andrews, I know that praise was earned."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"I didn't look at your personal file, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

"I was born on Mars; my father was stationed there. He was a Mechanical Engineer."

"For the next few years, we traveled around the Earth, wherever his job took him. Both he and my mother were killed in an accident three years ago, right after I graduated from the Academy."

T'Pol broke in, "That is unfortunate, but it is gratifying they were able to see you receive your commission."

"Yes, they were really proud."

Archer spoke up, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, I am an only child."

All three of them sat quietly, noting how similar their situations were.

Archer decided to move on, "For the rest of the trip to Vulcan, I want to visit all sections of the ship and bring myself up to speed on how it works, what it is capable of. I want to feel I know everything about it."

"Do you wish me to accompany you?"

"That should not be necessary, I am sure the commanders in each area can tell and show me what I need. Besides you will be needed on the Bridge as Commodore T'Pol will accompany me."

"Understood, Sir. I will contact them in the morning to appraise them of your plans."

After that, the conversation turned to the mission, as Archer and T'Pol talked about how they planned to proceed. Tillman of course had listened to the President's speech and knew what was at stake.

For the rest of the trip to Vulcan, Archer and T'Pol were kept busy learning how the George Washington differed from Enterprise. For the most part, they were impressed at what improvements had been made. They were also gratified at the apparent expertise of the crew. Of course, there still remained the question of how they would react if something did occur.

When they were introduced to the Security personnel, T'Pol was surprised to see a familiar face. "It is satisfactory to see you again, Crewman Stallings."

Heather Stallings answered, a little surprised T'Pol remembered, "Thank you, Sir."

Seeing Archer's inquisitive look, T'Pol went on, "Crewman Stallings once helped me with a purchase." She could see he was still puzzled but turned back to Stallings, "It appears you were successful in your wish to be on a Starship crew."

"Yes, Sir."

When they were alone, T'Pol l told him the story. Archer smirked, "It appears I owe her. By the way, did you bring them along?"

"Of course," she gave her smile, "Do you wish me to wear them?"

"Maybe later." He engaged her in a kiss, "Right now, you already have too many clothes on."

They were only a few days from Vulcan and Archer and T'Pol were in engineering, finishing up their final learning experience; when the communicator broke in, "Admiral Archer, please report to the Bridge."

Hitting the button to say, "On our way," He and T'Pol hurried out the door.

When they reached the Bridge, T'Pol moved to her science station and Archer headed for his chair. The viewing screen was filled with visage of a Klingon who was saying, "You will then lower your shields and prepare to be boarded."

Tillman moved out of the way as Archer moved into the seat, gesturing for Braxton to cut communication. He quickly turned to Tillman, "Status?"

"Two Klingon ships intercepted us and are demanding we drop out of warp and prepare to be boarded. I raised the shields when we first detected them."

Archer nodded and took his seat, nodding to Braxton to resume communications.

The Klingon started to say, "What are you trying? It will do you…" He stopped and stared, "Admiral Archer, what are you doing here?"

"I am in command of this ship. The real question is, why have you threatened a Starfleet Starship? We have no conflicts with the Klingon Empire."

"During your war with the Romulans, it came to our attention that Earth is engaged in a process of greatly increasing your fleet. We also heard rumors of you obtaining a decloaking device. We stayed back not wanting to influence the course of the war, but now we have decided you could become a threat. We need to have information about your abilities to wage war."

"I have no intention of conceding to those demands. However, I am willing to drop out of warp and discuss them with you."

He then cut communications and dropped out of warp.

When all three ships had dropped to impulse and communications were restored, Archer continued, "I will first assure you that neither this ship nor any other ship in Starfleet contains any anti-cloak device."

"And why should we believe you?"

"It really doesn't matter if you do or not, the fact remains this ship has no such device."

"We will need to see for ourselves."

"Normally I would look forward to inviting a fellow commanding officer aboard, but I think I will make an exception in this case."

"Enough of this! You are outnumbered two to one. Either lower your shields and allow us to board and inspect your ship, or you will be destroyed."

"If you should appear to be capable of that, I will see to it that there will be nothing left for you to inspect. But I would not be too sure about the outcome. After all, I know what your ships are capable of but it appears you are not so sure about us."

"We have scanned your ship, we found nothing more than normal weapons."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that; our shields may be more powerful than your sensors can tell."

He smiled, "However, in any case, I can assure you of one thing. Even if in the long run, you would prevail, I will be sure to see that your ship will be destroyed."

"Do you think I am afraid to die? It is glorious to die in battle."

"In a battle to inspect another ship? A ship that has shown no aggression against you? Where is the glory or honor in that?"

He continued, "Then of course, there is the fact that if you should destroy us, it would be considered an act of war. Are you prepared to take on the Alliance, the Vulcans?"

"The Klingon Empire is not afraid of anyone."

"Of course not. But the real winners would be the Romulans. Both sides would be severally weakened. Perhaps you should check with your superiors before you stumble into a war."

Archer turned to Tillman, "Go to Red Alert. Man all battle stations. Charge all weapons."

The Klingon stared at him and then muttering something, closed down communications. Soon, the two ships moved away.

As they stepped down from Red Alert, Tillman looked in awe at Archer. "I am sure glad you were here, Admiral. How did you know they wouldn't attack?"

Archer smirked as he sat back, "I didn't. I just know that you can never show weakness when dealing with Klingons. I also felt that if they wanted a battle, they would have attacked right away."

He went on, "I think what they were really trying to find out about was the anti-cloak devices. Even if he didn't believe me about there being none aboard the ship, he did believe that I would destroy the ship before I would allow him to have them."

Tillman smiled, I guess it's a good thing he didn't call your bluff."

Archer looked at him, "What bluff?"

As Tillman pondered that, Archer turned to Edwards, "Reset a course for Vulcan, Warp 7."

As they approached Vulcan, Archer turned to Tillman, "Captain, let's exchange places and you can take us into an orbit around Vulcan."

Tillman was surprised and pleased as he quickly took over the Captain's chair.

They had just finished switching when Ensign Braxton announced, "We're being hailed."

Tillman said, "Put it up."

A Vulcan officer appeared on the screen, "This is Vulcan Space Control. You are entering Vulcan territorial space, identify yourself."

"This is Captain Tillman, commanding the Starfleet Starship George Washington."

"We have been expecting you, Captain, is Admiral Archer on board?"

"Yes, he is."

"I will notify Ambassador Soval of your arrival. I am sending the parameters of your orbit."

Archer watched as Ensign Edwards expertly guided the ship into the correct orbit, evidently Travis was a good teacher.

Archer stood up, "Excellent job, Captain, Ensign. Captain, arrange for the bodies to be put on the Shuttle. You and someone from Security will join T'Pol and me in the Shuttle."

He turned to Commander Peters, the Armory commander, "Commander, you have the Com."

As they disembarked from the Shuttle, Soval and two other Vulcans were waiting for them. Tillman was surprised when Soval extended his hand and Archer shook it.

"Welcome to Vulcan, Admiral, it is most satisfactory to see you and Commodore T'Pol."

"Thank you, Ambassador," he gestured to Tillman, this is Captain Tillman. Captain, this is Ambassador Soval."

Sensing a handshake would not be forthcoming for him, he merely said, "It is an honor, Ambassador."

Soval nodded and turned back to Archer, "Minister T'Pau is waiting."

Archer nodded and said, "The two bodies are in the Shuttle. Could you have someone assist the Captain and Lieutenant in unloading them and storing them somewhere for the time being."

Soval turned and instructed the men behind him. Archer turned to Tillman, "When the bodies are secure, return to the ship. I'll talk to you later."

"Aye, Sir." The men then headed to the Shuttle.

Soval led them to a nearby shuttle and they headed for the Ministry.

When they arrived, they were all quickly ushered to T'Pau's office.

She moved around her desk and greeted them, "Archer, T'Pol, it is most agreeable to see you again."

Archer answered, "It is good to see you as well. I wish it were under better circumstances."

T'Pau nodded and gestured for them to sit as she moved back behind her desk.

"While I understand your President's concern over what has occurred, I do not believe the situation is as dire as he seems to believe. When I discussed this with the other leaders, they agreed with me. We do have some questions but are more concerned about how this may affect the President himself. We respect how he has been a huge supporter of the creation of the Federation."

Archer broke in, "I am glad to hear that, but there is one piece of information that T'Pol and I held back from everyone."

T'Pau raised her eyebrows, "What information would you hold back from your President?"

"That the 'Vulcan' who saved our lives was a Romulan."

Both T'Pau and Soval were not able to completely mask their shock.

Archer went on, telling the how Solon had confronted them in their house, told them who he had said he was. How they had agreed to let him leave Earth.

T'Pau asked, "He said he was once the First Citizen of the Empire?"

"Yes, he said he and the Praetor had been friends since their youths."

"I am surprised that he did not wish you harm. One would expect he would want to exact revenge."

"He explained that to us." He hesitated, "I am not sure even now if I completely believe him, but he apparently believed that the Praetor and I shared a common ancestor, that we were somehow related."

This time T'Pau did not even try to hide her surprise, "How could that be? When would Humans and Romulans have ever interacted in the past?"

"He said the only possible thing they could think of was that when the Romulans fled Vulcan, one of their ships had been over a year late and they had a baby on board."

Seeing that T'Pau was still not impressed, T'Pol interjected, "When I met with the Praetor, I did notice that his eyes were a color not usually associated with Romulans or Vulcans. I did not think much of it at the time, but I realized later they were close to Jonathan's in color."

There was actually one other thing about him that was also different from most Vulcans but she was not about to tell anyone about that. The first time she was naked with Jonathan, she had thought back about when the Praetor had disrobed just before she was beamed out. She had blushed to herself as she remembered that he and Jonathan shared another physical attribute.

Archer had gone on, "In any case, he believed it and said that the Praetor had felt he and I shared a common destiny. When he was killed, Solon took that as a sign that it was my destiny to prevail. When he heard of plans for a new alliance, he saw that as the future."

He smirked, "He also said he was not welcome anymore on Romulus. Evidently the new regime considered him a danger."

Soval spoke up, "I understood that he had been to Vulcan before traveling to Earth. How was he able to pass security checks?"

"He was traveling under an assumed identity." He reached in his pocked, "Here are the papers he and the other Vulcan were carrying."

T'Pau took them and turned to the computer on her desk. She entered Klar's name first. "Apparently he does have several living relatives. They will have to be notified to see what they wish to do. I doubt they will want a large service because of what he did."

She entered Solon's alias as well, "The records show he left Vulcan some time ago and never returned. I would assume he is probably dead. I will have his family contacted and let them know what we found. Of course, I will just say another Vulcan had his papers."

She went on, "We will bury him as an unknown."

T'Pol broke in, "That will be satisfactory, he did request he wanted to be buried on Vulcan."

T'Pau nodded and turned from the computer, "Now that we have dealt with that, both Soval and I believe we need to take this opportunity to propose we use this trip of yours to attempt to move forward with the new Alliance. With your permission, we believe Soval should travel with you to Andoria and Tellar."

Archer nodded, "I agree completely. Should we start now?"

"I wish to have Minister Kuvack also attend and there is something else I wished to discuss with you."

After a slight pause, "We received word recently that Ambassador V'Lar's condition has worsened. When I heard you were coming, I took the liberty of contacting her. When she heard about your visit, she wanted me to ask if you could honor her with a visit while you were here."

T'Pol quickly answered, "It would be we who are honored. Both the Admiral and I were very impressed with her when she was on Enterprise." She hesitated, "It was during her visit that we learned how much we had grown to trust each other."

T'Pau arched her eyebrows a little, but she nodded and handed T'Pol a PADD, "Here are the coordinates for her home. I anticipated you would wish to meet with her and have arranged for a Shuttle. I assumed you would want to go immediately. When you return, we can continue our discussions."

Archer spoke up, "Thank you, Minister. You're right, we would like to see her as soon as possible."

T'Pau hit a button on her computer. Almost immediately a Subcommander came through the door, "Subcommander, escort the Admiral and Commodore to their shuttle."

He saluted and gestured for Archer and T'Pol to follow him.

They decided T'Pol would pilot the shuttle in case they were hailed during their journey. The landed without incident in a settlement similar to the one where T'Pol's house was. Locating the house they knocked on the door which opened to show an older Vulcan woman. T'Pol spoke up, "This is Admiral Archer and I am T'Pol, we are here to see Ambassador V'Lar."

As she moved out of the way, "We have been expecting you."

They entered and Archer was again surprised how cool it was inside. The woman gestured for them to follow her and led them to a door in the back. She opened it and said, "Ambassador, the Admiral and T'Pol are here."

She opened the door wide and T'Pol and Archer entered as she closed the door behind them. Both had to hold back their dismay as they saw the woman sitting in a chair waiting for them. It was a very thin and frail woman that they would have had a difficult time recognizing as V'Lar.

But they were stunned when she gave what could only be a considered a smile as she called out to them, "Admiral, T'Pol, come in, come in, let me look at you."

They crossed over and sat on a couch near her. V'Lar continued, "It is so gratifying to see you again. Thank you so much for coming."

Archer answered, "It is our honor and pleasure."

"Can I have T'Var bring you anything?"

Archer looked at T'Pol and answered, "No, we are fine."

"When I said on Enterprise that I sensed a bond between you, a bond of friendship, I said it would bode well for our peoples. Your marriage has only made me more correct. When I heard about it, I was so happy for you both."

T'Pol spoke up, "Thank you, Ambassador…" V'Lar interrupted, "Please, do not be so formal, call me V'Lar."

Archer broke in, "Only if you call me Jonathan."

Again the smile, "Agreed."

T'Pol went on, "Actually, it was your visit that enabled us to realize how deep was our friendship, how much we had grown to trust each other." She paused, "I was also impressed by how Jonathan treated you after you were willing to confide in him."

"It may interest you to know that my mission was successful and the corruption was exposed and removed."

She went on, "I must admit, that was quite a stunt you pulled. I had to admit there are some advantages in not being tied to logic."

Archer smiled, "As T'Pol would tell you, there are many times when logic would have been a better choice."

V'Lar seemed to think a moment and then hesitantly asked, "I know this is presumptuous of an old lady, but are you two bonded?" She quickly went on, "I would understand if you did not answer."

T'Pol reached out and touched Archer's arm. She was not surprised that he agreed that although they had kept it a secret up to now, they wanted to share it with her.

Archer spoke up, "You are the first one we have told. We do have a bond but it is only when we touch."

V'Lar showed a little surprise and said, "I am honored, I am so glad you do share some kind of bond."

Suddenly her head seemed to droop down on her chest and Archer quickly said, "Are you alright?"

She raised back up, "I am feeling a little tired." But she went on, "But I can rest later, I have so looked forward to talking with you."

Seeing they were about to say something, she hurried on, "I have been carefully following the steps toward a new Alliance. Minister T'Pau has been keeping me informed. I must say, I am excited by the prospect."

She continued a little sadly, "I wish I were younger so I could perhaps contribute something."

Then she looked at them, "But it is doubtful I could have done any better that what you have done. You have become quite a diplomat, Jonathan."

"That is high praise coming from you, but we could use someone of your caliber."

Just then T'Var hesitantly came into the room, "I am sorry to interrupt, Ambassador, but your husband and son are here." She paused and went on, "It is also time for your medication and you need to get some rest."

V'Lar sighed and turned to Archer, "T'Var has been with me for over one hundred years and thinks that gives her the right to order me around."

She continued, "But, this time, I am afraid I need to admit she is right."

Archer and T'Pol started to rise, "We should be going. It has been wonderful to see you again."

"Could you please stay just a little longer? My husband and son will only be here for a few moments and I have something else I would like to say to you both."

She turned to T'Var, "Send them in."

T'Var nodded and left. A moment later, an elderly Vulcan man and a younger man entered. When they saw that Archer and T'Pol were there, Archer was stunned to see the reaction on their faces. With the obvious surprise, there was also a definite glare of strong disapproval.

V'Lar spoke up, "The papers that you wanted are on the table. I presume you will return a copy to me after you have them processed."

While his son still stared at Archer and T'Pol, her husband nodded and crossed over to pick up a PADD.

He then turned back and said tightly, "What are they doing here?"

V'Lar showed a look combining anger and resignation, "They are here to pay their respects and because I asked them to come."

"You are no longer an Ambassador, V'Lar, there is no need to bring her into our house. She has disgraced all of Vulcan."

V'Lar saw Archer stiffen and quickly said, "You have what you came for. Now leave us."

For a few moments, the air was thick with tension, but then he turned and left, his son following after him.

V'Lar sighed, "I hope you two can accept my apology for what just happened."

Archer spoke up, "You have nothing to apologize for. He does apparently have a problem with us."

She sighed again, "We were betrothed as children. In the time since then, I have spent very little time with him. My son was conceived during the Pon Farr resulting from our wedding. Before and since then, I have managed to allow my duties to take me from him."

"As you could tell, he never approved of what I did and you can see how he feels about non-Vulcans. Your marriage has brought out the worst in him." She paused, "I do regret I did not try to spend more time with my son, perhaps he would not have followed in his father's footsteps."

T'Pol reflected on her and Koss. More than ever, she was relieved he had agreed to dissolve their marriage. Both she and Archer kept quiet, not sure what they should or could say.

V'Lar then perked up, "But, enough of them." She hesitated, "I was so glad when I heard you would be able to visit me. I want to say that although we only met for a short time, I feel like I know you both better than I know many individuals I have spent time with. I just want you to give you my blessing and know that I wish the best for you."

T'Pol again touched Archer's arm and smiled to herself as Archer spoke, "Thank you, V'Lar. We cannot tell you how much that means to us and how much we respect you."

Then, seeming to decide something, he shocked both T'Pol and V'Lar when he crossed over and leaned down and hugged V'Lar gently. She stiffened for a moment and then put her arms around him.

They stayed that way for a few moments and T'Pol knew that if she were human, she would be tearing up. As it was she felt a great sense of joy.

When Archer stepped back, V'Lar smiled and said, "You are a lucky woman, T'Pol." Then her eyes twinkled, "If a were a hundred years younger, you would have to worry about my intentions."

Archer was stunned for a moment, then smiled broadly. T'Pol was also a little shocked, but then gave her smile.

Archer reached out and took her hand, "Goodbye, V'Lar, it has been wonderful and a great honor to see you again."

She shook his hand and said, "Goodbye to you, and the honor is mine."

Then she turned to T'Pol and giving the sign, "Live Long and Prosper."

T'Pol returned the sign and making the response more human, said, "Peace be with you."

As they exited they saw T'Var waiting with some medicine and water. She surprised them by saying, "Thank you so much for coming, Admiral, she has been so looking forward to this."

"How is she doing?"

She lowered her voice, "The doctor says it could be any time." She paused, "I better give her the medicine."

They nodded and as they went down the hall, they heard V'Lar say, "After I take the medicine, I think I should lay down for a while."