Chapter 7

It Gets Worse

A few minutes later,

I drop out of the shaft after what seems like hours of crawling through ducts, yet, even though I had weapons, it was still safer to crawl through the shafts to get here rather than fighting and risking injury or capture by engaging the enemy. When I drop out of the shaft, I notice the twenty-some guards throughout the bay and begin distributing the six rifles, excluding my own, to some of the crew members. I quickly toss rifles to: Captain Archer, T'Pol, Dr. Phlox, Malcolm, Trip, and Hoshi. All those that are now armed open fire on their guards, except for Dr. Phlox who couldn't figure out how to use the high-powered weapon. Noting the doctor's trouble, standing next to him, Mayweather snatches the weapon from him and opens fire; now unarmed, Phlox reaches down to his medical kit, pulls out a hypospray filled with sedatives, and goes charging at the remainder of the conscious guards. After a short while, the majority of the guards have either been shot by the now armed bridge crew, or sedated by the eccentric doctor, and the rest have surrendered and are being herded and bound in a far corner of the bay. Immediately following the rescue of the bridge crew, Malcolm runs up to me and hugs me tightly, lifting me off the ground, after putting me down, he has his hands on my shoulders, and is looking into my eyes.

"What were you thinking? You could have been killed." He isn't angry, just relieved. I grab the front of his uniform and pull him to me, kissing him. He laughs and kisses me back, his angry relief melting into a smooth passion as he raises his right hand to caress my left cheek. When I release him and his jacket, I hear Trip and a few others cheering, Malcolm doesn't seem to notice, or if he did notice, he didn't care.

"You were saying?" I smile, knowing he's forgotten what he was going to say before.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he says, abandoning his scolding and, sliding his other hand up to my neck, he kisses me. By the time he pulls away, everyone is cheering and we are left breathless, blushing, and beaming. After the applause and embarrassment subside, I inform the captain of the distress signal that I sent out to Starfleet, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Malcolm elbow Trip in the chest, saying something about payback for unwanted attention. The captain orders the crew back to their stations to await the arrival of whatever support ship Starfleet may send our way. We return to the bridge to find a Klingon Bird of Prey de-cloaking in front of our ship. Malcolm and I simultaneously double-check our readouts before Malcolm voices our collective concern, "Captain, Starfleet isn't allied with the Klingons. They may have picked up Rayla's distress signal somehow, there's a chance that the message never reached Starfleet."

The captain nods as Hoshi receives a transmission from the Klingons, "Captain. The Klingons are hailing; and they sound angry."

"Put it on the screen, Ensign."

As the Klingon's angry face appears on the screen he informs us that we are surrounded and threatens to board us unless we surrender. "Captain?" Malcolm's voice is hesitant, "I would recommend doing as he says. I am reading five Klingon Birds of Prey de-cloaking in various points along the ship, and in our current condition, a shot from any of them could disable us."

"No," there is a significant amount of defiance in the Captain's tone as he orders us to stand our ground. "Ensign Sato, reopen communications with the Klingons and tell them that we will not surrender." The angry Klingon's face appears on the screen once again,

"Archer, you have made the wrong choice. You will pay for your insolence and your ship will be boarded."

At that, the Klingon with whom we had been communicating, along with twelve Klingon warriors materialize on our bridge, apparently using a similar device as that that we use to transport cargo on occasion. All of the Klingons carry heavy assault rifles and have Batleths strapped across their backs, and they demand our immediate surrender with their high-powered weapons pointed right at each of us. We were each forced to step away from our stations towards the center of the bridge, and as Malcolm and I are forced to step away from our shared consol, I am able to reach down and retrieve my emergency phaser from its concealed place under the consol without drawing any attention to myself. As I am being led past one of the Klingon guards, I hit him across the face with the phaser in my hand while simultaneously grabbing his assault rifle with my free hand and aiming it at him. A weapon in each hand, I can only aim them at two of the guards while the rest of them watch, amused. I am not sure as to whether they are smiling because one of their men was taken off-guard by me, a small human, or for some other reason; but I find out when the Klingon I thought had been knocked out hits me across the back with his Batleth, the handle coming into contact with the back my head in a swift powerful blow that knocks me to the ground. As I lay on the ground, clutching the back of my head, I roll over and see the Klingon raising the weapon for another strike, and Malcolm dives on top of me to shield my body with his own. Before the Klingon can deal his next blow, his leader calls him off.

"A meaningless act young Lieutenants, brave, yet stupid." The Klingon's next comment was directed towards me, "What did you plan to do with your meager strength?" My only reply was a loathing stare as I shake my head in an attempt to clarify my blurry vision and Malcolm gets off of me and helps me up. The Klingon captain turns to his Lieutenant, "Restrain this one," he says motioning towards me, "I have a feeling she's going to cause trouble." The Klingon pulls out a set of shocking manacles and is clamping them around my wrists as he tosses the remote to his captain. "Now," the captain says, "If you try anything like that again, I won't hesitate to use this device as brutally as I wish."

"Are those really necessary?" Malcolm's comment draws the attention of the Klingon Lieutenant, who punches Malcolm brutally in the stomach, causing him to crumple as the Klingon kicks him in the side when he is on the ground. With a small cry of shock, I drop to my knees beside Malcolm as he looks over at me; I touch his cheek, grateful that the Lieutenant hadn't finished shackling my hands yet.

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

He nods, "Yeah I did. I couldn't stand by and watch."

With some help from Mayweather, we are able to get Malcolm back on his feet, as I was dragged up by the guard and my other hand secured tightly behind my back.

The Klingon captain ignores this as he addresses the gathered bridge crew; "Your ship has been overrun by our forces and by now Klingons have seized every area of this fine ship of yours. I may or may not release your ship and your crew, Captain Archer, given that you provide me with the information that I want. Come; let us speak privately in your ready room."

At that, Archer was lead by the Klingon captain into his own ready room where the door sealed behind them with a hiss.

Archer (third person POV): Archer, lead by the other captain, enters his ready room and the Klingon makes himself comfortable in Archer' comfortable desk chair.

"The information I seek is . . .," the captain begins, wasting no time in getting to the point, "I wish to know the defense codes for Earth, so that I may penetrate their defenses."

Archer is confused, "Why would you want to attack Earth? What purpose would Earth's destruction serve you?"

The Klingon is slightly annoyed by Archer' confusion, "Don't you see? The StarFleet Alliance Academy is on Earth! Fortunately, there is only one, but it will not be long before there are more. The Starfleet has interrupted our shipping deals and must be eliminated while it is still small, for soon, it will be too large to be destroyed by any one ship and its crew."

Archer shakes his head, and with a determined and strong resolve says, "There is no way that I would ever betray Starfleet by giving you those codes."

The Klingon stands, "Well that is too bad, I suppose I shall have to ask your bridge crew, and if they will not tell me, then I will torture it out of them."

Archer' concern and anger is only barely contained as he follows the Klingon back out onto the bridge.

Rayla: I can tell that Archer didn't cooperate with the Klingon captain as soon as they exit the ready room, for the stress and annoyance of the Klingon is easy enough to see. The captain orders his Lieutenant to line us up and walks back in forth in front of us, considering which ones it would be worthwhile to interrogate; he finally decides to take me. The reasoning behind the Klingon's choice is simple: Malcolm and I are virtually the only choices; we are the highest ranking officers who, unlike T'Pol, may respond to torture. The Klingon captain finally decides just to take me, though I do not understand why, and transports me back to his ship, where I find myself being thrown harshly into a maddeningly small cell, but instead of bars or walls of metal, rings of powerful energy confine me as the commander enters.

"Perhaps you will be more cooperative than your Captain Archer."

I remain defiant, "I will tell you nothing!"

The Klingon smirks, "Perhaps that is true, in your case, but with some convincing, and perhaps some…pain, you may provide me with some information."

I glare at him, "If you believe that you will get any information at all from me, then I am pleased to inform you that you are horribly mistaken."

"Though I may not, there is still time before my commander comes, a few hours at least before he arrives from the approaching ship. I would recommend that you tell me what I want to before he gets here, for you will find that my methods of torture are far tamer than his."

"You're empty threats do not bother me, Klingon scum!"

The Klingon looks at me with a mask of concealed hatred, "Under any other circumstances, I would make you regret those words, human, but for now, I will simply ask my questions. From now on, if you refuse to answer my question or give me a false answer, then you will suffer."

The Klingon looks pleased with himself, "I suspect that this method will be most effective. Let's begin; where is the Starfleet Academy located?"

I try lying to him, "Alderan, it's on Alderan."

He doesn't believe me, "You think me a fool? That question was a test; I already knew the academy was on Earth. Very well, I suppose you will soon learn the consequences of your defiance." He leans over to the consol beside him and pushes a button, activating the torture field in my chamber.

The pain is incredible as the waves of intense sonic energy threaten to plunge me into unconsciousness. The captain pushes the button again and turns off the torture field, "Now for the real question. Why is your ship out here? Reconnaissance? Exploration? Are you spies? Who is the 'Federation' really working for?"

I glare at him, "I will tell you nothing!" I immediately regret those words as the Klingon activates the torture field in my cell once again; and once again, the pain returns and drives me down to one knee, I manage to focus the pain and anger into a desire for revenge. When the captain deactivates the device once again, the relief helps me to stand up.

The Klingon seems puzzled by this reaction, "Strange, most would have passed out by now; your will is indeed stronger than I thought. At any rate, it is time for my next question: What are the codes to bypass the defenses above Earth?"

The question makes no sense and I am too furious to figure it out, "You are a cruel, Klingon, and you will pay for what you have done," my teeth are clenched so tight that it makes my jaw ache. I will make this tyrant pay for the horrors that he has caused.

"Very well then, I can see that this is going nowhere, I suppose you will just have to wait for my commanding officer to come. You should have talked to me, for he will not be as merciful as I, but until he gets here, allow me to offer you a taste of what is to come." The Klingon turns on the torture field to my cell, and then leaves instructions with an attendant to leave my field on. After what seems like an eternity, I feel the wondrous relief of unconsciousness.

Trip (third person POV): Trip was in the shuttle bay repairing the main shuttle when the Klingons invaded. Only two of the invaders bothered to secure the shuttle bay, and Trip had no trouble overpowering them and making his escape in the main shuttle. He had known that Rayla had been detained, if only because Mayweather had managed to get a message to him when the Klingons weren't looking. Trip is on his way to free her now, worrying more and more with every passing second; what if she is being tortured? What if she's in danger, and he arrives too late to help? The thing that worries Trip the most is the idea of torture, he knows that if Rayla is hurt or even dies on this mission, then Malcolm will never forgive himself. Trip knew Malcolm would blame himself for not being able to protect her and keep her safe, because he loved her. Trip knew, he thought everyone knew, the thing that gave them away were the looks, the way she looked when he left a room angry, or the way he looked when she got hurt, there were always looks between them. If Malcolm and Rayla had no feelings for each other, then Trip is a delusional fool, fool or no fool, Trip only hopes that he will get there before it is too late.

A few minutes later,

Trip uses the onboard transporter to beam himself into the empty cargo compartment of the Klingon vessel, once there; he stealthily finds his way to the room where the force cage is. He enters just as the attendant turns to the door, and Trip. Before the man can even open his mouth to shout for help, Trip's solid punch silences him for the time being, and then presses the controls to deactivate the force cage. Rayla collapses, unconscious and falls to the floor. When he reaches her, he kneels and holds her, waiting for her to wake up. He knows the she's alive, he just hopes she can regain consciousness before they are caught.