Jupiter Aligns for Mars

Chapter Eight: Distress at a Distance

Rating: PG

Focus: TnT, the existential threat of the Romulans.

Summary: Hoshi learns important things about Vulcan. Necessities overcome desires. Preparations continue for the alien incursion.

Disclaimer (necessary): Star Trek: Enterprise and its characters are copyright CBS/Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended by the author of this story, which is solely for the purpose of entertainment and is not for profit.

DISCLAIMER (additional): see chapter 1

The library of scrolls at Mt. Seleya had been incredible and Vodir had kept his promise and more. T’Pau had joined them and Hoshi had been given a tour of all except the lower chambers, which Vodir had quietly told her were reserved for Vulcans during childbirth. She had been allowed a few hours at the end of the tour to peruse any of the scrolls she wished, having been granted unlimited access with the only caveat being that she give a day’s notice so that an acolyte might be released from her duties to serve as a guide.

Hoshi had not wasted her opportunity. Not knowing where to begin she had selected a timeframe of approximately 1000 years in the past and determined to see where her selection might lead. The mix of Vulcan dialects had been breath-taking and she could easily see how the modern language had evolved. More importantly she had perused many ancient Vulcan scrolls. She smiled as she thought of the special gloves she had been required to wear while handling these ancient parchments, in fact she was still marveling at the beautiful lettering. Basking in her experiences, she climbed the last steps to the Tucker residence and begged leave from her Vulcan escort. Opening the door Habin and Dabin immediately demanded her attention. She managed to get in the house before surrendering to the required head scratches and rubs her pals insisted upon.

Glad she had eaten on the way she took a quick sonic shower, changed into lounging clothes and headed for the garden door, the sehlats jousting with each other for the best scratchy position. Hoshi smiled to herself and continued outside. She was unsure why the meditation area in the garden was so comfortable in the early evening but it was.  She had managed to get a lounge chair from the embassy and she stretched out upon it, contemplating her next trip to the ancient library.

She started awake while being dragged off her chair by Dabin. Let me go she thought and quickly visualized her arm being released. Her mental efforts had no effect and she found herself pulled along the rough stones. She continued to bombard him with commands to no avail. She was finally released at the doorway. As she stood she saw Dabin had taken an aggressive posture looking back into the garden and only then wondered where Habin was. She suddenly realized that she had best get indoors and opened the door. As she began to slide through the opening, she sent a recall command to both of the sehlats. Habin quickly came into view and bounded to her. The two then backed her through the door and remained agitated even after she closed and barred it.

Peering through the window she saw a long lizard shaped creature, a le’matya moving toward her lounge chair tasting the air with its tongue. Quickly remembering her instructions from T’Nek she contacted the local security patrol. Minutes later there was a knock on the front door. Over the objections of Habin and Dabin she opened the door, after being certain it was a pair of Vulcans. She gave them the necessary details and was asked to go to an interior room behind a secure door and then to wait. She sat on the first object she found, a chair, and tried to calm herself. The dangers of Vulcan had always seemed abstract, no place could be as dangerous as had been explained and still support families and neighborhoods, could it? She began to hyperventilate as the real danger she had been in became apparent. She had foolishly fallen asleep outside. Without her pals she would have been killed. She wondered if the le’matya would have found her iron based blood edible. Too bad it would have most likely decided her palatability after her demise.

She finally realized she was in the study and thought about calling Malcolm. No, I will call but after this situation is resolved. Then she began to think of how different she was from the young woman who had been reluctantly dragged onto Enterprise so many years before. While she had been severely startled, she had not been afraid or at least not incapacitated by fear. She had made a mistake and survived it. She doubted she would ever make that one again. She had also kept her head, got herself and her buddies in the house and called the local security patrol, just as she had been instructed. She was reflecting on events when a quiet knock at the door brought her back to the here and now.

She opened the door and offered a belated ta’al. It was returned with a nod. “How are you addressed?” asked a tall youngish Vulcan with a nametag that said Dudek.

“I am called Hoshi.”

“Lady Hoshi, we have killed the le’matya. We are currently awaiting additional personnel to both remove the carcass and verify that it was alone. You will be safe inside the house. I suggest you meditate, a surprise encounter with a le’matya is most disagreeable.”

She nodded and remembered her Vulcan manners. Making her way to the kitchen she quickly prepared a tray with glasses of water and sought out the security people.

“Bloody hell” Malcolm said out loud. He shyly glanced around his office, annoyed that he had spoken aloud. He had thought that his efforts as first officer had saved his captain from much of the daily paperwork grind, only to find that it was apparent that she had in fact spared him. He leaned back in his chair and began to ponder. She had not interfered in the least with his security protocols. In fact, he had been given complete responsibility for the station’s security and he knew from his own sources that T’Pol was at least as capable a security officer as he was.

He decided it was time for a long think. He would postponed his self inspection until after the captain’s return but he was convinced that it was perhaps time for him to give more responsibility to MacGregor and start being T’Pol’s executive officer like he was supposed to be. He smiled to himself as he realized T’Pol had certainly foreseen this and his musings stopped. No, maybe not, he doubted she knew humans well enough, but Trip did. That sneaky bastard he thought smiling broadly. He remembered other times past and how the smiling engineer was a lot more than he appeared. He even ended up with the “nice bum”. Regardless it was time for him to step up to his larger and lesser responsibilities, which were staring at him on the monitor. Hmmm, Chef wanted cod for Friday fish fries explaining that it was Lent…

His comm sounded - the secure one, Donal’s. He mashed the button, “Reed”.

“Lieutenant MacGregor, sir. Are we secure?”

“Yes Lieutenant”

“No evidence of surveillance activities or devices. I have placed ours per your instructions. Have you decided to inform my hosts?”

“Tell them all at breakfast. Make sure they know why.”

“No problem.”

Malcolm paused and hit a few buttons on his console. “The feed is coming in clear. Jupiter Security has it now. Go have a scotch - one. We’ll call you if anything pops.”

“Aye sir.”

Malcolm was settling back into his seat when his comm rang again. “Yes”

“Lieutenant Sato for you sir.”

Quickly determining that any attempt to suppress a smile was wasted effort he pushed the blinking button. “Hi Hoshi”, left his lips before he noticed she looked slightly disheveled and pale. “Are you all right?”

“Better now Malcolm,” explaining her encounter. “And there was nothing you could have done.” Then she smiled her biggest grin.  “Actually I am quite fine. I better understand why Vulcans keep domesticated sehlats now. Given that I probably won’t be settled down enough for sleeping anytime soon, would you like to hear about Mount Seleya?”

As Hoshi related the story of her day Malcolm nodded doing his best to rein in his runaway emotions. He wanted to reach thru subspace and hug her. He wanted her near him where he could protect her. “Are you listening at all? Malcolm, I’m fine. In fact I’m proud of myself.”

Her visage changed and he found himself under her gaze, which in her own way was far more difficult for Malcolm to endure than any of T’Pol’s eyebrow inflections. He wilted. Then he smiled as she again changed her facial expressions, noting his surrender. Bloody right she was a communications expert. Without missing a beat she continued her tale and he was quickly enthralled; duty could wait.

“Ma, we’re looking for an antebellum estate. I’d like to get a section if possible. Kinda thinking of the area around Perry or Old Town. Nothing on the Gulf itself, but hopefully on a river.” They were back on the porch enjoying the morning after a good night’s sleep and breakfast. T’Pol had gone upstairs to meditate, and Donal was off snooping, or looking for a spotted snake.

Katie leaned back in her rocker and Charlie leaned forward in his. “Gonna cost quite a bit son, ya rob a bank out there?”

“No, dad. Starfleet pays pretty well, actually real well when you figure there’s hardly any way to spend it. T’Pol ain’t broke either. Besides I figure you two will probably want to buy a hunk of the place, especially once we have a kid or two.”

Charlie froze. “Is T’Pol…?”

“No dad. But sooner or later she will be. We already know it’s possible.”

Charlie looked over to his wife who was completely motionless. “Charlie, go make me a light one, and get whatever ya want. Trip,” she focused on him and saw that he was smiling broadly and almost looked like the little boy she had sent off to school so many years before, “you are really happy aren’t you?”

He lifted his arm and extended two fingers over his head and as if on cue T’Pol moved through the door and placed her fingertips on his. He scooched over and she took a place next to him on the swing. “I do seem to have an positive effect on your son Katie, but it pales in comparison to the most agreeable effect he has on me.”

Charlie came back outside with a tray, “Saw you go through the door T’Pol, brought you some orange juice.” He extended the tray to her and she graciously accepted the drink. He handed Katie a Bloody Mary complete with a celery stalk poking out. “Son?” Trip nodded and took one for himself. Charlie reached in his shirt pocket and handed Trip a cigar. “One of the few Cubans I have left.” He looked wistfully towards the southeast. “Been saving it for you.”

“Is that a cigar, Trip?” asked T’Pol.

“One of the best, honey. I’ll wait until later when you’re up wind.”

“No Trip, please indulge yourself. I am curious.”

“The odor can be pungent, T’Pol.”

“Do not concern yourself, Charles.” Please T’hai’la I am curious and it will please your father.

T’Pol watched in fascination as Charlie carefully clipped the end off his and handed the antique tool to Charles, who did the same. Next they each ignited a wooden match and lit the end opposite. The cigars flared repeatedly until they seemed to settle into a process of slow combustion. Her adun leaned back into the swing taking a long breath, holding it his mouth before exhaling the smoke. It was an interesting yet pleasing smell and she could plainly tell through the bond that Charles was experiencing a great pleasure.

“How soon you want us to start looking Trip,” Katie said knocking T’Pol out of her reverie.

“I guess as soon as ya can. Well, don’t wait forever. Just see what’s out there, maybe you’ll find something.”

Finally! The other task he promised himself he would finish before T’Pol returned to the station was done; he’d gotten the speech ready. Malcolm wasn’t much for public speaking, but he was certain that it was soon to be a more regular duty. The Captain and Trip were due back in the next hour and he had promised to get this complete. It was now only days until the alien engineers arrived and he had been charged with giving them an orientation lecture. T’Pol had emphasized that she would deal with the communication’s blackout regulations; he was responsible for the rest.

It had taken quite a bit of his time once he understood that he had to put together an entire day’s agenda for the group including station orientation, meals, quarters and various tours. He also knew that this was his job and somehow figured that Trip had managed to get her to let him prepare it for her approval. It had given him an excuse to call Hoshi again, make sure she was really ok, she was-thankfully, and get her agreement to translate his package into Andorian, Vulcan and Tellarite. He hoped T’Pol would approve it quickly to give Hoshi time.

It had also become painfully apparent that the various Ambassadors would have to come to the station prior to the arrival of the engineers. There were just too many cultural loose ends and he had even managed to get Chief Litlitvinowitz’s agreement. Now all he had to do was convince the Captain. He looked through the PADD one more time and headed to the cargo bay.

The cargo bay door opened and Donal got off first with a suppressed grin that he made sure only Malcolm could see. From within the craft it was apparent that an argument was going on and Trip was losing, as usual.

“…must make another attempt at improving your halitosis.”

“Aw Captain, I’ve brushed ma teeth three times this morning and used mouthwash. It’ll fade.”

“If I had known the effects a cigar would have on your breath, I am unsure I would have approved. Perhaps Dr. Lucas has a solution.”

She disembarked and raised a single conspiratorial eyebrow at Malcolm who, along with the rest of the reception committee, had come to attention. Malcolm thanked his ingrained discipline for not reacting now he was certain that his Captain was spoofing Trip.

“Welcome aboard, Captain.” T’Pol nodded. Handing her a PADD he continued, “These are yesterday’s reports, nothing notable. I request that you join me as soon as you are able to discuss my proposals for operation ‘Big Happy Family’.” He was certain that Commander Tucker had chosen the name.

She glanced at the PADD, changing pages. “45 minutes Commander. I agree with your invitees.” Looking at the PADD again, “And I concur with the location.”

Trip had moved up beside her with a couple of small duffels in his hand. “I’ll get this stuff up to our quarters, Captain.” He changed his focus to Malcolm. “Have Hess and Kelby report to the mess ASAP. It’ll save me time and I have to go see Dr. Lucas, apparently,” rolling his eyes.

Trip made himself a mental note that they were going to have to install some meeting/conference rooms, probably on Level Five. As much as the entire crew hated meetings it was becoming plain that they would have to do better than the mess hall when they had to gather more than five people in one place. He’d talk it over with Malcolm, Chef and Chief before making his proposals to T’Pol.

“Why Commander Tucker your breath is minty fresh,” said Hess, unable to contain a smile.

“You know Commander…” began Kelby, but he couldn’t continue unable to suppress his laughter. Trip suppressed a snicker himself wondering again how he could create a comm system able to keep up with the speed of gossip. His officers brought him up to speed on engineering’s happenings as T’Pol and the rest arrived. Before taking her seat she did give him a sniff and a raised eyebrow of mere tolerance.

Noting all were in place, Malcolm began his presentation. The various exposition boards and his pointer made it apparent a full military operation had been planned. Somehow if Malcolm had used a swagger stick it would have been perfect. Trip made himself another mental note to get one before Mal’s next birthday. “Captain, I do not see any way around having the ambassadors here prior to our guests arrival. There are to many issues to clarify, especially your edict on communications. I think Commodore Archer needs to be informed.”

“I agree and disagree.” T’Pol asserted. “Commodore Archer will obviously need to be informed. However, your questions are primarily focused on issues of diet, medical requirements and accommodations. Could you not take Chef and whomever else you deem necessary to Starfleet Headquarters or their embassies?”

Trip watched Malcolm assess that possibility. Through the bond he had encouraged T’Pol to challenge Malcolm that way to see if he had considered it. She had decided that it did not matter where they met as long as it was done quietly.

Malcolm finally spoke up. “No Captain, I think it better that we host them here. First, it is best to meet with all of the ambassadors at one time, lest any think there is an inconsistent message. Second, they may have unanticipated questions that I can’t answer; one example is medical, so I would need to take Dr. Lucas. I can foresee a shuttle full of personnel heading to Earth. I am certain they can get here without being noticed. I doubt that we can assemble incognito there. I would leave the arrangements with Commodore Archer.”

“Very well. Commander, I also agree with the suggestion that all of the engineers arrive on the same day. It will minimize disruptions to our operations. Your general outline appears logical. Have each of the various impacted departments prepare their presentations for my review. Are we ready for our eighteen new crewmates?”

“Yes ma’am.” He turned his head, “Commander Tucker?”

“I’ll defer to Commander Kelby, I just got back.”

Kelby stood and moved to his own presentation board. “It won’t hurt for the ambassadors to come here first and we can push back the arrival of the Tellarites. The mudbath is built to their requirements but they didn’t supply specifications on the mud itself so I have to substitute Earth mud. I hope their ambassador can give me a consistency.” He grinned. “The Andorian and Vulcan areas are complete. I suggest you take a quick tour when you have the chance Captain. Commander Tucker, I was informed by Commander Hess that you have experience in presentations on waste processing. I wondered if…?”

Trip rolled his eyes and put his head down on the table. “Anna, so help me.”

As Kelby returned to his seat Malcolm straightened his features and asked. “Dr. Lucas.”

Perhaps you will be more honest with the evaluations of your relatives in the future.

Yes ma’am. Trip sent clearly through the bond, shielding a new area of his mind where he could plot revenge now that he knew whom his real adversary was.

“I am not as comfortable as I would like to be,” Dr. Lucas began. “Vulcan physiology is known to me, as are many aspects of TeIlarite medical protocols. I have minimal knowledge of Andorians beyond basic anatomy. I request that I be allowed to ask the ambassadors a few questions.”

Trip watched T’Pol’s eyebrows move slightly higher. “Dr. Lucas, following this meeting join me in my office.”

“Chef,” announced Malcolm.

“I have basic requirements for all. Stasis space has been allocated. If the ambassadors are coming to the station I would like to query them for favorite dishes, what I have obtained is little more than daily caloric requirements and known toxins and allergens.  I am also unsure whether the Vulcans will wish to eat communally or privately. Tellarites and especially Andorians are boisterously social. Adding them into our mess hall is inconsequential, if they get too loud I’ll move them to the far end. However Andorian’s eat about five to six times per day: I need more information. I intend a luncheon buffet for our new residents upon their arrival. It will help me determine many things merely by what does and doesn’t get eaten.”

“Captain, I know you prefer chamomile tea, but I would appreciate any additional suggestions for Vulcan beverages. I must do better than water. I do anticipate the Vulcans will find the variety of fruits and vegetables available ‘most agreeable’.” Trip smiled as T’Pol nodded her head. He knew she continued to be amazed by the endless variety of the Terran harvest and Chef continued to bring new items on board weekly. He just couldn’t understand her infatuation with Brussels sprouts. He hoped she liked okra when is came into season. So do I adun, Brussels sprouts have many trace elements that are required in a Vulcan diet. Return your attention to the meeting.

Chastised but still smiling, Trip returned his attention to Malcolm. “MacGregor”

“Assuming no changes to our own policies,” he said as he stood up and moved over to yet another board. “Escorted access into station physical plant areas; unlimited access everywhere else except personal quarters and security spaces. We will cover it all during the tours and presentations. I suggest again that we adopt badges for station personnel.”

“Noted, and still denied,” interjected T’Pol. Trip had had this discussion with her numerous times and he agreed. It just made security people lazy. You had to learn the people; badges were just too easy to forge. “Thank you Commander. I will be in contact with Commodore Archer shortly. How soon can we be prepared to host the ambassadors?”

Trip watched Malcolm glance around the table. “We are ready now, assuming all our handouts are in UE standard. I have asked Lieutenant Sato to translate all our materials. She has agreed; I need only your permission and final approval of the documents.

“Granted. I will have them back to you later today.”

“Chief” intoned Malcolm again.

“We’re ready.”

“Then I believe the timing is up to Commodore Archer, Captain.”