Rating: PG
Genres: missing scene
Keywords:
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This story is number 7 in the series Missing Scenes from Season Two
SPOILERS: "The Seventh"
DISCLAIMER: Star Trek belongs to CBS/Paramount, not me. This also obviously owes a debt to the original episode's writers -- Rick Berman and Brannon Braga (even if it was mostly because they irritated the hell out of me with it). Thanks to jT for ongoing beta.
Great. Just great. He'd just been forced to tell bald-faced lies on behalf of two senior officers who hadn't even trusted him enough to let him know where the hell they were going.
Which meant he was really on his own here, goddamn it. "Hoshi, hail Captain Tavek again for me."
Hoshi looked surprised, but complied.
"Captain?" the Vulcan on the screen asked.
"I take it you are here to rendezvous with Sub-Commander T'Pol when she completes her business in the system?"
The Vulcan lifted an eyebrow. "Yes."
"My tactical officer wants to do some routine maintenance. Since I'm not privileged with more information about my first officer's mission, perhaps you could tell me if taking our warp engines off line might, in your judgment, represent any risk to us or the Sub-Commander?"
"None that I am aware of, Captain," Tavek said. "We will be standing by in any case."
"Thank you," Trip said, and signaled Hoshi to close the channel. He scowled over at Malcolm. "Go ahead and do your worst, Lieutenant. I'll be in sickbay."
"What's the worst case with those side-effects, Phlox? The chief engineer is also the chief plumber. Are we going to suddenly have a critical shortage of toilets?"
"No, no, I fear I may have overstated the issue," Phlox said. "And I can treat those symptoms in any case."
"And the virus itself?"
"That can result in a full week's illness, with a much worse case of the symptoms I mentioned, including some respiratory risk."
Trip sighed. "All right, then, go ahead and start the inoculations. How about staggering them so we don't lose an entire shift to the collywobbles at the same time?"
"Collywobbles?" Phlox said, apparently delighted with the term. "Certainly, I could stagger the administration. Shall I give you yours now, as long as you're here?"
Trip sighed. "Might as well."
By the time the away team returned, the torpedoes had been re-aligned, the impulse reactors had been purged, and the crew had been fully inoculated against that lymphatic virus.
Archer not only remained mum, he didn't sound even the slightest bit repentant about it. But that was nothing new, was it? Still, Trip suspected he was at least a little ashamed, because instead of coming down to Engineering himself he'd just called in from the Bridge.
Perhaps he just feared Trip would have a better shot of worming it out of him if they spoke in person. It was a reasonable fear -- certainly getting the real story was now on Trip's list of things to do, even if it took years and the right bottle of bourbon in the right place to achieve it.
Of course, he shouldn't have to resort to such low tactics.
If there was any justice in the universe, Archer would get the nausea and diarrhea when Phlox inoculated him. Trip had experienced nothing more than a mild stomach ache himself. He wasn't sure if that was from the inoculation or just from profound irritation.
That night he couldn't sleep, so he got up and went to the mess hall for a glass of milk and piece of pie. He wanted soothing.
It just figured that she was there, even in the middle of the night. Trip almost turned right around and left, but that would look too childish. Instead he got his milk and his slice of pecan pie and sat down at the nearest table - nowhere near hers - with his back to her. As always, she had her trusty Padd; he certainly wasn't going to interfere with what might well be a classified report.
Damn, but he was angry. He was so angry he was practically vibrating with it.
So much for being soothed. He'd be lucky to get any sleep at all now. He stabbed his fork into his pie and took a bite, willing it to provide some comfort, or at least some distraction from that other presence in the room, but it tasted like cardboard.
Then she was standing there next to him. "Commander, you're up late."
"Can I help you, Sub-Commander?" He offered her his blandest expression.
She looked back at him with those soulful eyes that had once made him believe there was something more between them than the simple requirements of their respective posts. She said, "Did anything occur during my absence that I should know about?"
"I'm sure anything of note would be in the log."
She blinked. "You're upset."
"Now why on Earth would I be upset?" He went ahead and let the sarcasm drip. If she wanted to have it out, that was fine with him. They could have it out. Clear the air.
"I don't know," she said. She appeared to be genuinely puzzled.
But there was nothing to have out, was there? She didn't have a clue. This was just so pointless in so many ways that it was pathetic. "You know, I think I've had enough," he said, and got up. "Good night, Sub-Commander."
He put away his tray of barely-touched food, conscious of her just standing there and watching him, and stalked out of the mess.
He'd been a fool, but he could learn.
I actually loved The Seventh, because of the insight into T'Pol's past. I like that you showed Trip as competent, but I ended up hurting for Trip, because he's feeling left out of things, but even more for T'Pol, who's still in the midst of personal crisis, with no one really she can explore or heal with (I'm thinking that Captain Archer is missing just how traumatic this is for her, and would rather just keep it on the level of pronouncements and platitudes like "This isn't going to be easy for you, is it?" How lost she must have felt, dealing with all the repercussions on a human ship. And then, Trip is telling her she's done something...and she doesn't know what it is.
One of those times when, if either of them had been able to actually communicate with one another...
This is well written, and it leaves me sad, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it goes like that.
I've written, but not revised, a rather lengthy and not quite finished version of several missing scenes. In mine, Trip sees that there's something going on with T'Pol - she's clearly agitated. They meet in the Mess Hall before she leaves - and she's a mess. Trip tends to her, in a very gentlemanly way, and doesn't ask about her mission directly, because that wouldn't be fair when she's clearly distressed. He does ask if she can get out of it, and if she'll be OK.
He also suggests she take someone. When she asks if he's trying to accompany her, he tells her he'd like nothing more - but that he's maybe too emotional if she's not the best choice, because he tends to put her off balance. Trip suggests that she ask the Captain.
But he doesn't sleep for worrying about her. Jon doesn't seem to notice how out of sorts she still is, and Trip really starts to think that he should have lobbied harder to go with her. What if she comes apart (which she does), and Jon doesn't see it until it's too late (which he doesn't)? He's more than a little preoccupied, and the issues that crop up aren't finding him at his best, any more than T'Pol is. He overhears Malcolm talking about what a joke he's going to be as a CO, and decides to teach him a little lesson.
Meanwhile, he's getting more and more worried about TPol...
They finally get back, and Trip did get things under control, even though he hasn't slept yet. But he can tell right away that T'Pol's shaken and barely holding herself, and he decides to see if he can help her out. That's where it's still a little fuzzy, but it does end in a deeper understanding of one another. Trip sees that T'Pol can come unglued and be vulnerable, and T'Pol learns that Trip can be counted on not only for discretion, engineering, sparring, and information about humanity - he can also help her when she's compromised and can't trust her own judgment.
Both end up with a better sense of one another, and T'Pol might even open up about what she's remembered, and how it's affecting her.
As others have stated, thank you for making Trip a competent officer here. While Archer and T'Pol were off gallavanting around without telling anyone (except Travis?!?!), Trip held down the fort in an efficent and entirely respectable manner. That fixes some of the evils of this episode.
The part where T'Pol is genuinely puzzled is just heartbreaking, because you can feel Trip's despair.
The kind of hurt and anger people don't even know they inflict is the worst. You're left wondering if these individuals can care about you and yet have no clue what they did.
Trip's anger is totally righteous. I found this depressing on his behalf.
I also did not appreciate Trip being used for comic relief in this episode. Thanks for the fix of that.
Thank-you for portraying Trip as a competant officer. The episode went for humour but did so by having Trip be unable to make a decision and slack off while playind captain, a situation which would have occured many times in the past. Your vignet is much more believable, So is the anger he feels and shows to T'Pol and even Archer. Great
Thanks, all. I don't think it's so much that T'Pol doesn't trust Trip as that she better trusted Archer to distrust her bosses for her without over-reacting to her own emotions, which she must have suspected were going to be an issue. She probably also thought that as long as she was going to break the rules of dealing with a classified matter, better to do it with someone at Archer's rank. (Not to mention she would have to deal with a very pissed-off CO if she'd tried to take Trip with her and kept the reason from Archer -- he was already clearly reacting with angry sarcasm at the beginning of this episode.) And can she really trust Trip to make a fairly dispassionate analysis of the situation instead of reacting emotionally to her own potentially out-of-control emotions? She still thnks he's more likely to fly off the handle than Archer is, with some reason. She'll think that even more so now, since he's mad at her. Season 2 is just plain painful. Our heroes are wandering in the desert.
I was extremely curious what you would do with this episode, also because I am toying with a idea of a rewrite of the Seventh - and I loved what you did. You caught Trips anger so well, without making him lose control. "You know, I have enough", that line at the end says it all.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving Trip back his dignity. Instead of coming off like an incompetent idiot, he had things under control. I must say that I don't blame him for being upset. T'Pol and Archer put him in a very awkward position.
You've done such a wonderful job of showing Trip and T'Pol learning about each other, building a level of trust. But here, T'Pol obviously doesn't trust Trip; she only trusts Archer. What did Archer do to gain this trust? Why hasn't Trip measured up, even though he and T'Pol have obviously been growing closer?
Considering that this is season 2, I wonder if Archer really is feeling guilty or if he just can't be bothered to tolk to Trip. Honeybee's got it right. You have spun an awful episode into gold. I thoroughly enjoyed this installment.
*high-five*
Two in a row - spinning awful episodes into little golden scenes.
Thumbs up this a story I definitely wanted to see Trip definitely shows his feelings for T'Pol have definitely cahnged I also think he had a right to be unhappy with Phlox and it's well portrayed here.:D
*Thumps up* STAMP OF APPROVAL
In this story and the last, first T'Pol and now Trip feel in their gut that there is something "special" going on between them as a couple beyond the professional relationship, and they are steeling themselves to accept the "reality" that it just isn't or can't be true.