Captain Kirk waited in his command chair for Scotty and Mr. Kyle to tell him they were ready. While he was sure that his crew wouldn't have a problem with saving the universe once again, he was a little worried about the crew of the NX-01. They hadn't had a problem with the routine repairs or working with the non-human members of his crew. But the first year a crewman spent out in space was used to change him from a green recruit into a seasoned officer. The only member of the NX-01 who had more than six months deep space experience was SubCommander T'Pol, and she had never experienced anything like this.

"All right sir, we're ready on this end," Scotty said.

"Good," Kirk said and then turned his attention to his bridge crew. They were expecting him to speak to Lt. Uhura and were a little surprised when he addressed them all. "Ok people, now you need to remember before Uhura opens a channel with the NX-01 that this is a green crew we're dealing with. They've been spectacular up until now dealing with this situation but this is the point where they're going to need a shot of confidence from us. Let's make sure we give it to them." He looked around and smiled as each of the bridge crew deliberately relaxed and did their best to look completely unconcerned. "Good," he said as he copied them. "Now, Uhura if you would please?"

"Opening hailing frequency Captain," she said.

Captain Archer sat in his command chair pleased, but nervous with the situation. Either having two miracle workers working together was the magic number or each had under estimated the other. Both crews had managed to put together the needed torpedoes in record breaking time. A full two hours before the six hour deadline both starships were moving into position to close the rift.

"Captain, the 1701 is hailing us," Hoshi said crisply. The entire bridge crew was on edge with nerves. They had barely begun to dry out behind the ears as a starship crew and now the fate of two universes lay in their hands.

"On screen Ensign," Archer said. He tried to tell himself that he had every confidence in T'Pol, Trip and Malcolm but the sheer enormity of what they were about to do was overwhelming him. He knew that his crew needed him to at least seem confident, so he put on the Captain face he had been developing. The view screen switched from the scene of the rift to show the bridge of the 1701.

The relaxed posture of that bridge crew, especially Captain Kirk, had a positive effect on Archer's crew. He could practically hear them relaxing all around him. 'Too bad I know better,' he thought to himself before greeting Kirk. 'No matter who ran the numbers, this isn't guaranteed to work.'

On the bridge of the 1701, Kirk was impressed. He knew that Archer's crew, while inexperienced was professional but he hadn't expected to see such good poker faces. He had expected to see a display of nerves at the very least. The only sign he could see of the stress they were under was in their stiff postures and those were relaxing as they realized that his crew didn't seem to think that this part of the job was any less routine than the repairs. It wasn't that simple of course, but the crew of the 1701 had been bluffing everyone in their universe for years into thinking just that. "Captain Archer we've reached our position. Good luck to you and your crew in your future endeavors."

"And to you and yours," Archer replied. "Just so you know, as soon as we fire off our torpedo, I'm getting my ship as far back as I can and still stay in the same area. I don't want us to get sucked into the implosion or anything." What he really didn't want was for Kirk to think that they were turning tail and running. He was relieved when Kirk laughed and said that they were going to be doing the same thing on their side. After exchanging good byes, the call ended and the view screen once more returned to the sight of the rift.

"Malcolm, Travis, it's all yours," Archer said. "You two know what to do."

"Aye sir," they both said and continued to watch the countdown. When the timer ran down the effects were almost instantaneous. Malcolm and Kyle fired their torpedoes and Travis and Sulu flew their ships away from the implosion. Just as Spock and T'Pol had calculated, the torpedoes hit each other at the precise place where they were needed. The implosion was rather spectacular, with radiation waves imitating the dust effects a similar implosion would have created in a planetary atmosphere. Travis just barely got them out of the way in time. Everyone could feel the edge of the implosion as the Enterprise rocked gently in space.

"Whoo," Archer breathed. He turned to T'Pol, "How does it look?"

She looked up and he could tell she was trying to bury a certain amount of smug satisfaction. "We have succeeded Captain."

All over the bridge Archer could hear the sounds of people coming down off the adrenaline high. "Good work people," he said. "T'Pol, find the nearest medical facility. Dr. Phlox says that three of our people are going to have to be shipped back to Earth for the duration of their recoveries. Malcolm, Trip, my ready room."

"Aye, aye Captain," came from all over the bridge.

Archer got up and turned command over to T'Pol before leading the way to his ready room. Trip and Malcolm fell in behind him, exhausted but holding back the giddiness brought on by success. As they collapsed into the chairs around Archer's desk, Archer grabbed the bottle of scotch and passed it around. "I can't tell you how glad I am that this worked."

"You're not the only one!" Trip said fervently.

"Here, here!" Malcolm agreed. The three friends settled down to relax and both Archer and Malcolm decided that now was the perfect time to start teasing Trip about his impending marriage.

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T'taskai had been a Mind Healer for nearly a century. Unlike most of her colleagues she specialized in the mental disorders that occurred in space travelers. Like most Vulcans who were involved in travel beyond their world she was aware of young T'Pol and her position on the Human starship Enterprise. Few Vulcans ever traveled on alien ships and none had done so alone for as long as she had. She had moved her practice to the closest medical facility so that if there was a problem with T'Pol's mental health she would be available as quickly as possible. There was no telling what sort of damage dealing with Humans day in and day out had done to her logic.

She had been expecting the call she received from Captain Archer asking for an appointment. What she had not expected was that it was not only for T'Pol. T'Pol was escorted into her office by two Humans, one of whom she identified as Captain Archer. "Captain Archer, SubCommander T'Pol, Commander," she said recognizing the other Human's rank, if not his identity. "Captain, although you requested this appointment, you did not transmit any details. May I inquire as to the reason my services are required?" It would not do to make any assumptions. There were a great number of illnesses or injuries that T'Pol may have suffered as well as the unknown hazards of unexplored space. And there was the Commander to consider as well. She had no idea why he was here.

"Healer, I'm afraid that the reason I've requested your services is a rather delicate matter. You see, we've been told that SubCommander T'Pol and Commander Tucker have formed a telepathic bond. Neither of them has ever participated in a mind meld with each other. While I trust the telepath that gave us this information, I do need to have it confirmed by a Healer. As far as I know nothing like this has ever happened before." Archer wasn't sure about the proper way to go about confirming what Spock had told them but they needed to get it confirmed fast. He could only hope that this Healer could do that.

T'taskai could only blink. This Human could not be saying what she thought he was saying. "Child?" she asked T'Pol.

"The information Captain Archer has given you is all the information that we have, honored Healer. I have never heard of this being possible but our interaction with the telepath did indicate that he is trustworthy. I ask for your wisdom in this matter," T'Pol said calmly. She wasn't as calm as she outwardly appeared to be. She was controlling as hard as she could but she was at once both terrified that it was true and terrified that it wasn't.

"Commander what would you ask of me?" T'taskai asked.

"I just want to know if we're bonded or not ma'am. I ain't too sure about it, but if I understand the way this works, well then," Trip shrugged. "I'm not gonna try and fight it if we're really bonded."

T'taskai nodded. That was very logical, if it was true. Bondmates should not fight their bonding but it was also true that no non-Vulcan had ever bonded with a Vulcan before, at least not without repeated mindmelds. She personally did not think that it was possible but her long years as a Mind Healer for those that explored the unknown had shown her that much was possible under the correct circumstances. "Please come with me SubCommander, Commander. Captain, please wait here." She led her two patients into the next room where she held her consultations, leaving Captain Archer in the outer office.

The consultation room was very plain, with a couch along one wall and two pillows on either side of a flame pot. T'taskai gestured for T'Pol and Trip to kneel on the pillows while she collected a third from the couch. Trip rubbed his hands nervously on his pants as he knelt down on the pillow. T'Pol knelt and simply waited for the Healer. All of her concentration was focused on her emotional control.

T'taskai laid the pillow down in front of the flame pot and gestured for her patients to face one another. "Commander, as you are not Vulcan I will explain the procedure to you before I attempt it. Is that satisfactory?"

"Yes ma'am," Trip said, just wishing she'd get on with it.

"I must touch your minds with my telepathic ability. As the information I seek is very specific, it should not take long to find it. I have touched Human minds before and I am aware that a clinical touch is not comfortable for your species. It will help if you do not fight me." T'taskai instructed. Trip nodded and she placed her hand on his face at the psi points. She gently brushed her mind against his. No matter how gently she thought she was being Trip still flinched from the coldness of the contact. His flinch was not enough to make a different to her diagnosis. She then turned to T'Pol.

T'Pol was much more used to the telepathic touch of a Mind Healer. She held her mental shields open so that the Mind Healer could examine her. The examination was more thorough than the one that Trip had been subject too. Not only did the Healer search for signs of the bond, but also any sign that T'Pol had established a mindmeld with Trip, no matter how brief.

Archer looked up as the door to the consultation room opened. T'taskai approached him, leading both T'Pol and Trip. "The information you were given is correct Captain. SubCommander T'Pol and Commander Tucker are bondmates. T'Pol did not initiate this nor did Commander Tucker. I will inform the Vulcan government and the Vulcan High Command of the situation. I will deliver my report to you so that you may inform Earth's government and Starfleet."

"Thank you for your help in this matter Healer," Archer said. "I will wait for your report. Live long and prosper."

"Live long and prosper Captain, SubCommander, Commander." T'taskai said as Archer led his officers out of her clinic. 'This situation must be recorded for the history books,' she mused as she quickly wrote out her reports. 'I have no doubt that many will find this completely fascinating. I wonder if this Human is typical of his species? If that is true, many preconceptions may need to be revised.'