Chapter 11 - The Warp 8 Engine

The Illyrians get back what was once stolen from them, while Earth's fleet takes shape and Trip learns of an Enterprise speed record he cannot remember.

I've taken the Starfleet oath and Gardner’s declaration from Transwarp's brilliant story Commissioning.

=/\=

Thy'lek Shran wandered along the corridor in Starfleet's headquarters, looking at the pictures that lined the wall. One particular portrait made him stop. It showed a human captain, sitting in the captain's chair in a proud and noble pose.

His thoughts went to the Wall of Heroes back on Andoria and he started to wonder whether one day his blood would be buried there or if he would end up here, as a picture on the Human Wall of Heroes.

Shran's eyes fell on the plaque below the picture. Just days ago he had finished his education in the written and spoken human language and once again he admired the simplicity of it. Just 26 mostly simplistic symbols were sufficient to express every known word and words often consisted of just a few symbols. It had made the process of learning it almost laughingly simple, but in the process he also gained a new understanding of why so many other races were confused by the humans. On the outside they appeared to be nothing more than big children, with technology that other races had developed decades, sometimes centuries ago. Yet, they could be unbelievably efficient – their language was proof of it – and the speed of their progress was enough to strike fear into the stoic Vulcans. Yes, he told himself, it was the right choice to apply for service in the Human Starfleet. Everyone with half an ounce of tactical and political expertise had to acknowledge that the humans would one day become the major force in the Coalition of Planets that was about to be created.

Jonathan Archer, Captain, NX-01 Enterprise

He deciphered the text easily and his thoughts wandered back to the moment, when he and Archer had spoken about the namesakes of their ships. That was shortly before his short-sighted attempt to confront the Tellarites had resulted in Talas' death and the Ushaan with Archer. A cold shiver ran down his spine, when he remembered that he had almost caused the death of the only real friend he ever had outside the Imperial Guard. Not only would he have been responsible for the death of a Human hero, he'd probably be now back on Andoria, jobless, useless and desperate enough to serve on a civilian freighter – the ultimate humiliation for a warrior like him.

=/\=

"Looking for a place to hang your picture?" Jon asked, when he caught Shran in deep thought in front of his portrait.

"It would be fittingly placed alongside yours," the Andorian answered. "After all, it's safe to say that the two of us are responsible for our people are now becoming allies."

It didn't need the keen ear of Hoshi to notice the difference in Shran's pronunciation on the scientifically immaculate rendition of a universal translator. Jon grinned. "I see you've been busy learning Standard."

"Of course. Would you want to rely on a UT in a battle?"

"Probably not. So, do you think you'll get the commission?" Archer asked with a smile.

"Well, there will probably be some reservations because of what I did to Soval, but I hope they'll see that I had no other choice at the time."

"I'm sure they will understand. I did some questionable things myself. War is a dirty business."

"Agreed."

=/\=

"Take a seat, Mr. Shran," Gardner said, pointing to the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

"Thank you Admiral."

"I won't beat about the bush," Garner explained, while looking through the contents of Starfleet's final verdict on a PADD. "There were some serious reservations against your entry into Starfleet service. Many were disconcerted about your attempt to steal the Xindi prototype, but since you acted under orders from your superiors at the time, we couldn't hold that against you. Your interrogation of Ambassador Soval was a much trickier thing to digest for some members of the Admiralty."

Gardner noticed Shran's accepting nod and continued his explanation.

"You were lucky though. Soval himself absolved you from all personal culpability and assured us that your course of action was understandable in the circumstances. You're lucky that Enterprise wasn't yet too far away for a subspace transmission. That and the passionate lobbying of the crew of Enterprise convinced us to accept your service as the first Andorian in Starfleet."

"Thank you, Admiral. You have my word that such incidents will not repeat."

"We'll need more than your word, Mr. Shran. Are you prepared to be sworn in?"

"Of course, when shall I report?"

"We'll do that immediately, unless you require a bigger ceremony," Gardner explained with a smile.

"No, we can do that right now, Admiral. The only person, who I really would like to be present, is the pink-skin and he's already here."

"That's a habit you should break, by the way," Gardner explained sternly. "While Captain Archer might accept that moniker, most others will see it as a racial remark."

"Of course, Admiral. I apologize."

"Ok, stand," Gardner ordered and watched both his guests stand at attention. "Mr. Shran, do Andorians follow a religion?"

"No, Admiral."

"Then we'll skip the 'so help me god' part. Raise your right hand and speak after me."

After Shran had assumed the requested pose, Admiral Gardner began to recite the Starfleet oath, which Shran repeated flawlessly.

"Having received a commission as an officer in Starfleet, I do solemnly swear,
that I will support and defend the Constitution of United Earth against all enemies, foreign or domestic,
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I will well and faithfully carry out my assigned duties and responsibilities;
that I will obey the orders of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Space, and the officers appointed over me, according to Starfleet regulations and the laws of United Earth.”

"At ease," Gardner ordered after a short pause that signaled the end of the oath.

Gardner pushed a button on his desk.

"Computer, start recording."

A short beep announced the machine's acknowledgement.

"On Wednesday, May 21st 2155, 0912 hours, Thy'lek Shran Of Andoria has sworn the Oath of Allegiance to Starfleet. The event has been witnessed by Captain Jonathan Archer and Admiral Samuel William Gardner. Computer, stop recording."

"Attention to Orders," Gardner announced and waited until both Archer and Shran were standing at attention again.

"The Prime Minister of United Earth has reposed special trust and confidence in the courage, fidelity and professional excellence of Thy'lek Shran of Andoria. In view of these qualities, and his demonstrated potential for leadership, he is, therefore, appointed to the rank of Captain, such appointment to take effect immediately. By order of the Minister of Space."

"At ease," he ordered and stuck out his hands to his blue-skinned guest. "Welcome to Starfleet, Captain Shran."

"I'm honored, Admiral."

Gardner watched in satisfaction how Archer added his heartfelt congratulations as well. Watching the friendship between the two bade well for the Coalition they were building – one as a soon-to-be Commodore, the other as the soon-to-be most experienced star ship Captain Starfleet ever had.

=/\=

"So, Admiral, may I ask, what your plans for me are?"

"Of course, that's part two of our meeting. Follow me, both of you."

Shran followed Gardner out of the door and a short distance down the corridor. "Conference room 8" said the sign of the wall. Entering the room after Gardner, he saw several human officers, all clad in the standard blue uniform. They all had snapped to attention as soon as the admiral had entered.

"At ease, take a seat."

Looking to Archer for a hint of what to do, he took a free seat, when Archer motioned him to do so.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe you all know our two guests, Captain Jonathan Archer and as of 5 minutes ago, Captain Thy'lek Shran, the first Andorian in Starfleet."

Shran was startled slightly, when all humans started knocking on the table and not knowing the appropriate reply to such a display, he simply nodded towards the center of the oval table. He listened to Gardner’s further introduction.

"May I introduce the others – Captain Julia Fletcher, Commander Roy Dunsel, Commander Jeremy Curtis, Commander Wyatcheslav Tcherkassov and Commander Ian O'Shea."

Shran watched as each human officer stood after his name was called, nodded shortly and took a seat again. He committed that to memory as the customary reaction to a formal introduction.

"You all know that, although the waters are calm at the moment, the Romulans will sooner or later come knocking on our door and it won't be a social call. We hope that the founding of the Coalition of Planets might make them think twice, but for all we know they could also take it as a reason to attack. In reaction to this threat, Starfleet has decided to build up a fleet of 9 NX-class ships with improved armaments and defensive capabilities. You will all be part of that fleet."

"My latest information said 7 ships?" Archer asked.

"The number has risen to 9 last week. After long deliberations, the Xindi-Aquatics have offered to build two NX ships at Azati Prime. I think you know the place, Jon."

"Only too well."

Shran made a mental note to himself to ask the pink-skin, what that place was. It couldn't be a very cozy one as he had rarely seen such a disgusted expression on Archer's face.

"May I ask what brought about such an offer?" Shran asked Gardner. "Do they think that two ships are a sufficient compensation for millions of dead humans?"

"Not at all. The Xindi are not formally part of the Coalition talks yet, but the primates, arboreals and aquatics have allied status with Earth. Enterprise is currently on a diplomatic mission to New Xindus. The Aquatics have requested this mission and want to return the favor by building two ships."

"Since you said that we will all be part of that new fleet," Fletcher asked. "And since we're all either captains or commanders, do I take it that we'll be the commanding officers of the respective ships?"

"Not quite. In fact three of them are absent from this meeting, so I'd best tell you, what's what before we go on. You better record that, it's a long list."

Shran saw each of the humans take out a PADD. He directed a thankful nod to Archer when the human gave him a spare one that his friend had obviously brought, knowing that he wouldn't have one with him. Following Archers example, he pressed the 'record' button.

"Jonathan Archer will soon be promoted to Commodore and will take command of the fleet. The NX-01 Enterprise is and will remain under the command of Captain T'Pol of Vulcan. NX-02 Columbia is and will remain under the command of Captain Julia Fletcher. Commander Dunsel will assume command of NX-03 Challenger and you Captain Shran will be CO of NX-04 Discovery."

Shran accepted the news with a nod. He looked very much forward to returning to space in command of a ship. He continued to listen to Gardner's further explanation.

"Both ships will start their test runs in August. Captain Erika Hernandez will command NX-05 Atlantis, which will also be the fleet's flag ship, so Jonathan will be stationed there. Commander Curtis will take command of NX-06 Endeavour. NX-07 Buran will be commanded by Malcolm Reed, currently First Officer on the Enterprise. Entry into service for NX-05, 06 and 07 is planned for February 2156. Commander Tcherkassov, you'll command NX-08 Soyuz and Commander O'Shea the NX-09 Intrepid. These two will be the Xindi-built ships and will go into service one year from now. All of you, who are currently in the rank of Commander, will be promoted to Captain at the EIS time of your respective ships. Any questions?"

"Are these ships pure-bred warships?" Dunsel asked.

"No. They will be built as multi-purpose ships, usable for exploration and warfare alike due to improved armaments and defensive capabilities. We have received military aid from Vulcan in the form of engineering crews and the specs of their defensive shielding technology. A prototype installation is currently being tested by Enterprise and Columbia. Andoria has agreed to assist with the development of a Mark IV torpedo technology and Enterprise will bring back some sensor improvements courtesy of the Xindi-Arboreals. That should turn the NX ships into formidable battleships and the last batch of reports from Enterprise indicate that Tucker's latest improvements have gotten us very close to warp 6 and knowing the man, he'll probably crack the warp 6 barrier before the last NX ship is completed."

"What about Special Operating Procedures?" Tcherkassov asked and Shran noticed that the accent of the man was very different from the rest of the humans. After mentally comparing it to the accents of some of the human instructors in his language training, he identified it as the harsh sounding accent of people, who came from a region called 'Russia'.

"Since all but two ships are still being built, you will all spend the next 2 months working out the SOP's and fleet maneuvers yourself. Captain Archer will lead this project and I hope we can profit from Captain Shran's extensive warfare experience in the Imperial Guard."

"I will speak to the Guard representatives in the Andorian Embassy to find out which information I'm allowed to disclose.

"Thank you Captain. If there are no more questions, you are dismissed, but I want Jon and Shran to stay for a moment."

Shran nodded and waited until the other officers had left the room.

=/\=

"Captain, I've spoken to Starfleet HR," Gardner began. "They think it would be a bit... awkward to put you in a standard issue blue uniform, so they've suggested to use the dark color of Andorian uniforms for yours, If that is ok for you?"

"Of course, Admiral. It will show my allegiance to Starfleet, while still honoring my past service in the Imperial Guard. I find that an agreeable compromise."

"Good. That brings me to the main thing. I need you both for a special operation on Vulcan. The V'Shar has tracked down former administrator V'Las in his hideout - the caves near the T'Kareth sanctuary. They want us to apprehend him. They made it clear that his demise is not considered a disagreeable result, should lethal force be necessary."

Gardner waited for them to digest this little bit of information.

"What happened to 'this is a Vulcan matter?'" Jon asked in surprise.

The Admiral grinned at Jon's predictable reaction. "Well it still is, but it's also a highly political matter. Minister T'Pau is still preaching the Kir'Shara day and night and she's worried that promoting Surakian pacifism while sending out an assault commando to kill her predecessor might look a wee bit hypocritical."

"So she wants plausible deniability."

"Right Jon. The official story will be that you briefed a high ranking Starfleet delegation on your time during the Vulcan crisis. During an on-site briefing, you were attacked and acted in self-defence. The fact that the delegation consists of an Andorian and a detachment of trained soldiers will be conveniently omitted."

"Well, some things didn't change. They're still expert liars."

"Minister T'Pau prefers to see it as a 'political necessity'," Gardner answered with a smirk to Shran's sarcastic remark, before continuing the briefing.

"According to the V'Shar, V'Las and up to 20 followers are hiding in those caves. You, Jon, are the only human who's ever been in these caves and you, Shran, have the most experience in fighting Vulcans, that's why I want you both on this mission."

"Didn't you just order us to start working on fleet SOP's?"

"Yes, Jon; the others will start without you and Shran. You'll take temporary Command of Columbia, while Fletcher will take your place as the project leader for the time being. This mission is meant to take no longer than 2 weeks, so in your absence, Fletcher and the others can work out the mundane routine details."

"Understood"

"You'll take Columbia to Vulcan, where you'll contact the High Council. The Vulcan liaison is Minister Kuvak, who will provide all necessary details and authorizations. You ship out on 0600 Friday morning. Until then you've got time to prepare."

"Aye, Sir."

=/\=

Trip and T'Pol entered the bridge and Malcolm got out of the big chair.

"We've located the Illyrian ship. We'll be in communication range in 2 hours."

T'Pol acknowledged the report with a short nod.

"Commander Tucker, assemble an engineering team and brief them on the necessary modifications to the warp coil to make it suitable for the Illyrian ship. It is logical to assume that they wish the installation to proceed with all haste, once we have come to an agreement."

"Aye, Ma'am."

"I suggest that we prepare for a fire fight," Malcolm reported. "I doubt that they will be very happy to see us again."

T'Pol shook her head, unaware that she had picked up that habit. "I do not think so. Their weapons are not powerful enough and unlike during the last encounter, Enterprise is in peak condition. I thought that you would look forward to testing the new shielding technology, Commander."

She didn't notice Hoshi's smug grin in Malcolm's direction.

=/\=

"Hail them again."

"They are not responding," Hoshi reported and tried the next attempt to raise the Illyrians.

"They're charging weapons," came Malcolm's report.

"Raise shields, do not return fire."

Hoshi sent a questioning glance to Malcolm, hoping to see any indication of what he thought about it. The tiny smile, he returned raised her spirits enough to stay calm, while the ship started rocking, when Illyrian fire impacted the new shields again and again.

"Shields holding steady at 80%."

"You'd think they'd get the message by now," Travis said and Hoshi had to smile about the smug undercurrent in his statement. A noise in her earpiece drew her attention back to the task at hand.

"Captain, it's the Illyrians. They say, they're willing to surrender."

=/\=

"Didn't you already take enough from us?"

T'Pol mustered the weary looking figure on the view screen.

"We did not come to take anything. We came to return, what desperation forced us to take," she explained calmly.

"Why should we believe pirates and where is the man, who ordered the crippling of my ship?"

"Captain Archer is no longer the captain of this vessel. He has been assigned new responsibilities. If you allow us to invite you to visit our ship, I am sure we can work out an agreement that is satisfactory for both sides."

"Why should we do that? How can we know that you won't take us hostage?"

"I propose an exchange," T'Pol returned. "We send over our shuttle pod, carrying an engineering team and a warp coil. They will remain in your custody by way of a pledge for your security."

She waited patiently, while the view screen showed two Illyrians joining their Captain in discussion. Since the Illyrians had severed the audio connection, there was no way of knowing, what they spoke about.

"Audio coming back," Hoshi reported.

"We agree," the Illyrian Captain said. "But I insist that two of my crew be allowed to accompany me as my guards."

"Agreed," T'Pol answered with a nod. "Stand by for docking maneuver."

=/\=

Shran folded the khaki colored uniforms that he had been issued for this mission and put them in a duffel bag, when the door chime announced a visitor.

"Come."

The door opened and revealed Jonathan Archer, holding a bottle with a brown liquid. "You're not exactly travelling lightly."

"I never leave anything to chance, when going on a battle mission," Shran answered seriously. "That's how I got to live long enough to have my own Starfleet quarters."

"And cozily cold, too," Archer said and Shran saw him shiver slightly.

"You may raise the temperature. I'm used to withstand warm climates."

"Not necessary, Shran. I brought something to warm me up."

Shran mustered the bottle that Archer was showing him.

"Bourbon Whiskey."

"It's not as hard as your ale, but still packs quite a punch."

"Let me finish packing, then we can share a glass or two," Shran said with a knowing smile. Since their history had been a constant ebb and flow of personal debts, he had expected that the pink-skin at one point would return the favor of many shared ales.

"What’s that?"

Shran turned around to see a bemusedly smiling Archer holding up his sand colored balaclava by the antennae.

"Well, blue skin is not a very helpful camouflage on Vulcan."

"But antennae? Couldn't you just push them back? Their movements could give you away."

"Did you already forget, what happened to me when you severed my antenna in the Ushaan? You pink-skins have your vestibular system to keep your balance, we have our antennae. If they can't move freely, we get sick or fall down constantly."

Shran saw Archer slap his forehead.

"You know, Shran, for all the time we've known each other, I know damn little about Andorians."

Shran put up a hand. "Don't worry pink-skin; there will be enough time to educate you."

"By the way, you should get used to calling me Jon. I don't mind the 'pink-skin', but Gardner wasn't kidding. Other people will take offence."

"Why? The Aenar call us blue-skins, we call them white-skins. Why should that be an offence?" Shran asked, his antennae wiggling in confusion.

"Let’s just say we have a rather unflattering history of discriminating people because of their skin color. It's been gone for over 200 years now, but some people are still easily offended."

"The brown-skins," Shran guessed, based on the fact that he had seen very few of those so far.

"Exactly. Three hundred years ago, Travis wouldn't have been my helmsman, but more likely my slave."

"No wonder the Vulcans are scared of you," Shran said with a smirk. "If you overcome something like that in only 2 centuries, they must be terrified, where you'll be in another two."

"Holy shit, Shran, what's that? They look like grenades!"

Shran turned around again and saw Archer staring wide-eyed at one of his armament belts.

"They are stun-grenades, a courtesy of the Imperial Guard detachment at the Andorian Embassy."

"And they'll knock out a Vulcan? These guys are quite sturdy."

"You're quite absent-minded today, Jon," Shran said with a slight worry, while trying out the new moniker. "They are Andorian. They are specifically designed to knock out a Vulcan."

"You're right, I'm an idiot."

Shran waited, knowing that more was to come.

"Right, I'm a bit distracted. I'm not comfortable with leaving Erika behind."

Shran took two ale-glasses from the shelf and indicated the bottle of whiskey. "Maybe we should sit down and you tell me, how she is."

=/\=

"I'm Commander Charles Tucker III, Chief Engineer of Enterprise. We've come to install a new warp coil and Lieutenant Maywheather will take you and your guards to our ship."

"I know, who you are."

Trip noticed the hostility in the Illyrians voice. He could hardly fault him. He had just been limping home for over a year at sublight and without a coil they were only one third of the way so far. He decided to play it cool and answered with a silent nod, waiting for the Illyrian to continue.

"You are under constant guard. If what your Captain said is true and you brought a warp coil, you are allowed to install it under supervision, but be warned, at the first sign of ulterior motives you will be taken to a holding cell."

"We have brought a new coil," Trip assured him and opened the container for inspection. "You have my word that we have no other intention than returning, what we took."

"Take us to your ship," the Illyrian demanded and Trip gave Travis a nod of approval.

When one of the guards entered the shuttle, Trip noticed that the Illyrian slipped something into the pocket of his uniform.

=/\=

Understood, please do your work.

T'Pol stood near the airlock, eyes closed and sent the strong mental nudge to her mate. Seconds before 3 pictures had flashed repeatedly in her mind – a knife, a uniform and a bloodied knife.

The typical clunk of a docking shuttlepod could be heard and T'Pol waited for the airlock to open.

"Captain, welcome aboard Enterprise."

She waited for the Illyrian to return the greeting, but nothing of the sort came.

"You proposed negotiating an agreement. If your claims to return the warp coil are true, why do we need an agreement?"

"I shall explain that, please follow me to the conference room."

Arriving there T'Pol indicated her guest to take a seat, while she seated herself on the opposite side. She noticed that one of the Illyrian guards took position on her side of the table.

"Be informed that your engineering crew is under supervision and I allowed them to install the device. Should you decide to abandon them and take me hostage, they will be killed."

T'Pol fought down a pang of panic at the thought of Trip being killed, but made sure to show no sign of it.

"Be assured that none of this is our intention. I would never abandon our engineering crew. One of them is my future husband."

She noticed the stunned expression on the ridged face of her guest.

"How can that be. You are different from the others."

"That is correct," T'Pol answered and handed him a PADD that she had been carrying the whole time. "This database contains all pertinent information about this ship, its crew and the events since the raid of your vessel. Earth and especially the crew of this ship is experiencing deep regret over the injustice that we were forced to bring to you. It is our hope that by returning you a new warp coil and providing this information, one day your people might be able to forgive what has happened."

She observed the Illyrians face for any sign of emotional reaction, when he took the PADD.

"It's in Illyrian."

"Yes, our communications officer took the liberty to translate it to your language. We hope the quality of the translation is satisfactory."

The room fell silent as T'Pol continued to observe her guest absorb the presented data. Her keen hearing picked up a rustling sound from behind. Remembering Trip's warning and the memorized position of the Illyrian guard, she turned around and swung a right hook at the last known position of him.

With a dull thud the guard was thrown against the bulkhead, slumping into an unconscious pile, while a metallic object fell to the ground nearby. The Illyrian captain and the other guard immediately targeted her with their phasers and T'Pol raised both hands.

"I do not intend to strike at you, but if you would please inspect the weapon that is located 1.2 meters from my position, you will notice that your crew member tried to attack me."

"Wait!" the Illyrian Captain called after the second guard, who had moved to retrieve the object. T'Pol, hands still raised, watched the Illyrian give his guard a thorough pat-down. When he held up a metallic object that he had removed from the guard’s pocket, she nodded as an answer to the unspoken question, whether a similar object was, what she had referred to.

She swiftly caught the phaser that the Illyrian had taken from his guard and thrown to her.

"Please apprehend them," he demanded.

"As you wish," T'Pol answered and walked over to the com-panel, while the Captain kept his, now former, guard at gunpoint.

"T'Pol to Commander Reed."

"Reed."

"Please send a 4 man security detail to the conference room."

=/\=

"I suppose, now I have to ask forgiveness," the Illyrian Captain said, after the security detail had hoisted the two attackers away.

"There is no need for that," T'Pol waved off is concerns. "Your crew has suffered a great injustice and anger is a strong emotion. It was to be expected that some were not prepared to forego revenge."

"Please accept my assurance that I was not aware of their intentions."

"I do."

Their conversation was cut short by the com beep.

"Bridge to Captain T'Pol."

"T'Pol here."

"Commander Tucker reports that the installation of the warp coil has been successful. The Illyrian ship is now warp capable again."

"Thank you, Commander. Please instruct your security detail to bring the two apprehended Illyrians and meet us at airlock 7."

"Aye, ma'am."

"As you have heard, you now have back, what was unlawfully taken," she said. "Please bring this information to the attention of your government and we hope you will have a pleasant journey home, now that the time frame has changed in your favor."

"I thank you. I'm afraid many of my crew will need a long time to get past their resentment, but if it is true that it was your ship that destroyed the devices, which caused these spatial anomalies, our sacrifice was at least not in vain."

"Once you find the time to study the data in detail, you will notice that it was the acquisition of your warp coil, which enabled us to fulfill our mission. Without you, Earth and most likely Illyria would no longer exist by now. Please follow me. I'm sure your crew is eager to continue their journey."

=/\=

"Permission to come aboard?" Archer asked, stepping out of the airlock.

"Permission granted," the XO answered and shook Jon's offered hand.

"Commander, you'll stay on the bridge," Archer instructed. "Lay in a direct course for Vulcan at maximum warp. Inform Major Talcin to report to the conference room in 30 minutes."

"Aye, Sir."

"And you, Shran," Archer turned towards his companion. "Better bring those grenades to the armory for storage. If those things can knock out a Vulcan, I'm not keen to find out what happens, when one of them goes bang on a ship full of humans. Commander Barring will show you the way."

"Agreed," Shran answered and Jon left towards the Captains quarters.

=/\=

May 30th 2155, The Delphic Expanse

Trip looked questioningly at Malcolm.

"What?" Malcolm asked.

"Where's Hoshi? She's hardly the most punctual person in the world, probably not even in this part of the ship, but she's never late for our dinners."

"She got called to the bridge. Her gamma shift ensign couldn't make sense of a transmission half an hour ago. She'll be here any minute."

"Ah," Trip said and looked expectantly at T'Pol, but the only reaction he got was an inquisitively raised eyebrow.

"I'm waiting for the 'why wasn't I informed?'," Trip explained.

"I was informed."

"Guess then it'll be me who asks that then," he returned.

"As you may wish to remember – you only just arrived here yourself. I found it unnecessary to disturb you with such information, when you were too absorbed in your latest test run."

"Absorbed? Try obsessed," Malcolm quipped.

"Hey," Trip said defensively, but with a big grin. "I squeezed her to 5.87. Mark my word. When Jon and Erika go out on Atlantis for the first time, they'll be screaming out of the system at warp 6."

"No doubt about that," Hoshi said, strolling into the cabin. "Sorry for being late, but Ferris is still learning the ropes. He's one of the newbies, we took aboard."

"What kind of transmission was it?" T'Pol asked.

"A communiqué from the Supreme Council of Illyria. Their ship has reached Illyrian space and after reviewing our data, they won't open a diplomatic case."

"That is gratifying to hear," T'Pol said and Trip went to call the Steward with the dishes.

=/\=

T'Pol looked at the dish before her.

"What is it, darlin'?"

"This dish looks somewhat … disorganized," she said, stirring it with her spoon slightly.

"If you mean to say it looks as if Kusnezova just threw in the pot whatever she could find – well – that's exactly what it is."

"Kuznezova?" Malcolm asked.

"It's her turn this week – Russian theme day."

"I would have pegged it for ravioli after a tragic kitchen accident," Malcolm said pointing at the blood red soup in front of him.

"Don't let her hear that, or she'll have your hide." Trip chuckled. "Pregnant women are moody enough as they are."

"You seem to know what it is," Malcolm replied with smirk. "Care to enlighten us?"

"It's called borshtch. Main ingredients are beet-root and cabbage, hence the red color and the dumplings you took for ravioli are called uszky – little ears – and they're filled with mushrooms."

"Sounds like a nice combination," Hoshi said with a smile. "Bon apetit."

=/\=

T'Pol sent Trip and Malcolm a stern look, when Trip refilled their glasses from the small keg that his two Germans had delivered the day before.

"Don't worry, darlin' it’s a light Lager, nothing like the stuff they zonked us with last week."

She noticed with satisfaction that he had gotten the hint even without any telepathic warnings.

"Don't remind me," Malcolm groaned. "What did they call it? Bock?"

"Yeah, packed quite a wallop, didn't it."

"If by 'wallop' you mean your incessant snoring throughout the night, then it is an apt description," T'Pol complained.

The com chirp interrupted them.

"Senior officers to the bridge. We're being approached by a ship. It's Xindi."

=/\=

"We're being hailed," Ensign Ferris reported, as soon as the four officers filed out of the turbo lift.

Hoshi motioned him to vacate the seat and took over.

"On screen," T'Pol ordered.

The screen revealed the faces of an arboreal and a primate and T'Pol immediately recognized the faces of the two Xindi, who had seen them off after the destruction of the spheres.

"Enterprise, we are pleased to meet you again."

"The pleasure is ours," T'Pol returned with a polite nod.

"We were not expecting you so early, but considering your gigantic advancements in speed, it does not come as a surprise."

T'Pol noticed that Trip had taken position on her side. She heard him address the Xindi.

"Well thank you, we’ve made a few improvements, but I wouldn't call 5.8 gigantic."

They both noticed the confused looks the Xindi were exchanging. The arboreal answered.

"Enterprise, the long range scans of our outer defense perimeter registered your warp signature near the Skagaran system yesterday. You are here now, which means you must have travelled in excess of warp factor 8."

Trip and T'Pol faced each other and she noticed the shocked look in his face.

"You know, what that means, darlin', don't you?"

T'Pol was too caught up in her own confusion to protest the unseemly intimate address.

 

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