He Who Fights with Monsters - Part 2

He Who Fights With Monsters

By Thalia Drogna

Rated: R
Genre: Action/Adventure; Angst; Hurt/Comfort

Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters, I’m just borrowing them.

~~~

Reed really didn’t like the idea of leaving Trip behind at all. They had nearly lost him once and Reed had promised that he wouldn’t let anything happen to him again, but here they were in the impossible situation of either killing two thousand Tien or leaving Trip where he was, a living part of a computer. Archer had been furious but there was very little he could do with Trip surrounded by Tien security officers. He and T’Pol had decided to take the shuttlepod back to Enterprise to examine the data that T’Pol had collected. Archer had not accepted Trip’s resignation, pointing out that it was premature. He hadn’t wanted to leave Trip alone on the alien ship so Reed had agreed to stay. Reed was now sitting on the step beside the black cylinder holding a bizarre conversation with the disembodied voice of his friend.

“How can you be so calm about the whole thing?” asked Reed, when they were alone. He had expected Trip to be more angry, perhaps even scared, he knew that he certainly would have been. He hadn’t expected him to be handling this so well. He was very afraid that the Tien had done something more to Trip than just connect him to their computer.

“Well, I don’t really have much choice. This might not be my idea of how my life was going to work out but I can’t just ignore two thousand people. Fighting this isn’t going to do me any good. I mean I’m pissed about the whole damn thing, but the Tien were desperate and I can’t say we wouldn’t have acted the same way if we’d been in their situation,” said Trip.

“I hope to god that isn’t true,” said Reed. “I hope we never force a living being to do something like this just for the sake of our own survival.”

“When survival of your race is on the line people do desperate things,” said Trip.

Reed didn’t want to tell Trip that he’d already seen Archer do things that he would never have believed the man capable of before the Xindi attack on Earth. The possibility of having one’s race wiped from the face of the planet certainly did put a different perspective on things, but he personally hadn’t agreed with everything Archer had done. Just because the Xindi had killed millions it didn’t mean that humans had to loose what made them human.

“Besides,” said Trip, “I’m fine. I’m not hurt or anything. I’m just not going to be able to go back to Enterprise.” Trip felt something from the sensor net. He was still trying to get used to the sensors, especially the emotion sensors. It was as if everything he saw was coloured subtly and that colour indicated an emotion. “Malcolm, you don’t need to feel guilty,” said Trip working out what had disturbed him. “None of this was your fault.”

“You can feel my emotions?” asked Reed.

“Yeah, the Rel Sevanne is empathic, like the Tien. I’m not the only organic technology in this ship. It has emotion sensors. I’m just getting the hang of them but from your reaction, I’m guessing I pegged you pretty well,” replied Trip.

“It is my fault,” said Reed. “I should have been sticking to you like glue the whole time we were on board this ship. Instead I’m off having fun chatting to their Weapons Master about the size of his guns. What kind of security officer am I? And more to the point, what kind of friend does that make me?”

“A pretty damn good one,” replied Trip. “You’re the one who’s sitting here chatting to a voice in an empty room. It isn’t your fault, everything I’ve done, everything that’s happened, has been down to me. If I hadn’t got distracted by Shar Jen I might have been a bit more wary about the Tien and what they were hiding.”

“And I suppose it was your own fault that you got kidnapped by the Xindi too,” said Reed.

“Oh I get it, that’s what this is really all about. You think it was your fault that the Xindi captured me on that ship,” said Trip. “Well that wasn’t your fault either. You told me to keep my phaser handy and instead I was playing around with those alien engines. I had a weapon but I put it down when I was trying to crawl into a conduit, it kept bashing into my leg. It was my own stupidity that got me caught by the Xindi. Besides the way I heard it, it was you who pulled my sorry ass out of there.”

“I was the one who found you,” said Reed with nothing but pain in his voice. He still had bad dreams about finding Trip beaten half to death on the floor of the cell in the Xindi ship.

“Oh god, Malcolm, I’m so sorry,” said Trip as he felt Malcolm’s hurt too through the sensor net. He knew it had been tough on his friends the last few months but he had never understood just how hard Reed had taken the whole thing until now. No wonder he’d been so angry when he’d heard Trip had tried to interface with the Tien computer. After Reed had taken so much care over keeping Trip safe it was like a slap in the face for Trip to casually neglect his own safety.

“Why should you be sorry? You nearly died and I’m responsible for that, and the situation you find yourself in now,” said Reed.

“Oh Malcolm, give it a rest, will you,” said Trip. “I’m the Chief Engineer of a starship not a kindergarten teacher! I knew when I signed on that it was going to be dangerous, we all did. The Captain gave everyone the option of getting off when we were docked at Jupiter station and we all decided to stay. Anything which has happened to me while we’re out here is down to me and no one else. You can try and make things less dangerous but you’re never going to be able to make it risk free. Now promise me that you’ll stop beating yourself up over this.”

Reed nodded. “I’ll try,” he said.

“Good,” said Trip.

“So, what’s it like?” asked Reed.

“Weird,” said Trip.

“Weird? That’s the best description you can manage?” asked Reed.

“Well what do you want me to say? It’s impossible for me to describe. I guess it’s like my body is the Rel Sevanne and the sensors are my senses. The air recycling plant is my lungs, the hull is my skin and the warp engines are my heart. I can see anywhere in this ship where there are cameras and I can sense the emotions of two thousand Tien walking around the corridors. It’s pretty damn well indescribable.”

“I imagine it would be,” said Reed.

“There’s a whole load of fascinating stuff in the databanks as well, I’m just scratching the surface so far. This ship was grown, not built. Well some of it was built, but the outer hull was grown onto the superstructure. The Tien had to leave their home world so they built the Rel Sevanne to evacuate the remaining population. You remember me wondering where they got the materials to build such a huge ship?”

“Yes,” said Reed, it had only been that morning although it now seemed like much longer ago than that.

“They broke up the inner planets of their solar system to get the building materials. It must have been amazing watching it all come together,” said Trip.

“I’m sure it was,” said Reed.

They continued talking about how the Rel Sevanne was built, until Trip sensed Reed was getting tired.

“You should get some sleep,” said Trip. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Captain Archer told me to stay with you, and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Reed.

“You’re dead on your feet, Malcolm. I don’t think the Captain expected you to stay awake all night,” said Trip. He silently sent some commands to a couple of Tien technicians to find a camp bed and set it up in the computer room.

“What about you? You must be tired too?” said Reed.

“I don’t think that I need sleep anymore. My body isn’t exactly functioning as normal,” said Trip. “Just get some sleep, Malcolm.”

“I’ll be fine,” said Reed, just as the Tien arrived with the bed. “This is going to take a little getting used to,” he said.

“You have no idea,” said Trip, who at that moment was monitoring over a hundred systems and was ordering the final repairs to the engine, Lirat. He had just noticed that Devas and Jerel needed complete overhauls as well, he would have to talk to Shar Jen about organising those. “Go on, get some sleep. I’ll wake you if anything important comes up.”

“Okay, Commander,” said Reed and made his way to the camp bed in the corner of the room. He thanked the Tien technicians and laid down, suddenly realising just how fatigued he actually was.

“You’d better start calling me Patriarch,” replied Trip.

“Until we’ve exhausted every single option for getting you out of here, I’m not calling you anything other than Trip or Commander,” said Reed and drifted into sleep.

****

Reed was awoken by Trip and Shar Jen having a discussion. “Why can’t you just keep calling me Trip?” asked the Commander.

“It is part of the ceremony. You need to take an official name. There has never been a Patriarch who was not Tien and it would make it easier for the people to accept you,” replied Shar Jen.

“What were you thinking of calling me?” asked Trip.

“The Senior Council suggested Trip En Ath Tucker,” said Shar Jen.

“Trip En, after Ten En?” asked Trip.

“Yes, the first two of our names are our given names, by our parents, the second two are our family names. You asked us to call you Trip, that is your given name. You need four names so it seems appropriate to use two of Ten En’s to make up those that you are missing,” said Shar Jen. “They must be single syllables apart from your last name.”

“I guess so. Why not?” said Trip. “I need four names, it’s only fitting that I get two from my predecessor.”

“Commander, you don’t need any more names, you’re Commander Charles Tucker III, Trip to your friends,” said Reed, sitting on his makeshift bed and rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them.

“It’s only a ceremonial name, I’ll still be Trip,” said Trip.

“That isn’t the point,” said Reed. “You’re not staying.”

“Malcolm, don’t make me go over this again,” said Trip. “I might not be leaving.”

“I just don’t think you should be choosing a new name yet, that’s all,” said Reed.

“We need to perform the ceremony in the next two days,” said Shar Jen. “Once the ceremony is performed he will be legally part of the Tien people.”

“Fine,” said Reed. “Two days, we’ll be finished the repairs to Lirat. You can have your ceremony then. Until then, you’re still just Trip.”

“As you wish,” said Shar Jen, “we can wait two days. Trip isn’t going anywhere.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Reed. He realised that he didn’t like Shar Jen, she was trying to keep Trip and he was doing his best to take him away from her. The two goals were mutually exclusive and he was getting the impression that she didn’t like him very much either. It worried him more that Trip seemed not to care that he might never leave the Tien ship. Reed couldn’t understand why his friend wasn’t fighting this harder than he was.

“After the ceremony we will expect you and your ship to leave,” said Shar Jen. “We will take care of Trip from now on.”

“Oh yes, like you’ve been taking care of him so far!” shouted Reed.

“Malcolm, stop it,” said Trip. “This isn’t helping.” Reed fell silent. Trip was right, shouting wouldn’t help anyone.

“I’ve got a shuttle coming in,” said Trip. “It’s the Captain, T’Pol and Phlox.”

“I’ll go down and meet them,” said Reed, glad of an excuse to get away from Shar Jen.

“Okay, Malcolm,” said Trip. “They’re in docking bay three.”

****

When Archer had contacted the Rel Sevanne for permission to dock he had nearly fallen off his seat when a familiar southern accent had answered his hail and directed him to docking bay three.

“Trip?” he had asked, but the voice hadn’t shown any signs of recognition.

“Please proceed to docking bay three,” had been the reply. They landed and were met by Lieutenant Reed.

“How are things, Malcolm?” asked Archer when he saw the Lieutenant approaching them.

“Pretty much the same as when you left, sir,” said Reed. “They’re talking about some sort of official inauguration ceremony for the new Patriarch. They’ve agreed to wait two days until we can at least see if we can come up with some sort of solution to this problem.”

“At least that’s something,” said Archer.

“I also got the impression that they would be much more loath to let Commander Tucker go once the ceremony is performed. Shar Jen said something about him legally being part of the Tien after the ceremony,” said Reed.

“We’d better come up with something in the next two days then,” replied Archer.

“There is something else to consider,” said T’Pol. “If we delay any longer we may jeopardise the mission.”

“I’m aware of that, T’Pol,” said Archer. “But I have to try to get Trip out of this. He didn’t ask for this and I can’t just leave him behind. This would be a lot easier if we didn’t have two thousand Tien lives to consider.

“And the fact that we’re seriously out-gunned, as well as out-numbered. I take it the Rel Sevanne has its weapons locked on Enterprise,” said Reed.

“Your assumption is correct, Lieutenant,” said T’Pol.

“Well perhaps I can help you come up with something,” said Phlox. “Although T’Pol’s scans were most useful in ascertaining Commander Tucker’s condition, I do need to look at the life support devices that are currently sustaining him if we are ever going to disconnect him successfully. My medical tri-corder should provide us with more information.”

“Follow me, doctor,” said Reed and he led the way back to the computer room.

“How’s he doing in himself?” asked Phlox.

“He seems to be doing remarkably well,” said Reed. “Almost too well. It’s as if he doesn’t really care what happens to him. He seems to be completely resigned to the fact that he’s stuck here.”

“I’d best see him,” said Phlox. “I can only imagine the psychological strain this is putting on him.”

“Were you able to find out any more about the Tien?” asked Archer.

“A little, Trip has access to their databanks and told me about how the Rel Sevanne was built. He did tell me something else interesting, there are no more Tien, the two thousand odd on this ship are the last of their race,” said Reed.

“What happened to the Tien homeworld?” asked T’Pol. “Why are these the only Tien?”

“I don’t know,” said Reed. “Trip might be able to tell us.”

“I want to know what happened on their homeworld,” said Archer. “I want to know why they’re even out here and most of all I want to know why they haven’t found some planet to settle on. We know they must have a good reason to stay on the ship if they’re prepared to plug living beings into their computer.”

“That does not necessarily follow, Captain,” said T’Pol. “They may not see life as part of the Rel Sevanne’s systems as any less fulfilling than any other occupation.”

“No, but the Captain does have a point,” said Reed. “They must have passed dozens of suitable planets in the ten generations that they’ve been out here.”

“Maybe they are simply happy with their current way of life,” said T’Pol.

“And maybe they have something to hide,” said Archer. “Either way, these people kidnapped my Chief Engineer and I want to know more about them. So far they haven’t told us a thing about themselves.”

The four of them entered the computer room to see Nils Fen ordering guards be posted around the black cylinder which currently housed Trip.

“What’s going on?” asked Archer.

“Just a precaution ordered by Kris Nor,” said Nils Fen. “Trip is ours now, we won’t let you take him from us.”

“I tried to tell them that you wouldn’t do that, Captain,” said Trip’s voice from somewhere in the room. “You know there’s more than just my life riding on this.”

“Yes, the entirety of the Tien race as I understand it,” said Archer, only his voice’s flat tones betraying his annoyance.

“You are correct, Captain,” said Nils Fen. “We are all that is left of the Tien.”

“Just how did an entire race come to be diminished to only two thousand people?” asked Archer.

“That is not your concern,” said Nils Fen.

“Trip? What are the Tien hiding?” asked Reed.

“Hey, if they don’t want you to know then I don’t think I can tell you either,” said Trip. “Besides I don’t have access to everything until after the ceremony, there are bits of the databanks that are closed to me at the moment.”

“If we gave him access to everything, it could overload his neurones,” said Shar Jen. “We have to build up gradually.”

“Pretty much what I told Malcolm last night is all I know,” said Trip. He wasn’t entirely telling them the truth but the Rel Sevanne had secrets that it would not let him divulge to an alien. He also had no desire to tell his Captain everything that he knew, the Tien were his people now and he had to protect them. “I heard your conversation in the corridor and I have to say I think you’re wrong.”

“You heard us?” asked Reed.

“Yeah, there are sensors all over this ship that pick up everything that goes on, I was tracking you from the docking bay,” said Trip.

“What were they talking about?” asked Shar Jen.

“They were mostly wondering about why you haven’t found some nice planet to settle on,” said Trip to Shar Jen. “And trying to figure out if there’s any way they can get me out of here.”

“Trip!” said Archer. He couldn’t believe Trip had just casually given out the details of their private conversation to an alien. “That was a private conversation between myself and my officers.”

“Nothing on the Rel Sevanne is private,” said Shar Jen. She felt Archer’s anger and under that was a feeling of betrayal. It was the same feeling that she had felt from Trip when he had been being prepared for conjoining. Instead all she felt now from Trip was contentment, he was settling into his new role well and the ship was running as efficiently as it had when Ten En had been at his prime.

“If I may be allowed, I would like to take some scans of the Commander,” said Phlox.

“Patriarch, his title is now Patriarch,” said Shar Jen.

“Not for another two days, it isn’t,” said Reed.

“Let’s not get into this again,” said Trip. “I don’t care what you call me. Trip will do just fine.”

“Do I have your permission to take the scans I need?” asked Phlox.

“Sure, Doc, go ahead,” said Trip. He was briefly reminded of a similar request from the doctor when he had been lying in his quarters recovering from his injuries acquired at the hands of the Xindi. Those memories were so distant now that it was almost as if they had happened to a completely different person and they seemed to be fading away even more, replaced by the bright, shining thing that was the Rel Sevanne in his mind. Each system was like a silver thread running through his mind, he could choose which thread to focus on and suddenly the thread would resolve itself into information. The nanites translated for him, carrying the pure data to him in terms that he could understand. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He was a living, breathing part of the living, breathing entity that was the Rel Sevanne and her people. He felt safe. He felt as if he belonged and he felt that this was where he should be.

He watched Phlox perform his scans with a kind of detachment. It had overtaken him gradually since he had been conjoined, but the feeling was overwhelming now. He wasn’t Commander Tucker anymore, he was Trip En Ath Tucker, conjoined Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne.

“I think it’s time that our guests returned to Enterprise,” said Trip. “Nils Fen, would you please escort them back to the docking bay.” It was time to cut the ties to his past.

“Trip? Don’t you want us to stay?” asked Reed.

“Malcolm, you don’t belong here,” said Trip.

“And you do?” said Reed not believing what he heard his friend saying.

“I may not have known it, but this is where I belong, now and for the rest of my life,” said Trip.

“Trip, listen to yourself,” said Archer. “This isn’t you talking. You’re the Chief Engineer of Enterprise. Enterprise needs her Chief Engineer, remember? We need you to finish the mission, to find the Xindi, to stop more people dying on Earth. For Lizzie, Trip. For your sister.”

“I remember, but my priorities have changed. I can’t help you anymore. Lizzie would understand,” said Trip.

“I’m not so sure that she would, Trip,” said Archer.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, once the repairs are complete the Rel Sevanne will be leaving and I don’t think we’ll be running into each other again,” said Trip.

“Lizzie doesn’t matter?” asked Reed incredulously. “What the bloody hell are you saying Trip? This wasn’t the way you felt last week. You do remember the nightmares don’t you? The ones in which you were trying to save Lizzie from the Xindi attack? The ones that stopped you from sleeping?!” His voice got louder with each question until he was shouting at the room.

“I remember them, they just don’t hurt anymore,” said Trip. “And what’s so wrong with it not hurting? Don’t you think I’ve had more than enough hurt for one lifetime? Lizzie, the Xindi, it’s just too much. I’m part of something now. I’ve never felt so much like I belong. This is where I’m meant to be.”

“What did you do to him?” asked Archer, angrily, looking at Shar Jen.

“Nothing,” said Shar Jen. “Being conjoined has a way of giving a person a different perspective on life.”

“Commander, your behaviour is very illogical. Perhaps you should examine your motivations behind this,” said T’Pol.

“Trip, you have to fight this,” said Archer. “This isn’t you, it’s the ship trying to absorb you.”

“No, this is me, I just never realised it before. Nils Fen, remove Captain Archer, Lieutenant Reed, Sub-commander T’Pol and Dr Phlox from the computer room. Don’t hurt them, if you can help it, but get them off my ship,” said Trip.

****End of Chapter 7****

“Well, that went well,” said Archer sarcastically, when they were back on their way to Enterprise in the shuttlepod.

“I don’t understand,” said Reed. “He seemed fine last night. A bit cross about the whole thing, not worried but definitely not exactly happy. Then this morning I wake up to find him chatting to Shar Jen and suddenly he wants us off the Rel Sevanne. Now he’s talking as if he’s pleased to be staying.”

“I don’t think that it’s exactly all him, Malcolm,” said Archer.

“I think we can assume that being part of a ship the size of the Rel Sevanne will have some interesting effects upon the human mind,” said Phlox. “Not only that but he has a whole new sense to deal with. Humans may be used to dealing with their own emotions but they have no experience of an empathic sense.”

“Could they have drugged him?” asked Archer.

“They are giving him various drugs,” said Phlox, “but none of them would cause this mental state. In fact they are taking very good care of his body.”

“That doesn’t help us with how we get him out of this, Doctor,” said Reed.

“No, but I now have more detailed scans and that should help give me a clearer picture of what is going on. I also managed to scan some of the Tien while you were engaged in your discussion with the Commander,” said Phlox.

“Good work, Doctor,” said Archer.

“I do not see why we require further scans,” said T’Pol. “Commander Tucker has made it clear that he wishes to stay on the Rel Sevanne. The logical course of action at this point would be to continue our mission.”

“As you never tire of telling me, T’Pol, humans are not logical,” said Archer. “We’ve still got a day and a half to come up with something. I’m not leaving until then.”

“Very well, Captain, if you think that is the best course of action,” said T’Pol, making it clear that she did not think that this was the best course of action at all.

“Why are you so keen to leave, T’Pol?” asked Archer.

“I simply think that it would be most beneficial to continue on our mission as rapidly as possible,” said T’Pol. “Commander Tucker is beyond our help, and Shar Jen may have been correct when she said that he is better off with the Tien.”

“How can you even suggest that?” asked Archer. He noted that Malcolm had turned to stare at T’Pol.

“Commander Tucker has been having a great deal of difficulty dealing with his treatment at the hands of the Xindi. Not only that but he had been experiencing persistent nightmares about the nanoprobes controlling his body,” said T’Pol.

“How do you know that?” asked Archer.

“He told me,” said T’Pol.

“He told you? He hasn’t even mentioned it to me,” said Archer, his last sentence more introspective than resentful.

“He felt you already had enough burdens to bear,” said T’Pol in a tone that would have signalled understanding in a human.

“Interesting,” said Phlox, “I had wondered what the Commander thought about the nanites. He seemed to have integrated them successfully into his body but he was never prepared to talk about his mental state with regard to them. I suppose I now have an answer as to why that was.”

“Are you telling us that Commander Tucker was afraid that the nanites would take him over?” asked Reed.

“That is exactly what I’m saying,” said T’Pol. “He did his utmost to hide this from you.”

“Why? We would have understood,” said Reed.

“He was simply unwilling to let anyone else help him. He knew that I would not tell anyone anything that he spoke to me about,” said T’Pol.

“You’re telling us now,” said Archer.

“I felt it might be relevant to our current predicament,” said T’Pol. “The Commander Tucker that we spoke to today was not the Commander Tucker that I have come to know during our neuropressure sessions, this made me realise that the information that I have gathered could be relevant to our situation.”

“How does knowing about Trip’s nightmares help us get him out of there?” asked Archer.

“It doesn’t,” replied T’Pol. “It helps us understand why we should leave him with the Rel Sevanne without any regret.”

“So you’re saying that because he is no longer in emotional turmoil we should leave him with the Tien?” asked Archer.

“Exactly,” said T’Pol. “It would be the kindest thing to do.”

“I don’t care what you say, Sub-commander, the Trip that I know wouldn’t want to be left on the Rel Sevanne as a living part of their computer. We have to do something,” said Reed.

“She does have a point, Malcolm,” said Archer. “Trip has been through the wars lately and if he thinks he’s happy where he is then maybe we should just leave him there.”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s happy. It isn’t him, it’s what the Tien have turned him into. Trip didn’t want this to happen,” said Reed vehemently.

“Maybe that’s true, but if he’s happy now does it matter whether this is what he wanted or not?” asked Archer.

“I can’t believe that you’re suggesting that we leave him behind,” said Reed, shaking his head as if to get rid of the unpleasant thought he was having.

“If we can do anything to get Trip back, we will,” said Archer. “But the deadline still stands.”

****

Reed’s first stop when they returned to Enterprise had been the Armoury to check on the status of the weapons that the Rel Sevanne had pointing at them. He still couldn’t scan them as fully as he would have liked but the fact that they were locked on Enterprise was unmistakable. He began the work of recalibrating the scanners to compensate for the oddities of the Tien technology in the hope that they could take some more accurate readings. The more they knew about the alien vessel, the more likely it would be that they could get Trip out of there, and more to the point the more likely it would be that Reed could blow it to pieces if necessary. He doubted Enterprise could do much against something of the size of the Rel Sevanne, but he had to try. He’d discovered at an early age that just because the enemy was bigger than you didn’t mean they had the advantage, and anyone who’d ever taken on Malcolm Reed had learnt that to their cost. Firepower was more of a worry, but he wasn’t Tactical Officer for nothing and they’d faced tough enemies before.

They had been back on Enterprise for a few hours when Phlox called them down to Sick Bay. Archer, T’Pol and Reed stood looking at a monitor with the doctor trying to make sense of the display on the screen.

“These are the scans which I took of Commander Tucker,” said Phlox.

“What are we looking at Doctor,” asked Archer.

“This is Commander Tucker’s brain activity at the moment. The other image is his most recent scan before the nanites were introduced into system. You can see that the current activity is considerably heightened compared to usual human brain activity,” said Phlox.

“Is that because of the nanites?” asked Reed.

“Not completely,” said Phlox. “This is a scan that we took last time I was able to get him into Sick Bay, just after the nanites were introduced. The activity was elevated but not as much as it is now.”

“So this is due to his connection to the Rel Sevanne,” said Archer.

“I believe so,” said Phlox.

“Doctor, what does this indicate?” asked T’Pol.

“In a normal human this would be extremely dangerous. What is happening to his brain is almost akin to overheating. His synapses are firing too fast and too often, if this continues his brain will simply burn out,” said Phlox.

“Burn out? Brain damage?” asked Archer.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. It isn’t a rapid process, but I give him five years at the most,” said Phlox.

“Five years?” said Reed in disbelief.

“I’m sorry,” said Phlox. T’Pol was blinking a lot, which Phlox knew meant she was wrestling with controlling a difficult emotion. Archer and Reed both just looked stunned. “The only compensating factor is that the nanites are taking some of the load.”

“We have to tell the Tien,” said Reed.

“Agreed,” said Archer. “And Trip has to be told as well. I’m not sure if it will do any good though.”

“If the Tien realise that this isn’t a long term solution then maybe they’ll give Trip back,” said Reed. Even as he said it, he knew he was deluding himself. The Tien had made it clear that they only cared about their own survival.

“I find that to be a most unlikely outcome,” said T’Pol. “They still will have no replacement for the Commander and it would not be logical for them to cause their own deaths.”

“T’Pol’s right. This doesn’t change anything,” said Archer. Except Trip’s life expectancy, he thought.

“Why did none of the Tien have this problem?” asked Reed.

“I believe it was mentioned that the Tien who were conjoined were members of a line of Tien genetically engineered for the purpose,” said Phlox. “From the scans that I’ve been able to take of the Tien their brain structure is significantly different from that of a human, the most noticeable difference being the empathic area of the brain which simply is not present in a human. I would imagine that the Tien patriarchs were engineered so that their brain chemistry was able to cope with the increased activity. Certainly the Tien which I scanned would be unable to cope with being conjoined for the same reason that Commander Tucker is in danger.”

“Can’t they just genetically engineer some more Tien?” asked Archer.

“The patriarchs were engineered on the Tien homeworld and they have been unable to replicate the process. In fact, from the files which the Commander gave to T’Pol on their efforts to find a way of replacing Ten En when it became obvious he was the final patriarch, it seems as if there were four patriarchs originally. They produced offspring but the genetic manipulation caused problems with their fertility and each generation of patriarchs had more problems than the last until Ten En’s parents were only able to produce a single child. I understand that Ten En tried to mate but his attempts were unsuccessful,” said Phlox.

“How were they able to pass on the traits of the patriarch to each successive generation?” asked T’Pol.

“An ingenious piece of genetic coding which ensured that any offspring of a patriarch would also carry the mental attributes of the patriarch. In effect the patriarch’s genes were always dominant which is why the fertility problems worsened over the years,” said Phlox.

“Is there any way that we could help them engineer a new line of Tien patriarchs?” asked Archer.

“I can look at the files and do my best, but although it would help the Tien, it wouldn’t help Mr Tucker,” said Phlox.

“Why not?” asked Archer.

“The genetic manipulation can only be carried out on fertilised eggs not fully grown Tien. We would have to wait until a child could be conceived, manipulated and then grow to an appropriate age, by which point it would no doubt be too late for the Commander,” said Phlox.

“So we’re out of medical options,” said Archer, “what about technical ones?”

“I have been evaluating our alternatives in this regard,” said T’Pol. “I am currently looking into modifying some of the Tien computer equipment to perform the same function as Commander Tucker’s brain, but it is proving to be difficult, especially without direct access to their systems.”

“Keep on it, T’Pol, it’s the only option that we have at the moment,” said Archer.

“Why is Trip so intent on staying?” asked Reed.

“Well, partly that is attributable to his extremely vulnerable mental state when he went to the Rel Sevanne,” said Phlox. “He has been feeling very alone lately because of his experience with the Xindi and being given an empathic faculty has made him feel part of a much larger whole. But the Rel Sevanne also sends out a signal to its patriarch which tells them that they are accepted as part of the computer, almost like a password. In short a subtle kind of brain washing is going on which is persuading him that this is where he belongs and that he is happy there. A necessity for the patriarchs in the past who were able to observe their families and friends going about their daily business but unable to join in. This has made the Commander much more accepting of his situation than he would have been otherwise.”

“That explains a lot,” said Reed.

“There is one other thing that I should mention,” said Phlox. “The longer we delay in removing the Commander, the harder it will be. Looking at the way the Rel Sevanne has integrated him into their systems and his increasing detachment from his physical body, he will have considerable trouble readjusting to normal life. If we leave it too long then he may not be able to adjust at all.”

“What are you saying Doctor?” asked Archer.

“I’m saying that we may be able to free his body but his mind might not be so easy. I was concerned for his mental state previously but after this experience I have no idea how he will react to being a lone human being again rather than an empathic ship full of two thousand Tien.”

****

Shar Jen was in the Engine Room working on Jerel. Trip had informed her that two of the five engines needed a complete overhaul before they could go anywhere and now she and her engineering crew were doing just that. She and her team had been working hard all day but there were still a problem that she couldn’t solve and it was beginning to make her frustrated.

“Trip, could you purge the intake manifolds for Jerel, please?” she asked.

“No problem,” replied Trip’s voice. He did as she asked.

“I’m still having trouble tracking down that fluctuation in the dilithium matrix,” said Shar Jen.

“Yeah, I see it. It’s a tricky son of a bitch and that’s for sure. Did you try re-aligning the crystals to compensate for the frequency drift?”

“Yes and re-setting the matrix amplifiers, I even replaced the crystals,” said Shar Jen.

“Okay, maybe it’s a problem with the control data. I can make some adjustments from here,” said Trip. There was a pause while Trip ran through the data that he needed and made some changes to the control program. “Run your diagnostics again now,” he said.

Shar Jen did as Trip said and was pleased to see that the glitch had gone. “You really are amazing,” said Shar Jen. “How did you know?”

“Hey, you’d tried everything else, if it’s not the hardware then it has to be the software,” said Trip. Shar Jen stifled a yawn. “You’re tired, you should get some sleep,” he added.

“Yes, I am, but until we have Jerel, Lirat and Devas working at peak efficiency I won’t be happy,” said Shar Jen.

“Spoken like a true engineer. Exactly what I used to tell the Captain too,” said Trip. “Now shut up and go to bed. You’ll be a better engineer once you’ve got some shut-eye.”

“Shut-eye?” asked Shar Jen.

“Sorry, human expression. Shut-eye is another way of saying sleep. You need sleep. Now go and get it. You know I’ll wake you if anything important comes up and Rik Ben and the rest of your guys can handle it fine from here. Besides tomorrow’s a big day for me, remember. I get to be officially part of the Tien, not that I aren’t already of course, being hot wired into your system and all.”

“That isn’t until midnight, Trip En,” replied Shar Jen, purposely using his Tien name. “You have to be patient just a little while longer. We did say that we’d give your Captain two days and one hasn’t even passed yet. The Tien have damaged Enterprise enough without breaking their promise.”

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t think they understand what’s happened that’s all. I mean they can see what’s happened physically but I’m not sure that they can ever understand what it’s like to be part of the Rel Sevanne. They’ll never know what it feels like to touch the emotions of two thousand Tien, or be able to sense the pulse of a warp engine. It just feels right.” Trip could still remember that this wasn’t what he had wanted but the fact was that even if he’d tried his damnedest to stop the Tien conjoining him, now he was conjoined he was pretty happy with it. Okay it wasn’t like being on Enterprise working on his warp engine, but now he had five engines to play with. And he would miss his friends and he knew from the emotions that they’d shown as Nils Fen escorted them back to the shuttlepod that they’d miss him, but he also knew that the Tien needed him more. He could still feel Shar Jen’s guilt though at what they had done in order to ensure their survival. “Anyway, it’s late. Go to your quarters and get some sleep.”

“Yes, Patriarch,” said Shar Jen, deciding to give in and take it as the order she knew it wasn’t. She made the short journey from the engine room down to her quarters. When she reached her quarters, she made immediately for the bedroom, not bothering to even think about food. Her tiredness was getting the better of her now she had left the engine room and she was beginning to think she would collapse on the floor before reaching the bed. She undressed down to her underwear and fell into her bed.

“Trip En?” asked Shar Jen. The bedroom was dark and she spoke to the empty room. She had never spoken to Ten En in the middle of the night like this, but then Trip was different.

“Yes, Shar Jen. Something wrong?” he asked. There were sound sensors and intercoms everywhere on the ship so all any of the Tien had to do was call his name and he would attend to anything they wanted to talk to him about. He had expected Shar Jen to go to sleep rather than want to talk to him again. He could tell from her emotional readings that she was very tired, he didn’t think that she had slept since he’d been conjoined.

“You’ve felt my emotions. You know how I feel about you.”

“Yeah, you like me. You like me a lot.”

“And I have felt yours. You are attracted to me,” said Shar Jen.

“Yeah, I was. Not much I can do about it now,” said Trip. He wasn’t sad about that, it was just another thing that had been overridden by his need to care for the Tien people. He could admire her though and enjoy what she felt for him.

“It doesn’t matter. Just know that I love you,” said Shar Jen. I can never have you now, but I do love you, she thought. She knew it wasn’t his body that she loved but his mind, that he was now part of the Rel Sevanne made no difference to her. “Will you watch me sleep?” she asked.

“I don’t know if that would be right,” said Trip. He’d already decided that just because he could watch anyone on the ship, didn’t mean that he should. He had no wish to invade anyone’s privacy.

“It is a traditional Tien custom for those attracted to each other,” said Shar Jen. “Look in your sociological files,” she added.

“I’ve got it. Don’t you think it’s a little early in our relationship for that, we haven’t even had our first date yet,” he said with a touch of laughter in his voice.

“I think we can skip the first date and move straight on to this,” she replied. “If you and I want to pursue a relationship then it will never be conventional. Some might not even call it a relationship, but it will be real to me. Watch me sleep and I will know that you care for me.”

“I’ll watch you,” said Trip. And he did, even though his fragmented consciousness was in many other places performing his duties to the ship, he never once took his attention away from Shar Jen’s quarters.

****

Archer wasn’t entirely surprised when, after a day of futile modifications to their scanners, and T’Pol’s investigations getting no where, Malcolm Reed showed up outside his quarters at 0200 hours.

“Let me guess, Lieutenant,” said Archer, blinking bleary eyed at his Armoury Officer. “You couldn’t sleep so you decided to keep me awake as well.” In truth he hadn’t been able to sleep much at all but Malcolm didn’t need to know that.

“Sorry, sir,” said Reed dutifully. “It’s just that I don’t think that this can wait.” He handed Archer a padd and Archer ushered the Lieutenant into his quarters so that they weren’t conversing in the open hallway any longer.

“What is this, Malcolm?” asked Archer.

“An escape plan,” said Reed. “I think I’ve devised a way to recover Trip from the Tien.”

****End of Chapter 8****

“Malcolm, this isn’t an escape plan, it’s suicide,” said Archer as he read the contents of the padd.

“I think it can be done, sir,” said Reed, deadly serious.

“I have no doubts about what you think, Lieutenant,” said Archer. “You’re ignoring all the unknowns in the equation and there are a lot of them.”

“I’m not asking anyone else to risk their life, just me,” said Reed.

“But you’re asking me to approve it, and create a distraction while you carry it out,” said Archer. “Not to mention the moral implications of killing over two thousand Tien or at the very least completely changing their way of life.”

“If you’re talking about non-interference, then I think the Tien blew that out of the water when they kidnapped our Chief Engineer,” said Reed. “As for the deaths of two thousand Tien, there’s a Minshara class planet less than ten light years away. We know that they have warp capable shuttles, they could ferry everyone to the planet before the Rel Sevanne looses life support.”

“The Tien seemed pretty adamant that planetfall was not an option for them. How do we know there isn’t a reason why they haven’t settled a planet before now? How do we know that making them go to that planet won’t kill them all?” asked Archer.

“We don’t know, sir,” said Reed, “but I’m willing to take that risk.”

“You may be willing but I’m not so sure that I’m quite so happy to condemn two thousand sentient beings to what could well be their deaths,” said Archer.

“Believe me, sir, I do understand what we’re talking about here. I’ve thought about little else today. But it’s my duty to protect this crew and currently one of the crew is being held captive on the Rel Sevanne. You have to at least let me try to get him back, sir,” said Reed.

“What happens if you try and fail?” asked Archer. “The Tien just might decide to take it out on Enterprise. And even if you weren’t asking me to put the lives of this crew in danger for one man, you’re asking me to risk losing my Armoury officer. Enterprise might be able to complete this mission with one of its senior officers missing but I’m not sure we could do it without two.”

“Yes, sir, I understand,” said Reed, obviously taking Archer’s argument as a dismissal of his ideas. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go back to my quarters now, I believe there are a few hours left until my shift starts.”

“I haven’t said no yet, Malcolm,” said Archer.

“Does that mean I can go ahead?” asked Reed, brightening.

“No, it means I need to think about it. I’ll have an answer for you at 0900, Lieutenant. Come to my ready room then,” said Archer.

“Yes, sir,” said Reed.

“Goodnight, Malcolm,” said Archer and with that he turned to go back to his bed and Reed left for his own quarters, beginning to put together equipment lists in his head for what he would need for his plan to rescue Trip.

****

Archer hadn’t been able to get back to sleep. He knew Malcolm was worried about Trip but so was he. All Archer really wanted to do was go to the Rel Sevanne and get Trip back, but as the Captain he didn’t have that luxury. He had to think about the 82 people under his command and the two thousand people on the Rel Sevanne. He had to think about the six billion people on Earth who were relying on him and Enterprise to find the Xindi. He had to think about all those people plus the moral issues. He had never been so aware of his responsibilities as he was now.

They had to remember that they were Earth’s representatives in space. Just because the aliens they met had abandoned their ethics didn’t mean that they should as well. However, Malcolm certainly seemed to be taking that attitude and he knew the Armoury officer’s moral sense was very well developed. He had seen the look on Malcolm’s face when he had bundled the Osaarian they captured into the airlock. He knew that Reed had been debating with himself whether he should stop his Captain, but Archer suspected Reed’s respect for rank had held him back. That and he probably didn’t believe that Archer would actually kill the Osaarian. The frightening thing was that Archer knew he was angry enough that he could have happily spaced the Osaarian if he hadn’t answered his questions. If Reed was considering this then he probably had managed to convince himself that the Tien would be safe on the M class planet.

He decided that going over this again and again was not helping him to reach any conclusions at all. He went in search of T’Pol and found her in the Command centre.

“How’s it going?” asked Archer as he stepped through the hatch.

“I am making progress in understanding the Rel Sevanne’s computer slowly. Although complicated, I am beginning to form a picture of some of the data systems,” said T’Pol.

“Will you have something by the end of the day that can help us?” asked Archer, hopefully.

“That is doubtful,” said T’Pol. “I am having to analyse each system individually. It is extremely time consuming. I have the complete science staff working on this, and I still do not think we would have a coherent picture of the computer for at least a year. This is the most complicated system that I have ever encountered.”

Archer’s face fell. “I wanted to discuss something with you,” he said and handed her the padd with Lieutenant Reed’s escape plan on it. “Malcolm brought this to me last night. I’ve been going over the pros and cons of letting him carry it out since 0230 and I’m just going round in circles. I was hoping you might have an opinion.”

T’Pol scrolled through the padd. “I take it the Lieutenant intends to be the one to carry this out,” she said.

“Of course,” said Archer.

“Then I suggest we let him try,” said T’Pol.

“Just like that? I thought you were all for leaving Trip on the Rel Sevanne,” said Archer.

“That was before the doctor informed us that the Commander’s life span would be considerably shortened by his conjoining with the Rel Sevanne’s computer,” said T’Pol. She had to admit that she did not understand emotions, as a Vulcan she had learnt to control them but not understand them. She did not understand humans either. She knew however that humans needed to be happy and certainly Commander Tucker had not been happy since he had entered the Expanse. He had appeared to be happy on the Rel Sevanne and so T’Pol had reached the conclusion that he should stay on the Rel Sevanne, but perhaps Reed was right, it also mattered how Trip gained that happiness. Logic did not always apply to humans, she reflected once again. “Even his current happiness, albeit falsely conceived, is not worth his life,” she added for Archer’s benefit.

“What about the Tien? We could be killing them all,” said Archer. “I expected you to argue the case for non-interference.”

“Logic dictates that we should try to save as many people as possible. You have made it clear that you feel we will be more likely to accomplish our mission if we have Commander Tucker. Therefore it is simply a matter of numbers, two thousand Tien lives against the lives of six billion humans,” said T’Pol. “Also I notice that Lieutenant Reed mentions a Minshara class planet not more than ten light years away that the Tien could be relocated to.”

“I wish I could see it as that clear cut, T’Pol,” said Archer. “It’s still two thousand lives that we’re talking about. Even if we don’t kill them then we are still talking about changing their way of life considerably. Who knows if they could even survive on that planet.”

“If you were already aware of the arguments then why did you ask for my advice?” asked T’Pol.

“I suppose I was hoping that you’d thought of something that I hadn’t. And sometimes it just helps to talk through something like this,” said Archer.

“The lifestyle of the Tien should be protected,” said T’Pol, “but not at all costs. Even Vulcans do not advocate isolationism. From the scans that I have taken, I have no reason to believe that the Tien would suffer from being relocated to a planet.”

“Thanks T’Pol, I appreciate you listening to me,” said Archer and left the command centre with his decision made.

****

When Lieutenant Reed arrived at Captain Archer’s ready room at exactly 0900, he knew he’d won the argument, he recognised the determined look on his Captain’s face, and Archer confirmed it.

“Permission granted, Lieutenant,” was all he said.

Reed knew it was going to be tough. His plan was based on three things, firstly that he had been able to discover enough about the Rel Sevanne that he could deflect their sensors long enough for him to reach the computer room, secondly that he could modify the transporter to account for the Rel Sevanne’s peculiar hull makeup and finally that Trip wouldn’t immediately raise the alarm as soon as he saw him. In fact not only would those three parts have to fall into place but he was also going to have to disable any cameras on his route as well, he hoped the same device that he was going to use to disrupt the sensors would also interfere with the cameras. He knew that the computer room was too well shielded for him to beam directly into it, the only place where they’d been able to get a coherent transporter lock was the Star Chamber, so he was hoping that there weren’t too many cameras between him and the computer room. The microphones worried him but he’d just have to hope that he could be quiet enough that they wouldn’t pick up his movement.

Trip of course was the unknown. Reed had no idea how thoroughly the Tien had managed to brainwash him, he had to hope that he wouldn’t betray his friend. After they had spent most of the previous night talking he was pretty sure that although Trip wouldn’t want to come with him, he wouldn’t turn Reed over to the Tien. T’Pol and Phlox had already begun work on how best to disconnect Trip from the Rel Sevanne, a procedure which he might only have seconds to perform before he was discovered. And then he would have to manhandle Trip to somewhere they could beam out.

Even to his own ears it sounded impossible, dependent on so many variables and so many things going right. He pushed all that to the back of his mind, he had to get Trip back. He had given his word that he would look after Trip on the Rel Sevanne and he had broken that word. This was the only way for him to redeem himself.

It was 1700 before all the preparations were complete and Malcolm stepped onto the transporter pad. His hair was dyed white blond and he wore a reasonable facsimile of a Tien uniform. He wasn’t tall enough or thin enough to really pass for a Tien but all he needed was to look enough like one that he wouldn’t be stopped in a corridor. Strapped to his belt was a phase pistol, a device for creating interference in the Tien’s sensors, a homing beacon which he would activate once he had reached a safe beam out location so that T’Pol could lock on to him, and a hypospray full of one of Phlox’s concoctions that the doctor told Reed should keep Trip stable and unconscious long enough for Reed to bring him home.

T’Pol was at the transporter controls. The two of them had worked closely together on the transporter modifications, Vulcan technology in that area being considerably better than the human equivalent.

“Remember that these modifications are only temporary,” said T’Pol as Reed stepped onto the transporter pad. “I doubt they will hold for more than one outward and one return journey.”

“I understand Sub-commander,” said Reed. “I only get one chance at this.”

“I hope that a second chance will not be required, Lieutenant,” said T’Pol.

“Usually humans just wish each other good luck,” said Reed.

“Very well, good luck,” said T’Pol. “T’Pol to Archer, I am ready to transport the Lieutenant to the Rel Sevanne.”

“Understood,” said Archer, “Give me a minute and then you can transport him.”

If this part of the plan failed Reed’s rescue attempt would be over before it had begun. There was a chance that the Rel Sevanne might detect their transporter signal so they needed a distraction while Reed beamed on board. Archer would contact the Rel Sevanne and demand that they return Trip. Reed wasn’t sure if that would be enough to keep Trip’s attention away from detecting the transporter signature but it was the only idea they had been able to come up with short of firing on the Tien ship. Something which they wanted to avoid at all costs given the Rel Sevanne’s superior fire power.

“Energise, Sub-commander,” said Reed, after exactly a minute had passed.

T’Pol energised the transporter and watched the Lieutenant disappear and noted that he had indeed reappeared on the Rel Sevanne. Their scanners were still being effected by the unusual composition of the Rel Sevanne’s hull so they had no way of tracking Reed once he was aboard. All they could do now was wait for the Lieutenant’s homing signal to beam him back.

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

“Hoshi, open a channel to the Rel Savanne,” said Archer.

“Yes, sir, the channel is open,” replied Hoshi.

“This is Captain Archer to the Rel Sevanne, I’d like to talk to you about Commander Tucker,” said Archer.

“This is the Rel Sevanne,” said a voice in a southern drawl that Archer recognised immediately. “What can I do for you Captain?”

“I want my Chief Engineer back,” said Archer, deciding to cut straight to the chase.

“I’m sorry, sir, but that just isn’t possible,” said Trip.

“Trip, you’re the best Engineer that I know, you have to be able to figure out a way to help the Tien. What happens when you die and there’s no one to replace you?” he said. He didn’t add that Trip had considerably less time than he thought he did.

“I’ve had a look, but this thing is pretty complicated, it’s going to take me more than two days to work it out. I’m pretty sure that I can sort something out by the time they need a new Patriarch,” said Trip.

So Archer’s suspicions had been confirmed, Trip was working on the problem, he just needed to work faster. “Five years, Trip, that’s all you’ve got.”

“Five years? How come?” asked Trip.

“The scans Phlox took show that your brain is working too hard, you’re going to burn out, Trip. Phlox reckoned five years at the most before your brain can’t take the strain any longer and you die,” said Archer. This wasn’t the way he would have chosen to tell his friend that he only had five years to live but he hoped that it would distract Trip long enough for Reed to do what he needed to.

“Five years or fifty, it doesn’t make any difference,” said Trip. “If I were to leave now then I’d be condemning two thousand Tien to death. At least this way I have a chance to work something out to save them.”

That wasn’t exactly the reaction Archer had expected, although with hindsight he should have known the brainwashing would cancel out any self-preservation instincts that Trip had left. “Trip, please listen to me,” said Archer. “Enterprise needs her Chief Engineer. If we’re going to complete this mission then we need you here with us.”

“I’m sorry, Captain, but you know I can’t do that,” said Trip and he broke the link. He had no wish to go through the reasons why he had to stay, again, for the benefit of his former Captain. It brought up a whole load of emotions in him that he didn’t want to face, not least how much he would miss the friendship of Jonathan Archer, but his place was here now and griping about it wouldn’t change anything. He turned his attention back to the ship.

“Ninety percent of systems are functioning within standard operational parameters,” said the nanites. “Warp engines, Jerel, Lirat and Devas, still under repair. Intermittent malfunction in internal sensors. Power grid in section twelve has failed and is under repair. Bridge systems still experiencing malfunctions.” Trip listening as they reeled off the list of malfunctions and repairs needed to the Rel Sevanne including a jammed door in section five. Some of it he could fix, some of it the nanites could take care of and some of it he’d have to speak to Shar Jen about sending some of her engineers to deal with. He estimated it would be another five hours before all the repairs were done and they would be able to leave. Time was running out, they had to get underway as quickly as they could.

“Wait,” said Trip. “An internal sensor malfunction? Where?”

The nanites brought up the schematic of the sensors and indicated the area of the malfunction.

“That malfunction isn’t intermittent, it’s moving,” said Trip to the nanites, “and it’s coming this way. Do a scan of Enterprise, how many biosigns are aboard?”

“Eighty,” replied the nanites.

“Damn it, the Captain pulled a fast one on me. I’d bet my right arm that Malcolm beamed over here while I was talking to Enterprise,” said Trip.

“Possible transporter signature detected,” said the nanites. “Sixteen minutes ago, in the star chamber.”

“He’s nearly here,” said Trip. “I’m guessing he’s come to take me back to Enterprise.” Suddenly he was torn, he didn’t know what to do. He knew he didn’t want to go back to Enterprise, he had to protect the Tien, but he didn’t want to hurt Malcolm either. “Damn it, why couldn’t they just leave well alone.”

“Unknown,” said the nanites.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” he replied. “Hello Malcolm,” he said out loud as a platinum blond figure in a Tien uniform entered the computer room. “You’re a little short to be a Tien.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence, Commander,” said the familiar British accent.

“I know what you’re here for Malcolm and you’d best just turn around and go home now, ‘cause I’m not coming with you,” said Trip.

“Look, Trip, this isn’t you. It’s the Rel Sevanne. It’s brainwashing you into wanting to stay. The computer has a built in programme to convince you that you’re pleased to be a part of it and you need to protect the Tien. Remember how you felt about being joined with the computer, you weren’t happy then, were you?”

“No, but I didn’t know what it was going to be like. Besides, now I’m here, it feels right. We’ve been over this before, I’m not leaving the Tien to die.”

“They wouldn’t have to die,” said Reed. “There’s a Minshara class planet near by. We could ferry them to the planet and everyone would be safe.”

“No, no they wouldn’t. You don’t understand the situation. You leave the Tien on a planet and you’ll have signed their death warrant,” said Trip.

“Why don’t you explain the situation to me then? Help me understand why you’re so determined to sacrifice your life for these people,” said Reed.

“I can’t. Just take it from me that off loading the Tien onto a planet would mean their deaths,” said Trip. “If I tell you then I’m placing you and Enterprise in the same danger the Tien face right now. The best thing that can happen is for us to repair our engines and get underway.”

“Trip, I don’t have time to argue with you. You’re coming with me,” said Reed and he moved towards the cylinder that contained Trip’s body and pulled open the black covering.

“Don’t make me hurt you, Malcolm,” said Trip.

“Trip, I’m your friend. You remember Risa don’t you? And playing Mah Jongg with Hoshi and Travis? Getting drunk on the Captain’s bourbon in the Shuttlepod? Hell, getting drunk on your birthday last year? For god’s sake, some of that must still mean something to you?” said Reed angrily, but he kept working on the cylinder.

“It still means a lot to me, Malcolm,” said Trip. “You’ll always be my friend. But you have to realise this isn’t about Trip and Malcolm anymore, this is Lieutenant Reed and Trip En Ath Tucker, Patriarch of the Tien. I wish it could be another way and I wish I didn’t have to do this.” The doors of the computer room opened to reveal Nils Fen and a compliment of his security officers.

“Lieutenant Reed,” said Nils Fen. “Stop what you’re doing and step away from the Patriarch.”

Reed straightened up from his work on the cylinder and turned to face the Tien Weapons Master. His hand automatically went to his phase pistol.

“I wouldn’t do that, Malcolm,” said Trip. “You’re outnumbered ten to one. Put the phase pistol on the floor.”

Reed carefully removed the phase pistol from the holster as if to drop it on the ground. And in one fluid movement had stunned three Tien guards before Nils Fen had time to react. Reed moved towards the cover of a computer bank but he didn’t make it. Nils Fen’s marksmanship was excellent and he stunned the Armoury officer before he could get to safety.

“Why’d you have to go and do that, Malcolm?” asked the exasperated voice of the Tien Patriarch. “He’ll be okay won’t he?” he asked Nils Fen.

Nils Fen went to the sprawled form of Lieutenant Reed and felt for a pulse. “His pulse is strong, he should come round in about half an hour or so. I’ll put him in a holding cell until then.”

“Okay, Enterprise can come and pick him up before we leave, but we’d best hang onto him until then. He’ll only think up some other harebrained scheme to get me out of here if we let him go back to Enterprise. Get the doctor down to have a look at him just to be on the safe side.”

“Yes, Patriarch,” said Nils Fen. He ordered two of his men to pick Malcolm up and take him to a holding cell.

“What happened?” said Shar Jen, from the doorway. She saw the guards and rushed across to check on Trip. His vital signs were displayed on a panel beside the cylinder.

“Just Enterprise trying to get its Chief Engineer back,” said Trip. “I told you they’d have to try, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. Are you okay?” said Shar Jen.

“I feel fine but just check the cylinder. Malcolm was pretty intent on getting me out of here,” said Trip. “Ordering Nils Fen down here was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

“I know, En,” said Shar Jen. “But it was the right thing to do. I’m proud of you.” Trip noted her use of his second name, something which signalled intimacy among the Tien. To the Tien it was like calling someone “darling” or “love”. Trip decided that he quite liked it but that didn’t make him feel any better about what he’d just done to Malcolm.

“Still, I wish I didn’t have to do that,” said Trip. “I don’t think Malcolm’s ever going to speak to me again and the Captain’s going to be real mad.”

“None of that concerns you anymore, En,” said Shar Jen. She felt the waves of guilt that were emanating from him and wanted to soothe him but wasn’t sure how.

“You’re right,” said Trip. “But it’s going to take me a little while to get used to that.”

Nils Fen handed Shar Jen the equipment which Reed had been carrying. “Interesting,” said Shar Jen as she examined it. “This is how he was able to disrupt the internal sensors. And this is almost certainly a homing beacon, something for their transporter to lock onto.”

“Yeah, Malcolm wouldn’t have come over here without a plan for getting back again. I guess I’d better contact Enterprise and let them know Malcolm’s okay.”

“You don’t have to,” said Shar Jen.

“Yes, I do,” replied Trip. “Rel Sevanne to Enterprise,” he said.

“This is Enterprise,” said Hoshi.

“Hoshi, put the Captain on,” said Trip.

“Yes, Commander,” said Hoshi.

“Archer here, go ahead Trip.”

“I just thought you might like to know that we found Malcolm wandering around the corridors,” said Trip.

“What have you done with him?” asked Archer, Trip could hear the concern in his voice.

“Don’t worry, he’s okay, or at least he will be when the stun wears off. I’ve got the doctor checking him over, just to be sure,” said Trip.

“You shot him?” said Archer, obviously angry.

“Well we wouldn’t have had to if he hadn’t decided to play hero and make life difficult for himself,” said Trip.

“I want him back. Now. You can bring him to us or we can send a shuttle pod over, it’s up to you,” said Archer.

“Sorry, Captain, I think we’ll hang onto him for a little while. You’ll get him back before we leave, but if I give him back, he’ll hatch another plan and then we’ll be back where we are now.”

“Trip, I don’t care what you think, I want my Armoury officer back on Enterprise,” said Archer.

“No can do. The Tien are a bit protective of their Patriarch and having Malcolm sit in a holding cell for a while will make everyone feel better. Besides, you can’t tell me you didn’t know about what Malcolm was doing,” said Trip. “From the bits and pieces he was carrying, I’d say T’Pol was in on it as well.”

“What do you want me to say, Trip. We want our Chief Engineer back,” said Archer.

“At the expense of my ship and over two thousand Tien,” said Trip.

“It isn’t your ship, you’re not a Tien,” said Archer.

“That doesn’t matter. I’m their protector. If you take me away they have nothing,” said Trip.

“But the planet…” began Archer.

“Would be like signing their death warrant,” said Trip. “It’s not an option.”

“Why isn’t it an option, Commander, what am I missing here?” said Archer.

“I can’t give you that information, Captain,” said Trip. “And I’m not a Commander anymore, I’d appreciate it if you’d accept my resignation.”

“You know I won’t do that,” said Archer.

“You’re going to have to,” said Trip, “because I’m not coming back.” And with that he broke the connection.

****

Reed awoke to find himself in a small but relatively comfortable cell. He was lying on a narrow bunk covered by a blanket. He groaned slightly at the ache in his chest that he knew was from a stun blast and did his best to sit up.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up,” said a familiar voice.

“Well when you’ve been stunned by a phaser it takes a little time to regain consciousness,” replied Reed, in a matter of fact tone. “Perhaps a better question would be why the bloody hell was I stunned with a phase pistol on the order of my so-called friend!”

“Sorry about that but you really didn’t give us any choice,” said Trip.

“So what are you going to do with me? Execution, torture, wire me into your computer?” asked Reed, sarcastically.

“Oh give me a break, Malcolm, you’re the one who decided to mount a covert mission to an alien ship. I should damn well execute you for the sheer stupidity that you displayed, except that then the Captain would be even more pissed off with me than he is already,” said Trip in exasperated tones.

“The only mistake I made was getting caught,” retorted Reed indignantly.

“Just how did you think this was going to work?” asked Trip. “I mean how exactly were you planning on getting me out of here before I called the guards? You’re just lucky that I reminded everyone to set their weapons to stun otherwise you might never have woken up.”

“You weren’t meant to call the guards,” said Reed. “You were meant to have enough friendship left for me that I had time to get you out of that glass box they put you in. Once you were out I had the hypospray that you found on me to knock you out so that I could get you back to Enterprise. Of course it turned out that, as usual, anyone I let get close to me betrays me. Maybe we should have sent Captain Archer.”

“It wouldn’t have made any difference who you sent, Malcolm. It wasn’t because I don’t value our friendship, I do and I’m going to miss everyone on Enterprise. How many times do I have to say this, my priorities have changed, I’ve gained a hell of a lot of responsibilities all of sudden and one life doesn’t weigh against two thousand.”

“I suppose that’s meant to make me feel better?” asked Reed crossly.

“I didn’t expect you to be happy, but I hoped you’d at least understand,” said Trip.

“Well I don’t. I don’t understand how you can throw away a friendship of three years just because your situation has changed and I don’t understand why you can’t see that we need you on Enterprise just as much as the Tien need you here,” said Reed.

“It isn’t about whether Enterprise needs me, it’s about the fact that the Tien will die if I leave,” said Trip.

There was a moment of silence. Reed knew when he was fighting a loosing battle. “You didn’t tell me what you’re going to do with me,” said Reed.

“I spoke to the Captain, he knows you’re okay, so I’m just going to hang onto you until it’s time for us to leave so you can’t cause me any more trouble,” said Trip. Reed could imagine him smiling as he said it, if his body hadn’t been immobilised. Trip had always enjoyed annoying him.

“You realise if we ever get out of this I’m going to make you pay dearly for this,” said Reed through gritted teeth.

“I’m sure you will,” said Trip. “If you need anything, just call for me, it’s what everyone else does. Would you believe I’m holding a conversation about a broken shower at the same time as I’m talking to you? I guess the work of a Patriarch is never done. This definitely wasn’t in the job description.”

“There was no job description,” replied Reed, but Trip didn’t answer and he assumed that the broken shower now had the Patriarch’s full attention. Silently he thought to himself that Trip had been right on at least one point, it was sheer stupidity to think that his plan might actually have worked. He should have known better than to try to persuade a victim of brainwashing that they didn’t quite have the correct world view. How are you going to get the two of you out of this one, he thought.

****

The ceremony was simple. All the members of the Senior Council were present. Kris Nor read from the Book.

“The Goddess said to the Tien that they should take from the sky what they needed to protect themselves from the Darkness. And the Tien built the sky chariots that they might search the sky for arms to protect themselves from the Darkness,” he read. “The Tien are the chosen people of the Goddess and she will guide us through the sky to find the destruction of the Darkness. The Darkness came to Tien looking to devour us, but fled from the surface when it found the people gone. The Goddess told the Tien that the Darkness has only a short time before it reaches its end. Time slips away from the Darkness with each year that the Tien evades it’s grip.”

Trip knew the significance of the passage that the Exarch had read, it was the Tien’s justification for taking him away from his home and friends. It was also more than just that though, it described the reason why the Tien had left their homeworld. They were running from the Darkness which had chased them across light years. This was not just part of the Tien religion, it was part of their history.

“Trip En Ath Tucker, you are to be designated Patriarch of the Tien. It is your duty to serve the Rel Sevanne and her people. Do you accept this honour?” asked Kris Nor.

“Yes, I accept this honour,” replied Trip. “I will serve the Rel Sevanne and her people until my end.” As a computer, he didn’t have to worry about fluffing his lines, everything was stored in the memory banks, including the Patriarch’s inauguration ceremony. The ceremony was being broadcast to the whole ship and in a cell in the depths of the Rel Sevanne he could hear a certain Armoury officer ranting at him. He’d watched Reed pace backwards and forwards ever since he’d been placed in the cell. The Lieutenant had always been bad at waiting, especially when there was nothing for him to do.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. No! What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing!” shouted Reed at the ceiling of his cell. “You’re a complete bloody fool.” He slammed his hand into the wall, he couldn’t believe that Trip was doing this to him. How could the damn idiot do this? “Listen to me, Trip. Stop this, you’re not Trip En Ath Tucker, you’re Commander Charles Tucker III. This is not who you are, you belong on Enterprise. You’re not their Patriarch. You’re not meant to be part of their computer and you’re not bloody well staying!”

“Sorry, Malcolm,” said Trip. “This is one time when I can’t listen to you.”

“Trip En Ath Tucker,” said Kris Nor, “you are to be designated Patriarch. It is your duty to protect the Rel Sevanne and her people. Do you accept this honour?”

“Yes, I accept this honour,” said Trip. “I will protect the Rel Sevanne and her people until my end.”

“Trip! Do you hear me! Don’t say another word. You’re Commander Charles Tucker III, Chief Engineer of Enterprise!” shouted Reed desperately.

“Trip En Ath Tucker,” said Kris Nor, “you are to be designated Patriarch. It is your duty to govern the Rel Sevanne and her people justly. Do you accept this honour?”

“Yes, I accept this honour,” said Trip. “I will govern the Rel Sevanne and her people justly until my end.”

“Trip En Ath Tucker, I hereby designate you Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne and her people,” said Kris Nor. “The people of the Rel Sevanne pledge you their support and loyalty until your end.”

And the whole of the Rel Sevanne chanted the answer, “we pledge you our support and our loyalty until the end.”

“We hope the goddess will look favourably upon your Patriarchy,” said Kris Nor. There was further scripture and then a bell was rung and that was the end of the ceremony. Trip was officially part of the Tien people and he could still hear Malcolm shouting at him down in his cell. It was time that they sent Malcolm home, Trip reminded himself, and that the Rel Sevanne got under way.

“Nils Fen, take Lieutenant Reed out of his cell and escort him to the shuttle bay. Get one of your men to run him back to Enterprise,” said Trip.

“Yes, Patriarch,” said Nils Fen.

“Time for you to go home, Malcolm,” said Trip to the occupant of the holding cell who was now sitting on his bed silently, looking defeated.

“Why the hell did you do it?” asked Reed.

“Because we don’t have any time left, Malcolm. We’ve got to get underway. The repairs are completed, there’s no reason for us to stay. And Enterprise needs to continue on its Mission too, you have to do that for me. You have to stop the Xindi for me. Please Malcolm,” said Trip.

“So that’s it, you’re just giving up,” said Reed.

“No, I’m not giving up, I’m still working on a way for the Tien to survive once I’m gone and now I know that I’ve only got five years, well that’s just added incentive to get it done quicker,” said Trip. “You’ve been a good friend to me Malcolm and I’m going to miss you. Hell, I’m going to miss everyone on Enterprise. I’ve sent Hoshi some letters for my folks back home, I’d consider it a favour if you’d make sure that they get them when you’re next back on Earth.”

“Of course, Commander,” said Reed. He couldn’t bring himself to fight with Trip any longer, he didn’t want their last words to each other to be an argument.

“It’s been an honour serving with you, Malcolm,” said Trip.

“You too, sir,” said Reed, trying very hard to keep the emotion out of his voice. And suddenly sirens were wailing and the lights changed to red across the Rel Sevanne. “What’s going on?” asked Reed.

“The Darkness just found us,” was Trip’s only reply.

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

Archer knew that he’d lost the battle to get Trip back when Hoshi picked up the broadcast of Trip’s inauguration ceremony. When Trip promised to serve the Tien he knew anything that was left of Trip’s free will had been well and truly destroyed, the Trip he knew didn’t serve anyone. After the final chant, he said a silent goodbye to his Chief Engineer and told Hess to make ready to leave. He still worried that Trip would break his word and not send Lieutenant Reed back, he wouldn’t be happy until the Lieutenant was safely back on board. He had to believe that Trip’s personality was basically intact it was only his sense of loyalty that had been skewed by his conjoining with the Rel Sevanne. Trip was a good man and he wouldn’t take a life if he could help it, the question was whether the Patriarch of the Tien saw things the same way.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by T’Pol. “Captain, I have something on sensors,” she said.

“What is it?” asked Archer. His mind immediately jumped to the Xindi as being the most likely candidates for T’Pol’s sensor contact.

“It appears to be another large ship,” said T’Pol.

“Another Rel Sevanne, another ship the size of the Rel Sevanne?” asked Archer trying to take in the information that T’Pol had just given him.

“It’s structure and composition are different to that of the Rel Sevanne,” said T’Pol. “But in size it is very similar.”

“What is their ETA?” he asked.

“They will be at our position in under two hours,” said T’Pol.

“What’s the betting that our friends on the Rel Sevanne know something about this,” said Archer.

“Sir, I’m receiving a hail from the Rel Sevanne,” said Hoshi.

“Put it through,” said Archer.

“Captain, I don’t have time to explain but you need to get Enterprise out of here as quickly as possible,” said Trip.

“Not without Malcolm,” said Archer.

“One of my guys will ferry him back to you,” said Trip. “Then you have to get Enterprise the hell out of here.”

“I suppose this wouldn’t have anything to do with the approaching ship that we just picked up on our sensors would it?” asked Archer, already knowing the answer.

“It has everything to do with it, and trust me, you don’t want to be around when they turn up,” said Trip.

“I’m sick of being kept in the dark, Commander, I want to know what’s going on and I want to know now,” said Archer.

“I guess I owe you that much,” said Trip. “The ship which is approaching is the Vor Devrees. They are pretty much the sworn enemies of the Tien. There used to be a fleet of five Tien ships just like the Rel Sevanne, we’re the only one left. The Vor Devrees destroyed the other four and they’ve been hunting the Rel Sevanne ever since, for the past four generations. They’re coming to destroy the Rel Sevanne and kill every single Tien on board.”

“Why do they want to destroy the Rel Sevanne?” asked Archer.

“It’s complicated,” said Trip.

“Uncomplicate it for me,” said Archer, a note of annoyance creeping into his voice.

“Look, Vor Devrees translates roughly from Tien as “the darkness” and Rel Sevanne means “light of the ages”, this battle is as old as the Tien people. It’s good versus evil.”

“Nothing is that simple, Trip,” said Archer.

“You said you wanted it uncomplicated, that’s it,” said Trip.

“I guess I asked for that. Who are they? Are they Tien?” asked Archer.

“No, well not exactly,” said Trip.

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

“I told you, it’s complicated, and I don’t have time to explain it to you,” said Trip. “Just make sure you leave before the Vor Devrees arrives. I don’t want you getting caught between them and us.”

“I didn’t think Enterprise mattered to you anymore,” said Archer in a cold hard tone.

“Of course Enterprise matters to me,” said Trip angrily.

“But the Tien matter more,” said Archer, equally angry.

“You really don’t understand, do you? I am the Tien. I’m their Patriarch, their protector. I’d give my life for them,” said Trip, emphatically. “Why don’t you concentrate on your own ship instead of worrying about mine? Rel Sevanne out.”

“Get him back, Hoshi,” said Archer, crossly. “I’m sick of being cut off. I’ll be damned if he’s having the last word on this.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the Rel Sevanne isn’t answering,” said Hoshi.

“Keep trying. Ensign Hooper,” said Archer addressing the tall blonde woman who was manning Reed’s tactical station. “What kind of armaments does the Vor Devrees have?”

“It’s difficult to say, sir,” replied Hooper, “the Lieutenant’s modifications to the scanners have made a difference but we still aren’t getting the complete picture. It looks like similar weaponry to the Rel Sevanne, only more of it. They are very heavily shielded.”

“Heavily shielded?” asked Archer.

“Yes, their hull plating is three times thicker than that of the Rel Sevanne,” said Hooper.

Archer saw T’Pol raise an eyebrow at the information and he briefly wondered what about the hull plating had sparked that reaction.

“Would our torpedoes have any effect against them?” asked Archer.

“No, sir,” said Hooper. “We wouldn’t even make a dent in their hull.”

“Perhaps we should take Trip’s advice and make a graceful retreat,” said Archer, thinking out loud.

“It is obvious that the Vor Devrees is a battle cruiser,” said T’Pol. “However I am detecting upwards of a three thousand life signs on board. It is unlikely that many people would be required to crew the ship.”

“I don’t understand, why would you have families on a battle cruiser?” asked Archer.

“Perhaps because, like the Tien, there is nowhere else for them to go,” suggested T’Pol.

****

“This is the Vor Devrees. Come in Rel Sevanne.”

“This is the Rel Sevanne, go ahead Vor Devrees.”

“I am Corvas, conjoined Matriarch of the Vor Devrees. If you wish to plead for mercy we will now hear your pleas,” said the Vor Devrees.

“This is Trip En Ath Tucker, conjoined Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne. You can kiss my ass ‘cause you sure as hell won’t be getting the satisfaction of any pleas for mercy from us,” said the Rel Sevanne.

“I see that Ten En Ath Jeriad has been replaced. Not unexpected, he was the weakest of your Patriarchs so far. You are not Tien. You seem to have courage. It makes me wonder what you’re doing taking the role of Patriarch for a people as weak as the Tien,” said the Vor Devrees.

“I may not be Tien but I’m their Patriarch, and I intend on protecting my people,” said the Rel Sevanne. “You guys never could understand innovation.”

“Give up now, Trip En Ath Tucker. The odds are against you. We have you out gunned and out manoeuvred, your engines won’t save you now.”

“History says otherwise,” replied the Rel Sevanne.

“The Tien are a dying people, you even had to get your Patriarch from another race. You are contaminated, and we will purify you. The end of the Tien is near,” said the Vor Devrees.

“You talk a good fight, makes me wonder if you’re all talk,” replied the Rel Sevanne.

“Oh you’re much more fun than Ten En Ath Jeriad,” said the Vor Devrees. “It’s a shame that we will have to exterminate you along with the Tien race.”

“Well it’s been a slice of heaven chatting with you, but if you’re finished with the threats then I’d best get back to running my ship.”

“Oh by all means. Enjoy your last two hours of life, Vor Devrees out.”

“Well, that’s the formalities over with,” said Trip. “Time to get down to business. And time for you to go home, Malcolm.”

“Your new friends are nice,” said Reed. After the alert had sounded, he had persuaded the Tien who had come to take him to the shuttle to take him to the computer room instead. He had arrived to hear Trip’s conversation with the Vor Devrees. Trip had brought up a picture of the approaching ship on the screen in front of them. The Vor Devrees was black and triangular. It’s surface was bubbled by small lumps and tiny lights shone along its length. It blocked out the stars behind it which made it difficult to tell what was the ship and what was space.

“Yeah, they’re a barrel of laughs,” said Trip, without any humour in his voice.

“Who are they? Why are they going to attack the Rel Sevanne?” asked Reed.

“They’re the Kriel,” said Trip. “And they don’t like the Tien very much, that’s all you need to know. Anyway it’s not your problem, Shri Dat will take you back to Enterprise and then you guys need to get the hell out of here.”

“It is my problem,” said Reed. “That ship out there is just as much a danger to Enterprise as it is to the Rel Sevanne.”

“If you’re not here then you won’t be in any danger,” said Trip.

“What happens if they decide to come after us?” asked Reed.

“That’s why you have to get as far away from here as possible,” said Trip. “The best thing you can do is leave now.”

“At least let me have a look at their weapons specs,” said Reed. “I know that you have them.”

“Okay, but you’re not going to like what you see,” said Trip and he displayed the weapons and hull specifications on the screen for Reed. “Maybe this’ll make you realise why you have to get Enterprise out of the way.”

He didn’t get an answer though, Reed was engrossed in reading the screen and with each new piece of information he read the look on his face became more worried. “The damn thing’s a bloody monster.”

****

“Lieutenant Reed to Enterprise.”

“Go ahead, Lieutenant,” said Archer. “I thought you were on your way back here.”

“I decided to delay my return slightly,” said Reed.

“He’s being stubborn, Captain,” chipped in Trip. “I told him to go back to Enterprise.”

“What’s the problem, Malcolm?” asked Archer, ignoring the interruption.

“The Vor Devrees,” said Reed.

“Yes, Ensign Hooper has been taking scans of their armaments but we’re having trouble penetrating its hull.”

“The Patriarch was kind enough to give me the specifications of the Vor Devrees’ weapons,” said Reed. “It’s armed to the teeth. I’m transmitting the specifications to you now.”

“You’re just wasting time, Malcolm, you have to leave now,” said Trip.

“I heard you the first time, Trip. Maybe we should take the Patriarch’s advice, Malcolm, and leave,” said Archer.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” said Reed. “The Vor Devrees must know that we’re here and they don’t seem very friendly. Our chances would be much better if we work with the Rel Sevanne.”

“You don’t understand what you’re up against here,” said Trip. “The Rel Sevanne’s chances against the Vor Devrees are slim at best, why do you think we’ve been running for so long.”

“Well maybe you’d have better odds if Enterprise stays,” said Archer.

“Enterprise wouldn’t stand a chance against the Vor Devrees’ guns. I think you could outrun them, though,” said Trip.

“The Rel Sevanne wasn’t able to outrun them and you’re faster than Enterprise,” said Reed.

“They only caught up with us because of the engine trouble,” said Trip. “The Vor Devrees wasn’t built for speed, it was built to kill the Rel Sevanne and her sister ships.”

“I heard what Corvas said, they’re determined to slaughter every single Tien on board the Rel Sevanne,” said Reed. “It sounds like you could use all the help you can get.”

“The last time the Tien engaged the Vor Devrees it destroyed the Rel Ishtari, we barely escaped. I know these people, they’re ruthless and I don’t want Enterprise getting caught in the middle of a generations old war,” said Trip. “It’s not your fight.”

“It is now,” said Archer. “We’re staying. Lieutenant Reed will be your liaison with Enterprise.”

“But Captain…” began Trip.

“I don’t want to hear it, Trip. I don’t care if you are Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne, I’m still Captain of Enterprise and I decide where we go and what we do. We’re staying and that’s final. Archer out,” he said and indicated to Hoshi to cut the connection. A small smug part of him noticed that he’d finally managed to get the last word in.

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

The Rel Ishtari sat dead in space, its Matriarch, Yu Then Tri Jeriad, had done the best the she could to fend off the attackers but it hadn’t been enough. The last barrage from the Vor Devrees had taken out the engines and, while the Tien were doing their best to effect repairs, she knew that it was hopeless. Vor fighters swarmed around the stricken craft like vultures approaching a carcass. Their own Rel fighters were almost all destroyed, those that remained were severely out numbered. Her whole body hurt from the wounds the Vor Devrees had inflicted upon her hull and she knew it wouldn’t be long before they struck the fatal blow. She had already watched three of her sister ships die this way.

“Ishtari to Sevanne,” said Yu Then.

“This is the Rel Sevanne, go ahead Yu Then,” said Dan Ten Ath Jeriad, the Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne.

“It’s over Dan Ten,” said Yu Then. “I’ll hold them for as long as I can, but then you’re on your own. It’s the end for the Ishtari.” She sent out a message to all the Rel fighters remaining to dock with the Rel Sevanne, there was nothing more for them to do now.

“Yu Then, we can still defeat the Vor Devrees, we just have to work together,” said Dan Ten.

“No, it’s too late. They got our engines on the last pass. We can’t manoeuvre any more. You have to save the Rel Sevanne, you’re our only hope now,” said Yu Then. Suddenly she caught something on her scanners. “By the goddess,” she breathed, a Vor fighter was out of control and heading straight towards the centre of the ship. Then the Rel Ishtari screamed as the fighter ploughed through the hull and into the computer core.

Dan Ten watched as the Vor Devrees moved in for the kill and before he took the Rel Sevanne to warp he saw the flames licking at the Rel Ishtari as explosions rocked her from the interior.

“And that was the last time we encountered the Vor Devrees,” said Trip. Not only had the Rel Sevanne recorded the events and the com traffic, it had also recorded the emotions and Trip had been assailed by the deep sense of loss that Dan Ten had felt. He knew Dan Ten had felt each Tien death through his link with the ship, especially the death of his cousin Yu Then Tri Jeriad.

Reed had watched in disbelief as Trip had called up the records from over three centuries ago and played back their last encounter with the Vor Devrees. It didn’t make for pleasant viewing, nor was it particularly encouraging considering what they were about to face. He had just watched two Tien generation ships go up against the Vor Devrees and lose. This time they only had one generation ship and Enterprise.

“The Rel Sevanne’s fighters,” said Reed. “How many of the fighters survived?”

“They’re called Rel fighters. More than we have pilots for,” said Trip. “Probably less than they have Vor fighters.” Reed noted that Trip was calling the Tien “we” and it annoyed him that his friend had stopped thinking of himself as human, but at the moment he had bigger problems to worry about. They couldn’t get Trip back if they were all dead.

“So the pattern is that they send in their Vor fighters to soften us up, then the big guns arrive?” asked Reed.

“So far that’s always the way that they’ve played it,” said Trip. “That’s how they took out the other four ships. They concentrated all their attacking forces on one ship and left just enough resources out of the attack to keep the rest of us from coming to help.”

“The Rel Ishtari attack followed the exact same pattern as the other three?” said Reed.

“Yeah, the Rel Sanvigo was the first to be hit, just after we left Tien. They ambushed us that time. Then about a hundred years later they caught up with us again and took out the Rel Meritaten in the same way. They destroyed the Rel Luis-Nion when we were delayed by a nebula and you saw what happened to the Rel Ishtari. We’ve been running ever since,” said Trip.

“Which is why the Tien couldn’t just settle on a planet,” said Reed. “The Vor Devrees being quite capable of destroying a planet in order to exterminate the remaining Tien.”

“Yeah, the Tien would have been sitting ducks. So, you see I wasn’t kidding when I said it would kill them,” said Trip.

“If this is what they’ve been running from all this time I can see why they’re desperate,” said Reed. “It might help if we knew who the Kriel are.”

“You have to understand, if I tell you who the Kriel are it would put Enterprise in danger,” said Trip. “The Kriel are on a mission to kill the Tien and anyone who has come into contact with them. It’s bad enough that they’ve probably detected Enterprise but there are forces at work here that are beyond anything humans have ever encountered before. The Kriel abused those forces and this is the outcome.”

“I don’t think we could be in any more danger than we are in now,” said Reed. “If the Vor Devrees arrives and we don’t have a plan then we’ll all be dead.”

“Why can’t you just accept that they’re the bad guys?” asked Trip.

“Because it’s never that simple,” said Reed.

“The Captain said the same thing,” said Trip.

“Maybe there’s hope for him yet,” replied Reed. Although Reed had great respect for Captain Archer, he often thought that his Captain was a triumph of enthusiasm over judgement. “The knowledge that you have about the Kriel could be vital to our winning this battle. What happened to make the Tien leave their homeworld?”

“The Kriel happened,” said Trip.

“I assumed that was the case. Where did they come from and why did they decide to attack the Tien?” said Reed. This was like trying to get blood out of a stone. In fact getting blood out of a stone might have been easier than getting Trip to talk about Tien history.

“They came from Tien,” said Trip.

“I thought you said they were the Kriel?” said Reed.

“Yeah they are, but they’re also Tien. It just depends what your quantum perspective is,” said Trip.

“I don’t understand,” said Reed.

“Let’s just say, they’re not from around here,” said Trip.

“Of course they’re not from around here, they’ve been travelling for ten generations, chasing the Tien,” said Reed, getting annoyed now by Trip’s constant side stepping of his questions.

“They’re from another reality, a parallel universe,” said Trip.

“How is that possible?” asked Reed.

“Well quantum theory says that basically life is a game of chance, everyday we make hundreds of choices and those choices decide the course of history. Now suppose every time you made a choice it split off another universe in which you made a different choice. There’d be an infinite number of parallel universes all different from this one. The Kriel are Tien but from an alternative universe,” said Trip.

“I know the theory, Commander, but how did they get here?” said Reed impatiently.

“We don’t exactly know how the Kriel did it but however they got here, they have the ability to jump between realities. We know a little bit of information about their reality from Kriel that we’ve captured over the years. We know that the Kriel planet is at exactly the same spatial co-ordinates as Tien was and their world is dying. The only Kriel left are the ones on the Vor Devrees. They look pretty much like the Tien, and we haven’t been able to detect any physiological differences, except for an extra ridge on each cheek bone,” said Trip.

“Okay they’re from an alternate universe, if they’re basically the same as the Tien, why do they want to kill them?” asked Reed.

“You remember the scripture that Kris Nor read from at my inauguration?” said Trip.

“Yes, how could I forget. Something about finding protection from the Darkness and taking what they needed from the sky,” said Reed.

“You missed out the most important bit, the Tien are the chosen people of the goddess,” said Trip.

“What do the Tien’s religious beliefs have to do with the Vor Devrees coming to kill us?” said Reed.

“The Kriel believe that they’re the chosen people of the goddess too. When they discovered that there were alternate realities they made it their mission to wipe out all the other Tien,” said Trip. “They put all their research efforts into finding a way to move between the parallel universes. Eventually they did it and built the Vor Devrees.”

“I don’t understand, if you’re all the chosen people of the goddess why would they want to kill you?” asked Reed.

“Because, Malcolm, there can only be one chosen people,” said Trip, “and once they’re finished with us, they’ll move on to the next universe and wipe out the Tien there too.”

“You mean this is a holy war that we’ve got ourselves mixed up in,” said Malcolm.

“Only from the Kriel point of view, the Tien are just fighting for their lives. We’re a bit more pragmatic about our religious beliefs, the goddess in Tien religion wouldn’t want us going out and killing a whole load of Tien,” said Trip.

“But she didn’t mind them kidnapping you and turning you into part of their computer,” said Reed.

“Actually that was pretty much completely against the goddess’s teachings,” said Trip. “Which just goes to prove how desperate they were.”

“Desperation doesn’t give them the right to take another person’s life and co-opt it for their own purposes,” said Reed.

“If you’re going to be like that, I’ll send you back to Enterprise. Captain’s orders or not,” said Trip.

“Fine, I’ll behave. For now. Well at least I know what their motivations are. They won’t be taking prisoners and they’re not going to surrender, this is going to be to the death. Let’s just hope that it’s theirs.”

****

T’Pol was in the command centre. She had modified the scanners once again in order to try to penetrate the hull of the Vor Devrees. She was beginning to think that it was a futile exercise and the Enterprise sensors just weren’t capable of the required penetration. However as she was about to give up she noticed something unusual about the scans that she had already taken.

“T’Pol to Phlox,” she said.

“Yes, Sub-commander, go ahead,” said Phlox.

“Doctor, I have some data that I need your help analysing,” said T’Pol.

Phlox was intrigued. He knew that T’Pol was working on ways to defeat the Vor Devrees and he wondered why she would require his help. “I will be there momentarily,” said Phlox.

Phlox arrived to find that T’Pol had also called Captain Archer to the command centre.

“Captain, Sub-commander,” said Phlox. “How can I help?”

“T’Pol thinks that she may have found something,” said Archer.

“I was analysing the scans that I had taken of the Vor Devrees when I recollected Lieutenant Reed’s report on the Rel Sevanne. He mentioned that the hull of the Rel Sevanne was grown onto the superstructure. The Vor Devrees also appears to have an organic hull which is blocking our scans, I was hoping that the doctor’s expertise in organic matters might allow us to penetrate the hull with our scanners.”

“I have never tried to perform a medical scan on a ship before but I am willing to give it a go,” said Phlox, he examined T’Pol’s data and then tapped on the padd which he held in his hand. “Interesting, very interesting. Try these frequencies Sub-commander,” he said and handed T’Pol the padd.

“Thank you, doctor,” said T’Pol. She input the new frequencies and instructed the computer to perform the scans. “We appear to be obtaining accurate readings now of the Vor Devrees hull and sensor net. We are still unable to penetrate below the superstructure but this is more than I was able to achieve previously. I am in your debt, doctor.”

“Nonsense, T’Pol, I’m always happy to be of service,” said Phlox.

“What do your scans tell us, T’Pol?” asked Archer.

“That the Vor Devrees will be very hard to destroy. The outer skin of the ship is capable of regeneration from wounds and also extremely hard wearing. It is roughly six times tougher than our hull plating when polarised.”

“Roughly?” asked Archer, a slight smile on his lips. T’Pol had learnt that humans preferred a broad brush approach when dealing with numbers, however Vulcans did not and it still amused Archer to tease T’Pol occasionally.

“Five point eight six to be precise,” said T’Pol.

“Any weaknesses?” asked Archer.

“None that I can detect,” said T’Pol. “Although if we concentrate our fire in one area we might be able to cause enough damage to disable the ship. I doubt we could destroy it with the resources that we have at our disposal.”

“If I might make a suggestion,” said Phlox. “As the Vor Devrees is at least partially organic, perhaps we could attack it in an organic manner. Basically all organisms have the same building blocks, even the hull of a ship has to have cells and DNA. I suspect it also has to have an immune system. Perhaps we could give the Vor Devrees a cold.”

“A cold?” asked Archer. “How will that help us?”

“Well I was actually only using cold as a metaphor. A virus. We could infect the ship’s hull with a virus and hopefully it would infect the computer as well. That should disable the ship fairly effectively if your experience on the Rel Sevanne is anything to go by. Of course I will have to engineer a suitable virus and I’m not sure I’ll have it ready in two hours time when the Vor Devrees arrives. Not only that we will have to work out a method of delivering the virus, but perhaps one of Mr Reed’s modified torpedoes could be used, hmm?” said Phlox.

“We don’t have many options at the moment, Doctor. Currently our chances of beating that thing with conventional weapons are slim to nil. Get to work and keep me updated on your progress. Make use of any resources that you need,” said Archer.

“Might I borrow the Sub-commander, her insights into the hull make-up could be very useful,” said Phlox.

“I would be happy to assist you,” said T’Pol.

“Good, I’ll let the Rel Sevanne know that we might have a way to defeat this thing,” said Archer.

****

Reed walked into the hangar of the Rel Sevanne, padd in hand. The Tien had been training for this day for the past three centuries; Reed had been handed a set of instructions and told to go to the hanger. He was apprehensive to say the least. Around him Tien were busy carrying out pre-flight checks on the Rel fighters, getting ready to launch. Everyone in the room knew the odds were that they wouldn’t be coming back. Assuming that the Vor Devrees still had a similar number of fighters as it had at their last encounter, the Tien would be outnumbered three to one.

The problem for the Tien wasn’t fighters, it was pilots. The hangar was full of Rel fighters but there just weren’t enough trained Tien to fly them. Trip had ordered every fighter pilot that he had down to the hangar and it still wasn’t enough, there would only be five squadrons. They were also down one Squadron Leader so Reed had volunteered his services. Trip had protested but in the end he’d had no choice but to let the Lieutenant do as he had suggested, there just wasn’t anyone else. It was a while since he’d flown any sort of fighter but he knew the tactics behind this type of combat and to be honest the Tien needed every man they could get.

At least now they had a fighting chance. The Captain had called a little over an hour ago to inform them of the doctor’s efforts to come up with a virus to disable the Vor Devrees. They just had to hold them off until the virus was ready and protect the Rel Sevanne. Enterprise would do its best to get into weapons range of the Vor Devrees. Trip had shown a new side of himself when he had begun analysing attack patterns with Nils Fen and Lieutenant Reed. Despite the fact that he’d never led an army into battle before, he was issuing orders like a pro and showing leadership qualities that Reed had only ever had the briefest of glimpses of previously. Which reminded him that he had his own command to take up.

“Lieutenant Reed reporting for duty,” he said approaching the Tien Flight Commander. She looked up from a padd that she held and took in the man who stood in front of her.

“Lieutenant,” acknowledged the Commander. “I’m Sun Neer Gen Tespin, Flight Commander. I’m glad you’re here. You’re to take command of third squadron. Your fighter is over there, Crin Ad will escort you, she’s in your squadron so can show you the ropes.”

Crin Ad smiled at Reed, “Crin Ad Var Suriad, at your service Lieutenant,” said the young Tien girl. Reed estimated her age to be about seventeen. “If you would like to follow me I will take you to your fighter.”

Reed indicated for her to show him the way and followed her to the bay which housed his fighter. Crin Ad introduced the rest of the squadron which included her brother, Tran Est Dur Suriad, who had to be at least two years younger than his sister. He proudly told Reed how the Patriarch had ordered him to go home when he arrived at the hangar but he had disobeyed the order and stayed. The Patriarch had eventually relented and allowed him to stay. Tran Est was in the Tien equivalent of a cadet corps and had logged hundreds of hours in the simulator, which was more than Reed could say.

“I’m pleased to meet you all. I realise that I’m not Tien but my loyalty is to your Patriarch just as yours is. It is my foremost intention to get us all out of this alive but you know the odds we’re up against. Our aim is to take down as many Vor fighters as we can, but I don’t want to see any of you being reckless. The longer you can survive, the more Vor fighters you can take out, the better chance the Rel Sevanne has of getting through this in one piece. Every fighter we take down is one less for the Rel Sevanne to worry about,” said Reed. “Go to your fighters and make sure everything is ready. We launch in twenty minutes.”

A resounding chorus of “yes, sirs” was followed by the pilots running to their craft and making ready for launch. “I hope this works,” said Reed to himself before he too went to his fighter and performed the pre-flight checks. A siren wailed around the hangar to signal that it was time to launch. He closed the canopy of his fighter and readied himself for takeoff.

“Take care, Malcolm. Make sure you come back in one piece,” said Trip, over the radio.

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to take any unnecessary risks,” replied Reed.

“I’m glad to hear it, now go give ‘em hell,” said Trip.

****

“I have further information on the second ship in the vicinity of the Rel Sevanne,” said Corvas. “I was able to tap into their computer. Its security measures were primitive. They are from a planet called Earth and the crew is mostly human. From my scans, it seems that the Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne is also a human.”

“It’s beginning to make some sense now,” said Exarch Nordis. “The human ship is protecting one of its own.”

“It seems that way,” said Corvas. “We must therefore exterminate them too.”

“The Rel Sevanne is our first priority,” replied the Exarch.

“Of course. The human ship is weak, it poses no threat to us. Once we have destroyed our primary target we will destroy those who fraternised with the heretics,” said Corvas.

“And once we have destroyed the Rel Sevanne we can move on to the next universe,” said Nordis. “I will instruct the engineers that we will need the inter-universe jump engines soon.”

“Launch the Vor fighters and tell them to aim for the centre of the ship,” said Corvas. “If we can take out the computer room, if we can kill Trip En Ath Tucker, then the Rel Sevanne will be disabled and an easy target for the Vor Devrees. Just like we killed the Rel Ishtari,” said Corvas.

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

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