Past Rewards, Future Torment - Chapter 2

Past Rewards, Future Torment

by Hoshissis

Disclaimers in Chapter 1

*******

Chapter 2

Present Day

It was really quiet at the moment on Enterprise. The ship had been ordered back to the Sol system to report on the previous incident with the cybernetic organisms and to deliver the mechanical remains, which had invaded their ship’s systems, into the hands of Starfleet Research.

Trip was in his quarters filling out his reports on the damaged systems. He had removed that mechanical mess out of the systems and brought them back on line without too much hassle, so he was finally catching up on all routine business like letters and schedules that had managed to build up in his in tray. Normally, his free time would have meant pushing aside annoying paperwork and bugging Jon to watch a match, grab a beer or go for a workout in the gym with him. All that familiarity was now gone. Since the Vissians visit two weeks ago and the subsequent death of the Cogenitor, Captain Archer had remained distant and cold towards him. They were still professional towards each other in order to maintain a good working relationship, but that comfortable comradeship that once existed between the two close friends just wasn’t there anymore. // I’m not surprised //, thought Trip // I really screwed the pooch this time. // He desperately wanted to find a way to earn his trust again, but he just couldn’t see a way out of this mess that he had dug himself in. It had all started out so innocently, but pretty soon he had found himself way over his head in a pit full of good intentions that were crumbling down all around him.

Captain Archer was inside his quarters throwing his water polo ball against the wall; he was up-to-date with all his reports that would be scrutinised back home, so he found himself in a rare situation of having nothing to do. It would have been a perfect opportunity to spend some time with Trip, but since the incident with the Vissians two weeks ago he just couldn’t look at the man anymore without getting angry. This was his dilemma; did he have a right to be angry at Trip? After all it wasn’t as if he hadn’t interfered himself, hell the detained Suliban incident or the Valakians and the Menk instantly sprung to mind. The crux of the matter was that Trip knew how hard it had been for him to make the decisions he had done, especially the one regarding the Suliban detainees, which had very nearly come back to haunt him with the loss of his friend to heat stroke. He had wrestled with his conscious for days after that, before deciding never to interfere again at all costs. He had hoped that Trip would have learned from watching his mistakes, but the Vissian incident had proved that this was certainly not the case. Although he had calmed down a lot over the years, it had proved that Trip was just as rash and impulsive as ever. This was what concerned Captain Archer the most, for Trip was dear to him like a brother and he knew the feeling was mutual. He couldn’t bear it if he lost him because of his impulsive nature. As hurtful as it may be, if pulling back and showing Trip that he was deeply disappointed caused the young engineer to think more about his actions in future, then that was what he had to do.

---------------------------------------------

“T’Pol to Captain Archer…..”

“Archer…..”

“Captain, can you come to the bridge? We are picking up a general distress call.”

“I’m on my way!”

Minutes later Captain Archer stepped onto the bridge.

“Report!” asked Captain Archer looking towards T’Pol who was just returning to her chair.

“We intercepted a distress call from the earth freighter ship Phoenix. I have altered course and we will intercept them in 2 hours.”

“Did they say what there problem was?”

“They have major engine trouble caused by an explosion.”

“Inform Trip to stand by for some repair work and Doctor Phlox, in case they suffered casualties. I’ll be in my ready room; inform me when we reach their coordinates,” said Captain Archer before turning and walking off the bridge.

----------------------------------------------

“Report!” asked Captain Archer, walking back on the bridge after two hours had elapsed.

“We are coming up on the Phoenix, Captain,” said Travis, “she doesn’t look to good.”

“Would you like me to hail them Captain?” asked Hoshi. Captain Archer nodded while Hoshi contacted the freighter, “Go ahead Captain!”

“This is Captain Archer of the Star ship Enterprise. Can we offer you any assistance?”

“This is Captain McGane of the Earth freighter Phoenix, we would be very grateful for any help that you can offer Captain. As you can see, we suffered major engine damage yesterday from an explosion. We are a small family-run ship and we aren’t equipped to deal with damage this size. We’ve been able to bring life support back on line but that’s about it.”

“Do you require any medical assistance?”

“Thank you! We have a medic on board, but any help you can offer would be appreciated.”

“If you can release your cargo, we will be able to dock your ship within our main shuttle bay. It should make it easier for our engineering team to conduct repairs. I’ll see you in about 10 minutes, Captain McGane.”

“I’m looking forward to it Captain Archer. Once again thank you for you help.”

--------------------------------------------

Main Shuttlebay

“Crewman, has the Phoenix finished docking yet?” asked Captain Archer walking up to the Launch Bay Control Room with Phlox and Commander Tucker in tow.

“The bay door have just finished sealing Captain, it’s safe to enter now.”

“Wow, looks bad!” said Trip as he entered the Launch bay and started scanning the outside of the hull where the explosion occurred. “The damage has caused fractures and rips to appear in the outside skin. It’s gonna take a while to patch this up.”

“There’s Captain McGane,” replied Captain Archer pointing to opening cargo door of the Phoenix. “Let’s go and find out what the damage looks like inside.” Trip nodded and they both walked off to greet him as he emerged from the ship with members of his crew.

“Captain Archer it’s good to meet you, thank you for coming to our aid?” said Captain McGane reaching out his hand to greet everyone. “This is my wife Sara who doubles as our navigator, communicator and chef, my head engineer Caroline and her assistant Mark.

“Hello! I’m Captain Archer and this is my chief engineer Commander Charles Tucker and my doctor, Doctor Phlox,” replied Captain Archer returning the greeting. Caroline wasn’t particularly paying attention, since she was gazing in awe at this incredible Star ship that she had heard so much about. On hearing Commander Tucker’s name though, she immediately glanced at Captain McGane and Sara, who had a cold, hard looks on their faces, as if they were each remembering a far away distant memory. // Tucker! Na it can’t be the same person, could it? //

---------------------------------------------

Please review Opinions and Criticisms are appreciated

Continue to Chapter 3

Return to Chapter 1

Back to Fan Fiction Main Menu

Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

Three people have made comments

This story is getting very interesting. Looking forward to more.

I agree this is getting so interesing. Please don't let it be long before the next post! You are a great writer. I have read your other stories and I couldn't stand waiting to find out what would happen in the next chapter.

Ooooh! The tension builds!