Regression - Part 5

Regression

by Hoshissis

Disclaimers in Part 1

*******

Chapter Nine

The next morning, T’Pol walked into the captain’s quarters carrying a padd that contained a report of the day’s activities and sensor readings. She looked around his quarters but he didn’t seem to be around. // strange // she thought, // I could have sworn he buzzed me to enter. //

Suddenly Captain Archer came out of his bathroom with Trip. “T’Pol, what can I do for you?”

T’Pol just arched her eyebrow at the sight of her two fellow officers standing there with nothing but towels around their waists.

“Sorry,” replied Archer with a smile on his face, “I was helping Trip to get washed; it just seemed easier to climb in the shower with him. I heard you buzz when I was getting some towels.”

“T’Pol!”, shouted Trip with a knowing smile, “Do ya wanna come and have a shower with us? The cap’n’s gonna teach me some ‘shower songs’.”

“Shower songs?” replied T’Pol, ignoring the first half of the comment.

“Yeah there’s one about a woman from Venus…..”

“I don’t think T’Pol wants to hear that, Trip,” chuckled Archer, and then with a wink and a deepening of his voice, “Remember, you have to be a man to sing those.”

“Ooops I forgot,” giggled Trip, then copying Archer with a wink and a deepening of his voice, “Sorry T’Pol ya not a man, ya wouldn’t understand them.”

T’Pol just rolled her eyes at the pair of them, “I have brought you the daily activity report and scans of nearby systems, Captain.”

“Anything interesting we should know about?” answered Archer, who was busy rubbing Trip’s back, chest and hair dry.

“There is an M class planet within the nearby system which looks interesting.”

“A new planet?” asked Trip as his eyes lit up.

“How long will it take us to reach it?” asked Captain Archer.

“About 20 hours.”

“I think it’s time to take a detour, T’Pol. I promised Trip a pirate adventure next time we came across a new world.”

“Are ya coming as well, T’Pol?” asked Trip, , “Ya know we can’t go on any adventures without Tinkerbelle to protect us.”

“I am not Tinkerbelle.”

“Sorry I forgot. Ya don’t want anyone to know ya secret,” replied Trip quietly, then looking at her with a pair of big blue eyes, “Please T’Pol, I wanna go on an adventure with ma best friends, you and Cap’n Hook.”

“Alright,” said T’Pol, feeling a strange feeling of pleasure at being considered Trip’s best friend. “You will most likely need someone responsible to keep you and the captain out of trouble.”

“Yeaaaahh!” cried Trip as he came up and gave T’Pol a big hug.

“Why don’t we go and get dressed, Trip?” laughed Archer, as he saw T’Pol looking slightly uncomfortable at being hugged by a semi-naked man in the company of her captain. “We’ve got an important meeting in cargo bay one with a football.”

“Okay, see ya T’Pol.”

“I’ll see you later, Captain….. Trip,” replied T’Pol as she turned and walked through the door.

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

It had been an exhausting morning, first playing catch with Captain Archer then helping Phlox feed his animals. After dinner, Hoshi came round to help Trip with his reading. As Trip was behaving like a four year old, Hoshi brought along some easy books to start him off with.

“Which one would you like to read first? I’ve brought a selection that you might like.”

“Do you have the Martian machines?”

“Martian machines?” replied a puzzled Hoshi.

“Yeah, it’s the one where the Martian machines come down to earth. They have three legs, three different coloured eyes and they fire laser beams. They start attacking about chapter ten, I think. It’s really cool; they gang up and blow up all the towns and cities trying to wipe everyone out. Everyone thinks they are going to succeed but in the end they are stopped by a tiny little germ.”

“Do you mean War of the Worlds?” asked a surprised Hoshi, as she thought that book would have been a bit grown up for a four year to understand.

“Yeah, it’s my favourite. I was reading it with my mom.” Biting his lip, Trip suddenly went quiet as if he was thinking about something really important. “Do you think she would mind that you’re reading the story with me and not her?”

“No, I don’t think she would mind one bit.”

“Do you think she is wondering where I am?”

“I’m sure the captain would have explained to her before hand that he was taking you on an adventure and that you would be back soon.”

“The captain and T’Pol are really nice and fun to be with, but I still miss ma mom and dad. Does that mean I’m bad?

“Certainly not,” smiled Hoshi. “No one could replace your parents. I still miss mine and I’ve been on this ship for three years. I think they would be glad that you’re still thinking about them, even while you’re here and they’re at home. Here, I’ve found it, shall I begin reading and then you can help me?”

Trip nodded his head and settled himself down on the floor on a cushion.

“HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - "Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us……”

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

Later that evening T’Pol came into the captain’s quarters to spend some time with Trip. Since Captain Archer had a lot of work to catch up on, they had arranged between them to share the responsibility of looking after him. Most of the crew in fact had offered their help and chipped in when they could; Travis, Hoshi and even Malcolm had offered to play football with him.

Trip was relaxing in his bed waiting for T’Pol to come and read to him. Snuggled up to him real close was a tatty old teddy bear called Miko, which Hoshi had given him earlier to help him sleep. As Trip held Miko close, he thought about the trip to the planet tomorrow. As much as he was looking forward to this, he was also scared at the same time.

“Trip, I’m sorry I’m late for our reading,” said T’Pol as she stepped into the room.

“It’s okay,” replied Trip trying to put a brave smile on his face. T’Pol could see that something was bothering him, but she decided not to press the issue at the moment.

“Would you like me to read some more about Surak, a little Vulcan boy who grew up to be a great king?”

Trip nodded his head.

“If you and Miko are settled, I will begin…….”

Thirty minutes later, T’Pol closed the book, “We will read some more about Surak tomorrow, it is time for you to go to sleep.”

“Why do Surak not want anyone to be happy, angry, laugh or cry? Was he mean?”

“No, he was not mean,” explained T’Pol. “Surak believed that if his people laughed or cried too much, it would be bad for them and they would get sick.”

“But how could they let you know if they were happy or sad?”

“There are other ways of letting people know if you are happy or sad other than laughing or crying.”

“What are they?”

T’Pol thought for a minute. She certainly hadn’t expected these kinds of questions, “Talking, meditating, singing, playing the lute…….”

“What’s a lute?” interrupted Trip.

“It is a musical instrument.”

“Have you got one?”

“Yes.”

“Can you play it?”

“Yes, but I am not very good.”

“Can you play it for me?”

“Maybe tomorrow, it is time for you to go to sleep,” replied T’Pol as she stood up, reaching over to turn off the light. “Goodnight, Trip.”

“T’Pol…?”

“Yes, Trip?”

“Don’t go!”

“Is there a problem?”

“I can’t sleep, there’s a monster in ma room,” said Trip, nervously looking around with his eyes. This was only a half truth.

“I will go and get a scanner and search the room. You will be able to see that there isn’t anything here,” replied T’Pol. She quickly walked next door to retrieve a hand scanner. When she returned, she scanned the whole room, making sure that Trip could see the results.

“As I said, there is nothing here.”

“What about outside the window?”

T’Pol stood up and walked over to the comm… “T’Pol to Lieutenant Reed…….”

“Reed……”

“Lieutenant, could you do a scan of the surrounding area?”

“What would you like me to scan for, Sub-commander?”

“Monsters.”

“Excuse me, Sub-commander……. did you…… just say……… monsters?”

“Yes.”

“Errrrrmmmm okay……….. Would you like me to scan for any particular type?”

“No.”

“……… There is nothing outside, Sub-commander.”

“Thank you Lieutenant…..” replied T’Pol as she closed the comm. and turned to Trip. “Will there be anything else?”

Trip bit his lower lip and shook his head. T’Pol knew there was something on his mind, so she decided to press on further.

“Is there something you would like to ask me?”

Trip nodded.

“What would you like to know?”

“Was Surak ever scared?”

“Yes I believe so…. There is nothing wrong with being scared.”

“How did he let people know he was scared if he couldn’t show it?”

“He talked about any problem with his friends…… is there something bothering you?”

Trip thought this through for a minute then asked, “Will there…..be any monsters….. on the planet?”

“There may be some wild animals indigenous to the planet but I can not be certain at the present time,” said T’Pol trying to reassure him. “Why would you presume that?”

“Indig…..us,” struggled Trip, as he tried to say the word, wondering what it meant.

“Indigenous….. it means originating and living or growing in an area or environment.”

“I was thinking about the Martian Machines that Hoshi read to me. I was wondering if this planet was theirs. I really want to go down their, but I won’t want to upset them or make them so angry and cross that they want to go and attack us.”

T’Pol thought for a minute, it was obvious that she was going to have to have a word with Ensign Sato about suitable reading material. “Trip…… I believe you know my true identity.”

Trip nodded his head, “I haven’t told anyone.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that….. Tinkerbelle was Peter Pan’s best friend; she kept him out of trouble and was always there if he needed her, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You said before that I am your best friend….”

Trip nodded his head again at this statement.

“Since you already know that Tinkerbelle is loyal to her friends, it is logical to conclude that I will also protect you and prevent any harm from coming to you. With regards to the Martians, they possessed advanced technology to make their machines which they used to attack. If this was their planet, we would have been able to detect their technology by now. This isn’t the case, so we can therefore conclude that it isn’t their home world.”

Trip thought about this for a moment then smiled and settled down under the covers.

“Goodnight Trip, sleep well.”

“Night, T’Pol.”

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

Chapter Ten

The next day it was Malcolm’s turn to look after Trip while Captain Archer and T’Pol were on the bridge conducting scans of the new planet. Since they were planning to take Trip down, Captain Archer didn’t want to take any chances on something going wrong.

“Mal!” shouted Trip, as he jumped up and gave him a big hug when he came through the door. “Are we gonna play football again?”

“No, I thought we could plan out our adventure today while the captain and T’Pol are busy on the bridge,” replied Malcolm as he sat down, patting the floor next to him for Trip to join him.

“Okay!”

“Have you any ideas of what you’d like to do down there?”

“Well if there are Indians, we could go on a hunt – just like what Peter Pan and Captain Hook used to do back on Never Never Land. Do you think there might be Indians down there?”

“I believe T’Pol may have mentioned something about spotting some life signs.”

“Do you think they would want to come and play a game with us?”

“I’m sure they could be persuaded,” smirked Malcolm, as he toyed with the idea of transforming Trip’s engineering team into a tribe of Indians. “Hmmmm……we’re going to need some kind of weapons…..”

“I know. Why don’t we make some bows and arrows?”

“What a bloody good idea,” smiled Malcolm, // this is my type of game // he thought. “Why don’t we go down to the armoury and see what we can put together?”

“Can we get some ice cream on the way?”

“For thinking up a great idea like that my friend, you can have ice cream served together with pecan pie,” smiled Malcolm as he helped Trip up off the floor. “Now the only question left is whether we treat ourselves before or after our visit to the Armoury?”

“Both,” grinned Trip.

“That’s why I like you, Trip,” laughed Malcolm as they walked out the door, “You always know how to have a great time.”

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

Three hours later Malcolm, along with Trip’s help, had made a batch of about ten bows and arrows. Having carried out a quality standards test earlier, which involved chasing each other through the corridors of ‘B deck’ shooting trial arrows back and forth, it was now time to add the final touch - a sticky glob like substance on the end of the arrows, so they could fight without fear of getting hurt.

Unbeknown to Trip, Malcolm secretly had handed a batch to some of Trip’s engineering team who had flown down to the planet two hours earlier to set up an Indian camp site. Whilst they’d prepared the shuttle pods, Malcolm had diverted Trip’s attention with another enjoyable treat of rocky road ice cream and pecan pie; they had previously tasted this delight before they started to assemble the bows and arrows. Now, one hour later, it was time for them to join the away team in the shuttle bay for the mission to the planet below.

T’Pol settled Trip down in Shuttlepod One by the window next to her, ready for take off. Captain Archer was flying, Malcolm was seated next to him taking care of the landing and take off procedures and Hoshi was sitting opposite Trip and T’Pol. During takeoff preparations, Trip was a little nervous but as they swooped down to the planet below, excitement took over and he became very giddy as he jumped up and down trying his best to look out of the pod window. As T’Pol settled him down again on the seat, his giddy excitement soon ebbed away as a greenish tint began to slowly spread over his face, and he gripped the side of the seat like a vice.

“Trip……?” asked T’Pol, a hint of concern in her voice. “Are you feeling okay?”

Trip shook his head.

Malcolm turned around and smiled, “Maybe we shouldn’t have had that second helping of ice………… cream and pecan pie,” he cringed as Trip threw up all over T’Pol’s lap.

T’Pol delicately raised her left eyebrow, “We will have a talk later about adequate nutrition, Mr Reed,” she said, as she massaged Trip’s back and wiped the mess off her lap with a moist cloth, handed to her by Hoshi.

// Bloody hell, I’m in for it now. // Malcolm thought as he glanced slyly at Captain Archer who was trying his hardest not to laugh.

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

After an easy landing, everyone embarked from the pod. T’Pol helped out Trip, who was still looking very green at the gills, but he soon perked up at the thought of standing on a new world. Stepping out of the pod though, a huge look of disappointment spread across his face.

“Is there something wrong?” asked a confused T’Pol.

“It doesn’t look any different,” replied Trip, “It’s just like back home.”

“What did you expect, Trip?” asked Captain Archer.

“Blue trees, purple grass, and orange flowers – ya know just like it says in ma comic books.”

“If the planet was that much different, it would be highly doubtful that we would be able to survive. Remember even though Dr. Phlox and I are different from yourself, we still are able to breathe the same air that you do. So there has to be some semblance of similarity,” explained T’Pol, hoping she was making it easy for Trip to understand. “As we explore, I am sure you will be able to notice slight differences between here and Earth. These differences may be in the look of individual flowers, animal life or people.”

“Okay, can we go and look for the Indians now?”

“Scanners indicate there is a settlement half a mile in that direction,” pointed Reed. “Shall we go and see if they are friendly?”

With an eager look of enthusiasm on his face, Trip looked at Captain Archer for permission.

“Lead the way, Malcolm.”

“Shall we bring our bows and arrows?” asked Trip.

“Let’s find out if they want to play first shall we?” smiled Captain Archer. “We don’t want them to think we are hostile, do we?”

Thinking back to the book about the Martian machines, Trip shook his head with determination.

After 45 minutes of walking, a length part of the time being taken up by Trip who wanted to stop and touch everything that was new and different to him, they came to an Indian village of about four tepees. An Indian approached them as they walked up to the perimeter of the village.

“How! I am Big Chief Rostov. How can I help you?”

“How! I am Captain Archer of the Starship Enterprise,” replied Archer with a smile on his face. “We have come to explore this planet. We do not mean you any harm; we’d just like to be friends.”

“Friends would be nice. Let me introduce you to my family, then we can go and smoke the pipe,” replied Rostov as he led them to the centre of the village where a fire had been set up.

Trip was in complete awe, watching everything and everyone like a hawk while gripping T’Pol’s hand in a vice like grip. // WOW, alien Indians! //

After introductions had been made, they all sat down in a circle around the fire and Big Chief Rostov began to tell the visitors the history of the tribe, gesticulating with hand gestures in parts while whooping around the fire at others. Trip was absolutely mesmerized by the whole show.

“Don’t lose yourself in the part,” whispered Malcolm when Rostov stopped nearby him. Reining in his performance, Rostov once again settled down on the floor.

“Captain Archer, whenever we have new visitors we traditionally hold a war game to show how we have come together and settled our cultural differences, before finishing with the smoking of our peace pipe. Would you and your colleagues like to join us in a game?”

Trip’s eyes lit up in excitement and he threw Captain Archer an eager glance.

“We would be honoured, Big Chief Rostov,” smiled Captain Archer. “Will you spare us some time to prepare?”

“I will allow twenty minutes before the games begin, Captain Archer.”

“Thank you, may this game be a good one.”

Setting off back to the shuttlepod, Captain Archer prepped everyone on the game plan. The tactic was easy - divide, conquer and triumph.

“Let the games begin!” whooped Captain Archer as both teams, armed with bows and arrows, ran off into the woods.

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

Six hours later they were on there way back to the ship. Trip was exhausted, but he was happily retelling the day’s events to Malcolm a dozen lines a minute. Even though he knew most of it, Malcolm showed that he had the patience of a saint by sitting and listening to Trip’s endless chatter, while T’Pol watched him carefully for any signs of travel sickness again.

Performing a flawless landing, Archer and company were greeted by a very sad looking Travis.

“What’s up, Travis?” asked a concerned Captain Archer.

“Its Starfleet sir, they’ve recalled Commander Tucker. A Vulcan ship is on its way to collect him. It will be here in twelve hours.”

Just like air being depressurized, everyone’s good mood and spirits were suddenly sucked right out of them, replaced by despair, dismay and despondency.

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

TBC

Continue to Part 6

Return to Part 4

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!

Two folks have made comments

well thats just gr8 aint it, i w8 ages for the chapter it starts really well and then u go and do that to us!

Write more plz, soon.

Gr8 chapt btw

Great chapter. I hope Trip gets better before the Vulcans get there or there will be trouble. Please update soon