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"Whips, Chains, and Plomeek Soup"
Rating: PG-13 Um...a back door into a more familiar universe, but even this one has a few surprises. :) BTW: I meant "dimensional" not "temporal". T'Pol & the Vulcans of Captain Sato's dimension aren't quite like Daniels... Thanks for catching that, Pesterfield, and keeping my story straight :) Nine “Bridge to Ensign Sato.” She groaned and sat up in her bunk, putting her head in her hands. It pounded like a sledgehammer and nausea rose up in her gut. Hoshi groaned again and concentrated on keeping from falling over. The doorchime hardly registered as it rang through her cabin, once, twice, three times. Then the door hissed open and footsteps crossed to her side. “Hoshi, are you all right? Are you ill?” Gentle hands touched her shoulders. “We’ve been trying to call you for the past ten minutes.” She managed to shake her head. Her eyes were sore and gritty, but she managed to open them. Concerned blue-gray eyes met her own and cut through some of the nausea. She stared at him, her mouth open. “Malcolm? What are you doing here? How—?” His brows knit together in surprise. “You didn’t show up for your shift, Hoshi, and we were worried about you. I used my security override to open our door.” “Security override?” she repeated. How did he get a security override? Isn’t that Trip’s job? I know he has a medical override, but—wait a damn minute. Our door? Her eyes darted to the red stripes on the shoulders of his jumpsuit, the two pips on his collar. “Lieutenant?” His mouth quirked upwards. “So formal, luv?” The smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Perhaps I should bring you to Sickbay, have Phlox look you over and make sure you’re all right.” “Phlox? The doctor?” She was still confused. What was going on? Phlox was her Chief Engineer, not the Ship’s Doctor, who was supposed to be Malcolm. That meant that someone else was chief engineer on this ship, and if Malcolm was only a lieutenant, it wasn’t him. Her memories of her own ship were crystal clear. Who was the captain of this Enterprise? What was her rank and function here? She shook her head, but the cobwebs remained. She had to keep her knowledge quiet, at least until she figured out what was going on. He called me “luv”. He’s never done that before. Actions speak louder than words , he said, but-- Her heart pounded within her chest so loud that she thought he could hear it. Her addled mind connected the blanks and a sudden lump formed in her throat. Whatever I am here, this version of me and this Malcolm Reed are...more intimate. The thought made her face flush in mixed embarrassment and...well, joy wasn't exactly the right word. Horror? A mix of both? Hoshi Sato, captain of the Enterprise, had faced hostile aliens without an eyeblink and now...she just wanted to sink into the floor. “Reed to Sickbay.” “Phlox here.” “I’m bringing Ensign Sato. She isn’t well and she seems confused.” “All right, Lieutenant. I’ll be expecting both of you. Phlox, out.” She heard Malcolm come to her side again. “Hoshi, let me help you.” Hoshi sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead; she couldn’t meet his eyes again.“At least, let me get dressed first, okay?” T’Pol found herself staring deep into her bowl of plomeek soup, as if trying to read her fortune within it. She blinked slowly. What has happened? Where am I? There is a disturbance in the space-time continuum. It does not feel right. “T’Pol? You seem distracted today. Are you all right?” She looked up to meet Jon Archer’s eyes. He gazed at her with a look of curiosity and concern. She blinked again and noticed the gold command stripes, the four pips on Archer’s uniform. Captain Jonathan Archer. Time has changed. A second thought came on the heels of that: Where are Hoshi, Trip, and Malcolm? “Subcommander?” Subcommander? Vulcan has not used that rank structure in centuries. I am a Subcommander here? A horrible sinking feeling came over her. She had failed in her mission; the memory of the Luran’s hall and of the High Chieftain were crystal clear. Trip Tucker and Hoshi Sato had survived...but Malcolm Reed...he had thrown his own body over the captain's, sacrificed his own life for hers... “Forgive me, Captain,” she said carefully. “I was distracted by other matters.” Archer’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Perhaps you should rest, T’Pol...you’ve put in more than a double shift today. I know this particular nebula is unusual, but—“ Nebula? Like the one Commander Mayweather was studying on the way to Luran. Where was Travis on this ship? Was he even on this version on Enterprise? She took a deep breath. “Perhaps I should rest and meditate, Captain, so my mind will be clear.” “Of course, T’Pol. I’ll have Lieutenant Simmonds take your shift.” The whistle of the ship’s intercom interrupted Archer and he tabbed the button. “Archer.” “It’s Doctor Phlox, Captain. Can you come down to Sickbay? It concerns Ensign Sato.” “Hoshi? I thought I ordered her to bed after she spent hours on that translation.” “It is difficult to explain.” Archer’s head went up in surprise. He met her raised eyebrow, but he had misinterpreted her expression. “I’m on my way, Doctor. T’Pol—“ “I will accompany you to Sickbay, Captain.” Her mind worked quickly to process the information she had heard so far. She was a Subcommander, Phlox was the doctor, Archer was the captain, Hoshi was an ensign. Four people were accounted for. Travis, Trip, and Malcolm were still missing. Automatically, she reached out and to her utter shock... Hey, darlin’. You all right? You sound tired. Trip? She fumbled and nearly lost the connection. I— T’Pol, I’m in the middle of somethin’ delicate right now. Usually, I don’t mind a mental hello, but these damn warp core specs are kinda tricky. My apologies. Ensign Sato is in Sickbay and I was checking on your condition. I’m fine. There was the slightest hesitation. Hoshi’s in Sickbay? What happened? Jon—the captain—and I are en-route there right now. I will inform you when I have more information. He didn’t seem fazed by her mental slip of calling Archer by his first name. Okay, darlin’. Soon as I’m done here, I’ll drop by and pay Hoshi a visit. Malcolm with her? I do not know. If she’s in Sickbay, he’ll come runnin’ from the Armory like a bat outta hell. I’ll meet you there. Very well. See you later, thy’la. And she felt his withdrawal from their connection, the slightest touch like the equivalent of “a peck on the cheek”. She blinked and realized that she was now on the turbolift with Captain Archer. Archer—she referred to him by his last name, since this was not the same man on her ship—had a worried expression on his face. Hoshi Sato probably meant a lot to this Archer...no, not in a romantic way, for Trip had implied that Malcolm was—She resisted a smile; she doubted it was appropriate here, like in her own universe. So Malcolm was an Armory Officer here and Trip the Chief Engineer. That left Travis as the helmsman, if he was here. It was all confusing; she had to watch her words carefully and not let anything slip. The Sickbay was approximately in the same area as her own Enterprise. Phlox turned to greet them; the Denobulan was in civilian garb, not in Starfleet uniform. Hoshi Sato sat up on the biobed, her eyes wide with a touch of fear. Malcolm Reed stood at her side, his hand on her shoulder. This universe’s Reed wore the rank pips of a Lieutenant and the red stripes of command. He gave T’Pol a polite nod, then returned his attention to Hoshi. “Hoshi, you okay?” Archer asked. She blinked as looked up at him, and T’Pol saw the surprise cross her face at Archer’s rank. “I–I don’t know, sir,” she stammered. Her voice was uncertain, as if she didn’t know the men hovering at the side of the biobed. The Vulcan realized that she truly didn’t. “I—“ “Captain, I took a scan of the ensign after Lieutenant Reed brought her here. She has an imbalance in her brain chemistry that wasn’t there twenty-four hours ago.” “An imbalance? What caused it?” “Unknown, Captain. I’ll have to run some more tests to find a cure. I don’t think it’ll have any long-term effects on her health, but it does explains her confusion and her headache. I want the ensign here for tonight, at least until I can correct the imbalance.” Hoshi blinked and said, “But I’m fine, Phlox—“ Archer gave Reed a humorous glance. “Isn’t that supposed to be your line, Malcolm? I think she’s picked up some of your bad habits.” Reed only shrugged and took the teasing in good grace. “Lieutenant, I suggest you get some rest yourself. Your fiancee will be quite fine here. We’ll have her up and about in no time.” Hoshi stared at T’Pol and mouthed, Fiancee? T’Pol only raised an eyebrow in silent warning. Say nothing, do not react. Hoshi nodded slightly in acknowledgment, the panicked look easing as she realized that T’Pol was in the same situation. “I’ll be here in the morning, luv. Get some rest, all right.” At her hesitant nod, Reed brushed his lips against her temple, then smiled at her. “Captain. Subcommander. Doctor.” “Good night, Lieutenant,” T’Pol said politely, as the Armory officer left Sickbay. “You ought to get some rest as well, Subcommander,” Phlox suggested. “If it’s all right, Doctor, I’d like to talk to T’Pol for a little while,” Hoshi said. “I need to ask her—“ Archer chuckled and said, “Well, considering she’s your maid of honor, I suppose talking about the wedding will ease your mind. Just don’t stay too late; both of you need your rest.” “Understood, Captain,” T’Pol replied evenly. “I will make sure the ensign rests.” “And I’ll be in my office if you need me,” Phlox added. T’Pol only nodded as Archer left Sickbay and Phlox retreated into the next room and shut the door. Hoshi breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally alone. She raised her eyebrows at T'Pol's tight-fitting suit that was nothing like a Starfleet uniform. "Yes, the Vulcans here have a strange idea what constitutes a uniform," T'Pol said, her voice ironic. "What happened to your hair, Ensign?" Hoshi whispered harshly. T'Pol reached over and touched the short brown strands. "Obviously, my counterpart prefers her hair shorter." "You look...different." She shook her head and returned to the subject at hand. “Where are we?" “It appears we are on an alternate Enterprise, Captain. I am a Subcommander, you are an ensign, and the rest of the crew seem to be in different roles.” Hoshi nodded. “I noticed as much. Is Trip here? Travis?” She nodded. “Trip is here...as Chief Engineer. It also appears that our...relationship...has also advanced to a higher level as well. We...hear each other’s thoughts.” Her captain-now-ensign blinked and then her eyes widened in surprise. “I thought—“ T’Pol sighed. “He called me...his mate.” Hoshi leaned forward and massaged her temples. “You’re Trip’s wife, I’m Malcolm’s fiancee, Jon’s the captain, and we’re both going crazy. Wait a minute...if this Enterprise’s Trip can hear what you’re thinking—“ “I can shield certain things from him,” she replied, “but in order for him to be able to do it at all, and at the skill he has shown...he is probably adept at doing the same.” “Great. We've got a problem." T’Pol picked up one of Phlox’s scanners and passed it over Hoshi, then herself, and compared the results. “The ‘imbalance’ is due to a displacement shift, Captain. We must return to our proper time and place or it will cause ripples in the fabric of the continuum.” “Did you attend Time Travel 101 at the Vulcan Science Academy?” Hoshi teased as she straightened up and looked at the Vulcan. She raised an eyebrow. “In actuality, it was advanced quantum and Volian mechanics, coupled with morality and ethics of various dimensional intrusions of any sort.” Hoshi stared at her, then shook her head. “All right, forget I asked. What should we do?” |
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