When planning this chapter I found another timing inconsistency in the dialogue in the Azati Prime Episode. In scene 10 the Xindi Reptillians report they had lost contact with the lunar outpost 2 hours before. Then in the following scene, (scene 11) Captain Archer says he gave the order to destroy the base only 1 hour before. Either the Captain can't read a clock or a calendar, or the production crew of Star Trek Enterprise were affected by the Temporal Cold War.

Based on the dialogue it seems to me that the Xindi must have had communication with the moon base through all phases of its orbit because this dialogue seems to suggest they were aware they had lost contact with the base soon after it was destroyed. This suggests to me that the Xindi must have learned quite early that Enterprise was there - likely before Archer left on his suicide mission which is why he was intercepted so quickly.

This chapter is dialogue light. I figure most of the exchanges would be pretty much the same as they were in the episode. The major difference was T'Pol's state of mind so most of the chapter is her perspective on what's going on, peppered with dialogue from the episode and some original stuff written by me where I believe conversations would have gone in a different direction.

The idea of gossip as a form of verbal grooming is an actual theory first proposed by Dr Robin Dunbar head of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford

Chapter 9: It was regrettable

0300: T'Pol's Quarters

Trip looked down at the sleeping woman with a smile. He hated leaving like this but he needed to go before people started moving around the ship precipitating the shift change. Rumours had been rife about them for months, but if he was spied leaving her quarters in the early hours, wearing sweats, the talk would reach a fever pitch. He lifted her arm gently and started to slide away from her. She stirred, gave a soft sighing sound and tried to pull him close again, nuzzling into his neck. He felt his stomach clench, he loved the strong unyielding woman she was when she was awake, but there was something about the gentle, vulnerable creature she became in sleep that aroused something primal in him.

"T'Pol," he kissed her forehead, "it's oh three hundred, I should get back to my quarters before people start moving about the ship."

She woke fully in response, lifted her head and pressed a kiss against his mouth, pulling herself over him. He chuckled into her mouth. Dammit, he'd really awoken the beast when he initiated her into sex, the woman was insatiable. He felt himself hardening in response and pulled away again. "Sorry, darlin, I really have to go or we'll be 'news of the day' at breakfast."

He got up and looked around her quarters for his clothes. He noticed the burnt down stub of the meditation candle with a slight feeling of guilt. Several times over the past 6 weeks their meditation had gotten no further than sitting down in front of the lit candle before they'd been stripping the clothes off each other and heading for the rack. As he tracked down his discarded clothes he worried about the quality of her meditation since they'd become a couple. Perhaps when he saw her at breakfast he'd suggest she meditate alone tonight and he'd come to her quarters later for neuro-pressure. Right, neuro-pressure, they were even worse at getting through that than the meditation.

He pulled on his clothes and looked over at her lying on the bed watching him. He sat down on the edge of the bunk and slipped on his shoes. She ran a hand along his thigh as he did. He gave her a sideways look and a wry smile. She would barely even stand close to him during the day when they were on duty. But as soon as they got into the privacy of her quarters she was surprisingly tactile.

He leaned over and kissed her lightly. "I'll see you at breakfast at oh six hundred?" He finished the sentence with a raised infliction indicating a question, but he knew there was no need for confirmation, she would be there. He ran two fingers down the side of her face as he got up. She grabbed his hand as he moved away only letting go when he got too far away to maintain the contact. Her eyes remained on him as he left the room.

1000: Bridge

"Their flightpath is somewhat erratic." T'Pol observed dryly. The whole bridge watched, with various levels of nervousness as Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather sped away in the insectoid shuttle, and then back again. Captain Archer initiated a brief conversation with the shuttle but the whole bridge winced when the shuttle grazed the ship. T'Pol ignored the light banter between the Captain and Commander that occurred as a result. Vulcans were generally perplexed by these seemingly meaningless exchanges. T'Pol had come to understand that for humans this humorous repartee helped to dissipate tension for everyone.

They monitored the shuttle's progress as it passed through the detection grid but soon lost it on sensors. "The detection grid is creating too much interference. I've lost them." She reported to the Bridge. She experience a moment of disquiet at her mate's absence from her. She reminded herself she had calculated odds of 92.8% for a successful mission, she was satisfied with the likelihood of his return so put Tucker and Mayweather out of her mind.

"We're being scanned."

At lieutenant Reed's report she checked her scanners immediately and found the small moon base with three Xindi life signs. After reporting that the base had not made a transmission and hypothesising that they may have to wait four hours for the moon'a orbit to bring them into communication range again, she began to consider likely scenarios to disable the base. Before she could formulate a logical course of action, Captain Archer ordered the moon base destroyed. While she made an attempt to get the Captain to rethink his decision, as she had not had time to consider a strategy to neutralise of the base, she was unable to provide a plausible alternative to deter him.

She experienced a sense of disquiet. She calculated that the moon base's destruction would not adversely affect the success of the insectoid shuttle mission. But, she could not help but think that the Captain had acted rashly. That by destroying the base he had put a time limit on their ability to operate within this system undetected. Once the moon's orbit took it back into range, the Xindi would quickly discover the destroyed base. They would no doubt investigate which would greatly increase the chance that the Enterprise would be discovered if it were still in the system. She began to calculate how much time they had before they were discovered.

1215: Corridor

T'Pol looked at the small medallion. She had enough experience with Daniels to know quantum dating would prove the origins of the artefact but offered to have it dated anyway. She attempted to convince the Captain of the logic of accepting Daniel's argument, that he was not the best person to attempt the mission and that a diplomatic option was the logical choice. He dismissed that attempt out of hand.

"What am I supposed to do? Fly a shuttle into the system and knock on the door, tell the Xindi we want to talk?" Archer asked "The weapon is too close to being launched. If the situation were different maybe I'd consider it, but I can't." He told her.

"You are the least logical person to attempt this mission, Captain. Not only will your death affect the morale of the crew but destroying the weapon outright will not necessarily eliminate the threat to Earth. It will only buy us more time to achieve a diplomatic solution. If the mission to destroy the weapon is successful we will need your skills as a diplomat and negotiator, if it is unsuccessful we will need your leadership. There are other people on this ship whose likelihood of success on this mission is not materially different to yours. You do not have to die, it is unnecessary." She told him.

"I wish that were true." He answered.

She was perplexed by his answer. Why did he feel that he had to die. Did he believe some fatalistic sacrifice was required to save Earth. She had been aware that a logical argument was unlikely to persuade him. She understood humans enough to know that there must be a strong emotional component behind his rationale for insisting that he pilot the shuttle. But she lacked the means to make a convincing emotional argument so she had hoped he would be prepared to accept logic.

By her calculation there was only one hour and forty five minutes before the moon's orbit took the destroyed base back into communication range. After that she had calculated it would take them at least a further two point five hours to determine the fate of the base and find Enterprise. She was conscious that their time was running out.

There was no way for her to know that the Xindi had already noted that contact with the station had been lost and they would already know that Enterprise was there by the time the Captain left Enterprise in the Insectoid shuttle.

1502: Bridge

It was silent on the bridge. They were waiting. There was very little else to do. They were used to waiting; space exploration, by its nature, had long periods of inaction between short periods of intense action. They usually filled the hours of waiting with idle conversation. When T'Pol had first come on board she had found the human habit of constant talk about... nothing, to be distracting and pointless. It was Ensign Sato, a linguist, an expert in talking, who had explained it in scientific terms for T'Pol. Humans were social creatures and had descended from animals that maintained their social bonds through touch. As their dexterity and tool use increased, opportunities for physical contact became less frequent and talking replaced it. Gossip, chitchat, small talk, it was a type of verbal grooming.

Once T'Pol understood this she tried to participate as much as her literal Vulcan mind allowed her. Her goal was to improve her interpersonal relationships with the crew, so they would consider her part of their social group, which was essential for the smooth running of the ship. She knew she was not adept at this kind of conversation. Her literal interpretation of some human phrases and idiom was frequently amusing to members of the crew, particularly Commander Tucker. Fortunately, because of her Vulcan nature, she was not offended by this, and she theorised that her lack of objection to being laughed at was actually an asset. Even so, after two and a half years, although she had come to expect this seemingly pointless talk she still found the practice to be somewhat distracting and unnecessary.

Now she found herself desiring some of that mindless chatter. The silence was like a physical presence on the bridge, pacing in front of the Captain's chair, looking over Ensign Sato's shoulder as she listened to the sound of space, standing next to Ensign Mayweather, looking up at the viewing screen. The silence filled all the places where the Captain would have been, but would never be again.

"How long has it been?" asked Ensign Mayweather suddenly breaking the silence.

T'Pol felt a surge of annoyance. Surly the Ensign had a chronometer at his station, she would hope if he could pilot a starship, he could read a clock. She clamped down on the rogue emotion

"It's been an hour." Ensign Sato answered.

Another surge of annoyance. It had actually been fifty eight minutes. She could not understand the human habit of generalising data that could be measured and reported accurately.

Travis dropped his head. "It only took Commander Tucker and I twenty five minutes to get to the weapon." He said quietly.

T'Pol gripped the arms of the Captain's chair batting down another wave of annoyance. The emotions she was feeling bothered her, primarily because she should not be experiencing them. She realised she was suffering the effects of neglecting her meditation. Something, as Trip had pointed out at breakfast, that she had been doing frequently over the past month. She looked across at Commander Tucker, the reason for this neglect, who was manning the Engineering Station. He caught her eye and tipped his head slightly towards the Ready Room. She raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement and rose from the chair. "I'll be in the Ready Room. Commander Tucker, please join me."

1505: Captains Ready Room

Trip started speaking as soon as the ready room door closed, before T'Pol even had a chance to sit down. "Are you alright? You looked a little tense out there." He asked her. He had obviously noticed her unusual emotions.

"I am experiencing agitation in response to the crew's interaction." She replied. "I believe you were right this morning, I have been neglecting my meditation somewhat over the past month and am experiencing the effects in the form of difficulties suppressing base emotions."

"Oh." Trip gave a smirk. He was well aware what she'd been doing in place of meditation, because she'd been doing it with him.

"It should not be a source of amusement." she told him curtly. "The Captain entrusted me with this ship and its crew. My effectiveness will be compromised if I am unable to keep my emotions suppressed."

Trip felt a little twinge of guilt at her words. It had never been his intention to compromise her emotional discipline, he knew how important it was to her, that she couldn't really handle feeling emotions. "Look, why don't you spend an hour in here meditating. I'll man the conn while you do it and if there's anything to report, we'll let you know immediately. Then I think we need to have a brainstorming session with the senior staff." He ran a hand over his mouth. "It's looking more and more likely the Captain has failed." he said quietly. "We need to decide what to do next."

"I attempted to convince the Captain that it was illogical for him to be the one to attempt this mission. In retrospect I believe a logical argument was not the best strategy. His decision to pilot the shuttle was an emotional one. I should have requested that you or one of the other crew members attempt to dissuade him, to utilise an emotional argument to try and convince him."

He stepped up to her and took her hand. "Trust me, I made a pretty a emotional plea with him to reconsider and I'm pretty sure most of the officers did to some extent. Even travelling to the future with Daniels and being told he had to live to save the galaxy didn't deter him." He gave her hand a squeeze. "His mind was made up."

She accepted his assessment of the Captain's mindset and at the same time saw the logic of his proposal. By her calculation they still had one hour and twenty three minutes before they would be detected by the Xindi. It was logical for her to use some of that time to meditate and regain her discipline. She was aware of how limited their current options were and she needed to be at her most rational and centred to ensure she chose the best path for the crew and the mission going forward.

"I will meditate. It would also be a good use of this time to give the bridge crew some breaks as well. I believe the emotional tension on the bridge is not conducive to optimal human performance. Dismissed "

"Yes, sir." Trip smiled at her as he left the room.

1600: Situation Room

T'Pol looked at Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed and realised she had hoped, against logic, that they would have come up with a proposal that on the surface would be illogical and emotionally driven yet would somehow be assured of success. Unfortunately no one had suggested any course of action that she had not already considered and dismissed. Reed and Tucker were both in favour of taking the ship in as close as possible to take out the weapon but T'Pol had already dismissed that as assured of failure.

Her proposal, which in her mind had the highest likelihood of success, was for her to take a shuttle to attempt a diplomatic solution. In her assessment, the fact that she was not human did give the option a small chance of success. Reed and Tucker, rather emotionally, pointed out that the flaws in the plan which ultimately outweighed the small chance of success.

Trip sarcastically suggested, by her criteria, they should send Phlox to negotiate. She actually seriously considered the proposal. Phlox had a unique ability to connect with aliens of vastly different cultures, he looked sufficiently different to humans to not be immediately associated with them and he had not been scanned by the alien woman Rajiin, so the Xindi would not immediately be able to connect Phlox to the humans. She was forced to dismiss the idea, as the only Doctor on board, Phlox was truly indispensable.

In the end the most logical solution was to retreat from the system and regroup. Although she had only meditated for forty minutes, instead of the suggested hour, she was conscious that the deadline she had calculated was now only thirty minutes away. For the safety of the crew it was imperative that some distance be put between the Enterprise and Azati Prime.

They were an hour away before she discovered there had been an error in her logic.

1700: Bridge

The silence on the bridge had persisted as they sped away from Azati Prime. T'Pol had become adept at reading and predicting human emotions and had anticipated that there would be high levels of despondency over the loss of the Captain and failure to destroy the Xindi Weapon. She resolved to speak to Commander Tucker about making a ship wide announcement. She would need the assistance of her first officer to compose a speech that would address the crew's emotions and not just the practical matters of the day's events.

At the thought of the Captain's fate, she tamped down on a surge of grief in case it should incapacitate her. Once again she noted how fortunate humans were in their ability to keep functioning even while experiencing great emotional upheaval.

"Sub-Commander, I've detected four Xindi ships, they appear to be closing on our position." Lieutenant Reed's voice penetrated the silence of the the Bridge and broke through her contemplation.

T'Pol leapt into action. "Hail them, Ensign Sato. Mr Reed, make the weapons hot and declare a tactical alert."

As expected there was no response to the hails. The Reptillian ships attacked as soon as they were within range.

Enterprise had very little chance against the four heavily armed reptillian ships. Despite the efforts of all the crew and the cool guidance of T'Pol they were losing, and badly. They had managed to take out one of the other ships but the remaining three continued to pound them. Communication was down, there were multiple hull breaches and no helm control, the situation in engineering was unknown.

T'Pol wondered if Trip was still alive and was filled with the strange certainty that he was. As she attempted to guide the bridge crew through what she was sure were their last moments she was so impressed by the humans. They never gave in to the fear she knew they must be feeling. It was regrettable that they should die here, regrettable that her people had turned away from Earth in its hour of need. She had come to realise that humans and Vulcans complimented each other. The humans were not illogical slaves to their emotions anymore than Vulcans were emotionless automatons. With the opportunity to work together humans and Vulcans could have become something great - a force in the galaxy. But their failure here meant Earth was endangered, she was endangered, everything she had learned, everything she had experienced, all that she had to offer her people, all that Earth had to offer her people, would be lost. It was regrettable.