Chapter 1

“Nice to see again you Mr. and Mrs. Reed.”

Malcolm and Hoshi looked to see who had greeted them. Malcolm thought he recognized the young Andorian from P'Jem and the Kumari.

“I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.” Malcolm told him.

The young man pulled at his name tag. “I'm Keval from Station Security. I guess that means I work for you.”

“Not officially, I need a couple of days before I take over.”

“Trip and T'Pol should be in the area they have set up to use as an office. If you will follow Thompson he will show you the way.”

“Fine. If you will keep an eye on our belongings we will find a place to store them later.”

“They will be taken to the storage area that has been designated for you, sir.”

On the way to see Trip and T'Pol they heard many people discussing the tantrums that Trip had apparently been having for several days now. Hoshi burst out laughing when they heard, “If I didn't know any better I'd think he was suffering from PMS. “

“Didn't you just talk to Trip the day before yesterday, Malcolm?”

“Yes. I've spoken to him at least every other day for the past month. Why?”

“Was he angry or upset?”

“You know Trip, he gets frustrated about something and his brain stops functioning in any rational way. I thought T'Pol's influence had helped with that.”

Hoshi saw T'Pol first. “T'Pol, how's it going?” When she turned around both Malcolm and Hoshi were surprised to see how tired she looked.

“I do not know how it is going.”

“That bad, huh? Where's Trip.” Malcolm looked around for him.

“He is in what will be our quarters.”

“How do I get there?”

“Mr. Thompson can take you. “ Thompson was not happy about this. He didn't say anything, but “This way, sir.” but the look on his face was one of displeasure.

Hoshi went to help T'Pol move the boxes she had been moving. “I'm gonna stay her and help out.”

“I'll be back in a bit.” Malcolm and Thompson left.

They went down a lift and walked down several corridors. Malcolm heard Trip before he saw him. “What is so hard about constructing a bed and getting the power to work in here?” Thompson stopped short of the door. Malcolm took pity on him. “Thank you Thompson, I think I can handle it from here.”

“I hope you know how to duck., sir.”

“Trip's been throwing things? It's worse than I thought. Go do whatever you do and let me take care of Mr. Tucker.”

“No problem, sir.”

Malcolm walked into the room. “Trip what the hell are you doing?'

Trip walked toward him . “Mal, when did you get here?”

“Been here less than an hour and all I hear is that you're raving maniac.”

“It's not that bad.”

“Really, I heard you yelling. A little frustrated are we?”

“I've been living in that Vulcan ship for over a month, what do you think?”

“Is there someplace we can get some tea or coffee?”

“Yeah, follow me.” Malcolm hadn't seen Trip or T'Pol except on the vid screen for two months. Trip didn't look much better than T'Pol. By the time they got to the dining hall Malcolm knew what was wrong with Trip.

“Am I glad you're here. There's so much to do and too many people for T'Pol and I to supervise by ourselves.”

“There's a lot to do, but you look like you haven't slept in weeks. Have you been meditating?”

“No not like I should. I'm trying to get T'Pol and I off that ship. There's no privacy anywhere, every place is a mess from work crews and tools. There's no planet to escape to out here. T'Pol's not speaking to me and we sleep in the same bed. I'm tired and angry, and I just want some alone time with my wife and I'm stuck living with a ship full of Vulcans with sensitive ears.”

Malcolm laughed. “Finish your tea and let's get back to that makeshift office and see what we can do about some of this.”

When they went back to the office T'Pol didn't say anything to Trip.

Hoshi noticed and walked across to her husband. “Malcolm what is going on with these two. T'Pol is not talking to anyone, they both look like they lost their best friend, and it looks like they haven't slept in days.”

“I'll take care of it. You keep them here no matter what.”

“I'll try.”

Malcolm went to find Keval and whoever was in charge of the engineering staff. He came back two hours later.

“Trip, T'Pol I need you two to come with me.”

'Where are we going?” T'Pol asked him.

“Just humor me and come on?” He took Hoshi's hand and left. Trip and T'Pol followed then to a docking port, that had a shuttle attached to it.

“This is your temporary home. There's a bathroom, with a tub and shower, right through that door. It will be totally operational with the hour. Inside that shuttle is a bedroom. Not the most luxurious, but it's clean and private. There's a table and chairs right there if you need it. There's a place to hang your clothes and your dresser's on it's way.. Oh and I changed the security code to the doors to the one you had on Enterprise.”

“You didn't have to do this Mal. You just got here.”

“I really did have to do this. You're pissing off the staff, you're exhausted and so is T'Pol. You're stuff is being moved here from the Tal'Kyr as we speak and you both have the next two days off. I suggest you spend some time meditating, talking to each other, and getting that bond of yours back in order, so we can get this place up and running.”

Several Vulcans entered with their things and placed them around the docking port. “So where are you and Hoshi going to sleep?”

“On the Tal'Kyr for now. We're not Vulcans, so if we want some privacy, we'll have no problem just turning on some music.”

“Thanks Mal, but we can't take time off right now, you don't even know what's going on around here.”

“Someone can tell us who's in charge of what? Hoshi and I will figure it out. A couple of days isn't going to matter with the station, but it sure matters for you and T'Pol, so we're going to go now and we'll see you in 48 hours.”

--

The crew who had fixed the bathroom came out, told them the water was hot and everything worked and left. Trip went into the room, noticed the door into the docking port had just been installed. There was a door on the other side of the room that led to what looked like it had been a rec room. Trip came out to find T'Pol sitting on the floor on a meditation pillow. He went and looked into the shuttle, where they had taken all the seats out and put double mattresses on the floor. Malcolm even had them put a computer with a screen in there, so they could watch movies.

Trip stood back and looked at T'Pol wondering how things got so messed up with them. They weren't mad at each other, there was no fight, nothing, they had just stopped talking to each other and he wasn't even sure when or why. He could feel her through the bond, but they had both erected shields. He started letting his down. T'Pol reacted and he felt her fear.

“What are you afraid of darlin?”

“I do not know why you are angry with me?'

“I'm not angry with you. Why would you think that.”

“You kept getting angrier and you put up your shields more and more, but you did not tell me why.”

Trip walked over and sat down behind her, put his chin on her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her waist .

“We really have to work on communication skills. Do you think we'll ever get this right?”

T'Pol leaned back into his chest. “It does seem that we have difficulty getting it right and if we do not figure out why we will never fix it.”

“We stopped talking, then touching, and now you think I'm mad at you.”

“If you are not angry with me, why did you pull away and block me out?”

“I didn't know I was doing that and you didn't ask me about it. I can negotiate with half the quadrant and I can't talk to the most important person in my life. “

“What should I have done? If you are upset with me I expect that you will tell me and when you did not it seemed better to just wait for you to tell me.”

“I bet if we made a list of what not to do in a relationship we have them all covered, several times.”

“We have done several things right and as much as I've missed you I know you are here no matter what and eventually we will work it out.”

“You're probably right. Isn't our bond supposed to make us know what the other one needs?”

“Yes, but we can block that out for some time with some effort. If one of us had let our unhappiness into the bond instead of blocking it out the bond would have made us work it out. You have been miserable and I suspect the bond may be the cause of some of your recent behavior. My behavior has also been 'cranky' according to those around me. “

“So how do we fix this?”

“We are already doing that. Close your eyes and just let the bond flow between us.”

“I haven't meditated in days. I know how stupid this sounds, but I miss my engine.”

“There is a warp engine on the Tal'Kyr.”

“Yes there is, but I hate being on that ship, so much that it didn't help. Stupid huh.”

“It is not stupid that something means so much to you. You are an orbital engineer. It is part of who you are and now that you have many other responsibilities, you just need to balance them out. You also need to let me help you.”

“Malcolm and Hoshi are here now, so we delegate some of this to them.”

“Have you told them about the station yet.”

“No, I figured I'd wait until we were face to face and deciding who is in charge of what.”

“What have you told them?”

“Aren't we supposed to be concentrating on us for the next couple of days? I think I want to go try out that bathtub in there and then we'll see if we can find a way to make use of that bed in there.” Trip started thinking about all the things they'd missed in the last month.

T'Pol jumped up and pulled Trip up with her. “You get the bath ready and I'll make the bed.”

Once he got the water started Trip stood in the doorway watching T'Pol make their bed. He turned the water off and climbed into the shuttle, grabbed T'Pol and gently pulled her down onto the bed, kissing her wherever he found bare skin. “I decided the bath can wait. “

--

Trip woke up in the late morning of their second day. The sound of a warp engine in the back of his mind, felt natural and then he started to wonder why he could hear it and why did it sound so wrong. Who would have started the warp core.

“Trip, what is wrong?”

“The engine just started. It woke me up it's running really bad. I sounds awful, but someone is making adjustments.”

“How can you tell?”

“The frequency keeps changing and the rhythm is getting close to what it should be. I just can't figure out who is doing it. As far as I know I'm the only one here that is capable of doing what they're doing.”

T'Pol tuned into what Trip had been listening to. “Is that how you always hear a warp drive?”

“If it's running right it 's only white noise somewhere in the back of my mind and you wouldn't really notice it, but when it not running well I can't make it go away. Somebody is trying to get our station powered up.”

“Go see. You will not be able to do anything else until you know what is going on and fix the engine, so go.”

“Are you sure? I do want to spend time with you.”

“We can spend time together later. We have begun to make things better between us and this will make you happy, go.”

Trip grabbed some clothes, took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, dressed, and told T'Pol “I love you “ on his way out the door.

He went down the turbolift to the where they had attached the starship from Starfleet to the station. He found Malcolm watching as the engineers were working on the warp core.

“I see you figured out how to power the station.”

“Yeah, its been stripped down to engineering and the bridge, and the rest is tactical and the armory.”

“So we can move the station and protect it all from the armory and bridge.?”

“Yes. All your tactical will run through here and all the stations power will too.”

'They were right when they said you think outside the box. I would never had come up with this.”

“Who started up the core, Mal?”

“Well, it seems you negotiated a deal with the Coridans, which they won't disclose to me, and borrowed some of their engineers for a project that they will only discuss with you. When I told them you were unavailable until tomorrow they asked if they could help out with anything else. Mr. Jefferies in engineering explained about your engine here, so I asked if they might be wiling to help us get it up and running.”

“They are making progress. It doesn't sound half as bad as it did an hour ago.”

“What are you doing here?”

“It woke me up and T'Pol told me I could come check it out. You have no idea how much I've missed my engine.”

Malcolm let out a chuckle. “Really.” Sometimes Trip could be so clueless. “So what's this deal you made?”

“I agreed to be a negotiator for Coridan and they agreed to help us with some engine work, maybe throw in a little expertise with some alien technology. Oh, and there's this non-disclosure thing I agreed to.”

“Non-disclosure about what?”

“Certain technology they have and are willing to share with us.”

“You're not going to tell me are you?”

“I'll have to eventually, but not here and not now. There are a few other things I need to tell you first.”

“Such as?”

“I'm not even supposed to be here until tomorrow. We'll sit down in the morning and talk. Right now I want to talk about what they are doing to that engine.” Trip left Malcolm standing there and went to work. He worked with Coridans Chief Engineer Arguile, until the engine was 'purring like a kitten' and then began routing power to the various conduits that ran throughout the station.

“Trip.”

“Yeah, darlin.”

“It is time for dinner.”

“Is it that late already? I'm almost done here.”

“How long?”

“Half-an-hour tops.”

“I will have dinner waiting in 45 minutes.”

“Thanks.”

Trip moved slightly so he could his voice would carry down the jefferies tube. “Hey guys we need to get this done. I just told my wife I'd be home for dinner in 30 minutes, so don't make a liar out of me.”

The guys had been less than happy to see Trip Tucker when he appeared that morning, but after they began to work they saw that he wasn't the mad man of the past several days. His smile had returned and no one heard a cross word from him. They fell into a nice work routine and it looked like maybe their power problems were going to be, if not solved, at least much improved.

“Mr. Tucker, your 30 minutes are up.”

“Who's calling me Mr. Tucker. Is that you Toby?”

“Yes, sir. We have this almost done, so why don't you get to that dinner before you're late.”

“Okay I'll go, but only if you call me Trip.” He loved teasing this kid. He was going to be a hell of an engineer when he grew up, but his down home southern roots made him Trip laugh sometimes. Toby couldn't make himself call anyone he saw as a superior or an elder by anything other than their surname.

“You know I can't do that, sir. It's just not right.”

“Could you at least drop the Mister and call me Tucker?”

“No, sir. I tried that last time you asked me and I still can't do it.”

“Okay, Toby I'm going to dinner, can you double check these connections for me?”

“See you in the morning, sir.”

--

Trip got back to his temporary room and washed up T'Pol wasn't there, which seemed off since she had said she have dinner waiting. He decided to take a quick shower and change into something a whole lot more comfortable. He'd been feeling T'Pol all day and she had been fine, but now she seemed to be nervous. He could see her walking down the corridor pushing a cart with dinner. She was alone and had blocked him from sensing her thoughts. Trip didn't want to think what about what she might be hiding from him. They'd just gotten things back on the right track and he'd like them to stay that way, but T'Pol was scared and that scared him a little. He tied the string to his pj's and met her at the door.

“Hey darlin, what's for dinner?” He asked as pushed the tray towards the table and kissed her on the cheek.

“Shrimp Jambalaya, I believe is what the chef called it. The one with the red cover is yours. It has more Cajun spice in it.”

“The chef just made this or you asked for it?”

“I may have suggested it was one of your favorite dishes.”

“Well, thanks I haven't had this since we were back on Earth. This new chef is looking better all the time.”

“Yes, he is more agreeable to making special request. He welcomes the staff giving him recipes from home. He even has the chefs from all the ships cooking in the galley now.”

“He asked me if he could work on that. Felt like it would be a good way to get everybody to socialize and get used to living together. Plus he wants to learn more about food and cooking from everywhere. One of the reasons he took the job.

“Perhaps we should eat before it gets cold.” T'Pol sat down.

“You're having shrimp too?” There weren't many shrimp on her plate, but they were there.

“Yes. Without the spices it has a pleasant taste.”

“No spices or just no Cajun spices? I can't imagine Jambalaya without spice.” Trip knew she didn't like spicy anything.

“Nothing hot.”

Trip ate his dinner and waited for T'Pol to tell him what had her so upset, but she just ate quietly. Dinner was done and Trip asked if she wanted to meditate.

“No, there is something I would like to show you.”

“Okay, what is it.”

“I will be right back.” T'Pol said as she went into the bathroom. She returned in her pj's, as she walked by she took his hand and pulled him inside the shuttle, but with her head at the bottom of the bed. Trip crawled in beside her.

“Do you remember I told you about information in the Vulcan database?”

“Yeah, about sex practices. I thought we decided we didn't need to read it.”

“We did, but there is some information we do need to read. I have avoided this for far too long and if we are ever going to get this communication problem right I must communicate with you.”

“I take it there's something you haven't told me?”

“Yes, and I don ot know how to tell you, so I would like to show you where the information is and you or I or both of us can read it.”

“Can I ask what you're afraid of? Do you think I'll be mad?”

“I do not know. What I need to tell you about it is one of the most private things for a Vulcan. I never thought about discussing it with anyone because a Vulcan would already know of this and it would never be necessary.”

“It's about something to do with sex, so privacy is a given. It's that mating every seven years thing you and Kov have mentioned. Pon Farr the thing I read about when I looked up the bond isn't it? I couldn't find anything else about that in the database.”

“You can find anything you want to know from the database now.”

“I couldn't before?”

“You are a Vulcan citizen, so you have access to all the database. You did not before. That is why you never saw the information when you looked before.”

“So where is the information you want me to see?”

T'Pol reached up and logged into the computer. She called up the database and went to the cultural screen that Trip had seen before. There were these symbols at the top of the page and when she clicked on one it went to a different page.

“If you were to log in here you with your password you would have access to any area that is attached to the symbols. You just need to know what the symbols mean to know what area the information is in. If you wish it I will teach you what the symbols mean.”

“I don't think that's necessary. If I need to know anything I can just ask you where to find it or you can just explain it to me.”

A screen came up in Vulcan and T'Pol had the computer translate it into English. At the top it said Pon Farr.

T'Pol's nervousness jumped way up when the screen came up. “”Darlin it's okay. Do you want me to just read it?”

“If that is acceptable, yes.”

Trip started reading. He let the words process through the bond hoping it would ease her nerves as he read. The words weren't making sense. Amok time, blood fever, drive to mate, conception. Then images began to appear in his mind. The Vulcans on the Seleya, T'Pol in the decon chamber with Phlox, trying to mate with him, then she is advancing on Malcolm until he and his security team sedated her. He feels her overwhelming need to mate feeling only the basest of emotions and knowing if she did not mate she would die.

Trip was shaking. Sweat began rolling down his back. Fear, he was afraid of that intense need he felt coming from T'Pol, that look in her eyes when she went after Malcolm. The fear was building. That's when Trip became aware that the fear was T'Pol's as much as his and the bond was spiraling out of control. If was so intense he couldn't think. He closed his eyes and tried to take in deep breaths, clear his head, but he couldn't stop it. T'Pol screamed. He didn't know if it had been through the bond or out loud, but it was enough of a shock that he was able to grasp at something primal inside himself to help her.

“T'Pol.” He turned and reached out for her, pulling her into his chest. “Come on darlin, I'm right here. Hold on I've got you.” He sent all his love and protectiveness through the bond. “I'm sorry T'Pol I just got a little scared there.” He held on tighter. ”Talk to me T'Pol.”

“You are afraid of me?”

Trip pulled back and looked into her face. “I don't know what to say here. Is that what Pon Farr is? You have to mate or die?”

“Yes, it is when we lose all control. That is all there is, the drive to mate at all cost or die.”

“Is it always as violent and aggressive as those images I saw from your mind?” Trip replayed the images from the Seleya. No wonder she had nightmares. These images were there when they completed the bond, but there were so many intense feelings, good feelings that he hadn't paid close attention to them.

“Yes. Even Vulcans get injured during Pon Farr and I do not know how it will affect you. A Vulcan mate would experience the symptoms also.”

Trip laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. “This is the reason we can't have a child for a year or two?”

“Yes, I am not sure when this will happen to me, but when it does that is the time I can conceive a child.”

“That means Vulcans can only get pregnant every seven years. That explains why there are only one or two children in Vulcan families?”

“Yes. It is a biological need to mate and procreate. “

“The only way to get past all that Vulcan control to ensure your survival.”

“Probably. “

Trip suddenly understood T'Pol's issues with the physical side of their relationship. He turned to look into her eyes. “No wonder you had such a hard time understanding making love. You've been taught sex is something to be ashamed of?”

She lowered her gaze. “In a way yes. It is one topic we do not discuss even amongst ourselves Losing control of all emotions and logic is not something any Vulcan finds pleasant. It is to be endured.”

Trip reached up and lifted her chin so he could see her eyes. “Is there anything else I need to know about this?”

“We will need to talk to Doctor Phlox if we wish to have a child. He knows the most about Human/Vulcan DNA because of Elizabeth and will be able to help us conceive.” T'Pol laid down on her side facing Trip.

“You went through Pon Farr on Enterprise, so Doc knows about that too, right? Like when it will happen and how we'll know ?”

“I am unsure. The microbe we were exposed to is what I believe made me go into Pon Farr early and when I woke from the sedative it was over and I did not want to talk about it.”

“So we don't know if he can help with any of this or getting me through this with as little injury as possible.” Trip felt T'Pol's relief. He was still a little scared about all of this, but they'd get through it. Trip sent all the reassurance he could muster through the bond.

“We can ask.”

“No more secrets, right? There's nothing else you haven't told me about this or anything else?”

“There are no secrets. I'm sorry. I should have told you before we completed our bond.” He knew she was sorry. He could feel her regret and a swirl of other emotions.

“You thought I would change my mind about loving you? We're bonded and you're still afraid I'm going to stop loving you for some reason? You know that is never going to happen. The most logical person I know is totally illogical about love and her bondmate. You know how I feel about you and have felt since the day we met and yet you have this irrational fear, how do I fight that?”

“You do not. You cannot. I know it is not logical. I am Vulcan and I know what our bond means and I still have this fear. It is as hard for me to ignore as my emotions for you have always been. I have tried to mediate and suppress it, but it does not go away.”

“Come here, darlin.” Trip pulled her on top of him and wrapped his arms around her. “When you feel that way promise me you'll tell me. If you can't deal with it the Vulcan way, let's try doing it the human way and just let it go.”

“We can try.” T'Pol put her hands on his face and kissed him so long and so deep he thought he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen.

She had him pinned to the bed and she wasn't going to let him go anywhere. He finally had to pull his mouth free. “I need air. Can't breath.”

Once he had filled his lungs he felt warmth and passion, and all the jumble of emotions that he defined as T'Pol's love for him and the sensations in their bond became intense. Her mouth came back down onto his and all thought left his mind. There was only feeling and T'Pol, as she filled his mind with images of all the ways she wanted to love him and her hands worked their magic and found every sensitive spot she could touch.

--

Trip got up, showered, and dressed. When he came out of the bathroom T'Pol was meditating, so he sat down and joined her. He found her sitting on the beach across from his parents house, on a blanket.

“Good morning T'hy'la.”

“Waiting for me?”

“Yes, I have missed our mornings together.”

“I've missed this too. Meditating helps me, but this is one of my favorite times with you.”

“We have much to do today. Are you and Mal...?”

Trip threw up his hand. “Stop right there. You can talk about us, our marriage, our family, our friends, anything but not work. This is a work-free zone.

“Agreed. 'Work-free zone ' I like that. It would defeat the purpose our our time here to talk of those things that bring you the most stress and emotional upset.”

“Malcolm would be upset if all his effort went to waste.”

“Yes, he does seem to know you well and how to get you out of your moods.”

“I thought I knew him just as well, but since he and Hoshi got together, there's a whole new Malcolm he's kept hidden.”

Trip sat listening to the waves on the beach. He moved around behind T'Pol and put his head on her shoulder and wrapped her in his arms.

“How do we keep this bond working with us and not against us?”

“Our bond is not like the bond I had with my mother or father and there is no one we can ask. The bond becomes painful to us when the needs of our mate cause pain. The bond protects itself and will do what is needed to force us to do the same.”

“If Mal hadn't shown up I would have made everyone here as miserable as I was.”

“Yes, eventually. You would have been forced to figure it out or risk someone 'throwing you out of the airlock'.”

“I haven't threatened to do that to anyone in a long time.”

“You threatened Thompson twice three days ago.”

“Maybe I should make an apology to everyone and promise not to do it again.”

“Do not do that. I would not be wise to make promises you may not be able to keep.”

“Thanks a lot. My own wife thinks I can't control myself.”

“You can when you do not have so many things on your mind. Control is not always the best way and I need learn what things I should just let go and what I should discuss. We have to learn how to maintain balance and when it is not possible to help each other until it is possible again.”

“Would it help if we were to study the teachings of Surak? I have read some of the Kir'shana and it seems to me that it doesn't only apply to logic. Human philosophers discuss many of the same ideas just not from a purely logical view.”

“Do you really want to do this?”

“Yeah, we used to have lively discussions about everything. I miss that.”

“That was because we often disagreed.”

“Who says we can't disagree about things. What's the point if we agree all the time. We may be bonded, but we are not the same person outside of the bond.”

“So you want us to discuss these teachings from both the Vulcan and Human perspective?”

“That's how I learn best.”

“That would be acceptable. I may learn to understand how you think because when I try to follow your reasoning I get lost.”

“The only time my thoughts are orderly is when I've arrived at a decision or way to do something. Getting there I'm sure can seem chaotic to someone who's mind is so controlled.”

“Your thoughts are often quite logical when you are working through a problem with your engine.”

“There has to be a step-by-step process when you're working with a warp drive or you won't live very long.”

“We can discuss this later. We have to get some breakfast and then meet with Hoshi and Malcolm.”

Malcolm and Hoshi were in the dining hall when Trip and T'Pol arrived. Trip looked around the room and saw that half the tables were full, but no one made a sound and they were all looking in the direction of the galley. As he and T'Pol started to walk that way to join Malcolm and Hoshi someone started yelling. “You can't put that vile stuff out there.”

“”Mal, what's going on and what is that smell?” Trip followed Mal's eyes to what looked to be a plate of maggots. “What is that?”

Hoshi offered. “I think it's a Tellarite dish. A favorite from what we've been able to get from the chefs.”

Trip held his nose and took the dish into the kitchen. “I don't know what this is or who put it out here, but it can't stay there.”

The five chefs all turned their attention to Trip. Malcolm, Hoshi, and T'Pol were peeking around the corner as Trip set the dish down and backed away from it.

“Now what seems to be the problem gentlemen?” They all started talking at once. “Okay hold on. Chef Crellin explain what the problem is.”

“It seems the Tellarites have several dishes, which we and several others find objectionable.”

“Quite the diplomat aren't you. Chef. Objectionable doesn't even come close. I may not be able to eat after that.” Trips pointed at the dish and scrunched up his nose.

Chef continued. “If you look out in the dining room you will see that many of the staff have no breakfast because no one could get near the table.”

“There has to be a way to make this, whatever it is, available to the Tellarites without making everyone else ill. Can you let them know it's here, but that they have to ask for it?”

Chef Crellin looked to the other chefs. “It shouldn't be a problem.” The Tellarites chef began arguing.

Trip's voice became very controlled . “Chef Crellin is the Head Chef and from now on he will make sure that all visitors to the dining room are comfortable and able to enjoy their meals. If there are any dishes he feels would affect anyone's ability to enjoy their meal then it will not be out there on the table. Post a menu of items that are available, tell whoever needs to know. I don't care, but figure it out. Are there any other problems we need to address?”

The chefs all answered “No, sir,” as Trip went to get his tea. People got up and started scurrying to the table and pretending everything was fine.

“I don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to grab something, I hope I'll be able to eat later, and meet you in the conference room next to the office.” T'Pol got herself some tea and followed Trip out.

--

Malcolm and Hoshi showed up for their meeting several minutes later. They sat down and waited.

Trip realized they were there. “Sorry guys. That Tellarite dish made me think of my brother and spaghetti and I'm trying to explain it to T'Pol.”

Baffled Hoshi asked. “Spaghetti? I never seen spaghetti that smelled like that”

“My brother Joseph loved my Mom's spaghetti, but my sister Alex never ate hers until one night at dinner Mom happened to hear him whispering ' looks like that maggots' in her ear. He figured out how to make it so she couldn't eat it, so Mom would let him have it. Her arm went back and smacked him up side of the head, she was so mad. It was the only time my Mom hit one of us.”

“ I didn't think I'd ever smell anything worse than the Klingon food on the Somraw , until this morning.” Malcolm stated. T'Pol agreed.

“So how is it sleeping on a Vulcan ship? Trip chuckled.

Malcolm laughed. “I give them a week before they start begging to be reassigned to new quarters.”

T'Pol's eyebrow went up. “And why would they need to be reassigned?”

“Hoshi keeps playing this bloody awful chanting. It supposed to be musical, but it sounds as if they're dying. Her plan seems to be that they either just think we have sex all the time or they move far enough away that they can't hear anything.” Malcolm smiled at Hoshi.

“It does not bother you what they may think, Malcolm?” the disbelief in T'Pol's voice was evident.

“How can I be embarrassed if they're always looking at us funny. Unless I pay really close attention to their eyes I won't notice and they're Vulcans so they won't say anything.”

Trip had a big grin across his face. “Glad to hear it's working out better for you than it did for T'Pol and I. Well, we have a lot to discuss, so I say we get started.” Trip slide a stack of paperwork over to Malcolm. “This is the deed to the station and ship and there is also a copy of our will. If anything happens to us everything belongs to you two.”

Malcolm was scanning through the papers. “This says if something happens to you Trip, everything goes to us. What about T'Pol. If something happens to you shouldn't everything go to her.”

T'Pol answered him. “Our bond makes it unlikely that if one of us were to die that the other would survive. The bond is such that we cannot be separated. I would not want to be here without him, so even if I could I would not want to. We both knew this when we completed our bond and have accepted it.”

“Let's just hope we don't have to worry about that for many years.” Malcolm wanted to change the subject.

Trip continued. “We have to come up with who's responsible for what and to whom. Mal, you're the Head of Security and Hoshi you're the Director of Language and Culture. You can change the titles to whatever you want and name your departments. This is just what we've been using trying to keep it all straight.”

“That's fine. “ Hoshi said.

“Hoshi you have a whole floor to work with. There's a team of computer techs and specialists that will report to you. The computer should be set up by the end of the week. There's a universal translator and software and databases from everyone I could get them from. Starfleet gave you copies of everything you had on Enterprise. They own that, but anything you develop from this point forward belongs to you. You are the boss. “

“So I report to you?”

“No, I told you that you would be free to do what you do without anybody telling you how. I have two request though. There's a large room, you'll know which one I mean when you see it, that I would like to be a movie theater and as part of what you do I need you to be in charge of all diplomatic functions that take place. Our own little embassy. For that part you will need to report to T'Pol and I.”

“You mean I would be responsible for planning and preparing for meetings you need to hold here and attend elsewhere?”

“Yes. You have a staff working down there now and if you need more or someone isn't working out let us know.”

“You keep saying us. Who has final say?”

Trip looked at T'Pol. “We are sharing that responsibility. It works best for us and hopefully keeps us from being overwhelmed, although I haven't been doing to well at that lately. There is no real structure to our routine and I don't see that changing. The nature of this whole thing isn't going to lend itself to an 8-5 workday. We'll be trying to run this station, so that I can also be an engineer and T'Pol can pursue her interest in science, and most importantly we need to keep our relationship on track. “

“Trip, you've always worked that way when you needed to and Starfleet and the Captain just let you go.” Malcolm told him.

“I've always thought that there needed to be flexibility in some jobs. We're just going to adjust our schedule around what needs to get accomplished on a certain day. I expect you two to do the same. Set your hours to fit what needs to get done. Assign your staff anyway that works for your department. If there's a problem or you need something major we'll talk about it. “

“Where did all these people come from?”

“They volunteered for duty here. They and their ships are no longer appear to be attached to their military. They are unofficially assigned here , but will remain on their governments payroll for one year from the day we become operational. At that time they can return to regular duty with their home planet or separate and remain here.”

“You've been very busy. I thought you hadn't meet with all together yet.”

“We haven't, but this place needed experienced non-military personnel. It took me a month to get them to stop using rank. It appears as if we hired them ourselves.”

T'Pol stood also. “We would like you both to be part of the management of the whole station with us. We work very well together as a team.”

“I'll need to think about that. I'd like to see my department now?“ Hoshi asked.

“I can get Ms. Telkar to take you down to level 3.” T'Pol hit the comm button to get her assistant to take Hoshi.

Malcolm gave Hoshi a kiss on the cheek when she left and then continues to look through the papers Trip had given him,.

“These papers keep referencing 'The Station” Have you come up with a name yet?”

“Actually I have, but I haven't even told T'Pol yet.” That got T'Pol's attention.

“Are you going to tell us or not?”

“I kept thinking about what we want to do here and then I thought about Lorian and where his name came from, so I want to name the station “Silmarils” and the ship “Aragorn.”

Malcolm looked confused. “Lorien was the forest of the elves and Aragorn is the king, from 'Lord of the Rings' so I assume Silmarils has something to do with that too.”

“Yes, the Silmarils were the three jewels that contained the light of the two trees.”

Chuckling to himself Malcolm said, “I always knew you were a bit of a romantic, but no one is going to know what these names mean.”

Trip looked at T'Pol “What do you say darlin?”

“I have no objection, but if I am going to have to explain this choice you will need to explain it to me. Who is Aragorn ?”

“He became the King of Earth and married Arwen, the elfen princess . Maybe I should start a movie night here and start with these movies.”

Malcolm starting dropped his fists on the table, laughing . “Life's never gonna be boring with you around Trip. Malcolm looked at them both. “By the way how do I get everybody to stop calling me Mr. Reed?”