Disclaimer: Star Trek: Enterprise is the property of Paramount; I am just borrowing the characters and setting for a little while.
I am new to the Star Trek Enterprise universe, having been without a television since the year 2000. The Dvd's were a recent acquisition and have inspired me to rewrite canon.
This was to be a finale fix… but it turned into an adventure, murder mystery.
My series seriously departs from canon and is admittedly AU… as many are.
By the way, this hasn't been beta'd, this is my 12th submission after being away from writing for 15 years. Reviews are welcome.
Feel free to post these to other Trip/T'Pol sites. Just attribute them correctly.
* * * * * *
Later that same evening...
2230 hours
Soon after arriving at the Reed household and retreating to the guest room, Archer sat rocking on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
The dream was over, along with his career and his life. He was just received a call from Starfleet. It was formal. He had been charged as an accessory to murder.
His fists clenched.
After all the chances he had taken...the lives he had destroyed. It was all that Vulcan's fault. He raged against his father's voice demanding payment for his sins. That woman had brought her mate back from the dead just to torture him, to remind him over and over that she was not his, could never be his. She would rather die than allow him to possess her.
It just wasn't fair... everything he had done, he had done for her.
Finally he pulled himself together. There were calls to make and he had to make sure no one heard him make them.
* * * * *
Phlox wandered the Tucker house. He had come downstairs for a bite to eat and had encountered Elizabeth sitting at the kitchen table quietly working in her coloring book. This just felt like a good time to talk with her about the man in the dark. Elizabeth needed very little prodding and soon was talking all about her constant companion.
The nightmares were becoming more and more disturbing, taking her closer and closer to seeing the death of her father. At first it had just been a face. Now she was seeing the plasma conduits in a crazed man's hands. The nightmare had awoken her earlier and she had retreated to the brightly lit kitchen to dispel the terrors of the dark.
It took about an hour before Phlox was satisfied that the little girl was serious about her assignment and wasn't imagining things. If what she said was true, action had to be taken before irreparable damage occurred to both her and her baby brother. Elizabeth promised to remain in the nursery while he talked to her parents and advised her to rest as best she could until he came to get her once he had his answer.
He closed the door to the nursery. There was still the possibility that this was all a childhood fantasy... but he wouldn't take that chance. Walking down the hall, he knocked at the bedroom door hoping Trip and T'Pol were still awake. If they weren't, it didn't matter; he was prepared to wake them up if necessary. This was a matter that had to be taken care of quickly, hopefully before the night was over.
Trip answered the door barefoot, dressed only in pajama bottoms. His hair was tousled and he looked like he had just woken up from a sound asleep. "What do you need, doc? It's late, for goodness sake. Couldn't this wait until morning?"
"I'm afraid it can't, Commander. The three of us need to talk about Elizabeth as soon as possible. Frankly I have learned something that is very worrying."
T'Pol moved out from under the quilt and motioned him into the bedroom; she patted the bed beside her. "What's wrong, doctor?"
His words came out in a rush. "I was just talking with your daughter in the kitchen. I was astounded when I heard her story. This is truly amazing."
"What are you talking about?" Trip seated himself on his side of the bed.
"Elizabeth just told me about the man in the dark she keeps going on about. She is carrying the mind, the katra if you will, of our Commander Tucker. He is pressuring her to transfer him to you as soon as possible. If she is to be believed, Trip unintentionally transferred the human equivalent of his katra to his children just before he died. She says Trip fled his body when he saw the conduits coming towards him, ostensibly to avoid allowing his children feel him die just as we surmised. Since they would have been the last things he thought about in that split instant before contact, he could have traveled directly to them. They were in the tub having a bath, in direct skin contact with each other. It sounds as if he was inadvertently was split between them."
"What?" Their mother instantly panicked. T'Pol started to get up to go to her children but Phlox held her down.
Trip was appalled that anyone would endanger two defenseless children this way. "How can he do that to his own kids?"
The doctor continued. "Commander...I doubt he did it on purpose. He became lost once he left his body and sought the minds of those he knew best. Your two children now carry Trip's consciousness much like the katra vessels on Vulcan… but they can't continue to carry it for very much longer. Elizabeth says she has to give Trip to you some time soon or his spirit will disappear into the dark forever. I am assuming that she means that both she and her baby brother will absorb the 2 incomplete segments. I am worried about the damage this could cause."
"But how can she know how to transfer him to me, she's just a kid. If I remember right, requires an experienced priest at least."
"She says she knows a ritual that her father showed her. Commanders, she is very serious about this. She has specific instructions to get your permission before proceeding. If it proves to just be her imagination, it's frightening her enough to cause nightmares about the man she says murdered her father. If it's true and these children do carry his mind, we need to remove it before it does irreparable damage to them. I have no idea what kind of damage it's already done to Quaid let alone Elizabeth."
"I won't endanger the lives of my children. I can't say no. Doc, would Trip even know about what a katra is let alone how to transfer it to his children?" He turned to T'Pol. He never ever would have done something this risky. He would have died before he harmed his children like this.
T'Pol shook her head. "My husband was quite well read. Like you he learned to read Vulcan and read many of the ancient texts over the years. He thought they were quite amusing. I suppose he could have found a use for one of the more arcane passages during his last moments."
Trip turned to his doctor. "So, just how do we do this?"
"Commander… you don't seem to understand the implications of what this could do to you. No one has taken on a copy of his own katra. There would be 2 individuals in your mind, not just you alone. You can't know how that will effect you. The Captain carried the katra of Surack for a week and found it difficult at best."
"Yeah, I know all about katras. T'Pol carried mine for over a hundred years, it didn't seem to have hurt her. And I remember the captain carrying Surak. As far as carrying his katra, I had version of me in my head. Sim and I integrated eventually."
T'Pol put her hand on his arm. She was in tears with worry for him and for her children. "You can't even imagine the risk you're taking."
"Can you think of another way?" Trip had no question about the rightness of his decision. His kids meant too much to him to refuse. "Even if it is imaginary... she's having nightmares because of this. Anything we can do to make her feel safe has got to be considered."
"I take it that that is a yes, Commander?" Phlox asked hopefully.
"Yep. Can we do this here or do we need to be up on Enterprise?"
"Elizabeth wants to do it on the bed in your room. She said she needs a big space to spread out on." Phlox got up from the bed. "She's waiting in the nursery for me to give her your answer. She says it's easy for her to do… but then she's only 6 years old. She has no idea what this could mean to her or to you."
T'Pol looked at the man she had come to know over the last 2 weeks. "Are you sure about this?"
Trip took her hand. "Well, darlin', we'll manage somehow. I have come to terms with another person in my head before; I doubt this will be any different. If we leave him where he is… well, there is no alternative."
Trip turned to the doctor. "Let's get this over with."
The doctor hurried down the hall into the nursery and emerged leading a pajama clad Elizabeth by the hand and carrying a very sleepy Quaid in his arms. She ran up to Trip and put her nose right up to his.
"Daddy says I need permission from you to do this. Is it okay for me to give him to you?" She tilted her head as she looked up at him.
"Yes, darlin', it's okay." Trip smiled and pulled on her braid. He still hoped this was just something she had dreamed up but she seemed to treat this with as much seriousness as any 6 year old could muster.
Trip's daughter climbed up past her mother to the head of the bed, sitting in a meditative pose with pillows behind her back. She motioned for her father to lie down with his head on her feet. He realized he was only wearing pajama bottoms and made a motion like he was asking her it that was acceptable. She nodded and reached for her baby brother. Trip lay down on the bed, nestling his head on top of her crossed bare ankles. Elizabeth pulled off her brother's shirt and then her own. She sat Quaid's between her chest and Trip's head so the two could lean over together and touch his face. Taking her brother's hands in her own, she held them against her father's cheeks. Quaid grew quiet and sat motionless as she maneuvered him into place.
"Now, Daddy, you need to tell me about my ponies when I say to. It's the tigger.
Phlox's face scrunched up as he thought. "You mean the trigger?"
"Yeah, that's the word Daddy used. You just repeat it to me when I say to and he will come out of the dark. He said he doesn't want to hurt you on purpose but can't promise that he won't."
Trip looked over at his wife who sat nearby worriedly chewing on her lip. He took her hand and squeezed, letting it go after a moment.
"Daddy, it's the line at the very end, I know you remember it cuz I got you to sing it that day you came home. It's…" she closed her eyes so she could remember. She whispered "'You shall have… all the pretty little ponies.' That's all you need to say... the trigger." She opened her eyes and smiled down at him.
"Ohkay, baby. Tell me when you're ready." He took a deep breath and looked up at his daughter's face inches away from his own, her eyes closed. He sat watching her, hoping this was just a childhood fantasy and not the deadly serious situation she said it was.
Trip noted the scrunched up face of his 6 year old daughter as she worked to retrieve the memories of her father. He closed his eyes in preparation for the trigger phrase. He could feel the contact building little by little. It was amazing how skilled she already was for someone so young. Suddenly he could hear her say NOW through the bond she created.
He whispered the trigger phrase. "You shall have all the pretty little ponies."
Elizabeth's tiny crescent shaped nails dug into his cheek and he felt the full force of her tiny Vulcan augmented mind blasting out into his own.
Hell, she's already as powerful as her mother, and she's only freaking six years old.
He couldn't help but be amazed at the level of the intensity of her intellect and the control she could exert over it. He felt a sudden rush of images into his mind and pain that first came coursing through his cheek and then down the back of his head.
Elizabeth moved her feet from under his head.
Trip continued to lay on his back with his eyes closed willing the pounding to subside, waving off any offer of help from T'Pol. He found himself being amazed at the level of detail he was absorbing and how easily the katra integrated with his own mind.
Elizabeth left her brother seated on the bed with a pillow behind him while holding his father's hair.
Phlox left the room and returned after a few moments with the medical tricorder and bag he had left in the hallway. The doctor was relieved when the scan showed there hadn't been some sort of cerebral incident and Tucker was instead quite healthy albeit his vitals proved to be a bit elevated.
Elizabeth retreated to stand behind Phlox and watched Trip intently. She kept telling her mother that Daddy would be alright. She made it clear that her father was no longer waiting in the dark and was very satisfied by the results.
T'Pol checked on Quaid who was quite happy sitting at his father's head. He clung to Trip's hair, holding himself seated upright. T'Pol reassured herself that Trip wasn't in any sort of distress and went into the bathroom to get a couple of wet washcloths. It wasn't all that necessary but it made her feel like she was actually doing something.
Elizabeth ran after her mother chattering happily while pulling on her shirt. Phlox picked up her baby brother and grabbed his errant clothing. The infant chortled at the novelty of the doctor dressing him but his eyes were drawn over and over to his father lying nearby. Phlox finally laid the infant face down on his father's chest. Quaid pushed himself up on his fists and watched Trip's face.
T'Pol started wiping her husband's face and neck with a wet washcloth reassuring herself that he was alright.
Elizabeth reached over and put her hand on her mother's arm. "It's going to be fine, mother." She leaned over and kissed her father's cheek and ran down the hallway into the nursery.
Suddenly Quaid let out a high pitched laugh. Trip finally opened his eyes and looked up at the people standing watching him.
"Don't worry, I'm still alive and in one piece." He got up on his elbows, gathered in his son and kissed him on the forehead. He then nestled him against his throat after sitting up.
"Hey doc, I have a monster headache. Did you bring any painkillers with you?"
"I have them right here in my bag."
As Phlox searched for his hypospray, his wife leaned over and caressed his cheek. "What about you? Are you alright? Was it just our daughter's wild imagination?"
"It wasn't her imagination. By the way, that kid is as powerful telepathically as you are now as an adult."
"But she's only six."
"No shit. She's scary." Trip wasn't sure if his headache was from the information pumped into his brain or his blond haired munchkin trampling through his head unimpeded.
The doctor turned. "Was the procedure successful?"
Trip turned to Phlox. "If you mean do I think Trip's now in my head? Yeah, he's there. This wasn't at all like it was with Sim. My symbiont and I had a duplicate set of memories in addition to the drives, desires and emotions that 2 men would normally have. I took on his soul if you have to put words to it. This feels very different than that." He accepted a glass of water from T'Pol that she brought in from the bathroom.
"Ahhh… thank you, darlin'." He took a long sip. "I remember everything that happened to Trip, everything I was missing… the kids being born, his getting you to marry him, all the stuff from the Enterprise. The last few months were particularly interesting. I can understand why Trip never said a word to you, darlin'. He was dealing with some pretty hairy stuff coming from Archer. You would have been insulted with what he was saying to Trip." He shrugged and felt the hiss of a hypospray against his neck. His headache faded to a dull roar.
Phlox sat down on the bed beside him and ran the tricorder over his body again, paying particular attention to his head. "My scans don't show anything significant, Commander. Slightly higher neurotransmitter levels but nothing out of the ordinary considering what you went through."
Trip shrugged. "For a second it felt almost like Trip had found his home, like he simply was melting into me. There was no struggle like it was with Sim. Doc, what happens when 2 copies of the same person's soul exist in one universe?"
"There really is no way to know, Trip. It's never been quantified. I doubt that it's ever happened before." Phlox was just relieved that the transition had gone well. "I'm just glad it turned out to be less of a shock than I feared it would be."
Elizabeth stepped out from behind the doctor and moved towards her dad. She became somber and her face took on that serious look she had when she was in trouble. "I didn't mean for it to hurt you, Daddy. Now I feel bad." She sighed and reached out to her father.
Trip took her hand. "It's okay, punkin'. The headache won't last all that long. In fact I think you deserve a cookie for being so brave."
"Are there any cookies left, Mother? May I have one if there is?"
T'Pol pointed to the kitchen. "There are two left on the kitchen table. They are both yours if you hurry."
Phlox picked up his bag. "Well, Commanders… I am off to my room. I believe the two of you need some time to yourselves." He didn't want to come between them when they so obviously needed to talk. It didn't matter how lonely he was feeling at that moment.
"Doc, can you come back for a few minutes after the kids go back to bed?" Trip took on a serious tone. "There's something important we need to discuss."
"Alright Commander, I'll resettle our munchkin in her room after she has devoured her cookies and milk and then I'll be right back." Phlox closed the bedroom door. He had more cookies in the kitchen cupboard and Elizabeth deserved at least one of them for her act of bravery.
Trip turned to his wife and moved his son to his other shoulder. "We need to get off Earth as soon as we can. And we have to take Phlox with us."
T'Pol looked confused. "I don't see the need. And why bring Phlox?"
"I am betting Phlox knows how Trip was murdered and can prove it."
"You know something else, don't you?"
"Just wait a few minutes until Phlox comes back. Then we can talk about this. Should we put our son to bed or just keep him up? Where is he on his feeding schedule?"
T'Pol looked at the clock. "He has about 2 hours before he'll wake up again. I can change him and put him down for a little while." She picked up Quaid and walked into the nursery. Trip lay back down and waited quietly, concentrating on eliminated the pounding in his skull.
T'Pol and Phlox walked back into the room together and sat down on the bed to either side of where Trip lay.
Trip sat up on his elbows and looked up at Phlox. "Doc... was there anything at all about your examination of Nelson, Kelby and Trip that seemed out of the ordinary? Trip's hands weren't burned"
"Actually his hands had very minor redness, nothing like the injuries he should have had if he had handled the leads himself."
"What was your conclusion from your findings?"
"I concluded that Commander Tucker died under suspicious circumstances, quite probably murder. That's what I wrote on his death certificate regardless of what the Captain's opinion was. I didn't believe Kelby's story for a moment. The physical evidence just didn't match his scenario. The Captain knows that I believe Tucker was murdered."
"Just what happened when you gave your report to the Captain?"
Phlox's face took on a grim expression. "He insisted that Kelby's scenario was accurate and ordered me to change the death certificate. We ultimately agreed to disagree. The certificate was never changed. I submitted it to Starfleet's JAG office via my own encrypted channel. I didn't trust the Captain as far as I could throw him."
"So he believed there wasn't going to be an investigation?"
"The Captain quashed any attempts on my part to request one within Starfleet's usual channels. I finally went over his head and spoke with JAG's top Rear Admiral myself. Frankly I couldn't even look the man in the eye after that. I could barely stomach being in the same room with him tonight."
"You know something more, don't you Phlox. You never actually hated the man before now. What's changed?"
Phlox's face became flushed. He stammered. "I think you already suspect, Commander. The Captain came to me just before the funeral and asked how soon I could prepare Commander T'Pol to have another child; I think you get my meaning."
"Yeah, he'd been making cracks for months about the two of us, especially during this pregnancy. Then about 6 weeks ago, right after Quaid was born, he started flat out threatening my life."
T'Pol abandoned all hope of controlling her expression of revulsion. Her own captain, a man she had trusted for 10 years with her life and the lives of her crew, had not only tried to cover up her husband's murder, he had assumed she would turn to him in her grief. Small wonder Archer looked so upset when Trip was introduced to him earlier. Her mind went to the way he held Quaid... she shuddered.
T'Pol finally spoke. "I suppose Archer was in on the thefts as well?"
Trip nodded. "There are numerous suspicious transport manifests with Jonathan's timestamp. Malcolm didn't think they were incriminating at the time. Now he'll have to reevaluate that. If Archer's involved, we need to get off planet as soon as we can. Doc, I want you with us. I know Jonathan was my friend at one time... but if he is in any way involved in Trip's death, God help us. Until we know where this is going, the family compound on Vulcan will be the safest place for all of us. But we'll need to contact your father, T'Pol. He may be the only man that can protect us right now."
"Maybe we should be careful no matter where we decide to stay." It finally had sunk in to Phlox that he was now center stage in a murder investigation. "It wouldn't pay to become complacent." He tapped Trip on the knee. "And maybe he's not as good a friend as you think, Commander."
"Yeah, that's the same conclusion that Trip came to. When Archer brought in Nelson as his XO things really went to hell."
Phlox gave a sigh. "I'll go with you two to Vulcan then. Can your parents take care of the house here for a few weeks?"
"Heck yeah, they'd love having it all to themselves. They might even want to come along just to see the baby get his citizenship. They missed Elizabeth's naming ceremony and Dad said Momma wasn't a bit happy about it."
Trip lay back on the bed looking at the ceiling, mentally counting how many people their house on Vulcan would hold.
"The answer is 8 adults, dear...16 if they want to sleep in the great room. The children have their own room." T'Pol was ahead of him.
"Yeah, I remember…the next question I have is... how quickly can we get off planet?"
Phlox dismissed his concern with a wave. "Oh, that's the easy part. I can access the Interspecies Medical Exchange's transport ships that Starfleet maintains in orbit around Earth. They are quite large and ready to leave at a moment's notice, fully staffed. It should be easy to bring a shuttle directly here within the hour given my clearance level."
T'Pol had a horrid thought. "What if we aren't allowed off planet?"
The doctor nodded. "If Archer feels threatened, he could indeed impede our ability to travel. I believe the quicker we make our exit, the less chance he has of interfering. Let me make arrangements for departure as soon as transport can get here. If you can discuss the arrangements with your parents, I'll arrange proper accommodations for say 9 including the children and the Reeds. That should give us plenty of living space if your parents are to be on the same ship and have everyone survive the experience."
"Yeah we had better talk Malcolm and Hoshi into coming with us as well. I want Mal around in case this gets nasty. They are both handy with a phaser." Trip looked at the clock. The Reeds would still be awake. "Let me go wake up my folks and ask them what they want to do. They would never forgive me if I didn't let them at least have the choice to come with us."
* * * * *
Archer got up off the bed in the guest room. He went out into the darkness at the end of the hallway to check the light under the Reeds' door. Once the light went out he returned to his room. He switched on the comm and secured the channel against surveillance. He dialed the psychiatrist, Lockwood. He had to wait for what seemed like forever before the doctor answered.
Lockwood had been in bed and was angry at the interruption.
"Archer, it's the middle of the freaking night. What's so god damned important that you have to get me out of bed?" The psychiatrist was livid that Archer would call him so late. He had been instructed to never contact him at home.
"Gary…sshhh, keep it down. I just got a call from Starfleet's JAG office. I have just been notified that there are charges against me for suppression of evidence and as accessory to murder of Tucker based solely on what Phlox wrote in his affidavit."
"Damn it, Jon. This is something we hadn't planned on."
"Things are going to get worse. I had a meeting with my command crew this evening at the Tuckers. Reed has Tucker's engineering logs, security lock outs, comm and transporter logs. I only just found out from my source at Starfleet that Reed transferred all his evidence to JAG over a week ago without clearing it with me. Reed was with Section 31 and used his connections to get around my orders not to proceed. Both yours and Nelson's names are on the transporter log manifests. Security recovered all the bundles we left around Jupiter station from those logs alone. They have all the direct evidence they need to hang the lot of us."
"You were instructed to give nothing to security and to destroy what you could."
"Well, apparently Reed was way ahead of me; Tucker's log disk was missing from his desk when I checked the day of the accident. Those logs detailed every single item missing from Enterprise stores and Starfleet is matching them item by item." Archer became even more agitated. "Gary, I am betting those storage areas on Jupiter Station are about to be raided. Don't go near them. I am going to try to leave the system as soon as I can get back to Enterprise."
"Just calm down, Jon." Lockwood was becoming more and more fearful. "This will all just blow over, Jon. Just have patience."
"Blow over? I'm charged with accessory to a murder and you want me to stay calm?" Archer was turning purple and more out of control by the second.
"What's the matter, Jon?" The psychiatrist pulled back. "Did you acquire a conscience all of a sudden? You didn't have any problems when we first brought up the plan to kill Tucker. You wanted a clear playing field so you could go after his widow. Hey I heard through the grapevine that she's dying too... some sort of Vulcan death wish. Poor Jonathan..." His voice took on a pitying tone. "...can't get what he wants no matter what he does."
"You son of a bitch! I've never laid a hand on her. How dare you..." Archer was in shock that he would have this thrown in his face.
"You're the one who gave the order to have him killed. Jon. I even have it on tape. I can make sure you hang for it."
"I may have given the order but you carried it out. You're the murderer, Lockwood, not me."
"Which one of us is the bigger bastard, Jon...? Was it me for hiring the men to kill him... or you for giving the order?"
"I never meant to..."
"Meant to what, Jon? Have someone murdered? Steal millions from Starfleet? Become the biggest fraud in history? What's a single Vulcan's death to the great human hero, huh Jon?"
"I didn't know she would die. I would never have ordered Trip's death if I had known. She's meant to be mine, I don't want her dead. She should never have married him. She was mine to claim." His voice rose and he didn't seem aware he was probably waking everyone in the house with his shouting.
"You'll never claim her alive, Jon. Not ever. You couldn't stand the fact Tucker was brilliant and had the family you want. That baby can never be your son. Accept it, Archer. You've lost everything because of your own rage and lust. Even the Vulcan turned her back on you preferring to die. You're pathetic and you make me ill."
"God damn it, Lockwood. It's not like that."
"And just how is it, really? It doesn't matter anyway; I bet you couldn't function with her sexually even if you had her. Maybe I ought to ask Erica about your..."
"Erica had no clue who I was. She never cared what my feelings were." He glanced away. "Besides... she's out of her misery now."
"What do you mean 'she's out of her misery'? What have you done to her?"
"I kill anyone that gets in the way of what I want, Lockwood. You'll be next. Remember that when you're alone in the dark." Archer's voice was cold; his eyes glanced up and made contact with Lockwood's. His features seemed frozen, drawing closer to the screen with every heartbeat until all Lockwood could see were his eyes.
The psychiatrist reached over and cut the connection. He stepped back from the desk as if removing himself from the man he saw looming towards him.
"...I should never have taken him on as a client. Always was bloody unstable."
Quickly Lockwood moved out of the office and dressed in a set of non-descript clothes he kept in a downstairs closet. In the bathroom off the den he took the time to carefully shave off his beard and mustache. No one would know him; he hadn't been without facial hair for 20 years. There were no pictures left that would have identified him as the hirsute psychiatrist. Hell, he didn't know what he looked like himself til he looked in the mirror.
Taking his wife along wasn't an option; he decided the little twit would just have to deal with his disappearance on her own. The less she knew about this the better. Their relationship wasn't good enough to make him want her along.
Opening the desk drawer, he yanked up the false bottom and pulled out a fake passport along with a well filed credit pouch and ships papers in an assumed name. He sat down at the comm and transferred the entire contents of his savings into a numbered Swiss account. All other properties were transferred to his numbered account.
One last glance around his office told him that nothing was left of note that might implicate him if it remained. He grabbed the data disks detailing all his clients' financial interactions and personal psych files to put them in his pocket. He might need them for blackmail material later when he got short of money. It wouldn't pay to leave anything around that his gold digging wife could turn into cash. By the time he was through, she would be destitute. And it was just what she deserved.
The car downstairs would have to be left at the spaceport but it couldn't be helped. He needed to be off planet by sunrise to stay ahead of Starfleet security. He grabbed the suitcase he kept in the basement filled whatever he needed to start a new life and added it to the ones already in the boot of the car. He made sure his gun was powered and the setting set to 'kill'."
As he drove to the spaceport, the psychiatrist made calls along the way to operatives throughout the quadrant. Archer, Nelson and Kelby were about to disappear with a minimum of fuss. They had become liabilities that threatened his plans.
* * * * * * *
Malcolm had just turned out the light when he was roused by shouting from the guest bedroom. The comm signaled an outgoing call was being recorded. He pulled on his robe and ran down the hallway with Hoshi close behind. Through the closed doorway they heard Archer shouting about ordering Trip's murder and his threats to kill Lockwood. His reference to T'Pol as his possession left them both feeling nauseated. As they reached to pull open the door, Archer grew silent and Malcolm heard the first hum of a transporter beam. He pulled open the door just as Archer turned towards him.
The two men made eye contact as he disappeared in a cloud of dissipating molecules.
Malcolm rushed back into their bedroom and queued Archer's recorded conversation on the specially modified comm station. As the recording started, the screen split in two showing the shouting faces of Archer and Lockwood. Hoshi arrived to sit beside him on the bed. Malcolm thanked God for having the foresight to put in the split line that had allowed them to record any calls on the guest room comm. He restarted the play back over so Hoshi could see it beginning to end uninterrupted.
The comm went dark as the recording ended.
Malcolm and Hoshi stared at each other in mute horror. Their commanding officer had just confessed to ordering Tucker's murder to free his widow of their marriage bond.
* * * * * * *
Archer beamed into the hallway outside his quarters. He hit the door key and strode into the room. Grabbing his away bag, he glanced around the room, noting the motionless body lying in a pool of blood on the floor behind the bed. A grim smile crossed his features and he stepped outside into the hallway. Standing at the door Archer took off his Starfleet insignia and threw it in a pool at Erica's feet. He said a silent prayer for her departed soul.
Entering his command code, he initiated the lock sequence for the door. There was no one on board that could override the sequence so he was safe for the moment. He traveled down the turbo-lift to the shuttle bay and was sure that no one saw him. The shuttle was already packed and ready for departure. Entering the shuttle pod hatchway he ripped off the "Closed for repairs" sign as he closed the door. He punched in the launch codes and opened the launch bay doors.
The shuttle dropped out into space and went to warp.
* * * * * * *
Hoshi sat back and shook her head. She put her arms around her husband and laid her head on his shoulder. "He freaking had him killed, the son of a bitch had him killed. I don't believe this. Why would he do such a thing?"
Malcolm shook his head unbelievingly and held onto his wife. "Archer has been courting psychosis for years. This is beyond any of his past lows. I am betting that Quaid's birth made Archer realize T'Pol never had an interest in him. He wanted so badly for that baby to be his; you saw his face when he held Quaid earlier."
"Yeah, I didn't think Archer was going to give him back to his father willingly."
Malcolm pulled away from his wife's embrace. He transferred a copy of the conversation to a data disk and put it in his away bag under the desk. " 'scuse me, love. I need to call Admiral Tyson." He punched in the dial code for the Starfleet JAG officer of the day and asked to talk personally to Rear Admiral Gray Tyson, securing the channel from prying eyes. He only had to wait a few moments before the screen cleared and Tyson appeared obviously dressed for bed. Hoshi stepped out of sight of the comm. Her security code wasn't high enough to take part in the conversation but she needed to hear since it concerned her as well.
"Okay, Reed… what's so god damned important it couldn't wait til morning?"
"Admiral Sir... Captain Archer just admitted to ordering the murder of Tucker during a call to Lockwood. We heard him yelling it down the hallway here at home. I am transmitting the recording I made. The call is self explanatory."
"He what? Play it, dammit."
Reed replayed the call.
The Rear Admiral whistled. "Son of a bitch… I can't believe the idiot actually ordered Tucker's death. Is he out of his mind?"
"I worked with the man for ten years... and yes, he is out of his mind. He has always had a thing for Tucker's wife, T'Pol. To her credit, she hardly knows he exists. To T'Pol Archer is just her commanding officer and never will be anything more."
"If he's still there, we can apprehend him now without any bloodshed."
"He's gone, sir. I saw him beam back up to Enterprise. He saw us come into the room as he dissipated and knows we are on to him."
"Damn… why do you think he went back to Enterprise?"
"Where else would he have gone? He was told about the charges just before the call to Lockwood. If he stays on Earth, he'll be arrested. He knows that all the records pertaining to the thefts are in Starfleet's possession. The Enterprise is the only safe place he has left for the time being." Malcolm started getting into a deep, hard spot he often felt when he dealt with cold blooded murderers. "I would suggest you order a command lock out of all Enterprise systems so Archer can't leave Earth orbit. If he takes a shuttlepod, he'll be able to go to warp."
"I'll contact Enterprise now and make sure all systems are secure. Give me just a moment." Tyson called Starfleet operations and gave the orders to carry out the requested operations. Sensors showed one human bio sign in Archer's quarters. Initiating the lock in meant he wouldn't be leaving until a recovery detail got there in the morning.
Stopping to read his incoming messages, Tyson decided to take more radical steps. A shuttle pod had just left Enterprise. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out just who took it. It begged the question, who was in Archer's quarters? He gave Enterprise's security officer the order to cut through the door if it couldn't be opened. If Archer had murdered once, he could assuredly do it again.
"Reed, you have to get the Tuckers off planet NOW. Every moment they remain on Earth they are at risk until we have control of these bastards. We have no idea what resources Archer has… assassins, cronies, other hirelings. We already have 4 suspects at large."
"Four sir? I know of 3."
"Yeah, I just received a report that Lockwood turned tail and ran after Archer's call. Surveillance says he just disappeared off their screens at the spaceport. Probably had a ship already waiting." The Admiral paused, "The Enterprise just reported a shuttle pod's gone. There is one bio-sign in Archer's quarters but it's faint. I am getting a security detail to cut their way in since Archer initiated a command lock out. I want to know which crew member that is."
Hoshi still stood in the doorway. She watched Malcolm intently as he spoke. "I know Trip suspects. I'll call him, sir, and get them to leave by morning. Since Phlox is a principal witness he'll have to join them as well. Their new base of operations will be on Vulcan for the foreseeable future. Her father can protect them better than Starfleet can. There was no love lost between them and Archer since he screwed up the retrieval of the Kir'sharra."
The admiral continued. "Reed… even on Vulcan, we have no way to know who we can trust. You and your wife are to accompany the Tuckers. That's an order. If Archer would snuff his best friend, I doubt he'll show either of you any mercy. Having you off planet will let us proceed against this group without worrying that our 5 witnesses are in any danger." On hearing the admiral's command, Hoshi walked out of the room and down the hall.
"Sir, what about Nelson and Kelby? They left on Dauntless yesterday. Kelby's life isn't worth a cent if Captain Nelson decides he's a threat to him."
"We have Dauntless taken care of, Lieutenant. Teams are converging on the two as we speak. Nelson wasn't assigned to captain Dauntless. Captain Hernandez was scheduled but was a no show for her duty post day before yesterday. Nelson took advantage of the situation."
"That's odd. Archer told us tonight that she was staying on Earth for the next year for medical reasons and that she had given up her position on Dauntless."
"Dammit. If Archer had a hand in her disappearance, she could be dead for all we know. Given what Archer just said… I am betting Hernandez was made to disappear. Call the Tuckers. Get them the hell off the planet. Message me once you go to ground."
"Yes, sir." The Admiral ended the call.
Hoshi walked back into the bedroom with arms loaded and threw 3 empty suitcases on the bed. She sank onto the quilt and looked over at Malcolm. Hoshi shook her head. "Archer has always been a fine captain. I just don't get it. Why throw away your career for a woman that will never want you? Why kill your best friend?"
Malcolm leaned over and ran his finger through his wife's long dark hair.
"You never know what lies underneath the civility. I don't know what happened."
"Mal, we all know he snapped months ago. He's been a walking time bomb. Hey, I heard the admiral refer to the Tuckers. Does he know about Trip coming from…?"
"Yes, he does and wants to keep this Trip alive. He's a very valuable man in his own right to Starfleet. That's precisely why we have to get him off planet."
Malcolm reached over to the comm and dialed in Trip's number, making sure it was a secure line and marked the call urgent.
* * * * * * *
There was a knock at the Tucker's bedroom door. Phlox got up and opened the door.
Chuck stood in the open doorway. "Hey Trip, the comm in your office is blaring something about an urgent call."
Trip launched himself off the bed and ran up the steps 2 at a time. He flicked the accept button on the comm and ran through the security protocols he had set up with Malcolm. His friend finally looked back at him from the screen. Trip felt his wife's hand on his shoulder after she walked into the room and shut the door.
"Trip, JAG Rear Admiral just gave the order to get you off planet. Lockwood disappeared; Archer stole a shuttle pod the moment he got back to Enterprise. God only knows where he's gone. I recorded a call Archer made to Lockwood from our guest room. You need to see this. We heard him shouting that he had Trip murdered so he could have T'Pol for himself."
Trip exploded. "He what?"
He heard an intake of breath from his wife. "He what?"
This was just what Trip was afraid would happen. Too many pieces were falling into place.
"Yeah, he sees your son as if he was his own. He's pretty sick. That's why Trip didn't say anything to T'Pol; he knew how much this would upset her."
"Let me get Phlox in here… I am betting he'll need to see this too." Trip walked down the hall and called down to Phlox to join them.
Once in the office alone, the three closed the door and viewed the recording in silence. T'Pol made a small noise when Archer remarked about wanting her as his possession and admitting to killing for her. Her fingernails dug deeply into her husband's shoulder. He could feel her shocked reaction coursing through her. Trip reached over and transferred the file to a data disk to take with them. There was no doubt in anyone's mind now. Archer had ordered the murder.
Malcolm popped back up on the screen.
"Seen enough?"
"So what do we do now, Malcolm? We've already decided to get off planet. Phlox is calling up a few favors with Starfleet and Interspecies Medical so we can take the first transport available to Vulcan. What are the two of you going to do, hang tight here or leave? We have space for 8 at the house. You're welcome to come but I warn you, my parents may come with us. I haven't had the chance to talk to them yet."
"We were ordered to leave as well. Our hearing Archer's confession in person makes us prime witnesses."
"Then you two can come with us?"
"Yes, we'll go with you as bodyguards as much as anything else. Hoshi and I are packing now. We'll be over as soon as we lock down the house… say in about half an hour."
Trip nodded, "Outstanding….see ya, bud," ending the call and turned to T'Pol and the doctor.
"This is going to be great; we get to spend a few days listening to Mal whine. That's just special." He turned to T'Pol. "Hey, before I ask my folks, can you handle being in a transport with my mother for the next couple days."
"As long as you and the children are with me and I am free to meditate, I am alright with it. She'll be focused on you and the kids anyway." She motioned towards the doorway.
Trip laughed "Yeah, I know. It's going to be hard to get time alone together. We'll have to work it out with Mal and Hoshi… safety in numbers and all that." Trip motioned for his wife to go on ahead and started to get up to follow her. "Well… let's go do this."
The comm rang again; it was Malcolm. He waited as T'Pol left the room before he began to speak a hushed voice. He motioned for the doctor to come in and close the door.
"Trip... Enterprise security just broke into Archer's quarters. They found Erica Hernandez. She's barely alive. Archer left in a shuttle pod he had prepared for his getaway."
Phlox was the first to react. "What?"
"Apparently Archer left her for dead. She nearly bled to death before they got through the door. It's a damned good thing they got suspicious of that bio-sign in his quarters; she wouldn't have lived til morning. They transported her to Starfleet medical just moments ago. She named Archer as her assailant."
"Just what the hell did he do to her?" Trip sat open mouthed. He remembered handed Archer his infant son just a few hours earlier.
"Tyson was too nauseated to tell me the full story. Let's just say you'd be amazed what you can do with a phaser on a low setting and a box cutter... and Trip?
"Ah yeah..?"
"They think Erica was pregnant."
"What do you mean 'was', Lieutenant?" Phlox had seen many examples of torture in his life but not torture done by his own captain. The more Malcolm told of the condition she was found in, the more nauseated he became.
Malcolm just shook his head. "We'll know if she has miscarried in a couple of hours. See you in 10." He became grim and ended the call.
Trip turned away from the comm and ran his hand through his hair. Things were just going from bad to worse.
"I feel terrible about this, Commander. I should have reported him when I first became suspicious." Phlox felt like he should be attending to this emergency especially since it was his captain that inflicted the injuries. It was the least he could do to make up for allowing Archer to run free for so long.
"And how would you have stopped him, Phlox? Archer doesn't stop at murder... he apparently tortures before he kills. He's just a sick f..." His last word was lost as he left the office and walked down the hall to his parent's room. Both of his parents were still up reading various reports and books scattered over the bed. He knocked on the molding waiting for permission to enter. It didn't pay not to be polite to his mother.
"Can I come in?"
Catherine motioned him into the room and put down the book she was reading.
"Momma, Dad… we have a problem we need to talk about." Trip walked over to the bed and sat on the unoccupied end. He leaned over onto one arm and gave them his best "this is serious shit" look. "I am involved in a high level prosecution by Starfleet. I received orders from Rear Admiral Tyson to get my family and friends off planet."
Catherine started forward; she had to remind herself to resist the urge to try to protect her son. Trip held up his hand and made it clear he wanted silence.
"We are leaving for our place on Vulcan by morning, quicker if we can. While we're there we're going to get citizenship for Quaid and have his naming ceremony. You two need to decide. You're welcome to stay here at the house or you can come with us to Vulcan. I need to know so Phlox can arrange transport for us. Unfortunately this also means we will be up all night packing and won't be getting any sleep until after we leave. I am going to give you two time to decide."
Trip got up from the bed and nearly made it to the door before his dad spoke. "We'll go with you, Trip. Ain't nobody going to keep us from our grandson's naming ceremony. We missed Elizabeth's and I didn't hear the end of it from your mother for a month."
Trip turned around and grinned. "Then get your bags packed. The Reeds will be here in 10 minutes and Phlox packing is now. And bring the canasta decks. We'll need something to do." He realized he still had the data disk in his hand containing Archer's confession. He flipped it back and forth like it was a hot match he was trying to put out. He finally put the disk in his pocket and sighed, heading down the stairs to begin packing.
Bags were scattered around on the bed and on the floor.
T'Pol walked over to her husband and snuggled in close to him, laying her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and pulled her in close. She was feeling guilty. If only she had made it clear to him he had no chance with her ever. She chastised herself for every kindness, every interaction that could have led to his fixation.
Trip put a finger under her chin and raised her face up so he could look into her eyes.
"Archer is a very sick man who was envious of what we have. You didn't cause his mental illness. And you were right; if Trip had been more paranoid he wouldn't have died the way he did. You can't help who you are. I've known you in two universes, for over 25 years combined. I have trusted you with my life and will continue to do so. I trust you with my children. And I trust you to give me neuropressure without crippling me."
Her eyes danced with mirth at his last remark.
"I am going to do everything I can to keep you and my family safe from a lunatic. Now, go call your father. He'll have to be in on this… God knows what Archer has planned."
"You're thinking of the daughter you lost. Why?"
"This all makes me wonder about something Paxton said after he was arrested. He laughed at our attempts to find out who stole the genetic material to create her. Massaro was arrested for it, caught red handed. But Paxton created the clone anyway. He said something about a high ranking officer onboard that could get past the security protocols. There was only one person other than Phlox allowed into the crews' medical storage area. That was Archer, my Archer. He knew that losing a child would destroy us. At the time I discounted it as paranoia, but now..."
"He couldn't... could he?"
"Sure he could... T'Pol, Archer nearly killed Erica. They found her just after he left in a shuttle pod."
He described her condition when she was found. T'Pol looked horrified at the details of the assault. "Maybe my Archer wasn't all that stable either. And maybe he was more dangerous than we knew." Trip shook his head. "It never occurred to me that he might be behind Elizabeth's death. Why get at us like that?"
"Perhaps for the same reason Archer killed you in this one... to get possession of your T'Pol. It did serve to nearly end your marriage." Trip reached into the closet to bundle up his selection of Hawaiian shirts and folded them into the suitcase. T'Pol removed them promptly and threw them into the laundry bin as his back was turned.
"It took a year to regain the ground we lost after our little girl's death. It nearly destroyed my wife and she thought of taking her own life. Jonathan probably thought she would react like a human would when faced with grief. He was damned surprised to find out otherwise. I bet it killed him to see her come back to me."
T'Pol and Trip bustled around the room in the pattern they used each time they left on a tour. "Maybe he saw the estrangement between you and knew he was the cause. He probably thought eventually he would get her to turn to him."
Trip looked down at his wife and thought of the danger she was in. Luckily she was stronger than Archer and in hand to hand, he would be the loser. "And maybe I wasn't paranoid enough. I blamed myself for the shuttlepod accident that killed her. Maybe Archer couldn't stand that she didn't do what he expected. And maybe he killed her for it."
T'Pol looked thoughtful. "We'll never know, will we? I would die rather than be in his arms. You are my bond-mate, my only mate. Archer probably went crazy when he found out that I was dying after your death. I don't feel the least little bit of sympathy for the man. As you said, he is a sick f…"
Trip put his finger to her lips to stop the rest of the word from emerging.
"One of us being a potty mouth is enough."
Well," she put her arms around him and allowed him the full experience of her emotions through the bond as proof of her devotion to him, "I need to call my father so he can make appropriate plans."
Trip watched his wife disappear up the stairs.
TBC