Over the last three days the crew of the Starship Enterprise had become used to seeing SubCommander T'Pol and Commander Tucker walking around hand in hand. With the gossip grapevine being what it was, several messages had been left in their mailboxes; mostly get well wishes. Trip had been the one to return thank you notes. T'Pol had been busy teaching the senior officers the proper protocols for dealing with the Vulcan ambassador. Fortunately Trip was able to let her know when she was going too far in her efforts to make certain that everything was prepared.
What they didn't expect was just how eager the Mazarites were to get rid of V'Lar. While the three of them were waiting for V'Lar's shuttle to dock, Archer standing to one side and Trip and T'Pol hand in hand as usual, they were exchanging glances wondering just what was going on. Vulcans, or at least Vulcans in good standing within their society and V'Lar would be that as they had been asked to pick her up, didn't commit the sort of crimes she was accused of.
T'Pol was mentally reeling from the accusation. Darlin' we don't know the circumstances and it isn't polite to ask. For all we know she accidentally walked in the wrong place and they're calling it abusing her position because she's not being punished the way they want. It doesn't have to be that she did something wrong on purpose.
We don't know that for certain! T'Pol shot back at her husband.
T'Pol, this is just a reaction from the scum bucket that hurt us. Trip soothed. You can't help but feel wary and upset at meeting another Vulcan accused of wrongdoing right now. I'm not too thrilled with it either. But you know V'Lar. And Vulcan is calling her back home. They wouldn't want her if she was doing something like robbing banks or assaulting people or if she really was abusing her position.
T'Pol mentally sighed. I thought I was supposed to be the logical one.
Trip smirked. Nah, you still are. It's just that I have more experience with emotional reactions. I know why I don't want to be here and it has everything to do with the jerk and nothing to do with V'Lar. From what you've shown me she's a pretty neat lady. It's just easier for me to control my knee jerk reaction because I've had them before. This is your first one so you're having a harder time dealing, that's all.
"Is this going to happen a lot?" Archer asked them. They had been silently watching each other for a while now. He had come to realize over the last three days that when they did that they were communicating mentally. "I thought that the two of you weren't supposed to be able to talk to each other like that for months yet, maybe even a year or more."
The two officers looked up at their captain startled. "That would normally be the case Captain," T'Pol said addressing the second question. "However, normally we would not have been aware of our bond for sometime yet. Between the fact that we are aware and have been working on increasing our awareness of each other and the assault, we have," she paused to try and translate the concept.
"We been diving head first into this Jon," Trip jumped in. "By the time we get to Vulcan we just might be all the way bonded."
"I see, you've been taking the crash course instead of the scenic route," Archer smirked.
"Yeah, I kinda wish we'd of had time for the scenic route but," Trip shrugged. They all knew the consequences of the scenic route. "Besides, this way I get her sooner rather than later." The two Human males chuckled together while T'Pol raised her eyebrow as though to tell them they were being childish. But Trip could feel her agreement through their bond. She too was pleased to have her claim known sooner rather than later. Who knew what sort of trouble her mate could attract as a single male?
The shuttle landed and the Vulcan Ambassador was practically thrown off in their haste to leave. V'Lar greeted Archer politely but couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Trip and T'Pol. Although it made them nervous they were both doing their best not to show it. Needless to say, T'Pol was doing a better job of it than Trip was. Archer was both a little amused and a little concerned over the silent by play between V'Lar and T'Pol. V'Lar looked very pointedly at the very Human hand holding before raising her eyes to meet T'Pol's. T'Pol raised her chin slightly in defiance, daring her to say anything. For some reason V'Lar let it pass, although Archer was sure that if he hadn't been studying T'Pol's body language for so long, he would have completely missed the entire thing.
Later that evening at dinner, Archer was doing his best to run interference between the two Vulcans by making small talk but wasn't having much luck. V'Lar still wouldn't stop watching T'Pol and Trip. Archer couldn't really blame her. He knew just how out of character both of them were acting. Not only did Trip have his left hand on the back of T'Pol's neck so that she could use both hands to eat but she was practically in his lap they were sitting so closely together. Archer was glad that they hadn't had dinner with him before this. The medical restrictions they were under had already made for some interesting contortions on the bridge. He really didn't want to wonder what else that restriction had affected. He was having a hard enough time keeping his mind out of the gutter. "Commander Tucker, are you aware that such physical contact is not usually welcomed by a Vulcan?" V'Lar finally asked.
"We're chosen mates ma'am and our bond was attacked recently. The doctor ordered us to remain in physical contact even when we're on duty to speed the healing process," Trip answered politely.
"The doctor also has us on light duty," T'Pol also answered. "To limit the time we are most exposed to other's minds."
"Child, you have always been unusual. There have been unsubstantiated reports spreading throughout the diplomatic core for some time now about yourself and your situation here on Enterprise. The facts of your bonding did not show up anywhere." If the older Vulcan's expression showed anything, Archer would have to say it was annoyance that a critical factor had been left out.
And she could call them unsubstantiated reports all she wished. Archer knew a term for rumors when he heard one. "It was a surprise to all of us," he said. "But a Vulcan Mind Healer confirmed the bond was that of chosen mates. As for the telepath who attacked them, he's already been dealt with."
"Of course," V'Lar said to Archer. Then she turned to Trip and T'Pol. "I do not wish to hinder your healing. Captain, would it be possible for you to escort me to my quarters?"
"Of course Ambassador," Archer replied. He was thankful that the ambassador wasn't demanding that T'Pol escort her, something that T'Pol had said she was entitled to do. He didn't think that he was ever going to get used to Vulcan customs. Why on Earth would an older Vulcan female need a female escort while T'Pol hadn't needed one at all? Such puzzles were more Hoshi's bailiwick than his, but it didn't stop him from wondering.
It turned out that not all the Mazarites were so willing to let the ambassador just leave. After a short battle with a Mazarite ship, Archer went to confront V'Lar. V'Lar admitted to Archer that the reason she had been on their planet had been to collect information on corrupt government officials. The leaders of the government and a majority of the civilians had wanted to know who was involved so that the corruption could be rooted out as quickly as possible. Without her testimony, the corrupt officials would go free. The corruption charges against her had been false, meant to prevent the very sort of action that Archer's ship had been involved in.
"I apologize Captain. They were not supposed to pursue me. I can only suppose that the ruse has been discovered," V'Lar said.
"It is hardly your fault Ambassador," Archer said mollified. "I can understand these sorts of security precautions. But I needed to know about the situation. I have almost a hundred souls on this ship whose lives I am responsible for. Being prepared for a possible attack under these conditions saves lives." He went over to the wall intercom. "Archer to Tucker," he said.
"Tucker here sir," Trip called from the bridge.
"Trip, you and T'Pol head down to Engineering. There's a good chance our latest friends will be back."
"Aye sir!" Trip said and motioned to Reed. "Malcolm you're in charge til the Captain gets back." He and T'Pol didn't wait for acknowledgement.
"Now Ambassador," Archer looked sternly at V'Lar. "What are the Mazarite ships capable of?"
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Down in Engineering Trip was very loudly cursing the three new Mazzrite ships in every language he knew, and a few he didn't, including Vulcan. Those idiots were going to blow up his engine!
"Archer to Engineering."
T'Pol reached over to punch the button while Trip dragged her all over the Engine Room. "PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE READY TO SLOW DOWN!" Trip yelled in the direction of the comm.
"Sorry Trip, but we need a little more speed."
"I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN GIVE YOU!" Trip yelled again. He really didn't want to hear what he knew was coming.
"It's called a Warp Five engine."
"ON PAPER!" Trip squawked.
"We don't have a choice Trip."
"AYE SIR!" Trip snarled. A quick glance between the bondmates resulted in them separating and monitoring separate systems on opposite sides of the room. Inspite of the pain of separation they neither flinched nor hesitated in their actions. "Don't take your eyes off that antimatter stream!" Trip told a crewman.
"Four point nine seven!" T'Pol called out.
"Port injectors are hot!" Trip called, waving smoke out of his face.
"Warp Five!" T'Pol called out.
The engineering crew didn't seem to notice what T'Pol was saying but there was a distinct feeling of giddiness running through out the room. They should have blown something by now. The Warp Five engine might have been able to make it to Warp Five, but no one had ever thought that it could run at that speed for any length of time. Something should have blown or shaken apart seconds after reaching that speed. They weren't shaking nearly as much as they should have though.
"Trip we're pulling away!" Archer called. "How much longer can you hold her?"
"MAYBE TEN MINUTES," he yelled. Then he muttered to himself, "Just what did you do to my engine Scotty?" He knew that something had been changed. It couldn't have just been the change in crystals that had stabilized the Enterprise this much at high warp.
"That's all we'll need," Archer said. "They're already about to blow their engines. They can't hold on more than a couple of minutes if that."
"UNDERSTOOD!" Trip yelled. "Well you heard the man people! Ten minutes and we'll have these jerks eating our dust!" Trip called. The news thrilled the engineers even more. This time it wouldn't be the Armory or the Helmsmen who saved the ship. It would be them, guiding the fastest ship in the fleet as she ran her heart out.
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An hour later V'Lar and Archer walked into the Engine Room looking for Trip and T'Pol. They were laying on top of the engine itself, going over every millimeter of every circuit and crystal. "Trip, T'Pol! Good job guys!" Archer called up to them beaming.
"Just tell me I can get my hands on that Scotsman!" Trip snarled.
T'Pol inched her head over the side of the engine. When she saw Archer looking up at her astonished she explained. "Mr. Scott made a few minor modifications sir." She saw by the wince on his face that Archer understood. It did not matter that Scotty's modifications had helped Enterprise sustain high warp for eleven minutes and sixteen seconds. What mattered was that Trip had been unaware of the modifications. She turned her attention to the Ambassador. In Vulcan she explained, "My mate is highly protective of his engine. Another engineer made modifications without discussing it with him. He is highly disturbed by the man's rudeness."
"Sorry Trip, I don't know how you could talk to him. But think about this, he may have not known what he was doing," Archer pointed out. "If the changes are that minor," he trailed off.
Trip grumbled but made no real comment. "I have tried to explain that Captain," T'Pol said. "He merely informs me that it does not matter. Nor does it matter that the modifications probably saved our lives. Mr. Scott should have made him aware that he had made the modifications. I believe that Mr. Scott was unaware that these were modifications. He seemed to be an exceptional engineer, almost as good as Trip."
"Of course he knew!" Trip snarled.
"Ah, I see," Archer said, knowing that meant that his two officers were in the middle of yet another one of their frequent discussions. "We'll leave you to it then." He reached out and making sure not to actually touch skin, snagged the Ambassador's sleeve. "The last thing you ever want to do is get between them when they're like that. It may seem like they're blowing up at each other but they're really having fun," he tried to explain as they walked out of Engineering.