The Enterprise neared the space known as the Delphic Expanse. Reports had it that this was where the Xindi lived, somewhere along in the huge area.
Trip didn't believe it would be easy, in fact, he didn't need a Vulcan to know the actual percentage of their chances for survival.
The other ships had chosen to keep up their trade and run strategy, in the hopes it would eventually work out in their favor. They weren't sure how to react to Tucker's leaving. For one they would be losing their best armed ship, but in the far reaches of each mind, they would each have lost it again if there was even the slimmest hope it would succeed. It gave them something to hold onto, a ledge to stop them from falling off the cliff. And if all worked out well, they'd be climbing back up that mountain.
The bridge crew stared apprehensively into the darkness before them. They'd all seen the footage of the Vulcan ship, it's crew in a violent frenzy. The Seleya had never been heard from again, and that was the foremost thought in each of their minds. For this mission had more than just one ship at stake. If the Enterprise failed, no one really wanted to dwell on the results of that. They would do their duties to the best of their abilities, they would fight tooth and nail, they would willingly die if it meant humanity didn't. All of this riding on Captain Tucker.
His crew were too loyal to him, too willing to obey his orders. He didn't deserve their dedication and trust, but no one really did. They would leap the fuck off their metaphorical cliff without a second's hesitation, as long as he ordered it. Chances were they would probably all die, and so would all of humanity, if he didn't get this right.
"Impulse thrusters only Ensign, take us in nice and slow"…
Meanwhile on Vulcan:
Vulcan had become hell. Romulans were infesting every corner of the globe, spreading their illogical influences. Many major shrines, as well as monuments, had been obliterated. The very culture that Vulcan harbored was being destroyed, piece by piece.
Vulcan had been unprepared for the Romulans onslaught. T'pol couldn't help but think, that with proper cautionary measures, the Vulcan fleet would have avoided its untimely destruction. They probably would have had a chance at repelling the invasion, but, it wouldn't serve her any purpose to dwell on this.
She felt somehow responsible for Earths destruction, illogical though that was. The humans would have merely gotten themselves killed, and without aid from another source, they wouldn't have accomplished anything. And yet, she could still see Trip's eyes staring at her, first in confusion, uncertainty. But then his blue orbs became more akin to ice, brimming with hatred as she stepped into the Vulcan shuttle pod.
She still felt residual traces of the meld, it was what caused him to appear to her, whether in meditation or her daily activities. She feared what may have happened, it couldn't be possible though, the Science Directorate had stated that forming a bond with a human was impossible. And for some unfathomable reason, she hoped they were wrong…