"How the hell are we gonna do that?" Jamie and Pike had laid out the plan to everybody in the galley/conference room; Sulu and Glorak were listening from the bridge. "We can't tell you, Bones." He rolled his eyes at her and stood up, she put her hand up to stop him from saying anything, "Those are our orders. I know you don't like them, I knew you wouldn't like 'em when we got 'em but there's nothing you can say that'll change them. You're just gonna have to trust me, Leonard." No one ever, ever, hears her use his name, the only time she does is when something is very wrong or when they're in bed and they don't have witnesses for that. The use of his name had the desired effect, he didn't say anything else, just nodded and sat down. Jamie knew he wasn't done, just that he would wait until they were alone before he broached the subject again.
Pike got their orders right before they left and, just as Jamie thought in the meeting, the mission parameters had changed. The captain let her know what was going on but waited to tell everyone else until they were at warp. The last few hours have been a crazy ride and they weren't even close to done yet. Uhura had done research into the cadet training squads and learned that Starfleet didn't put the group together every year. They just did it when there were cadets who were so far ahead of their peers, it seemed a waste not to use their skills. Jamie knew that she and Sulu were on fleet intel and Section 31's lists of people to watch. Pike warned her that once people started to see what she could do, there were going to be different departments trying to get their hands on her. So far, Archer and Reed were keeping certain groups at bay, Section 31 especially. Uhura was on the list for plenty of ships and cryptography wanted her to work for them. The one that made her smile was Bones, for all his grumbling, he was such a good doctor and HQ wanted him to stick around after he graduated.
"Vhat iz a… Zuliban?" Chekov asked. Pike looked at Jamie, "All yours, Kirk." She nodded and recalled everything she's ever read or been told about them, "Officially, the Suliban are a nomadic, warp-capable, humanoid species. Their homeworld has been uninhabitable since the 1850's. Back when Archer first took the NX-01 out into the black, the Suliban were involved in their first mission. At the time, the Suliban had a group, the Cabal, that were the foot soldiers in what is now considered the Temporal Cold War. They were attempting to shake up the Klingon Empire, but Archer stopped them from succeeding. The Suliban had a benefactor from the 28th century that aided them with genetic enhancements and cloaking technology in exchange for their service. Fleet intel believes that the cloaking device we're after isn't Romulan, but similar to the one that Enterprise examined from a Suliban vessel."
Uhura looked at her, "So, we aren't after the Romulans?" Jamie shook her head, "I don't know. We'll get more intel in a few hours. I'm still hoping that it's the Romulans instead of the Suliban to be honest with you. When they were up against Archer, the Suliban Cabal sorta disappeared instead of losing the fight. The majority of the Suliban are fine but the Cabal is basically a bunch of terrorists. At least the Romulans have a code of honor." Everyone but Pike, Spock and Bones looked at her like she was crazy. "They killed your father, Kirk," Kelso said to her. She shrugged, "No, some of them killed my father. I don't have to like them, and believe me, I don't, but you don't judge an entire group based on the actions of a few, I think humanity has learned that lesson a few times. There's nothing wrong with having respect for a formidable foe." Jamie didn't expect Spock to agree with her, "She is correct. Many cultures believe that to win the battle, you must first respect your opponent." She smirked and pulled the meeting back onto topic. "Thank you. Now, if the technology we're after is Suliban, it leaves us with two options, either they're back or someone wants us to thing they are."
"Why didn't Archer tell us this?" Gaila asked. Jamie and Pike looked at each other, the captain answered her, "They did. Just not in so many words. You'll see." Everyone took a moment to let it sink in. Jamie took a breath, "There are ears everywhere, even in HQ. They gave us all the information we needed without actually telling us what they meant." Since there weren't anymore questions, Pike let them go, they were making a stop near a Federation outpost soon and he wanted them to be ready.
"The members of the away team needs to report to the cargo bay in five minutes," Sulu announced over the intercom. Bones didn't ask her what was going on, yet. The group entered the cargo bay as soon as the ship landed; they were taking the vehicle stored there. Jamie, Braxim, Bones, Pike and Uhura were going dirt-side. "Kirk, you can drive." Jamie nodded at Pike put on her sunglasses and hopped into the driver's seat. "You know where we're going?" Bones asked from the seat behind her, Jamie nodded and pulled out of the cargo bay. They were on a small desert planetoid near Alpha Centauri. Jamie had been her once when she was between schools, there were only a few people who knew this outpost was here, scans of the planetoid made it appear uninhabitable.
They pulled up to a cliff-face and Jamie smirked as she drove right into it. "What the hell?" Braxim asked from behind Pike. Jamie parked and jumped out of the vehicle, "Come on, guys." Everyone followed her as she walked through the room they found themselves in. The place was huge but there were only a dozen or so people in it. Bones looked around, "What the hell is this place?" She looked at him, "This place doesn't exist, Bones. At least, not to the general public."
"How do you know about it?" Uhura asked as she took everything in. "She knows the right people," came a voice from the walkway above them. "Hey, everyone. I'm Jack. He's expecting you, so follow me." Jamie smirked at the looks on their faces, Brax nudged her, "Who is this 'he' person?" Jack laughed, "They don't know?" Pike and Jamie chuckled and shook their heads, "Nope."
The team was led into a dark office before Jack bid them farewell, "Here you guys go. See ya around." Jamie smiled, "You know this mysterious thing isn't you." She said to the figure on the other side of the dark room, she heard a huff before he ordered the lights to come up. "I'm old, gotta have my fun. Look at you, all grown up." She shrugged, "Happens. I couldn't stay that cute little girl with a crush on you forever. Especially after Kodos." He nodded, "Sorry you got caught in that mess." She shook her head, "I'm not, made me who I am." He smiled at her and then looked at the others, "Your friends look like they've seen a ghost."
"He's… but… how?..." Uhura was at a loss for words, Jamie should take a holo. The man smiled at the linguist, "You know the old saying about tales of one's death being exaggerated. Aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends, Jamie?" She smiled and nodded, "Captain Pike, Doctor McCoy, Braxim and Uhura, meet former Starfleet commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker."
AN: So, NaomiBlue... my heart leap in my chest when I read your review. Like you, I never accepted Trip's death in 2155 and then the novels came out and in one of them he meets Kirk when he's five and Sam was nine, which is like in 2238. When I decided to send the group on a mission I planned for Trip to just show up, but I think I'll make him more involved.