A/N: The longest chapter, since there are some things to wrap up, but the last. Thanks to everyone who stuck with this the whole way!

CHAPTER 42

ABOARD THE ISS ENTERPRISE

Cunningham missed Sato, but he wasn't the only one. He'd never seen the captain so moody and withdrawn, ever since she'd left a few days ago. He frowned as he removed the half-eaten meal from the table in the captain's cabin. Archer's appetite had been severely curtailed since her departure, too.

He thought the dog missed her, too. Dart kept staring at the door to the adjoining cabin, as if he expected her to walk through at any moment.

The steward sighed. It was sad that she was gone. She'd been good for the captain. Too bad the captain hadn't realized it at the time. Maybe if he had, he would have treated her better, and she wouldn't have thought it was necessary to go back to where she had come from. He wasn't sure what the captain had done to her, but he had to have done something to make her run away.

He couldn't really blame her. She was smart enough to see the down side to being a captain's woman. So many of them wound up being thrown out like trash when the captain was tired of them. But unlike the others, who had adopted snooty airs when they took up residence in the adjoining cabin, she had treated him like a person, not a piece of the furniture.

Cunningham would remember her fondly for that.

Corporal Mayweather was undergoing additional conditioning after protecting Sato long enough for her to get away.

Colonel Hawthorne had seemed sympathetic to his situation, since Mayweather had been following his primary orders as was expected under conditioning. He was to obey Archer, who had given his authority over him to Sato, and who in turn had specifically ordered him to protect her from Archer. That it could be argued that Mayweather couldn't be held entirely accountable for the way things had turned out because of his conditioning was probably the only thing that had kept him from standing in front of a firing squad.

To say the captain had been displeased was an understatement. Mayweather didn't know if it was because Sato had gotten away or because he'd shot the captain. Probably both, he reasoned with his usual equanimity. But, the captain had ordered that his conditioning be reinforced after Hawthorne had told him that there was no valid reason to discipline him too harshly.

As Mayweather neared the end of his reconditioning session, he thought it ironic that Archer was mad at him because he'd only been doing what he'd always done -- follow orders.

Ensign Freeman was happy. He had his communications station all to himself again. So what if the captain was a little upset that his pet from another universe had managed to slip her lead?

It was going to be a pain to have to do all the translations himself again, but he could live with that. And if any of the translations were incorrect, he could always blame the UT, like he had before she had shown up.

He might be only a communications officer, but he was the lead communications officer on the Imperial fleet's flagship. The only person who could have taken that away from him was long gone.

Commander Tucker made sure he avoided Archer for a few days after Sato managed to run away. Since he was no longer needed on the bridge, he was more than happy to stay in engineering. Besides, despite Kelby's bumbling ways, the man had managed to get some work done when he was here. Now Tucker had to rework the department duty roster to make up for being one engineer short.

If Tucker was honest with himself, engineering was really where he belonged, no matter that T'Pol seemed to think he would make a better captain than Archer.

Poor Kelby! Tucker never would have thought that he had the gumption to try to kill the captain. Just went to show, he thought, that you can't always know the true nature of a person.

Then there was Phlox, who had finally come out of hibernation. Seems he wasn't responsible for trying to kill the captain, after all. He said he couldn't remember what he'd done. The mood Archer was in, Tucker knew he wasn't about to take the Denobulan's word for it. No, Archer had ordered T'Pol do a mind meld on him. Afterward, she had reported that there was some sort of imbalance affecting Phlox's short-term memory. Although T'Pol couldn't figure out what exactly had happened, she'd been certain someone had induced Phlox against his will to try to poison the captain. She didn't name names, but Tucker's money was on Kelby, although how that dimwit could have messed with Phlox's mind was beyond him.

He'd never seen Archer in such a foul mood. At least they were due to leave the asteroid field with its strange spatial anomalies; they'd stopped appearing, anyway. Attending the inauguration of the new Andorian chancellor -- who had been selected by the Imperial Council -- might cheer up the captain. If not, there was always the chance some Andorians might riot while they were there. Stamping out an uprising always made Jonny feel better.

Reed was a terror in the armory. He found fault with everything his staff was doing. Even as he barked at them, he realized his irritability was the result of his failing the captain.

He'd let her get away! He'd had her cornered, and as she'd stepped out from behind a shuttlepod, he'd seen that she didn't have a weapon. He never would have thought that she'd turn the captain's dog on him. As it was, he was lucky to get away with only a few deep gouges on his forearm that he'd held up to prevent the dog from ripping his throat out.

And yet, she'd called off the beast. She hadn't had to do that. Both he and the dog had run for the door, making it out of the launch bay in the nick of time. He didn't think he'd ever understand why she'd spared his life. Maybe it was her fondness for the dog, he thought sarcastically, and saving his life had been unavoidable.

But one thing he did know was that, no matter how clever she was, she didn't have the killer instinct. She had helped protect and take care of Archer when he needed it, yes, but only because without Archer, her life would be worth very little. He was also sure there would have come a time when she'd let Archer down. It had just happened a lot sooner than Reed had thought it would.

Fortunately, Archer was still in command of Enterprise. If fleet command had seen fit to replace him after letting Sato get away and losing a shuttle from another universe, Tucker probably would have been promoted to captain. Reed didn't know if he could tolerate that.

Usually not one to be philosophical, Reed nevertheless thought it was best that Sato was no longer on board. Archer could continue his slow but steady rise through fleet ranks, and Reed's own position would improve, as long as he stuck with Archer.

Still, she'd been a pretty little thing. But not having her was a small price to pay to ensure that both his and Archer's careers continued on course.

T'Pol didn't believe in luck, but she did realize that she had been fortunate. Her time-consuming plan to install Tucker as captain had fallen apart quite rapidly, all because of one human from another universe. And yet, here she was, working at the science station on the bridge, as if none of it had happened.

That wasn't totally accurate, she corrected herself, looking down at the command well. Archer was seated there, brooding as he gazed at the asteroids on the main viewscreen. The captain had been severely affected. She hadn't realized he'd developed deep feelings for Sato, which probably explained why he was overreacting, especially since he'd received nothing more than a reprimand from fleet command.

If anyone had a right to be angry with Sato, it was her. She'd worked diligently on Phlox, planting subconscious cues in his mind over the course of months, to kill Archer when the opportunity arose. She'd taken every precaution, going so far as to implant the suggestion that, if he was caught, he would say a male crew member had forced him to poison the captain, further diverting suspicion from her. And if all that failed, she was aware that painful questioning in the agony booth would trigger his hibernation cycle, a defensive mechanism of Denobulan physiology, thus buying her a few days to rectify the situation.

But Sato had ruined it.

In retrospect, T'Pol realized her decision to affect the memory center of Phlox's brain had been prudent. He'd had no recollection of his attempt to kill Archer. When the captain had ordered her to mind meld with the doctor after his hibernation had ended, she'd made sure that Phlox's buried memories surrounding her involvement were eradicated. No one would know she'd been the instigator.

After the failed poisoning, she had turned her attention to Kelby. It had been difficult, for she'd had only a brief time to indoctrinate him. Her haste had been her undoing. She had allowed Kelby to think she was interested in him, and as he'd taken advantage of what she'd offered, she'd forced a mind meld. He'd had no memory of the incident -- meld or intimacy -- but he'd followed her implanted suggestions perfectly. Unfortunately, his attempt to manufacture a bomb had failed because of his poor engineering skills.

And although Sato hadn't been solely responsible for thwarting Kelby's attempt, she'd been present during it, and from what Tucker had told her, had been instrumental in pointing the finger of suspicion at Kelby. So she'd lost another tool in her effort to replace Archer with Tucker, whom she could manipulate as long as she was willing to endure his insults.

She had considered using Tucker himself to kill Archer. It wasn't uncommon for lower-ranking human officers to kill their superiors. Despite her influence over his mind, however, there had to be sufficient motivation for Tucker to commit murder, and even though he desired to be captain, he was one of the few humans she knew who was astute enough to recognize the value of his true talents, which were in engineering and not command.

There would come another opportunity, T'Pol knew. But for the time being, it would be best to leave things as they were. She'd continue her relationship with Tucker, taking care not to let him suspect what she was doing. Then, when the time was right, he would become captain, and she would control Tucker.

Archer had been dealt setbacks before, but this one hurt to the extent that it was almost a physical pain. It was rare that a member of the crew would betray him; the ensuing punishment was swift and severe enough to ensure that it didn't happen often. It had been a long time since he'd had anyone executed until Kelby had come along. Maybe the crew had been overdue for a reminder.

True, Sato hadn't been a member of the crew. But she could have been. She had performed many valuable tasks, including saving his life on Shran's ship, if his tactical officer was to be believed. She'd definitely saved him from the poison in sickbay. She'd taken good care of him as he'd been recuperating from his injury. He'd actually begun to start to feel something for her other than pride in having a valuable tool for his rise to power.

He thought it only natural that he'd decided to make her his consort. Once he was in charge, he'd want to make sure his lineage continued. Now he realized he'd been premature in telling her.

What was so shocking was that, until she'd left, she had given him no reason to distrust her. In fact, just the opposite. He had been blindsided by what she had done.

He consoled himself by thinking that it was better this had happened now, rather than later. He doubted Sato had had a chance to tell anyone here about his plans for a new universal order.

Somehow Sato had found out it was possible to return to her own universe. Maybe she'd already been planning it when he'd told her of his own plans. According to T'Pol, when confronted by Sato and her bodyguard, the Vulcan had had no choice but to comply with Sato's wishes.

If there was one thing that Sato had taught Archer, it was that he couldn't trust anyone. He cast a look over his left shoulder to where T'Pol was sitting at the science station. He didn't totally buy her story, but Mayweather had supported it. There wasn't much he could do about it at the moment.

For the time being, he'd let things go on as they were, but he'd keep an eye on T'Pol. He wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who was really behind the attempts on his life -- with or without Tucker's help. Because there was one other thing of which he was certain: Although Kelby had made the bomb, he had been a scapegoat.

ABOARD ENTERPRISE NX-01

Hoshi woke on a biobed. She felt disoriented, as if she was swimming underwater.

A face with with sharp gray eyes moved into her field of vision to stare down at her. "Finally back with us, are you?" The voice was that of a man she had come to distrust as well as detest over the last few weeks. She remembered his sarcastic and often suggestive comments only too well.

But now he was going too far, for he was pushing a stray strand of her hair away from her face. How dare he touch her like that! Without thinking, she slapped him resoundingly in the face.

As the man jerked his head back from the blow, she shot up on the bed, only to fall back as everything whirled dizzily around her.

"What was that for?" the man asked her in surprise before turning to call out, "Doctor! She's awake!"

Hoshi blinked. The man was wearing the blue jumpsuit uniform of her Enterprise. Best of all, there was nothing of cruelty, depravity, or anger in his manner. If anything, he acted as if she'd stung not just his cheek, but his feelings.

She was back where she belonged. She had made it! She started to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Hoshi?" asked Malcolm, rubbing his abused cheek and looking at her in concern. "What's the matter?"

"I'm...sorry," she gasped between laughs and sobs. "It's just...you...I mean...you aren't--" She had to stop as her relieved crying threatened to choke her.

"Out of my way, Mister Reed," Doctor Phlox said as he bustled up to the biobed. "Please inform the captain that she's awake while I check her."

"I think she's hysterical," Malcolm said as walked toward the intercom panel by the main sickbay doors.

"I'll be the judge of that," Phlox said, checking the monitors. He looked down at his patient. "How are you feeling?" he asked kindly.

A tremulous smile lit Hoshi's face as she caught her breath. This was her Phlox -- professional, but kind and concerned. This was her friend. "Fantastic!"

"Hmmm," Phlox said, returning his attention to the monitors. "My instruments seem to corroborate that rather imprecise term. Except for some indications of stress -- elevated blood pressure, for one thing, but it seems to be returning to normal -- you are in relatively good health." He looked down at her. "Can you tell me what happened to you?"

How could she forget? She could vividly recall her time in the other universe. But she had no recollection of anything after she'd flown the shuttle into the anomaly and engaged the warp engine in her desperate effort to get home. "First, can you tell me how I got here?" she asked as Malcolm returned.

Malcolm told her, "We received a report from a Boomer cargo ship that a Starfleet shuttle was drifting without power in the asteroid field."

"You were unconscious when they found you," Phlox added. "They brought you on board their ship, and when we arrived, transferred you to us. There were indications you were subjected to an unusual form of radiation, but it seems to have dissipated. You've been unconscious for two days."

"Two days!" Hoshi almost shot up on the bed again, but Phlox put out a hand, firm yet gentle, to stop her.

"You couldn't have been on the shuttle the whole three weeks you were missing," Malcolm said. "None of the onboard emergency rations had been touched. Besides, you seem to have changed your clothing."

Hoshi glanced down at herself. She was still in the lavender jumpsuit. "I wasn't on the shuttle," she said. "I was someplace that looked like here."

Malcolm traded a puzzled glance with Phlox, then looked back at her. "What are you talking about, Hoshi?"

Before she could speak, Phlox cut in. "Why don't we wait until the captain arrives. That way she won't exhaust herself telling her tale twice. Ah!" he said as the sickbay doors opened. "That was quick, Captain."

"I was just down the corridor in my private dining room, having breakfast with T'Pol," Jon answered, gesturing at his companion, as he approached the bed.

Hoshi stared with wide eyes at them. A shudder of revulsion rippled through her before she reminded herself that these were her Captain Archer and Commander T'Pol. She let her gaze roam from face to face of the people surrounding her bed, drinking in the kindness and compassion she saw there. Even T'Pol had an expression that approximated concern.

"Are you all right?" Jon asked.

"I will be now," Hoshi answered, fighting against breaking into tears again. She tried to sit up but was so weak she could hardly move. Phlox, seeing what she was trying to do, adjusted the bed so that she was in a more upright position.

"So, where have you been?" Jon asked. "Surely not the asteroid field, because we scoured it for days after you went missing. We couldn't find a trace of you."

"I was in another universe," Hoshi said.

Dead silence greeted her remark. They didn't believe her. She continued, "It was just like this universe. There was a Captain Archer, a Commander T'Pol...almost all of the crew had counterparts there. But Travis was a corporal in a combat troop unit."

Jon stared at her for a long moment after she finished speaking, then looked at Phlox. "Did she injure her head?"

"There are signs she may have had a concussion in the recent past," the doctor answered. "But she's not hallucinating, if that's what you are asking." He pointed at a readout on a screen above the bed. "You may find this interesting, Captain. Recognize it?"

T'Pol took a step closer to the screen. "That is the same radiation that was present in the asteroid field after Ensign Sato's shuttle disappeared. As my initial research indicated, it is the result of energy conduction by a rare metal found on Risa. But we found no trace of the metal in the vicinity."

"You're kidding!" Hoshi said.

"I do not 'kid,'" T'Pol said.

If they'd picked up a radiation signature for the metal after she'd disappeared, that meant the cylinder had been from her universe to begin with. A freak accident -- the shuttle's warp engine engaging in proximity to the cylinder -- had sent her to that other universe. The anomalies in that other universe may not have had any bearing on it at all. In fact, her arrival may have caused them. "Are we near the asteroid field where the shuttle disappeared?" she asked.

"Yes," Jon said. "That's where the Boomer ship found you."

"Well, check now and I bet that metal cylinder is out there somewhere," she told him.

"A cylinder?" Malcolm asked.

"You thought it was a weapon," Hoshi said. "I mean, the person who was you in the other universe thought it was. You...I mean 'he'...was surprised when I told him it wasn't."

Jon, T'Pol and Malcolm all stared at her, then started to talk at the same time. Phlox held up his hand. "Wait! Might I suggest that we allow Ensign Sato to tell her story in a calm and orderly manner? Then you can ask questions."

A wry smile crossed Jon's face as he graciously deferred to Phlox's request. This was definitely her captain, Hoshi thought, for she'd never seen such gracious acquiescence from that other Archer. Past Jon, she saw a half smile on Malcolm's face, and there was even a twinkle in T'Pol's normally serene eyes.

Hoshi sighed contentedly. It was good to be home.

THE END