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"Future Present, Future Past" by Lady Rainbow Rating: PG-13 Please leave me a review...it encourages me to develop this AU and its various storylines and plots. :) And if you have any questions or story ideas, please PM or e-mail me! Thanks, Pesterfield:) Fifteen It was the longest four minutes of Hoshi Sato’s life. Enterprise was blind, deaf and dumb, wholly dependent on the Vulcans, Shran’s Kumari and Matt Hayes’s Columbia for its defense. The viewscreen was black; the Bridge’s soothing sounds completely absent. Hoshi mentally ticked off the seconds, but it was still too long. The rumble of space battle echoed through the halls. She began to shiver in the cold, but she convinced herself it was just her imagination. Environmental control will kick in soon; just be patient. You practice martial arts...this is no different. “Two minutes,” came Travis’s voice from the science station. “Communications coming back online,” echoed Jon. “Hull integrity at forty-five percent,” reported Trip. A spate of hoarse coughing racked his body and she turned to see him wipe something from the corner of his mouth. “We’re down to two, maybe three torpedo shots, aft phase cannons are gonna need a complete overhaul—“ “Trip!” Hoshi cried in alarm as he slumped at his station. Ensign T’Pol leaped over the railing and caught him before he tumbled out of his chair. Hoshi had never seen her move so fast before; Hoshi glanced over at the helm to confirm that Ensign Di Falco had moved into T’Pol’s spot. “T’Pol, take over Tactical. Jon, get Malcolm up here.” The sound of air blowers hummed softly, then Hoshi’s stomach flipped as full gravity returned. A disturbing thought came to her: If Trip was this ill, what about Malcolm, and Matt Hayes, on Columbia? “One minute, fifteen seconds. Sensors coming back online,” Travis reported. The deck rocked again hard, nearly dislodging Travis from his seat. “Remind me to request Phlox to install seat belts on the Bridge.” “I’ll be sure to second that,” Jon commented from his station. A panel close to him short-circuited in a hail of sparks; he waved smoke from his face as another one of the bridge crew grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the panel with foam. The acrid smell hung in the air and made Hoshi’s eyes water. “Forty five seconds,” Travis echoed. Jon pressed the transtator deeper into his ear. “Report from Columbia. They’ve lost both of their forward phase cannons. Their hull integrity is below fifty percent.” “Tell Captain Hayes and Captain Shran to get out of here, now, and if they don’t listen, I will come over and personally kick their asses,” Hoshi ordered through gritted teeth. She swung around in her seat. “Ensign Di Falco, prepare to go to warp as soon as possible after we regain full power. Ensign T’Pol, status of the Vulcan ships?” “All of them have gone to warp, except Surak. Surak is firing at one of the Romulan ships. Firing a second time. Direct hit on the Romulan’s port engine. Their cloak is failing.” T’Pol’s voice was calm, unemotional. “Surak has just lost aft shielding; Columbia has moved into a defensive position behind Surak. Kumari’s systems are beginning to buckle...now their port and starboard shielding has failed...” She raised her eyebrows. “Columbia has activated transporter beams—“ “Travis,” Hoshi said, warning in her voice. Her nails dug scratches in the arms of her command chair. “Fifteen seconds, Captain—“ “Kumari’s warp field containment is fluctuating—“ The viewscreen came back on to reveal the crippled Kumari, swooping in a suicide run towards a Romulan ship. Just as Enterprise’s defensive systems came back on-line, it collided with a Romulan ship, and both went up in a spectacular fireball. Debris pounded Enterprise, but then Phlox’s voice erupted from the speakers. “Restart sequence complete! Warp engines on-line!” “Get us out of here, Di Falco, maximum warp!” Hoshi ordered. The viewscreen jumped as the helmsman hit the warp controls. The abrupt transition into warp threw the Bridge crew around as the inertial dampeners fought to compensate. Hoshi felt her head hit the deck and she lay there, stunned for a moment, as the ship groaned around her. Eventually, the chaos righted itself. Hoshi opened her eyes, her first thought being, We’re still in one piece. Aloud, she asked, “Is everyone all right?” “Ouch,” muttered Travis from the upper deck. “We definitely need those seat belts.” He staggered back into his chair. “Damage reports coming in, Captain. Hull integrity compromised B and C deck, starboard quarter, but emergency bulkheads are holding. Injuries coming in from all decks.” Hoshi turned her head—slowly, painfully—to see T’Pol finally push herself up from where she’d thrown herself over Trip’s body and shielded him from the worst of the turbulence. Her long blonde-brown hair spilled out of its neat crown and covered Trip’s chest. Hoshi’s heart leaped into her throat as she saw the anguish in T’Pol’s eyes as the Vulcan checked Trip’s vital signs. “We need Malcolm,” T’Pol whispered hoarsely. “We need him now.” The turbolift doors opened and the medical personnel spilled out, led by Lieutenant Cutler. The medic’s forehead sported a fresh gash across it, and her left hand was bandaged. Cutler took one look over the Bridge and efficiently directed her people to where they were needed. She moved towards Hoshi, but Hoshi waved her in Trip’s direction. “Captain?” Cutler asked. “See to Lieutenant Commander Tucker. Where’s Doctor Reed?” “Unconscious in Sickbay. That last jolt threw him against a bulkhead.” Cutler’s voice was harsh and angry, but it wasn’t directed at Hoshi. She nodded at T’Pol and added, “Ensign, we don’t have time to wait for a stretcher; can you carry him to Sickbay?” “Certainly, Lieutenant.” T’Pol carefully scooped Trip up in her arms. Hoshi blinked; she knew Vulcans were strong, but it was disconcerting to see a man of Trip’s size being easily carried by a petite woman like T’Pol. Cutler thought so, too; the medic’s mouth dropped as T’Pol moved to the turbolift with no indication of strain on the Vulcan’s part. Cutler followed at a run. Travis blinked and shook his head. “Now that’s a weird sight.” He carefully braced himself with one arm as he went on, “Shenandoah and Liberty are approaching us.” “Surak and Columbia?” Hoshi asked, as she slowly lowered herself back into her command chair. “Both in one piece. Columbia’s not in much better shape than us, though.” Travis paused as a medic ran a scanner over him, then continued, “Surak’s a tough ship, but they’ve completely lost shielding and two of their five torpedo launch bays.” “No sign of pursuit?” “None, ma’am. They haven’t followed us.” Hoshi closed her eyes and sighed in relief. They’d gotten out of there by the skin of their teeth, but at what cost? Two of her officers had been captured by the Romulans, and returned, and Enterprise was barely keeping together. Columbia had nearly lost their commanding officer...permanently. Kumari had been destroyed, with no report yet if Shran had survived. Mistrust and political intrigue between the Humans and the Vulcans concerning the Romulans. First contact with the Suliban, abruptly lost with Silik’s disappearance. And there was still the matter of the attack on Palmyra Three and Space Station Salem One, the event that had sparked all this in the first place. It was going to be a long trip back to Earth. Captain’s Personal Log, April 12, 2155 Enterprise is limping back to Earth, accompanied by an honor guard consisting of the H’wande, the Andorian cruiser Venarii, and the Surak, with the Shenandoah, Liberty and Montana. Starfleet Command wants us back in San Francisco for debriefings. I have the feeling that Starfleet Intelligence will want to pick our brains for every shred of information about what happened out there. The Romulans have made it clear that they consider us a threat and it wouldn’t surprise me if Earth decides to go on the offensive. That will mean that Enterprise, Columbia and her sister ships will be on the front lines. At least one good thing has come out of this: the Andorians and Tellarites are interested in some kind of mutual defense pact with Earth. They still don’t like each other much, but this greater threat has had the effect of rearranging their priorities. The Vulcans have been oddly silent about a similar defense pact; I suppose Minister T’Pau and High Minister V’Lar have a lot to discuss with the High Command and the High Council. We’ve been lucky not to lose any of the crew in this incident. Both Trip and Malcolm are recovering from their injuries in Sickbay. Lieutenant Cutler and Lieutenant Trace are adamant that their respective Chiefs stay put. I think T’Pol’s enforcing their rest time; Trip’s complained of her being ‘a mother hen’. Shran and most of his crew were beamed off Kumari, with a handful of loyal soldiers staying behind. Shran said that he would have much preferred to have gone down with his ship, but considering he wasn’t conscious at the time to make the choice, it was taken out of his hands. Personally, I’m glad Shran survived; I’ve gotten quite fond of this crusty Andorian. And Matt...he’s asked if he could come aboard to discuss ship’s business. I can tell he isn’t looking forward to the firestorm of controversy back home, but of course, he hardly shows it to his crew. This whole affair has a lot of complications...and it’ll mean that we’ll have our hands full for the foreseeable future. “...I heard that Engineering Research and Development’s already talking about installing some new systems on Enterprise and Columbia when we get to Earth,” Hoshi commented. “Mostly in the area of weaponry and defensive capabilities.” Matt Hayes nodded and swirled the wine in his glass. “Rumor has it we’re actually gonna get some kind of shielding. Shran wondered why everyone seems to have it except us, and he wanted to ‘correct that as soon as possible’. That’s a direct quote.” “Good to know that Shran’s definitely on our side.” “Yeah. He isn’t bad, once you get to know him.” He sighed and put the wine glass down on the table. “He told me that Talas is still pretty ticked off at Trip for what he did. Granted, Trip wasn’t exactly himself when he fought her, but...she’s got a personal grudge against him now. Once her antennae grows back, she’s vowed to ask for a rematch. Shran’s trying to talk her out of it.” Hoshi rubbed her temples. “Wonderful.” “I don’t think it’ll come to anything, though. There were at least fifteen witnesses to the ushaan and they can all confirm that honor was satisfied by the end of it.” He raised his eyebrows. “And honor is important to them.” She managed a smile. “I’m glad to hear we’ve still got a few honorable beings in the universe.” He chuckled and reached for her hand. “There are a few.” Hoshi looked down at their entwined hands and squeezed his. “Matt, I’m glad you’re back in one piece. When Nate Kemper told us you’d been taken...and then when your heart stopped in Columbia’s Sickbay, I couldn’t breathe. I thought I’d lost you.” “I’m a lot more stubborn than you think, Hoshi. You can ask Trip and Nate about that.” He held her gaze. “I don’t remember much of my time over there...they were pretty rough on me, and they wanted me to reveal certain information...they kept getting my rank wrong, so they didn’t know everything about us. All I could think about was protecting my crew...and you.” She blushed under his intense stare and dropped her eyes. ”I—“ “Hoshi, I should’ve done this a long time ago.” The tone of his voice made her look up again. “What?” He got up from his seat, and knelt on one knee before her, still holding her hand. With practiced ease, he unzipped the breast pocket of his uniform and drew out a velvet box. She stared at him, a lump in her throat, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Oh my God. I don’t believe this, she thought, her heart hammering in her chest. I don’t believe he’s doing this. “Hoshi, I love you. I always have and I always will.” His hazel-green eyes met her brown ones. He flipped the box open to reveal a single diamond set within a platinum band. “Will you marry me?” She blinked, blinked again, blinked a third time. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Hoshi Sato, a woman who spoke over thirty languages, and the captain of Earth’s first Warp 5 starship, was completely speechless. So she didn’t speak. She pulled Matt Hayes into her arms and kissed him soundly on the lips. “You need what?!” Malcolm Reed’s head shot up as he heard Trip Tucker’s shout of surprise. What in the bloody hell’s got him so worked up this time? For God’s sake, he doesn’t need more excitement at the moment! He stalked toward the curtain surrounding Trip’s biobed, but the next words brought him up short. “I need a best man.” “You mean—“ There was a pause as Trip put two and two together. “I’ll be damned. You finally went ahead and did it, you sly dog! And she actually said yes?” “It’s official.” Trip laughed in genuine delight. “Ya owe me a drink at the 602 when we get back to Earth. In fact, ya owe me several. Eight years’ or so worth.” “That many? I don’t recall making that bet eight years ago—“ “You said, and I quote, ‘If I ever end up marryin’ her instead of killin’ her, I will pay for a drink for each year of my bachelorhood till then.’” “I must’ve been already drunk when I said that because I don’t remember ever making that statement in your presence, Mister Tucker.” “Ask Nate Kemper. He was there. And I believe Ambassador Soval was sittin’ at the table right behind us. You go ask him, an’ you know Vulcans don’t lie.” “Is that a dare? Fine, I’ll ask Soval. He’ll probably say that you’re just trying to get me to pay for eight extra drinks...” Malcolm didn’t hear much of the conversation after that. He closed his eyes in pain as the news sank in. Of course, she didn’t know. No one did. He’d never told her...after all, he’d only known her for less than six months, and she was his commanding officer, for God’s sake. She’d known him for eleven years, they’d been through so much together, she’d nearly lost him more times than he could count, and now... Malcolm had lost her. Face it, you sod, you never had her in the first place. Now you never will. The corner of his mouth went up in a bitter smirk. Hayes was right in my dream. He turned and quickly walked away, as Trip Tucker’s and Matt Hayes's laughter rang through his Sickbay. |
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