***

2154

Trip: Turn the valve assembly farther to the right.

Archer: Is that okay?

Trip: That'll do it. You know, Captain, my staff can do this. There's no reason for you to be down here on your knees twisting flow valves.

Archer: It's good for me to see how things are working. Phlox said I could use a break from sitting in my chair on the bridge.

Trip: Is the chair okay?

Archer: It's fine, Trip.

Trip: This is nothing we can't take care of ourselves.

Archer: It's my ship. Let me tinker a bit.

Trip raised his eyebrows at that, becoming very protective of his engine.

Tinker?

...

Trip: We should be able to modify the flow to account for any anomalies that hit the system. Thanks for your help.

Archer: Happy to help.

He wanted to say more but went toward the door, where he hesitated. He turned to watch his engineer. He couldn't remember where all the days had gone since that first time he felt like he was on a real date, over coffee and pancakes. Trip felt the eyes burning into him, and knew Archer hadn't left.

Trip: Something else, sir?

Archer walked over to Trip's platform at the engine controls.

Archer: I thought maybe we could watch a movie. One of those old horror movies you brought along. "Return of the Triffids" or something.

Trip: Movie night is in three days - I can put on "Day of the Triffids" if you'd like.

Archer: I...actually, I was hoping we could watch it together, just the two of us.

Trip closed his eyes. He hadn't turned around yet, but had to compose himself before he did.

Archer: C'mon, Trip.

Trip: You know, Cap'n...

He turned and lost his hard-won composure when he saw Archer's face...

Trip: God,... Ya know,... I can't. Let me finish this.

A long and uncomfortable silence followed.

...

Archer: See you later, then.
Trip: Yep.

***

2134

Tegl had seen it coming, but he knew so little about the world. Kous was depressed, grieving, and lonely. The red book, Alkkav's private journal, was his only connection, but the journal only seemed to reinforce Kous's guilt; Kous seemed to curl up tighter each time he opened and read it.

                  ...if you were here, I'd feel more confident. The mission was meant for both of us, and I regret not standing up for you. I could do anything if you were with me, but as it is, I feel like I'm playacting. I was not honest.

A handsome man of two meters height, Kous was reduced to a thin shell, most un-Tabran, in the month after Alkkav's death. That they had been separated, by light years, made it far worse. That there was no body,...

(***)

Tegl crept into the room to read Alkkav's journal when Kous was sleeping. It made little sense to him, but it was all he had left. Kous couldn't talk to him anymore. Alkkav spoke again and again about the strangeness of the rock formations, like ancient cities erased beyond recognition, and of the local legends telling of the disappearance of the earlier civilization. Parts of the book were coded in ways that Tegl couldn't begin to understand, even with some training already underway.

It wasn't until he considered that the structure was built on a third person that it unfolded before him. (( How well my creators knew me and my curiosity! )) Alkkav, a man of few words, spoke of love often in these coded parts. It didn't embarrass Tegl in the least; it only confirmed what he'd known all his life - that his creators were deeply bonded with each other and always had been, and wanted him to see that.

(***)

My love for you has not changed since I took this mission, although you may think it has. It was my great folly not to hold to my bond with you, and I fear it may be a mistake that costs me ... There have been two disappearances so far, both in the forest area near the valley. Animals are the likely explanation, although none has been found that could have removed or consumed the bodies. I am going to the forest tomorrow to investigate, as this violence represents a distinct change in the patterns of this world.

I want you next to me when I go, Kous, so that we are stronger. I want you with me, so that we may stand together. I love you.

Run with Tegl, and let it dispel the fears in both of you.

(***)

Tegl lay in the corner, in the dark, fighting for some kind of control. The damage would have to be explained and repaired. He grabbed his recorder and wrote quickly for the rest of the night, thinking of Trip, Archer, and Hoshi as the intricate Tabran letters wove in and out of each other across his final report.

***

2154

Tegl: The dictation will be difficult. You must determine the context and revise as you go. Can you do it?
Hoshi: I'm sure I can.

Tegl: Good. Use the paper you brought.

He began a dictation which took her nearly an hour to transcribe, but she was astounded to find that she understood much of it. It was a letter to someone close to Tegl, but the names were unfamiliar. When she'd finished, she realized she'd stopped listening to the message context and had only been trying to get the words. Tegl read it over her shoulder and seemed pleased enough with it, except near the end, where he made her rewrite as he stressed the situation. Despite the long hour, only one page had been written.

Hoshi: It's much easier to use the voice recorder.

Tegl: You wanted to learn the language, and you have. Just roll that up and we'll get back to it later.

***

2154

T'Pol: Commander, it is at least a possibility.

Reed: We don't know every alien race's technology.

T'Pol: Was there anything detectable, even for a short time?

Trip: It'd be in the sensor logs. Matter or energy would show up.

T'Pol: Suliban cloaking was impenetrable to our sensors until the Captain was shown how to penetrate it.

Trip: A cloak?? I saw the tunnel rushing toward me. I felt something. Phlox said I had some kind of damage to my brain.

Reed gave a Trip a wide-eyed look of amused surprise but Trip only became more exasperated.

Trip: I don't know what it was!

Archer's voice interrupted.

Archer: Archer to Commander Tucker.

Tucker: Go ahead, sir.

Archer: I need to speak to you. Come to the command center, please.

Trip: With pleasure, sir.

He gave Reed and T'Pol a final glance of frustration as he left.

(***)

***

2154

Archer bounced his water polo ball against the wall. There were several voices in his head, none of them very welcome - the Vulcan High Command's oppressive criticisms, T'Pol's sharply perceptive advice, Forrest's tacit support covered by required warnings, and Tegl's insistent presence, ... even his own confused thoughts occasionally spoke up.

Worst of all, amid the chaos, Trip's voice had said nothing.

...

He left quickly for the command center.

***

2154

(***)

Reed: There is also the possibility that the Tabran did this.

T'Pol: I have considered that. There are no reports of Tabrans having telepathic abilities during any of their visits on Vulcan.

Reed: We know almost nothing about him. He's an enigma. The captain gives him far too much leeway for my taste.

T'Pol: He has his reasons.

Reed: Whatever they are, he may be putting the ship in jeopardy. That alien may have powers to create hallucinations, to affect people in ways we can't understand.

T'Pol: How do you propose we determine these abilities?

Reed: Well, we could... The Doctor could tell us...

T'Pol: The Captain and Commander Tucker are both experienced explorers and not given to exaggeration.

Reed: But they could have been mistaken. If they were convinced by Tegl that something did happen, they might really believe it. He's had a pretty strong effect on them.

T'Pol: They have seemed... agitated. And he did injure them.

Reed: What? When?

T'Pol: Phlox was unable to get them to discuss it. The Captain did not wish it to become public.

Reed: Trip told me that Tegl was "giving him a lot to think about."

T'Pol: Captain Archer told me the same thing.

Reed: They both seem very protective of their alien friend.

T'Pol: Perhaps we should ask Tegl what he intends to accomplish.

Reed stared at her but she remained impassive.

Reed: You know!

T'Pol: Lieutenant?

Reed: You're giving Tegl the benefit of the doubt, just like I am, and for the same reasons, I'll bet.

T'Pol: Did Trip feel he could share this confidence with you?

Reed: He did. Although I was the last to hear, apparently.

T'Pol: The Captain spoke to me briefly on the planet, and again just yesterday.

Reed: Oh, so not the last. Well, that's something. I think we need to have a talk with Mr. Tegl.

T'Pol: After we talk to the Captain and Commander Tucker.

Reed looked positively petrified.

T'Pol: It would only be right.

***

2150

Trip woke at almost three, his shoulders and arms cold. He rubbed them to warm up then reached for the sheet. It was stuck to him, right where he'd left it as he fell asleep. He detached it from his leg and from the hair on his stomach with a slight tug.

Trip: Ow!

Archer leaned over him, and planted a powerful, hungry kiss on his lips. Trip went for it immediately. He grabbed Archer, the only source of warmth, and pulled him up on top of him.

Trip: So you were awake.

Archer: Just waiting for you to recover and catch up.

Trip laughed his appreciation.

Trip: I picked the right man.

Archer: So did I.

Trip: What brought this on?

Archer: Just the day I guess. Thinking about you. Tomorrow's a big day too.

Trip: The food's all still on the counter...

Archer: Don't worry about that.

Archer pushed his sadness and anger down into his desire, and concentrated on the beautiful face outlined by the moonlight, eyes locked on his, and tried to warm Trip up.

***

2154

Archer stared at the star charts as he let each voice wash over him, with its recriminations, its well-meant platitudes, its contradictions. Only Trip's voice didn't hurt him when it finally spoke up, and that was something of a surprise. Trip was trying to keep a promise. He was offering only himself, not suggestions, not responsibility -- not even the escape from responsibility which Archer's own voice increasingly called for.

Trip's voice was a young voice of enthusiasm. It was 2149. A real time of clarity.

(( I was a lot more peaceful back then. Happier. Of course I wasn't out in space. Beginner's optimism? Is that all it was? ...))

He paced, answering his own questions.

Archer: It was the confidence too. The daring. The ease around others. The calm. It all came from Trip.

Trip: It doesn't come from me. It comes from you when you're around me. You have a lot to learn about yourself.

He hadn't expected Trip to get there so quickly, or to overhear him thinking aloud. Trip wasn't smiling or frowning. He wasn't coming closer and he wasn't leaving. Archer stammered out an awkward "How are you?"

(***)