The Miles That Lay Ahead- Chapter 19

The Miles That Lay Ahead

by Gabi

Genre: Action/Adventure/Angst
Rating: PG-13 (one or two chapters will be rated R later on)

Disclaimer: I guess I own the aliens in this story, the friendly as well as the unfriendly ones, but unfortunately none of the Enterprise staff.

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Chapter 19

Malcolm had no idea what to say. He liked Farina but they didn't seem to have many common interests to talk about. They weren't even from the same planet. But fortunately Farina was very talkative, and mostly didn't even expect an answer.

"Can I ask you something, Lieutenant Reed?"

"Malcolm. My friends call me Malcolm."

Farina beamed. "You're saying you consider me your friend?" she asked excitedly.

Malcolm couldn't suppress a smile. She was so young, no matter how mature she tried to appear. And he could easily guess what she was thinking.

"Hm," he said vaguely. "You wanted to ask me something."

"Yes." Farina leaned closer to his shoulder. "It's... it's kind of a personal question. I don't want to offend you."

"You won't."

"My father thought... he said... well, I mean..." Farina took a deep breath. "My father said it could be possible that you're not interested in me at all."

"Why not? You're a pretty young woman, very nice and intelligent." Malcolm stopped when he became aware of the implication of Tasur's words. "Oh." He stiffened. "Your father's wrong," he said curtly.

"I'm glad to hear that." Farina smiled at him. "Please don't be angry. We couldn't know for sure."

"I'm not gay," Malcolm said, embarrassed, but in a firm tone of voice. "Neither is Commander Tucker." What a mess he had made with his simple wish not to leave Trip alone during the night. But considering the events of last night Malcolm was still convinced that he had done the right thing.

"My father found it a little... strange that you wanted to spend the night in one room with your fellow officer. Please don't be angry with him."

"Perhaps Trip wouldn't even have survived this attack, if I hadn't been there." Malcolm tried not to let his anger show. Tasur's speculations weren't Farina's fault.

"What attack?" Farina looked at him with big eyes.

"Didn't your father tell you about it? We were attacked last night. To be more specific, Trip was attacked."

"I don't believe you." Fiercely, Farina shook her head. "In our house? That can't be true."

"Your father said the same thing."

"And he's right. Who would want to attack your Commander Tucker in a house full of guards?"

"Perhaps the attackers were members of the guard," Malcolm said.

Farina looked at him as if he were crazy, then pressed her lips together. "I don't know what you're thinking of us, Lieutenant," she said stiffly. Malcolm noticed that she was using his title again, rejecting his offer to address him with his given name. "We offered you our hospitality and you're trying to tell me my father's guard attacked you at night? That's absolutely ridiculous. Absurd and ridiculous."

Malcolm decided to drop the subject. He was fed up with discussing the same matter over and over again. Being told again and again how impossible it was that they had been attacked in this place. If it had been only him, their disbelief might have left him thinking that it had only been a dream, but Trip had been attacked as well. And was still feeling the consequences of their nightly struggle. This morning, Malcolm had seen the bruise on his friend's hip where he'd collided with the floor, as well as his badly bruised ribs. In a way, it annoyed him that everyone he talked to denied the attack so vehemently and looked at him as if he were hallucinating.

They walked in silence for some minutes. Discreetly, Malcolm tried to change their direction so they were headed back for the picnic place. But Farina threw him a knowing glance, then took his arm and practically dragged him behind a bush. She seemed to have overcome her anger; maybe she had realized that their time together was limited and decided not to waste it with an argument. Before Malcolm had had a chance to react, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

Surprised, Malcolm just stood there and let it happen, but then he felt his body reacting to the kiss. Farina's lips were soft and warm, and her tongue forced its way between his lips. Malcolm pulled her feminine body closer and opened his mouth to let her tongue in. He had almost started to relax and enjoy the kiss, when he heard someone cry out. In an instant, he pushed her away.

"What was that?" he asked, alarmed.

"Nothing, Malcolm, why...?"

"Malcolm!" It was Trip. And he sounded definitely panicked. Malcolm turned around and ran back as fast as he could, his heels clacking on the garden-path. When their picnic place came in sight, he could see three masked figures crouching over Trip, who lay motionless on his back.

"Hey, stop it!" Malcolm yelled to distract them from whatever they were doing with Trip. It worked. The men looked up, jumped to their feet and ran away. For a moment, Malcolm considered pursuing them but then he stopped and kneeled down beside his friend. Carefully, he put a hand on the engineer's shoulder. "Trip, what happened? Are you okay?"

Trip groaned and opened his eyes. Worriedly, Malcolm gave him a brief look-over. The bruise on Trip's left cheekbone was darkening at a rapid speed, and a small trace of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"Is the Cap'n here already?" Trip mumbled indistinctly. "My head feels like a shuttle's landed on it."

"I'm glad you're okay." Malcolm smiled in relief. "Any idea what they wanted?"

"No, I don't have a clue." Trip tried to prop himself up on his elbows and Malcolm supported his back.

While he was still helping his friend, Malcolm suddenly became aware of Farina standing beside him, her eyes wide with shock. "I'm so sorry, Malcolm, that I didn't believe you", she said. "I would've never believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. He was attacked in our very own park. That's outrageous."

The girl seemed to be in shock. Malcolm let go of Trip to get up and comfort her. Carefully he helped her sit down on the blanket. "Sit down, Farina, it's okay. Trip hasn't been harmed."

But Farina stared at Trip's arm with a blank expression on her face. Following her gaze, Malcolm detected a very small trace of blood at the inner side of Trip's elbow. "What's that?" he asked alarmed and grabbed Trip's arm so vehemently that the engineer almost lost his balance.

Trip frowned, shaking his head. "I don't know."

Malcolm examined the arm. "Looks like they've taken a blood sample."

"A blood sample?" Farina looked at him, her face as white as a sheet. "Someone took a blood sample from him?"

"Looks like they did."

Angrily, Farina jumped to her feet. "My father has to be informed about this," she exclaimed and with renewed energy she ran across the grass to the comm panel.

-###-

Like he had done in the morning, Tasur was pacing his office. He had become even more agitated after he had gotten word from Farina about Malcolm's suspicion that someone had forcibly taken a blood sample from Trip. Dorsik had confirmed the lieutenant's theory.

As he sat in a chair in the governor's office, Trip tried to fathom the doctor's expressionless face, searching for any indication that Dorsik knew something about what was going on. Trip was quite sure that the doctor's innocent facade was only a sham. Who else could have any use of his blood? But Tasur didn't seem inclined to consider this possibility. He seemed confused, at a loss what to do.

Annoyed by the governor's obvious helplessness, Malcolm looked from one man to the other. "Let's try to analyze the situation logically," he suggested. "Who could want a sample of Trip's blood? In my opinion, the fact that a blood sample was taken indicates that a physician was involved in the attack in some way or another."

"What are you saying, Lieutenant?" Tasur stared at him in disbelief. "Are you accusing Dorsik of attacking your friend? He's absolutely reliable. He would never take a blood sample without permission."

I agree, Trip thought. Of course he wouldn't have to do it himself, he had some hired men to do the dirty work. But he kept his thoughts to himself, knowing that Tasur would never believe him.

"You weren't able to recognize anyone, were you, Commander?" Tasur asked. Finally, he seemed to have calmed down enough to concentrate on the facts.

"No, I wasn't. They were masked, like the men last night."

"So you're sure the attackers were men?"

"Definitely. I guess one of them has some pretty deep scratches on his neck."

Tasur looked up. "Then we can identify him. I'll order my staff to assemble in the hall. We'll see who has scratches on his neck." Resolutely, Tasur nodded at them and left the room.

"I hope he won't forget about his guard," Malcolm muttered sarcastically. "Do you think he'll find them?"

"I guess all he will do is cause an embarrassin' situation." Trip shrugged. "But it's the only thing he can do."

Harek entered the room. "I'm here to bring you to the hall," he said smiling. Involuntarily, Trip looked at his neck, but there were no scratches to be seen.

Following Tasur, they walked along the long row of household employees and guards. Most of the employees looked down at the floor whereas some of the guards threw them belligerent looks. Rassik's eyes still were full of hatred. This man didn't like them at all, but that couldn't possibly be a reason to attack Trip.

When they finally ended their inspection they hadn't found anyone with as much as a scrape on his neck. Tasur looked relieved. "See, it wasn't anyone of my staff."

Trip nodded. "It was your idea to do this, Governor," he said loudly. He wanted these people to know that this humiliating procedure had been initiated by Tasur himself. But what if the man they were searching for simply hadn't been among these people? Would Tasur realize if someone was missing? Perhaps he had even known that they wouldn't be able to identify anyone. In the end, it didn't make any difference. Trip only wanted to leave this place. A glance at Malcolm told him that his friend felt the same way. He was as annoyed with Tasur's behavior as he was.

"Would you please call Jeren," Malcolm asked. "It's time for us to leave."

Tasur seemed offended. "Please, stay a little longer. I'll guarantee for your safety. I promise, from now on my guard will watch your every step."

"That's very kind of you, Governor, but we wouldn't feel very comfortable bein' observed all the time," Trip said, forcing a friendly smile. "We've enjoyed very much bein' your guests, but it's time to return to Jeren and his sister, who offered us their hospitality as well. We don't want to disappoint them."

"I understand, but I had hoped you would decide to wait in my house for your ship to arrive." Tasur nodded. "Very well, it's a pity that you want to leave but if that's your wish I will of course call for Jeren." Stiffly, Tasur turned around to order someone of his staff to make the call.

"Very diplomatic, Commander," Malcolm whispered in Trip's direction.

Trip grimaced. "I've learned a lot from Jon. I just hope we'll be able to leave without offendin' the governor too much."

Farina was very disappointed when she heard about their decision. "Can't you stay a while longer?" she begged Malcolm. "Jeren can take the Commander with him and we can spend the rest of the time together."

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Why?"

Malcolm racked his mind for an answer. He had no wish to offend the girl; he liked her and had already started to feel comfortable in her company, but he also knew that he couldn't stay here. Things were getting dangerous, especially for Trip, and Malcolm had no intention of leaving his friend alone. Neither here nor at Jeren's place. But he was quite sure Farina wouldn't understand that. "The Commander and I need to be together when our ship arrives," he told her. "Our captain wouldn't be very pleased if he had to search for us at two different places."

"Hm, I can understand that." Farina sighed. "How long do you think will you stay here on Renelan?"

"I don't know. That depends on how fast Enterprise can be here."

"Will you come for a walk with me tomorrow? If you're still here at the time." Farina smiled shyly.

Malcolm nodded. "We'll see," he said vaguely, but that was enough for Farina, who smiled happily at his answer.

-###-

Jeren arrived about an hour later. While they were waiting, Tasur and Javor never left their side. Harek and Rassik stayed in the room as well, both guards keeping their hands on their weapons. It was quite annoying. Tasur's caution was understandable, now that Trip had been attacked twice, but still, no one would dare to harm them in the governor's presence. It wasn't necessary to place an armed guard in here, let alone two guards. Tasur might have intended to put his guests at ease, but the presence of the guards did nothing to ease the tension that was hanging over the room. Harek carried his weapon in a holster on his hip, but Rassik held his gun in his hand and from time to time aimed it at Malcolm, pretending it to be mere coincidence.

Naturally, both Trip and Malcolm were quite relieved when an employee announced Jeren's arrival. Tasur hastily stood up to meet him and shook the doctor's hand in his usual hearty manner. Jeren talked to him for a few seconds then came over to where Trip and Malcolm were waiting. The forced smile they had seen on his face during his conversation with Tasur changed to genuine warmth when he greeted them.

"Well, looks like you've had enough of this place already," he teased, but the expression on his face changed when he saw the bruise on Trip's cheekbone. His eyes seemed to ask what had happened but he didn't say a word in front of Tasur.

Harek stepped closer to pick Trip up, but Jeren shook his head. "I'll carry him." There was something in his eyes that made Harek step back immediately.

Trip wrapped an arm around Jeren's neck, and Jeren lifted him up. The governor and his daughter accompanied them to the staircase leading to the big patio.

"I enjoyed your visit very much," Tasur said to Trip. "It was very enlightening. I would love to meet your captain. Maybe you could drop by once more before you leave. I hope you're not too angry with me. I apologize for the incidents once again, and assure you that the attackers will be punished severely when we find them."

Farina had taken hold of Malcolm's arm and seemed reluctant to let go of him. "I'll come and visit you tomorrow," she told him. Malcolm nodded vaguely.

Both of them felt relieved when they finally sat in Jeren's flitter and their friend boosted the engines.

"Hey Mal, why don't you take the girl with you aboard Enterprise?" Trip teased, trying to ease the tension that was making itself felt.

"Why should I?" Malcolm felt very uncomfortable being teased about Farina.

"She could take care of you." Trip chuckled.

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," Malcolm snapped. "Just drop it, Commander."

"Okay, boys." Jeren threw a glance over his shoulder. "What incidents? Who gave you that shiner, Trip?"

They became serious at once, and Malcolm sighed. "Trip was attacked twice."

"Twice?" Jeren shot them a curious look. "How could that happen?"

Malcolm told him about the nightly attack and Trip explained about this afternoon's incident.

"Did they do anything to you except the bruised cheek?"

"I believe they've taken a blood sample."

"Dammit." Jeren started so badly that for a moment he lost control of the helm and the flitter began to shudder. Quickly, he brought it back on course. "Do you know for sure?" he asked then.

"Dorsik confirmed it. Although we're still not quite sure it wasn't him who initiated the attack. Who else could use a blood sample if not a physician?"

"You're right, but Dorsik isn't really more than a lackey. He only does what Tasur tells him to do."

"Tasur? Are you sayin'...“

"...that Tasur himself arranged these attacks? I'm quite sure he did."

"That can't be. You should've seen him. He was fumin' mad that somethin' like that could happen in his own house."

"Tasur's quite a good actor," Jeren said derisively.

"Then he did quite a good job of foolin' us." Trip shook his head. "You think he kicked up all this embarrassin' fuss about the staff havin' to show us their necks just to distract us?"

"Show you their necks? What do you mean?"

Malcolm explained. "Trip managed to scratch one of his attackers. In fact, none of the men had any visible injuries on their necks. But if Tasur himself arranged the attack, then he probably made sure that the man in question wasn't among the assembled staff in the first place."

"I don't think that was necessary."

"But we might have been able to identify him." Malcolm stopped and looked down at his hands, the truth dawning on him. "I see," he said. "If you were able to heal my hands within two days, then Dorsik could have healed these scratches within a few minutes."

"Yes. The palace's laboratory is almost as good as ours back in the Health Center."

"Wait a minute." His eyebrows drawing together, Malcolm glanced at the dark bruise on Trip's cheek. "Then why didn't he offer to heal Trip's bruises?"

"Because you would have noticed all the sophisticated equipment, and this would have made you even more suspicious."

"So you're saying the attackers were standing right in front of us, laughing at our stupidity?"

Trip frowned angrily. "Looks like we've been taken for a ride."

"Don't blame yourselves," Jeren tried to reassure them. "There was nothing you could have done about it."

"They wouldn't have had a chance this afternoon if I'd kept my promise to stay with Trip." Malcolm sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, Mal," Trip said appeasingly, but Malcolm didn't look very convinced.

"Do you think it was Farina's intention to lure me away from Trip?" he asked Jeren.

"No, I don't think so. Tasur is a coward, but I don't think he would use his daughter for his plans. Perhaps it was enough for him to suggest you go on this picnic and she helped him without knowing about it. Don't feel guilty, Malcolm. Trip is right, it wasn't your fault. Even if you had stayed close to him all the time, it could have happened all the same. You wouldn't have been able to fight them off. I'm sure Tasur told as few of his guards as possible but if necessary, he would have sent all of his men against you."

"Harek as well?" Trip asked. He could hardly imagine Harek participating in such an attack.

"I guess so. I don't know exactly how loyal he is to Tasur. But I think he would follow all of his orders without questioning them."

"You don't trust him, do you?"

"Not anymore. I used to trust him with my life about six years ago. But we've changed. Harek has, and I have, too. We don't have much in common now."

Trip heard the bitterness in Jeren's voice and knew that losing his best friend had been hard for him. "Well," he said. "I liked him."

Malcolm chewed his lower lip. "Why haven't you told us about all that before, Jeren? If you had warned us about Tasur's men being dangerous, I could have prepared myself to protect Trip."

"I would have told you, but I didn't know for sure that something like this would happen. You're right, I was concerned about Tasur, but I thought he would believe the story about the torn nerves. He'd only investigate further if he knew more about Trip than he let on. I didn't want to worry you about a rather unlikely possibility."

Trip stared at his legs, and all of a sudden he realized what this all was about. "It's about this T-14 in my blood, isn't it?"

Jeren nodded. "Yeah. And about the cure."

"That was why you asked me not to mention it. But what's so special about it? You told me this substance is well known on your planet. So why would they attack me to get more information about it?"

"That's right," Malcolm nodded. "And I don't see how Tasur could know about Trip's blood containing T-14. You said we're the only ones who know about it."

Jeren's eyes went dark with anger. "Exactly."

During the rest of the flight Jeren was lost in his own thoughts, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Neither Trip nor Malcolm dared to disturb his broodings; they'd never seen their new friend in such a mood before.

Absentmindedly, Jeren parked the flitter in front of the house and opened the hatches. Still lost in thought, he didn't really watch what he was doing when he lifted Trip out of the flitter, and the engineer couldn't suppress a low moan when Jeren's hands squeezed his bruised ribs. Jeren came out of his trance.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Did I hurt you?"

"It's okay. It's only that my ribs are a little bruised."

"From the attack last night?"

"Yeah, but it's no big deal."

"Let the doctor be the judge of that, will you?" Jeren smiled and seemed to have forgotten about his anger when he carried Trip into the house. Erianna was already waiting for them. She hugged Malcolm, then, after Jeren had sat him down in a chair, she came over to hug Trip as well. "It's good to have you back," she said, stopping in her tracks when she looked at Trip's face. "What happened?" she asked, alarmed.

"Trip's been attacked," Jeren explained. "They've taken a blood sample from him. Damn, I should have known. I'll kill him. I'll kill this slimy little snitch with my own hands."

Erianna laid her hand on his arm. "Calm down, Jeren. Who are you talking about?"

"Kenan of course. He's the only one who knew about the T-14 in Trip's blood. I suspected him of being Tasur's spy for a long time now but I never had any evidence. He infiltrated my team to spy on me and to keep Tasur informed about my activities. But he will pay for this, I swear. He won't get away with it."

With a worried expression, Erianna looked at him. "Do you think Trip's in danger?"

Jeren visibly pulled himself together, trying to calm down. "Dorsik will need some time to analyze the blood sample. Now I'm sure he knows about the T-14, but I never told Kenan about the cure. It is an unknown substance, so he couldn't have possibly seen it on his scanners. So Dorsik doesn't really know what he has got there. I'm sure he'll detect this substance but he has to work some more thorough tests to analyze it. I had an uncontaminated blood sample from Malcolm for comparison, but Dorsik only has Trip's blood. So I guess it will take him at least two days to discover what he's got. Trip's safe for the time being. Tasur won't send the Counselors only because of the T-14, even if he doesn't know why it is in Trip's blood. But Dorsik surely will find the traces of the cure and if he does, then we can't guarantee for Trip's safety anymore. We'll have to find a safe place for Trip. And soon."

"Perhaps Arissa and Yanis will take him in for a while."

"That's a good idea. At least for a few days."

Standing there with his arms akimbo, Malcolm didn't even try to hide his annoyance. "Would you two mind telling us what's going on here?" he asked, disgruntled.

Jeren turned around to face them. "Well, I guess you have a right to know. Just wait a minute." Jeren fetched a med kit from the shelf and took care of the bruise in Trip's face. It didn't go away, but it didn't hurt anymore, either. When he had finished with the bruise on Trip's cheek, Jeren asked him to lift his shirt. Frowning, he examined the bruised ribs, then spotted the dark spot that was half covered by Trip's pants. "What's that?"

"Nothin'." Trip was beginning to feel uncomfortable with this thorough examination.

"Yeah, I can see that. Come on, let me take a look at it."

"Jeren..."

"This bruise looks rather nasty, and needs to be treated. Come on, you don't have to undress completely."

Sighing, Trip pushed his jeans over his right hip.

"Can you lean over, please?"

"Anythin' else you want me to do?" Trip threw a glance at Malcolm who promptly supported his shoulder so he could lean over.

Jeren applied some ointment to the bruised ribs, and Trip held his breath at the burning sensation.

"The burning will subside in a few seconds," Jeren reassured him. "Did you tell Tasur about this?"

"That someone kicked me in the ribs? Yeah, I did."

"And he didn't offer to let Dorsik take a look at it?"

"No."

Jeren pressed his lips together. "A very attentive host," he muttered, applying some more of the ointment. Trip steeled himself for the pain but this time, the burning sensation wasn't nearly as bad as the first time. The dull pain he'd been feeling in his side all day was beginning to subside as well.

With another salve, Jeren took care of the bruise on his hip. "Okay," he said. "All done. Any more pain?"

"No, it's gone. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome. It would have been Dorsik's job to take care of your injuries, though." Jeren looked up. "Why don't we all go and sit on the verandah for a while? Trip can lie down there, and it's a nice place to talk."

"I'm not tired," Trip objected and immediately belied his statement as he had to stifle a yawn.

"Yes, I see you're not." Jeren smiled. "Don't you think it would be best to lie down for a little while? You won't be sleeping, anyway. There are important things I have to tell you about."

TBC

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One person has made comments

Another great chapter!