Disclaimer: I don't not own Star Trek Enterprise or any of it's characters. Do you THINK I would be here If I did?! So I do not in any way shape or form own any of the plot or the characters. They belong to whoever owns 'em. I just took the general idea for a test jaunt. So, don't sue me...not that it would be beneficial, as I am a poor college university, yadda yadda yadda.

Authors Note: This story revolves around a Ambassador Soval and Corporal Amanda Cole (MACCO). I read a story with this pairing and thought it had a lot of potential.

Please read and review. I am excited to see what you all think. I am open to comments, advice, and constructive criticism.

When Polar Opposites Collide

She had never thought she would be glad to hear the words: "Extended shore leave" in her career. But yet, here she was, striding out of MACCO Headquarters, bulging duffel bag slung over her shoulder, ignoring the sting of pain as she headed for the noon transport. Pigs must be flying she snorted humorlessly, tossing back her loose black curls.

Most of the Enterprise crew, including her unit had been ordered to take time off. Keeping only a skeleton crew on ship to work repairs. Though, she suspected if Commander Tucker had his way, the old girl might be in for a total overhaul. She had seen both Tucker and Lieutenant Reed conspiring in the mess hall earlier that day, deluged under a pile of data pads. The poor boys at Jupiter Station would never know what had hit them.

Reaching the transport a few minutes later, she slipped easily inside, flashing her personnel ID at the pilot before slumping down into the nearest empty seat. Peering out the window she winced slightly as the glare of the San Franciscan sun reflected off the shuttles hull. She was burnt out, and she knew it, rubbing the palms of her hands over her eyes tiredly, she staunchly ignored the lingering pain in her limbs.

In all truth she knew she needed this. She needed time to rest, heal the physical wounds, and mend the emotional ones. She needed time to relax and center herself again. Life had been anything but easy these past long months.

For her, it had started when the Xindi probe had attacked earth. Wiping her hometown from existence with one consuming line of destruction. Her folks had thankfully moved up north a year back, but a number of her close friends had been there, caught in the attack just like Trip's sister. She hadn't even hesitated. She been at the front of the line badger Major Hayes to include her in the MACCO unit bound for Enterprise. She couldn't think of any better way to serve her race then to be on a mission for it's very survival. She had taken great pride in knowing she was one of the best Earth had to offer when she had been hand-picked for the mission, she had carried her badge proudly.

Life had been a non-stop roller coaster ride since they had entered the Expanse. She had gained a remarkable amount of respect for her Star Fleet colleagues during this time. It seemed as though every time they turned around there was some new killer virus, hostile aliens, or crippling anomaly. The Captain, Lieutenant Reed, and Ensign Sato had even been transformed into another alien race for pities sake! The whole mission in the Expanse had been one of the strangest periods in her life. The first anomaly that had effected the ship had suspended her phaser blast in mid-air, just millimeters away from the training target. It had been very disconcerting to return to the cargo bay hours later to find the beam still suspended in mid-air.

Another time which had rated high on her scale of bizarreness, was that time near the end of the mission when they had emerged through the worm hole to join Degra and stumbled upon their own descendants. She had been struck speechless when she had learned that in an alternative reality, she and Doctor Phlox had had over nine children together. When inspecting the other ship she had been shocked at how many members of her extended family populated the ship, it seemed wherever she turned she saw Phlox's facial ridges, and her own dimples and dark hair. Later, while talking the whole thing over with Phlox, she learned however, that according to the doctor, Denobulan's have very healthy sexual appetites. She hadn't been able to maintain a straight face with him for days after that, not to mention with any of the crew. Though she had to admit, the little kids were pretty darn cute.

In the end they had saved earth, in the nick of time as it were. Captain Archer succeeding in blowing up the Xindi probe at the last second, just as it was nearing Earth's orbit. But just when she had been prepared to relax, they ended up at Earth, but in the wrong time, trying to stop a rogue alien faction of the Temporal Cold War from entirely screwing up Earth's known history. Talk about a brain-twister. They were sent to the future, before even her great-great grandparents had even been born, with the Nazi's setting up shop in the White House, all to stop Aliens from messing up an already messed up time line in order to get back to their own time. She figured it was easier on her brain if she didn't think too much into it.

She hadn't even had a chance to make it to the surface when the next crisis occurred. Everyone was recalled to deal with the emergence of a gang Genetically enhanced Augments, hidden since childhood by Arik Soong. For once she had been glad she hadn't been directly involved in guarding the Genetic master-mind. She had grown up learning about his experiments and he gave her the creeps.

After that it had been one blow after another. The bombing of the Earth's Embassy on Vulcan was the first. The blast killed over 45 people, including Admiral Forrest, and seriously injuring Soval... She shook herself out of her musings abruptly at that lingering thought, chasing herself. It is Ambassador Soval girl, Ambassador. That kind of thinking could have you sent back to Boot Camp in a faster then you could spell 'Mississippi'.

As the transport took off she tried to distract her thoughts away from the Vulcan ambassador, instead focusing on the pull in her belly as they lurched up into a higher altitude. But the distraction proved to be only a temporary relief. As he all to conveniently continued to pop up in the events of the recent weeks. He had been aboard the ship for days after the disaster at the embassy, hardly resting as he helped the crew. Then, he was captured and tortured by the Andorian, Commander Shran while he attempted to warn them about the corrupt High Command. Just the thought of what he had been put through made her blood boil.

She shook her head, upset that the the man came up so quickly to her thoughts. Bending down she ruffled through her bag, looking for another distraction. Clicking on a padd she could have groaned in frustration as a copy of the newly discovered manuscripts of Surak's teachings glowed up at her brightly. Admitting defeat she turned off the padd and returned it to her bag. Choosing instead to gaze out the window, watching idly as the transport skimmed over the sky scrappers.

But as her mind tended to do, she couldn't help but return to her mental inventory of the last year. It was as though she felt she had to prove to herself that she deserved this break, when so many others were still on duty, whether on Enterprise or anywhere else a MACCO was needed. Shifting on her chair, she caught two teenagers staring at her uniform, taking in the notable blue and red design intertwining a fierce shark and the Enterprise logo. She flashed the curious, and clearly awed boys a smile before turning her gaze out the window, finding they had made good time, seeing the Pacific coast before them, clear water as far as the eyes could see.

The sea had always had the same effect on her. Since her first visit to Hawaii she had just known there was something about that tropical island chain that tugged on her very soul. When informing her new CO were she was taking her shore-leave she could think of no better place to relax and unwind. Besides, her family time-shared the beach-side pad with another family, and for the moment they were on their rotation, it only made sense to make use of it use while she still could.

It wasn't till she had caught the smaller Pacific transport for the islands that her thoughts came back to the more recent present. The Terra Prime organization came to mind. Those xenophobic nut jobs had caused more problems in a few shorts months then Earth's authorities were used to dealing with in a standard year. After the Xindi's first attack there had apparently been a peak in the rise of xenophobia, with the crafty organization being linked to a number of minor conflicts before Enterprise returned victorious from the Expanse. It was only after their arrival however, that Paxton seized the Martian array and made his threat, revealing the genetically created offspring of Commander Tucker and Sub-Commander T'Pol, hoping to inspire terror among the populace. She clenched her fist reflectively as she wished she could have gotten the asshole alone for five minutes. The man was a monster!

But Terra Prime hadn't stopped with Paxton's arrest, his group continued to attack non-humans whenever they could. They had even attempted to break their leader out of jail. Amanda had been chosen specifically to accompany Soval and his councilor's during the last few weeks of peace talks with the Andorian, Tellarite, and Denobulan delegations as United Earth attempt to sooth their fears that stability was returning to Earth, and that they were no longer at great risk.

That in itself had been a 'gong show' from start to finish. Ending with peace, but with her unconscious in sick bay as Phlox's osmotic eel mended her wounds. Then of course, leading her to so much needed downtime.

She was jarred out of her thoughts as the Pilot came over the COMM and announced their first stop. She grabbed her bag and exited with a stream of civilians as they stopped at Oahu, one of the bigger of the islands. She purposely made her way through the crowd to the Taxi-Transports, ignoring the pointed stares her uniform was attracting. Maybe she should have changed at Headquarters...

In no time at all she was paying the driver and walking down the path to the secluded beach house. She smiled in spite of herself, unzipping the confining collar of her uniform, and shaking her dark curls out of their strictive regulation pony tail, smiling as the sea air ruffled the curls, blowing them around her face gently.

Punching in the security code she walked through the sliding doors. Locking it behind her, she dropped her bag gratefully, rubbing her tender shoulder as she moved to the kitchen. She was surprised to find a fresh bouquet of flowers, and a miniature data padd resting on the counter. Skimming through it she smiled again, Daddy always knew how to cheer her up. She opened the fridge, seeing the promised groceries inside. He sure knew how to manipulate a soldiers heart.

Slipping off her uniform jacket, she moved out onto the back balcony, breathing the salty tropical air in deeply. Oh yes..she needed this. It was only going to be her, the ocean, the sun, and the beach. No training exercises, no earth-shattering crisis's, and most of all... no Vulcan Ambassadors.

After getting settled, she slipped into her bikini, reveling for a brief moment in been so deliciously exposed, regulation uniforms had always left something to be desired. Strapping her knife holster to her thigh, she started down to the beach, eyes trained on the water, taking in it's crystalline beauty, while unobtrusively scanning for sharks. She was a MACCO after all, that came with a degree of paranoia.

She let the ocean waves lap around her calves, leaping, swirling, and sucking at her toes. She smiled again, staring out at the afternoon sky. No matter what had happened, and the cost it had demanded, it was worth it. The earth still turned, people still lived, loved. Vulcans were still as stoic and mysterious as ever, the Denobulans were just as curious and compassionate, the Andorians as suspicious, and the Tellarites just as disagreeable as ever. Yes, it was good to be home. She thought, before flipping her hair back and diving into the warm oceans waves.