Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Sat, 03 Jan 2004 00:30:02 -0500 In: alt.startrek.creative From: quills the_quill_pen@yahoo.com Title: "Enemy of the State" 2 Author: Quills Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com Series: ENT Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain from this story. Codes: A, T/Tu, Ma, S, R, P, So angst, drama, romance, humor, action/adventure Summary: The starship Enterprise is on a desperate mission to save involving the Vulcans, which threatens not only Earth, but also the entire galaxy. Now it is up to Archer and his crew, with the help of Soma, to unravel the Xindi plot and prevent Earth and the galaxy from falling at the feet of their greatest threat...Vulcan . ***Special note: This story takes place after the season three episode, "Carpenter Street", but before the episode "Harbinger". "Captain's Log, Star date 31325.9, starship Enterprise on course to space station facility Memory Alpha where the C's main computer will receive new upgraded systems. This will complete the system wide upgrade and refit we have been undergoing for the past six months after damage received during the now classified Gateway mission. The crew is looking forward to the extended shore leave while the final upgrades are taking place and I share in their enthusiasm. My brother and his family are currently stationed on Memory Alpha and it will be good to see them again...end log entry." The computer terminal chirped and the log entry screen winked out, replaced by the standard Starfleet LCARS database. Captain Jonathan Soma shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Ever since the Enterprise-C or as the Captain tended to call her, the C, had gone in for a refit he had played hell trying to find a comfortable position in his new office chair. He was tempted to call Chief O'Sullivan up from Engineering, but he had already had the C's Chief Engineer in his office twice since they left the new Mckinley space yard two weeks ago. He had the poor engineer working on his chair for the better part of an hour each visit. Humans had a saying, "The third time is the charm." thought Soma, but if the tirade of insults O'Sullivan could be heard screaming on his way to the turbo lift was any indication of the engineer's feelings on the matter, then the Captain was quite certain calling the engineer in a third time to adjust his chair would result in Starfleet's first official mutiny. Soma leaned forward and tapped the display console on his computer terminal. The LCARS logo disappeared and was replaced by a list of current Starfleet communiqués. Soma scanned down the list, reading only the highlights. When he came to a one marked Academy Field Day, he tapped the console and accessed the communiqué. The screen changed once more, this time displaying several pictures with adjoining text. Soma glanced at the pictures of Starfleet Cadet's in their tell tale tan jumpsuits and red collars. His mind quickly produced an image of a much younger version of himself in his own Academy uniform. Soma sighed, "That was a long time ago," he grimaced...even for a Vulcan. One hundred and thirty years in Starfleet. There had been other Vulcans, as well as other long-lived races, which had served extended careers in Starfleet. A few had been killed in the line of duty, which was the risk they understood as Starfleet officers, but most had simply retired. Soma smiled, retirement was not a word in his vocabulary. He couldn't think of anything else he wanted more than to command starships. He had tried his hand as a Fleet Captain during the Constitution Class' historic five-year mission program. It never suited him and shortly after the tragic loss of the starship Intrepid he resigned his position and put in for command of the first starship he could get heading for deep space. Looking back at the screen, Soma tapped a key and began scrolling down the page, skimming past the usual winners of the various athletic events that occurred at the Academy Field Day; shaking his head occasionally at his lack of surprise on the outcome in those events. Then he saw an event that had an outcome he had never seen before. The headline read, "Freshman wins Academy Marathon!" Looking at the picture next to the caption, Soma saw an Academy yearbook photograph of the young cadet who had become the only freshman to ever win the Academy Marathon. Soma smiled, "Damn that kid looks thin for a cadet," he thought riley and inspected the picture more closely. "And so does his hair." Soma brushed his hand over his-own silver streaked brown locks. Being half Vulcan he was graced with the good fortune that Vulcans did not experience premature balding. Smiling, he looked back to the screen and scrolled down a bit further until he stopped at the event he had been looking for. Soma read the caption out loud. "Cadet Senior Muhammad Al Khazari wins fourth straight year as Academy Golden Gloves, usurps former cadet title." Soma had taken an interest in boxing as a teen. He could remember being taught the finer points of pugilism by Malcolm Reed along with the merits of the Marquis of Queensbury Rules. Fortunately, Soma had learned, all to often the hard way, that there was no such thing as a fair fight. But as a cadet he enjoyed the athletic side of the Academy and as a sophomore he won the Academy Golden Gloves. A title he held through his senior year, a title that had gone unrivaled by any other cadet...until now. "Damn," he muttered softly. "Really Captain, I did not think you would take such a shift in title bearing so poorly." Soma snapped his head up when he heard the female voice in his supposedly empty ready room. His arms tensed as he looked towards the adjacent wall where his reception area was situated. Looking over at the couch, his stern face settled into a more relaxed smile as he immediately recognized whom the voice belonged to. "T'Cel!" beamed Soma as he stood from his desk. The Vulcan female tilted her head towards Soma in a graceful nod, but remained seated on the Captain's sofa. Soma walked over to the reception area and took a seat opposite T'Cel in one of the "love" seats. He eyed the female Vulcan for a moment. Her hair, like most Vulcan's was dark; an ebony color that shined in the low lighting of the room. Unlike most Vulcan's her hair was also long, running well past her shoulders. One of her exquisitely pointed ears was hidden by the long black strands while the other was exposed for anyone who might not realize that the very beautiful woman they were looking at was in fact a Vulcan. "It's been a while T'Cel," smiled Soma. He hadn't seen her since the Enterprise had been sent to the Denaris Cluster on a secret mission to investigate a possible Romulan presence along the Neutral Zone. The presence had indeed been Romulan, but from almost a century prior. The ship had accidentally been caught in an artificial temporal window that allowed it to travel to this time period. T'Cel had been sent as an operative to assist Soma and the Enterprise in returning the Romulan warship to its proper time period, as was her responsibility as temporal liaison to Soma's era. Like Captain Archer's crewman Daniels, T'Cel was from the 32nd century. Though Soma preferred his liaison to Archer's. "Eight months, three weeks and four days," replied T'Cel. She knew Soma was aware of the exact time, which had elapsed since her last visit, but she felt compelled to state the fact, though she realized what that would invite from Soma. "Missed me that much?" teased Soma in a voice he reserved exclusively for female acquaintances. T'Cel, cocked her brow. "Captain, under other circumstances I would find your lascivious flirtations...intriguing, however I'm afraid I am here on a matter of extreme gravity." "You always are, T'Cel," sighed Soma as he leaned back in his seat. "We'll have to remember where we left off." "I will make a note for future reference," replied T'Cel curtly. The Vulcan gave Soma an arched brow and the Captain smiled at her. She was strikingly beautiful and Soma had made no bother hiding his attraction to her. For T'Cel's part, she had not admitted to any actual reciprocation of the captain's interest over the years but she often played these flirtatious games with Soma whenever she visited. It had become almost an expected ritual the two Vulcans engaged in, each time getting a little more personal. A little more intimate. "So...what are you doing here?" asked Soma. "and don't tell me it's to express your condolences over this years Academy boxing champion." T'Cel looked at Soma for a moment as she considered how much to confide in the starship captain. She had a responsibility to the temporal directives. However, her mere presence aboard the Enterprise was in violation of those same directives. There was also the extreme gravity of the situation, which brought her here. "I have come for your help Captain." "Go on," replied Soma as he waited for her to explain. Hesitantly, T'Cel began to convey the purpose of her mission. "You are aware of the on going Temporal Cold War?" Soma immediately rolled his eyes. "Not that again." T'Cel shook her head in agreement. "I am afraid it may be linked to it." Soma eyed T'Cel cautiously. He trusted the Vulcan, but she seemed preoccupied by thoughts, which troubled her. To anyone but another Vulcan, they would go unnoticed. Normally, Soma would respect another Vulcan's desire to keep their thoughts private but when the safety of his ship and crew might be at risk, any interest in personal privacy had to be suspended. "I get the feeling there is more to this than your alluding to," said Soma point blankly. T'Cel looked at Soma for a moment as she regarded the captain. He had always put his trust in her even when she could not be completely forthright with him regarding her missions. Did she not owe him the same trust now? "I have reason to believe that outside forces are attempting to infiltrate and alter Vulcan's timeline." Soma's own brow rose in curiosity. Not only at what she had just stated, but also in the nature she stated it. "You have reason to believe?" he said questioningly. T'Cel looked down for a moment. She should have realized that she could not avoid the matter for long. He was, after all, a remarkably intuitive man. "My superiors have dismissed my concerns, stating that no activity has been detected by our monitors." "But surely you had evidence to support your allegations," said Soma attempting to play devil's advocate. "I've never known you to make unwarranted claims T'Cel." "I had only one piece of evidence," replied T'Cel. "The corroboration of an enemy temporal agent who warned me of a 'dire threat to Vulcan'." Soma stood abruptly. The news T'Cel was telling him was unbelievable. In it's collective memory Vulcan had never known a conqueror. Yet, someone might be seeking to undermine its very existence. It was almost to fantastic to believe. "This agent," said Soma turning back to T'Cel. "Who is he?" "I do not know," she said raising her brow signifying her own frustration with the question. "He contacted me in secret. I was unable to determine his identity, but given the nature in which he contacted me, I cannot dismiss his claim of being a temporal agent." "Her evidence was thin," thought Soma. "So thin in fact it only had one side." , but...Soma knew what could be at stake and that worried the captain. Kneeling next to T'Cel, he looked at her and asked. "Why me?" The Vulcan had been caught off guard by the question. She had expected him to question her further about the agent who contacted her. That is what her superiors had done. But then he wasn't her superiors. "Your experience with time travel and your ability to devise immediate solutions under extreme conditions make you an ideal choice to assist me," replied T'Cel. She hesitated a moment, but for a Vulcan it indicated a terrible conflict. Soma looked into her eyes and could see the weight of responsibility she was carrying. She really was in this alone. "Jonathan...I have come here on my own, without the sanction of my superiors. I...appropriated a time shuttle and made my way too your century knowing I would need assistance. I am asking for your help as a fellow Vulcan...and as a friend." Soma gave her a smile. "What do we need to do?" he said without hesitating. T'Cell looked back at Soma for a moment. She knew she could count on him. Its why she came to him for help, but the relief his words gave her showed on her visibly and she let out a low sigh. "Thank you Jonathan," she said softly. Taking in a deep breath, she straightened herself and looked at Soma squarely. "We must leave at once," said T'Cel with a new sense of conviction. "What's our heading?" "Not where, but when," explained T'Cel. "We must travel the time stream and investigate first hand. It is the only way we can determine if the timeline is being altered. Because we may be required to investigate multiple time periods it would be logical that you accompany me in the temporal shuttle." "Just the two of us?" "It is a two person shuttle," replied T'Cel almost apologetically. "It was the only available craft I could be certain of acquiring and taking a personal temporal transport module was not an option." "Alright," agreed Soma standing up. The captain headed back to his desk and tapped the comm. unit. A chirp sounded and a female voice replied. "Yes, Captain?" "Number one, report to my ready room," said Soma looking up at T'Cel. "We have a slight change in plans." TBC... -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? 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