Title: Shattered Reflections

Rating: Pg-13

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: I own none of this

Commander Tucker's personal log, supplemental,

The Enterprise has made contact with an alien species who call themselves the Horigan. The Horigan are interested in learning about our culture, and in exchange they're offering us blueprints for some kind of crystals that will make our engines go three times as fast, among other things. It's been at least two days of negotiation. Captain Archer has sent Lieutenant Reed and myself in a shuttlepod to board the Horigan's ship, where we have been invited to view a demonstration of said material.

Commander Tucker finished the log with a final beep and sighed. "If they're telling us the truth, that is."

"You don't believe that these Horigans have 'dilithium Crystals'?" Malcolm inquired from his place at the helm.

Trip closed his eyes. "I don't now. Everyone knows that I'm not the best type at diplomacy, but it just seemed damned funny how their ship suddenly appeared right on top of us. Almost as though they enjoyed the prospect of almost crushing us like an egg."

"Yes, their ship is quite big, isn't it?" Malcolm remarked, looking through the window. "It does seem a little odd to converse only on audio for the past few days. Almost as though the Horigan don't want us to see who they are."

"Someone who does that must have something to hide, in my opinion," Trip said.

"Or they just value their privacy," Malcolm said over his shoulder.

Trip smiled. "Well, we'll be the first to find out. We're coming up onto their ship now."

"The Horigan are asking for our coordinates," Malcolm said.

"Got it. Sending it to their ship now," Trip said.

"What did the Horigan want in return for the dilithium, anyway?"

Trip shrugged. "Historical records. Nothing too-" The shuttlepod instantly shuddered. "What...they're firing at us!" Malcolm exclaimed. "Shields are holding, but not for long!"

"What are they doing!?" Tucker muttered. "Malcolm, evasive maneuvers." He activated the com. "This is Commander Charles Tucker to the Horigan vessel! This is not what we had in mind when you said that you wanted to show us a demonstration! Cease your attack or-" He paused as a panel in front of him exploded in sparks.

"That was our engines. We're dead in the water," Malcolm said. Trip could actually feel the shuttlepod slow to a stop.

"Return fire!"

"Done. No effect," Malcolm reported.

Trip activated the com again. "Tucker to Enterprise! Tucker to Enterprise! Emergency! Our main starboard engine's out! Power's failing!"

'Acknowledged, Trip. Stand by,' Archer's voice replied over the com. Trip looked through the window to see the Enterprise sweep down over the shuttlepod and attack the Horigan vessel with phaser bursts. A minute later the Hirogan vessel was destroyed.

"So much for peaceful negotiations," Malcolm remarked in astonishment.

Trip threw his hands up in the air. "What the hell was wrong with those people!? Why did they attack us!?"

'Archer to shuttlepod one. What's your status?'

Trip stood and activated the com with a sigh. "We're fine, Captain. But I think the shuttlepod's going to be out of commission for a little while-" He cut off as the shuttlepod suddenly shuddered again. And didn't stop.

"Commander, I'm reading a massive build-up in our reactor core!" Malcolm warned. Smoke filled the air.

Trip activated the com as he worked frantically at the controls. "Tucker to Enterprise, we're about two minutes away from a reactor breech! I can't shut it down!"

'Hang on, Trip,' Archer said. 'We're trying to beam you out but we're losing your signal-' the last of his words crackled over the com and died.

-------------------------

'Captain, I'm not getting enough on their individual signals,' the transporter chief reported.

Archer activated the com. "Set it to wide field. Beam up everything from that damn shuttle if you have to."

---------------------

Trip coughed. Warning sirens echoed in the shuttlepod. Another panel exploded. "There's nothing I can do!" Trip said. "We just have to keep the panels from-"

He looked to his right.

And immediately saw another Commander Tucker sitting in the chair next to him. Trip was too astonished to do anything but stare as a transporter beam surrounded his twin.

And beamed his duplicate out.

-------------------------

From the bridge the Captain, Johnathan Archer, stood out of his seat and approached T'Pol's station. "Anything?" he asked.

His science officer and second in command, T'Pol, looked up. "Some kind of interference is preventing transport," she said.

"What kind of interference?" Archer demanded.

"I'm not certain," T'Pol said. "It does not appear to be emanating from this galaxy."

"Captain!" Travis shouted.

Archer glanced up at the screen. The shuttlepod exploded.

The silence in the room was profound.

Archer slowly activated the com. "Archer to transporter room. Were you able to..pick up anything!?"

'I had them sir...but I've lost both signals. I'm sorry, Captain, but there was not enough to lock on to.'

Another long moment of silence.

"They're dead," Travis whispered.

Archer said nothing, then looked away. "I'm not prepared to accept that!" he snapped. "Scan the debris. Find me something."

-----------------------

Sparking electricity from a broken cable was the only thing which illuminated the area as Trip opened his eyes. He was immediately aware that he was laying in a large room, and that he was no longer in the shuttlepod. The air smelled horrible...and of garbage. Slowly he stood. Debris lay all around him. He looked around, searching for Malcolm. He found the weapon's officer not too far away, unconscious on the floor. Trip shook his shoulder. "Malcolm!"

Malcolm opened his eyes. "Where-"

"Are you all right?" Trip asked, concerned.

Malcolm nodded, and winced. "That was a really rough transport, sir."

Trip looked up. "I don't think we're out of the woods yet."

"Where are we?" Malcolm asked.

Silence from both of them as they looked around.

It was Trip who spoke first. "I know this place like the back of my hand. This is engineering...or was." He climbed up the shaky steps to the engine core and consulted the readings. The panel flickered briefly with a blue light. "The core is...smashed open. I don't know how that could have possibly happened..but I can't fix anything like this."

"How long exactly were we out?" Malcolm asked, joining him.

Trip consulted the chronometer. "According to these readings, only a couple of hours. Hardly enough for any of this to happen!"

"With all due respect, Commander, it looks like whatever happened here happened a long time ago," Malcolm said.

"I can't tie in with sensors or any other systems. With a small wince Trip went over to a communications panel and activated it. "Tucker to bridge!" he called. Static answered back. "Bridge, can you read me?" Trip looked up. "We've gotta get up there."

The doors suddenly opened. Trip and Malcolm turned around as flashlights were pointed right in their faces. Trip placed a hand in front of the light, but couldn't see who was pointing them at him. It looked like three people.

"Set phasers to stun," a cold female voice said. A voice that was very familiar-

"Hoshi?" Malcolm croaked.

They lowered the lights. Hoshi stepped forwards and stared at both of them for a long, long moment. "What are you two doing here?" she finally asked.

"I-" Trip began, and looked at Malcolm. "I'm not sure."

With her black gloves Hoshi took out a hand scanner. Holding it protectively like a weapon, she brought it in closer and pressed a few buttons. She stared at the read-out.

"Hoshi, what's going on-" Malcolm asked, raising his hand.

Instantly the security guards pointed their phase pistols at him. "Hold it right there, Lieutenant," ordered one of them.

Impulsively Malcolm was about to draw his own phase pistol, when Trip stretched a hand across his shoulder. "Easy there, Malcolm. These are our people."

"They don't seem like 'our people', commander," Malcolm replied, but reluctantly lowered his hand.

Hoshi looked up and put the hand scanner away. Her cool lips tightened, and she abruptly clapped her gloved hands. The security officers grabbed Malcolm and Trip and hauled them forwards. Trip stopped in front of her. "Hoshi...what's going on?"

Then Hoshi did something Trip would have never expected. She spat in his face. Trip stared at her in astonishment, but her face was impassive.

Trip was dragged away.

-------------------------

A few minutes later Trip and Malcolm both sat on a bench, sitting opposite of each other. "When did Starfleet authorize a prison deck on this ship?" Trip asked him.

"Never, that's when," Malcolm said.

"Are you saying we're in another time?" Trip demanded.

"Another time?" Malcolm echoed. "More like another dimension. Another reality."

Trip stared at Malcolm, wondering if he was joking. "Malcolm, that kind of stuff only happens in the movies," he said.

"Not from where I'm sitting, commander," Malcolm replied. "Did you see the insignia on her uniform?"

Trip shook a negative.

"It wasn't anything I recognized. Maybe the crew are under...some kind of alien influence." "That doesn't explain the mess in engineering," Trip replied. "That was just from..age, disuse." He hesitated. "Hoshi seemed to have something against me."

Before Malcolm could reply the door opened. Trip and Malcolm stood as Hoshi entered with a security detail. She had a phase pistol attached to her hip. She glanced at Malcolm. "The Captain wants to see you." Her eyes hardened when Trip moved forwards. "Only you."

Trip stared straight back at her. "I'm the senior officer here. If the Captain has something to say he's going to say it to me."

For a moment Hoshi appeared to debate whether or not to argue the point. "Fine," she finally said. She nodded to the security guards. One of them touched the controls on the wall, and the blue electrical field vanished. Malcolm and Trip were pushed out the door.

----------------------------

They saw more evidence of destruction as they passed through the corridors. The entire ship seemed to be unkept and damaged, Malcolm nodded. Several officers were openly crying. Hoshi looked on impassively as they entered the turbolift that would lead them to the bridge.

The bridge was the only place that seemed to be a duplicate of the one they remembered. Malcolm could see that on the viewscreen the Enterprise was orbiting a planet. Malcolm was about to step forwards when hands clasped around his shoulders and forced him down onto his knees. They did the same to Trip. "Wait here," Hoshi ordered them before returning to her post.

Archer turned to T'Pol. "Anything on the channels?"

"No. Perhaps they do not have even sophisticated technology for communications," T'Pol replied.

Archer said nothing, thinking.

"I would remind the Captain that these people pose no threat. They have no weapons or harmful materials of any kind. We would gain nothing from killing them."

Archer sighed loudly. "I understand that you compassionate Vulcans are squeamish about killing, but for centuries the only way my species has ever survived is by showing others who the real bad bully is in this galaxy. It's the only way they'll learn." He tilted his head. "That's why the Vulcans joined us hundreds of years ago, isn't it?"

T'Pol raised her eyebrow but did not reply.

"Something is very wrong here, Commander," Malcolm whispered to Trip.

"Obviously," Trip said.

"Send a security detail to see if there are any resources, and be ready to launch the weapon when they return," Archer ordered. He then turned his attention behind him at the kneeled figures. For a long time Archer didn't say anything as he stared at Trip. "You're dead," he said. His tone was gentle and unbelieving.

Trip stared back with equal disbelief. "Sir?"

Archer turned away. "Obviously I didn't try hard enough to kill you. It doesn't matter. One more time doesn't make a difference." He looked at a datasheet. "Where's the rest of my crew, or did you decide to leave them behind this time?"

"Wha-" Trip said, trying to stand. He instantly regretted it when an officer booted him in the chest. Trip fell back to his knees. Concerned, Malcolm gripped his arm in case he fell. Trip closed his eyes and nodded. He would be all right.

"I found them both in engineering. Probably sabotage," Hoshi said.

"Sabotage? Hardly. There's nothing left in engineering to sabotage. But I am certainly curious to know what the two of you were doing down there," Archer said, looking up.

Before Malcolm could even think of an answer the turbolift doors opened. Malcolm openly gawked at who stepped out. It was another Malcolm Reed, but different. This other version was more muscular, with scars up and down his bare arms. An eyepatch covered one eye, and his black hair was longer and more unkept. "What the-?" Malcolm whispered.

Reed stared at him.

"Two of you," Archer said slowly, starring back and forth at Malcolm and Reed. "What is this?" he finally asked.

"That's what I would like to know," Malcolm replied tightly.

Trip decided to try and explain. "Look, we don't know what happened! One moment we were in the shuttlepod conducting negotiations with the Hirogans-"

"Never heard of them," Archer said.

"Believe me, I'm starting to wish I hadn't," Trip said. "They decided to attack us. Captain Archer-you-were trying to get us out with a transporter lock, and the shuttlepod exploded. That's the last thing I remember-"

"You mean...shuttlecraft, don't you?" Archer asked easily.

"What?" Trip said, looking at him.

Archer looked up at T'Pol. "A Suliban tactic?"

"I don't believe so," T'Pol said uneasily. "If I might make a suggestion...perhaps Tucker and Lieutenant Malcolm came from somewhere else. Perhaps...another reality."

Archer snorted and laughed. "That's a little far-fetched even for you, T'Pol."

"It may not be improbable to consider such a course," T'Pol said. Malcolm noticed out of the corner of his eyes that she was dressed in a fiery red catsuit, not unlike her brown one in design, and that her hair was long and went down to her shoulders.

"Look....all we want to do is to return to our timeline, or reality, or wherever we were," Trip began. "Obviously this was an accident. We're not the people you think we are! And for the matter, you're not the people I think you are! All I'm asking, is just for a little help in figuring out how to send us back. We should be able to come up with something."

"That would be the logical choice, Captain," T'Pol said.

At least two minutes of silence. "No," Archer finally said. He stared at Trip. "I don't know you. I don't know...who you are or what you've been through. But let me tell you something about my version of Charles Tucker. He was my friend. A damn good one. When I was married, he was going to be my best man. I didn't know at the time that he was a rebel spy." Archer leaned forwards. "Oh, he was at the wedding, but to mount an insurrection. My wife...didn't make it out alive that day."

Trip bowed his head a little, and looked up. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I don't know what you've done to deserve my vengeance. Probably nothing. You're not my version of Trip. But by the heavens I'll take another version of you any day."

"They're ready, sir," Reed announced to Captain Archer.

"Put them on," Archer nodded.

Two devices were attached to the side of Malcolm's and Trip's head.

"I suppose this isn't in your reality?" Archer asked with a raised eyebrow.

Malcolm shook his head, puzzled. The devices were small triangles with moving blue lights.

"They're called agonizers. Since it would be easier to show, rather then tell, here's a small demonstration." Archer touched a control.

Malcolm watched as Trip closed his eyes hard and doubled over, trying to prevent the scream from leaving his mouth. Eventually he choke in pain, falling to the floor. Archer didn't let up from the control. Trip let out a blood-curling scream, his body convulsing.

"Stop it, you're killing him!" Malcolm shouted.

"I believe that's the general idea," Reed replied with a small smile.

Malcolm had had enough. He leapt to his feet, about to throw himself at Captain Archer to make him stop. He was stopped by three security officers and struggled hopelessly against them.

Archer met his eyes and smiled a little. "Maybe you're right." He released the controls. "Another pleasure for another time."

Trip lay unconscious on the floor, smoke forming around the agonizer.

"Take them away while I decide what to do with them," Archer said.

----------------------

They were soon back in the prison cell.

Trip wasn't conscience, and Malcolm had a very real fear that he would never wake up. The agonizers were still attached, and no amount of pulling seemed to take them off. Eventually Malcolm gave up. He never felt so hopeless and enraged in his entire life.

The door opened, and Malcolm stood. A single figure stepped into the doorway, and the doors closed behind him.

Malcolm stared impassively at his double.

"So," Reed said, starring at his twin carefully. "This is my double from the goody-goody land. Thrilling." When Malcolm said nothing Reed leered in closer. "Must be quite some place."

"That's right," Malcolm snapped, finally looking at Reed. "And I plan to return to it very soon."

Reed chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not going to be possible," he said, and flicked his brown eyes to Trip. "For either of you." He turned smartly, preparing to leave.

"Wait!" Malcolm snapped, his calm breaking. "What kind of version of me would allow this to happen? To allow innocent people to die!?"

Reed whirled around, starring at his twin angrily. "I do what I have to on this ship! Understand this, if nothing else-the captain will always have undying loyalty, or death. He tolerates little else." His voice broke slightly as he said this. Then, as though realizing he had said too much, Reed straightened his uniform and stepped out.

Malcolm stared after him in astonishment.

-------------

T'Pol entered the Captain's quarters. "You wished to see me?"

Archer looked up, smiling. "Take a look at this," he said, and turned his display monitor so that she could see.

"Readings from the shuttlepod explosion," T'Pol stated.

"Now watch this," Archer said, and pushed a button. "These are transporter readouts when we briefly managed to snag Trip and Malcolm. Those include medical readouts too. About three years ago, Trip and I were scaling mountains in the Arizona region. One of his cables broke and he had a bad tumble. Cost him quite a scar."

"And your point?" T'Pol asked.

"It's on the wrong arm," Archer said. "That day when Malcolm had his leg broken because of the mine-it's not on the medical readings at all! I've located at least thirty-odd things that don't match their profiles. I can't be sure, but...it looks like Malcolm has a missing eye in this reading."

T'Pol looked up. "The readings could be damaged as well."

"Maybe," Archer agreed. "Or maybe...we had locked onto another signal. From another Trip and Malcolm."

"Captain, are you suggesting that another Commander Tucker and another Lieutenant Reed appeared in the shuttlepod moments before it exploded and we failed to lock onto them?" T'Pol asked, and Archer could certainly hear the doubt in her voice.

"Not only that, but that our people beamed to their ship at the same time," Archer said.

"Then where are they now?" T'Pol asked.

Archer stood. "I know it doesn't sound possible, but what if there was another Enterprise that beamed all four signals to their ship?"

"Captain, what you are suggesting is similar to a parallel reality, something that the science directory has long since discarded on Vulcan," T'Pol said.

"Maybe so," Archer said. He looked up. "Scan for any spacial anomalies in this system."

"That could take some time," T'Pol mentioned.

"We're not in a hurry, Sub-commander," Archer said. "Get to work."

----------------------

T'Pol entered the Captain's quarters. Instantly her Vulcan eyes noticed that it was dark in the room save for the glow of candlelight. Soft music played in the background, and food was set out on the table. For two people. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, Sub-commander." Archer gestured. "Come sit down."

T'Pol did so. Reluctantly.

"We've know each other for how long, Sub-commander?"

A pause. "Almost three years," T'Pol replied.

Archer was smiling. "We are the first starship to ever be launched from Earth. I don't know about you, but lately I've been thinking a lot about how significant that is. We're going to be in the history books, but before that happens, I would like to improve our standing relationship between us, T'Pol. Would you like some wine?"

"Vulcans...do not drink intoxications."

"You will tonight, Sub-commander. That's an order." He poured her the wine.

T'Pol looked down. "Our...standing relationship, and the one between Earth and the Vulcans has always been based on fear. That will never change. I will be eager for my tour of duty to be over."

"Eagerness is an emotion," Archer said. "I thought Vulcans didn't experience emotion."

"I've been inspired," T'Pol replied, meeting his eyes for the first time.

Archer's smile didn't waver as he stood. "Relax, Sub-commander. This is an informal meeting."

T'Pol sighed. "You seem...quite pleased with yourself."

"I've had a good day," Archer said, standing behind her.

T'Pol was uneasy because she couldn't see him. "Commander Tucker does not deserve your anger."

"It's what I want." Archer undid her hair so that it was down to her shoulders. "I always get what I want."

T'Pol stood. "Cap-"

"T'Pol," Archer interrupted, gripping her shoulders. "May I call you T'Pol? Things have always been so formal between us. I'd like that to change."

T'Pol backed away until she hit the wall. "I should return to my duties."

Archer touched her shoulder. "You are so beautiful. Tell me, how are Vulcans intimate?"

"You...were married, sir," T'Pol said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Archer looked down and sighed. "I was, T'Pol. But I've grieved long enough." He moved forwards to kiss her.

T'Pol looked up. "No!" She pushed him away. With her Vulcan strength Archer fell backwards against the table. T'Pol backed away.

Archer straightened, and looked down. "I'm disappointed," he said. "But not really surprised." He brushed past her and slammed the door control. The doors opened. Breathing hard, T'Pol stepped out.

"By the way," Archer said casually, stopping her. "I just received orders from the Empire. You should know that they've decided that they no longer need the help of the Vulcans. In two days there'll be an attack on your home world. A shuttle will be arriving to send you back, since I assume you'll want to evacuate your family." He touched the switch again. "Good-night." The doors closed in her face.

-----------------

Lying on the bench with his chin propped against his arm, Trip opened his eyes.

Immediately he noticed that he wasn't alone. He was, in fact, in a cell with thirty people. Many of them were wearing Starfleet uniforms, but they were torn and dirty. Some of the people were injured and moaning in pain. More were entering the cell as he stood. How badly they were hurt, Trip couldn't tell. He approached the very front, where Hoshi was prodding them along with a phaser. "What's going on?" Trip asked.

"Mutineers," Hoshi replied. "They were found on a transport ship. Including someone who supports your story." She activated the force field and left.

On the other side of the room Malcolm pushed through the crowds of people. He recognized most of them now, Ensigns and Lieutenants and some of his very own security staff. It was hard to tell at first because of the disheveled hair, stubble, and deeply tanned skin. All of them were glaring at Malcolm but no one made a move towards him because, as Malcolm had figured himself, he was nearing the leader of this little resistance anyway. As he stepped through the crowd a small circle yielded before him, and Malcolm saw just who their leader exactly was.

Talking quietly to a sobbing Ensign was another identical Charles Tucker. At the moment, Tucker was trying to fix the woman's leg. Tucker was still clean shaven, but wore a blue undershirt and had far more muscles then his twin, muscles that could have only come from years of a harsher lifestyle. "Does this hurt?" he asked the Ensign gently.

Malcolm stepped forwards. "Commander?" he whispered in astonishment.

A mistake. Tucker's fist instantly connected with the side of Malcolm's jaw. Malcolm was hurled backwards. With a sneer Tucker stood, took out his phase pistol attached to the side of his belt and pointed it at Malcolm.

Trip threw himself in front of Malcolm. "Now wait!" he shouted. "Just hold on a sec!"

It was Tucker's first actual look at his double. He stared at Trip for a long moment. "What the hell-?" he finally managed to whisper.

"It's a trick, sir," an ensign female with red hair said, wearing a bandana.

"Damn good one," Tucker managed to say.

"It could be a Suliban!" said a man persistently. "They can alter their appearance."

"We're not Suliban!" Trip interrupted, waving his hands. "Everyone just...calm down for a minute!"

"Who are you?" Tucker demanded.

That made Trip glare at him. "I'm Commander Charles Tucker currently stationed aboard Enterprise. Who are you?"

Tucker stared back at him.

"Commanders," Malcolm interrupted, standing. "I've had basic medical training. I can fix that woman's leg!"

For a long moment Tucker appeared to consider. Then he tilted his head slightly, as close to an acceptance as possible, Malcolm figured. He hurried over to the woman.

"I'm not a Commander anymore, Malcolm," Tucker said. "Just call me Tucker."

Trip took a deep breath as he stood. "I know this sounds impossible, but we're from an...an alternate reality. One that is much more pleasant then this, I might add."

Tucker and the other rebels stared doubtfully at each other.

"It's the truth!" Trip snapped angrily. "We arrived here from a shuttlepod accident and people here seem to think that I'm you, God help me. They've been torturing me ever since. And I for one would like to know what I did to piss Captain Archer off so much."

Tucker hesitated and looked at Malcolm. Massaging his jaw, Malcolm also appeared curious. Tucker lowered his head. "All right. I'll buy your story. For now. I'm the one in charge of the rebels, people who have been defying the empire ever since well,...longer then I can remember."

"Sir," the Ensign whimpered as Malcolm helped her. "Don't tell them anything."

Tucker considered briefly, then tossed the thought aside. "I'm not telling them anything that history doesn't already know." He paused. "There are a lot of bad people on this ship, but there were a lot of good ones too. When I thought I had enough...surely more then half, we tried to take over."

"Then what?" Trip asked.

"Let's just say that it didn't work out," Tucker replied, with a trace of bitterness. "We were caught. Most of us were killed. Others, like me, managed to escape. But Captain Archer's well....he can be pretty relentless. He's been chasing us from world to world, for...how many months?"

"Twenty-eight, sir," supplied a Lieutenant, a man whom Malcolm remembered as having a photographic memory.

"Twenty-eight," Tucker agreed. "Captain Archer cut us off from all habitual worlds. Most of the ones we went to had a desert terrain. Survival wasn't always easy, but we persevered. Until the Captain of a transport ship sent a message to Enterprise, that is, and they picked us up right away like cattle."

"If you're a wanted criminal, how in the hells did you get a phase pistol!?" Malcolm threw at Tucker. Trip had to smile. Even in the midst of a crises, the first thing Malcolm had to worry about was security efficiency.

Tucker shrugged. "I payed the guard to look the other way," he said, as though that should have been obvious. He took the pistol out. "It's fully charged. When the guard comes through the force field, we'll use it on him. If that doesn't work, then we'll use it on ourselves."

"With all due respect, Mr. Tucker, lining up one at a time to shoot yourselves doesn't seem like a very sensible plan," Malcolm said.

"Better then whatever Captain Archer has in store for us," Tucker said. Several people nodded in agreement.

Before Malcolm could reply Hoshi and Reed entered the room, this time with a full security detail. Quickly Tucker gave the phase pistol to someone else. Hoshi touched the button, and the force field vanished. She looked at Tucker. "Come with me."

Tucker smiled a little. "And if I choose not to?"

Reed wasn't in the mood to argue the point. He fired his weapon and stunned Tucker.

Two security guards and Reed entered the cell. All the rebels backed away as they lifted the semi-unconscious Tucker. Trip stood. "Where are you taking him?" he demanded.

"The agony booth," Reed replied with another small smile.

Trip stepped forwards. "Now wait!"

"Stay out of it!" Tucker snarled in a garbled voice.

Trip touched Reed's shoulder. "Hold on a sec-"

Automatically Reed lifted his phase rifle and smashed it against Trip's skull. Trip felt himself fly backwards and hit the floor with a grunt. He could feel Malcolm shaking him, calling his name.

Then darkness.

--------------------

T'Pol turned in her chair. "Captain," she said.

"What is it?" Archer asked.

"I've detected some very unusual readings five hundred kilometers from us," T'Pol said.

Archer turned to the view screen. "Let's see it," he ordered.

T'Pol activated the controls. The view screen displayed a purple void.

"Readings," Archer ordered.

"It appears to be a vortex leading to another section of space."

"Or...another reality," Archer said, looking at T'Pol.

"However, the vortex is currently in the final process of collapsing."

"How long?" Archer asked.

T'Pol consulted her readings. "Almost two hours," she said.

The com beeped. "Sickbay to Captain Archer."

Archer activated it. "Archer here."

"I need to see you in sick bay, as soon as possible," Dr. Phlox said.

Archer looked up. "Now...isn't exactly the best time, Doctor."

"Nevertheless, I insist. I believe that it relates to our...current situation."

-------------------

Trip was still unconscious several hours after they brought Tucker back. Malcolm sat protectively next to him. A few officers, or should he say ex-officers were glaring at him. Malcolm didn't bother to strike up conversation. Commander Tucker, at least his version of Commander Tucker, was partially a diplomat and was still looking for a peaceful, reasonable solution out of this situation. Malcolm, on the other hand, was a soldier at heart. His eyes watched for any escape, any way to manipulate his environment to his advantage.

Before they were thrown in the agony booth.

With a sigh Malcolm stood and stared at the security field. He himself had made a similar design a few months back, but it was nothing compared to what trapped him now. A lot of power had to be generating it. For a long moment he analyzed it, looking for possible weaknesses.

"Those ain't from your universe?" a voice asked behind him. Malcolm turned in surprise and saw the other Tucker sitting next to Trip. Tucker was clearly in pain.

"Are you all right?" Malcolm asked.

Tucker shrugged, looking at the scars running down his arm. "Ain't nothing they haven't already done to me already." He glanced at his sleeping twin for a moment. "I wouldn't have done the same for him," he said, as though desperately wanting to emphasize that fact.

Malcolm said nothing.

"He ain't nothing like me," Tucker pressed. "Sounds like he had the good life, all the breaks. Me, I do what I have to to stay alive. If that includes killing you and him I won't hesitate!"

Malcolm folded his arms. "Understood, sir," he said coldly. He looked around. "I'm curious, Mr. Tucker. On the bridge Captain Archer mentioned something about you...being already dead?"

A smile lit Tucker's face, the first he had seen on Trip's duplicate. "Should have been. Only took a full phaser blast from Captain Archer at point-blank range."

"How did you manage to escape that?"

"Malcolm," Trip replied. "He switched phasers with Captain Archer when the Captain wasn't looking. It was only set on quarter-power. Knocked me out for a couple of hours, but I was all right."

Malcolm stared at him in astonishment. "Huh. Then maybe my duplicate isn't such a bad man after all."

Tucker shook his head. "That was a long time ago, Malcolm, and that was before a rebel took out one of his eyes. I doubt he's anything like you now."

"How did it become like this, anyway!? How did Starfleet decompose so badly?"

"Starfleet?" Tucker echoed, his eyebrow raised. "There's no such thing. This is the high-and-mighty glorious Empire, Malcolm!" He released a long breath and looked up. "And this here's her pride and joy. When Zefram Cochrane discovered warp drive and the Vulcans came to Earth? He saw them as a race that he could easily screw around with." Tucker had to laugh. "All this time the Vulcans thought they were delaying our potential to leave Earth, when in fact we were delaying them! Waiting for exactly the right moment to strike." He snapped his fingers. "And they did. I heard things from the guards. There's going to be an attack on Vulcan. Couple of hours on that place and you won't want to be there."

Malcolm blinked and straightened. "Well, we have to stop them."

Tucker stared at him. "Excuse me?"

Malcolm looked down. "Fine. I'll stop them, since no one here has the courage to pick up a rifle." He looked up. "If I can get out of this god-forsaken cell, that is."

"Yeah. You stopping the empire. That'll be the day," Tucker said.

Malcolm stared at him. "You have to believe in a future, sir. Something better."

Tucker stared back at him, perfectly serious. "There is no future for us."

The doors opened with a hiss. Malcolm turned around in surprise. This time it was Captain Archer himself. He gestured at the unconscious Trip and Malcolm. "Take them."

The security guards took Trip and Malcolm and led them away.

----------

A little more awake now, Trip watched as Captain Archer circled around him and Malcolm. They were both handcuffed hand and foot. Trip wasn't exactly sure where they were, except in a very dark room. "I'm only going to ask you one last time," Archer said calmly. "I want to know where you've been. Any enemies you've encountered that have given you problems. The coordinates of other inhabited worlds!"

Trip and Malcolm both looked at each other and said nothing.

"I'm waiting," Archer said, folding his arms.

"With all due respect Captain," Trip said slowly. He looked up at Archer. "Sod off."

Archer smiled a little.

The next minute Malcolm felt a wave of pain explode into his skull. Malcolm bore it as long as he could with bit lips. He finally closed his eyes from the pain. Trip cringed from watching. "All right, I get the point. Stop it!" he threw at Archer.

Abruptly the pain vanished. Taking a deep breath, Malcolm looked up.

Archer approached and patted Trip on the shoulder. "Commander Tucker's fate is sealed. However, it doesn't have to be the same for you, Malcolm. You always been a man that listens to authority. I know it must kill you right now to have no one to command you. You've always been a good officer, Malcolm. Therefore, I'm asking you, join me. Help serve the glory of the Empire you've loved so much."

Malcolm glanced at Trip. Trip nodded, ever so slightly. Malcolm looked up. "All right. What do I have to do?"

Archer's smile grew. "Release him."

They removed Malcolm's bindings and helped him stand. The doors opened, and a small woman entered the dark room. Malcolm recognized her as one of the rebels. Archer nodded, and a security officer gave Malcolm a phase pistol. "Kill her," Archer ordered.

Malcolm hesitated, holding the phase pistol. The woman stared at him in fear. Fear, Malcolm thought. Was that really how he wanted people to perceive him in this universe? He knew that this had to be a trick. There was no possible way that Captain Archer would have given him a loaded phase pistol. If he fired it at the woman, it would be blank. The woman wouldn't die, and he would certainly earn Captain Archer's trust.

But...what if it was loaded? What if he did fire and it did kill the Ensign? It would be a mistake, but...how would others perceive him then? How would his version of Commander Tucker judge him? Maybe Captain Archer did give him a loaded phase pistol, knowing that would happen.

"Malcolm," Archer prompted.

Malcolm swallowed, and looked down at the phase pistol. There was only really one choice. "I serve Starfleet...sir. Not the Empire." He turned the weapon on Archer. "And not you." He aimed and fired. The phase pistol beeped a negative.

Trip, who was in the process of ducking, looked up in astonishment.

"Malcolm," Archer said gently. "Did you really think I would be so stupid as to give you a loaded pistol?"

The security officers closed in around Malcolm.

----------------------

Tucker waited anxiously by the force field as Trip entered the room, half-carrying Malcolm. "We heard what you did," Tucker said as they went into the cell. He helped Trip with Malcolm. "We've got medical supplies. Not much, but it should help."

They set Malcolm down against the wall. "Malcolm, are you okay?" Trip demanded.

Malcolm favored him with a little smile as the scanner ran over him. "I've suffered worse, sir." He coughed.

Trip heard the doors open again. He lowered his head. "Now what?" he wondered angrily. He turned and stood. Everyone suddenly did as well and were very silent. Tucker's body tensed. Curiosity made Malcolm attempt to stand up to see what they were so interested in.

"You're dismissed," T'Pol said to the guards.

"Well, well," Tucker said. "If it isn't Sub-commander T'Pol herself."

T'Pol said nothing at this. She began to pace outside the force field.

"A little late to be probing your conscience, isn't it? Assuming you Vulcans have any!" Tucker snapped at her. "Since it worked so well for you the first time!"

"Commander?" Malcolm inquired to Tucker.

"We were leading a revolution, Malcolm!" Tucker shouted. "We could have taken down Archer and the rest of them! Except this Vulcan bitch told him our plans. She watched as they slowly tortured us, one by one. Some of us didn't live through the process, remember, T'Pol? Like Travis!?"

"I wasn't thinking about myself!" T'Pol snapped at him, her cool resolve broken. She stepped closer until she and Tucker were almost eye-to-eye. "Even if your plan had succeeded, it would have served no purpose! Earth would have destroyed my home world and billions of Vulcans would have died!"

"Wouldn't that be a shame," Tucker retorted sarcastically. "You know, since your plan worked out so well, Vulcan should have nothing to worry about. Hm, just what am I forgetting? Oh, I remember. Vulcan's going to be destroyed anyhow." Tucker stared at her coldly. "And for once Captain Archer and I are in perfect agreement. I won't be sorry to see that place gone."

T'Pol looked away. "I didn't come here for you." She bent down into a crouching position. "You two, I've come for," she whispered.

"Can you help us?" Malcolm whispered back.

"Yes, I believe your story," T'Pol said. "I've contact the high command and the Vulcan Science dictator believes that parallel realities are a very likely, very real possibility." She was silent for a moment. "I want to help you escape."

Tucker snorted in disbelief.

Trip easily confessed to not being an expert on parallel realities, but looking into Sub-Commander's eyes he saw nothing but sincerity. "How?" he asked.

"I know you have a charged phaser in your possession," T'Pol said. "Look under your foot, Ensign Grendal." A surprised Ensign did so, revealing a small hidden floor plating. They opened it, revealing an empty compartment.

"There are two auxiliary sockets," T'Pol said. "Aim the phaser directly into the port socket and fire on maximum power. That should disrupt the force field." She stood. "Letting you all out is an unfortunate necessity to my plan. I may not agree with Captain Archer's policies but I do agree that there are certain types of people that should be locked up." Her eyes briefly locked with Tucker as she said this. She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Trip called out. He shrugged in disbelief. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

T'Pol only stared at him.

"Because you don't belong here," Tucker answered for her. "You didn't ask for this. Each of us have some reason for being on this ship, even the Sub-Commander here. Whether or not our reasons changed later is irrelevant. We made the mistake, but at least we had the choice. You didn't."

For a moment, a look of understand flashed between their eyes. "You will have to deal with the guards. I can only hope that you have a far better level of discreetness then my Mr. Tucker," T'Pol said to them before she left.

-----------------

Tucker lowered the phaser into the auxiliary socket and charged it to full power. "Okay, everyone get back from the force field!" Tucker shouted over the noise. Everyone did so as much as they were able to. Tucker fired the phase pistol. With an explosion of sparks the force field disappeared. The doors opened and three security guards rushed in, firing. They were only able to hit one or two people before the rebels reached them.

Malcolm grabbed the weapon from the hands of one of the officers and smashed the butt of it against the man's skull. The other two were quickly dispatched. Tucker grabbed another phase rifle and peered out of the door. He quickly withdrew his head. "Two guards approaching from the hall," he said.

Malcolm nodded silently. Tucker held his phase rifle. "On three. One...two..."

At three, Malcolm and Tucker ran out the door. Malcolm ducked, dived, and rolled, firing his phase rifle in a half-crouch at the startled guard. Tucker's aim was perfect. Both guards collapsed.

"Come on!" Tucker shouted. The doors opened, and the rest of the rebels stepped out, Trip helping to carry a wounded Ensign. He gave her to someone else and bent down, taking a phase pistol from one of the fallen guards.

Tucker turned to Trip. "Shuttlecraft control is on deck eight. We're heading to the bridge."

"We should stick together!" Trip said.

"I don't think so," Tucker said. "You do your own thing and we'll do ours."

"What will you do?" Malcolm asked.

Tucker smiled and lifted his phase rifle. "Maybe create a better future."

"Well...good luck then," Trip said.

With a small smile Tucker gestured, and he and the rest of the rebels ran down the hall.

Trip and Malcolm hurried the other way. "We have to get back to the shuttlepod, and get off this ship," Trip said.

Malcolm touched the agonizer attached to his temple. "With the Captain able to kill us with a flip of a switch? I don't think so," he said. He pressed the turbolift button. "We have got to get these off somehow."

Trip thought quickly as the blue light from the turbolift danced across his face. "Sickbay," he said. "It's our only hope." The turbolift arrived.

They stepped through. Malcolm pressed the button. "If Dr. Phlox is anything like the people in this reality we can hardly expect him to cooperate. What do you propose we do?"

"We have to convince him somehow. Or get them off ourselves. I dunno," Trip said. The turbolift jerked to a stop. The doors opened and they entered the hallway.

Malcolm held his palm up for Trip to be quiet, and cautiously approached the corridor. He bent down and grabbed a piece of debris and tossed it in the opposite corridor. A security guard turned and instinctively headed towards the noise. Malcolm crept behind him and slammed his elbow against the guard's head. The guard crumpled to the ground. Malcolm stared at him. "Crewman Dales. Very sloppy." He bent down and retrieved two phase pistols. He tossed one to Trip.

"Set phase pistols to stun," Trip ordered.

Malcolm attempted to do so. For a moment he thought it was jammed. He looked up. "It's only got the kill setting!"

"Oh, great," Trip said sarcastically. The two quickly approached on the opposite ends of the glass Sickbay doors. Malcolm nodded silently. Trip tightened his grip on the phase pistol. Malcolm pressed the controls and the doors opened.

As one, they ran inside with phase pistols drawn.

Dr. Phlox glanced up from the table. "Good morning, Lieutenant and Commander!" he said cheerfully. "I trust you're feeling well?"

Trip and Malcolm approached. Cautiously.

"You should know that I've disabled all the cameras in sickbay. Few people rarely visit here anyways, but one can never be too careful," Dr. Phlox said with a small giggle. "One would think that this crew was trying to avoid my duplicate in this reality. I can't imagine why." He moved past them towards the cabinets. "Best to get those things off you as soon as possible. I know what they can do."

Malcolm said nothing for a long moment. "Doctor?" he managed to ask.

Trip lowered his phase pistol. "You're...our doctor? From our reality?"

"But how?" Malcolm asked.

"There's a number of things you don't know about my species, Lieutenant, things that are best considered private," Dr. Phlox said. "I felt the imbalance in this...universe from my sickbay and alerted Captain Archer immediately of your situation." As he spoke he applied a hand device to the side of Malcolm's head. "He and Sub-commander T'Pol have been working on a solution to your dilemma and when they found an answer I was supposed to transmit it to you by...crossing over, so to speak. There we are!" he said. With a small 'pop' the angonizer bounced into Malcolm's hand.

"But what about your duplicate, doc?" Trip had to ask as Dr. Phlox worked on him.

"No doubt he is enjoying the grand treasures of our reality from inside my heavily secured quarters," Dr. Phlox said with another chuckle. "Captain Archer and T'Pol say that the only way to bring you back-hold still, Commander!-is to re-create the accident, so to speak. You have to take the same shuttlepod from this universe and send it off to the same coordinates when you were attacked, which is, back into the void."

"But we started in this Enterprise's engineering," Tucker said as his agonizer fell onto the floor.

"And hopefully, you should end there in ours," Dr. Phlox said, turning off his scanner. "In theory, that is. Sub-Commander T'Pol believes that you should return...hm, roughly a hundred cubic meters near engineering, more or less."

"Doctor, a hundred cubic meters to the left or right of engineering in either direction is open space!" Malcolm protested.

"Can't we just leave with you?" Trip demanded.

Dr. Phlox shook his head. "I'm afraid not. To do so, for humans, would mean almost certain death. Mind you, this plan isn't that much better. Well, anyway, let's try to think in the positive, shall we?" Dr. Phlox added with a smile as he handed Trip a data pad. "Now, here are the coordinates and the exact time that Captain Archer will try to beam you out. It will be best not to be late. If you can maneuver past my torture devices there you'll find a crawlspace that'll take you straight to the same level as shuttlepod control."

Malcolm moved past him and opened the crawlspace. It was a narrow squeeze. He crawled through. Before he joined him Trip hesitated and looked up at the Doctor.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Commander," Dr. Phlox said with a dismissing wave of his hand. "I can make my own way back, same way as I came in."

Trip nodded. "See that you do," he said, and followed Malcolm.

---------------------

Fighting aside a wave of enclosed phobia, Malcolm turned his head. "We can't go yet."

"What!?" Tucker asked.

"Commander, they're launching an attack against the Vulcans!" Malcolm said. "We've got to stop them before they do so."

"We're hardly in the position to be mounting an insurrection, Malcolm." Trip consulted the data pad Phlox gave him. "We have about...forty minutes before whatever we passed through collapses in on itself. We don't have time to take over the entire ship."

"We might not have to." Malcolm said as he continued to crawl. "I overheard the guards talking about it. They have some kind of...weapon, able to incinerate entire planets. It's just one deck above this one. If we destroy it, it should make their job a lot more difficult." They maneuvered out of the crawlspace into an empty hall. "It's worth a chance," Malcolm implored.

Trip was shaking his head. "This isn't our war, Malcolm. No matter what we do here it will have absolutely no impact on our universe. Plus a weapon like that is sure to be heavily guarded-"

"It's a risk, sir. I know."

"Damn big one." Trip looked away. "My duplicate said that we didn't belong here. I'm beginning to think that he's right. We don't know anything about what happened in this universe to make everything...so wrong. For all we know, the Vulcans created this Empire. They might deserve this weapon launched on them. Hell, we don't even know that if destroying this weapon will have any impact on what's going to happen to them-"

Malcolm looked up. "I know that too, sir. But it's the right thing to do."

A pause. Trip looked away, smiling slightly. "Yeah. I suppose it is." Trip consulted the data pad. Thirty-three minutes. He activated a door control, which opened the doors to a room with a ladder leading to the above decks. Trip gestured. "After you."

--------------------------------

"Time," Archer ordered.

T'Pol consulted her readings. "Thirty minutes. The ship is close enough to the void for a beginning analysis of the other reality. I'm able to detect another Enterprise, but no signs of a shuttlepod launch yet."

Archer said nothing for a moment. "Can we send a message through the void to Trip and Malcolm? Or beam them out right away off from Enterprise?"

T'Pol shook her head. "There's too much interference."

Archer folded his arms. "What about the Enterprise ship itself? Can we contact them?" he asked.

"We'd have to move in closer," T'Pol replied.

"Do it," Archer ordered.

----------------------------

Trip and Malcolm stopped suddenly in the hall and backtracked as they heard footsteps approach them. "Is this the only way?" Trip asked.

Malcolm nodded, and lifted the phase pistol. "I guess there's going to have be casualties in this, Commander."

Trip gripped his arm. "Malcolm, no! They're our own people," he ordered. He looked behind him. "Come on."

A few seconds later the security guards approached and looked down. Two phase pistols were laying on the ground propped next to each other. A steady whine was building. A blinding flash, and both of the guards fell.

Trip and Malcolm quickly relived them of their weapons. "We can safely assume that the schematics on this ship is the same as our Enterprise?" Tucker asked Malcolm.

Malcolm nodded. "From what I've seen, everything appears exactly the same. In which case the armory isn't too far away. That's where the weapon is being stored." Malcolm lifted up something from the floor. "This looks like a...stun grenade. Should come in handy."

And it did, a minute later against the guards to the armory. Malcolm dragged the bodies inside the room, which was thankfully unguarded. The entire armory was one enclosed space with a metal ladder leading upwards to a second level. There were weapons, but they were locked up behind security cabinets. Trip looked up. On the second level he could see something in the form of a very complex laser. "There's the weapon right there." He stepped forwards.

Immediately a discharge to his right made him jump backwards. It narrowly missed him. Malcolm immediately took out his phase pistol. Out of the shadows Reed stepped forwards, holding a phase rifle. He wore a black-leather sleeveless uniform with the insignia of the Empire, a symbol which Malcolm was fast beginning to despise.

"Commander," Malcolm said, very slowly. "Get to work on destroying the weapon. I can handle this."

Trip stared at him doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

"Oh yes," Malcolm said. The two Malcolm Reeds were holding weapons pointed right at each other and seemed to be ignoring Trip's presence entirely. "You said it yourself, there's not much time."

Trip coughed. "Right. I'll just be-" He ran up the ladder before Reed had a chance to change his mind.

"You escaped," Reed said.

"Did you have any doubts!?" Malcolm sneered.

"No," Reed said with a larger smile. "Absolutely none." A pause. "Let's settle this man-to-man, shall we? No phasers. That way, each of us will have a chance."

Malcolm considered. "You've got more muscles then I do."

Reed smiled. "I didn't say it would be a fair fight. I just said that you would have a chance."

Malcolm considered, and finally nodded a little. With weapons, there was an equal probability that they would both be shot. At least this way he might be able to even the score a little. Both of them slowly lowered the weapons onto the floor, carefully and equally. And stepped away.

Above Trip reached the massive machine. Looking nervously at the two Malcolm Reeds, he quickly keyed in the blueprints for the weapon.

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. He had very extensive security training. Maybe his duplicate hadn't. But any hopes for an edge vanished as Reed reached for something in his belt. He withdrew a long, jagged knife. "We agreed on no phasers," Reed said with a small smile. "But everything else is fair play."

Malcolm took a deep breath, and dived towards Reed, tackling his feet. Both tumbled to the ground. Malcolm followed through with a punch to Reed's face. And another.

Reed chuckled, and caught Malcolm's fist with his hand and kicked him away. Malcolm hit a counter, wincing. Both men struggled to their feet, Reed with a bloody nose.

Reed lifted his knife and twirled it with expert skill. He lunged towards Malcolm and slashed viciously to the left, and to the right. Malcolm avoided both only just in time. The third he wasn't so lucky and the knife nicked him just under the eye. Malcolm touched the cut.

Reed grinned. "Had enough?"

In response, Malcolm grabbed Reed and hurled them both forwards. Reed crashed straight into another cabinet and fell to the ground. Quickly Malcolm grabbed the nearest thing on the counter-which turned out to be a coffee maker-and hurled it downwards. It erupted over Reed's head in a shower of sparks. Reed fell to the ground.

Malcolm stepped back, and his eyes briefly locked with Trip's. Trip shook a negative. He needed more time to disable the weapon

With a strangled cry Reed got to his feet, still clutching the knife. His blue eye burned with fury. He stepped forwards and slashed at Malcolm. Malcolm expertly blocked. But Reed's foot came out of nowhere and connected with Malcolm's ribs. Malcolm wasn't prepared for it. The air was driven out of him and he fell to his knees. Then, Reed made a swift motion and Malcolm lurched backwards. At first, Malcolm couldn't understand why....until he looked down. The knife had been plunged into him. All the way through.

Droplets of blood rolled down his blue uniform.

Malcolm gripped the arm holding the knife-a useless gesture. His vision swam with pain. He couldn't draw in a breath, couldn't call for help. He could only look up at his duplicate.

"You were sloppy, old boy. You should have pressed that advantage when you had the chance." Reed said. Then, he slowly twisted the knife, and what Malcolm felt before was nothing compared to what he felt now. Darkness approached. Was this death? Malcolm wondered.

The corner of Reed's mouth lifted. "I win."

-----------------

Just when Malcolm was certain he was going to pass out, the weight suddenly lifted. The knife went out of him. Malcolm drew in a quick breath. However, any hope of reprieve were soon gone when Reed grabbed him by the shoulders and hurled him face-first into an empty computer screen. Malcolm's head exploded with pain.

On the second deck Trip heard the noise and turned, and leaned over the railing. "Malcolm!" he shouted.

With a snarl etched on his face Reed picked up the phase rifle from the floor and fired it upwards. Trip ducked just in time.

Reed turned back. He suddenly realized that Malcolm had disappeared. He turned around to see his duplicate holding a phase pistol behind him.

Malcolm took a deep, shuddering breath. The knife had entered into his left shoulder, so it wasn't as bad as he initially feared. "I'm going to give you only one chance," he said to his duplicate. "We're leaving when we destroy that machine. Just stand there and don't follow us out the door."

Reed sneered. "If you are anything like me then you would already know the answer to that."

Yes, Malcolm did. He was a man of honor who would never abandon his duty. Apparently Reed was too, for he launched himself right at Malcolm. Malcolm closed his eyes and fired. The beam hit Reed straight in the chest and he fell to the ground, his blue eye starring lifelessly at his duplicate. Malcolm slid to the ground, against the wall.

"Come on, come on," Trip muttered. The schematics keyed in the location of the power source. "Yes!" Trip said, and he went to the machine, found where it was and yanked it out. The machine powered down with a hum. Trip stepped back and lifted his phase pistol. He fired, and the machine was no more. As an extra precaution, Trip wiped the data bank clean of the blueprints before daring to look down. Reed was on the ground, and Malcolm wasn't all that much better. He was sitting with pools of blood around him, gripping his shoulder. "Malcolm," Trip whispered, and ran down the metal steps to his side. "Are you all right?"

"I've been better," Malcolm replied.

"Hang on." Trip found a first-aid kit attached to the wall, and yanked it off. He injected Malcolm with a hypospray he was pretty sure he could trust. "This should stabilize you until we get to Enterprise." Carefully, with expert precision he bandaged Malcolm's shoulder. "What about the other one?"

"He's dead," Malcolm said with an odd tone in his voice. "I killed myself."

Trip looked up. "That's gotta be one for the history books." He helped Malcolm stand up. "Better?"

Malcolm nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

A sudden noise made them both jump. A large panel was blinking red. "Red alert! Red alert! All security personal to level seven armory!" They heard over the ship-wide intercom.

"We must have triggered an alarm!" Trip said, studying the red panel.

"Well, switch it off!" Malcolm snapped.

"It's too late now! Everyone on the blasted ship would have heard that! Unless we can think of something fast we're going to be involved in one very messy firefight!"

"Against the whole crew sir...we wouldn't win." Malcolm looked down, and looked up. "Commander...I think I've got an idea."

---------------------

Just as security reached the armory the doors opened, and a leather-clad, one-eyed Malcolm Reed prodded a handcuffed Trip along. "The intruders staged a little break-out. Managed to get this one. Had to kill the other, unfortunately."

The guards looked past his shoulder to see a Malcolm Reed laying stretched on the ground wearing a blue uniform. His face was partially hidden in the shadows. The guards stared doubtfully at Malcolm.

"Do you dare question me?" Malcolm snarled. "Dear me, security has certainly become lapsed in the past couple of hours. I wonder how these two got out in the first place. Maybe I've been too easy in ...disciplinary action lately."

That got their attention. The guards thumped their clenched fists against their shoulders twice and extended their arms-an odd salute, Trip thought.

"Right," Malcolm growled, and shoved Trip forwards.

"I think you had to salute back, Malcolm," Trip whispered.

"I don't care," Malcolm muttered back. "I'm not saluting anything these people stand for."

"How are we doing for time?" Trip whispered.

"We haven't got a lot left, sir," Malcolm sighed.

They came across another security officer. Malcolm immediately smacked Trip against the back of the head. "Hurry up-I haven't got all day!"

The security officer left towards the armory with barely a backwards glance. "Malcolm," Trip growled. "I'm beginning to think you're enjoying this."

Malcolm chuckled despite himself. "Maybe just a little."

--------------------------

They were outside the cargo bay doors. Immediately Malcolm yanked off his eyepatch, glad to be rid of it. Trip undid the false handcuffs with a snap and dropped them to the floor. "We have to make sure to take the right shuttlecraft-shuttlepod," Trip corrected himself. He opened the doors.

Immediately thirty weapons greeted them. The rebels. At the sight of Malcolm they aimed-

"Woah, wait!" Trip snapped, holding up his hands. "It's us!"

The rebels visibly relaxed. Tucker lowered his phase pistol. "You again! What are you doing here?"

"Me? What about you?" Trip demanded. "I thought you were on the way to the bridge!"

"It's barricaded off!" Tucker snapped angrily. "We're trying to find a way off this ship." The rebel leader lowered his head, considering. "This reality that you both belong to," he began. "Is it any better then this one?"

"Based on what I've seen, yes," Malcolm replied.

"Think there's room in that reality for about thirty more?" Tucker asked.

Trip smiled a little. "The shuttle will be a little cramped, but yeah, I think we can arrange it."

"Commander!?" Malcolm stared in astonishment. "Sir, I know there's no starfleet protocol for dealing with parallel realities but if there is then this would certainly be against it!"

"I'm not leaving these people here, Malcolm," Trip said firmly. "They've been through enough."

"Besides, Malcolm," Tucker said, grinning. "I'm the one who's holding the phaser." Without waiting for a reply he made for the shuttlepod.

Malcolm checked the time. "Phase pistol," he said. "It's called a bloody phase pistol!"

A minute later they were waiting in the cargo bay as the shuttlepod powered up. From outside the shuttle Trip checked the readings with his scanner. "Shuttle's prepped. Ready to go!" he said.

"Finally," Malcolm said.

The doors suddenly opened, and Archer entered with a full security patrol, holding a phase pistol. "No one's going anywhere!" he snapped.

Malcolm reached his weapon, but they were soon surrounded by dozens of officers.

"Everyone get on board!" Trip ordered desperately.

"The first person who steps into that shuttle will be thrown into outer space," Archer said calmly. "Drop your weapons. Or I'll order this whole section depressurized."

Malcolm and Trip glanced at each other and silently tossed their weapons to the ground. Everyone else quickly followed them.

Archer gestured to the security detail. "Get them out of here."

Within seconds, Trip and Malcolm were seized and hauled out of the cargo bay with everyone else. As they left it suddenly occurred to Malcolm that he hadn't seen Trip's duplicate among them. From the ventilation shaft Tucker watched everybody leave, his blue eyes narrowing.

-----------------

Their hands tied behind their back, Malcolm and Trip were kneeled at the end of a long line-up on the bridge floor. Archer was pacing slowly in front of all of them, a phase rifle in his hand.

"I'm disappointed in all of you," Archer said, addressing the entire row of people. "You were once my crew. My friends. I trusted you with my life and my ship. And you choose this path instead."

Trip stared at the chronometer. They had only fifteen minutes before the vortex collapsed. It would take ten minutes, more or less, to reach the shuttlepod from the bridge. If they ran. "Malcolm, I'm going to try something," Trip whispered quickly to Malcolm. "Whatever happens, keep quiet. If my plan doesn't work, I'm ordering you to get out of this by any means possible."

"No sir," Malcolm whispered, already shaking his head. "I'm not going to sit on the sidelines on this-"

"That's an order, Lieutenant!" Trip snapped, and looked up.

Archer was in front of a skinny woman with long blond hair. Archer gripped her by the chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Ensign Mao, as I recall. I remember approving Starfleet's recommendation for promotion for you." He charged up the phase rifle. "I already sent your family your condolences."

Whatever happened, Trip was not going to let Archer kill these people one at a time. He stood. "Wait a minute! I'm not the Trip you think I am! I'm Charles Tucker, the leader for these people!"

That got Archer's attention. He moved to the end of the line. "Prove it," he ordered.

Trip licked his lips, thinking hard. "That other version of me-he was weak. He got himself killed in the first five minutes of our jailbreak! Not like me." He swallowed, but stared Archer straight in the eye. "I'm the one you're looking for."

For a moment Archer said nothing. "All right. What exactly did you want to tell me?"

"Let these people go. They want to try to leave to another universe! Once they do...they'll never be a problem for you again."

Archer looked away, thinking.

"These people don't deserve your anger, sir!" Trip said angrily. "They never did. Let these people go and...I'll stay behind. And you can kill me."

Malcolm silently cursed Trip, finally seeing what he was doing. He wasn't trying to get himself out-he was trying to get everybody else out, Malcolm included. Well, that was something, quite frankly, that Malcolm wouldn't stand for. Malcolm stood. "With all due respect, sir...I was the one that destroyed your weapon and killed the other Malcolm Reed. If you let Mr. Tucker and the others go...I'd like to take up your offer and remain aboard Enterprise. I'll help reassemble the weapon."

"Malcolm," Trip whispered, almost inaudible.

"You can court-martial me later, sir," Malcolm whispered back, just as inaudible.

T'Pol leaned forwards in her chair. "Please...Captain..." she mumbled through her lips, and that was all she could dare say when Archer glanced at her.

Archer stared at both Trip and Malcolm, momentarily taken back. "Is this what your universe is like? Self-sacrifice? People helping one another?" he asked with wonderment.

Malcolm kept his gaze steady. "I haven't seen much of this Empire, sir, nor do I confess wanting to. But I have to believe that this universe isn't as dissimilar as my own. That the concepts of mercy and compassion aren't lost here. I have to."

Archer considered this. "I would almost like to live in your universe." Then, before anyone could do anything, he lifted his phase rifle and fired. The beam struck T'Pol in the throat, and she tumbled off her chair and collapsed to the floor, her eyes closed. Not breathing. Beside her station Hoshi coldly looked on impassively.

Trip looked up, shocked. "No.." he whispered in horror.

"But this is my universe, and this is who I am! To be honest, Mr. Tucker, I didn't like her that much and that was something I planned to do a very long time ago!" He recharged the weapon. "And I quite like being who I am. Since you are both so eager to die, Malcolm Reed, Charles Tucker, let me give you the honors of going first." He aimed the weapon at the two of them.

In that moment, Trip knew that they were going to die, and nothing was going to change that. "Good-bye Malcolm," he said.

"Nice knowing you, sir," Malcolm replied.

A beep startled all of them. "Captain, we're receiving a hail," Hoshi said.

"I'm a little busy," Archer replied.

"It's...a source identifying itself as Enterprise."

Before Archer could reply Hoshi brought it up on the screen. Starring back at them, was another Jonathan Archer.

The silence in the room was profound. Trip and Malcolm were forced on their knees again.

From the viewscreen Archer's eyes widened slightly at the row of people behind his duplicate. His voice was calm as ever, however. "This is Captain Archer...from my reality, at any rate. Those are two of my crew members you're holding hostage. Return them immediately or suffer the consequences."

Archer said nothing for a long moment. "Open a channel," he ordered.

Hoshi obliged. Archer paced the bridge, giving his weapon to a security officer. "Just...what exactly are you planning to do, Captain...Archer?"

"There's a spacial anomaly, not too far from your current position. We're sending you the coordinates right now. It'll collapse in only a few minutes. It would be a simple matter to send them in a shuttlepod. Once they've beamed out, you can go back for your shuttlepod."

"I don't make unnecessary favors until I know what's in it for me," Archer threatened, leaning forwards. "I was in fact about to execute all of these people here. You're welcome to watch, if you like."

"Surrender them. Or we will attack."

Archer laughed. It wasn't a very pleasant sound. "To do that, you'll have to cross over through the void. Are you really prepared to do that? Be stranded here!?"

Archer didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"Well, then, I guess you and I have a few differences," Archer said. "Guard, give me your phaser rifle."

A guard gave him one. Archer took it, and set it to maximum setting. He moved in front of the line. "Let's start with the rebel leader," he said, and aimed it directly at Trip.

Trip's eyes widened.

The turbolift doors suddenly opened. "Wrong Trip!" Tucker shouted as he fired his phase pistol. It grazed against Archer's shoulder. With a small cry Archer fell backwards, slamming against the navigational consul. The communications link was cut out and Archer disappeared from the viewscreen. A security guard fired at Tucker. But Tucker was using the turbolift wall as cover, and soon shot him. And another. The final guard next to Malcolm raised his weapon. Malcolm bowed his head and rammed right into him, forcing both to collapse. Malcolm got to his feet first and kicked the guard in the head.

Hoshi started to rise out of her seat.

Tucker turned the weapon on her. "I wouldn't try anything," he ordered.

With a swallow Hoshi settled back into her chair.

Still keeping an eye on her, he freed Malcolm's bonds with one hand. "Here, cover her," he ordered. "I'll free the rest."

As Trip was freed next he realized that the com was beeping. He activated it. "Tucker here."

"Are you all right, Trip?"

"We're fine, Captain. For now."

"Get moving. You only have eight minutes."

"Acknowledged." Trip cut off the channel. He looked up.

Archer had begun to stir and was chuckling as he straightened and stared at Tucker. "You'll never take over this ship."

Tucker grabbed him by his shoulders and hurled hm against the navigational consul. He punched Archer right in the face. "That's for all of my people you've killed!"

"What about my wife? Did she deserve to die?" Archer asked.

Tucker said nothing for a moment. "No. But she was a necessary casualty in a war." He raised the phase pistol. "You, on the other hand, do deserve to die."

Captain Archer lifted his hand and slowly wiped away the blood from his lip. "I guess we were never friends."

"I guess we weren't. Sir," Tucker replied with a sneer.

"Wait!" Trip interrupted. "You don't have to do this!"

"Why not?" Tucker demanded.

"If you want to put a stop to this Empire, now and forever, then change what it stands for right now!"

Tucker snorted.

"Look, my Captain Archer is a good man! And I have to believe that all of us are basically the same people in different circumstances. You can't deny that there's some part of you that's exactly similar to me. So...don't." Trip's voice softened. "Just don't. Because he was my friend."

For a moment Tucker looked at his twin, and a silent look passed between the two of them. "A long time ago, he was my friend too," Tucker admitted quietly.

Tucker squeezed the trigger. A beam of golden light impacted against Archer's skull and he collapsed. Dead.

The turbolift doors suddenly opened, and several security officers rushed in. Tucker immediately turned to fire. "Go!" Tucker ordered to Trip. "We'll cover you!"

But out of the corner of his eye Trip saw a security guard aim for his counterpart. "No!" Trip screamed.

The security guard squeezed the trigger, and Trip saw Tucker slowly disintegrate to red ash in front of his eyes. The other rebels put up a fight, but had no weapons. Most were being cut down.

With his weapon Malcolm cleared a path. Malcolm held the turbolift door open. "Commander!"

"I've gotta stop them!" Trip choked.

"Commander!" Malcolm shouted. "You said it yourself. This isn't your war, sir! It never was. We've only got seven minutes left!"

Breathing hard, Trip said nothing for a moment. Then he abruptly ran for the turbolift.

--------------------

Trip and Malcolm bolted to the cargo bay and entered it. Tucker looked around, but didn't see anyone nearby.

"Come on!" Malcolm snapped.

Trip followed and ran to the navigation seat. "Starting the engines!" Trip said. The shuttlepod rose.

Malcolm checked the clock. "Fifty seconds." His eyes went to the sensors. "Huh. It looks like phaser fire happening on all decks. Maybe some of them made it out."

"The bay doors aren't opening. I'm sending an override," Trip said.

"Forty seconds."

The doors opened. Very slowly. "Come on," Trip said. Finally, they opened all the way. The cable automatically snapped from the shuttlepod and it fell through the doors into open space. It was only then that Trip could power the thrusters. He did so.

"Twenty seconds till the anomaly!" Malcolm warned.

"Can we make it?" Trip asked.

Malcolm nodded. "Yeah. Barely."

The ship suddenly jerked to a stop. "What happened!" Malcolm demanded.

"It's...it's some kind of....I don't know what the hell it is," Trip replied, struggling with the controls. "It's from the Enterprise! Like our grabbling cables, it's pulling us back!"

"Ten seconds!" Malcolm shouted.

"I'm going to warp!" Trip said.

Malcolm stared at him. "At that speed the hull will break in two!"

"Then you better strap yourself in because that's the only way we're going to get there!" Trip snapped.

Fearfully Malcolm strapped himself in. Trip geared the ship into warp. The hull broke in half with a horrible grinding noise. Turning his head Malcolm could see the stars. The air was being rapidly sucked out of the broken shuttle. Alarms were beeping everyone. Malcolm looked down and could see the chronometer counting down 3....2....1...

White light surrounded the shuttle. Trip turned his head. "We're-"

--------------------

"Here," Trip finished, then looked around in bemusement. He was still in the shuttle pod,but he was in the cargo bay with no clear idea how he got there. Doctor Plox was meanwhile running a medical scan on him. Turning around, Trip could see Malcolm standing, looking equally bemused. The shuttle they were in had the same markings. Entirely intact.

"They're clear," the Doctor said cheerfully.

Archer was there as well, yet he stared at both of them rather coldly. He was armed. "What about their trans-warp readings?" he asked.

"Yes, they both belong to this universe," the doctor said, consulting his scans.

Archer visibly relaxed. "Are you two all right?" he asked.

"I think so," Trip said softly.

"What happened?" Malcolm asked. He was more then considerably startled to find that he was in his blue uniform again.

"The shuttlepod entered the spacial anomaly. We were able to recreated the accident and for some reason or another, you appeared in the cargo bay this time," Dr. Phlox answered.

Trip started at him intently. "In our reality?"

"Yes, commander," T'Pol said from behind him, and that was more then enough assurance for Trip.

"I'll need to run some more scans, but so far they seem to check out," Dr. Phlox said.

"So you two don't hate each other," Trip said, starring at Archer and T'Pol.

"And phasers are called phase pistols?" Malcolm asked.

"And I didn't kill you!?" Trip asked Archer desperately.

The Captain and Sub-commander glanced at each other. "Why don't you take the week off, both of you. It wouldn't hurt to get your bearings again," Archer said.

Archer, T'Pol and the doctor left, leaving the two officers alone. Trip sighed.

"So much for ending the war with the empire," Malcolm said bleakly.

"Those people we left won't have a chance, Malcolm," Trip said. "They'll be massacred. Then the empire will continue slaughtering everybody else."

"Maybe," Malcolm said. "But then, there were people like us in that reality too, Commander. People who knew better. People who might make a difference someday." He headed towards the door. "But personally, I'm glad to be back in this one." When Trip didn't follow him he turned around in confusion. "Commander?"

Trip was still sitting and starring at nothing. "He's alive, Malcolm. Archer. From that other universe."

Very concerned, Malcolm stepped forwards. "How do you know that? Commander, we both saw him die!"

"I just know," Trip whispered, his face very pale.

---------------------

With a groan Archer touched his temple. He knew that he should be dead. Tucker had killed him. And yet, he wasn't. He looked around.

He was on his ruined bridge, same as usual, but there was nobody around. No officers, no rebels...no one. Slowly, Archer stood.

"Hello, Jonathan," a voice said from behind him.

Startled, Archer turned around. Starring back at him was a man, slightly shorter then he was with black hair and a black suit with an insignia that Archer didn't recognize. "Do I know you?""No," the man replied calmly. "But, we've met before."

Archer touched his forehead. "I should be dead!"

"You were," the man replied. "I saved you. Only....just in time."

"How?" Archer demanded.

"By pulling you out of your own time."

"What?"

The man hesitated. "My people...safeguard time, Jonathan, we also safeguard realities as well, but there's hardly a need to do so because incidents that involve cross-realities are...rare at most. It's time that's always the problem, always the damnable problem." The man looked up. "My people...are involved in something called a temporal cold war. Different factions working against each other, making time a more jumbled mess everyday."

"Sounds great," Archer said, looking away. "So what do you want from me?"

The man stepped forwards. "My name is Daniels, and I need your help. I need a version of Jonathan Archer that can do what my reality refuses too. Something that's...not exactly considered the more moralistic of choices."

"And what do I get, exactly?" Archer asked. "What's in it for me?"

"Your life," Daniels replied.

Archer smiled a little. "Not good enough."

Daniels looked away, sighing. "If you don't help me, the consequences will be too great, the cost...too much. If you agree to help me, I'll give you the people that killed you. And, I'll give you Jonathan Archer."

A long moment, and Archer's smile slowly widened. "I think then we have a deal, Mr. Daniels."

---------------------

Captain's Starlog, supplemental.

Trip and Malcolm have arrived safely back on Enterprise. Based on what they've told me about 'the Empire', and about our own duplicates, it doesn't sound like a very pleasant place to be. I can only hope that no one else from our reality accidently crosses over their again, though T'Pol theorizes that the chances of encountering a similar anomaly again are nearly one in five billion. On a more personal note, it will take some time for Malcolm and Trip to readjust to life on board Enterprise. Seeing duplicates of us carrying out the things they described could not have been easy for them.

It was five days later.

Trip and Malcolm entered the mess hall and both grabbed a tray of food. They instantly spotted Dr. Phlox eating something that resembled a celery stick and moved to join him.

"Gentleman!" Dr. Phlox said happily. "Care to join me?"

"Yes, thank you," Tucker replied, sitting down.

"Chef's certainly prepared a fine meal this evening," Dr. Phlox said with a smile. He glanced at both Malcolm and Trip and noticed how haggard their appearances were, and how they never looked up. "And how are you both recovering from your ordeal?"

Trip swallowed. "All right. It's frankly...just seeing people...working together who were once bitter enemies...it's all a little weird."

Dr. Phlox sipped from a glass. "Well, you two experienced something that no humans ever has before...a chance to look at how you would have all been if circumstances in your life were just a little bit different. I would have thought that would be an exciting opportunity!"

"Exciting," Malcolm muttered. "Right. That's the word I was looking for."

Trip waved that away. "Look, that's not why we're here. Malcolm and I were talking it over and...well, one thing frankly still puzzles us. In sickbay, you were able to help us...you, from this reality. How were you able to do that!?"

Dr. Phlox thought for a moment. "Hm...are you quite sure it was me over there?"

"You said it was," Trip said. "You said it was something your species could do."

Phlox chewed his food for a long moment. "I can assure the two of you that I am hardly different from humanoids in one respect or another."

"So how are you able to...I dunno, cross-dimension?" Trip said.

"And have you before?" Malcolm asked.

Dr. Phlox continued to eat. "You two are full of questions," he said.

"Well, we just want to know-" Malcolm began.

"Just as I'm sure everyone would be full of questions if they discovered that incident when that fungus connected with your brain and you two developed a rather...unique relationship, Mr. Reed. Particularly when you tried to take over the ship," Phlox said.

Malcolm stopped in mid-chew.

Phlox turned to Trip. "Or you, Mister Tucker, with your trip to Alashia 9 and what happened to you with that...waitress?" he chuckled a little.

Tucker stared at his coffee for a long, long, time.

"Gentleman, these are obviously very private things, things that I'm sure you wouldn't want the rest of crew to find out. I have taken an oath of complete confidence and in return all I ask is a mutual respect of privacy." He stood. "Good night, Lieutenant. Commander," he said cheerfully before leaving with his tray.

Tucker stared at Malcolm. "He can't do that-he can't!"

"Maybe," Malcolm said, looking down at his plate. "But I'm not so sure that we should try to find out, Commander."

THE END.