The BLTS Archive - Rumbles
by Sue Duenn (sduenn@optonline.net)

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Date: Posted to EntSTSlash 05/06/2003

Archive: Permission to archive granted to EntSTCommunity

Beta: none - all mistakes and incongruities are mine and mine alone

Spoilers: Desert Crossing

Disclaimer: They're not mine, and sometimes the urge is overwhelming
to try my hand at bettering the work done by B&B.  Does it work?
Doubt it, but I have fun trying.

Author's notes: This is in answer to The Grrrl's challenge.  I had to
pick up the ball and run with it.  I hope you enjoy it.

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"How much more time do you need, Trip?" Captain Jonathan Archer asked
from the bridge of the Enterprise.

After a moment, the Engineer's voice came over the speaker system.
"I've got like twenty minutes left; just have to run the diagnostics
on the repairs then I'll be done over here.  What's up?"

"Captain Gerduk wants you and I to join he and his family for a meal
in half an hour.  He wants to personally thank the man who
'single-handedly fixed his beloved Sinon.'  And before you say
anything, you *will* be joining us.  I'll swing by and pick you up in
twenty minutes.  Archer out."

Archer made his way through the cramped hallways of the alien ship on
his way to Engineering.  He seriously hoped the ceilings would rise
once he got in there; his back was starting to hurt from walking
stooped over.  Entering the engine room he breathed a sigh of relief
as he stood upright and stretched, his vertebrae making audible pops
as his spine realigned itself.  He glanced around the unfamiliar
place, his eyes stopping on the blue jumpsuit clad blonde man sitting
Indian style on the floor while inputting something into the computer.
Archer couldn't help but chuckle seeing Trip sitting there, though his
chuckle soon changed as he noticed the way the engineer's uniform
stretched tightly across his muscular thighs, the material taut
against the man's back side.

Nothing about the Nyans really fit with their own species, their size
being just odd enough that they were uncomfortable in the Nyan's ship
and the Nyans having to crane their heads to be able to speak to the
humans properly Porthos had easily put his paws up on Captain Gerduk's
shoulders when  the alien Captain had visited Enterprise.  It was all
Archer could do  to not pick the man up so he could see better.  But
now, it was time  for the ships to part ways, and he knew Trip was not
looking forward  to the meal they had to share.  They just didn't have
good luck with  alien food, and since the special soup on the desert
planet, Trip had  managed to avoid eating non-human food.

Archer walked up behind Trip and went to place a hand on his shoulder
as he usually did.  Unfortunately due to the height differences with
the younger man on the floor, he ended up running his hand through the
engineer's hair instead.  He'd always made it a point to never touch
his friend's hair, if only because he'd be giving in to a fantasy.
Trip was his best friend.  Would not ever be his lover.  Jon could
handle that.  Maybe.  But for now, he reveled in the feel of the silky
hair beneath his fingers.  He started, realizing he'd been caressing
Trip's head a little too long.  "Hey Trip, aren't you done yet?" he
asked, crouching down behind him and reluctantly placing his hand on
the shoulder he had originally been aiming for.

Trip jumped and turned around to look at him, "Oh, Cap'n!  I thought
you were one of the Nyans.  They've got something about hair I guess.
Yeah, I'm just about done."  He entered something into his PADD and
nodded.  "Yep.  All up to par now."

Archer stood and reached his hand out to help Trip up.  Trip took it
gratefully and quickly dusted his pants off after standing up.  He
tossed his PADD into his tool box and locked it up before standing and
facing his Captain.  "You know the way to where we're having dinner
with the Cap'n?"

Archer nodded, "Yes - his quarters.  He gave me directions."  He
peered at his friend, disbelieving what he saw.  "Are you actually
excited about dinner, Trip?"

Trip bowed slightly to let the Captain precede him into the cramped
corridors and smiled sheepishly.  "I figure if I got through that
testicle soup I can eat anything.  Never mind I could eat a horse
right about now."

Archer shook his head, smiling.  "Never thought I'd hear you say that,
but I m glad you've decided other people's food might be good.  You
really missed something when we met up with the Kinarians; they had
the best soup I've ever eaten."

Trip groaned and silently cursed his cramping legs.  "You keep tellin'
me that, and right now, I could down at least a gallon."  They went a
few more feet then he added, "Maybe it'd be easier to crawl?"

Archer shook his head.  "Tried that.  It's very slow, never mind hell
on the knees.  Be grateful the room you were in you could stand in."

"Oh yeah, ain't that the truth!"  Trip couldn't help but ogle his
Captain as they moved through the hallway in single file to allow some
Nyans to pass them.  It was as if his friend's ass were being offered
to him as a gift.  If only!  They'd been friends forever, he didn't
want to mess anything up by moving their relationship to the next
level - even if he thought about it at least daily.

Archer slowed down once the Nyans had passed, allowing them to walk,
well, shuffle, side by side.  "Oh, I forgot to tell you something," he
said while fishing into a pocket.  "Gerduk said something about
enjoying music, and I mentioned you played the harmonica."  He brought
the instrument from his pocket, handing it to Trip.  "He asked if
you'd play after dinner."

Trip stopped, disbelief on his face.  "Jonny, you didn't.  You know I
don't play for anyone else."

Archer waved him to continue.  "You've played for me before, and I
know you won't embarrass yourself, so I agreed on your behalf."

Trip groaned.  "Playin' for you doesn't count.  And I've never gone
outta my way to play special for you."

Archer stopped, placing a hand on Trip's shoulder again.  "Trip,
you're good with the harmonica.  I'm not asking for a three hour
concert," he had to chuckle when he saw the engineer blanch at the
thought, "Just a few songs.  It's not like they know what the song is
supposed to sound like."

Trip sighed then moved on again.  "I guess you're right.  But you're
gonna owe me for this one."

Jon chuckled, "Sure thing."  In his mind, he was thinking of about a
million ways he'd kill to pay Trip back - each of them more lewd.
Regretfully he forced his mind away from that avenue of thought - it
wouldn't do to meet the captain and his family with a raging hard on.
Who knew what that might mean to these people.  They finally reached
their destination and Jon hit the button to announce themselves.

"What's up with this tiny door?"  Trip whispered, looking at the tiny
entry way.

"I think it's a status thing - smaller is better."  Jon quickly shut
his mouth as the door opened and Gerduk stuck his head out.

"Please, do come in!  I promise, I have plenty of space for you
inside," Gerduk said, looking between the two huge aliens outside his
door.  "I've taken measurements, and with some help, I'm sure you'll
fit through the door I so want to show you my home."

"After you, Cap'n," Trip said with a smirk on his face.

Archer nodded and studied the situation.  The door was approximately
two and a half feet square, and there was a lip to step over.  "Why
couldn't the darned thing be flush to the floor," he wondered.  With a
sigh, he got on his hands and knees before the opening and began to
make his way through, ending up squirming like a snake to get his body
into the Captain's quarters

Trip grinned as he poked his head into the room.  He prayed he could
get through without embarrassing himself, but he'd watch Jon do that
shimmy anytime.  "My tool box won't fit," he said.

"Oh, it will be fine in the hallway.  No one will touch it," Gerduk
said, smiling.

"All righty then," Trip said, putting the box flush against the wall
of the corridor.  "Here I come then."  His shoulders were a bit wider
than the Captain's though, and he had a hard time getting through.  It
took a good tug by Archer to help him through the opening, and he
flopped down onto his stomach groaning when he finally made it
through.

"Ah, your gonads hurt when touched excessively too, hmm?"  Gerduk
asked, noticing Trip's discomfort.  "Too bad you hit the lip of the
doorway right where you did."

Trip looked at him, cross-eyed, trying not to curl up into a ball of
pain.   You're tellin' me."

Jon bit his lip trying not to laugh at the situation as he helped his
friend get settled at the dinner table where drinks had been poured.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Captain.  We certainly appreciate
it."

Gerduk beamed.  "Oh no, thank YOU.  Both of you.  Without your help we
would still be without our warp drive, and wouldn't have had the
pleasure of meeting such gentle giants such as yourselves!"  He rubbed
the bald head of the other Nyan in the room and said, "Before my
manners leave completely, I wish to introduce you to my mate Amer."

Breathing regulated again, Trip managed, "Nice t'meetcha."

Jon reached over and shook Amer's hand.  "So where are you headed, now
that your engines are up to speed?"

"There is a blue giant four tahanics from here," Gerduk answered.  "I
think we'll go study that for a bit.  How about you?"

"Ah, we were at that star last week.  You should find it fascinating,"
Jon replied, sipping from his glass.   "We'll be heading off to a
solar system we detected on our long range scanners."  Gesturing to
his glass he said,  This is very good.  What do you call it?"

"Oh, that's a fermented fruit juice from our home planet," Amer said.
"It's quite sweet, but has a wonderful tart aftertaste, no?"

Archer nodded, not wanting to tell his hosts that his salivary glands
were working overtime.  At first, the drink was like downing pure
sweetener, then like having a thousand lemons in his mouth at a time.
The glands by the hinge of his jaw actually hurt they were being used
so much.

"Ah, dinner is served," Gerduk extolled as a Nyan brought a tray with
four bowls to the table.  "Of course, we don't know how much you need
for nourishment, so please don't hesitate to ask for seconds."

Trip looked into his bowl and mentally shrugged.  The stuff looked
like oatmeal, though the fragrance was making his eyes water.  Well,
if you could call it a fragrance.  Stink was more like it, but he had
to keep his officer s face on.  "Looks delicious.  What is it?"

"Oh, it's a delicacy," Amer explained.  "It's a wonderful mixture of
different prottucks with a succulent vinegar and sulfur sauce.  One of
my personal favorites."

Trip nodded, a grin plastered on his face as he whispered out the side
of his mouth, "Please tell me the UT messed that up."

Archer patted the man's knee, now worried himself.  They'd get through
it.  How bad could it be?  He spooned some into his mouth and found
out.  The gruel had the consistency of sand ... and my God, it was
moving in his mouth The UT was indeed not mistaken - the rancid taste
in his mouth was a mixture of rotten eggs and white vinegar.  With
difficulty, he swallowed and forced himself to smile.  "Prottucks ...
just what are they?"

Swallowing his own healthy spoonful, Gerduk replied, "They're a
crustacean.  As you can taste, they're best eaten live.  We have a
hatchery here on board - it is the staple of our diet."

They managed to get through the dinner, the impromptu harmonica
concert, and the claustrophobic size of the corridors.  Aboard
Enterprise, they both broke into a run.  "My cabin's closest if you
wanna use my bathroom, Cap'n," Trip said as they moved quickly.

"Sounds good to me ... God, just get me some toothpaste," Jon said.

They passed a crewman who began dry heaving at the odor coming off the
men.

Reaching the door, Trip tapped in his code and slammed into the closed
doors of his cabin.  "Son of a bitch.  The one mother fuckin' time
I've gotta get in quick and I mess up the damned numbers."  He did his
code again, and the doors swished open.  He tossed his harmonica on
his desk and exclaimed,  Nevermind my fuckin' harmonica's gonna reek
for years from that shit we ate.

Jon couldn't help but laugh.  "Do you kiss your mother with that
mouth?"

Trip glared over his shoulder at him as he entered the bathroom,
snagging the tube of toothpaste from the counter.  Squeezing an
allotment onto his toothbrush he said, "Hell no, she wouldn't come
near me stinkin' like I do." He handed the tube to the Captain and
began brushing his teeth.

Jon gratefully took the extra minty paste from him and liberally
applied it to his teeth and gums with his finger.  They each took
turns rinsing their mouth, then Jon grimaced at Trip.  "I still taste
it."

"Yeah, me too."  He moved his tongue within his mouth hoping to
dislodge the taste, but grimaced instead.  "I think I still have some
of them critters runnin' around in there."

"Ugh, I think you're right," Jon said, moving back into the main room
of Trip's quarters.

Trip followed and began stripping off his uniform.  "God, I feel like
those things are crawlin all over me.  Why'd they have to serve us
bugs, huh Jon?" He tossed the discarded uniform down the laundry chute
and looked at  his Captain while wearing only his blues.

Jon almost choked when he turned around to see an almost naked Trip. 
Technically," he said, trying to keep his composure, "they were
crustaceans  .. you know, like ... snails or something."

Trip shuddered and pulled his tank top off.  "Oh, like that makes me
feel any better."  He tossed the shirt down the chute as well and
walked back toward the bathroom.  "I hate to be a bad host, but I
gotta make sure these things are gone.  I'll only be a few minutes ...
unless of course, you wanna join me."  He ducked into the bathroom and
cursed himself soundly in his head.  Why'd he go and say a fool thing
like that for?  Quickly, he shed the rest of his clothing and jumped
under the hot spray of the shower, hoping that Jon would leave while
he was cleaning himself.

Trip lathered up his hair and swore he could feel some of the buggers
in there.  Shuddering again, he let his faux pas slip from his mind
while he concentrated on ridding his body of any vestiges of his
dinner.  Finally, he relaxed into the spray, his eyes closed, face
taking the brunt of the hot liquid, arms braced on the wall.

Jon swallowed his pride and stuck his tongue back into his mouth after
hearing Trip's words.  It only took him a moment before his brain
began functioning again and he quickly shed himself of his uniform.
Stepping around the door into the misty shower, his heart leapt at the
sight before him: a totally naked Trip with water cascading down his
body, that perfect ass pointed right at him invitingly.  Never one to
give up such a perfect opportunity, he drew the yonger man to him,
letting him feel just how much he enjoyed the view.

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The End