STAR TREK
ENTERPRISE
NOTHING TO FIRE
By: Andrew L.
Edited by: Stephanie N.
Note: This story is based on one originally written back in October of 2001 that I previously had on here. I had no idea what I was doing, and made many atrocious mistakes. I couldn't even get the dog's name right. Admittedly, I didn't care for Enterprise that much at the time, and that's a major reason as to why so many things were wrong, but grammatically speaking it was due to an actual lack of interest in writing. It was the first time I had willingly written a story, and it was solely due to wanting to have an action story with Enterprise, without it dealing with the typical soap-operatic drama they padded the episodes with. It was absolutely horribly written, but to my surprise none of the reviews were scathing. I had forgotten about the story for several years, and thought it would have been deleted from long ago, but I was surprised to find that it was still there, in all of its haphazard, naive, and god-awful glory…
Over the years, my interest in writing has slowly been growing, and my skill evolving, and due to the reviews from 2001 being mostly positive (plot-wise) and helpful, I decided to take a cue from Hollywood and give it a remake. I have even less appeal for Enterprise now, but felt this needed to be done as a mild form of redemption. I hope this version is seen as far superior, and is more enjoyable as it lacks the distraction that the previous version was inundated with, due to its abysmal grammar. Oh, and it's still a short story - although it turned out to be longer than I thought it would, and shouldn't be taken too seriously, especially the end. Of course, the original version is now no longer on here, I had to delete it in order to to post this due to the rule about not having multiples of the same story.
By the way, this was set to take place during the first two seasons of Enterprise.
---
"Captain, you're needed on the bridge!" a young Ensign stoutly bellows into the communications unit, her finger pressed tightly on the SEND button.
"What is it, Ensign Bilby?" replied Captain Archer, his voice concerned but calmed so as to always seem analytical to the rest of the crew.
"Bixby, sir," corrected the Ensign, "Captain, we've run into some sort of minefield. Lieutenant Reed said that if we go any further, we will be trapped as we attract them," Ensign Bixby says, her inexperience taking hold of her voice, as she copes with what is her first potentially violent engagement, "and he's gone to check a malfunction with one of the cannons."
"I will be right there, keep me informed of any update," Captain Archer switches off the comm. unit, immediately swinging his legs out of bed and nearly knocking Porthos in the head.
"Sorry, boy," he casually says to the young Beagle, Porthos acknowledges his apology in a simple groan before moving up to the Captain's pillow to go back to sleep.
"Captain!" Captain Archer barely getting his uniform zipped before the wall's mounted comm. unit shrieks in his ears. His eyes squint tightly, but despite having the fleeting desire to not hear another spoken word for years at this moment, he must know what is going on.
"Report, Ensign," he wearily says.
"I've got a ship on sensors, they're coming into flank our port bow!" Ensign Mayweather, Enterprise's young, nonetheless senior, pilot quickly relays to his Captain, his voice stern and calm; Enterprise's battle history had left him expecting surprise attacks anymore.
Captain Archer quickly arrives on the bridge, taking his seat in the centrally-placed Captain's chair as enemy weaponry strikes a warning blow, barely rocking the ship as a result.
"On screen," he immediately commands.
The wall panel abruptly flicks into life as it displays the best view of the attacking vessel. It's a long, narrow craft with a steeply angled nose, and covered in mostly flat surfaces. Its widest parts come at the end, the thruster housings extend into wing-shapes giving the ship the appearance of an attacking foe's raised arms, poised to strike.
"T'Pol, does anything look familiar?" Captain Archer's question provokes no immediate response, instead only prompting her eyebrow to rise as she begins to scan the vessel, eventually replying with a very unbothered sounding, "No."
The vessel on the main viewer spontaneously maneuvers, coming about to fire at Enterprise. Its weapons appear in bursts of cylindrical yellow cores, surrounded by a hazy blue aura. These blasts strike the Enterprise much harder, no longer warning shots, but Mayweather had polarized the ship before Archer had arrived. The Enterprise goes undamaged.
"Captain Archer," Malcolm Reed's voice interrupts the bridge crew's focus on the attack, "I can't get the cannons to come online, without them, we are sitting ducks."
Left with a quick decision of what to do, the Captain flips a switch on his chair's control pad.
"This is the Earth Starfleet vessel known as the Enterprise. Please stand down, we wish you no harm and are only seeking contact with ali-" Captain Archer's attempt at first contact quickly fails, as the attacking marauders fire another volley into Enterprise's side.
"It would seem first contact is not an option today, Captain," T'pol's attempt at sarcasm had failed, as it usually did for her, resulting only to sound condescending to the rest of the crew. Captain Archer gives T'Pol a silent, but scorning glance before focusing his view back on the screen. The attacking vessel had become still, and its weapons no longer erupted with yellow and blue fury. The crew looks on in confusion.
"T'Pol, repeat my hailing mess-" Captain Archer was yet again interrupted as the ship rocked violently and circuits overloaded into showers of sparks raining from the ceiling. The attacking ship had not fired, however.
"Report!" Archer's voice cried out.
"Sir, two of the mines came alive and struck us on the starboard nacelle. No reports of casualties or hull punctures, but the warp control systems are locked up. We're left with impulse."
"Fire a spatial torpedo!" Captain Archer orders, his voice furious.
Ensign Mayweather reaches over to the firing controls, no hesitation in his movements, and hits the button to fire a torpedo. Nothing happens. Confused, but relentless, he repeats his steps of arming the torpedo and attempting to fire it. Finally, the console acknowledges a fired torpedo, the crew's ears welcome the alert tone as it beeps from the helm. The torpedo immediately comes on the view screen; its slow but unyielding travel to the alien ship leaves the crew in silence. Inevitably the small weapon strikes the enemy ship's hull, the lack of oxygen in space leaving only electrical flashes as the torpedo's circuitry overloads to indicate its explosion.
"Scans show minimal signs of damage," T'Pol reports in her monotone expression, leaving the crew to question to themselves if their aggravation stems from being overpowered, or T'Pol's cold lack of concern.
The Enterprise violently shakes, knocking several crewmembers to the floor, Captain Archer tightly braces the arm-rests, but his visual focus on the ship never trails away. Mines began to continually bombard the ship from both sides. The attacks quickly become too much for the overwhelmed ship and outer hull panels become charred and indented by each impact.
"Hull polarization is failing, Captain, and torpedoes are completely unresponsive," Malcolm Reed reports, making his entrance onto the now debris laden bridge.
"Suggestions, Lieutenant?" Captain Archer asks in response.
"Pardon my interruption, sir, but I suggest we retreat at full impulse," T'Pol casually drones from her station.
"There's no chance we could get away at impulse," Captain Archer quickly dismisses the idea.
"Barring any further interruption, Captain, I do have a suggestion," Malcolm Reed glares at T'Pol momentarily, his tolerance of her still very low as he loathed every one of her seemingly cowardly suggestions, "but it's risky."
"Do it now, you have my confidence," Archer gave no pause, his faith in Reed's ability to effectively attack an enemy had been earned throughout Enterprise's foray into deep space.
"Commander Tucker, please meet me in the shuttle bay with a pair of spatial torpedoes," Malcolm Reed commanded over the comm. unit to engineering.
"Captain?" Commander Tucker inquired in reply.
"Just do it, Trip!" Captain Archer promptly commanded.
Malcolm Reed, Commander Tucker, and Tucker's subordinates rushed to rendezvous in the shuttle bay. At the helm, Ensign Mayweather begins to lose his grip on his calm as his maneuvers fail to keep Enterprise safe from the mines. His movements send many of the mines overshooting their target crashing into other mines, but the shockwaves make maneuvering just as difficult as getting hit. The enemy vessel continues to float idly away from the minefield, watching its prey fight for survival. The mines' flat and round bodies are difficult for Ensign Mayweather to view at various angles, his only consistent hope lies in the faint arming indicator lights that are visible on each side of the mines' housings.
"Captain, in order for this plan to work, we will have to approach the enemy vessel head-on at full impulse," Malcolm Reed's voice hastily reports over the comm. unit.
"Fine. Mayweather, set an approach and wait for his signal," Captain Archer calmly orders the frustrated Ensign, attempting to not disturb his focus, "you're doing fine, Ensign."
Ensign Mayweather's heightening anxiety leads sweat, forming from his grip, to drip off of the analog control sticks, but his unrivaled skills of the ship's crew shine through as he maneuvers the bulky behemoth into a dead-center path towards the enemy vessel, mines still fighting for the chance to strike Enterprise's hull as they trail behind.
"Full impulse, Ensign," Archer cautiously ordered. Full impulse is difficult to maneuver at, they both knew, but it was essential.
The enemy vessel rumbles to life, as the alien marauders take apparent notice in their suicidal prey. Taking their approach as a challenge, the enemy vessel begins to speed towards the Enterprise, unwavering in their path. The ships draw closer, the mines continue to cause shockwaves behind the Enterprise as they collide amongst one another, and Enterprise's crew awaits their fate with baited breath. Blood seeps from Ensign Bixby's hand clenched around the hard-edged deck railing.
"Captain, when we're within 100 meters, a button will begin to flash on your chair console. Immediately press it, and inform Mayweather to pull back on the flight controls as hard as he can," Commander Tucker's voice seemed to echo across the bridge as they approached the enemy vessel.
"200 meters… 175 meters… 150 meters…" T'Pol keeps a steady count of the distance between the closest edges of the ships, "100 meters!"
The button on Captain Archer's armrest console flashes to life, prompting him to vehemently press it as though applying all of his strength will make it anymore effective. Beneath the ship, a shuttlecraft begins to deploy, the arm craning backwards slightly due to the speed; shuttles are recommended to only be deployed when stopped, or on maneuvering thruster flight only. The shuttle houses a pair of spatial torpedoes, armed and ready to be detonated by a kinetic reaction. Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed watch nervously from the air-locked control booth within the hanger as the shuttle passes the doors.
"Pull back, Ensign!" Captain Archer bellows towards the helm, Ensign Mayweather forces the controls back as far as possible.
The Enterprise jerks upwards leading it to a path that barely misses the far edges of the enemy ship's angular nose. Commander Tucker flips open a safety cover, and depresses the button that lay beneath it. The shuttle, innerly laden with torpedoes, detaches from the docking arm and continues on a path toward the enemy vessel. Enterprise's flat underside provides just enough clearance from the upper side of the vessel to not hit it, until the shuttle docking arm scrapes across the top of the hull, eventually breaking off and darting backwards towards the cache of eager mines. The mines begin to explode in a chaotic chain reaction and engulf the entire group, leaving the enemy vessel's forward section completely immersed in violent shockwaves. The Enterprise speeds past the vessel without further harm. Meanwhile, the shuttle inevitably makes contact with the center hull below the enemy ship, and explodes on impact. The combination of being overwhelmed by their own mines, the spatial torpedoes, and the little supply of anti-matter aboard the shuttle as a fuel source leave the ship in a rampant cataclysm, eventually causing its hull to burst open from internal explosions. Fires erupt from the ship's hull, its air source providing the fuel for the raging inferno to be visible in space before being promptly choked into mere smoke by the vacuum.
Portions of the mysterious vessel begin to break apart from one another, until finally becoming engulfed in a spectacular electrical burst that causes the ship to explode apart in a field of relatively tiny debris; nothing of significance left of the mysterious attackers. The resulting shockwave reaches Enterprise, knocking the crew around inside and disrupting the ship's impulse thrusters. Its perpetual motion leaves it lumbering through space, angled off its proper axis, as the crew regains their footing.
"T'Pol! Report on the vessel!" Archer's voice erupts from behind his chair, the Captain lies on the floor braced for any further shockwaves.
"Co-completely abolished, sir," T'Pol attempts to steadily report, but her shock is noticeable in her voice.
"Casualty report, Ensign Bilb-" Captain Archer begins to order, but cuts himself off as he lays sight on the young Ensign, lying unconscious at the foot of her station. He regains his placement in the Captain's chair, wrought with guilt that he must help the ship get back to normal rather than tending to a single person. Malcolm Reed forces his way into the bridge through malfunctioning doors, rushing over to the Captain's side.
"Sir, the plan was successful; back-up sensors don't show any other ships in the area. Trip's in engineering working on the engines, and there are no breaches reported," Malcolm can barely speak it all, taking deep breaths between each report.
"Good to know, Malcolm, get Ensign Bilby to sickbay," concern fully evident on Captain Archer's face left no hesitation in Malcolm Reed, he quickly runs over and carries the Ensign off the bridge. As other crewmembers recover and helm their stations, Captain Archer quickly becomes inundated with reports from around the ship, and slowly but surely Enterprise recovers.
---
"Doctor… Phlox…?" the young woman's eyelids slowly began to rise, but are reluctant with the flood of light.
"Ooh, excuse me" Phlox softly says, hastily sliding the observational lamp away from her bed, "How are you feeling? You had quite the nasty bump on the head."
"I'm feeling fine, but thirsty…" she meekly says.
"Here you go, Ensign Bilby," Captain Archer, holding out a cup of water, smiles in consolation, and in happiness that his crewman is unharmed.
"I'm sorry for not keeping on my feet, sir," the nervous Ensign shyly hides behind her cup.
"No worries, Ensign, none of us know what to expect on our first combat engagement. You did fine, in fact, I hear rumors of a commendation," Captain Archer's words cause the Ensign to choke on her water slightly, breaking into a coughing fit.
"Easy, Bilby. You earned it," Captain Archer smiles at her, the Ensign is silent; apparently lost for words, and he turns to leave sickbay.
"Captain Archer, sir," the Ensign halts him, "it's Ensign Bixby, with an 'X'," she says with affirm filling her voice.
"So, it is. Carry on, Ensign Bixby," Captain Archer nods to her, and leaves sickbay. Ensign Bixby finishes off her water, placing the glass on a nearby cabinet, and drifts off to sleep as a feeling of pride cascades through her mind.
---
In Captain Archer's quarters, he consoles his weary pet beagle, Porthos, with a few tiny pieces of cheese.
"Don't eat it so fast, you know what cheese does to you," he attempts to ease the spoiled pooch, "don't get used to this, you're only getting these to make up for the rough day."
Captain Archer's own words seem to distract him at the mention of a rough day. He began to contemplate how many more 'rough days' would be in store for this mission, and how many more hostile species would rather play with them as though they were a mere mouse in a den of lions. The thoughts vanished, however, as his quarters' doorbell chimed.
"Damage report, sir," Commander Tucker's voice is grim, but a friendly smirk manages to form on his face at the sight of Porthos' feast, "it's gonna take me a few days to get the warp reactor back online, but we'll have at least half impulse tomorrow."
"Good, be sure to let the crew get some rest. They'll need it…" Captain Archer tries to hide the somberness in his voice, but he knows that Trip understands, "will you be at the screening tomorrow? It's your favorite classic series."
"Is the Engineer in the episode?" Commander Tucker asks; a gleam of hopefulness takes over his face.
"I don't think so, he wasn't mentioned much on the program-"
"Well count me out," Commander Tucker interrupts, adapting a Scottish drawl, "I just can't do it, Cap'n. There's not enough cameo!"
"I think it's best not to attempt to copy it, Trip," Archer's sarcasm noticeably slightly disappoints the Commander, but Commander Tucker shrugs it off.
"I suppose you're right... Well, I have relays to repair, and crewmen to order around. Good night, Captain," Trip gives Porthos a pat on the head, and makes his exit.
Captain Archer stares out his window into the eternal blackness, dotted with stars that could only be faintly seen from Earth.
"Good night," he says, turning out his light.