Catch Me When I Fall -- Tannith's Story

Catch Me When I Fall -- Tannith's Story

by Rhylo

Author's e-mail : _idic_ted2trip@tiscali.co.uk
Genre : Action/Adventure/Angst/Romance
Rating : PG-13
Summary : Trip gets wounded while on an away mission.
Feed Back : Yes, but please be gentle with me!
Archive : Please feel free.
Disclaimer : Sadly I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making any money out of this, but it doesn't stop me enjoying writing about them!

DEDICATION
I once read an interview where Connor said he wished Trip had been able to have more of a 'love' interest. So, Trip....this one's for you.........

SUMMARY
This story takes place just after the beginning of Season One - Stardate 2151 ( ie long before Trip'n'T'Pol ) when tensions between T'Pol and the senior staff were still somewhat strained.

~~~~

CHAPTER ONE

Trip dived for cover behind a pile of rubble as a volley of fluorescent fire obliterated the doorway he'd been hiding in only seconds before. Damn, that was close! He knew he was in a tight spot ~ granted he'd been in plenty of sticky situations before, but this had to be the mother of them all. With the communicator shot to hell there was no way of contacting Enterprise or indeed for that matter the rest of the landing party from which he'd somehow managed to get separated in the ambush. He doubted he could even find his way back to the shuttlepod from here ~ the whole landscape looked the same in this half-light. And then there was the small matter of these goons with ray guns.......

He knew he was way too much out in the open here. If he didn't move fast he'd be a sitting target. Weapon fire seemed to be raining in from all directions. If he returned fire he risked giving his position away, but he really didn't have much choice.

Aiming off a shot from his phase pistol he ran towards a jagged outcrop ~ the remains of a nearby structure ~ thinking it might offer better protection. He reached it just in time as another lightning bolt from a phase weapon landed not far to his left leaving a smouldering scar on the wall of the building behind him.

This was not looking good ~ in fact his fate seemed sealed as his attackers closed in. Question was ~ did he go down fighting or did he give himself up and risk being cut in half anyway? From the way they'd ambushed the shuttlepod he figured he already knew the answer to that ~ they appeared to be the type to shoot first and ask questions later. He was running out of options. Nothing for it but to try to keep on the move so there was less of a chance of them getting a fix on his location......

That was probably the worst decision he could have made for as he sprang for cover once again it triggered another outburst of weapon fire. Trip nose-dived to his right, landing heavily. Partially winded and caught off balance he never actually saw the blinding flash of the bolt that hit him ~ but he sure as hell felt it. It caught him in his right shoulder, catapulting him backwards with such force that it knocked every breath out of his body. He gasped, half choking as his lungs screamed for air and for a few critical seconds he was completely paralysed before his body kick-started his breathing mechanism again and he was able to suck in precious oxygen.

It was then that he felt the full agony of the searing pain in his shoulder ~ his outer uniform was scorched and literally smoking. The pain was so bad he nearly threw up on the spot. A split second later the realisation dawned on him that this time his number was more than likely up.

A movement to one side caught his attention. In the dim light he could only make out the shadowy shape of a small figure cloaked in black. He fumbled around for the phase pistol lying where it had fallen several feet away ~ snatched it up with his left hand, finger on the trigger. Stun setting abandoned when this mission went belly up ~ it was set to kill.

He almost fired. In fact he would have if he'd not been overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness that took everything out of focus. He blinked, fighting to see clearly and, as his vision returned, he saw a small hand reaching out to him accompanied by a soft voice.

"Come with me if you want to live."

********************

It wasn't far, but to Trip it seemed worse than any Starfleet training expedition as his 'rescuer' weaved a path amongst towering mounds of debris and countless sinister shrivelled up skeletons of what had once been buildings ~ homes even. Hard to believe anyone had actually 'lived' here. All that was left was a devastated wasteland. He wasn't in any shape to take too much notice though and if it hadn't been for his helper bearing most of his weight he probably wouldn't have made it.

Suddenly he was aware that the sound of weapon fire was much fainter.....When had that happened? He hadn't noticed. He had no idea how they'd got here ~ let alone made it in one piece.

Somewhat abruptly they came to a wavering halt giving Trip some much needed time-out to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. Where the hell were they? The place was like a warren......a warren in the middle of a war zone!

"Through here," the soft voice instructed him, once again taking his weight and bundling him through a narrow doorway semi-concealed behind some huge metal girders. Trip blinked and tried to take in his surroundings ~ not easy in the confines of the gloomy interior, but he knew he was in a small room of sorts. He felt totally drained as the two of them staggered over to a makeshift campbed in the corner and collapsed down together. The figure next to him stayed silent, breathing hard, obviously exhausted from the physical exertion of practically carrying him so far. He felt instantly guilty for placing such a burden on so tiny a frame. He was about to try and say something to that effect when the figure slowly stood up, removed the cloak and turned to face him.

Even though the tattered clothing she wore underneath looked two sizes too big and despite his weakened state Trip was still knocked completely off guard. He hadn't really known who ~ or for that matter 'what' ~ to expect disguised beneath the cloak, but never in his wildest dreams could he ever have imagined the 'vision' that stood before him.

She was slight....oh, so slightly built, probably in about her mid-twenties, with delicate features, a kind, warm smile, short blondish hair that formed wisps around her high cheekbones ~ and huge, sad doe eyes the colour of which he couldn't quite make out.......And she was human ~ or certainly as close as made no difference.

For the second time Trip opened his mouth, but no sound was forthcoming.

"Shhh.....lie still." She helped him lean back more comfortably against the wall. "You're safe here." Why did he get the distinct feeling she neglected to tag the words 'for now' onto the end of that?

She offered him some water and held his head while he drank gratefully.

"Thanks."

She let him finish then stood up, moving to the other side of the room. With her back to him Trip couldn't see what she was up to, but it soon became obvious as the immediate area became bathed in a warm low glow. She'd lit a lamp ~ the real old-fashioned kind like the ones he'd seen in the two hundred year old movies he loved to watch. What was that smell?......Kerosine? He'd only ever smelt simulations of it ~ fossil fuel supplies having long since been used up on Earth.

She busied herself doing something else.

"Wh......who are you?" Finally Trip found he could string a sentence together.

She looked round at him. "My name's Tannith." After a slight pause she added, "You're lucky I found you.....If Valsar had caught you, he'd have killed you."

"Wh....?" Trip tried to sit up, but the excruciating pain in his shoulder made him wince and gasp out loud.

She was by his side in an instant and with a touch of her hand she quietened him. "Not now......I'll explain everything later. Right now I need to take care of your wound. If left untreated it will become infected."

Trip nodded and sank back again, knowing she was right, but that this was going to hurt badly and then some. Up to now his body had been running on adrenaline, masking some of the pain, but that was starting to wear off. Shame the pain wasn't.

Tannith helped him sit up again and then slowly unzipped his ruined uniform, easing out first his good arm, gently followed by the injured one. Next she silently unbuttoned his black undershirt and removed that in the same manner. What was left of his regulation blue vest was charred and soaked in blood. She gave that up as a lost cause and carefully cut it off. Trip swallowed hard and bit his lower lip to stop himself crying out as she peeled away the scorched layers of material sticking to the wound. He fought back the sudden urge to pass out, but it would have been a welcome release. Breathing hard, he saw the expression on her face tighten.

"Not good, huh?" he wheezed.

Looking up at him, her lips formed a smile, but it wasn't reflected in her eyes. "I've seen worse......You've lost a fair amount of blood....and there's some pretty deep tissue damage....."

Through the haze of pain Trip raised his eyes and gave an ironic laugh. "I don't believe it.....You sound like Phlox"

Her brow furrowed. "Who?"

"Never mind....it's not important."

His head was swimming. He knew he couldn't stay here. He had to do something ~ contact the ship, find Malcolm and the rest of the landing party. God, he hoped they were all okay. But right now he hadn't even the strength to stand up, let alone find help......But time was running out........

He sank back against the wall, exhausted from nothing, his head burning up.

He felt Tannith's cool hand on his forehead. "You're starting with a fever....I must work quickly." Getting up, she added, "Stay there."

Trip had to smile in spite of the pain he was in. "I'm not goin' anywhere." What choice did he have ~ and did he really look that crazy?

Seconds later she was back with a bowl containing some sort of salve with which she thoroughly cleaned the wound as gently as she could. Watching him intently, she empathised with what he was going through. "I'm sorry....I know this hurts....I'll try to be quick."

Trip blinked hard, once again battling to stay conscious. He wasn't sure what burned worse ~ the wound or the salve. Finally she finished by applying a compress out of some of the salve and bandaging it lightly in place. "This will need changing before morning.....It will start to feel more comfortable then."

"That long, huh?"

Trip was just debating whether he'd be able to stand this agony indefinitely when Tannith produced a tiny glass vial half-filled with a honey-coloured syrup. She knelt down by his side.

"Here, drink this." Trip backed off, unsure. "Trust me.....it will ease the pain and help you sleep."

He gave a weak protestation. "I need to......"

But she was insistent. "You need to rest."

Again she held his head while he swallowed and then nearly gagged as a reflex. It tasted foul and bitter and it burnt the back of his throat. Did everything burn on this bloody planet? She might have warned him ~ then again maybe that's why she didn't. He felt a slight panicky sensation, but it soon subsided. Seconds later, the burning eased too. Gradually the pain lifted and he felt almost....hypnotic....like he was floating on a balmy breeze. He closed his eyes and drifted off into welcome oblivion.

Tannith smiled and gently touched his face, sighing softly. It had been so long ~ she couldn't remember when she'd last had company.....And now this stranger was here ~ so achingly good-looking despite his injured and dishevelled state. He seemed decent and kind, but it was his eyes that affected her the most.....so honest and sincere.....and so...so blue. She could drown in those eyes......Who was he and where had he come from?.....And why did he stir such emotion in her when she didn't even know his name?

She snapped out of her daydream with a start. She couldn't afford the luxury of 'what might be'. Standing again, she checked his wound and then covered him with her only blanket.

********************

Back on board Enterprise, Captain Jonathan Archer surveyed the damage to the battered shuttlepod. It had taken some heavy fire and the pilot, Ensign Travis Mayweather, the armory officer, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, and the rest of the landing party had only just made it out of there in one piece. Well, the rest of the landing party minus Trip, of course, who'd somehow gone missing and was nowhere to be found when they all re-grouped. They couldn't reach him on the comm. and telemetry sensors were down in the shuttlepod, so they had no way of tracing his biosigns.....They also had casualties.

Archer came striding over to Malcolm. "Status report, Lieutenant."

Malcolm looked sick. "Two injured......one critical. The starboard propulsion engine took a direct hit.....Most of the main sensors are down........" He left the sentence hanging in mid air.

Archer's brow met in the middle. "What the hell happened down there?"

"We were tracking the distress beacon Ensign Sato picked up and then it just....stopped. We set the shuttlepod down in the nearest available landing site......everywhere looked deserted, so we split up to save time......That's when they hit us."

"Who?....What did they look like?"

"I'm afraid we never even got a close look at them, Captain. They came at us from the shadows.....Just fired on us without any warning."

"And that's when Commander Tucker went missing?"

"Yes, sir." Malcolm's voice was almost inaudible. Archer knew he must be suffering tremendous guilt for having abandoned his friend, even though it was his duty to get the rest of the crew safely back to Enterprise.

Archer looked deep in thought ~ dark thought. He pierced the armory officer with a penetrating stare. "D'you think it was a set up?"

"Sir?"

"The distress beacon....The sudden non-existent signal.....The ambush......D'you think they were trying to lure us down there for some reason?"

Malcolm's face tightened. "It's possible. They had extreme fire power and they knew how to use it....But there's nothing down there, Captain. The planet's shot to hell......not even a blade of grass."

Archer nodded. "That's precisely my point, Malcolm. What better way to get off a dying planet than to take control of a starship?"

Malcolm thought about this for a beat, then, "What about Commander Tucker?"

The Captain pinched the bridge of his nose ~ something he only did when he was deeply disturbed.

"Meet me in my ready room in half an hour."

********************

Continue to Chapter 2

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!