Star Trek Enterprise Fanfiction (Malcolm x Hoshi and other pairings...)

2. On the Bridge

Everyone on the bridge was at their stations. The captain was in his ready-room as there was nothing interesting going on at the moment; they were just flying through space, searching...

Technically T'pol was in command, but it would be pointless for her to sit in the captain's chair when there were no orders to be given, thus she was working at her science officer's station.

Malcolm sat at his console checking the readings ship's readings as well as the long-range sensors, but as much wasn't going on, he simultaneously studied alien ship schematics on a padd. From time to time he looked up to gaze at subcommander T'pol. She was sitting at her console and looked very attractive in her skin-tight Vulcan uniform, even when she wasn't doing anything particular.

Hoshi sat at her communication's station with a device plugged in her ear, but because there were currently no communications in the sector, she trained her Vulcan by translating an ancient Vulcan text. Suddenly she felt something and instinctively looked up at the bridge's viewing screen.

"What is that?" she asked, addressing a blue dot she had spotted.

"What?" Travis reacted, turning to her.

"That on the screen." she said pointing at it with her finger.

Travis looked to where she was pointing and puckered his eyebrows. "I'll try and magnify it." he said. The blue dot got bigger, Travis magnified it again, but it didn't help much.

"We need to be closer to scan it." announced T'pol, standing up, also looking at the screen.

"Should I alter course?" Travis asked, hovering his fingers above the console, waiting for oders.

"Perhaps we should alert the Captain." said Malcolm his end other end of the bridge. Hoshi looked in his direction. He was looking at the screen then turned his gaze on her.

"Indeed." agreed T'pol. Pushing a button on her console she spoke loudly: "Captain, requesting your presence on the bridge. We found something that might interest you."

Mere minutes later Captain Archer arrived on the bridge, looking eager to see what they wanted to show him. Meanwhile Travis, upon T'Pol's instructions, had steered the ship a little closer towards the mysterious phenomenon. Just close enough to be in proximity to scan.

"Looks like a nebula of some kind, or a star cluster," Travis commented as the bridge's door closed behind the Captain. "There must be some kind of gas being illuminated by the stars."

Hoshi looked at small the blue shape on the viewing screen, surrounded by a sea of deep velvet black. It's strange blue and turquoise glow with its mysterious glitter from hundreds of stars captived and entranced her silmoutaneously. Something was calling her, drawing her attention to it, it was magnetic and irresistibly beautiful. She felt extremely relaxed, her mind at peace, her senses lulled by a calming sound like the murmur of the sea...The waves washing against little stones and shells up and down in a never-ending constant vibrating rhythm. Hoshi reached a meditative state of mind and lost track of the discussion happening around her.

T'pol announced a more detailed composition of the nebula and began scanning for planets. Meanwhile, the captain was discussing with the other officers whether to fly into the nebula or not, many were curious and wanted to explore this beautiful and new phenomenon.

Reed himself found it quite beautiful, he voiced his thoughts out loud and then turned to T'pol. "What about you subcommander?" he asked.

"I find it...aestheticly pleasing." she replied calmly.

Malcolm chuckled at her typically Vulcan answer. "What about you Hoshi?" he asked, glancing back at the nebula.

No answer.

"Hoshi?" Malcolm repeated, turning around to look at her. He saw her sitting at her console, staring entranced at the screen.

"Hoshi?" he said again.

She didn't react.

Now other people noticed what was happening and started worrying. Travis stood up and went to her console. By now even Captain Archer noticed that Hoshi wasn't reacting.

"Hoshi?" Captain Archer said.

Travis reached her and cautiously put his hand on her shoulder, at his touch she moved and woke up from her dream-like state.

"What-what's wrong?" she asked as though nothing strange had happened.

"You weren't reacting, even when we called your name." said Captain Archer.

"It was like you were in some kind of trance." said Travis.

"I-I feel fine." said Hoshi, all the time that she had been staring so fixedly at the screen a strange feeling washed over her. She felt at peace and intrigued by the nebula, but there was also something else...

"Are you sure?" asked Travis.

"Yes, I-well I could hear something when I looked at it. Like whispering voices or the splashing of water, like waves on the ocean." she described it.

"Maybe doctor Phlox should take a look at you." suggested Captain Archer with a worried look.

"Perhaps that would be better." she agreed.

"Travis please escort her to sickbay." said Captain Archer.

Travis nodded and escorted Hoshi to the turbo-lift, holding her arm gently in case she would get dizzy. Malcolm followed them with his eyes until the turbo-lift door closed. T'pol also watched them leave, when the door closed, she looked away and her gaze met lieutenant Reed's. Malcolm quickly broke the eye-contact, looking at his console and resuming his work. T'pol went back to scanning the nebula.