The Slopes of Andoria

Chapter 13: Amor est vitae essentia by panyasan

Author's note: I was inspired by the wonderful story Seal the Deal by Bluetiger.

The blasts from the explosions slammed into the hull with great force. Standing behind the science station, T'Pol could feel the strong vibrations of the explosions shaking the bridge. She turned half-way and saw Ensign Mayweather moving his hands with great haste on the panel. The ship moved sharply under his guidance, avoiding the enemy's fire. Any blast could be fatal. 

"We're outnumbered, sir," T'Pol heard Lieutenant Reed say. "A couple more well-placed shots like those and we'll be sitting ducks." Without hesitation he continued, "Returning fire."

Commands flooded from his mouth, directing torpedoes towards one of the nearby ships, which erupted into a blaze of fire that died quickly as it exhausted the ship's atmosphere.

In the corner of her eye T'Pol could see Ensign Sato trying to contact Andorian and Vulcan vessels in the system. "Incoming message, sir."  Hoshi spoke loudly, trying to make herself heard above the noise of weapon's fire. 

A second later, an Andorian face filled the screen. "This is Commander Satir of the Imperial Guard, Captain Archer.  We are coming to your aid. You will fly at maximum warp to the coordinates I am sending you. Enterprise will lure as many of the enemy ships as possible away from battle; one of our strike forces will be ready for them at the coordinates."

Archer hesitated for a moment, then he gave a short nod to Mayweather. The helmsman received the coordinates and within seconds the ship turned around and moved away at the highest warp speed. T'Pol noticed on sensors that the Ni'Var, the Vulcan ship that been helping them, had done the same and was following. 

Their sudden departure must have taken the attacking ships by surprise, because they initially failed to follow. Then three - then five, then nine - ships jumped into warp after them, quickly gained and continued firing their torpedos. The hull shrieked under the force of maximum warp. A blast shook the ship, creating waves that caused the hull plating to buckle. Enterprise ignored the attack and continued her course with great speed. Ensign Mayweather was maneuvering the Enterprise as he would a much smaller, lither vessel, steering the ship from one side to the other. He was successful in preventing Enterprise from being hit again. T'Pol felt dizzy and attempted to repress it. "We are almost at the given coordinates," she told the captain. 

The coordinates were in range of an M-class planet, surrounded by dilithium and hezalium debris clouds. Those elements could interfere with any sensors.  The clouds would be good hiding places for any ships.

The moment Enterprise arrived three Andorian ships seemed to appear from nowhere. Immediately they started to attack the enemy ships. To T'Pol's surprise, three Vulcan ships joined the Andorians. "The Andorian vessels have come to our aid, Captain," T'Pol stated. Blood rushed towards her head, making her lightheaded. A feeling of crushing fatigue moved through her. "Three Vul-" Looking up, she felt a floating sensation overtake her as her vision became blurry. Then everything became black.

She was in her own quarters when she woke. She was laid out on her meditation mat, the one she used when she didn't sleep on the bunk. Her head was supported by another cushion and her body was covered by a warm blanket. She tried to sit up and, opening her eyes, saw Trip sitting in her quarters reading a PADD. Seeing her attempt to move, he went quickly to her side, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, darlin', you should rest." Softly he pushed her back onto the mat. His eyes showed concern, but his smile reassured her. 

"What happened?" she whispered. The tiredness had returned, so she was glad to be lying down again. 

"You sort of passed out on the bridge," Trip explained, looking at her intensely, like he was studying every line on her face. "Phlox said it probably had something to do with your ordeal on Andoria. Something about all the cold or stress or whatever from the mission catching up to you - anyway, he said the most important thing was that you got rest."

She found it hard to believe her condition was due to their experience on Andoria. Doctor Phlox already had given her a clean bill of health on the Amarith. "What happened to the enemy ships?" she asked Trip.

"A joint venture between Human, Vulcan and Andorian ships was able to destroy several of them. There was some heavy fighting until the enemy ships fled the scene. They're gone for now." She could hear the pride in his voice that Humans, Vulcans and Andorians had worked together to fight a common enemy. 

"Casualties?" she wanted to know. 

Trips face changed and he looked sad. "Two Andorians and one Vulcan were killed. Several were wounded." He paused. "We have collected several pieces of wreckage from the enemy ships and we have teams investigating. Your science team is proving again that they are the best in the field." 

"I must see them," she said, "I should..."

"Not now," he said, placing two fingers on her mouth in a gesture that seemed very intimate to her. "First you should eat something, take your medicine, and get some rest."

He lit some candles, got some pillows and stuffed them behind her back. He then offered her a bowl of plomeek. T'Pol slowly got into a sitting position and took the bowl. The smell was very appealing. Trip gave her a spoon and she took a small sip. It was very good. "Shouldn't you be in Engineering?" she asked. 

"I was taking a quick break. After you are finished and back asleep, I will go back," he explained. 

T'Pol continued eating the broth. They sat in a silence that wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was like all the sounds of the day had died out and it was just the two of them, sitting in her quarters, enjoying each other's company.

When she finished her meal, Trip gave her two hyposprays. She was about to lay down again when Trip interrupted the silence. "T'Pol..."

She looked at him, he seemed somewhat nervous. "You know, yesterday, when we talked about having kids..." He stopped.

"You have changed your mind," she concluded. "You don't agree with the idea."

Her remark shook him into action. "No, no, that's not it. It's just..." He took a breath and then the words came pouring out, a flood of feelings and desires he had clearly not been intending to share quite this way. "There is no other woman I'd want to have a child with. Or be with. It's just such a big step and I was thinking that I haven't shown you what it means to me." He knelt down on one knee. T'Pol found this rather odd, but she remembered it was part of a particular Terran custom... 

Trip took out a small box out of his pocket. "Remember that black trunk in my room?"

She did. "The trunk with possessions of your fore-mother. She gave it to you a year ago."

"Yes, with books and old stuff she liked. She also gave me this, to give the right girl one day. And I've found her. So please, T'Pol, accept this."

He opened it. It was a ring. With a blood stone. The green color was aesthetically appealing. Holding the box in his hands, his eyes became slightly moist. "T'Pol, my only, I love you. I can't tell you how much.  I want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?"

She could not express how happy she was, she only said, "Yes," and, before she could say more, she felt his lips on hers in a tender and passionate kiss. 

When Trip left T'Pol's quarters he had a hard time suppressing his joy. He felt he should do something crazy, like climbing on top of the warp core and shouting for all to hear about how happy he was. But as soon as he entered engineering and saw the science and engineering teams working together, examining the wreckage of one of the ships, he was faced once more with the reality of the war. His good mood disappeared. One of the team members, a young Andorian named Hatar, reported their results. Trip took a look. 

"So what is your conclusion?"

"I can only conclude that the ship has a Romulan design, sir." 

Trip wanted a closer look. He walked towards the table where the parts of the wreckage were placed. He studied them from all sides. They looked Romulan. But there was something about the way the parts were joined together that seemed different. He went to his office and searched his database, unable to put his finger on where he'd seen that particular technique. After an hour of searching he found it: a sketch of a ship of Coridian design. He checked and double checked all his information on Coridian engineering with the results of the investigation of the wreckage. The conclusion was unmistakable. Elements of both Coridian and Romulan technology had been used in the manufacture of the ships that had attacked them. Whoever was behind the attacks, the Coridians were intimately involved.