Epilogue

Charles Tucker strode restlessly through the darkened corridors of the Enterprise, as much of the crew slept peacefully. Six weeks had passed, and the starship had just departed from the Warp Five Complex orbiting Mars earlier that evening. Trip was finally beginning to feel as though things were getting back to normal. The ship under his charge had been repaired in record time - less than a month, in fact - and Starfleet's Design Bureau had even managed to incorporate a few state-of-the-art improvements to the Enterprise's systems, with the somewhat surprising help of the Vulcans. The ship's computers were more powerful, their sensors were more accurate and their polarized hull plating was now augmented with honest-to-goodness energy shield generators, much to Malcolm's delight.

But it was one improvement in particular that occupied Trip's mind at the moment. In the chaos of recent events, Trip had all but forgotten the report he'd filed on the efficiency of the ship's warp engines. Nevertheless, it seemed that Starfleet's best warp physicists had taken to heart the suggestions he and T'Pol had made, and had even found areas for subtle improvement on their ideas. Since the Enterprise had suddenly found itself in need of a major overhaul, Starfleet had decided that it was the perfect opportunity to put those new ideas to the test. No one knew just how fast the Enterprise's modified warp engines could go, but one thing was for sure... tomorrow they were finally going to find out.

Trip rounded a corner on D Deck, and realized that he'd just passed Lieutenant Burke's former quarters. He thought about how excited she'd been when they'd shared the engine re-design ideas with her. God, I wish you coulda been here for this, Hailey. It's gonna be amazing...

As Trip reached another junction, taking the corridor that led aft toward Engineering, he suddenly found himself face to face with Sub-Commander T'Pol. She was standing patiently in the middle of the corridor, with her hands crossed behind her back. She had clearly been waiting for him.

Trip smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead warmly. "We've been together for what... two months? Please tell me I'm not that predictable."

The petite Vulcan fell into step beside him as he continued walking. "I have noticed that you often have trouble sleeping when your mind is confronted with new ideas or developments. I take it your workout was ineffective in relaxing you?"

"Yeah. Guess it's true what they say about old married couples. You're starting to know me better than I know myself."

"I too have experienced this phenomenon. It is... not at all unpleasant." Trip grinned at this, and T'Pol regarded him thoughtfully as they continued on. "You should really let me teach you how to meditate. It is quite efficient in reducing tension."

He laughed easily. "You're already plenty efficient at reducing my tension, thank you very much." They shared a knowing glance before he continued. "I'm just excited is all. I was headin' down to Engineering to go over some numbers for the test tomorrow. As you obviously guessed."

"Indeed. Would you care for some company, Commander?" she asked lightly.

Grinning, Trip held out his hand to her... and T'Pol took it with just a hint of a smile.

"I wouldn't have it any other way..."


...


Twelve hours later, Captain Jonathan Archer bent down and give his beagle a thorough scratching between the ears. Porthos whimpered in delight and then scampered off to his bed for a nap. Archer laughed and then triggered the door control, stepping confidently from his Ready Room onto the Bridge, which was a-buzz of activity as the countdown to the warp test approached its termination. He quickly moved to his chair, at the very center of the organized commotion.

When she saw Archer take the center seat, Hoshi spoke up from her station. "All decks are reporting ready, Captain."

Malcolm and Travis glanced up from the Helm. "The modifications to the navigational deflector are online and working smoothly, sir," Malcolm noted. "But I recommend that we power up the new shields... just in case any particles of dust or debris manage to get through."

The Captain smiled. "Understood. Go ahead and bring the shields online now." Malcolm nodded eagerly and hurried to Tactical to try out his new toy.

Archer took a moment to glance around proudly at his Bridge crew. Then he pulled a piece of paper from his uniform pocket, took a deep breath and thumbed the intercom.

"Attention all hands. This is the Captain..."

All throughout the ship, crewmen stopped what they were doing to listen.

"As you know, we're about to test our new warp engines, which have been redesigned by our own Chief Engineer and Science Officer to be many times faster and more efficient than ever before. But before we do this, I wanted to say a few words to all of you. We've been through a lot over the past year. We've seen and done some amazing things, and we've come a long way together. Recently, we've also suffered a terrible loss. But I've just received a message from home and I wanted to share it with all of you, because I think you'll find a measure of comfort in it. It reads as follows..."

Archer glanced down at the paper in his hand. "To Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the starship Enterprise. Through your heroic actions in the face of unparalleled danger, a bright new day has dawned for all Humanity. As of this morning, May the 12th, 2152, the governments of Earth and Vulcan have begun negotiations for the creation of an official, permanent alliance between our two worlds... a Federation of equals and of friendship that will ensure a secure and prosperous future for both our peoples. None of this would have been possible without the great sacrifices you and your crew have made. For though your journey has been treacherous and unpredictable, you have traveled it with compassion, honor and unwavering bravery. The people of Earth, and of Vulcan, are proud of you all. Godspeed."

Archer paused before continuing. "And it's signed, Celia Genevieve Durand, President of the United Earth."

The Captain looked up at his command staff and the others stationed on the Bridge, speaking to each of them in turn, as well as the crew at large. "I know that nothing can ever make up for the deaths of twenty-nine of our fellow crewmen... friends who have paid the ultimate price in the line of duty. But their deaths have not been in vain. In their honor, we will continue to boldly go where no man has gone before. And maybe now... we'll get there a little faster."

Archer smiled at his people as they beamed back at him. Then, with new determination, he gave the order they were all waiting for. "All stations, prepare for warp speed."

All around the Bridge, and all over the ship, the crew of the Enterprise launched into action. The thrill of expectation hung in the air. Archer hit the intercom again.

"Bridge to Engineering. Trip? T'Pol? You all set down there?"

Standing together at the Warp Core Control station down in Engineering, Trip and T'Pol exchanged a glance that was charged with excitement and anticipation.

"You ready to rock and roll, Sub-Commander?"

The corner of T'Pol's mouth curled in the barest hint of a smile. But her eyes twinkled as she thumbed the intercom. "All systems are ready, Captain. The warp engines are at your command."

Then a grin suddenly spread over Trip's face. "Hey Jon... let's do this one for yer Dad."

Four decks above, Archer leaned forward in his chair on the Bridge and grinned as well, no longer able to contain the thrill of what they were about to attempt. He knew without a doubt that Henry Archer would have loved this moment. Then...

"Travis... take us to maximum warp."

"Gladly, sir."

Travis eased the throttle forward eagerly... and the sleek starship leapt into action, the stars exploding into great streaks of color and light all around. Only the main viewer and their instruments gave any indication of the change in the ship's velocity, so Travis called out their speed as he continued to edge the throttle forward.

"Now passing warp four-point-five... warp four-point-eight... warp five, sir."

The deck barely even shuddered as they passed through their previous best speed and surged beyond it. The pitch of Travis' voice increased as he continued to report their mounting velocity.

"Five-point-two... five-five... five-eight... warp six, Captain!"

Then a subtle vibration began in the deck plating. It wasn't so much that the ship was straining against the speed... it almost sounded as if the ship were alive and was as excited as its crew.

"Six-point-one... six-three...!" Then a chime sounded and Travis checked his controls. He turned back to Archer incredulously. "Captain... we're holding steady at warp six-point-five!"

For a long moment, there was a disbelieving silence on the Bridge - only the soft growling of the starship's engines could be heard. Then there came a loud whooping sound over the com... the enthusiastic reaction of Commander Tucker down in Engineering. And suddenly, across every deck of the starship and from every station, exuberant cheering filled the air.


...


Well into the early hours of the following morning, candles flickered softly in T'Pol's quarters. But they added only their light to the darkened room. Far more intense than the heat of such tiny flames was the smoldering emotion that burned, both physically and spiritually, between the cabin's occupants. After long hours of intense, breathless lovemaking, Trip and T'Pol finally lay quietly together on the bed, their damp bodies still entwined as they slowly cooled in the steady wash of recycled air from the vents overhead.

For an eternity, the two simply savored each other's presence... the soothing balm of skin on skin. Finally, Trip turned lazily and kissed the top of T'Pol's head, breathing deeply of her scent.

"So... I've been sorta reconsidering the whole meditatin' thing. Would ya still be willing to teach me how to do it?"

"Of course," she replied, her voice husky with love and exertion.

Then there came another long silence until T'Pol looked up at her mate questioningly. "You are unusually quiet. Is there something bothering you?"

"Naw... I was just thinking." He shook his head in amusement. "Humans and Vulcans. A year ago, I woulda said they were like night and day. But now...."

T'Pol lifted her head from its place in the crook of his arm, and turned to face him, resting her cheek against the pulsing warmth of his chest. "What do you mean, Charles?"

Trip frowned as he tried to explain. "Well... we Humans are ruled by our emotions, right? But we try not to let them control us... just to sort of guide us. We don't always succeed, but we still try. Vulcans have emotions too... you just try to suppress them whenever you can. And you don't always succeed either. Meaning that neither of us is perfect... we just all do the best we can. So I think we're not as different as most Humans and Vulcans would like to believe. I mean, we're different... but not different. Ya see what I mean?"

T'Pol glanced at him for a moment, and then raised an eyebrow, her eyes glimmering with amusement. "Perhaps the lessons for which you have the greater need are those in basic English."

"Yeah... hardy-har-har." He smirked at her. "What I'm trying to say is--" Then his brow furrowed suddenly and he looked at her in surprise. "Did you just call me Charles?"

"Is that not your given name?"

"Well, yeah, but it's just... no one's ever called me that."

"What would you like for me to call you?"

He thought about it. "I don't know. What do you wanna call me?"

"When we are on duty, I will call you Commander, of course."

"Of course."

"But when we are alone... may I call you Charles?"

Trip chewed on the idea. "Never woulda thought I'd like it. But coming from you... it's kinda nice." Then he reached down to stroke her cheek and smiled. "Okay... Charles it is."

T'Pol surprised him then, gifting him with a brief but genuine, full-bodied smile. After a moment though, she grew suddenly shy.

"What is it?"

She looked at him hopefully. "Will you teach me something as well?"

"Anything."

"Will you teach me how to dream?"

To his credit, Trip was only surprised for a moment. Then he smiled wryly. "Dreamin's what Tiggers do best."

T'Pol gave him a puzzled look... until Trip finally just laughed and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tenderly. They lay quietly together, delighting in the strength of their bond. Their minds and thoughts mingled gently... easily. And a short time later, the Human and the Vulcan eased into a deep, peaceful sleep.

She gave him serenity... he gave her his dreams.

Together... they loved.

And the Enterprise journeyed on...


--- FIN ---


Author's Notes: Speaking of journeys, this story has been an amazing and fulfilling ride for me. I hope you've enjoyed reading Differential as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you. I've spent many long hours plotting its various twists and turns. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going to go, it seemed that Trip and T'Pol had different ideas. The final chapters were very, very difficult to get right. Ultimately, though, I'm quite happy with the way the story turned out.

One of the things that concerned me most in writing this is the somewhat fragile emotional state T'Pol finds herself in. We've always seen her as strong and in control on the series, and I was worried about keeping her character true to that. It was enough originally, in my mind at least, to use the onset of "pon frell" to explain this. After all, Vulcans have emotions... they just hide and control them better than Humans. And when they seep through that control, particularly at the time of mating, they're very potent indeed. But after seeing Shockwave, Part II, which depicts the terrible violation T'Pol suffered at the hands of the Suliban and its after effects, I believe those events help to better explain the delicate place T'Pol found herself in emotionally in the weeks leading up to the beginning of my story.

Just in case you were wondering... yes, Skon is indeed the father of Sarek, and the eventual grandfather of Spock. And I'm sure you all recognized a young T'Pau. Trick casting is, after all, a long-standing Star Trek tradition. Dedicated Trekkers will also know the Rihannsu by their more familiar name... Romulans. See? There was method to my madness.

Those of you who enjoyed Differential may want to go back and read the three prequel stories I've written, One Step Back, Two Steps Forward, Sympathies and Symmetries and Time Enough, which help to illustrate Trip and T'Pol's developing friendship, and particularly why their growing connection finally comes to fruition in Differential. I've also written a short follow-up story, The Early Hours, to prove that the sky isn't always falling on Trip and T'Pol - they do get to spend a little time here and there enjoying each other.

So what's next? Well, I am already at work on another, much longer sequel to Differential, which I'm tentatively calling Objects in Motion. This will continue the development of Trip and T'Pol's relationship, but will once again be set against a major dramatic plotline, full of action, intrigue and epic events with great consequences for the crew of the first starship to be named Enterprise. It will be at least as long as Differential, and will feature even greater involvement by the supporting cast, particularly Malcolm. Our favorite Tactical Officer will get to kick some serious you-know-what. He's a major part of the plot, and is crucial to the shape of the events as they unfold. I've got the story almost completely plotted out (though changes always seem to spring up when you least expect them) and I have started writing. With any luck, it will be done by the end of 2003.

In the meantime, thanks for reading my stories! And best wishes as always!

Zane Gray
[email protected]
4/12/03