The Return

CHAPTER 1

Archive:  Trip

Disclaimer:  All characters belong to Paramount and will not be sold

Summary: Trip comes home.  This is a sequel to The Recondite Transformation of Trip

The surge from the rocket boosters faded.  The backdrop of space revealed a million tiny blinking lights as the little capsule made its way through the milieu of stars.  The blond Commander experienced a poignant moment of 'going home'.  His eyes were moist, but the tears didn't come.  The soft touch of a furry paw brought reality.

"Don't know why that suddenly got to me.  Guess I never really believed it would happen," he said as he turned to his fellow traveler.  The beautiful black cat sitting next to him purred softly.

Over the weeks since his accident, Trip had learned to recognize some of the mannerisms of his companion.  Though she could no longer change into her human form with normal speech, there were certain tonal differences in her voice.

Suddenly, their ride became less smooth.  They seem to sway from side to side, but they did not accelerate.

"Space Central, this is Commander Tucker.  Do you still have us on your scope?"

"Space Central, Trip.  This is Captain Steve.  We have you loud and clear.  Is there a problem?"

"Not sure, Captain.  We're experiencing a bumpy ride, swaying from side to side."

"That's normal, Trip.  It means you're approaching a junction with the cosmic string.  Keep it as steady as you can.  You should feel a jerk before long and then level off.  It will mean that you have accessed the string.  Check the parameters and see if they fall within your request.  If not, accelerate and find another piece of string.  Keep me informed.  Steve out."

"Thanks, Captain.  Will do.  Trip out."

The little ship continued to bounce around.  One minute the readings seemed right and the next they were off the scale.  The stabilizer appeared to have gone off line.  Trip was ready to shout "Mayday" when suddenly everything quieted down.  He got a good look at the gauges.  They were holding.  The parameters were right and the craft was picking up speed.

"Captain, I think we've got it!  Captain Steve, can you hear me?"

 Nothing.

"Can anyone at Space Central hear me?  The coordinates are right and we have speeded up.  I think we're on our way.  See you some time in the future."

Trip reached over and hugged the shiny black fur.

"Now, let's see.  Everything's reading like it should; so I can switch to the hyper-drive.  That's this lever.  OK, Isis, here we go."  Trip continued to speak aloud.

"W h o  a   a  .  .!  We are moving!"  He grabbed the cat and held her close to him as their small ship accelerated pinning him to the back of his seat, then darkness claimed him.

Trip awoke to the motion of something pounding on his face plate.  It was Isis.  She was meowing loudly trying to get him to respond. 

"What happened?  Are you OK?" Trip mumbled.  "Oh, my head!  Where's Dr. Phlox when you need him?"

Trip loosened his helmet, but he didn't remove it.  "Where are we, Isis?" Trip asked as he reached for the Star Map.  Nothing on the paper matched anything he could see out the windows; but there was something familiar about the site.  Then it hit him.  Orion was to his left!  That large yellow star ahead was Sol!

"We made it!  This is my solar system! Isis, I'm going to see Earth again."

The feline meowed softly as she leaned against him.  If only she could tell him how happy she was for him.  The gages before her caught her eye.  They were traveling at twice the speed of light.  The ship would need to decelerate soon or they would overshoot the system entirely.  She meowed sharply and swiped at the gage with her paw.

The high-pitched meow got Trip's attention and he scanned his board.

"Can't have that," he commented as he attempted to bring the dampers on line.  At this speed he thought he should ease them on slowly or they might burn out.  Then he remembered the 'reverse engines' command Steve had told him about.  They never had occasion to use it; but this seemed like what it was for.

"Hold on, Isis, this may cause the ship to buck.  Here we go . . ."

The little ship began to shudder, then began to slide sideways.  As Trip wrestled with the controls, it righted itself only to begin roughly bouncing up and down.

"Damn, this is worse than ridin' a buckin' bronco.  Isis, where'd you go?"  Trip was trying to take in the cabin, check the gages and look out the window all at the same time.  Then he heard a faint meow that he finally located in the wiring overhead.

"How'd you get up there?  Be careful."

The pitching was beginning to smooth out and the stars ceased to look like ribbons going by.  At last, Trip felt that he could take one hand off the controls.  He reached up to help Isis down, but she wasn't interested.  He finally had to pry her grip loose from the wiring in order to retrieve her.

"It's O. K., Isis.  We're moving at normal speed now.  Her faint little "Mew" told him how frightened she was.  He sat her on his lap and gently rubbed her fur while she leaned against him.  Her heartbeat slowed; so he knew she was OK

Trip opened a Channel on his console.  Static greeted his effort.  As the craft slowed, he was able to try other settings.

"Alien craft calling U.S.S. Enterprise.  Come in Enterprise."

No response.

 "Alien craft calling U.S.S.Columbia.  Come in Columbia."

 Still nothing.

"I'll try again in a few minutes.  Surely there's some Federation ship out here somewhere."  Then he hesitated as he said to himself  "I hope there is a Federation.  Jon should have seen to that by now."

Trip continued to change the channels and repeat the hail, but without success.

"We'll just head for San Francisco. I know there's somebody there." Trip spoke out loud as he continued to adjust the antenna.

"This is the USS Enterprise.  Come in."  resounded in Trip's ears. 

"Hey, I was beginning to think you weren't there.  This is Commander Charles Tucker. calling Captain Jonathan Archer."

There was long pause.  Then the broadcaster replied

"I'm sorry, Sir, Commander Tucker is no longer aboard Enterprise."

"No!  I'm Commander Tucker.  Where's Captain Archer? Lt. Reed?

"Captain Archer is asleep. It's the middle of the night.  Commander Reed is on his way.

Was the Captain expecting you?"

"No, I don't think so.  Request permission to bring my ship aboard.  I may need a little help."

"I'm sorry, Sir.  I don't have the authority to honor your request.  The Commander will be here shortly."

"Look, I don't know how long I can hold this position.  Tell Reed I said to . .

The door to the Bridge whoosed open and a rumpled up Commander appeared.

"What the hell is going on, Moore?  This better be good",  Reed mumbled as he took the abandoned Command Chair.

"Who'd you say you were?"

Trip couldn't help but smile as he said "And I'm glad to see you, too, Commander, is it?"

Malcolm was peering at the main screen now.  He left the Chair and moved closer to the

screen.

"Trip?  Trip, is that you?"

"Yeah, Mal, it's me.  You gonna let me come aboard or do I have to sit out here?"

"Do you have some identification?"  Malcolm was continuing to stare at the screen.

"Malcolm, it's me, Trip.  I even have my uniform on.  Don't you recognize it?"

"I see something black moving around near you.  Is it alive?  I have to be cautious."

"What else can I do to convince you?"  Trip was getting frustrated.  "Oh, how about our little R & R trip to Risa.  Remember the wine cellar?"

"Trip, it is you!"

About that time Archer appeared with a scowl on his face.  As he peered at the screen, he said "My God, Trip, it's really you.  What are you waiting for?"

"I may need a little help getting in the cargo bay.  Someone will have to talk me through."

"I'll be there myself", Jon assured him.  See you in a few minutes."

Trip turned to Isis. As he gently rubbed the soft fur behind her ears, he said "You're going to be quite a surprise to my friends.  Stay close to me and give me time to explain your presence to them."                                                                                                                  

She rubbed against his hand and meowed softly

"Good girl.  Now let me see if I can navigate our little ship into the cargo bay."

Word had spread quickly; so the Bay soon filled with people after the 'red alert' light went off showing pressurizing was complete..  The hatch swooshed open.  Jon was the first one to grab Trip when he appeared from inside.

"Trip, I was beginning to think I'd never see you again.  We've heard nothing since you left.  Even Admiral Forrest was in the dark.  Are you okay?"

"I'm great.  For a while I wasn't sure that I'd ever see you all again, either.  There's so much I have to tell you; but it'll have to wait."

Jon couldn't resist.  He gave Trip a bear hug and slapped him on the back.  Macolm stepped up as he said "It's great to have you back, Commander."

"Mal, you won't believe the things I've seen and done.  I can't wait to show you some upgrades for the armory that I brought back."

Trip turned back to Archer.  "Cap'n, I have somebody I want you to meet.  If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here now."  Trip reached in the ship and scooped up Isis and held her close as he turned back to the Captain.

"This is Isis.  I know she only looks like a cat to you all, but on her planet she is so much more.  I'll explain in detail later; but right now we could use something to eat."

With that, everyone started to talk at once.

"Of course!"  Jon raised his voice.  "I know Chef will be glad to fix you anything you want.  What would Isis like to have?  Let's move up to the Mess Hall.  I know there'll be people that want to see you up there."

Trip continued to scan the crowd; but there was no sign of T'Pol.  Maybe she had returned to Vulcan.  He would ask Jon later.  They met Dr Phlox in the corridor.

"Welcome home, Commander, and who is your little friend," he said as he reached to pet Isis.  Trip felt her pushing against him as she tried to avoid the hand coming toward her.

"This is Isis, Doc.  There are many more like her on her home-world.  I'll tell you all about it."

"Err, Captain", Dr. Phlox interjected.  "Decon?  I'm sure the Commander understands."

Trip looked slightly dejected.  "I guess we have to.  We've been traveling through cosmic string. Isis' planet, Eridania 5, is over forty light years from here.

Jon spoke up "I just knew that it must be possible to use cosmic string in some way.  I can't wait to hear what you have to say about it.  Get the decon over with.  Your dinner should be ready by then and you can talk till you drop."

Phlox led the way as Trip continued to receive well wishes from his former crewmen.  Many reached out to pet Isis.  She began to relax and respond to their overtures as they moved along the corridors.  When they reached the Decon Section, Trip and Isis entered the unit.  Trip began pulling off his clothes and tossing them in the hamper.  Isis just stared at him.

 "It's okay, Isis, they'll have some clean ones for me." She still looked wide-eyed so Trip picked her up.  "It's okay.  They just want to get rid of any space creatures or germs we might have picked up. It doesn't hurt and it won't last very long.  Here, we can sit on this bench while we wait."  Isis sat on his lap and leaned against him.  He could feel her trembling.

"Don't be frightened, Isis.  It won't last long and then we'll get something to eat."

Soon the lights came up and there was a clicking sound.  "See, we're all through.  Let's go eat."

More hand shaking and back slapping and it went on and on.  Finally, the crowd cleared out.  Only Jon and Trip were left.  Isis was still sitting on Trip's lap where she had been all evening.  She liked meeting all of Trip's friends.  She could tell how much he had been missed.

Jon suggested they stop by his quarters for a nightcap.  Trip agreed.  It was beginning to seem like old times.

"Trip, it's hard to realize that you're here.  In a way it seems like you never left; yet, it's been almost two years.  A lot has happened in the last two years.  We did form the Federation with the Andorians, Telerites and Vulcans.  The Zindi have joined us, though the Reptilians don't always attend the meetings. We've had to settle numerous border skirmishes and fight serious illnesses on many planets; but I don't believe we could have been successful without the Federation.  Tell me a little more about what you've been doing.  Did you say you came in contact with the Sphere Builders again?"

"Jon, I couldn't believe what I learned about the "Tolmen", that's what the Sphere Builders call themselves on Eridani 5.  They built the little ship I flew home, in subspace.  They are pretending to be friends of the Eridanians and have really gained their confidence.  I alerted Dr. Brecker to their existence in our world and what we had learned.  They are keeping a closer eye on the aliens.

"Jon, when I first met Isis, she was Dr. Brecker's Assistant.  She is a beautiful young lady.  It's what she did for me, that's made it necessary for her to remain a cat.  It's a long story and some day I will tell you all of it, but for the time being you need to know that Isis is a brilliant scientist.  Cats on her world have the ability to become persons when they choose to; however, she gave up this ability in order to save my life.  That is why I will do everything I can to take good care of her." 

Isis moved and extended her paw to touch the side of Trip's face as she made a purring sound.

"I believe she understands what you say, Trip."

"Oh, yes, she understands everything we say; and I can understand most of what she says by the tone of her voice."

They had arrived at Jon's quarters. Jon opened the door and as usual Porthos was there to greet him.