Chapter 3

"Couldn't this place be a little roomier?"

T'Pol turned back to her companion as she made her way to their cramped compartment. She raised an eyebrow as she keyed in the door code. "You made all of the arrangements. If something is not to your liking then you have only yourself to blame."

Trip followed her in, tongue stuck into his right cheek. The small compartment was barely large enough for the double bed that was shoved up against the furthest wall underneath a one meter by one meter viewport. The place smelled of old socks and damp bodies. "I know, it's just that this was the last transport off of Earth and I figured that it would be less conspicuous to travel commonly than to arrange for a nicer transport. 'Sides, it isn't so bad. We'll be to Vulcan in two weeks and that'll be that." He sat on the bed, testing its firmness. He lamented the poor sleep he was sure to experience upon that bed. Trip looked up and saw that T'Pol was concerned about something. Funny how I can read the emotions of a Vulcan stranger better than I could ever read Natalie. "What's wrong?"

T'Pol was momentarily taken aback by his question. This Human was uncommonly perceptive when it came to her internal musings and suppressed emotions. She gestured to the bed and spoke of her discomfort. "There is only one bed." When he didn't respond she steadied her breathing and gave voice to the problem she had hoped to avoid. "I do not know you well enough to share a bed with you. It was be improper to share such an intimate experience with one who is not my species."

Trip looked down and thought it through. It made sense that she wouldn't want to share a bed with a stranger. The fact that she was making it about species bothered him some but he let it go. He couldn't claim to understand Vulcan's very well. He stood up and approached the small sofa that was on the adjacent wall. He pushed down on the cushion with his hand, testing its comfort before he looked at her. "I'll just crash on the couch. You can take the bed. I don' wanna put you in any uncomfortable situations."

T'Pol raised an eyebrow at this. "That is illogical. You are too large to sleep comfortably on the sofa. I will fit much better and I require less sleep than you. You must take the bed."

Trip shook his head and smiled broadly at her. "Can't do that Darlin'. On my planet a gentleman never kicks the lady off of the bed. Even if he has to camp out on an uncomfortable sofa for a few weeks. It just ain't done."

T'Pol moved forward, intent on sitting on the sofa. "That is illogical. You would risk weeks of discomfort to uphold this code of honor?"

Trip sat next to her, as far away as the small sofa would allow. "Yep. Now let's unpack and head to the mess to see if there is anything to eat."

"Mess?" T'Pol found herself constantly confused by this Human. His adherence to an honor code made her rethink her initial impression of his species and of the gentleman himself.

He just chuckled and began unpacking their things. "It's an old military tradition to call the cafeteria the 'Mess Hall'." As Trip continued to unpack and explain the history of the term 'Mess Hall' T'Pol took it all in, contemplating the turn of fate that brought these two unlikely allies together.


Kyle Jones made his way slowly through the San Francisco foot traffic. His face slightly flushed from the unusual exertion. The overcast sky painted a pale and drab world around him and he suppressed a shiver from overtaking him. The destination ahead of him brought about mixed feelings. He knew that asking his soon-to-be brother-in-law to help him was not necessarily the best idea but Trip was a good man. He would do it for Natalie. Surely he would. The security officer at the front gate commed Trip's apartment to see if Kyle would be permitted. He could feel his palms sweating.

The security officer turned to him, her face apologetic. "Sorry sir, Commander Tucker is not home." Kyle started to panic. "However, Captain Archer is there, he'll see you." Kyle thought of it for a moment and then nodded to the woman.

Kyle entered the apartment and nervously allowed Jon to show his to a seat. "Where's Trip?" He sat down comfortably on the couch and made himself comfortable. He noticed how uncomfortable Jon looked. "What, what is it?"

Jon reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet covered box. He put it down on the coffee table between them and pushed it towards Kyle. Kyle picked it up, his interest peaked. He opened it up and saw the gold band with the red and blue stones. His forehead creased in a deep frown. "An engagement ring?"

John nodded his head sadly. "That's not all. We found Vulcan robes on the floor too."

Kyle looked up from the ring, startled. "You're not saying what I think you're saying." Laughter burst forth from his gut. He quickly reigned it in and wiped a tear from his right cheek. "So Trip what? Ran off with some Vulcan lady?" He laughed again. "Good for him." Jon shook his head in confusion. "You know, I was coming here today to ask Trip for money. I was seriously going to ask him if he would lend me money because I know he has it. I was going to use his relationship with my sister as a bargaining piece." He laughed again. "I'm glad he got away. We would have bled him dry and Natalie would have bored him to pieces."

Lizzie Tucker entered the living room from the back of the apartment after this proclamation and decided to voice her distaste at how Kyle was approaching the situation. "Kyle, is that any way to talk about your sister? Besides, we don't know if Trip really did run off with a Vulcan." She sat down on the arm of the chair that Jon was occupying. Her blonde hair was pulled back and her blue eyes shone with worry. "Why do you need money? Isn't your mom workin' on some new fangled shielding tech? I thought she was gonna sell it to the highest bidder?"

Kyle sighed and pulled his hand down his face. "She is- was. The problem is she was on her way to a meeting with Starfleet when her transport was stopped and her research was stolen. The compact she keeps in secured in was the only thing taken." He scratched his chin. "Suspicious since only family knew where she kept the thing."

Lizzie frowned and Jon sat forward. "Are you saying it was an inside job?"

Kyle shrugged. "If it was then we'll get to the bottom of it. I was here to borrow the money from Trip because my mom wanted to hire a private investigator."

Jon looked to the side in thought. "We should tell Starfleet Security. They'll put someone on it."


The Mess Hall was filled with all manner of people. Trip perused the food and found something resembling lasagna and grabbed a plate of vegetables for T'Pol. He almost forgot what she looked like but managed to find the long haired blonde sitting at a table near a viewport. "Takin' in the view?" She looked up at his question and he was suddenly struck with the thought that T'Pol was a very attractive woman.

She motioned for him to sit next to her and silently accepted the plate of food from him. "I was just meditating in preparation for this adventure."

Trip took a tentative bite of his 'lasagna' and nodded his head. "This kind of tastes like Chicken Tikka Masala but saltier. Not bad." He looked towards the viewport and sighed. "It's amazing that we're traveling at Warp 3 right now. I've dreamed about space my whole life."

T'Pol looked our the viewport as well. In a show of uncommon candor she nodded slowly. "I too looked to the stars as a child. Vulcan's do not dream but if I did I would most likely have dreamed of space." Trip looked over at her and smiled.

He was really starting to like his Vulcan companion.