Unexpected

Unexpected

by Orion9

Rating: PG
Genre: General/Action/Adventure

A/N: My very first fan-fic attempt. It also took me a while to decide whether to post this or not as the concept was originally planned for another story (that and the fact that I’m worried that no one will like it). However, it somehow didn’t work as well without the presence of a certain Chief Engineer we all know and love. So, should you ever come across a storyline that seemed vaguely familiar the next time, only without the Enterprise crew, you know why.

A/N2: When I wrote this, we have just reached Season Two’s episode Marauders. Any similar plot, planets, characters, etc, is purely coincidental. This has also not be beta-read so all mistakes are mine. Sorry!

Feedback: Yes, please…It is the only way to improve…

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own anything here except for a planetful of Zenandrians, so please don’t sue me. However, I will gladly trade it for a certain Chief Engineer. Well, any takers?

Chapter One: The Invitation

The Mid Hall, The Royal Zenandrian Palace
Zenandria
1545 hours

Commander Charles ‘Trip’ Tucker III took a deep breath and let it out in a soft whoosh. He was bored. The collar of his dress uniform also felt as if it was getting tighter by the minute. He looked around, trying to ignore the urge to unbutton the collar and head straight out the door for the shuttlepod, ceremony or no ceremony. He peeked surreptitiously at the time. When are they coming out? They have been waiting here for least an hour now.

“Something wrong, Commander?” Sub-Commander T’pol’s voice broke into his reverie.

“Hmm?”

He looked at her distractedly, still lost in his own thoughts of a mad dash for Shuttlepod One.

“I asked,” T’pol repeated patiently, “whether there was something wrong?”

“No… no,” Trip replied, unconsciously tugging at his collar, “just wonderin’ when they were plannin’ to come out, that’s all. Nothin’s been happenin’ for the past hour or so.“

“The coronation process takes many hours,” T’pol said with her usual calm. “I believe we may have to wait a while longer.”

“Great…” Trip muttered under his breath.

On his left, Hoshi was deep in discussion with the Zenandrian standing beside her. He looked to his right, past T’pol. At least Captain Archer seemed to be enjoying himself. Then again, the Captain could see what was going on in the great hall to the right of them. From where he’s standing, all he could see is the right door. Trip gave another sigh and resigned himself to a long wait.

“38, 39…”

Beside him, T’pol arched an eyebrow. Commander Tucker is apparently counting the squares on the door… again. She thought that he would have managed to acquire the correct number by now, seeing that he had counted the same squares four times already. Every now and then humans can be extremely illogical, and Commander Tucker is no different – sometimes more, and have caused her many long hours of meditation.

“176, 177…”

Suddenly, the blare of trumpets caught Trip’s attention. He looked at T’pol.

“The coronation ceremony is finally finished. They are coming out now,” she said in answer to Trip’s unspoken question.

“I suggest that you get behind the red line, Commander.”

Trip looked down and realised that he was standing on the red carpet-like material that stretched from inside the great hall to the doorway on the other end of the hall where they are in. With a slight flush, he quickly stepped back.

Just in time, he thought to himself as the first of many Zenandrian officials walked out of the great hall. As they did, the officials stopped to shake the hands of those waiting in line. Trip looked curiously at them as they came nearer. So far, all they had seen were Zenandrian males. He wondered how the princess looked like.

Enterprise had arrived at the green planet’s orbit two days ago. Once they had established contact, Captain Archer was invited, along with three other crewmembers, to witness the coronation of the eldest royal princess. He had picked T’pol, Trip and Hoshi to complete the away team, leaving Malcolm in charge of the ship.

According to T’pol, the ruling power passes from the current monarch to his or her eldest child. After the coronation, the royal prince or princess will spend two years learning how to govern the planet under the tutelage of the current monarch, after which full power will be passed on to him or her. This coronation is slightly special, as it is the first coronation of a royal Zenandrian Princess in five hundred years.

The Zenandrians even look human, mused Trip as the group walked nearer to where the Enterprise officers were standing. Except for those tiny green antennae sticking out of their heads, he amended silently.

“And these are the officers of the starship Enterprise, an exploration vessel from the planet Earth,” Dakr’a, the Zenandrian Prime Minister, said as they stopped in front of Captain Archer.

“King J’ok, may I present to you her captain, Captain Jonathan Archer.”

“Captain Archer.”

“Congratulations on your daughter’s coronation, Your Majesty,” Archer replied, shaking the king’s hand.

“Thank you, Captain. We are so glad you are able to join us,” the king replied warmly. He continued, pride clearly in his voice.

“This is my wife, Queen Mylir, my eldest daughter, Princess Xadria and my youngest child, Princess Xanindra.”

Three Zenandrian females stepped forward towards them, two adults and a young girl of about ten years of age. Trip’s eyes widen in surprise as he got his first glimpse of the Zenandrian queen and princesses. He hadn’t expected them to be so beautiful. They were petite and slim, with waist-length raven-black hair. A few other Zenandrian females stood slightly behind them. Beautiful as well, they too had tiny green antennae. However, as like King J’ok’s, Queen Mylir and the princesses’ antennae were blue.

Well, I’ll be, Trip thought, delighted with his observation, they’re colour-coded! He grinned at Hoshi. She smiled back uncertainly, perplexed at the sudden flash of teeth from the commander. She was about to ask him what was so funny when Captain Archer spoke again.

“Your Majesty, this is Sub-Commander T’pol, my Science Officer,” Archer introduced.

“Ahh… welcome, Sub-Commander,” King J’ok said with a smile, “it’s been a while since the Vulcans have visited Zenandria. We’re very glad to have you here with us today.”

“Thank you, King J’ok,” T’pol replied evenly. “It is indeed a great privilege to be present for Princess Xadria’s coronation ceremony.”

Archer continued, introducing Trip and Hoshi.

“This is Commander Charles Tucker, my Chief Engineer, and Ensign Hoshi Sato, my Communications Officer.”

King J’ok’s smile widened.

“Chief Engineer, eh? I bet you could fix just about anything.”

“Well, not exactly everythin’, Your Majesty, but I wouldn’t mind givin’ it a try,” Trip grinned.

The jovial monarch laughed at his reply and turned to Hoshi.

His turn in the spotlight over, Trip looked towards the other members of the royal family. He was a little startled to find Princess Xadria staring unblinkingly at his direction. Resisting the urge to turn around to see if there was someone else standing behind him, he gave her a tentative smile before turning his attention back to the king, who had just finished a conversation with Hoshi in the native Zenandrian tongue.

“You have a very talented crew, Captain Archer,” King J’ok remarked.

Archer acknowledged the compliment with a smile and a word of thanks.

With that, the royal entourage moved on to the next group waiting in line. Dakr’a turned to Archer.

“The royal family hopes that you and your crew will be free to attend the celebrations later this evening, Captain Archer.”

Archer looked at T’pol. Will this be in violation any protocol? At her slight nod, he turned back to Dakr’a with a grin.

“Thank you for the invitation. We will be honoured to come.”


TBC

Continue to Chapter 2

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