I need advice

[blacknblue]

I am writing a scene where Archer and T'Para meet face to face for the first time.

Input please?

[Distracted]

Archer's learned a bit, one would hope, from carrying around Surak's katra. Maybe the sight of her brings on a flashback or something and he turns on some ancient Vulcan courtly manners and just charms the hell out of T'Para?

[Dinah]

Alpha male meets alpha female -- batten the hatches there could be rough weather ahead. I could be all wrong about this, but I would think that T'Para's first reaction, whether consciously or unconsciously, would be to compare Archer to Trip. After all, when T'Pol came home with a human, it could have just as easily been Archer. (Don't organize the lynch mob. We all know that T'Pol wouldn't do anything that stupid.) The odds are that Archer's reputation would have preceded him. T'Para's going to want to find out if he everything he's cracked up to be. She going to grill him (albeit subtly) like five pounds of hamburger at a 4th of July picnic.

As for Archer, after Trip's problems channeling T'Pol's emotions, I think Jon would still be worried about his friend. Even with lingering traces of Surak's katra, I don't think he could completely rid himself of his distrust of Vulcans. I think he'd be checking T'Para and her family pretty closely for ways in which they were influencing and possibly even manipulating Trip. Right now T'Para's got both Trip and T'Pol on pretty short leashes. You could also explore the possibility that Archer might have some latent feelings of jealousy that his buddy got the girl.

[Rigil Kent]

Seriously, I want to see T'Para slap him down when slips into his self-righteous "I know better about your culture than you do" mode. So he Surak's katra for a few hours, it doesn't make him an expert on Vulcans.

There are other things I'd like to see, of course, but they would get dangerously close to "Archer bashing" and I don't really want to go there...

[hth2k]

T'Para is a person of some gravitas on Vulcan and on her home turf. She also has many many years of dealing with people (Vulcans) but people none the less. She has senses that Archer does not and will likely read him like a book. She is vastly smarter than he is and likely to pick up on whatever he does quickly and soon be two or three steps ahead of him.

Archer will or will not realize this to his benefit or detriment. If you write him as he was in the series I almost feel sorry for the poor bastige if he attempts to bull his way with her. She can simple ask Ganlas to remove him and he is gone. Hopefully someone will whisper in his ear, "Don't piss off the old lady."

She would observe much allowing him to reveal himself rather quickly. Once she figures him out she will get what ever she wants. If he is somewhat smarter than in the series he will show respect, do as she asks and he will get what he wants more or less.

HtH

[Rigil Kent]

Perfectly stated. Here here.

[blacknblue]

This is all wonderful and useful commentary. Please keep it coming.

[Rigil Kent]

Cheater. Having everyone else do the hard work for you.

[CoffeeCat]

^ man, I should do this when I'm trying to plot...

[JadziaKathryn]

I can see T'Para treating Archer like a small child, and him not liking it but realizing she's way smarter than him. Or maybe not realizing it and stewing. Either way.

[Mitchell]

Cheater. Having everyone else do the hard work for you.

Oh Let him Cheat!
Ya want to read this scene dont ya after all.

I cant help but imagine my My
(gone but not forgotten) Grany Mitchell when ever one of yer updates gets posted bnb. She was definatly an alpha female to.

Anywhos, Id imagine if Archer were to become his ever to often cocky, "Im always right an everyone else is wrong" self, T'Para would rip him a new one. Luv that lil Ol lady.

But now I cant help but imagine a scene where George would meet/run into Archer, an he says in a dissbeleavin manner later "Thats one of the founding Fathers of the Federation!?! How the hell humans, and Vulcans ever made it out of the 22nd century Ill never know."

[CX]

I'd stop short of the ass reaming everyone else seems to want, but I think after that previous scene where you had another character tell Archer to sit down and STFU, he might try to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. I imagine that would earn him a good lecture, all while T'Para keeps somewhat more respectful than usual. After all, the man carried Surak's katra for a while, een if he hardly seems suitable for that.

[Elessar]

am I the only one who doesn't know who the hell T'Para is?!

[JadziaKathryn]

She's the Eldest Mother of T'Pol's clan in bnb's excellent stories.

[Linda]

Bnb, I think it could be a complex interaction, quite a dramatic scene. T'Para is emensely curious about Archer's contact with Surak and asks questions about that. Archer might start out thinking the meeting would be like he has with his frail grandma and discovers T'Para is a force of (Vulcan) nature, demanding respect. He has to be humble hmself before her. I can see T'Para fereting out and focusing on Archer's weak points and trying to mend them. That is what she has been doing with Trip and T'Pol and she is good at it. He must have some regrets about his treatment of Sim and about that stranding that alien ship in the expanse when he took the warp coil, and numerous other transgressions. Also, I think T'Para would notice his strengths, like the echo of Surak helping him and the vision he has for forming the Federation. She might want to help him keep what is haunting him from sandbagging the carrying out of his dream.

Hope this helps.