The Miles That Lay Ahead- Chapter 24

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: in chapter 1.

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Chapter 24

Night was already falling when Erianna landed the flitter. The minute she shut down the engines, Arissa came running out of the door.

Opening the hatch, she exclaimed: "It’s about time. We’ve been so worried about you. Did you get him out?"

"We did," Jeren told her.

Arissa went pale when she saw Trip lying in Malcolm's arms. "What's happened to him?"

"Dorsik tried to kill him. We found him just in time."

Malcolm grimaced. "'Just in time' might be somewhat exaggerated. Dorsik had already injected him with the poison when we came in."

"Poison?" Arissa swallowed anxiously. "What poison?"

"T-18. The poison they're using to put the patients in the left wing to sleep. Trip can't move at the moment, but the cure I've synthesized using his blood is already starting to work."

Jeren tried to pick Trip up. "You can let go of him now, Malcolm," he said gently. "We were still in time, Trip will survive. All he needs right now is rest. Come on, let go."

Reluctantly, Malcolm loosened his grip and let Jeren take Trip. Yes, Trip would survive. But in what condition? Jeren had told them about the cure taking effect but he had admitted that he didn't know much about it. Would Trip be able to move again? Or would his secret fears come true, the T-18 leaving him with a completely paralyzed body for the rest of his life? Malcolm swallowed when he looked over to Trip who lay limply in Jeren's arms, his arms and legs dangling lifelessly. This damn planet hadn't brought them anything but trouble. First they had almost been killed out in that bloody desert, and now this. Malcolm took a deep breath, trying to control his anger as well as his fear. He couldn't help Trip by being upset.

Yanis, Arissa's husband, and his mother Malika were waiting for them inside. Malika, a gray-haired woman with grave features, smiled when she saw Jeren and Erianna, but her face grew worried when she looked at Trip. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be safe here," she said in a warm tone of voice. "Don't worry." She turned to Jeren. "We've prepared two rooms in the basement for you. Please come. It's not what I'd call cozy down there, but no one will find you there." She limped over to the wall where she opened a hidden door, revealing a staircase leading to the basement.

"Please go on," she said. "I'm not that fast. It's the two rooms at the end of the hallway."

Jeren nodded and went down the stairs, careful not to jostle Trip. Erianna opened the door to one of the rooms and Jeren laid Trip down on the bed. "Try to rest," he told him and turned to his sister and Malcolm. "Can you take care of him? I'll tell Yanis and Arissa what happened." He laid his arms around the shoulders of Malika and Arissa, who both stood at the door with worried expressions on their faces. "He’ll be alright. But he needs some rest."

"Would be for the best," Malika agreed. "What about you? I can imagine you're hungry after all the excitement."

Malcolm shook his head, noticing from the corners of his eyes how Erianna did the same. They weren't going to leave Trip now.

Malika smiled understandingly. "I'll have something brought down to you. You have to eat something to regain your strength."

-###-

While Erianna disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes, Malcolm set about the business of undressing Trip. While he pulled Trip's arms out of the t-shirt and peeled the jeans off his legs, he had to fight down the burning sensation in his eyes. He had done these things for Trip before, aboard Enterprise, while the engineer had been recovering from his first ordeal with the alien poison. But it was different this time. Trip had been able to talk then, sometimes even joking about his condition, and had been happy about every muscle he could move again. But now, without being able to swallow, Trip couldn't even drink a sip of water. How long would it take until he would be able to move again? Always assuming, of course, that Trip would recover at all. Secretly, Malcolm was afraid that Jeren might be wrong, despite the confidence the doctor had shown in their presence. What if Trip’s condition wouldn’t improve?

Malcolm could feel his friend's gaze resting on him. There was an inquiring expression in Trip's eyes when Malcolm carefully lifted his upper body to remove the t-shirt. He followed his movements with his eyes as far as his motionless head would allow it. Malcolm bit his lips. He could hardly bear this silent suffering. He should talk to Trip, try to ease his fears, but he couldn't say a word. And what was he going to say, anyway? Sorry I let you down? Sorry that you have to suffer because of my carelessness? He knew Trip was trying to meet his eyes but he couldn't look at his friend's face. He knew for sure he would only find reproachful accusation in these blue eyes. The question why he had failed him, why, as the security chief of Enterprise, Malcolm hadn't been able to protect his superior officer. Why he hadn't been able to stop Dorsik from injecting Trip with the poison that had once again taken away his ability to move. Malcolm knew he would lose his hard fought for composure if he met Trip's eyes right now.

Erianna stepped up behind him just as he covered Trip with a sheet. She sat down beside the bed, still watching Malcolm who stared down at the white sheets with a miserable expression on his face.

"He'll be okay, Malcolm," she tried to comfort him. "I'm sure he will."

Sadly, Malcolm looked up. "It's the second time I'm sitting at his bedside, waiting for him to recover from an ordeal I could have prevented. If I had done my job right, that is." He smiled bitterly.

"It's not your fault. You wouldn't have been able to prevent it. But it was your intervention that saved him." Erianna looked at the engineer. "You feel the same way about it, don't you?" she asked him.

Trip winked at her, but Malcolm couldn't see it. He only shrugged. Erianna's words didn't make him feel any better.

"You're afraid the cure isn't going to help him, aren't you?"

Malcolm winced at these words. He didn't want Erianna to voice his fears. Trip couldn't talk, but he was able to hear every single word, and burdening him with additional fears was the last thing Malcolm intended to do.

"Jeren said it's already started to work," Erianna said.

"Yes, he did," Malcolm admitted reluctantly. He would love to believe it. Suddenly he couldn't keep his feelings inside anymore. "That bloody poison. This is the second time he's been injected with that substance and the cure in only a short time. How long do you think his body can withstand this strain?"

"Trip is strong. He will make it."

"Hm." Malcolm’s thoughts went back to the time when he and the captain had been sitting at Trip's bed, not knowing whether the cure would take any effect at all. Whether Trip would pull through or die. At least he knew for sure that Trip would survive this time. But Malcolm remembered Trip's fear when his friend had thought he was going to be handicapped for the rest of his life. He didn't dare to think about the consequences the latest large dose of poison might have for Trip. What if he stayed paralyzed, maybe even without the ability to speak or to swallow some food? Malcolm sighed deeply. How could he ever look Trip in the eyes again? How could he face Captain Archer if he brought Trip back to Enterprise in this condition? It had been his job to watch over Trip, and in this Malcolm Reed had failed badly. He had neglected his duties and had enjoyed the time with Farina while Trip had been struggling for his life. Farina! All of a sudden, Malcolm felt hot anger when he thought of the young woman.

"Do you think Farina intended to lure me away from Trip?" he asked Erianna.

She considered. "I don't think so. Perhaps Tasur used her for his plans, but she would never willingly take part in an attempted murder."

"But she seemed pretty sure Trip was going to go to that afterlife of yours very soon. She made it sound like a fact, and not only a possibility."

Erianna bit her lip. "A few years ago I had a very interesting talk with Farina. I don't think she knows about her father's doings. Her mother died when she was born, and Tasur raised her on his own. She means the world to him. All the same, he has influenced her a lot. Farina's faith in the afterlife is extremely strong for a young Renelan like her. She believes in earnest that all ill Renelans should go to the afterlife because they'll have a much better life over there."

Malcolm nodded. "She said this to me, too."

"Did you enjoy the walk?" Erianna smiled.

"Hm, yeah, I did." Sheepishly, Malcolm smiled back. He was glad Erianna had resolved his doubts about Farina. But despite of this their walk had been a mistake, an unnecessary risk he should not have taken.

"I shouldn't have gone with her." Malcolm sighed. "It was my job to stay with you, look out for any potential danger."

"I'm glad you weren't there when it happened," Erianna said softly, gently stroking over Trip's hand.

Abruptly, Malcolm looked up. "What do you mean? I could have stopped them if I'd been there."

"No, Malcolm, I don't think so." Erianna's features were sad. "They were well prepared for a hand to hand combat. And they caught us in a completely unguarded moment. None of us had expected them to come so soon. I still have trouble believing they really intended to kill Trip. I don't like Tasur, but I never expected him to be so cold-blooded." Erianna rubbed her face and looked at Trip. "Jeren thought that Tasur and Dorsik were going to try and hide you somewhere. We never thought that they might try and kill you. We weren't prepared for that possibility." Tears began to trickle down Erianna's cheeks. "Please don't think we Renelans are a cruel race. Not all of us are like Dorsik and Rassik."

"We'd never think anything like that." Hearing how Erianna blamed herself shocked Malcolm. "It was not your fault. Without your help Trip would be dead by now. You did great." Malcolm smiled. "Considering that you've never seen a phaser until a few days ago, you did a very good job."

"You think so?" Erianna tried a smile and wiped away the tears. "Perhaps I should have carried one of your phasers with me when they came to get Trip. Rassik wouldn't have gotten the chance to hit me and who knows, maybe Harek would have listened to me if I'd had more time to talk to him."

Malcolm nodded sympathetically. "Harek used to be your friend, didn't he?"

"That was before he joined Tasur's guard. I thought that maybe I could convince him to join the resistance movement, but later I was glad I hadn't told him anything about it. I don't know, maybe he would even betray me to Tasur. Harek has changed a lot."

"Back at Tasur's place, he was the only one who treated us like normal people. The other staff seemed to feel uncomfortable with Trip's handicap."

"But he followed the order to kidnap Trip without any questions. And he had this brutal guy Rassik with him who would have shot you from behind before you'd have had a chance to do anything about it. I'm really glad you weren't here, Malcolm."

"So am I," a low and raspy voice came from the head of the bed and Malcolm jumped to his feet, startled. Erianna stayed where she was, but smiled with relief when she felt the faint grip of Trip's fingers in her hand.

-###-

"Y’know that I don't blame you, don't you?" Trip asked. After a few hours of sleep, he was currently seated against the head of the bed, allowing Malcolm to feed him. Swallowing still hurt his throat a little, but he was too hungry to wait any longer. He was also able to move again, but still couldn't get a hold of anything, as it was difficult to coordinate his movements. His voice was only a hoarse whisper but at least his vocal cords had decided to cooperate again. And they needed to talk about this. "I'm waitin'," he croaked when Malcolm remained silent.

"Hm," Malcolm uttered vaguely and fed Trip another forkful of food.

Trip tried to swallow quickly so he would be able to answer. "Dammit, Malcolm, I can see you've got another guilt-trip comin'. You won't even look at me. Stop it."

"Stop what, Commander?" Malcolm looked down at the plate.

Trip sighed. "Look, Malcolm, every single word hurts my throat. I haven't got the strength to do a lot of talkin'. So please do me a favor and tell me you know it's not your fault. And look me in the eyes while you say so."

Malcolm looked up. Trip's eyes were full of concern. He couldn't see any trace of accusation in them. He swallowed.

"I'm still waitin'."

"I know you don't blame me," Malcolm finally managed. "But..."

"No buts, Malcolm, please. What happened to me wasn't your fault. Not ever." With his chin Trip pointed to the plate. "C'mon, let’s get finished with this."

Feeding Trip another bit of food, the old sparkle suddenly returned into Malcolm's eyes and Trip knew that his friend had noticed the irony of the situation, just as he had.

"Don't worry, Commander," Malcolm said, suppressing a smile. "Next time it's your turn again to be at the other end of the fork."

"You betcha, Lieutenant." Trip smiled. He liked Malcolm a lot better this way.

A few minutes later, Jeren came to test Trip's reflexes. Erianna, who stood at the door with Yanis and Arissa, frowned when she saw what her brother was doing. "You don't need to do that now, Jeren. Just let Trip finish his meal in peace."

"I do need to do this now. We all want to hear the diagnosis, don't we?" Jeren smiled at Trip. "You're recovering very quickly. Do you still have trouble breathing?"

Trip shook his head. "My breathin' has been improvin' for quite a while. And I can feel how the rest of my body's gettin' better as well."

"You're damn lucky you're not a Renelan, and that you've had the cure in your system for several weeks already. Looks like it immunized your body enough so that it reacted to the new antidote at once."

"If he hadn't had the antidote in his body, Tasur would have never considered him a threat," Erianna said softly. "No one would have ever thought of killing Trip."

"That's true," Jeren admitted and frowned. "Trip, I suppose we owe you an apology that we were so careless. We should have brought you away from our place at once. But then, none of us knew that Dorsik would overreact in such a way."

"It's okay, Jeren," Trip said hoarsely. "I'm still alive."

"Is it true you can synthesize an antidote for CDS?" Yanis asked from his place at the door, breaking into their thoughts.

"Yes," Jeren admitted and his features brightened up. "The results are very promising. I only have to..." He stopped, stared at the floor for a moment and jumped to his feet with a startled exclamation.

Surprised, Erianna looked up at him. "Jeren! What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"My disc. I forgot to get it out of the computer. It's still in the Health Center. I have to go and get it."

"You can't go there. Not now."

"But I have to. I need this disc. All my results are saved on it, the tests I took with Trip's and Malcolm's blood and all my data about T-14 and the cure. Without it, I don't have any evidence that CDS is a manufactured disease. Our documentation would be useless."

Malcolm put away the empty plate and got up. "I'm going with you."

"Thanks Malcolm, but it's better for me to go alone. I'm sure they didn't have the time to block my keycard yet. I should be able to get into the building without any problems. At night there's no one guarding the entrance, not even a security detail, since unauthorized people wouldn't have a chance to get in, anyway. Believe me, Malcolm, there is no risk to it, Tasur is not going to be looking for me there. He has to concentrate on Trip. I guess that right now he's ordering his men to turn our house upside down."

"You think so?" Erianna looked at him, alarmed. "What about our equipment in the basement? If they find the computer..."

"It's only a computer, Erianna. It holds no interest for them."

"You don't understand, Jeren. You never saw what Trip and Malcolm did to improve it. You won't find a sophisticated computer like that anywhere on Renelan. At least not in a private household. It's illegal to have such technology, and our whole documentation is saved on the hard disc, too. If Tasur gets hold of it, he'll know about my activities in the resistance movement. And what's even worse, all the names and addresses of our members are saved there as well. We can't risk it, Jeren. I won't be able to send the documentation to the media satellite without my computer. I've got to get it out of there."

"You can't go to our house now. That's the first place where they’ll search for Trip."

"Now? In the middle of the night?"

Jeren let out a deep breath. "I have to admit that Tasur isn't one to make quick decisions at a time like this. He will shout at his staff, look for a scapegoat and waste a lot of time arguing with Dorsik while he waits for his consultants to come up with a plan. But even Tasur will think of searching our house for evidence. It's too dangerous."

"Maybe I can take Malcolm up on his offer." Erianna glanced over to Malcolm who nodded curtly and turned to her brother again. "Come on, Jeren. You've seen me handle those phaser weapons. I can do it. Please! Half my life's work is saved on that computer. I need to get it."

"Okay," Jeren finally gave in, still somewhat reluctant. "But I'm coming with you."

Malcolm shook his head. "We'll be alright, Jeren. I wouldn't want to show up there with a lot of people in tow. Get your disc, I'll take care of Erianna."

Thoughtfully, Jeren regarded him for a moment. "Agreed," he nodded then. "We'll meet here again in a few hours. But don't take any unnecessary risks." He turned to Yanis. "You look after Trip?"

"Of course, Jeren. You can count on us."

-###-

Erianna kept the flitter as close to the ground as possible. "You need a permission for flying at night," she explained. "Let's hope they're not controlling this area tonight. Or we're going to have to come up with a very good explanation what we're doing out here."

"Where can we park the flitter? It wouldn't be wise to fly to your house straight away."

"In the park, maybe. I could land it behind a tree so it'll be out of sight. But we can't carry the computer that far."

"There’s no need to do so. But we need to check our surroundings first. The park seems to be a good place to start from."

Malcolm looked out the window, trying to penetrate the darkness with his eyes. The flitter wasn't equipped with any lights and since the planet had no moon, nights on Renelan tended to leave the desert world in an almost complete darkness. The stars hanging in the sky hardly provided enough light for anyone to see their own hands. But Erianna piloted the flitter like she went out for secret flights every night. She landed the small vehicle behind a large tree.

"Good job." Malcolm opened the hatch. "Let's hope no one is going to see us."

The house was dark and silent. Erianna started to run towards it, but Malcolm held her back. Carefully, he checked the surroundings, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a moment he nodded. "Okay, looks like nobody's here. At least no one's broken through the front door."

"Oh, they wouldn't have to," Erianna told him. "The governor has got all the door codes of his province."

Malcolm stared at her, bewildered. "Are you saying Tasur and his men are allowed to march straight into every house, just like that?"

"It's allowed only in very few cases, and needs to be confirmed by the government. But I think Tasur wouldn't give a damn about the laws."

Malcolm took a deep breath. "Okay, let's give it a try."

Erianna opened the door with her keycard. Malcolm entered first, his weapon ready in hand. He fully expected Tasur's men to be hiding somewhere in the deserted rooms, and was very well prepared to meet them. But the house remained completely silent. Malcolm strained his ears, but all he could hear was his own breathing. He gave Erianna a sign to come in. Without making a sound, they hastily made their way to the basement. Carefully, Erianna shut the door before switching on the lights so the lamps' glow wouldn't betray them.

Malcolm immediately started to take apart the computers individual components.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Erianna when he put down the monitor on the floor. "Shall I get the flitter?"

"I have a bad feeling loading all this stuff into the flitter right in front of your door. Could you land in your back yard?"

"Of course."

"So, it would be best to hide all the components behind the bushes. You lock the door again, get the flitter and we can get going again once we've stowed away the computer."

"Fine. I'll take the monitor with me and open the verandah doors for you."

"Okay." Malcolm was rolling up a cable. "I'm right behind you."

"Leave the tower to me. You know, me being stronger than you and all." Mischievously, Erianna grinned at him.

Watching her disappear through the door that led to the staircase, Malcolm sighed. He'd rather not be reminded at every opportunity that every single woman on this planet was stronger than him, a fact that admittedly didn't sit well with Enterprise's security chief.

Malcolm placed the keyboard on the printer and climbed up the stairs. As he went through the basement door, he suddenly knew that something had changed. He still couldn't hear a sound and it was still dark, but something was different. He could feel an air draft. Of course, Erianna had opened the verandah door, but that couldn't be where the draft was coming from. Another door had to be open. The front door! Malcolm turned around when suddenly the lights went on and he realized that a weapon was directly aimed at him.

"Alright, Lieutenant. Set that down very slowly and put up your hands."

TBC

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