A Fair Trade - Chapter 2

A Fair Trade

by kittytrypsin

Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer # 1: Paramount owns the characters from ‘Enterprise’, I’m just borrowing them. But if they don’t look after them…

Disclaimer # 2: No financial gain is being made from these stories, unfortunately.

*****

Chapter 2

They had made up some time by increasing their speed, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to save the ship. The rescue mission shifted to the transporter room where Trip and T’Pol were at the controls, with Malcolm and a heavily armed security detail as company.

Each time they locked onto biosigns, the figures re-materialised on the transporter pad, looking around at their new surroundings with obvious relief. Over the next five minutes they transported eight people safely. Trip constantly scanned the Dyland for more life signs. T’Pol turned to speak to one of the men newly arrived.

“Where is your Captain?”

“He told us to get off first, said he’d keep an eye on the prisoners and he’d be the last to leave. He wanted to try to save the ship.”

Trip was working frantically at the controls. “We’re losin’ her, T’Pol. I’ve got one more group comin’ over, but I think this is gonna be our last.”

As he spoke, two figures sparkled into existence, locked together like dancers. As soon as they’d re-materialised, one of the men gasped and fell to the floor. T’Pol stooped to examine him and felt for a pulse.

“This man is dead.”

Trip looked up from the transporter controls and spoke quietly and grimly. “So’s anybody else that was still on board. The gravitational pull’s too strong, the Dyland’s breakin’ up an’ I can’t get a lock on anybody else. May God have mercy on their souls.”

T’Pol moved to the intercom. “Captain, we were able to transport ten people before the ship broke up. There was unfortunately one fatality here.”

“Ok, T’Pol, I’m sure you both did everything you could. Let me speak with Captain Quin.”

“Unfortunately, it would appear that Captain Quin was the fatality.”

^*^*^*^*^*^

Enterprise’s guests had been given hot meals whilst sleeping arrangements were being sorted out. Captain Quin’s body had been transferred to sickbay, where Jon was now talking to Phlox, hoping for some answers before meeting his passengers.

“Can you tell me the cause of death, Doctor?”

“At this early stage I can safely say that he did not die from and of the many blows to his body, but as to how he got them, or from whom he received them, I’m at a loss. Have you received any identification from Zena, yet?”

Jon shook his head, tired and more than a little concerned. “I haven’t even received confirmation that they received our message. Maybe there’s some sort of sub-space distortion and the message is still trying to get through. Either way, I don’t know exactly whom we have on board, but I’m on my way to the mess hall now. Maybe they can tell me who’s who. Malcolm’s watching over them, so for now, they’re not going anywhere, but if they’re innocent crewmen, I can’t keep them under lock and key.”

“Agreed, and I don’t think our brig was ever designed for nine people at one time. Good luck with your questioning, Captain. I will continue to examine the unfortunate Captain Quin to see if he can shed any light on his passing.”

The nine survivors sat quietly at tables, ignoring Malcolm and his security team. Neither side made any attempt to engage in small talk, and Malcolm stepped aside when Jon entered.

“I’m Captain Archer. Welcome to Enterprise, gentlemen. I’m sorry about your captain. My Chief Medical Officer will be carrying out a full autopsy to determine his cause of death, but on first inspection it looks like he was in a fight. Can anybody fill me in?”

A tall figure stepped forward, the same man who’d transported over with Quin.

“I’m Goff, Quin’s First Officer, Captain. We can’t thank you enough for your intervention. As for Captain Quin, he almost single-handedly held off the prisoners’ revolt during the last few moments. I had to grab him to get him out of there before it was too late. I knew he was hurt, but I didn’t know how badly.”

Jon looked at the nine ragged men in front of him, needing answers.

“So, of the nine of you, how many are prisoners?”

Goff seemed to be the elected spokesman. “We’re not proud of our actions, Captain, but self-preservation is a powerful thing…none of our prisoners got off the ship.

^*^*^*^*^*^

Phlox was a meticulous medical examiner, and when he told the captain that he’d get answers from the dead man on the table in front of him, that’s what he intended.

So far, he’d discovered multiple bruises and abrasions, all of which would have been painful, but not life threatening. This puzzled him, but like chess, the good doctor enjoyed solving puzzles. He ran his scanner over the alien captain’s body, humming tunelessly to himself as he took the readings. One finding in particular caused his brow to wrinkle as he repeated the scan.

So intent was his concentration that he didn’t hear the intruder behind him, and he slipped into unconsciousness as the butt of a pistol crashed painfully onto his unprotected skull.

The intruder removed the padd from Phlox’s nerveless fingers, and erased all of the data that the doctor had recorded. He then turned his attention to the corpse on the table. Turning the setting on his weapon up to maximum, the intruder fired at Quin’s body, and after several minutes, the remains were so severely charred as to be totally unidentifiable.

As quietly as he had entered, the intruder stepped over the fallen body of Enterprise’s doctor, and slipped back out of sickbay.

TBC

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