Chapter 1

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or its characters. No profit made.

A/N: Mirror Universe. This jumps off from the TV episodes but ignores TATV and the books. It's my own take on what might have happened in the MU.

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T'Pol paced the small confines of The Defiant's brig, uncertain as to why she still lived. The newly christened Empress Sato had been barking orders through the ship's communication system all morning. T'Pol thought for certain that one of the Empress's first orders would be to see that she and Phlox were executed for their attempt to help the rebellion. Yet, it had been two days since Sato had murdered Archer and taken command of The Defiant and the Empire.

T'Pol sat down and closed her eyes. She imagined a flame in her mind and began to meditate. She lost track of the time that past - possibly hours - until she heard a commotion outside the brig. The force field that kept her confined allowed her to see across the hallway, where Phlox was being forced into the opposite cell. Since The Avenger was destroyed, she and Phlox were the only aliens left on the ship. He had apparently recovered enough from his injuries to be imprisoned.

T'Pol locked eyes with Phlox and nodded, hoping her eyes conveyed her regret. Phlox nodded in return.

T'Pol remained seated and went back into her meditative state. Some time later, she was interrupted by another commotion. Two guards carried the unconscious form of Major Reed and tossed him into another brig. The Major appeared to be alive, but his face remained badly scarred and he did not awaken when he hit the brig's hard bunk.

"I can check on him if you like," said Phlox amiably.

The guards just sneered and left. Clearly, they did not believe it necessary to guard them given the strength of The Defiant's force fields.

"Why do you suppose they've brought Major Reed here?" asked Phlox.

"During the mutiny, Reed proved loyal to Archer. Sato rightfully doesn't trust him. I imagine she will lock up any officer that was loyal to Archer. She won't make the same mistake that Archer made in trusting her."

Phlox nodded.

"Why do you suppose we are still alive?"

T'Pol sighed.

"Of that, I am uncertain."

Phlox sat back on his bunk.

"I'm sorry about Soval. He was a good man," said Phlox, "I never had an occasion to quarrel with him, until the last few days of course."

T'Pol nodded. She was sorry as well, in her Vulcan way, but she took comfort in the fact that Soval had died with honor - in attempt to make life better for their people.

The hallway door flew open again, and in strode Chief Engineer Tucker flanked by two guards. He was shuffled into the last remaining brig.

"You tell the new Empress to go to hell for me," shouted Tucker as the two guards exited.

No doubt Tucker's loyalty to Archer also made him suspect.

"What are you staring at, bitch?" drawled Tucker from his cell.

T'Pol turned away and closed her eyes. She wondered if Tucker had read about his counterpart in the MU - the one who had married to her counterpart despite prejudice against inter-species marriages from both Vulcans and Terrans. They had been considered pioneers who paved the way for interspecies families as well as couples serving together in Starfleet. She closed her eyes and imagined the lives they had shared in that other world. The children they had raised together. It defied logic and reason, and yet she had found herself picturing what it must have been like for them in that other world.

No, she thought, He did not read about their counterparts in the other universe. He wouldn't have spoken to her that way if he had.

The door flew open again, and the guards ferried in Crewman Elizabeth Cutler, Phlox's human assistant. No empty cells were left, so they shoved her into the cell with Phlox.

"Since you like Denobulans so much, the Empress thought you'd wouldn't mind sharing the brig with one," said one of the guards, laughing at the tears in the human woman's eyes.

T'Pol glanced over at Cutler, who was shaking.

"I'm sorry about this, my dear," said Phlox, "I didn't involve you . . and I'd hoped. . .well, I'm sorry, in any case."

Cutler smiled through her tears, and she sat down next to the doctor.

T'Pol shook her head. She had never heard Cutler utter one derogatory word to her or any of the other aliens in Starfleet. On the contrary, she had occasionally inquired about life on Vulcan and its history and traditions. That part of her nature alone probably made her suspect.

As far as T'Pol was concerned, Cutler represented the best of humanity. It was because of humans like her, that T'Pol didn't find the idea of a Federation of planets to be entirely absurd.

T'Pol closed her eyes again, hoping to access her white space. She had been ready for death, but she was finding it frustrating that it had not yet come.

---

The next day, the guards fetched T'Pol from her cell and brought her to the Empress's Ready Room. Sato sat at her desk, and the guards forced T'Pol to her knees.

"Nobody stands before the Empress," said one of the guards.

T'Pol bowed her head and lowered her eyes. To her surprise, Sato told the guards to leave them alone.

"I'll bet you're wondering why you're still alive," sneered Sato, after the door had closed behind her guards.

T'Pol said nothing.

"You stayed loyal to Captain Forrest. You helped him overcome Archer's mutiny. It's not your fault what happened to him. But I'm glad you saw Archer for what he was. . ."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow. During their last encounter, Sato had seemed quite loyal to Archer. Yet, there was remorse in her voice when she spoke of the late Captain Forrest.

Perhaps, thought T'Pol, Sato had possessed genuine affection for Forrest.

"I'm not saying I trust you. I'm just saying that I don't blame you for rebelling against the idea of an Emperor Archer. I was equally disgusted at the notion, but I actually found a way to thwart him. Not to mention the fact that those who followed me are still alive."

T'Po had to suppress the pain she felt at the loss of Soval and the others, but she was determined that no emotion show on her face. She spoke carefully.

"Archer's hatred of Vulcans was well known. Emperor Archer would have turned his ire and the full force of this vessel against my people. I could not allow that to happen."

Sato sighed and poured herself a drink from a carafe on her desk.

"This is Andorian Ale. It's delicious. I'm thinking of sparing Andoria the blitz it deserves. . .if they can provide me with an unlimited supply of this. As for Vulcan. . .I've always been pretty indifferent to Vulcans. Except for you. I don't like you. But that's personal."

"And yet I still live."

Sato got up and slapped T'Pol across the face. T'Pol barely flinched.

"You will address me by my proper title, either Empress or Caesar."

"I'm sorry, Empress. I was merely expressing my curiosity about your sparing my life."

"You're alive because Max would have wanted you that way. . .he respected you. He appreciated what you did for him. . . so you and Phlox will live for the time being."

T'Pol felt a glimmer of hope creep into her mind. Then, without thinking, she asked a question that was a surprise even to her.

"What about the humans that were loyal to Archer. . . .Reed? . . Tucker?"

Hoshi grinned.

"Ah, Tucker. You're little plaything. . .figures you'd be interested in his fate."

T'Pol found herself remembering Sato's remark about Tucker during their fight. She suppressed an intense jealously at the thought of Sato engaging in sexual relations with Tucker. It was yet another surprise in a day full of them.

"Now that Archer's out of the picture," said Sato, "I'm sure Reed and Tucker will come around to my side. They've both got skills that will be of use to me. And after a few months or years rotting in the brig, they'll be loyal enough to the Empress that eventually had mercy."

T'Pol remained silent.

"Aren't you going to ask what I plan to do with you?"

T'Pol closed her eyes. Sato stood up and knelt down next to T'Pol. She brushed the hair away from the Vulcan's ear and spoke.

"Well," whispered Sato, "I haven't decided. But I'm sure I'll come up with some use for you. Power is funny that way. I have this sudden impulse to collect things that owe me their lives."

Sato called to the guards.

"Get her out of my sight," she said.

---

T'Pol walked gracefully down the hallway of the brig as though she was not a prisoner. As she passed Tucker's cell, she felt his eyes boring into her. She braced herself for a cutting remark but none came.

She returned to her cell and sat down.

Phlox rushed to the edge of his force field, but he had learned quickly not to touch it. Cutler was curled up on the bunk, asleep.

"You saw the Empress? What did she say?"

"She appreciates our loyalty to Forrest and will spare our lives," said T'Pol simply.

At the relief in Phlox's face, T'Pol experienced a tinge of gratification. She was glad he would be spared death. As for her own life, she was unsure if death wouldn't have been more agreeable. The uncertainty of her situation disquieted her.

"So, this must make you happy, Vulcan," said Tucker, "Seeing those of us who were loyal to Archer locked up. . ."

"I'm incapable of feeling happy, Tucker," said T'Pol simply, "If you knew anything about Vulcans, you'd know that."

T'Pol sat down and waited. But she didn't know for what.

---

Weeks turned into months, and Empress Sato had not left The Defiant, where T'Pol assumed she felt the most safe. News was scarce, but occasionally a guard let some bit of information slip.

Reed had recovered consciousness, but it didn't change the tone of the prison much. He hadn't uttered more than three sentences since he regained his capacity for speech. He just stewed in his cell and allowed rage to consume him. His emotions were so transparent, that T'Pol had to work to keep them from affecting her.

Phlox remained amiable, happy to be alive and worked to keep his own and Cutler's spirits up.

Tucker, unsurprisingly, was morose. He somehow blamed T'Pol for his situation and he told her so often, peppering her with cutting remarks. T'Pol found his anger misplaced. He had every right to be angry at her manipulation of him during the mutiny, but she had nothing to do with his loyalty to Archer. That was the circumstance that had created his current predicament. To borrow a Terran phrase, he had bet on the wrong horse.

The guards had brought them their meals, replicated from The Defiant's remarkable food dispensers. The devices had been programed to provide not only Terran food but Vulcan and Denobulan cuisine.

"Hey Watkins," shouted Tucker as the guard walked to the door, "Can you do me a favor? Throw me in T'Pol's cell for awhile. I'm bored in here and I'm sure she can find a way to entertain me."

Tucker glanced over at T'Pol, and she knew his words were directed as much at her as they were for guard.

"If she pisses me off enough," said Ensign Watkins, "I might just do that. Although, I'm not sure the Empress will look kindly on a human with a perverse interest in Vulcans of all things."

Tucker was now glowering at T'Pol.

"I never claimed I wasn't a pervert. The Empress knows I've got a thing for aliens. I've never hidden that."

T'Pol looked away. She did her best to suppress memories of the days she had spent with Tucker during her Pon Farr. His fetish for non-human women had been rumored, so she had chosen him to satisfy her blood fever. And he had well-satisfied it. But now that she knew the history of their other selves, she wondered if there had been more to it than that.

In the safety of her white space, T'Pol pondered whether or not she had been drawn to Tucker for other reasons. Aside from Cutler, he had always treated her and the other Vulcans with respect and had seemed to sincerely appreciate their skills. He treated all his staff with respect as well, rewarding those who who worked hard and had ability - rather than those who were obsequious or blindly loyal. She pictured him as the man she had read about in the history of the other world. . .and she felt a strange loss at what Tucker could have been. What she could have been.

T'Pol crossed her legs in front her and closed her eyes, blocking out all the distraction. She needed to purge herself of thoughts that had no purpose. Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation. She looked down at her hands and realized that she was dematerializing.

TBC

 

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