Behind Blue Eyes - Continued

Behind Blue Eyes

By Thalia Drogna

Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters, I’m just borrowing them because it’s fun.

~~~~~

“That is impossible, Commander,” said T’Pol. When Trip had explained about the Hawking radiation she hadn’t been able to keep quiet any longer.

“No it isn’t,” said Trip. “Believe me, I’ve seen it.”

“You are talking about extracting energy from a fundamental force of the universe,” said T’Pol.

“They were using the Hawking radiation. You know as well as I do that the Heisenberg Quantum Uncertainty Principle allows for it, we’ve just never actually observed it,” said Trip.

“Hawking radiation has not been proven to exist,” replied T’Pol. “The Vulcan Science Directorate has been conducting research in this field for a number of years but has no conclusive proof.”

“I’m telling you, T’Pol. That’s what it was. I’ll get you the schematics from the scans we took and you can look for yourself,” said Trip.

“Commander, you will not give those schematics to anyone,” said Colonel Darwin. Least of all a Vulcan he added to himself, no matter who she is.

“Could someone please translate for those of us that don’t have an advanced physics degree,” said Archer.

“The Commander found a particular type of radiation which indicates a black hole to be present,” said T’Pol. “Although there is still debate about whether the radiation which he found does actually exist.”

“Oh, it exists alright. It’s all to do with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle,” said Trip. “When you get below a certain size you leave behind Newtonian physics, large scale physics, and you get into Quantum physics. The tiny particles that we can’t even pick up on an electron microscope. Everything behaves in kind of a weird way once you get that small and there are some pretty strange things going on when you try to take measurements. Basically when you get down to the quantum level you can’t be certain of anything, you can measure one variable but not two simultaneously, hence Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Between the measurements exists a whole bunch of virtual particles which we’re not normally aware of and they form particle pairs, anti-particle with particle, to balance the quantum variables. If that happens on the edge of a black hole event horizon then one particle gets sucked into the black hole and the other particle gets spewed out. That’s what gives you the radiation, that particle escaping from the gravitational field of the black hole, it has to stop being virtual and become real because it’s lost its partner. And that’s putting it simply without all the math.”

“That explanation is exceedingly simplistic, Commander, and scientifically inaccurate,” said T’Pol.

Trip sighed and rolled his eyes.

“If that’s the simple version, I don’t want to hear the long version,” said Archer.

“I had to put up with this the first time around,” said Darwin. “You have no idea.”

****

It was a beautiful, if cold, night in the desert, most of the MACOs had been asleep for a couple of hours by this point, except Rush who had been left on guard duty. Trip ran from his tent to that of Major Darwin.

“Major! You have no idea what we’ve got here,” said Trip shaking his Commanding Officer awake.

“Trip, it’s oh one hundred, what the hell are you doing up? Get some sleep for god’s sake. Whatever it is can wait until morning. It’s been sitting here for four thousand years already,” said Darwin, instantly alert but still angry that Trip had woken him.

“You don’t understand, we’re sitting on a quantum singularity,” said Trip. “A Hawking Radiation powered generator.”

“I’ve told you this before. I don’t speak tech. English, Trip, English,” replied Darwin.

“Sorry, sir,” said Trip and he explained about exactly what it was that they’d found in the chamber below the ruined building. An alien power supply, a generator that used a black hole as it’s power source. “It’s not a big one,” finished Trip, “but actually if it had been bigger it would have generated less power.”

“How can that be possible?” asked Darwin and then just as Trip was about to tell him he held up his hand. “No, on second thoughts, I don’t want to know. Go back to bed, we’ll discuss this in the morning. You won’t be any good to us if you’re too tired to use that brain of yours.”

Trip looked disappointed. “Sorry, sir,” said Trip. He gave a half-hearted salute and left his Commanding Officer to go back to sleep.

“Engineers,” said Darwin with fake disgust as he settled back down in his sleeping bag, intending Trip to hear him as he walked away. Trip just gave a half smile as he wandered back to his own tent. He couldn’t sleep though and decided there was only one place he could go. He wandered back down through the eerie corridors of the underground complex to the generator room, as he’d christened it. Someone else was already there though.

“Hello?” said Trip as he heard movement up ahead. He heard a crash as someone dropped something, obviously startled by his approach.

“Trip?” said a female voice with a distinct British accent.

“Antonia, shouldn’t you be in bed?” he asked.

“Shouldn’t you?” she asked in reply, smiling and dark brown eyes sparkling in the cold white light from the white oval in the corner.

“I couldn’t resist another look,” said Trip. “Besides I got about an hour or so. I can sleep all I want when we’re back on the Thak Tikh on our way home.” He explained to Antonia about his theory of the black hole power source. She wasn’t a physicist but she got the general gist of what he was trying to explain.

“Wow,” said Antonia. “If we weren’t standing on an alien planet, inside a room with a light which vanishes when you look at, I don’t think I would have believed you. But then I wouldn’t have just translated this either.” She pointed to something written on one of the computer readouts.

“What?” asked Trip.

“Didier and I were able to put together an alphabet and a sort of dictionary for the alien language. His linguistics knowledge and my cultural knowledge meant we could put this together a bit quicker than either of us would have taken alone. Their written language is a combination of phonetic symbols and hieroglyphs, sort of like modern Japanese, they seem to have used several different alphabets. Anyway the phrase “dark door” keeps coming up. I’m guessing that’s their equivalent phrase for black hole.”

“Sounds like a good theory,” replied Trip.

“But then there’s this phrase here which we think means “bright door”,” said Antonia.

“A white hole?” suggested Trip.

“What’s a white hole?” asked Antonia.

“Opposite of a black hole. It’s supposed to spew matter out into the universe, whereas a black hole sucks it in. That’s kind of a simplistic explanation but that’s basically what it’s supposed to be. Except that no one has ever been able to observe one and unlike black holes we’d expect to be able to see them. A lot of physicists think they don’t really exist at all.”

“What about that?” asked Antonia pointing to the white oval of light in the corner. “Could it be a white hole?”

“Nah, wrong readings. It’s not throwing anything but light out. A white hole would be radiating on all spectrums and we really wouldn’t want to be standing here. It’d be like being in the same room as an atomic bomb,” said Trip.

“If it isn’t a white hole then what is it?” asked Antonia.

“I’m not sure,” said Trip. “It’s definitely not just a light source. There are controls beside it that look pretty important. Could be your “bright door” though, it doesn’t have to mean white hole.”

“Would be rather neat if it is what this text refers to,” said Antonia.

“Don’t suppose you’ve managed to translate anything about a containment field?” asked Trip.

“Not so far,” replied Antonia. “Are you looking for one?”

“Something has to be holding this singularity in place and stopping it from running out of control,” replied Trip.

“I’ll keep looking,” said Antonia.

“Every time I turn my scanner on I find something new in here,” said Trip, taking more readings from the metal sphere in the centre of the room. He then moved on to the support beams that ran from the ceiling, they certainly weren’t there to hold up the black hole, only the mechanism around it.

“When the Major contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in coming to Faranor I didn’t expect to find this,” said Antonia.

“Why did you agree to come?” asked Trip. “Can’t be much fun hanging out with group of MACOs and an Engineer.”

“I’ve had worse company on digs. And when someone offers a xeno-archaeologist the chance to dig on an alien planet, further away than they’ve ever been before, well the how and why doesn’t really matter. Of course I wasn’t expecting the Thak Tikh but I know how to keep my mouth shut. For years my father couldn’t talk about his work, it was just an accepted part of life.”

“What did your father do?” asked Trip.

“He was a MACO General. Used to be Darwin’s superior, but he retired some years ago now,” replied Antonia.

“He was Special Forces too?” asked Trip. He suspected that Darwin had already known that when he recruited Antonia.

“Must have been, although he would never tell me,” replied Antonia.

“Well that’s the way it works,” said Trip. “If anyone asks who I’m working for I’m supposed to say that we’re a classified research unit. You didn’t want to join the MACOs like your Dad?”

“No. It’s fine to play weekend soldier but I wouldn’t want to make a career of it. And I’m not exactly one for military discipline, being in the TA taught me that,” said Antonia.

“Neither am I, but I seem to do okay, but then Star Fleet isn’t exactly the MACOs,” said Trip.

“You seem to fit right in with these guys,” said Antonia.

“Well it took a while, but eventually they succumbed to the old Tucker charm,” smiled Trip.

Antonia smiled in reply. She turned back to her work and they continued on in companionable silence, occasionally stopping to ask the other a question. Trip knew that it must be nearly morning and the rest of the team would be getting up soon, his stomach reminded him about breakfast. He was about to ask Antonia if she wanted a break, when she called him over.

“Trip, you have to look at this,” said Antonia.

“What is it?” he asked.

“This passage here,” said Antonia. “I think this generator might have another use. Look at these plans, they show the sphere and the white light being used in conjunction. This symbol here means “weapon” and this combination means “planet destruction”, “doomsday”.”

“We’d better tell the Major,” said Trip, a worried look on his face.

Antonia nodded and collected her padds up. Just then Trip’s communicator beeped.

“Darwin to Trip,” said the Major.

“Trip here. I was just about to come and get you. Antonia and I have found something you might want to see down here.”

“What is it?”

“Antonia translated some more of the computer readouts. We think that this black hole generator is also a weapon,” said Trip.

“That could be a problem,” said Darwin. “We’ve got some contacts coming in from the west, probably Faranoans, and Hathaway commed in to say that the Klingons are definitely on course for Faranor, they’ll be here in less then four hours.”

“Great, just great,” said Trip.

“We need to get that generator out of here,” said Darwin.

“I’m not sure that it’s even possible to move this thing,” said Trip.

“Find me a way, Lieutenant,” said Darwin. “Or if we can’t move it, then find me a way to destroy it.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking, sir. This isn’t like a phase cannon, it’s a black hole we’re talking about,” said Trip.

“All we need to do is make sure the Klingons can’t use it,” said Darwin. “I know you can do it, Lieutenant. You’ve got four hours. Darwin out.”

“Yes, sir,” said Trip, closing his communicator. He was already tired from a night working on the generator schematics, now he had to come up with some way to either take the generator with them or destroy it. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think.

“Anything I can do to help?” asked Antonia.

“Keep at that translation,” said Trip, opening his eyes again. “I need as much information as possible on how this thing works.”

“I’ll get Didier down here to help,” said Antonia.

“Good idea,” said Trip. “Better get Carter too. No one knows weapons like he does, even if it is a singularity generator.” Four hours was never going to be enough time, thought Trip. He just hoped that the Major appreciated what he was asking Trip to do. Move a black hole, one of the most massive objects in the entire universe, and this was only a little one.

Two hours later, Darwin came to check on their progress.

“How’s it going?” he asked Trip.

“I’ve identified the containment unit,” said Trip. “That’s the bit that we really don’t want to turn off. If the containment unit goes then the black hole will drop through the floor and start munching its way through the planet. If we can maintain power to the containment unit then I think we might be able to move it. Problem is that we need a hell of a lot of power and I’m not quite sure how we can get it.”

“We’re running out of time, Trip,” said Darwin.

“I know, I know,” said Trip. “We’re working as fast as we can here.”

“Arroya to Darwin.”

“Go ahead, Corporal,” said Darwin.

“Sir, those contacts to the west. They’re in visual range.”

“They can’t be,” said Darwin. “I thought they were on foot.”

“They are,” said Arroya. “Except every so often they seem to disappear and then reappear a bit closer. Could be something to do with the light reflecting on the desert, but I don’t know. Something very weird is going on here.”

“You four keep working on this, let me know as soon as you’ve made any progress,” said Darwin and he headed for the door.

Outside Arroya had found a lookout position on the second floor of one of the buildings. She handed her CO the binoculars that she’d been looking through. “About five clicks away, sir,” she said pointing to the west.

“Just what we need,” said Darwin, as he found a group of Faranoans coming towards them. There were about twenty or so in the group, all wearing the flowing robes that were traditional in this area. He blinked and suddenly the shapes were a lot closer. “What the hell…?”

“They’ve been doing that,” said Arroya. “I wish I knew how.”

“At that rate they’ll be here in a few minutes,” said Darwin. “Get Fenner down here with the shuttlepod, I’m thinking that we just might want to make a quick exit.”

“Yes, sir,” said Arroya.

“Where are Dempsey, Rush and Kanatova?”

“They’re taking down the camp,” said Arroya.

“When they’re done, get them to stand guard at the generator room. No one gets into that building,” said Darwin. “Anymore on the Klingons from Captain Hathaway?”

“They’re still proceeding at the same course and speed, no change there,” said Arroya.

“Okay, keep your eyes on those Faranoans. I’m going back to check on our resident engineer’s progress,” said Darwin. “One more thing, Arroya, make sure your weapons are set to stun. These are civilians.”

“Yes, sir,” asked Arroya.

Darwin left Arroya to keep an eye on the approaching Faranoans while he made his way back to the generator building. He heard her start to contact Dempsey to tell them to organise the guards for the generator building as he stepped out into the street. His boots scuffed sand around in the wind making the air thick with dust and he pulled his scarf up around his nose and mouth so that he wasn’t breathing in the dust. The visibility around him was deteriorating rapidly. He was about to com Hathaway and ask if there was a storm coming towards their position when he saw some dark shapes in front of him. It was the group of Faranoans that he had seen not five minutes earlier approaching the city.

He drew his weapon and was very surprised when a voice spoke to him. “We can’t allow you to take anything from the city.”

“Who are you?” he asked.

“We are the guardians,” replied the voice.

“You speak English?” he asked completely bewildered.

“A gift from the Builders,” said the voice.

Darwin could hear the capital letter in the tone. The Builders were obviously important to the Faranoans, perhaps with some sort of religious significance. Maybe they were even trespassing on a sacred site by being here.

“If you’ll just give us a couple more hours then we’ll be out of here, but I think you should know that there are some guys called Klingons on their way here that you’re going to want to watch out for,” said Darwin.

“We are only concerned with protecting the city and what lies within it,” said the voice and he stepped forward so that Darwin could see that he was a tall man clothed in a dark brown cloak. He held a long staff that was about the same height as he was but apart from that he was unarmed.

“I’m sorry but I can’t let you interfere with our mission here,” said Darwin. He fired his phaser stunning the first alien in front of him and then turned it on the rest of the party. The other aliens rushed towards him but luckily Arroya made her appearance at that moment and they were able to make a retreat towards the generator building.

“This isn’t good,” said Darwin to Arroya. “Get Dempsey, Rush and Kanatova here now.”

“Yes, sir,” said Arroya. She commed the other MACOs to converge on their position.

“What’s Fenner’s ETA?”

“About twenty minutes, sir,” said Arroya.

“Okay, I want the four of you on the first shuttle back to the Thak Tikh. Fenner can come back and get the rest of us,” said Darwin. He flicked open his communicator once more and called Trip. “We’re out of time Lieutenant, you’ve got an hour to rig that thing to blow.” He was basing the time frame on how long it would take Fenner to get back after his first run to the Thak Tikh. The shuttle couldn’t carry everyone at once so it would have to be two runs.

“Sir, I’ve told you how dangerous that could be,” said Trip.

“Trip, it’s either we destroy it or the Klingons get hold of it,” said Darwin. “I don’t have time to argue. Do it, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir, Tucker out,” replied Trip. He turned around to the rest of the team. “We’ve got new orders, we’re to rig this place to explode. We just have one problem, if we touch the containment unit then that black hole will run out of control. Antonia, I want you to document as much of this as you can. Didier, I need you and Carter to tell me what we can destroy and what we can’t.”

“Yes, sir,” said all three, he barely noticed that Antonia had joined in even though she wasn’t in the military, or the look of horror that had gone across her face at the idea of destroying all the alien technology. He’d have a talk with her about this later, he knew that for an archaeologist destroying anything unique was sacrilege. They had to follow orders though.

On the surface, the four MACOs were holding the doorway to the building. They’d already had to stun the rest of the Faranoans when they arrived and they were now tied up securely with the five MACOs keeping a watchful eye over them.

“Shuttle’s here, sir,” said Rush, pointing at the descending form of the Andorian shuttle from the Thak Tikh.

“Good, the four of you need to get out of here now. I can hold this position until Fenner gets back since our Faranoan friends won’t be bothering us anymore.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the four MACOs saluting as Fenner made a graceful touch down in front of them. They ran for the shuttle which took off again as soon as the four of them were inside.

“Darwin to Tucker,” said Darwin into his communicator. “You have forty minutes, Lieutenant.”

“Understood, sir,” said Trip. “We should be ready in time.”

“You must not do this,” said the alien who had spoken to Darwin before.

“We’re just making sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands,” said Darwin in reply.

“You don’t understand the forces that you are playing with. The Builders may have abandoned this city but they still watch over it and they do not like others interfering,” said the alien. “The Guardians have been entrusted with its care. We will protect it when these Klingons come.”

“I can see that you’re really good at that,” said Darwin sarcastically.

“You have no idea of the power of the Builders,” replied the alien.

“Well until they show up, we’re all that stands between the Klingons and that weapon,” said Darwin.

“You have failed to understand how much danger you are in,” said the alien.

Darwin shrugged. “I think I have a pretty good idea,” he said. The alien did not reply.

They sat in silence for some time before Darwin’s communicator chirped. “Darwin, go ahead.”

“Hathaway, sir. Fenner is on his way back to you; he should be with you in about fifteen minutes. But I’ve got some bad news. The Klingons have arrived. I’m using the planet to shield us and stop them from detecting our presence, but they’ve just launched a shuttle. It’s heading for your location, sir.”

“God damn it, nothing about this mission has gone right,” said Darwin. “Tell Fenner to step on it. We’ll be ready to leave when he gets here. Darwin out.” He went into the building. Behind him he heard a noise, a sort of rapid shuffling sounds, he turned around to see what it was and found that the Faranoans were no longer sitting where they had been tied up. They had disappeared. “How the hell…?” He wanted to go back and look for them but he really didn’t have time to worry about the Faranoans. He ran back into the building and was out of breath when he reached the generator room.

“Finish up what you’re doing, we’re leaving now,” he said.

“I just need a few more minutes,” said Trip. “You guys get going, I’ll follow you.”

“Okay, but no longer than a couple of minutes. I’m not waiting for you, Lieutenant,” said Darwin.

“Don’t worry, I ain’t got any plans to become a permanent resident of this city,” said Trip.

The MACOs and Antonia packed up their gear rapidly and made their way up the stairs and towards the exit. Just as they reached it they heard the sound of loud shouting in Klingon. The Klingons had arrived and obviously detected the same energy readings that they had. Darwin indicated for them to hide and let the Klingons pass, they didn’t have time to get into a fire fight. Darwin counted eight Klingons as they walked past.

He looked round at Didier and Carter. “Where’s Antonia?” he asked.

“She said she’d left a padd behind, she went to pick it up. She said she’d only be a second,” said Didier. “The Klingons are heading for the generator room, Major.”

“I’m aware of that,” said Darwin. He knew Trip could take care of himself but if Antonia was there as well then that added an unknown element to the equation. “Didier, go and make sure that Fenner has a clear landing site. We’re going to need to make a quick get away. Carter, you’re with me. We’re going to find Trip and Antonia.”

****End of Chapter Seven****

Trip was making the final adjustments to the mechanism which would render the weapon useless. It wouldn’t destroy it but it would damage it enough that the Klingons wouldn’t be able to work out what to do with it. Antonia came dashing back down the corridor.

“I just forgot one of my padds,” she said going to pick up the forgotten padd. “You there yet?”

“Nearly,” replied Trip, twisting two wires together to make the final connection. “There, done.” He collected his tools together and grabbed the rest of his gear. “Let’s go.” They walked from the room and straight into the arms of a waiting Klingon who grabbed them roughly.

The Klingon said something in his native language. Whatever it was Trip didn’t like the sound of it. He switched from engineer to MACO in the space of a couple seconds and executed a perfectly aimed kick to the leg of the Klingon who held them. He cried out in pain and dropped them which gave Trip another opportunity to get in a couple of punches. Unfortunately his resistance was short lived as suddenly another Klingon was shouting at him.

He turned to see one of the other Klingons holding a weapon to Antonia’s head. She looked very, very scared and tiny against the huge Klingon. He knew what the Klingon had shouted even without a translator. If he caused anymore trouble then they’d kill Antonia. He put his hands up, hoping that they’d recognise it as a gesture of surrender.

“Okay, okay,” he said, “I get the message. I give up.” He gave Antonia what he hoped was a reassuring look and would let her know that he was pretty sure that the Major would be coming to get them.

They took his phase pistol from its holster. The Klingons then roughly pushed them back into the generator room. There was more shouting in Klingon while two of them argued over a small box. Finally they seemed to get it working.

“What are you doing here?” shouted the Klingon and Trip realised that they must have been adjusting a translator.

“We’re here on a scientific mission,” said Trip.

The Klingon that was holding him hit Trip, and Antonia struggled against her captor.

“Leave him alone,” she said.

“Quiet,” spat the first Klingon. “I don’t believe you. How many more are there of you?”

“It’s just us two,” replied Trip. He hoped that at least the Major and the MACOs could get away from the planet even if Trip and Antonia were now trapped.

“What is this room for?” asked the Klingon.

The Klingon hit him again when he didn’t answer fast enough. Trip tasted blood in his mouth, but kept quiet. In his experience Klingons preferred to use their fists rather than their brains, the real trouble was when you got a smart one who knew how to use both. The fact that this Klingon was interested in what they’d found suggested that he was one of the smart ones and Trip knew that meant trouble.

“This white light is very interesting, I wonder what would happen to someone who walked into it,” said the Klingon, pacing. Trip had no idea what the white light would do if someone walked into it but he didn’t want to find out. The Klingon took one of Antonia’s padds and threw it into the light. It vanished in a small shower of light, disintegrated. The Klingon grabbed Antonia, picking her up by her arm as if she were no heavier than a doll. “I think you found a weapon. You will tell me how to use it. Or your friend will die.” He held Antonia as if to throw her into the white light. Antonia was trying very hard to be brave but Trip could see the fear in her eyes.

“Fine, it’s a weapon,” said Trip. “But I can’t tell you how to use it, because I don’t know.”

“Then she dies,” said the Klingon and drew his arm back, about to throw.

“Wait!” shouted Trip.

“How does it work?” asked the Klingon again.

“It’s a black hole generator,” said Trip. Then there was the sound of phaser fire in the corridor.

“You double crossed me,” said the Klingon. “No one double crosses a Klingon.” And he threw Antonia into the white light. Antonia screamed, putting a hand out to try and stop her fall. Then she was gone. Vaporised by the white light.

“No!” shouted Trip. It was as if it had all happened in slow motion, he tried to move to save her but the Klingon holding him just gripped tighter. Then he didn’t have a moment to think as Major Darwin and Sergeant Carter stormed into the generator room phasers blazing. In the confusion Trip got free and made his way to join the MACOs. The Klingons pulled out their weapons and began firing back. The phaser blasts hit some of the machinery in the room and a fire broke out. Smoke made it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of his face and he coughed as his lungs fought to draw in air.

“Where’s Antonia?” shouted Darwin.

“Dead,” said Trip. “Let’s get out of here.”

One of the Klingons fired at Darwin and he ducked out of the way.

“No!” shouted Trip, “the containment unit!” but it was too late. The Klingon’s last phaser blast had missed Darwin, who’d shifted at the last moment, and the shot had gone straight through the panel behind him. He heard the hum of the room go quiet and then the ominous sound of bending metal as the black hole reasserted it’s influence on the universe. Trip saw a small pin hole appear in the floor in a flash of white light as the black hole began its fall towards the centre of the planet. “We have to get out of here, now!”

The MACOs and Trip made a run for it, firing back towards the Klingons as they ran. Trip pushed the door shut behind himself to slow down any Klingons who decided to follow them. They made it out of the building and ran for the shuttle. Trip was the last to board the shuttle and he hesitated slightly as he was about to get on. He couldn’t believe that Antonia was dead. They’d never lost a member of the unit on a mission before.

“Trip, get your ass in here!” shouted the Major and it was enough to jerk him out of his reverie. He jumped into the shuttle just in time to see the Klingons make it out of the building. The building crumbled behind them. “Go, go, go!” shouted Darwin to Fenner over the sound of the shuttle’s engines.

Trip collapsed in a seat as Fenner lifted them off the ground, the Klingons firing their weapons but they were already high enough not to have any worries about them hitting anything. Kanatova took one look at Trip’s bleeding lip and bruised face and went to get the medical kit from the back of the shuttle. She tended to his cuts while Darwin watched with concern. Trip was semi-dazed, the adrenaline finally leaving his system and he began to shiver. Kanatova wrapped a blanket around Trip’s shoulder and pressed a hypospray full of painkiller to his neck which made him feel slightly better. Even Kanatova’s painkillers couldn’t dull the pain of loss that he felt. He noticed that she was being more gentle than usual, being a MACO medic she was used to dealing with soldiers and was usually extremely businesslike in her treatment of minor injuries.

Trip looked around at Darwin, defeat and pain in his eyes.

“They killed Antonia,” said Trip, “and I let them. All my training and I wasn’t able to do a damn thing to stop them.”

“Trip, you were surrounded by Klingons. There was nothing you could have done,” said Darwin.

“There’s more. When the containment unit was destroyed the black hole was able to start sucking in matter again. That generator is busy eating into the planet. Pretty soon there isn’t going to be anything left of it. We killed those people, Major,” said Trip.

“It wasn’t us, Trip, it was the Klingons. They’re the ones who destroyed the containment unit,” said Darwin.

“If we hadn’t been there, then they might never have found this place,” said Trip.

“You don’t know that,” said Darwin, but in his heart of hearts he felt it just as much as Trip. They had killed these people. “How long before the black hole destroys Faranor?”

“Don’t know. A small singularity like that, maybe a few hours, perhaps a couple of days,” said Trip, gloomily. “The planet will be unstable long before it’s destroyed.”

It was a very subdued group that returned to the Thak Tikh but they were met by Hathaway in the docking bay which was never a good sign.

“Sir, the Klingons detected the shuttle launching from the planet,” said Hathaway.

“Get us out of here,” said Darwin.

“Rob, the Klingons can make warp six, we’re only warp four capable,” said Hathaway.

Darwin knew they were in trouble when his first officer called him by his first name. “Then we’d better get moving,” he replied dryly. “Trip…” he started.

“I know, we need a constant warp four. I’m already on my way,” said the Engineer, as he headed for the engine room, just as the Red Alert sounded across the ship, except this one was in Andorian so the screens flashed “Ngaaz Gook” in big Andorian script.

Trip arrived in the Engine room to find Rush already there. He noted that they had just gone to warp and were already at warp three with their speed climbing.

“Watch that inter-mix ratio,” said Trip to Rush. “We’re taking her all the way.”

“Yes, Lieutenant,” replied Rush.

They climbed steadily to their top speed of warp four. It was then that the problems began, the Thak Tikh may have been theoretically capable of warp four but that was on paper and they’d never taken her that high before or for a sustained period.

“Eed! Buud aph leph!” shouted the computer. It flashed up on the screen as well, in giant red flashing Andorian letters.

“What the hell does that mean?” asked Rush.

“We’re over heating,” said Trip. His grasp of Andorian engineering terms had become pretty good over the past few years. “Trip to the bridge, Major we’re going to have a core breach if we carry on at this speed for much longer.”

“How long before that happens?” asked Darwin.

“Ten minutes, maybe twenty at most,” replied Trip.

“Eed! Buud moop toz thi!” said the computer.

“Great, just great,” muttered Trip. “Warp core breach imminent!” he shouted down to Rush. “We’ve got to figure some way to cool her down or else eject the core.” Then the over heating core became the least of their problems as they felt the jolt of a Klingon disrupter hit their hull.

“Eed! Duv kheezh!” shouted the computer.

“Now what?” said Trip. He thumbed the com, “Didier, what the hell does “duv kheezh” mean?”

“Oxygen leak,” replied Didier without hesitation.

“Trip to bridge, we’re venting oxygen from sector…three, I’m closing the emergency bulkheads, get everyone out of there,” said Trip.

“Understood,” replied Darwin. “The Klingons are still on our tail but we’re trying to shake them. We’re entering Vulcan space so hopefully they’ll break off their pursuit then.” In the background he could hear Hathaway and Carter calling weapon ranges to each other as they manned the Thak Tikh’s guns.

“Better be soon Major, we can’t keep this speed up for more than a few more minutes, then we’re back to impulse or I have to eject the warp core,” said Trip. The ship reeled from another impact and a third. The last hit took out a plasma conduit which in turn blew out relays down the starboard side of the Thak Tikh in a cascade failure. The engine stuttered for a brief moment and then shut down propulsion completely. No matter what Trip did, he couldn’t get it started again.

“Beezh thooth!” shouted the computer.

“Abandon ship,” said Trip in a whisper. He never thought he’d be leaving the Thak Tikh like this.

“That’s all folks,” came Darwin’s voice over the com. “We’re all out of options, get to the escape pods and abandon ship. We’ll rendezvous on the nearest habitable planet.”

“You heard the man,” he said to Rush, “get out of here.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Rush.

“Set the self destruct,” said Trip. Actually he didn’t know how to set the self-destruct, he wasn’t even sure that the Thak Tikh had one, but he did know how to over load the warp core. He dumped all the plasma into the engine, knowing that in the engine’s already unstable state it would take about five or six minutes for it to go critical and then he ran for the escape pods. When he reached them he was just in time to see Darwin climbing into a two-man pod, he waited for Trip and then the two of them launched. The force of the exploding warp core pushed them away from their dying ship, just as the Klingons approached a little too closely and were singed by the blast. It was just enough to stop them from coming after the escape pods.

Trip watched as the Thak Tikh blossomed into flame and he knew that he was flying away from the past three years of his life at the same time he was flying away from the Thak Tikh. The escape pods were programmed to make for the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere. They formed a small fleet as they zipped through the silent stars. It took a few hours but eventually all five escape pods landed safely on a nearby planet.

****

“We were stuck on that ball of rock for a week before the ECS Jericho detected our homing signal and picked us up,” said Darwin.

Trip remembered it well, he’d had plenty of time while they were waiting to be rescued to brood over the events of the past few days and every time he thought about it, it was like someone had plunged a knife through his heart. At first they had all been too stunned to take in the magnitude of the disaster but as the days went by it hit home with its full force. Trip mourned for Antonia and marvelled at how a single life could almost mean more to him than the ten thousand that they’d also taken.

“We were all hauled up before the General to explain what had happened, but nothing ever came of the investigation. After that they broke up the unit. I tried to persuade Trip to join my new team but he wanted to get back to research again,” finished Darwin.

There was a moment of silence, while Archer gave the two men in front of him a long hard look. Trip looked back at Archer nervously, he knew he was in big trouble this time. More than just big trouble.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” said Archer. “Not only did you visit a pre-warp civilisation, irreparably contaminating their culture, but you ended up destroying their planet, killing ten thousand people and getting into a fight with the Klingons. You have no idea how much damage you may have done to intergalactic relations with that stunt.”

“And Antonia died for nothing,” said Trip, his voice dull with past grief. “We didn’t get the generator or any of the technology that we came for. I even had to leave most of her padds behind. There’s a nice black hole growing where Faranor used to be.”

“Jesus Christ, what the hell did you think you were doing? I don’t know how you can stand before me and tell me that you did this for Earth. You were completely irresponsible,” said Archer.

“I assume that you believe the ship on Deneb IV to also be carrying one of these singularity generators?” asked T’Pol.

“That’s pretty much the size of things,” said Trip. “We think the ship belonged to the race that the Faranoans called the Builders.”

Archer pressed the switch on the com on his desk. “Archer to Mayweather, resume previous course at warp four.”

“Aye, sir,” replied the young Ensign.

“Thank you, Captain,” said Darwin.

“Don’t thank me yet, Colonel. I will not allow a disaster of the magnitude of Faranor to occur again. T’Pol, I want you and Trip going over everything we have on that black hole generator. This time we’re going to be prepared,” said Archer.

“Those files are classified,” said Darwin.

“Not any more,” said Trip. “I’ll get them for you, T’Pol.”

“Trip, she’s a Vulcan,” said Darwin.

“Yeah, she is, but she’s also Enterprise’s Science Officer and my friend,” said Trip.

“If you do not wish me to talk about the information that you show me, then I will not do so,” said T’Pol.

“Thanks, T’Pol,” said Trip.

“What are you going to do about what we’ve just told you?” asked Colonel Darwin, looking pointedly at Captain Archer.

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure that there is anything that I can do since you were operating under orders from an authority within the Earth government. If it was up to me I’d throw both of you in the brig and court martial you,” said Archer.

Trip had never felt so worthless and miserable in his whole life. It had been bad enough after Faranor had happened, but somehow it was suddenly like a fresh wound in the face of his friend’s condemnation. Darwin had the air of the guilty about him but he didn’t seem to be fighting with himself in the same way that Trip was.

“But it isn’t up to you,” said Darwin.

“No it isn’t, but I can make sure that you don’t go down to that planet alone and I can make sure that we conduct the mission right this time,” said Archer.

“Captain, the less people who go near that thing the better. I have a pretty good idea how to disable it safely but I don’t want anyone there who doesn’t have to be,” said Trip.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Commander,” said Archer. “You don’t have the right to have a say in what happens here, you lost that right when you lied to me about your past. We are doing this my way, as of now.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Trip, in an unhappy tone. His Captain had just told him that he no longer respected his opinion and that hurt a lot.

“Captain, with all due respect, this isn’t your area of expertise or your area of command. Your orders from Admiral Forrest are very clear, you are to hand command over to me once we reach the planet,” said Darwin.

“Then be my guest, call up the Admiral and tell him what you just told me, Colonel. Tell him how you and your Special Projects unit killed ten thousand people and see what he has to say about your orders,” said Archer.

Darwin looked Archer in the eye, trying to work out if he was bluffing or not. In theory a Star Fleet Captain and a MACO Colonel were the same rank, but on board their own ship the Captain would always have authority. Unless, of course, they had orders from their superior to hand command over to the Colonel, it was why Darwin had been careful to get the proper papers of authority before he came aboard Enterprise. If they called Forrest then he would have to give out confidential details to the Admiral, which he didn’t want to do. Far too many people now knew about Faranor. General Whittaker could speak to Forrest and straighten things out without giving the details but that could take a while. Archer had to be certain that Forrest would back up any decisions that he made, and Darwin didn’t think it was worth wrangling over who got overall command of the mission with the Klingons breathing down their neck. As long as Archer got him and Trip to Deneb IV, that was all that mattered. He had more important things to do before they got to the planet than argue with the Captain in any case.

“I want it noted that you are going against direct orders,” said Darwin.

“Fine, so noted,” said Archer. “You’re all dismissed. I’ll contact you when we reach Deneb.”

Trip had never been so glad to leave his Captain’s presence and the accusing eyes that he felt burning into his back as he walked from the room.

****

“I just can’t believe it,” said Hoshi. It was lunch time and she sat in the mess hall eating with Travis and Reed. The Lieutenant had explained a little about Trip’s time in the Special Projects Unit, enough to explain what had happened on the bridge and hopefully keep Hoshi and Travis from getting more curious, but he hadn’t gone into details of individual missions.

“Me neither,” replied Travis.

“Believe it,” said Reed, “it’s true. I’ve got the bruises to prove it.”

“And you’re telling me that he’s better at hand to hand combat than you are?” asked Travis in disbelief.

“A lot better,” said Reed.

“It does explain a few things though,” said Hoshi.

“Like what?” asked Reed.

“Oh the letters to a MACO Major named Hathaway, and Phlox isn’t the only one who writes to a friend in the Interspecies Medical Exchange you know. Trip’s been sending letters to a Doctor Anna Kanatova on Vulcan ever since we left space dock. Plus how many people do you know who know the Andorian word for Engine?” said Hoshi.

“Well you do for one,” replied Reed. “How did you ever find out that he knew what the Andorian for engine was? He’s been very careful not to let anything slip.”

“It was when the Andorians found us in the Expanse,” replied Hoshi. “We were having trouble with the Universal Translator making sense of the Andorian Engineering terms. Commander Tucker said something to one of the Andorians in Andorian as if he knew what it meant. I just assumed that he’d picked up a few phrases from the Andorians while they worked, but he seemed to know too much too quickly. It was only because he helped that we managed to get the translation program working for some of the really technical stuff. Come to think of it, I’m sure he avoided me for a couple of weeks after that, maybe it was because he didn’t want me asking any questions.”

“I suppose that was one of those times when he knew his knowledge could save Earth and he just had to hope no one looked too closely,” said Reed, “and no one would have questioned him on it if Colonel Darwin hadn’t come on board.”

“Captain Archer looked really angry,” said Travis.

“Yes, well, I think you would be too if you’d just discovered your best friend of ten years was lying to you all that time, or at least keeping a very big secret,” replied Reed.

“Yeah, I mean you think you know someone…” said Travis.

“It must have been awful for him,” said Hoshi. “Imagine keeping a secret that big for all these years.”

“I think that’s the least of his worries, Hoshi,” said Reed.

****End of Chapter Eight****

“Commander,” said T’Pol, sitting at a console in the command centre, “according to your calculations, the alien generator was capable of producing a terawatt of power.”

“That’s right, about the equivalent of a hundred fusion power stations,” said Trip. “I can work it through for you again, if you like.” Keeping busy was the only way that he had of dealing with everything that was going on at the moment, he was certain that if he even stopped for a moment then he’d realise what a horrible situation he was in and break down. They didn’t have time for him to indulge his emotions right now.

“That will not be necessary. I have already checked your calculations.”

“Then what’s the problem?” asked Trip.

“That indicates that the singularity was 10-21m across,” said T’Pol.

“About a millionth the size of a proton. So?” said Trip.

“It is further evidence of the existence of micro singularities,” said T’Pol.

“Yeah, a hole that size weights about 100000 tonnes. Amazing, isn’t it?” said Trip.

“It is simply a scientific fact, Commander,” replied T’Pol. “However, it is an energy source of some potential and I have a number of questions as to how it was achieved. I am particularly interested in the containment field and how it was able to neutralise the gravitational effect. Not only that, I would like to discover how they were able to capture the black hole in the first place.”

“The Builders had some pretty advanced stuff on Faranor,” said Trip. “I’d say that capturing a black hole was fairly easy for them.”

“It certainly seems as if that is indeed the case,” replied T’Pol. “We must find a way to disable the generator.”

Trip put a padd down in front of T’Pol. “I’ve been working on it,” he said. “It’s taken me a few years but I think I’ve worked it out.”

“You have been working on it?” asked T’Pol.

“Well you didn’t think that I’d have the specs for a piece of technology like that and not work out how it ticked? I’ve spent the past ten years trying to figure it out from the scans we took down on Faranor. Kind of like my way of repaying my debts,” said Trip. “I was hoping that if I could figure out some way that I could use the technology then at least some good would have come out of the Faranor incident.”

“That is an extremely human response,” said T’Pol. “You cannot change the past.”

“I’m not trying to change the past, T’Pol. Just atone for it,” said Trip.

“The Colonel was correct. It was not your fault that the Klingons destroyed the containment unit,” said T’Pol.

“It might as well have been,” replied Trip. “If we hadn’t been there then the Klingons might never have even come to that planet. They were looking for Andorians and detected our ship. If we hadn’t had that ship there, then they would never have detected those readings and come looking. Antonia would still be alive and Faranor would never have been destroyed.”

“You do not know that. We have a lot of work to do, I suggest that we concentrate on that,” said T’Pol.

Trip and T’Pol had been working at the problem for hours. She looked over at Trip. He was standing looking at a screen and she noticed him put a hand to his head and close his eyes for a second as if he was having trouble concentrating.

“When did you last eat?” asked T’Pol. She knew that neither of them had been to breakfast because they had been called to the bridge and it was now well past lunch time. Vulcans could go for days without food but she knew that humans could not without some ill effects.

“Erm…I can’t remember, a while ago I guess,” said Trip.

“It is unwise not to take in nourishment on a regular basis. We should stop and eat before we continue our research,” said T’Pol.

“I’m fine, T’Pol, you get something,” said Trip. “I need to finish this.”

“I can get Phlox to order you if required,” said T’Pol.

Trip looked as if he might argue then nodded his head. It was late for lunch so the mess hall was mostly empty. Being late also meant that the selection of food was considerably less than usual but they both found something that they were happy with and sat down at a table near the windows.

“You don’t have to look after me, you know. I can take care of myself,” said Trip.

“That statement is obviously false, Commander. If I had not insisted that you eat then you would still be working,” said T’Pol.

“There’s been a lot going on,” said Trip.

“Have you spoken with the Captain?” asked T’Pol.

“Just this morning, you were there too,” said Trip, deliberately misunderstanding what T’Pol had said.

“I did not mean on ship’s business,” clarified T’Pol. “It is obvious that your relationship with Captain Archer has suffered due to Colonel Darwin’s presence on board Enterprise.”

“I don’t think we even have a relationship anymore, T’Pol,” said Trip. “And I can’t blame him for being angry at me. I lied and kept things from him, even though he’s supposed to be my best friend. I don’t know if we’ll be able to work this one through.”

“It is beginning to effect crew morale,” said T’Pol.

Trip looked at T’Pol, slightly bemused. “Morale? I thought you didn’t take notice of human stuff like that,” he said.

“On the contrary, as First Officer of this ship it is my duty to ensure its efficient running and on a ship crewed by humans that means taking emotional concerns into account,” said T’Pol.

Trip wondered if there was more to what T’Pol had said than that but he let it go. “Why would the crew worry about my friendship with Captain Archer. If most of them knew why we’ve fallen out then they’d probably stop speaking to me as well.”

“I do not believe that you have fully understood the dynamic of Enterprise,” said T’Pol. “The crew respect both you and the Captain greatly. Your friendship has been a constant for them. It disturbs them when they see two of the senior officers having a disagreement of this nature, especially when they don’t understand why.”

“Well it’s none of their business,” said Trip, a slight touch of anger entering his voice.

“It may not be their business, but it does effect them,” said T’Pol.

“Yeah, well once this is all over, I won’t be bothering them anymore,” said Trip.

“If you are speaking about tendering your resignation and leaving Enterprise then I think that would be a mistake,” said T’Pol.

“If the Captain and I are at odds all the time then I can’t stay,” said Trip. “It’s just too hard, T’Pol, and it’s no way to run a ship. He needs a Chief Engineer who he can trust and at the moment he doesn’t think that he can trust me.”

“Perhaps you should postpone that decision until after we have completed this mission,” said T’Pol.

“What difference will that make?” asked Trip.

“I have noticed that time can be very important in healing emotional rifts,” said T’Pol.

“I don’t think it’s going to work with me an’ the Captain,” said Trip. “It’s just too big to get over.”

“What about the other members of the crew? You will be missed by them too,” said T’Pol. She wanted to add that she would miss him, but somehow she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. It was not appropriate for a Vulcan to be saying such a thing to human, even if she did mean it.

“It doesn’t matter if anyone else wants me to stay, a ship’s crew is built around its Captain and if we’re having problems then I can’t stay. I know he’d never say outright that he wants my resignation. As he said, he can’t fault my work, but on a personal level, I need to leave.”

This was tearing him apart inside. He’d hidden it for so long, trying to forget everything and now it had all come to the surface, he had to think about everything that he’d done. He didn’t think anyone understood just how difficult it was to deal with, how hard it had been for him to lie to his friends.

“If you still feel this way after we have completed our mission on Deneb IV then I will support your decision, however I am of the opinion that you should wait,” said T’Pol.

“Okay, T’Pol. Just for you, I’ll wait and make my mind up after we’re done on Deneb IV but I can’t see that it will make much difference to what the Captain thinks of me,” replied Trip. He decided that he didn’t like this conversation anymore and changed the subject. “How long do you figure that ship has been on Deneb IV?”

“It is impossible to discern at this distance from the scans that we have available,” said T’Pol. “However, given the pattern of vegetation around the craft I would say that it has been there for some considerable amount of time.”

Trip nodded. They continued eating in silence. Trip would liked to have started a conversation but somehow talking about last week’s movie night didn’t seem to be appropriate given the circumstances. He was actually relieved when they returned to the Command Centre to continue their work on the scans which Trip had taken from Faranor.

****

Lieutenant Reed had just finished his shift and had decided to head for the gym. He had been spending a considerable amount of time there lately with Trip but they had postponed their latest session as Trip needed the time to work on the scans from Deneb IV. When the four officers had emerged from the Captain’s ready room he had noticed a change in all of them and he was still wondering what had occurred behind that closed door. The Captain had passed him the schematics of what Special Projects had found on Faranor with orders not to divulge its contents to anyone. He was intrigued by the possibility of using a black hole as a weapon but had been able to discern very little about it’s workings. He had decided to have another look this evening at the schematics, but he knew that his engineering ability wasn’t up to Trip’s level, and if Trip couldn’t work out how it ticked then he had no chance. Even if it was a weapon, his area of speciality.

He walked into the gym to see Colonel Darwin and Travis sparring on the mats. Darwin was easily getting the better of Travis. Reed recognised some of the moves that Trip had used in the Colonel’s technique, there was no doubt in his mind who had taught Trip to kill. Reed also noticed how the Colonel held himself back, much like Trip had done. He wasn’t at all sure that he liked a man who could and had killed with his bare hands sparring with Travis, who although pretty proficient himself wouldn’t be up to Darwin’s standards. Reed was finding that he had to be very careful which of Trip’s buttons he pressed now that they had started their new training regime.

Darwin knocked Travis onto the mat once more and noticed Reed watching them.

“Lieutenant,” said Darwin by way of greeting. “Can I help you?”

“I was just interested in your technique,” said Reed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that move before. I’m pretty sure that it isn’t part of the standard MACO training.”

“You’re right Lieutenant, it isn’t a standard part of MACO training. It’s a Nausicaan move,” said Darwin.

“Perhaps you’d care to show me when you have some spare time,” said Reed.

“If Ensign Mayweather doesn’t mind, I’d be happy to show you now,” said Darwin.

“Actually, I should really get going, I’m meeting Anna and Hoshi for dinner,” said Travis. “They hate it if I’m late and they hate it even more if I haven’t showered.” He grinned broadly and grabbed his towel. “Night Colonel, Lieutenant.”

“Night Travis,” said Reed. He strapped on the required protection for his hands and stepped on to the mat. If this went anything like his first encounter with the “real” Trip then he’d be spending most of his time on his back on the mat. “So where do you want to start?”

“Why don’t you show me what you can do, Lieutenant,” said Darwin.

Reed was beginning to get a sense of déjà vu, it was only a few days ago that he’d said something similar to Trip. He threw his first punch aiming to connect with Darwin’s chin. The Colonel blocked of course and the two men went into a series of practised move and countermoves. Neither of them had trouble holding their own.

“I get the impression that you don’t like me very much, Lieutenant,” said Darwin.

“Why do you say that, Colonel?” asked Reed, aiming a sweeping kick at the Colonel’s legs. Darwin moved out of range just in time to avoid the move taking his legs out from under him. It was true of course, the Colonel was exactly the type of military man that Reed had no time for. He only saw the mission and not the bigger picture. He saw how to get things done and not why they had to be done, exactly the kind of person who was needed in Special Projects, but Reed worried that his attitude would get them all killed.

“You don’t like secrets, or anyone knowing more about a situation than you do,” said Darwin.

“I don’t like anyone putting Enterprise in danger,” said Reed. “It’s my job to keep everyone on this ship safe.”

“I haven’t placed Enterprise in any danger,” said Darwin.

“I beg to differ, sir,” said Reed, spitting out the word “sir” as if it were an insult.

“Trip would be equally at fault if that were the case,” said Darwin.

“Trip was following your orders,” said Reed. “You could have divulged the information at any time and not placed him in the position that you did. You’re reckless, Colonel and you don’t seem to have much regard for the men under your command.”

“That is where you’re wrong, Lieutenant, I never left a man behind that I could save,” said Darwin.

“But you let Trip get captured and tortured,” said Reed. Darwin gave him a look which indicated his surprise at the Lieutenant’s knowledge. “Trip told T’Pol and she passed the information on to me. She thought I should know.”

“We were a covert military unit, Lieutenant, not a Sunday school class. What we did was dangerous work,” said Darwin. “A week in sick bay was a small price to pay for what we picked up on that mission. Your phase cannons are based on that design.”

Darwin remembered what Trip had looked like when he’d pulled him out of the Kellarin prison camp. Trip had barely been conscious when they found him and had passed out completely when they reached the Thak Tikh shuttle. When Kanatova had got her hands on him, she’d spent the first couple of days flushing toxins out of his system and tending to the severe burns that she’d found all over his body. Kanatova was a good doctor and by the end of the week Trip was well enough to leave sick bay, but it took a lot longer than that before Trip was back on full duty. Darwin had cursed the fact that it was Trip who had been captured, he wasn’t a MACO and was by far their youngest member.

Of course what Darwin had never told Trip was that they had destroyed the prison camp before they left. He never asked Trip if he’d given up any information, it didn’t matter to him because any information which Trip had given up had been destroyed in the explosion that they had set off. Darwin saw it as his mistake and his alone, so he had been the one to rescue Trip and he had been the one to plant the explosives. The one thing he never expected anyone else to do was pay for his mistakes and Trip had come very close to doing that.

Reed took advantage of Darwin’s momentary lapse of concentration to finally land a punch. However he didn’t have time to enjoy his victory as Darwin took that moment to demonstrate the Nausicaan move which Reed had seen him use before. He had Reed on the floor before the Armoury officer knew what had happened.

“I’d rather Trip hadn’t been hurt than have the phase cannons,” said Reed.

“And how many other people would have died if it hadn’t been for those phase cannons?” said Darwin, reaching down a hand to help Reed up.

“The end doesn’t always justify the means, Colonel,” said a voice from the doorway. Reed and Darwin turned around to see Captain Archer standing watching them. “I think I know that better than anyone.”

“That’s my workout completed for today,” said Darwin, he collected his towel and water bottle and made for the exit.

Archer put a hand on the Colonel’s shoulder as he was about to leave. “Trip may not realise what you are, but I do,” said Archer, quietly. “I’m going to be watching you very closely when we’re on Deneb IV tomorrow.”

“I’m not the one you should be watching, Captain,” replied Darwin.

****

It was late when Trip and T’Pol finally gave up and decided that they needed sleep before they could continue with their research.

“Will you be able to sleep?” asked T’Pol as they made their way towards B deck and their quarters.

“I’ll be fine,” said Trip. “Don’t want to fall asleep on your floor again.”

“It was not a problem,” replied T’Pol.

“All the same, I think I’d better go back to my own bed tonight,” said Trip.

“As you wish,” replied T’Pol. If Trip didn’t know better then he almost would have thought that she sounded slightly disappointed.

“G’night T’Pol,” said Trip. He wearily thumbed the door opener and went into his quarters. He got undressed and fell into bed, so tired that his head barely touched the pillow before he was asleep.

He dreamed about Faranor. Vast deserts stretching away for miles into the distance around the sand coloured buildings. A cold wind stirred up the sand, blowing it in waves across the dunes. He stood looking away from the city and saw a group of Faranoans approaching him. They wore long cloaks and their faces were covered by the hoods of their robes.

“Welcome back to Faranor,” said the lead figure in the group.

“Erm, this isn’t Faranor. Faranor was destroyed,” said Trip. “This is just a dream.”

“We were there, we remember,” said the Faranoan.

“I know,” said Trip. “Believe me, I know.”

“The Builders have a message for you,” said the Faranoan.

“They do, huh?” asked Trip, not really believing where his unconscious mind had decided to take him tonight.

“You should not go to Deneb IV,” said the Faranoan.

“Really? Why not?”

“Because it will place you in danger,” said the Faranoan. “The Builders still watch over their property. They are very powerful. The Guardians will protect Deneb IV.”

“Deneb IV is uninhabited, there is no one to protect what’s down there,” said Trip.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Trip,” said another voice that he recognised. The crowd of Faranoans parted and revealed a smaller figure behind them. She threw back her hood.

“Antonia,” whispered Trip.

“The Guardians protect Deneb IV just as they protected Faranor,” said Antonia.

“Faranor is gone,” said Trip, a dark sadness entering his voice. “And you died there.”

“You can’t go to Deneb IV. It’s too dangerous for you and Enterprise. Go home, Trip. Before you get hurt,” said Antonia and she turned and looked out into the desert. Trip followed her gaze. Suddenly the dunes of the desert were full of Faranoans and they all stood silently looking at him, only the glint of their eyes visible under their hooded cloaks. They stared at him and he could feel their accusation boring into him. He was the one who had killed them.

Antonia pointed towards the distance. Far away a sandstorm was coming and it was in the shape of a Klingon battleship.

“Run!” shouted Trip, but no one moved or even seemed to hear him.

It swept towards them, rolling across the lines of the multitude of Faranoans and engulfing the small group who stood in front of Trip. Finally the storm rolled over Antonia, even as she pointed towards its approach. As it was about to swallow Trip as well, he jerked himself awake. He awoke sweating and breathing hard. He threw off the covers and made for the bathroom. He ran the cold tap and splashed water on his face.

“Just a dream,” he said, shakily to himself. “Just a dream.”

He filled a glass with water and was about to drink it when he looked up at the mirror. He saw his own reflection in the mirror but standing behind him was Antonia. Her dark eyes stared into his blue ones. He dropped the glass he was holding and turned around but there was no one behind him. It was only as he turned back to the mirror that he realised that he had cut himself on the glass he’d been holding. Blood mixed with the water in the sink and he stood rooted to the spot unable to move, staring into the mirror where half a second ago a ghost had appeared.

****End of Chapter 9****

When Trip finally did move it was to grab a towel and wrap it around his hand, which was now bleeding copiously. He guessed the cut from the glass was a deep one and from his experience of minor injuries in Engineering, hands tended to bleed a lot. He headed for sick bay.

“Doctor?” he called as he entered. The sick bay lights were turned down as usual at this hour, it was the middle of the night for most of the crew and for Phlox’s menagerie. Luckily Phlox didn’t need much sleep so was always on had for late night emergencies.

“Commander, you’re up very late,” said Phlox, then he observed the hand wrapped in the towel that Trip was clutching to himself. “What happened?”

“I went to get a glass of water and I dropped the glass. Think I sliced myself pretty good, there’s a fair bit of blood,” said Trip.

“Let me have a look,” said Phlox, steering Trip to a biobed and sitting him down. He undid the bloodied towel and examined the wound. Trip’s hand shook as the doctor held it. “Hmm, It doesn’t seem to be too bad, although there is some glass still in the wound. I’ll give you a local painkiller then we can remove the glass and dress the wound.”

“Thanks Doc,” said Trip. He yawned.

“What exactly were you doing up so late, Commander,” Phlox asked innocently as he tended to the wound.

“Just a bad dream,” said Trip. “Woke me up.”

“I thought that T’Pol had resumed her neuropressure sessions with you?” said Phlox.

“Yeah, except last night I was so tired that I fell asleep on her floor before we’d even got past the first position and we didn’t finish up working until late tonight. Neither of us had enough energy for neuropressure after that,” said Trip.

“You know that I will not prescribe sleeping pills on a long term basis,” said Phlox. “Especially given your medical history.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that we were giving up on the neuropressure, it’s just finding time to fit it in at the moment,” said Trip.

“Perhaps you should talk to someone about your dreams,” said Phlox.

“Who am I going to talk to Doc?” asked Trip. “The Captain and I aren’t exactly on the best of terms, I’m imposing on T’Pol enough already and I don’t think anyone else would want to listen.”

“I’d be prepared to listen,” said Phlox. He picked out the minute pieces of glass that had become lodged in the cut and proceeded to clean and dress the wound.

“Thanks Doc, but part of the problem is the stuff I dream I can’t talk about, it’s all classified,” said Trip.

“Perhaps you could leave out the names and places and just give me some idea,” said Phlox.

“Let’s just say that I think I may have seen a ghost tonight,” said Trip. “Someone who’s death I’m responsible for.”

“I see,” said Phlox. “Are you actually responsible for her death or do you merely feel responsible?”

“What’s the difference? She died because of me,” said Trip.

“The difference is probably why you are having these nightmares about her. Perhaps you should start from the beginning and tell me how it happened,” said Phlox.

Trip sighed. “Okay, Special Projects was on a mission to recover a piece of technology. We’d brought along a civilian archaeologist to help us out. The whole mission went to hell. The Klingons turned up and threatened to kill her if I didn’t help them.” Trip stopped, took a deep breath and continued. “I half co-operated, enough to keep both of us alive. Then the Colonel stormed in to rescue us. The Klingons weren’t pleased about me lying to them, I’d told them that we were the only people there. And they killed her. They killed her in front of me and there wasn’t a damn thing that I could do to stop them,” said Trip, he felt tears in his eyes and he raised his good hand to wipe them away angrily. He couldn’t be crying, this had happened ten years ago and he hadn’t cried a single tear for Antonia in all that time.

“It sounds to me as if the Klingons were responsible for her death,” said Phlox. He finished bandaging the hand.

“You don’t understand,” said Trip and he couldn’t stop the tears this time. “All that training, I should have been able to save her. There’s no point in learning to kill if you can’t protect the people who mean the most to you. She was my friend and I let them kill her.”

“I doubt that you could have done anything to save her,” said Phlox. “You were in an impossible situation.”

“Why couldn’t they have killed me instead?” said Trip, through the tears. “She hadn’t done anything wrong. I was the one who should have died down there.”

“No,” said Phlox. He put a hand on his patient’s shoulder. “You should never look at it like that. Your life is worth just as much as anyone else’s. There is injustice in this life and as a doctor I have seen a lot of such things. Bright young people die before they should and that is a fact of our existence. Sometimes there is nothing to be done.” The doctor looked at the man in front of him. He had never seen the Commander cry before and somehow it made him look so much younger. Trip was obviously exhausted from the events of the past few days, both emotionally and physically.

“How did you drop the glass?” asked Phlox.

“When I woke up I went to get some water and I looked in the mirror and I could have sworn that I saw her standing right behind me. And I guess I was startled and that’s when I dropped the glass and it smashed in the washbasin.”

“When did you last have an uninterrupted night’s sleep?” asked Phlox.

“I don’t know, a week ago maybe,” said Trip. “T’Pol got me a few good hours last night.” He sniffed trying to stop the flow of tears.

The doctor went to his computer terminal and looked up Trip’s medical records. Everything was there for him to see it now that he knew about the death of this young woman that Trip had obviously blamed himself for. That explained why the psychiatrists had been unwillingly to release him to duty immediately after he had returned from Mars, and it explained why he had been prescribed sleeping pills then for such an extended period of time. That was one of the reasons why Phlox had been unwilling to prescribe medication for a further extended period of time when they had entered the Expanse. It was easy to become dependent on medication without ever solving the underlying problems.

“I haven’t prescribed you a sedative for over a month, I think we might be able to risk one tonight,” said Phlox. “However, given your general condition, I would prefer that you remain in sick bay tonight.”

Trip nodded. At the moment he’d do anything to get a good night’s sleep and if that meant spending the rest of the night in sick bay then that’s what it would have to be. They’d be arriving at Deneb IV tomorrow and he’d need to be sharp for that. Phlox loaded the hypospray and pressed it to Trip’s neck.

“Phlox, you don’t have to tell the Captain about this, do you?” asked Trip.

“Not if you don’t want me to. Lie down, it will take a few minutes to work. I’ll fetch you a blanket,” said Phlox and Trip complied with his instructions, curling himself up as best as he could on the biobed. When the doctor returned Trip was already fast asleep. Phlox carefully placed the blanket over his patient.

“When this is all over, you and I are going to have a serious talk about how you look after yourself,” said Phlox to the sleeping Engineer. If Trip had been awake to hear him, he would have been dreading that talk already.

****

“T’Pol to Commander Tucker.” T’Pol had gone to Trip’s quarters but no one had answered her knocks so she had first over ridden his door code, worried when he didn’t answer, and then, when she had found no one in, had gone to the com.

“Phlox to T’Pol, Commander Tucker is sleeping. May I help you?”

“What is the Commander doing in sick bay?” asked T’Pol.

“I already told you, T’Pol, he is sleeping,” said Phlox. “Perhaps you had better come down to sick bay and I will explain.”

“I am on my way,” replied T’Pol and clicked off the com. She made her way down to sick bay as quickly as she could without seeming to rush. She entered sick bay to see Trip still fast asleep on a biobed, his right hand bandaged. “What happened?” she asked the doctor as he approached.

“He came in late last night having cut himself on a glass. When I questioned him further he admitted to having been woken by a bad dream, and then startled by a reflection in the mirror. He thought he saw someone who had died a long time ago standing behind him and that prompted him to drop the glass. He was emotionally distressed and I thought it quite unlikely that he would be able to sleep on his own so I gave him a sedative. Given his emotional state I decided it would be better if he remained here for the rest of the night,” said Phlox.

“When will he awaken?” asked T’Pol.

“In about an hour or so I should imagine,” said Phlox. “He needs the sleep, T’Pol. He was completely exhausted. If this carries on then he may well have an emotional breakdown.”

“I realised that he was having trouble sleeping, however I was not aware that it was this severe,” said T’Pol. “We should inform the Captain.”

“Commander Tucker asked me not to,” said Phlox.

“That is not in his best interests,” said T’Pol.

“Nevertheless,” said Phlox. “That is what I am going to do. I suggest you “cover for him” until he is back on his feet.”

T’Pol raised an eyebrow at Phlox’s use of human slang. “Very well,” she said, clasping her hands behind her back. “Please tell the Commander when he awakens that I shall expect to see him in the Command Centre as soon as he has had breakfast.”

“Thank you, T’Pol,” said Phlox.

****

Trip had woken up in sick bay to the sound of Phlox feeding his animals. He basked in the state between being fully awake and fully asleep, before he remembered why he was in sick bay and reality hit him. He’d been crying like a baby in front of Phlox and to make matters worse he was late for his meeting with T’Pol.

“Doc, you should have woken me, I’ve got to get to work,” said Trip, glancing at the chronometer. He still needed to get into a clean uniform and shower before he could go and meet T’Pol.

“Don’t worry, Commander. Sub-commander T’Pol is aware that you will be late. She came looking for you earlier and I explained the situation,” said Phlox.

“Great, that’s just what I need. She’ll tell the Captain and then I’ll be in even more trouble,” said Trip.

“I asked her to keep your stay in sick bay confidential,” said Phlox. “She agreed to comply with your wishes.”

“Thanks, Doc,” said Trip with relief. He stretched. “That’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time.”

“I gather that there will be an away mission to the planet today,” said Phlox as he watched Trip climb off the biobed.

“Yeah, we need to go and have a look at the alien ship that’s crashed down there,” said Trip.

“I want to see you as soon as you are back, Commander,” said Phlox.

“Why?” asked Trip. “All I needed was a good night’s sleep. My hand wasn’t even that bad. I’m fine now.”

“You should not be continually experiencing disruptions to your sleep and I think we need to talk about that,” said Phlox.

“If it’s all the same to you, Doc, I’d rather not talk about it,” said Trip. “My dreams aren’t very pleasant at the moment and I don’t think you want to hear about them.”

“If your dreams are as bad as you say then I certainly want to hear about them. It is as I said last night, you need to talk this through with someone and as your doctor I am the most obvious choice,” said Phlox. “I think you should continue your neuropressure treatments with the Sub-commander but you also need to talk about this and stop keeping it all inside you. It is not doing your health any good, Commander.”

“I’ll think about it,” said Trip.

“I suppose that is the best that I can hope for,” said Phlox. “Now I have breakfast for you and after that you can go, but not before you have eaten.”

Trip considered pointing out that T’Pol was waiting for him and he didn’t have time for breakfast but he knew the Doctor wouldn’t give in on this point. He was hungry too, having breakfast would make a nice change.

Half an hour later he was on his way to shower and change, and when he eventually arrived at the Command Centre, T’Pol merely wished him a good morning and passed him the latest sensor data.

****

It was mid-morning ship’s time when Enterprise reached Deneb IV. T’Pol and Trip had immediately begun their scans of the crashed ship, hoping to gather more information than the ESS Venture had been able to get from its scans. The two of them both stood at the Science station analysing the data as it came in. Trip had also found time to scrape together everything that he had left of Antonia’s Builder language files for Hoshi to examine.

“Any sign of the ESS Venture?” asked Archer.

“I have her on the surface,” said Reed. “She’s about five kilometres from the alien ship. Seems to be intact, no signs of a crash, but I’m not reading any life signs.”

“What is the crew compliment of the Venture?” asked Archer.

“She has a crew of fifteen, sir. Including the survey team,” said Read.

“No life signs at all?” asked Archer.

“No, sorry sir,” said Reed.

“Get Darwin up here,” said Archer.

“He’s on his way, sir,” replied Hoshi.

“What about the alien ship?” asked Archer, turning to T’Pol deliberately rather than Trip.

“The readings are very close to those obtained from the generator on Faranor,” said T’Pol. “We anticipate the black hole to be of a similar size and power output.”

Darwin stepped onto the bridge. “Captain, do we have a fix on the Venture?”

“Yes, but we haven’t been able to detect any life signs. What happened down there, Colonel?” asked Archer.

“You know as much as I do, Captain,” said Darwin. “The last contact we had with the Venture was ten days ago when they sent us the scans they’d taken and said they were going down to the planet.”

Archer looked around the bridge at his officers, there wasn’t anything else they could do from here, they would have to go down to the planet. He didn’t want to leave Enterprise with the Klingons on their way but he also didn’t intend to let the Colonel lead the mission to the planet.

“What’s the ETA of the Klingons, Lieutenant?” asked Archer.

“About six hours, sir,” replied Reed.

“Will that be enough time to do what we need to do, Mr Tucker?” Archer asked.

“Should be plenty, sir, and if I have T’Pol’s help it’ll be even quicker,” said Trip.

“Fine, Commander, T’Pol, Hoshi, Colonel, you’re with me. Malcolm you have the bridge,” said Archer.

“Yes, sir,” said Reed, moving from his station to the Captain’s chair as Archer and the away team headed for the turbo lift.

****

Deneb IV was about as unlike Faranor as it was possible to be, for which Trip was grateful. No deserts to remind him of his dream, instead Deneb IV’s surface was covered with a dense rain forest. Unfortunately that meant landing the shuttle was difficult and when they had landed they had a fair walk across difficult ground to the two ships. It took them some time to reach the ESS Venture by hacking their way through the jungle. The Colonel was in his element, however Hoshi found it much harder going and looked worn out before they had even reached the Venture. Trip made a mental note to keep an eye on her, she would no doubt try to pretend that she wasn’t having trouble keeping up but Trip knew better. Hoshi wasn’t cut out for long treks through the jungle.

The Venture was, as Reed had said, completely intact. There was no evidence of anything untoward having happened to her, except the complete absence of her crew. The away team split up into two groups, Hoshi, Archer and Darwin taking the forward sections, Trip and T’Pol going aft. They wandered through the empty corridors of the ship, scanning for anything unusual. It was almost as if the crew would return any moment, the lights were still on, instruments were still functioning, in fact a meal had even been left out on the table ready for people to eat.

“It’s like the Marie Celeste,” said Trip as he scanned the food that had been left out. “This hasn’t been here long, a couple of days maybe.”

“Marie Celeste?” asked T’Pol.

“She was an old sailing ship. She was found adrift, everything was fine except her crew was missing. They found food still on the table and the lights on. It’s one of the oldest ghost ship mysteries out there,” said Trip.

“There are no such things as ghosts,” said T’Pol.

“Until last night I would have agreed with you,” said Trip.

“We should finish up our scans and return to the rendezvous point,” said T’Pol, looking around her at the deserted mess hall. The Venture was a small and compact ship, but, empty as it was, it echoed eerily. Despite herself T’Pol could not help but feel disquiet at being on this strangely silent and deserted ship.

“I just don’t understand it,” said Trip as they made their way back to the centre of the ship. “They must have gone somewhere. They can’t be dead, there aren’t any bodies. But why didn’t Malcolm pick up any life signs?”

“If we knew that, Commander, then we would not have needed to come here,” said T’Pol. They saw Archer and the other group coming down the long corridor from the other direction.

“Did you find anything?” asked Archer.

“No,” said T’Pol. “It would seem that the occupants of this vessel left quickly.”

“I checked the logs,” said Hoshi, “there are no entries made after they landed here. It’s almost as if they vanished into thin air.”

“That is very unlikely, Ensign,” said T’Pol.

“Unlikely?” asked Hoshi.

“Nothing is impossible, Ensign, especially given what we know about the Builders’ level of technology,” replied T’Pol.

“Hoshi, did you download all the logs?” asked Archer.

“Yes, sir,” said Hoshi.

“Good, then that’s all we can do here for the moment,” said Archer. “I have a feeling that the alien ship is the key to what’s happened to the Venture’s crew.”

“Captain, we don’t have time to waste looking for the Venture’s crew,” said Darwin. “We have a weapon to find before the Klingons arrive.”

“I know what we’re here to do, Colonel,” said Archer irritably. “But if I can find the Venture’s crew while we carry out our primary mission then I will do so. Let’s go.” Archer led the way out of the ESS Venture and across the short distance to the crashed alien craft. Trees and other vegetation had grown around it and over it, but the hull still seemed to be in good shape.

“Well T’Pol?” asked Archer.

“I am still not detecting any life signs. I would estimate that this ship has been here for over four thousand years, but the condition of the hull does not seem to agree with that estimate. The ship also appears to still have power, which given its age is unexpected.”

“Not given what we found on Faranor,” said Darwin.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t explain that either,” said Trip. “I wouldn’t have even known where to start. I mean, this metal should definitely have degraded by now, but here it is just as shiny as if it rolled off the production line yesterday. Hell, Enterprise is in worse shape and isn’t even a tenth this ship’s age.”

Archer’s communicator beeped. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“Sir, we’ve detected a storm coming in towards your position,” said Reed. “The weather cell formed unusually quickly and we have only just detected it.”

“How long before it reaches us?” asked Archer, he could already see dark clouds gathering in the distance and moving rather too rapidly towards them. The wind was also picking up.

“About…s…mi…, sir.”

“You’re breaking up, Malcolm,” said Archer. “Say again.”

“Electrical…st…communication…problem…shuttle…won’t be able to take off,” said Reed.

“You’re still breaking up, but I think I got the gist,” said Archer. “We’ve got no communications and we can’t take off during the storm.”

“Captain…pl…repeat…leave now…” said Reed and then the communications cut out completely.

“Lieutenant? Come in Enterprise,” tried Archer but nothing was getting through.

T’Pol took out her scanner. “The storm is creating an ionised layer that our communications cannot penetrate. I anticipate that we will also be unable to pilot the shuttle in this weather. We should consider leaving before the storm arrives, it is unlikely it will have passed by the time the Klingons arrive.”

“We can’t leave until we’ve destroyed that generator,” said Trip. “If the Klingons get hold of it…”

“All hell will break loose,” said Darwin.

“The Klingons can’t get down here if the storm is bad enough that we can’t leave,” said Archer.

“That is not the case, Captain,” said T’Pol. “Their shuttles are capable of riding out much more severe storms than those of Enterprise.”

“Then we’d better hurry up,” said Archer. The wind was getting up and they needed to get to the shelter of the ship before the storm arrived.

“There was a storm on Faranor,” said Darwin, so quietly that only Trip who was standing beside him heard. Darwin watched as the trees around them swayed violently in the increasingly strong wind.

They made their way to the alien spaceship and located the main hatch. Trip took out his electronic lock picking device and started working on the door.

“How much longer?” asked Archer.

“Almost there,” replied Trip. There was a clank from the door and it opened a hair’s width. Trip pulled it completely open and they all shuffled into the alien ship, out of the cold wind. Trip looked around himself in wonder at the alien ship design. It reminded him a lot of the city on Faranor, the corridors had the same lines to them as the ancient city. He had no doubts that this ship and the city on Faranor had been built by the same people.

The corridor they stood in was wide enough for all five of them to stand across it and made of a brushed silver metal. The floor was made of the same material but roughened so that they didn’t slip as they walked. Light came from the ceiling but no light fittings were immediately obvious. Every surface was completely clean and no dust had settled anywhere.

“Hoshi, can you tell us which way to the generator room?” asked Archer.

Hoshi looked at the markings on the wall in front of them and then down at the UT. “This way, I think,” she said pointing down the corridor to the left. Even though Trip had apologised to her for the fact the files he’d given her were incomplete, it had been enough for the UT to get the basic grammar of the language. Antonia had a firm grasp of the basics of the language even if she hadn’t been a linguist, but then the MACO linguist had obviously been very good and filled in the gaps for her. Sometimes just being good at phonetics and grammar wasn’t enough to translate a language, understanding of the culture was equally important. She could imagine that Antonia and Didier had been a powerful team when it came to cracking the Builder’s language.

They made their way down the clinically clean corridors of brushed metal to what Hoshi identified as the generator room. Trip once again had to use the electronic lock pick to get the door open but eventually they had access. The five of them stepped into the room.

“Exactly as I remember it,” said Trip. The sphere in the middle of the room was supported by thin beams from the floor and the ceiling and in the corner sat the oval of white light. As before the light seemed to disappear when he looked at it and then follow him when he moved his head. The room had a quiet hum to it which he knew meant that the generator still functioned.

Suddenly the quiet hum changed in pitch and Trip caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Standing in the white oval, outlined by the light, was a very familiar figure. She had long dark hair, dark eyes and wore exactly what she had been wearing when Trip last saw her on Faranor.

“Antonia,” said Trip.

****End of Chapter 10****

“Antonia?” said Darwin, from behind Trip.

“Hello Rob, Trip,” said Antonia, stepping out of the white oval as if she were doing nothing out of the ordinary. Trip gave her a long look, her hair and eyes were just as Trip remembered but her skin now sparkled with a silver sheen. There was something different about her and it wasn’t just the fact that she didn’t seem to have aged a day.

T’Pol looked down at her scanner. “I am not detecting any life signs.”

“You won’t find any,” said Antonia.

“You died on Faranor,” said Darwin, unable to believe the evidence of his own eyes.

“Not exactly,” said Antonia.

“I saw you die,” said Trip. “I’ve been grieving for you for the past ten years.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Trip, but unfortunately I had no choice,” said Antonia.

“All that matters is that you’re back now,” said Trip.

Antonia shook her head. “It isn’t that simple. I may not be dead, but I’m not exactly alive either.”

“I don’t understand,” said Trip.

“You don’t have to,” said Antonia, “you just have to leave.”

“My dream, last night, that was you?” asked Trip.

“I had hoped that I might reach you that way,” replied Antonia.

“Hold it, we’re not going anywhere,” said Archer. “You have a lot of questions to answer, starting with where the crew of the Venture are.”

“Safe,” said Antonia.

“That isn’t an answer,” said Archer.

“No, but it is all I can tell you,” said Antonia.

“Antonia, you can’t just expect to come walking in here, back from the dead, and not have to answer a few questions,” said Darwin. “Where have you been all this time? Why didn’t you die? How did you get here?”

“Rob, you wouldn’t understand the answers if I told you,” said Antonia. “And as usual you’re asking the wrong questions. Now, Trip is thinking along the right lines.”

“I am? You can read my mind?” asked Trip. Antonia nodded. “That light, it isn’t a weapon at all. You didn’t die because it’s a matter transporter of some kind. You just got transported somewhere else.”

“That isn’t entirely correct either, but it is in the right ball park,” said Antonia. “It is a transporter of kinds, or at least that is the only way that you could understand it. A better term would be “transfigurer”, it changed me into what you see before you.”

“And what exactly is that?” asked Archer, suspiciously.

“I’m a Guardian,” said Antonia.

“A guardian of what?” asked Archer.

“I would have thought that was obvious, Captain. I am the Guardian of this. Of what the Builders left behind.”

“How did you become a “Guardian”?” asked T’Pol.

“Well, Trip will have told you how the Klingons pushed me through the Aumshaya on Faranor,” said Antonia. She turned to Hoshi, who was looking puzzled. “Sorry, Hoshi, Aumshaya is Builder for Bright Door, what they call the white oval light.”

“Oh thanks,” said Hoshi and made a small adjustment to the UT. “How did you know my name?”

“That’s a tough one. Let me finish the rest of the story first. After I was pushed through the Aumshaya, I found myself with the Builders, in their domain. The Builders are an ancient race, they had a very high level of technology as you can see, but they no longer exist in this plane. They departed this existence and ascended to another level. They now live outside this universe and the Aumshaya is a gateway to their world. So after I was pushed through the Aumshaya, the Builders found me and took me in.

The problem is that once you’ve traversed the Aumshaya you can’t go back to how you were before, but I couldn’t have existed in their universe as I was either. The Aumshaya transformed me into a being which could survive in both their universe and our own, well for a limited period anyway.”

“A limited period?” asked Archer.

“I have to return to their universe otherwise I will cease to exist, I have a few years before that happens but I can no longer reside in this plane of existence permanently. The Builders can never return at all, when they ascended it was a one way journey,” said Antonia.

“If they are unable to return, why then did they build the Aumshaya?” asked T’Pol.

“The Aumshaya were built in an earlier phase of their development, before they had obtained the knowledge to ascend. The Aumshaya is like a shortcut to the other plane, but as I said it isn’t true ascendance. I will die one day, the Builders will not,” said Antonia.

“Why don’t they just tell you how to ascend?” asked Archer.

“Humans aren’t ready for everything that would mean. My mind wouldn’t be able to grasp it fully and would be destroyed by it. I would be immortal but insane. It is impossible for a race as young as ours to ascend. I have a hard enough time understanding the limited knowledge that the Builders have given me as it is,” said Antonia.

“You said you were a Guardian,” said Darwin. “The Faranoans said the same thing. What does it mean?”

“When the Builders ascended they left behind their technology. It was only when they ascended that they realised just how much damage that technology would do if it was found by the unenlightened. They have limited influence over this plane, but they also prefer not to get involved. They believe interference on their part contaminates this universe. So they appointed the Guardians, those, like me, who fell through the Aumshaya, and like the Faranoans. We’re here to prevent the misuse of that technology, in this case the Doonshaya.”

“Dark Door, right?” asked Trip. “The black hole generator.”

“Well remembered. Doonshaya is the name applied to the whole device,” said Antonia. “And we were right, about it also being possible to use it as weapon.”

“That does not explain how you know our names,” said T’Pol.

“The Guardians have access to a lot of the powers of the Builders. The Builders’ plane intersects directly with ours and therefore they have access to all the events that have ever happened in this universe. They set up a sort of library for the Guardians so that we could look up any events that we required in order to carry out our task. The Builders view the events directly, but as Guardians we can’t do that. I looked up Enterprise when they alerted me to the discovery of the ship on Deneb IV and who was coming to investigate it,” said Antonia.

“Captain, the Klingons will be here in under four hours,” said T’Pol.

“I can deal with the Klingons,” said Antonia.

“Antonia, you’re not even trained in combat,” said Darwin. “You can’t take on a Klingon landing party on your own.”

“I’ve got some tricks of my own now, Rob,” said Antonia.

“No offence, but the Guardians on Faranor didn’t do much good,” said Trip.

Antonia looked at Trip, she was about to say something when the Captain interrupted.

“We don’t have time for a debate. Commander, get working on that generator, we need to disable it. T’Pol and Hoshi help him,” said Archer.

“Yes, sir,” replied all three and they went to work.

“This is not necessary,” said Antonia. “I will protect the Doonshaya.”

“If I could be sure of that then I would have no problem in letting you do it, but as much as I hate agreeing with Colonel Darwin, we can’t let the Klingons have this technology,” said Archer. “If they work out how to use it as a weapon then Earth could be in danger, not to mention Vulcan, Andoria and any other planets that the Klingons have in their sights. Or worse they might destroy the containment unit while they’re trying to figure out how it works and the Deneb system would have a black hole eating away at it. There are two inhabited planets in this system and they both have more inhabitants than Faranor did. The stakes are high either way.”

“Do you really think that the Klingons will just leave Deneb IV once they realise that the Doonshaya is disabled? They’ll want to try to fix it. I need to discuss this with the Builders. My instructions are not to interfere but if they give me special dispensation then I can and will stop all of this,” said Antonia. “The Builders will not allow a young race to use their technology.” She moved towards the Aumshaya.

“Antonia,” said Trip, looking up from what he was doing. “You can’t go.”

“This isn’t my world anymore, Trip. I’ll be back in one hour,” said Antonia, and with that she stepped through the Aumshaya once more, with a flash of sparks.

“I can’t believe that she’s alive,” said Trip.

“I’m not sure that she is alive,” said Darwin. “We can’t trust her, she obviously considers herself to be one of these Guardians now.”

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you hadn’t tied up the Faranoan Guardians that Faranor might still be there?” asked Trip angrily.

“Yes, it did,” said Darwin, “but I don’t have time to second guess myself in the middle of a mission. I had a decision to make and I made it. It was the right one.”

“I’m not so sure,” said Trip, he bent back to the circuit that he’d been working on.

****

Reed paced on the bridge of Enterprise. He didn’t know how the Captain could do it, sit in his chair and not wander around the bridge checking out all the stations and their readouts. Lieutenant Hess sat at the Engineering station, she was trying to find a way for communication to penetrate the storm that was presently covering the away team’s location.

“Sir,” said Travis, “you’re going to wear a hole in the deck plating.”

“Sorry, I just don’t like this. Anything could be happening down there,” said Reed. “We can’t even take a shuttle down until this storm clears.”

“Sir, I’m detecting a change in the Klingon vessel,” said Ensign Rosario at the tactical station. “They’ve increased speed to warp five, which means they’ll be here in less than an hour.”

“And with communications down we’ve got no way to contact the away team to tell them. Make sure you keep the planet between us and that Klingon ship, Travis,” said Reed.

****

Trip and T’Pol stood examining the schematics that Trip had drawn up from his scans of the Faranor generator.

“This is not the same design,” said T’Pol.

“Yeah, they made some changes for the portable model,” said Trip. “We’re going to need something to re-route the control circuits with. Maybe we could use the relay from your scanner?”

“It would not be able to carry the required current,” said T’Pol.

Trip thought for moment. “The shuttlepod. The relays are rated for a much higher current. I’m sure I can find something that we won’t need for the journey back. I’m going back to the shuttlepod.”

“Very well,” said T’Pol.

“We have less than three hours before the Klingons arrive,” said Archer. “We don’t have time to waste we need to disable this now, so be quick.”

“Captain, I’m sorry but I’m taking command of this mission,” said Darwin. “My orders are to recover the technology, not disable it.”

“Hang on,” said Trip. “You said we were going to disable it. It’s too dangerous to take with us.”

“I never said that, my mission was always to recover the device,” said Darwin. “Get it ready to be moved.”

“Colonel, I won’t allow you to do this,” said Archer. “That isn’t why we’re here. All we’re doing is making sure that this doesn’t fall into the hands of the Klingons.”

“Think about what it would mean for Earth if we can get this weapon working, Captain,” said Darwin. “We’d never have to worry about another attack like the Xindi again. Surely you can see that.”

“Now isn’t the time, Colonel. We have the scans. The Klingons will be at Deneb IV in less than three hours and we can’t be here when they arrive,” said Archer.

“Why Captain? Are you afraid that they’ll try to take you back to Rura Penthe?” asked Darwin.

“No Colonel, I’m afraid that they’ll destroy Enterprise and us when they get here because they don’t want anyone to know that they’ve got this technology,” said Archer. “In case you hadn’t noticed, nothing has changed in the last ten years when it comes to being out-gunned by Klingon battle cruisers.”

“All we have to do is make sure that they don’t catch us. Trip, get this thing ready to transport,” said Darwin, turning to the Engineer.

“Colonel, I can’t do that,” said Trip, looking his former CO right in the eye.

“What? Commander, I gave you a direct order,” said Darwin.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not under your command anymore. I’m not in Special Projects now,” said Trip.

“God damn it, where are those instincts I recruited you for. You lost your sister to the Xindi attack, you of all people know how much a defensive weapon could mean to Earth,” said Darwin.

“That isn’t it, sir,” replied Trip. “This is a dangerous piece of technology, if I make one wrong move then there’ll be a black hole eating its way through the Deneb system. Imagine what would happen if the same thing was on Earth. If it malfunctioned or was damaged then there would be no Earth. We wouldn’t have to worry about attacks from aliens because we’d have wiped ourselves out.”

“You’re not commander of Special Projects anymore, Colonel,” said Archer. “We have to account for our actions and I’m not prepared take the risk of Faranor happening again.”

“You’re making a big mistake, Captain,” said Darwin.

“I don’t think so,” said Archer. “Trip, get going. We need that part from the shuttle.”

“Yes, sir,” said Trip and left to make his way back to the shuttle. It was only as he stepped out of the Builder vessel and into the storm outside that he realised that the Captain had called him by his nickname for the first time in days.

Archer turned to Hoshi. “Download as much of their database as you can. We’re destroying them before we leave.”

“Yes, sir,” said Hoshi and moved to the computer terminal near the door. “I’ll get as much as I can.”

“How much can you do while Trip’s getting that part?” Archer asked T’Pol, going over to where she was working on the machine.

“There is a considerable amount of work to complete before the relay is required,” said T’Pol.

“Can I help?” asked Archer.

“That would be useful. I require someone to hold this circuit while I reconnect these transfer wires,” said T’Pol.

“No,” said a voice from the doorway. “You will stop what you are doing and step away from the machine.” There stood a Klingon with a knife in his hand, that was pointed at Hoshi’s throat.

****End of Chapter 11****

It didn’t take as long for Trip to make his way back to the shuttlepod as it had taken for them to get there, but the weather was much worse than when they’d entered the ship. He entered the shuttlepod and shook off the water from his jacket, although he didn’t know why he was bothering as he was already soaked through to the skin. He pulled off the panel and disconnected the relay which he had identified as surplus to requirements. It was part of the air recycling system which they wouldn’t need for the short journey back to Enterprise.

He tucked the relay into his jacket pocket, put his collar up against the rain and wind and climbed out of the shuttlepod. He jogged back through the jungle to the Builder ship. He pulled open the door and went towards the generator room. He could hear voices as he approached and some of them were definitely talking in Klingon. The door was slightly ajar so he was able to see in.

“Hand over your weapons or the girl dies,” said the Klingon. Archer, Darwin and T’Pol handed over their phase pistols.

“Commander Kartok,” said Darwin. He looked at the four Klingons that now stood in the generator room, one of whom held a Klingon D’k tahg knife to Hoshi’s throat. Archer had the distinct impression that Darwin had met this Klingon before.

This can’t be happening again, thought Trip as he watched. It can’t be. His brain worked furiously on how he could resolve the hostage situation. If he fired his phaser then he risked hitting Hoshi, or worse, the Klingon killing her if he missed. He would only have seconds to react before the Klingon made his move, whatever he did.

“Colonel Darwin,” said the Klingon. “You’re still alive.”

“I’m hard to kill,” said Darwin.

“And Captain Archer,” said Kartok. “It will make the High Council very happy when I bring you home as a prize.”

“You don’t know what you’re playing with here,” said Archer.

“I was on Faranor, I know exactly what we’re dealing with,” said Kartok. “That is why I’m here, to recover this weapon for the Klingon Empire. Now tell us how we can move it, or the girl dies.”

“It is not a simple procedure,” said T’Pol.

Kartok moved the knife so that it nicked Hoshi’s neck and drew blood. Hoshi gasped.

“No!” shouted Trip, bursting through the door. He jumped Kartok, who cast Hoshi to one side to deal with Trip’s attack. Hoshi landed hard on the floor and was dazed by impact, smacking her head against the wall as she fell. Trip had bet on Kartok’s warrior instincts that he would prefer to fight than hold onto Hoshi when someone attacked him.

Trip had Kartok down on the floor as his MACO instincts took over and the two wrestled for the knife. Darwin took the opportunity caused by the confusion to attack one of the other Klingons, Archer and T’Pol took care of the final two.

T’Pol’s strength was equal to that of the Klingon and she had the advantage of her Vulcan martial arts training as Klingons were used to applying their strength rather than their intelligence. She used the momentum of the Klingon’s original attack to knock him out against a bulkhead and then turned to find Archer still struggling with his opponent who was attempting to strangle him. She pulled the Klingon off her Captain and used a Vulcan neck pinch on him, watching as the Klingon crumpled to the floor.

Trip meanwhile still fought with Kartok for possession of the D’k tahg, the Klingon was strong and it took all of Trip’s strength to keep the knife away from his throat. They had reached a stalemate but Trip knew his strength wouldn’t last as long as that of his Klingon adversary. He changed tactics, he allowed his arms to weaken and Kartok fell forward just as Trip rolled out of the way, grabbing the knife as he rolled. He turned and had the knife at Kartok’s neck before the Klingon realised what had happened. All his instincts screamed at him to slit the Klingon’s throat. This was an enemy and one who had held his friend hostage and was responsible for Antonia’s “death”.

“Trip, no!” said Archer. “Don’t do it.”

Darwin was still fighting with the remaining Klingon but now had his opponent in a head lock. He snapped the neck of the Klingon with practised accuracy.

“What are you waiting for, Trip?” asked Darwin.

“No,” said Trip. “I’m not a killer anymore.” He pushed Kartok to the ground and dropped the knife on the floor, his breathing was laboured from the fight still. He looked down at Kartok, the Klingon’s disrupter was still in its holster at his belt. He bent down to remove it and as he reached down, Kartok grabbed the knife and plunged it into Trip’s stomach. Hoshi screamed. Kartok pulled the knife out again, eliciting a low moan from Trip, and threw it to one side as he took his disrupter from its holster.

“Trip!” shouted Archer as he watched Trip fall to his knees a look of surprise on his face. Archer quickly moved to Trip’s side lowering him to the floor gently. Trip clutched at his wound as blood welled around his fingers, his face still contorted in shock and pain. Archer looked down at Trip and felt anger build in him, he started to launch himself at Kartok.

“Stop!” shouted the Klingon, pointing the disrupter at Archer. “Or you will join Tucker.”

Archer felt all his fight drain out of him. There was nothing that he could do. Kartok held the only disrupter and he had no doubt that the Klingon wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who moved against him. All Archer could think about now was the fact that he had a wounded man who he had to protect. Archer moved back to Trip. The other two Klingons staggered back to their feet, retrieved their disrupter pistols and went to stand beside their commander.

“T’Pol, I need something to stop the bleeding,” said Archer. He pushed Trip’s shaking hands out of the way and put pressure on the wound, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. The wound was serious, they needed to get Trip back to Enterprise as soon as possible. T’Pol removed her jacket, tore off the sleeve with typical Vulcan proficiency and passed it to Archer who used it to help him stop the flow of blood.

“C-captain,” said Trip, his voice quiet and halting, he had to take a deep breath before he could continue, “I, I’m sorry…was stupid.”

“No, Trip, don’t try to talk,” said Archer. “Don’t worry we’re going to get you out of here and back to Phlox in no time. Just hang in there.”

Darwin came over to join Archer at Trip’s side. “This is your fault, Archer, I told you I wasn’t the one you needed to watch. You made him doubt his instincts. That Klingon should be dead.” He looked down at Trip and shook his head sadly. “Why didn’t you kill him when you had the chance, Trip?”

“Not…not a…killer anymore,” stammered out Trip, he was shivering a little.

“Shhh, Trip, just lay quiet,” said Archer, he shrugged off his jacket quickly and placed it over Trip who was fading fast. “Trip, stay with me.” Trip’s skin was becoming pale and damp with sweat but he looked up at the face of his Captain. Archer was worried, Trip was losing a lot of blood and he was going into shock.

“Let him die with honour, he fought well,” said Kartok. “I want that generator, or more of you will die and you will die without the honour of this one.” He picked up Hoshi from where she lay on the floor with tears in her eyes looking desperately at Trip. “Tell me how to disconnect the generator and take it to my ship or this one dies too.”

“It is impossible,” said T’Pol. “The generator is powered by a black hole which is one of the densest objects in the universe.”

“And yet these Builders managed to place one aboard a ship,” said Kartok. “I know it isn’t impossible, Vulcan. So I suggest that you start working before I am forced to show you that my intentions are sincere and kill this human.” Hoshi closed her eyes as he pressed the disrupter to her head.

“Very well,” said T’Pol. “This will take some time.”

“You have as long as it takes me to get bored. I warn you that I get bored easily,” said Kartok.

“T’Pol…” began Archer.

“We have no choice, Captain,” said T’Pol, she turned back to her work.

“T’Pol…don’t do it,” said Trip, weakly. “It’s Faranor all over again.”

“Shut up,” said Kartok and kicked Trip’s leg. Trip winced with the pain.

“Leave him alone,” said Darwin, standing to face the Klingon. “You call yourself honourable and yet you kick a wounded man.”

“What would you understand about honour?” spat Kartok. “Because of you and your men I was dishonoured by the incident on Faranor. I went to Faranor to bring glory to Empire and instead my ship was damaged when yours exploded, and I had nothing to show for the encounter. A warrior should either die in battle or succeed there is no middle ground. It has taken me this long to regain my standing.”

“That isn’t my concern,” said Darwin. “Take what you need and leave.”

“I intend to,” said the Klingon.

Trip lay wondering if Kartok meant what he said or if he intended to kill them all before he left. He was drifting in a sea of pain on the edge of unconsciousness but he was awake enough to understand what was going on. Then he heard the distinct change in pitch which he knew must mean that someone was coming through the Aumshaya.

“Antonia,” he whispered, almost too quietly for Archer to hear but it was enough to give him a warning before the slender figure stepped through the white light. Behind her another figure stepped out of the white light and Darwin recognised him as the lead Faranoan that he had spoken to all those years ago on Faranor. Antonia took a few seconds to take in the scene around her, her expression briefly changing when she saw Trip lying bleeding on the floor.

“Commander Kartok,” said Antonia, in a disappointed tone, as if she were talking to a disobedient child.

“You,” said Kartok. “But you died on Faranor. I killed you.”

“No you simply facilitated my transfiguration,” said Antonia. She waved her hand and Kartok’s disrupter was suddenly in her hand. She threw the pistol into the Aumshaya and it disappeared. Kartok was livid with anger, but before Kartok could react Antonia had moved and was standing in Hoshi’s place. Hoshi stood dazed exactly where Antonia had been only a second before. “You can try to hurt me,” said Antonia, “but you won’t succeed.”

The Faranoan used the same trick as Antonia and suddenly he held two disrupter pistols which followed Kartok’s disrupter into the Aumshaya, disappearing in a shower of sparks.

Kartok closed his hand over Antonia’s throat and squeezed but nothing happened. Archer watched with interest as Kartok tried desperately to strangle Antonia, but she remained unaffected. Antonia reached up and took Kartok’s arm, she lifted him into the air, ignoring his expression of pure surprise and threw him against the far wall of the generator room. His head hit the wall hard and he slid to the ground unconscious.

“Take your Commander, the body of your fallen warrior and leave,” said Antonia to the other two Klingons, her eyes flashing with gold sparks. “The Guardian of Deneb IV commands it.”

The Klingons didn’t wait to be asked again. They scooped up the dead Klingon and Commander Kartok and retreated out of the room, shouting loudly in Klingon as they went. Antonia, crouched down beside Trip.

“You need to go as well,” she said looking at Archer. “Trip, why did you do this? You knew I was coming back.”

“I…couldn’t wait,” said Trip. His breathing was rapid and shallow but he didn’t seem to be getting enough air into his lungs. “He was…hurting…Hoshi. It was just like before. Just like…when you died.”

“You stubborn fool,” she said softly to him, it was obvious that she didn’t mean it.

Trip’s eyes closed. “Come on Trip, stay with us just a little longer,” said Archer.

Trip opened his eyes again, they felt as it they were weighted down. “Sorry…Captain, don’t think I can.” He closed his eyes again and this time they stayed closed.

“Trip?” asked Archer. The Engineer didn’t stir. Trip’s life was slipping through his fingers.

“I can use my power to transport you back to your shuttle but you must let the Guardians deal with the Doonshaya,” said Antonia. “Lije will remain to do what needs to be done,” she added indicating the Faranoan.

“What about the Venture crew?” asked Archer.

“They will be returned,” said Lije.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Archer.

“Captain, how do we know that we can trust them?” asked Darwin.

“We don’t, but right now my top priority is getting Trip back to Enterprise,” said Archer.

Darwin looked as if he might argue but simply nodded his agreement. “Let’s go,” he said echoing Archer.

Antonia waved her hand and they were back on the shuttlepod.

“Get me the medical kit,” Archer said to Hoshi, and she went to the back of the shuttle and found the medical kit that both shuttles were equipped with. “T’Pol, get us back to Enterprise and step on it.” Hoshi handed her Captain the medical kit and he replaced the makeshift bandage on Trip’s wound with a sterile pad, he hoped it would be enough until they could get Trip back to Phlox. He took out the medical scanner and checked Trip’s vital signs, they were weak and somewhat erratic but still present.

“Captain, we cannot take off while the storm is still present,” said T’Pol looking at the readings on her scanner.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” said Antonia, she waved her hand once again and the weather began to brighten rapidly. “You can takeoff now, Sub-commander.”

T’Pol immediately went to the pilot’s seat and readied them for takeoff. Archer strapped Trip down on one of the benches in the back of the small craft and then took up position so that he could maintain pressure on the wound. Antonia sat on the opposite bench watching him. Once everyone was strapped in he gave T’Pol the okay to lift off.

“T’Pol, call Enterprise, tell them that we’re on our way home,” said Archer.

“Yes, Captain,” replied T’Pol. “T’Pol to Enterprise.”

“Go ahead, T’Pol,” said Enterprise, it was unmistakably Lieutenant Reed’s voice.

“We are on our way back, please have the Doctor standing by for our arrival. We encountered some Klingons and Commander Tucker has sustained a serious stab wound,” said T’Pol.

There was the briefest of hesitations before Reed replied. “Understood, Enterprise out.”

T’Pol piloted them expertly back to Enterprise while Archer desperately tried to keep Trip alive. His skin had taken on a greyish colour and was beaded with sweat. Archer’s hands were covered in Trip’s blood and the flow showed no signs of abating.

“Captain, we’re about to dock,” said T’Pol finally.

The medical scanner beeped urgently at Archer, he checked the scanner. Trip had gone into cardiac arrest.

“Trip, don’t do this to me,” said Archer as he moved to start heart massage. Darwin was suddenly beside him applying pressure to the wound as Archer had been doing. He barely registered as the shuttle landed. T’Pol opened the hatch and Phlox entered with two medical technicians.

“Captain, you must let me work,” said Phlox, and Archer moved to one side to let Phlox take over but continued the compressions.

Phlox pressed a hypospray to Trip’s neck and placed an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. He scanned Trip and injected him with another hypospray. The doctor checked the scanner again.

“You can stop now,” said Phlox.

“Doctor?” asked Archer urgently, he was worried Phlox meant that Trip was dead, but, no, there was the shallow rise and fall of Trip’s chest. It wasn’t strong but it was there.

“I’ve managed to stabilise him for the moment but I need to get him into surgery immediately. His condition is critical. He’s lost a considerable amount of blood and Klingon knives are not the most sanitary of instruments,” said Phlox. He was already ushering in the medical technicians with a stretcher. They carefully loaded Trip onto the stretcher and carried him out of the shuttlepod.

Archer made to follow, but Phlox put at hand on him. “There’s nothing you can do in sick bay. I need to operate and I won’t be able to tell you anything until I’m done.”

“I want to know as soon as he’s out of surgery,” said Archer.

“Of course,” said Phlox and then he was gone, rushing Trip to sick bay.

Archer sighed and hung his head. Lieutenant Reed, entered the shuttle.

“Sir, what happened?” said Reed. He’d seen Trip on his way to sick bay and the Engineer hadn’t looked at all good.

“Klingons,” said Archer. “One of them stabbed Trip.”

“He was trying to save my life,” said Hoshi, looking very upset.

“We detected a shuttle launch from the Klingon vessel but we didn’t have any way to warn you,” said Reed. “I’m sorry, sir. Is Trip going to be alright?”

“We won’t know until the doctor has operated.” Everyone looked drained and worried, and it struck him just how much Trip meant to them all. He paused collecting himself. “That storm, anything to do with you?” said Archer, turning to Antonia.

“A side effect produced when we use the Aumshaya, it causes weather disturbances,” said Antonia.

“But on Faranor we were in the room the entire time and we never once saw the Aumshaya used,” said Darwin. “Well, until you were pushed through it.”

“You’re assuming that there was only one Aumshaya on Faranor,” said Antonia.

“I think it’s time that you told us what you did with the Venture crew,” Archer said.

“They were always here,” said Antonia, “just moved sideways, out of the way, so that they would not investigate the Doonshaya. That’s the only way that I can explain it to you. Lije will return them once he has done what he needs to do with the ship.”

“Why couldn’t you just do that with the Klingons?” asked Archer.

“It would have changed nothing,” said Antonia. “I can’t permanently remove people from this universe and when they returned they would have come back for the Doonshaya. The crew of the Venture had played their part and could be moved temporarily without the Builders compromising their non-interference policy.”

“I still don’t understand why if you could remove the Venture crew out of harm’s way, why you couldn’t protect Trip,” said Archer.

“It doesn’t work that way,” said Antonia. “I couldn’t have prevented the death of the Klingon and I couldn’t prevent Trip being stabbed. The Builders will not let me interfere to that degree. I may have overstepped my bounds even doing what I did. I will have to answer for my actions to the Builders.”

“What about the Faranoans? You said the Builders didn’t want their technology to cause harm,” said Archer. “It ended up destroying an entire planet.”

“It destroyed the planet but the Faranoans are still alive,” said Antonia.

“What?” asked Archer, “how is that possible? Their planet was destroyed by a black hole. They were a primitive race with no technology that would have allowed them to escape.”

“They were a race without technology,” said Antonia, “that doesn’t equate to primitive.”

“How does that change anything?” asked Archer.

“The Faranoans ascended, they became like the Builders,” said Antonia. “The Faranoans are a far older race than we originally believed them to be. My human self made the same mistake of assuming that because of their lack of technology they were uneducated. Mentally they were very advanced.”

“So you’re telling me that the only person who died on Faranor was you? And you didn’t really die anyway.”

“That’s right,” said Antonia. “The Builders would never have allowed all those people to die. In the end the Klingon destruction of the Doonshaya served their purposes. It was the prompt the Faranoans needed to ascend and no one can ever use the Faranor Doonshaya now the mechanism has gone.”

“Mayweather to Captain Archer,” said the com.

Archer went to the com. “Go ahead Travis,” said Archer.

“Sir, we’re being hailed by the Klingon vessel. They want to talk to you and they don’t sound happy,” said Travis.

“I’m on my way,” said Archer.

****End of Chapter 12****

Continue to the conclusion

Return to previous section

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!