Disclaimer: Paramount owns Enterprise, Archer, Trip, Malcolm etc. But at least *I* give them something exciting to do!
Title: Who Trespass Against Us
Author: NorthernStar
Status: Work in progress
Rating: This chapter and most others – PG-13.
Warnings: Some violence and mature themes in later chapters.
Summary: First contact with alien encounters can lead to misunderstandings. One member of the Enterprise crew is about to find out how dangerous that can be…
Notes: First, probably only, Enterprise fic. I'm not that big a fan of the show to be honest, but…here I am.
Who Trespass Against Us
By NorthernStar
Prologue – First Impressions
There had been nothing but stars for days. No habitable planets, no comets, no alien transmission, just dull empty space. The general hard slog of maintenance, routine duty and the long boring hours of system checks without the thrill and excitement of a discovery had begun to affect the crew. They were tired and strained. Archer could only hope something interesting would happen soon.
"Captain?" Lt Hayden's voice sounded unnaturally high with nervous excitement. "I'm picking up a ship out there!"
Archer stood up. "Can you put it on screen?"
The black starscape on the screen blinked as the focus shifted. Archer felt a sudden rush of excitement as the orange coloured ship came into view. He could almost hear the collective intake of breath from the bridge crew at the sight of the newcomer.
Be careful what you wish for…He thought as the ship turned and stopped in the Enterprise's path.
T'Pol turned in her chair. "It's a Dayohsi transport, Captain."
He frowned at the unfamiliar name. "Dayohsi?"
"They are in the Vulcan database." Without a shred of inflection in her voice, she managed to imply that he should be aware of this. "Their technological advancement is on par with your own."
"Are they hostile?"
"That is highly improbable. The Dayohsi are a very peaceful and enlightened people."
Archer raised an eyebrow. That was high praise indeed, coming from a Vulcan. "Then I guess we'd better say hello." He replied, feeling a thrill of excitement. This was what they were out here for and it more than made up for the long days of empty space. He looked at his communications officer. "Hoshi?"
The ensign tapped on the controls. "The channels open, sir."
Archer straightened up. "This is Captain Archer of the star ship Enterprise." He began.
"Hiss shay co *click* moc tanna mat," came the lilting reply.
Archer looked at Hoshi, who was stabbing at her console. "Processing the language, captain. It shouldn't take much longer."
"Sot mam *tic* ta you. One/I welcome…us/our space."
Archer smiled, hoping what he thought he heard, he really did hear. "Thank you."
"I am Sinbac*click*."
"It's an honour to meet you. I apologise for travelling through your space, but we are explorers." Archer said, diplomatically. "From a planet we call Earth."
"Sorrys' are not necessary. All are welcome in our space."
Archer found himself smiling. "Thank you."
"On behalf of all, please, make welcome on our world."
"The Dayohsi pride themselves on their hospitality." T'Pol told him. "To refuse would be an insult."
Trip grinned, "It is Christmas, cap'n…"
The captain paused a moment, then sat down in his chair. "Mr Mayweather, set a course…"
Chapter One - Shore Leave
The bar was hot, almost oppressively so. The air, what little there was of it, was full of cloying smoke that stuck in his lungs. Lt. Malcolm Reed took a long drink from the fruity concoction that Trip had ordered in to try to wet his dry throat. He really didn't want to be here.
The Enterprise had made first contact with the Dayohsi just over a week ago and the government had extended their hospitality. Since the 'holidays' – the umbrella term for several defunct but still celebrated religious celebrations – were almost here, Archer had decided to accept. It had been a long while since the crew had shore leave and the Dayohsi were refreshing different from the other races they'd met. They appeared to be as warm and friendly as T'Pol believed, welcoming the crew to their home with genuine delight at being visited. Reed had still insisted on full security during all the meetings and discussion, until Archer had told him – ordered him – to stand down saying that it wasn't necessary. And after a week, even Malcolm was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that the Dayohsi might actually be as open, welcoming and unthreatening as they appeared. He allowed himself to relax, if only a little.
Despite this, though, Malcolm would have preferred to provide security details to all shore leave parties and for himself, to stay behind on Enterprise to oversee repairs and upgrades to the ships weapons systems. But while Archer had agreed to allow security personnel to watch the crew, informally, while they were on the planet, everyone was expected to take some shore leave, even him.
"Is it compulsory, sir?" He had asked the captain.
Archer had looked momentarily surprised. "No…but I'm sure you could use the downtime. We all could."
"Then, with your permission, sir, I'd like to remain on Enterprise. There are a number of systems I need to-"
The commander had butt in before the captain could reply. "Oh, to hell with that, Lootenant. It's Christmas! The upgrades can wait." Tucker clapped him on the shoulder, "you're takin' some time off."
Reed had straightened up even more. "Is that an order, sir?"
"The hell it is." Trip grinned. "Don't feel so bad. I promise you'll have fun."
But he wasn't.
And it didn't feel much like Christmas, or any holiday. Not that they ever had. Holidays were family affairs, and Malcolm had never really felt part of one, even if his mother had seemed just like all the other mothers and his sister was just the same as everyone else's. And his father…
His father had been stricter, and more distant than his friends', but not outrageously so.
No, it wasn't anyone's fault. Family was just…a concept, and maybe Malcolm was a little more honest about it than most.
Laughter broke his thoughts, and he took another mouthful of his drink. The pale-skinned woman sitting with him and Trip - or maybe that should be just Trip since she was completely ignoring Reed - was tall and looked almost human. The only real differences were wider nostrils and the gummy tissue in her mouth that served as her species teeth. The latter causing the woman to pronounce Tucker's nickname like 'Treep'; it was starting to get on Malcolm nerves, but Trip didn't seem to mind. In fact, he appeared quite taken with her and the pair was engaged in a conversation about Earth.
The pale skinned Dayohsi woman took Tucker's hand. Reed saw the surprise, and not a little delight, flicker in the Commander's eyes. He hid a smile, pleased that at least one of them was having the fun that Trip had promised.
"Come, Treep." She said in that odd lilt. "Let me show you the So*click*Tac…."
Trip looked blank as the Universal Translator failed. "The what?"
"I show you."
He shot Malcolm a look. You be alright?
"I'll be fine, sir."
The pair stood and Trip spared a moment to throw a grin at his friend before following the woman.
Left alone, Malcolm ordered another of the blue drinks, "graffa" the barman had called it, and twisted around in his seat to watch the entertainment. This seemed to comprise of a catlike person of indiscriminate gender crawling and stretching on the small stage at the very centre of the bar. He supposed the – man?- was performing some sort of provocative, sexually charged dance, certainly the patrons of the bar, almost all Dayohsi, were watching like salivating dogs responding to Pavlov's bell.
A low barely audible bass music reached Reed's ears and the cat…creature…began swaying, undulating; creating a deep, throaty purr. The sound seemed to reach inside him and vibrate his bones. Reed shivered, watching now with real interest. The cat's hips moved back and forth, the creature's waist twisting and turning... He was aware of the music in the background, reaching a crescendo. His heart rate hiked in response. His eyes never moved from the dancer.
Then with a flourish, the sound cut off and the creature froze, staring directly at Reed.
Malcolm heard his own intake of breath and forced himself to begin breathing again, surprised that he'd held his breathe at all.
The creature broke its eye contact and turned. It almost seemed to melt back into the darkness of the bar.
A little flustered, Reed lowered his head and finished his drink, swallowing down the cooling blue liquid. His heartbeat took a while to slow. He couldn't believe what he'd just felt. It was…indescribable; not exactly awe and not quite…erotic.
"You watch…?"
He turned at the voice. The 'creature' stood behind him. She/he was about his own height, with the faintest downy fur covering every inch. She/he/it blinked, drawing Reed's attention to the narrow slits of his/her cat eyes. They dilated.
"Yes…" He heard himself reply. "It was, um…very interesting."
"You are…different." It pointed to his hand, stopping before it could brush against his pinkish yellow skin.
Reed straightened in his chair, surprised by her touch. Her..? The word had popped into his head, instinctively despite the lack of sexual characteristics.
"I am Ko." She said.
He found himself smiling. "Malcolm." He replied. "Malcolm Reed."
***
The So*click*Tac turned out to be the sunset. But it wasn't like any sunset Trip had ever seen. The seas on the Dayohsi home world were thick with silica and as the orange sun came lower in the sky, the seas shimmered like fireflies on an autumn night. It was completely, astoundingly beautiful.
The woman at his side, Chu*tic*, was watching his reaction. What was probably nothing more than nature to her, was awe inspiring to him. She smiled, fascinated by his wonder.
Trip looked at her. "That was…that was…" There wasn't a word to describe it.
Chu*tic* sighed. "I wish you could see it at the moon eclipse. It is much better."
"Can't imagine anythin' toppin' that."
She looked blankly at him. Damn translators…
"I mean, I think it was pretty much perfect the way it was." He explained.
She shivered. Now that the sun was down, the temperature was dropping rapidly. Trip felt the cool breeze chill him.
"Are you cold?"
She nodded. "Yes." She took his hand. "Come. We can walk in the biomes."
The woman led him back to the main complex, but took a different turning at the central plaza. Chu*tic* was obviously proud of the central city, and her people's hospitality, and she delighted in showing him everything. The biomes were spectacular, filled with strange and exotic plants and animals, but they were also crowded with visitors, both from the Enterprise and other worlds. Chu*tic* grew tired of the crowds and lead him out again. It had grown very dark while they'd been inside and when Trip looked up, he could see the bright clusters of stars in the Dayohsi heavens. Theirs was such a beautiful world.
After a while, Trip realised they were heading back towards the domestic habitats. Huge cloisters divided the sections and as they crossed a small river way, Trip recognised the decorative bridge they crossed as the one he and Malcolm had used when they arrived. It wasn't far from the bar where he and Malcolm had first met Chu*tic*. He wondered if he should pop in to tell his friend not to wait up.
Trip was just about to suggest it when he saw a knot of people ahead. Dayohsi men mainly, all leaning in to get a better view. He took Chu*tic*'s hand and hurried over, feeling a thin trickle of anxiety run through his gut. As they got closer, he saw a pair of feet sticking out of the crowd.
Starfleet issue boots…
He was running in an instance, pushing through the throng, tossing 'excuse me' and 'sorry' as he did so.
At the centre, a Dayohsi man was kneeling over someone.
Trip came around him…
And Malcolm Reed's pale, shocked face stared up at him.
You guessed it. To be continued…