Welcome to another chapter of "Love Between Worlds." We are finishing up the Klingon crisis. And moving the relationship along. It's time to make plans to get married. Which is done awkwardly. How else would it be done? Enjoy!
After the incident with the Klingon subroutine, Commander T'Pol was very busy on the bridge. She did not see Tucker often at all. They had figured out that the recorder was deliberately wiped clean. They were even able to find the tool that did it, which pointed toward Lieutenant Reed as the culprit. Only they did not have the motive for the sabotage of their investigation. From what she could find, he had no direct connection with their Klingon prisoner. But he was seemly intent on stopping them from realizing that it was Klingons who attacked the ship. Which, at this point, seemed pointless. He insisted that he was not working with the Klingons, but she could not verify that for sure. So it was still possible. Reed was now stuck in the Brig while they sorted this out.
The Captain asked Captain Hernandez to stick around and join them in entering Klingon space. He figured two ships were more impressive than one. Their odds of success would be doubled. T'Pol agreed with that evaluation. Although she still believed that their chances of finding Phlox alive were slim. But she agreed that it was their duty to keep trying. They just needed more information.
Which was slowly trickling in. The sick Klingon in sickbay had human DNA inside of him. It seemed that it was inserted as part of some genetic experiment. Clearly Klingons did not value ethics when it came to experimentation. She and Hoshi went through Reed's computer and found that he was in contact with a man on Earth that they could not identify. Based on the recordings that they were able to recover, he was being manipulated by this man. He appeared to have something over him. They couldn't get anything else out of the recordings. This was the only one that could be recovered.
The Captain decided to have a chat with this shadowy man. So, they managed to figure out how Reed contacted him. Then placed the call for the Captain. He had a talk with the man. Who was Harris (doubtful that was his real name). He said that the doctor was on a mission of vital importance and must not be retrieved too early. The Captain disagreed. He decided to have one more talk with Lieutenant Reed and give him a choice. Based on the fact that Reed travelled to the bridge with the Captain, told T'Pol that he had made the correct choice.
"Set a course for Qu'Vat Colony, Maximum Warp." Archer commanded Travis.
"Aye, Sir."
It would be eight hours to each Qu'Vat Colony. As such, the Captain had T'Pol go off duty for a bit. Rest up since she had been on command for several hours. There was not a lot to do while they waited. It would take a while.
She left the bridge. She planned to mediate, but changed her mind. She hadn't spoken to Trip very much in the last few days. Both of them are very busy. So, now was the opportunity to speak with him. She missed him. She wanted to see him. So, she tracked him down. Which wasn't that hard. He was in Engineering, doing paperwork. One of Tucker's least favorite duties. Annoyance and boredom flooded over as she approached. She realized that he needed to get away from his station for a while.
Tucker stopped what he was doing when she entered the Engineering. He looked up and asked, "Does Captain need something?"
She crossed over to him so that not everyone in Engineering could hear this conversation. Even though she suspected that they all stopped to listen. "Not to my knowledge."
She need not have their bond to tell that he was confused. It was written all over his face. "Then why are you here? Is it about movie night? I already got that stuff set up again."
"No, it's not about movie night either."
Tucker let out a breath. "Alright, you've lost me. Why are you here?"
T'Pol realized once again that she had bonded with an idiot. A vulcan male would have figured out why she was here already. It was not for anything professional. This was a private matter, one not for the entire engineering section to watch. Which they certainly are doing. Finally, Tucker realized that they were staring.
"Get back to work!" He yelled at them.
The engineers scattered. They then tried to look as busy as possible. All while still trying to eavesdrop on the couple. T'Pol did not understand the human desire for gossip. A vulcan crew would never behave this way. They would have done best to pretend not to notice anything. Then focused on their work more intently than before. But a human crew. No. They were enraptured by what was going on. It annoyed T'Pol. She considered it rude. Even after all this time. It was a human trait that she wished didn't exist.
Trip wisely decided to steer T'Pol out of Engineering and into the corridor. This way they could have a slightly more private conversation: Slightly. "Sorry about that." He scratched his face. "Now, can you please tell me why you're here?"
"I wanted to check on you."
He gave her a weird face. "Are you lying to me?" His confusion was very clear. "Because I get this feeling that you're trying to lie to me."
She raised her eyebrow. "I'm not 'trying to lie.' I'm trying to suggest that you take a break."
Trip shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure now. You're lying to me. What I don't get is why. What's going on?"
Frustration crept back up. This idiot couldn't figure out what she wanted. "I wanted to spend some time alone with you. I just wanted to talk."
He rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Women. He thought. He probably didn't realize that she heard that. "I can't leave Engineering now. Gotta finish a few things that need to get done. Captain's expecting it. Won't take long though. I'll come over in say . . . 20 minutes?"
"Fine." She answered.
Trip smiled. "Great. We'll talk about whatever you want. In 20 minutes, kay?" T'Pol nodded. He kissed her. "Love you." He then ran off before she could say anything.
Things did not go the way that T'Pol had hoped they would. Yes, Trip agreed to spend time with. That was what she wanted. But it was in an awkward way. T'Pol said that her embarrassing trip to Engineering would be all over the ship by tomorrow. The crew so loved gossiping about her and Tucker.
The only one who seemed uninterested in the relationship was Captain Archer. She didn't understand why he seemed to be unaware of their relationship. It seemed highly unlikely to be the case. Archer was no fool. He was good at reading people. And his crew was abuzz all the time about the latest Trip-T'Pol gossip. He couldn't be unaware. There had to be a reason why Archer chose to look the other way. Not that she was ever going to ask. It was his business, not hers. And this tolerance benefited both her and Trucker. So, she left things alone. Didn't ask questions. She just went on as if Archer had no idea what they were doing. All while knowing full well that he most likely did.
T'Pol slowly walked back to her quarters and then waited. She meditated to pass the time. It would take a while for Commander Tucker to show back up. Regardless of what he said. She knew that it would be a while.
Trip ended up being about thirty minutes instead of twenty. Her best guess is that time got away from him again. He apologized for being late and then sat down beside her on the floor.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked.
She was silent for a moment or two. "I wanted to talk about 'our wedding.'"
"Our Wedding? You wanna talk about that now?"
"It will be several hours before we Qu'Vat. Until then, there is nothing that we need to do."
He sighed. "True. Engineering is alright for now. I'd like to fix stuff right, but that would take at least a week to do. That will have to wait until the mission's over. Captain's not going to wait. So, I've put it off for now."
"Then you have nothing better to do." She suggested.
"I suppose. Didn't think of it that way, but ya." He scratched his head again. "So, what about it?"
She shot him a strange look. Humans were strange creatures. "I was thinking that Captain Archer could officiate."
"The Captain?" Tucker said. "I guess. It is legal and stuff. Captains marry people all the time."
"Then it's settled, when this mission is over: We will ask Captain Archer to marry us."
"Hold it! I didn't say yes. I said that Captains do this all the time! There's a difference."
"And that is?" He had really lost her this time.
Tucker shifted over and took her hands into hers. "I want to marry you properly. Go to Earth, have a ceremony where all of my family can come. I'm sure you wanna do the same thing on Vulcan."
T'Pol raised her eyebrow. "Most of my family is gone. I have a couple of distant cousins, but that's about it."
"How 'distant' are we talking about?"
"Distant." She told him.
He snapped his head back slightly. "You hardly know them."
"That is correct."
"Then you don't care about a vulcan ceremony?"
T'Pol took a breath. Apparently, he was more dense than she thought. "I do want one. I just don't want one on Vulcan. I want one here. With the Captain as the Officiant."
"You want the captain to officiate a vulcan wedding ceremony?" He said each word slowly as if he didn't believe it.
T'Pol got up and started to pace. "Normally, the oldest member of the family would officiate. As I said before, my family is distant. And your family wouldn't have a clue on how to do that."
He stood up and then asked. "Okay . . . then who was the man who officiated your wedding with Koss?"
"That was Koss's grandfather. They insisted on having him officiate."
He gave her a strange look. "Was he older than your mom?"
"He was a year younger." She told him.
"Right." He drew that word out again. "But the Captain is younger than you. He's in his forties or fifties, I think."
"I am not old." She reminded me.
Tucker took her into her arms. "Well, you are compared to me, darling. I'm only 32." He teased.
"You are human." She retorted.
"And you're not." He kissed her. "Not that I care. You're mine and I'm not sharing."
Pleasure tingled down her spine. He knew exactly how to excite her. He might have even gotten better at it since the meld. "Trip." She breathed a sigh of contentment as he ran his fingers through her hair. His hands slowly found their way to her ears. They explored them with dexterity and nimbleness that no vulcan could match. It sent more sparks down her spine. She did love his touch.
"I mean it. Can't lose you, not again."
Her hands found their way to his. As they met, she could feel his mind respond. He loved her touch as much as she loved his. "Trip." She repeated.
"If you want a vulcan wedding on Enterprise, then I'm game." He pulled away. "Only, Captain's not in the mood right now. Real tense. Otherwise, I'd ask today." She gave him a look. "Tell ya what, when this is over - we'll ask together, kay?"
"That is acceptable." She confirmed.
"So, what do you want to do now?" He purred.
She responded by pulling down the zipper on his uniform. He looked down, smiled, then said. "Yes, ma'am."
His hands found their way to her uniform. She could feel his excitement. Humans really did have an appetite for these things. More so than vulcans. How he was ready to go whenever she wanted him to be was beyond her. But it was very convenient. She did want him inside her. So, it did not matter. Before she knew it, both of them were naked, and he was right where she wanted him to be. He was going to help her pass the time. Sometimes he was better than meditation for clearing her mind. Why she denied herself this for so long was beyond her. No one was going to take him away. He was hers, and she was his. They were one. Now and forever.
Four and a half hours later, they both woke up after their nap. They took turns showering. She had to made Trip shower. He was content just to go back to work like that. He insisted that he would just get sweaty again. T'Pol overrode him. She insisted that he do what she asked. He sighed, then showered. Finally, she sent him on his way. They would be approaching the Qu'Vat system soon. The ship will need both its first officer and Chief Engineer. They couldn't stay together. It was time to work.
They showed up at Qu'Vat and had a standoff with the Klingons. They claimed Enterprise and Columbia as property of the Klingon Empire. Which Archer and Hernadez vehemently disagreed with. They did not belong to the Klingon Empire. They were Earth ships. They were not going to give up that easily.
They ended up in a firefight with the klingons. Enterprise and Columbia tried to prevent them from exterminating their own colony. The klingons were following a primitive solution to an outbreak. By murdering the people afflicted. A policy that T'Pol found distasteful. There was no need to do this. There were other ways to address the issue. Ones that involved fewer deaths. Not that klingons cared. They just firing at all three targets.
Enterprise and Columbia tried to drive the ships off. While Archer went to the surface. T'Pol didn't know what was going on down there until Hoshi broke through the jamming frequencies. She tried to reach him, but he did not respond. Instead, it was Phlox telling her that he was indisposed. But he said that he had a way to 'diffuse the situation.' He asked us to keep the building was collapsing in the meantime. Which was not an easy thing to do. The best way that she could do that was to put the ship in danger.
T'Pol asked Reed. "How much Hull Plating do we have left?"
"Sixty-two Percent."
"Mr. Mayweather, put us directly between that cruiser and the colony." To Reed, she said. "You may want to divert all available power to our dorsal plating."
Reed gave her a strange look. "Aye, Aye."
The fight went on for a while. The Kilingons tried to shift their orbit so that Enterprise was not the way. Then Enterprise shifted its orbit to match.
"Hull plating is down to 40%." Reed reported.
"Keep Firing."
They fought on for several more minutes, but they would not be able to hold much longer. Fortunately, the doctor had found the cure and a way to disperse it quickly. He even managed to convince the klingons to back down. T'Pol had no idea that he had it in him.
With the crisis averted and Phlox and Captain Archer were back on the Enterprise. It was time to go their separate ways. They needed to leave klingon space as soon as possible. And Columbia needed to start her mission. Things were back the way they were.
A couple of days later, most of the repairs were finished. Both Tucker and T'Pol had enough time to go see the Captain. T'Pol waited until Trip had come up to the bridge. Then they went together. Captain Archer was definitely caught off guard by their visit. It was rare that the two of them went to visit him like this.
"Is there something wrong with the ship?" He asked worriedly
"Nah, Ship's fine. Still got some repairs to do, but we're on it. We should be back to normal in a few days." Tucker told him.
That only confused Archer further. "Okay, then why are you here?"
"We are here on a personal matter." T'Pol told him.
Archer gestured for them to sit down. "Please."
The two of them sat down. For a moment, no one spoke or moved. Then T'Pol broke the silence. "We are looking for your assistance. Commander Tucker and I are planning to get married."
Archer broke out into a huge grin. "Finally! I can't believe it took you this long."
"Wait, you knew?" Tucker asked.
He laughed. "Trip, I've known for years. I can tell when you fall for someone. You're pretty obvious. Personally, I was surprised that you chose T'Pol, but I'm happy for you."
"Why are you surprised that he would choose me?" T'Pol was annoyed by that comment. "Is it because I'm vulcan?"
"No, no. Not that. It's because of Trip." Archer laughed. "When it comes to women, he's an idiot. He usually finds some girl, falls in love, and then ends up heartbroken a few days later. He's never really stayed with one person for more than a few months before. I think that you're the first."
"Hey!" Trip protested.
"It's true though." He kept chuckling. "You're terrible at picking women."
"That's cold, Captain."
Tucker wasn't that upset about it. It was an act. T'Pol could feel it through their link. This was some form of human male bonding ritual. She believed that it was called 'busting his chops' or something like that. Still, Trip was starting to get annoyed at his friend. He was likely to start arguing in earnest soon. So, she thought it best to get the fools back on topic.
"Captain, I'm aware that Starfleet regulations prohibit such relationships. But we would like permission to move ahead with the joining anyway."
Captain Archer became more serious for a moment. "I don't care about the regulations. Besides, you are both of the same rank. So it doesn't apply anyway. So long as it doesn't affect your duties, I'm not going to transfer you off the ship. It's fine with me."
Tucker smiled. "Thanks, Captain."
"Is there anything else that I can help you with?"
That was only half of what they wanted. T'Pol told him. "There is one other thing. We would like you to marry us."
There was another silence. Captain Archer seemed taken aback by this. "Really?"
This time, Tucker chimed in. "Legally, Captains can marry people."
"I'm aware of that, Trip. I just didn't think that you wanted that." Archer stood and started to pace. "Wouldn't you prefer someone else to do this? Someone with more experience?"
"On Vulcan, normally, the head of the family would marry the couple." T'Pol told him calmly.
Archer nodded. "I remember."
"Well, my mother was my closest family member."
"I see." Archer sat back down. "Surely, there are procedures for situations like this."
She nodded. "There are. I could ask a member of Commander Tucker's family to do it. However, they will not know much about my people's ways. I could ask another vulcan. However, most vulcans would turn me down. There are many who find the idea of binding oneself to a human undesirable. They would reject me on those grounds. It could take months if not years to find someone willing to perform the ceremony."
"And you have your heart set on a Vulcan ceremony." Archer entoned.
"Yes, captain." She confirmed.
"I see." He let out a breath. "You realize my vulcan is horrible."
"Either Hoshi or I can help with that."
"Also, what I know of the ceremony comes from a man who died 1800 years ago."
"It has not changed much since then. It would be easy to adapt."
Archer sighed. "I'm getting out of this, am I?"
Tucker shook his head, "No, Captain. You're not."
He sighed. "Fine. When do you want to get married?"
Tucker smiled. "About a month from now. T'Pol wants this to be traditional. Including the suits. Which had to be custom ordered from Vulcan. It will take a bit of time to get them ready and shipped out. So, we have at least a month before they arrive. So sometime after that."
"It will give you plenty of time to practice your vulcan. Captain."
They rose to leave. Before T'Pol opened the door, Tucker turned around and said. "Thanks, Captain. It means a lot what you're doing for us. Can't imagine anyone else doing this."
"You're welcome, Trip."
With that, they left. Soon enough, the impending wedding would get around the ship. Particularly, once Hoshi found out about it. That girl knew how to get the information out. The ship would be buzzing with excitement. Finally, Commander Tucker and Commander T'Pol were getting hitched. The story was juicy, and that made it all the better. They wouldn't stop hearing about this for a long time.
That's it for today! Thank you for reading and reviewing. See you next time!