Before In a Mirror, Darkly

Before In a Mirror, Darkly is story written by Green47, also known as R-Alex-J,that intends to follow the adventures of ISS Enterprise (NX-01) that occurred before the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes In a Mirror, Darkly, and In a Mirror, Darkly Part II. The story starts in 2153 and continues in no particular order.

Cogenitor
While studying a hypergiant star, Enterprise encounters a Vissian starship. Intrigued by the third gender of the Vissian species, the cogenitors, Commander Charles Tucker breaches protocol and risks putting Captain Forrest's plan to gain Vissian technology at risk. Meanwhile, First Officer Archer shares some time with the Vissian captain and later tries to help Tucker escape trouble, while Major Reed and the Vissian tactical officer spend some time alone. How will Forrest & Archer resolve Tucker's mess?

Interlude
After the Vissian encounter, Doctor Phlox and the ship's chef sample some unusual food.

Characters
Commanding officer of Enterprise, Forrest is often at odds with his first officer, Commander Archer. Although the two of them and Commander Tucker worked together on the NX Project, Forrest worries about Archer and is eager to get him off the ship where possible. Forrest is eager to get new technology for the Terran Empire and will use both diplomacy and violence to achieve this. First officer of Enterprise, Archer looks unambitious but is secretly building up a power base as an alternative captain. Serving as helmsman, Archer thinks greatness comes from conquest, not exploration, but is also the officer the captain turns to when diplomacy is needed. Science officer of Enterprise, T'Pol has high status amongst the alien conscripts of the ship as she is a member of the Vulcan Syrannite movement. Despite this, she knows that as an alien she has a precarious position. Chief Engineer of Enterprise, Tucker is severely deformed from the delta radiation emanating from the warp core. Although he may be irritable and angry, he is willing to help those in need. The Military Assault Command Operations leader onboard Enterprise, Reed is eager for combat, yet is easily distracted by attractive aliens of a similar profession. Communications officer of Enterprise, Sato is also the captain's woman, having a romantic relationship with Forrest. One of the MACOs of Enterprise, Mayweather is welcoming to alien visitors, yet will come down hard on alien conscripts who foolishly cause a problem. Chief medical officer of Enterprise, Phlox is a capable healer and research scientist, but is always ready to go too extremes wherever necessary. One of the MACOs of Enterprise, Cutler is one of the most feared crewwomen aboard and is always ready to dish out punishment on behalf of Captain Forrest. In charge of feeding the crew of Enterprise, Chef's dishes are generally conventional, but his own tastes are cannibalistic. Every now and then, he and Phlox enjoy a good cooked enemy, which he may also serve to the MACOs on special occasions.
 * Captain Maximilian Forrest
 * Commander Jonathan Archer
 * Commander )T'Pol
 * Commander Charles Tucker III
 * Major Malcolm Reed
 * Lieutenant Hoshi Sato
 * Sergeant Travis Mayweather
 * Doctor Phlox
 * Corporal Elizabeth Cutler
 * Chef