U.S.S. Enterprise: An Engineer's Adventure
Chapter 10 – The Realization
Penelope drooled on the CMO's shoulder, wondering how exactly Scotty had overridden the door lock to her quarters.
"How ya doin' over there, lass?" Scotty called from the seat opposite her. Penelope was too tired to glare at the man, burrowing into the doctor's arm despite his look of complete disgust at the situation. Last night, Penelope had somehow been roped into a drinking contest with the Chief, a decision she regretted almost immediately after the first shot of whatever it was Scotty had been brewing behind D Section.
It had started rather innocently, with Scotty being his normal irritating self, but then the Chief started pushing her. He had the nerve to complain about her duty roster, and how some of the engineers had come to him asking for shift changes. And it all went downhill from there, ending with a challenge: whoever passed out first had to make the roster for the next two months. Ridiculous stakes, as Penelope already made them all, but the superior and arrogant expression Scotty had worn while he issued the ultimatum made Penelope want to take him down.
She failed, much to the Chief Engineer's delight, which he wore even more boldly the next morning when he dragged her from bed to eat an early breakfast.
"My mother gave me the best hangover remedy," Chekov supplied helpfully from down the table and beside the captain. "It works very well." Penelope could hardly understand his accented voice through the pounding from her head. The captain burst out laughing, making Penelope groan and lift her head up from McCoy to cover her ears. Why did Scotty even like these people?
"I can totally picture that," the captain said, completely amused. Carol sat beside him, eating more of her mushy oatmeal. It made Penelope's stomach turn to see it, so she kept her eyes down at the coffee Scotty had fetched for her. It was about the only useful thing he'd ever done.
Scotty was chewing his breakfast rather loudly, so Penelope turned up her head. "How can you even eat that?" she asked in disbelief, her words stringing together with sleepiness. The Chief grinned at her, his mouth full of food. If she threw up, she was going to aim directly at him.
"Years of practice," Scotty said proudly.
He seemed far too amused by her plight. She hoped one of the others would grab his attention so that Penelope could sneak out of that godforsaken mess hall and go back to bed.
Penelope drank a long gulp of the coffee, and listened silently to the Bridge crew converse.
The communications officer, Uhura, was currently rolling her eyes at whatever the captain had just said. "Stop talking about Chekov's mother," Uhura insisted to the captain. From previous meals with Scotty, Penelope knew Kirk loved to engage Uhura, and she knew Uhura likely never admitted to herself that she loved arguing back.
They were all weird, and demonically loud. Couldn't they tone it down a decibel notch or five?
"I'm not saying anything bad, right Chekov?" Kirk questioned the young navigator, throwing an arm around the man's shoulders.
"Em, no Captain?" Chekov said in a question.
"You're such an ass," Uhura commented, picking at her fruit. The first officer sat to her right and became even more rigid in his seat at the use of the expletive. His girlfriend was probably the only one he never needled about the ability to express oneself without resorting to immature name-calling and vocabulary. Or maybe Spock just liked to mess with McCoy. Penelope could definitely appreciate that.
"You're such an ass, Captain," Kirk corrected, and even Carol shot him an irritated look. At that, the captain made a sheepish expression but didn't take it back.
Uhura turned to Spock. "What are the chances of the captain being the epitome of an idiotic jackass?"
"The exact odds?" the first officer inquired, his face expressionless.
"Precisely," Uhura insisted. Spock tilted his head in thought.
"Current data would suggest that the captain has an 81.56% chance of offending another individual aboard this starship every twenty minutes," Spock offered.
The captain started laughing again. "Oh my god, Spock, you pulled those numbers straight outta your -"
"I assure you, Captain, that my calculations were the result of a less recent request dating approximately 2.3 months before this morning. I have since updated my percentages according to your changes in behavior, which are quite frequent and so require constant attention." Penelope blinked, not catching half of what the first officer said, but loving the look on Kirk's face as the man finished.
"Wait, who asked you to do that? And why'd you actually do it?" Kirk spluttered.
McCoy raised his hand defiantly, causing Kirk to become even more indignant. "You two fight over everything," the captain insisted, sounding like he couldn't believe what was happening.
"There's one thing we both agree on," the CMO grumbled, "and it's how annoying you are."
The captain fell into Carol's arms, clutching his heart and pretending to die. "Et tu, Bones?" The science officer shook her head at the man in affection, continuing to eat her oatmeal unperturbed by Kirk's dramatics.
Penelope decided enough was enough and downed the rest of her drink before slamming the cup in front of Scotty. He could clean up her dishes if he wanted to drag her out of bed before 1000. "Make sure to bring your happy face to work today, Wrenchy!" Scotty called as she slunk out of the mess hall. They were doing a necessary cleaning of the dilithium chambers that day, which meant no warp-travel and no downtime for the engineers.
Her head still ached, so Penelope decided to go back to her quarters and rest a bit more until her shift started. What she saw upon entering the room, though, shocked the engineer.
Illa was sitting on Penelope's neatly made bed with tears rolling down her face, legs tucked under her. How did everyone keep getting in there without the passcodes?
"Illa?" Penelope asked, approaching the younger engineer with caution. The Assistant Chief tread lightly when no response came. "Illa, what's happened?" she said softly, kneeling in front of where Illa sat.
The E Section Head just shook her head, her hands covering her face as she continued to sob. "Please answer me, Illa," Penelope pleaded, staying close but not touching her in case it upset the woman more. It took a few minutes for Illa to calm down long enough to form words.
"We need to go," Illa cried.
"Go where?" Penelope wondered softly.
Illa shook her head, beyond upset. "I'm so sorry, Penelope. Believe me."
"Ilia, tell me what's wrong with you?" Penelope was starting to really worry now.
The other engineer looked so frightened, like the lightest touch would make her jump. "I can't tell you. I can't, I can't." She was starting to get hysterical, so Penelope grabbed Illa's waving hands despite her wriggling around. "I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for, Ilia? You haven't done anything," Penelope stated, but Illa shrugged her hands off, so Penelope moved back slightly. There was something wrong, very seriously wrong, Penelope realized.
The Assistant Chief, still kneeling, made her voice take a stern note. "Tell me what's happened," Penelope ordered, but as Illa continued to cry, Penelope softened, "I can fix it, Ilia. Just tell me what's happened, and I'll fix it for you." A million possibilities rang through Penelope's mind: Illa's family was hurt, Illa attacked someone, Illa broke up with a boyfriend or girlfriend...
"If there could've been any other way, I would've done it. I swear," Illa begged.
"You aren't making any sense," Penelope said, but then Illa shakily stood from Penelope's bed.
Illa pulled out a phaser and aimed it at her.
"What are you doing?" Penelope asked, thinking Illa might have snapped.
"I'm sorry, Penelope," Illa said, tears still flowing freely, "but we need to go."
"I'm not going anywhere with that pointed at me," Penelope declared, crossing her arms and giving Illa a serious glare. "You need to calm down, put that away, and then we're going to Sickbay." Whatever had happened to Illa was causing her to act this way. Penelope was scared for her friend, and she hoped she got the weapon out of the engineer's hands before she could cause any real damage.
Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform, Illa shook her head sadly. "No, we're not. And you need to do as I say because the setting isn't on stun." Penelope blinked in disbelief. What the hell was Illa going on about? "We're going to go to the loading dock."
"No we're not."
"For once in your life, Penelope!" Illa shouted suddenly. "Do as you're told. I'm trying to save your life!" How could she save her life with a deadly phaser? Penelope took a step backward in fear. Illa's voice had lost the sympathetic edge from earlier, and was now colder than ice. "Now we're going to the loading dock, and you aren't going to make me use this."
A red alert started to sound across the ship, and Penelope let her eyes drift to the signal before drawing back to Illa. "What have you done, Ilia?" Penelope asked, trying to catch the woman's gaze but never attaining it.
"Go!" Illa ordered, setting the phaser up to blast at her.
"No."
And then she shot her, right at the heart.
It was officially the second time in Penelope's life that she'd woken up, despite believing she would never do so again. Her eyes fluttered, and her head throbbed even worse than before. In addition, her chest ached like a stunner had passed through it, and her right ankle felt like it might be broken. Her hands were also cuffed above her head in the most uncomfortable way imaginable. When her vision finally focused, Penelope realized she was definitely no longer on the Enterprise.
Penelope had built that ship up from bits and pieces, so she knew every nook and cranny of it, and this place was nowhere on her vessel.
"Are you awake?" a whispered voice made Penelope whip her head painfully to the side. It was Carol, looking so far from how she normally did it took a moment to recognize the science officer. Her perfectly pressed blue dress was wrinkled and torn on the shoulder, her face was sporting a soon to be black eye, there was bruises forming on her neck, and there was a fierce expression on her face that Penelope hadn't thought her capable of.
"Yeah," Penelope said quietly, her whole body protesting against the position she was in. "Where are we? What happened?" The last thing she remembered was Illa's face as she fired the phaser. Why had she done that? Why had she told her it was set to kill?
Carol shifted, rattling her restraints slightly. "I'll explain it all later. We need to get out, like now." The lack of explanation irritated her slightly, but Penelope tried to let it not overtake her.
"Get out?" Penelope asked, pointedly looking up at Carol's similarly bound hands. "How'd you plan to do that?"
Carol finally dropped her intense gaze, glaring down at the dark flooring in what Penelope assumed was the Brig of the vessel. "Haven't quite worked that out yet," she admitted. Penelope took the time then to glance more closely at their surroundings.
The room was dimly lit, but Penelope's eyes could see comfortably through the darkness. There were other spots for people to be restrained lining the walls, but only Carol and herself were currently prisoners. Walls lay bare of decoration save for the cuffs, and the whole place seemed made to hold people. It was different than the Enterprise's Brig, in that there was no window in the room, and the pristine whiteness was replaced by the cool black of the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Judging by the technology in the room, of which there appeared to be little, Penelope had to guess the ship was dated. The fact that Penelope could feel the rumble of the engines beneath her feet only gave further proof to her hypothesis, and so she felt slightly reassured in thinking there was no security holo-system in the room. If there were, the tech would be visible. Penelope hoped.
"Carol, is there a guard outside?" Penelope asked, motioning to the door that almost blended entirely into the wall on the far side of the room. Carol followed her gaze.
"Probably. I didn't really get a good look at the place before they put us in here," the science officer replied, "and I have to assume they're monitoring us." Penelope shook her head, but didn't expand on the topic.
"Can you move your feet?" Penelope said quietly. She would do this herself, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea to irritate her ankle. Carol nodded in response. "I need you to stretch over and press the left side of my boot."
"Why?" the science officer questioned, still doing what Penelope had said.
As Carol fumbled her own feet over, Penelope answered. "I have this thing where I..." she trailed off, a bit embarrassed, "I keep this wrench with me all the time. It's an old habit, but it's about to come in handy." Please don't ask, please don't ask, please don't ask –
"Is that why Scotty calls you Wrenchy?" Carol asked curiously.
Penelope sighed. "Maybe you should focus on the shoe thing," the Assistant Chief suggested, keeping her own foot in a strategically placed position beneath her own restraint. Carol's foot finally reached her own, and Penelope instructed her to press firmly on the bottom of the side. While she did that, Penelope started to cough quietly, then more loudly to cover up the noise of the sonic tool.
A clear click echoed through the chamber, and Penelope brought her wrists down to rub them. They were sore, and her shoulders ached fiercely, but the engineer forced herself to focus on escape. She reached down to her boot, being careful not to jostle her right one in the hopes that it would save her from pain, and grabbed the wrench from her sock.
She brought it up above Carol's head and pressed the switch the other woman had unknowingly pushed before. The restraints on the science officer's wrists released her, and she too tried to rub the soreness away. "I may have to get one of those," Carol whispered, going forward towards the door quietly. There was no way to open it from the inside that either officer could see.
"Here's what we're going to do," Carol said, coming back over to Penelope. They bent their heads together and spoke in quiet tones. "I need you to unattach the chain from one of those restraints. Then, pretend to be hurt. Just scream really loud and ask for help. I'll wait off to the side and do the rest." Penelope nodded, using her wrench to unhinge the tool for Carol. The science officer grabbed it and then gave her a thumbs up.
Penelope let out a terrified scream, then a louder one. "Please. Please! Hello? Someone, please!"
"Be quiet!" a voice yelled from outside. Whoever it was sounded a touch frantic. Trying not to grin with relief that someone actually responded, Penelope continued.
"Please! I need help. The other woman, she's just collapsed! I don't think she's breathing," the engineer called, using her fear to make her pleas seem more real. She could hear a rustling from outside the room, and then the door slid open to reveal a Klingon man. The moment he stepped in, Carol jumped from the side and wrapped the chain around his throat until he passed out. She grabbed his phaser, an ancient brand – definitely not Federation, and the rest of the tools on his body.
Penelope was impressed with the precision Carol had rendered the alien unconscious, but then she was a weapons specialist. She just never thought that included choking someone with a chain until they fell to the ground, but she supposed she didn't know everything about Carol's job parameters.
The door remained open due to the Klingon's prone form lying in between the hallway and the Brig. Carol was fiddling with the man's communicator, probably trying to signal the Enterprise, but Penelope was too caught up contemplating the unconscious man. Were they on board a Klingon vessel? Why had they been brought here? And how? Carol hadn't answered her earlier, but Penelope wanted answers.
"Carol, what the hell's going on?" Penelope asked as Carol tossed her the phaser, apparently preferring the chain. She examined the weapon more closely, thankful there was a stun choice. She'd heard rumors that Klingon weapons only had kill settings.
"It's a long story," Carol started.
"Better get started then," Penelope requested as they both made a careful move to leave the room. Penelope looked out first, but the hallway was devoid of any other guards or crew. The Starfleet officers left slowly, as Penelope had to drag her right foot along, and they were unsure of what they'd encounter.
"We're on an old Klingon vessel," Carol whispered in her ear as they went, "They said they were a splinter group from the empire. They sounded fanatic when they contacted the Bridge." There was a small elevator at the end of the hall, and while Penelope was wary to enter it, it seemed the only way out of the level.
"Our phaser banks were dead. Scotty said someone from inside the ship must have disabled them, and because we were changing the dilithium chambers, or something like that,we weren't able to move away from the other ship," Carol continued, with a touch of hysterics to her voice. The circumstances of the day were perfect for attack, Penelope realized. They were in a relatively uninhabited quadrant of space, but only the crew had known about the engineering changes...
The pair was in the elevator, and Penelope tried to instruct the lift to go to the loading dock. There were likely shuttles in there, and Penelope didn't think she'd be able to find or operate whatever transport system the ship contained. There was no response from the computer, until Carol pulled out some strange badge she'd taken from the Klingon. "What about this?" she offered.
Penelope grabbed it and placed it on a small screen to their left. A green scanner ran over it, and then the whole elevator lit up. Though the darkness of the walls and floor were still off-putting, the light from over head allowed Penelope to start inspecting the system. It was dated, and the controls seemed slightly different from Federation vessels.
"So we were attacked?" Penelope asked as she tried to find a way to move the elevator.
Carol nodded. "They were trying to take the Enterprise."
"Take it?" Penelope looked upwards and found a set of buttons that might have been floor numbers. "Do you know any Klingon?" she asked the weapons specialist. Carol shook her head. Penelope sighed, but she knew most loading docks were near the bottom of any ship, but not dead last. She tried pushing the second to the bottom, hoping she wasn't wrong.
"Can you get through to the Enterprise with that?" Penelope motioned towards the Klingon's communicator that Carol was still adjusting. The elevator was moving down, and with each level they passed, a window showed them the space outside. Penelope could see the Enterprise a little ways away, and a sinking feeling started to work through her body.
"I'm trying," Carol insisted with hurry. "And they said they were going to take our ship, to use it and I don't know, reverse engineer it probably. But Jim, he told them he'd have Scotty blow up the Enterprise before they could get their hands on it. They were already on board, in the Bridge, and somehow they knew we were together, so they grabbed me, threatened me."
Penelope blinked in surprise as they reached the intended floor. "They took you as a... bargaining chip? A hostage?" The engineer leaned her head out, looking for signs of a shuttle room, but it looked like a place for crew quarters. She came back in and hit the next button up.
"The Klingons thought if they hurt me, then Jim would back down," Carol said quietly.
Penelope felt realization run through her. "But he didn't," the Assistant Chief stated. Carol shook her head.
"So they beamed me aboard here, and took me to that room. You were already there, unconscious. They said they'd give Jim a while to re-think his decision, but each hour he refuses to call Scotty off, they said they'd kill a crew member."
"How long's it been since you got here?"
"About an hour at least, probably more," Carol guessed. That meant someone was dead, and that was painful to hear.
The third floor up looked more promising than the one beneath, so Penelope exited first with the phaser, and Carol followed close behind. The hallway was long and skinny, and still there were no Klingon crewmembers in sight. "Where's the crew? Security?" Penelope said. A door was opened wide further ahead, so Penelope made a signal for Carol to be quiet and stay. The engineer inched forward, biting back a groan at the pain of her ankle.
Penelope peered into the room, phaser clutched tightly in hand, and was greeted by the sight of dead Klingons. There were so many of them, twenty or thirty, all scattered around the floor. It looked like an engine room. It was horrifying. They were just lying there, as though one moment they'd been working and in the next had been killed. Was the guard outside the Brig the only living crewmen left aboard the ship? Why would only he be spared? Had someone just not had enough time to get to him?
She brought her head back and motioned for Carol to come forward. The science officer approached quietly, leaning her head up to Penelope's. "What's in there?"
"Nothing, let's just keep going," Penelope advised, passing by the room. She was sure Carol looked in anyways, but Penelope continued forward. At the end of the hall was a staircase and a sign she couldn't read. "I think this might be it," Penelope called back to Carol. With hope spurring her on, Penelope tried to make it down the stairs with as little pain as possible for her ankle, but to little effect.
At the bottom there was another door, which was accessed by the clearance badge from the Klingon. It opened into the hangar. "This is it," Penelope breathed, noticing a few shuttle-crafts lining the large, spacious room.
"Penelope," Carol began in a careful tone, "Why were you on this ship? What happened to you?"
Penelope could remember Illa crying, telling her she was sorry, pulling out a phaser and aiming it at a kill spot.
"Penelope?" Carol said.
What other reason could there have been for the apologies? But how could she? How could the silly, twenty-two year old engineer have been apart of something like this? Why?
Penelope motioned to the small craft, looking around for a way to open the doors. "Help me find something so we can get in there," Penelope instructed. "And I think the plan to take the Enterprise has been a long time coming." The Chief and Penelope had chosen Illa when the reconstruction had begun, and the E Section Head knew that ship as well as Penelope did. How long had the Klingons been planning the attack?
Is this what betrayal feels like, Penelope wondered, a sick burning in her throat and stomach that hurt more than any broken bones or stab wounds.
"What do you mean?" Carol asked, but the engineer never replied.
Together, Penelope and Carol got the shuttle open and quickly got inside of it. Carol immediately went to the controls, switching on the power and presumably setting a course for the Enterprise. As Penelope plopped down into the co-navigator seat, pieces of the puzzle began to lock in within her mind.
The way Illa never spoke of her family, the way she'd been insistent about the new security system and the way she'd bypassed Scotty and focused in on Penelope – who knew far less about weapons systems than the Chief, the argument with Gus, the mysterious disappearance at Starbase 34, the curiosity about Carol and the captain's relationship...
It was all coming together, and Penelope thought she might puke.
Illa had refused a physical, claiming it was due to McCoy's bedside manner. But had it been? Was Illa even human, or was she Klingon? Like Penelope, Illa claimed to have gotten hers done before boarding the ship. How long had Illa been lying to them? From the very beginning?
And who had killed all the people on the ship? Did the Klingons on board the Enterprise know? Had there been a rescue attempt from Penelope and Carol's ship? But then where were they? Still searching?
These questions raced faster and faster through her thoughts as Penelope helped Carol start the shuttle and lift it into the air. "How do we open up the dock's doors?" Carol asked, but Penelope didn't know. She had believed they'd be able to do it from inside the shuttle, but the controls were different than the ones Cadets used for mandatory flight lessons.
Then a voice crackled through the shuttle's comm systems. "Pe-lope?"
Carol and Penelope shared a confused look before Carol attempted to contact the source of the message. "Hello? Who is this?" Carol asked over the communications system.
"Penelope," Illa's voice rang clearer this time. "Carol. I'm sorry."
"Illa?" Carol asked, optimism clear from her tone. "Illa? Are you here? Where are you?" The loading dock door's were opening into space, and it wasn't Carol or Penelope who had done it. "Illa?" Carol repeated.
"Leave. Please, go."
"Illa? We don't understand what's happening," Carol stated, a plea for explanation implied by her tone.
"Is Penelope there?"
Carol looked over at her, but Penelope had put too many things together, and she wasn't going to respond. "Yes. She's here."
"Penelope, get Carol and yourself out of here," Illa instructed, her voice hurried and filled with emotion. "Get to the Enterprise, and take it back from them. They'll have no help from this ship. The Empire doesn't affiliate with them, at least not officially. They'll be on their own, stranded."
"I don't understand," Carol interrupted. "Illa, where are you? Can you get to us?" Their shuttle remained floating, even though the exit was dead in front of them.
Illa ignored the science officer. "There's only a handful of them on the Enterprise. The rest are here."
"Illa -" Carol started.
"Go!"
Penelope took the controls from Carol and began flying the shuttle out of the hangar. She put up every shield the small craft could manage, and kept low as they sailed across from the Klingon ship. The Enterprise was about ten minutes away, but Penelope veered off and went the long way around instead of straight ahead. "Hey, what are you doing?" Carol protested, trying to wrench back the flight capabilties. "Illa's still back there."
"Penelope," Illa crackled through the comm, "I know you probably hate me."
"Someone explain to me what the hell is going on here!" Carol exclaimed, but Penelope was overriding her control and flying the shuttle without her help.
"They threatened my family. They told me they would kill them, kill me, if I didn't help them. I had to do this."
Carol was crying through the eye that wasn't puffed and slowly blackening. "We need to go back!"
"I'm sorry, and thank you both, so much."
"Stop it, Penelope. Stop!"
"I was, and always will be, your friend."
Communication broke out, and in the back windows, Penelope and Carol watched as the Klingon ship exploded from within. The blast rocked the shuttle and pushed them forward. Bits of shrapnel were flying towards them at alarming speeds, but Carol wasn't moving, and Penelope needed her to be.
"Carol," Penelope called, swerving through and trying to outrun the exploding ship. "Carol, I need your help."
"But Illa … she was on that ship," Carol said in an absent tone, stunned maybe by what had just happened.
"I know, and now it's blown up. And I need you right now," Penelope pleaded. She had barely passed the shuttle simulators, and nothing in those tests had ever been as real as the problem they now faced. "Dr. Marcus, please."
The use of her title seemed to pull the weapons specialist from her state, and Carol turned around in her navigator seat. "All right," Carol said, though quietly enough that Penelope wondered if she was just talking to herself. "All right, let's do this."
"We need to go around to the Enterprise's loading dock. This is from the Klingon's ship, so if there are any of their crew in there, we'll pass as one of them until we get out of the shuttle," Penelope explained, doing her best to keep the shields maintained as Carol took over the more daring moves they were making to evade the ship pieces.
"But how are we to get inside the shields?" Carol asked.
"The same way the rest of the Klingons got there," Penelope said, "Like I was saying, the loading dock. Illa installed some new security there that I think allowed the Klingons to bypass the shields and emergency protocols."
"Illa?"
"It's a long story," Penelope repeated Carol's words from earlier. "one I don't really understand yet. But the point is we can do it. The Klingons there are probably confused and worried because their ship was just destroyed. If the captain hasn't already taken back control on his own, we make our way from the loading dock into the Bridge and do it for him."
"How did Illa do that?" Carol wondered as they closed in on the Enterprise.
"I don't know, but I also know that our ship's in a lot better position now than it was before."
"Illa saved us."
Penelope shook her head angrily. "Illa got us into this mess in the first place, if that even is her real name."
"She's dead, Penelope," Carol reminded, as though Penelope hadn't just watched the same thing she had.
"She was a spy," Penelope told the science officer, "And just because she changed her tune in the end doesn't mean tons of Federation technology hasn't passed from her hands into the Klingon's." It didn't exonerate her from the fact that she'd made Penelope trust her. It didn't change the way she'd lied to Penelope for more than a year, or that she'd played expertly on Penelope's weaknesses. It made no difference.
Carol said nothing more, and Penelope was fine with that because they were headed into the Enterprise's own hangar. The science officer brought them down slowly, and seeing no Klingons in the room relieved Penelope of her worst fears. As the shuttle settled, Penelope and Carol exited the craft, weapons out.
The familiar brightness of the Enterprise's interior was a welcome change from the other ship. As soon as they started walking, or pathetically limping in Penelope's case, over to the elevator connected to the loading dock, the captain's voice blared over the intercom. Penelope watched as Carol's eyes gathered with tears as the captain spoke.
"Attention all crew," the captain spoke. Penelope and Carol got into the elevator, and the engineer told it to go up to the Bridge. "The Klingons have been neutralized, their ship destroyed, and we have now contacted Starfleet command. If you are able, report to your commanding officer for orders. If you are seriously injured, report to Sickbay. The medical team is standing by. Captain out."
Neither Carol nor Penelope spoke as the elevator rose. Penelope felt drained, like she wanted to sleep for the next five years. Her emotions flickered between anger, indignation, irritation, and a melancholy that threatened to take control. She didn't know how to process all that had happened, or what to do about it now.
When the lift's doors opened and the pair of officers stepped out, everyone on the Bridge turned to look at them. Penelope ignored their gazes, instead looking around. There were a few Klingons on the ground, dead or simply unconscious, Penelope wasn't sure. Scotty was nowhere in sight, and the Alpha shift seemed relatively unharmed.
"Carol?" the captain asked in disbelief. "How did you – why – I thought, I thought you were on that ship?"
Carol took a few steps forward, her hands still holding the metal chain, while Penelope used the sure-to-be dramatic reconciliation as a chance to lean against the back wall, easing the weight off her ankle. She hoped they would just hug or kiss or something so Penelope could interrupt and ask to return to Engineering. Goodness knew Scotty was probably having a fit down there without her.
Carol was now standing beside him, next to the command chair. "We were," the science officer informed Kirk, "But we got out before it..." Carol trailed off, her eyes darting back to the window.
"We?" Kirk questioned, his eyes darting back to where Penelope stood, as though just noticing that she was also there.
Seeing a chance to escape, Penelope addressed the captain. "Excuse me, sir, but I think Dr. Marcus is capable of giving you a report on our escape from the ship. At this time, I think I would be better -"
"No one's going anywhere, Lieutenant, until I start getting some answers," the captain interrupted, his tone much harsher than before. The first officer stepped forward to stand beside Kirk.
"I would have to agree with your reasoning, Captain, as there is no logical explanation as to why Lieutenant Waters was on the Klingon vessel." Were they implying Penelope had been the mole? Anger welled up inside of the Assistant Chief, overtaking exhaustion and sadness.
Carol held up a hand at Spock. "She hasn't done anything, sir. We escaped the ship together," the weapons specialist tried to explain. Most of the Bridge either appeared completely confused or unconvinced. Penelope kept silent, knowing that defending herself might make things even worse.
"We saw them take you, but why was Waters there?" Kirk asked.
"I," Carol started, "I don't exactly know, but Lieutenant Illa -"
"Wait, Illa?" Kirk said.
"Yes, the weapons head in Engineering. She helped us. She's the one who destroyed the Klingon ship," Carol reasoned, "But Penelope said Illa had been a spy for them." Everyone's eyes swiveled to Penelope, and she wished for nothing more than to disappear.
"How did you come to that conclusion, Lieutenant?" Spock asked. Penelope stared blankly at him for a while, not quite believing the suspicion in his tone.
"I was threatened in my quarters by Illa after breakfast. She stunned me with a phaser, and I woke up with Carol in the Brig," Penelope said finally.
"You were alone in your quarters with Illa? There were no witnesses?" Kirk asked.
Carol gave him an incredulous stare. "You can't be serious, Jim."
"I was," Penelope responded.
"So Illa stunned you and brought you aboard the vessel?" Kirk continued.
"I suppose."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I just said I didn't."
A pregnant silence filled the Bridge, and Penelope fought the urge to fidget under the combined stares of all the crew. To calm herself, Penelope glanced out the window, the Klingon ship still disassembling in the distance, and she wondered for a moment how Illa had felt as she'd been killed. Had it hurt? Had she been scared? Why had she done it? Similar questions had occurred to Penelope after her mother had died, but this was different, and it wasn't supposed to hurt the same because Illa had betrayed them all. So why did it feel so similar? Like she was losing herself all over again?
The elevator doors opened and shut, and then Scotty was standing behind her. He either didn't notice the tension in the room, or didn't care, as he slapped her on the back. "Wrenchy! Where have ya been? We've been looking all over for ya," the Chief exclaimed. As Scotty examined the Bridge more closely, he apparently took the time to sense the mood. "Have I missed something?"
"Mr. Scott, you said someone in Engineering had been the one to disable the phasers?" the captain questioned, his gaze still trained on Penelope. "That it was likely someone in your staff who had sabatoged the ship?"
Scotty looked confused. "Aye, sir."
"Have you now taken a roll-call of all engineering personnel?" Mr. Spock joined in.
"I have."
"And were there any missing from your crew?"
Penelope watched as the reason for the interrogation dawned on the Chief Engineer. "Just Illa and Wrenchy," Scotty replied softly.
"They are known to be friends, are they not, Mr. Scott?" the first officer inquired, the meaning clear from his words.
"Now hold on just one minute," Scotty replied sharply, "I don't know what exactly you mean to imply, Mr. Spock, but if I know anything, it's that Wrenchy would never endanger this ship."
Scotty was now standing between her and the rest of the Bridge, and something sprung up in Penelope's chest at the sight. No one had ever taken that place before and acted as a buffer between Penelope and the world, and it reminded her that Scotty was perhaps, above all else, her friend.
The first officer lifted an eyebrow, the only outward sign of any emotion. "If the data this Bridge had been given is correct, then you have employed, within the Enterprise's Engineering crew, at least one Klingon spy. Even if you were unaware of this -"
"I was," Scotty stated.
"- the fact remains that your judgment as Chief Engineering Officer is in question. That you imply your Assistant Chief Engineer is free from guilt is irrelevant, as you are not a reliable source of information on this matter."
Scotty looked to the captain, realizing he would get nowhere with Spock. "I trust Wrenchy with my life, sir. Ya have to believe she had nothing to do with this."
Kirk's face was much less impassive than his first officer's, and he looked pain as he answered Scotty's plea. "Scotty, you have to understand the way this looks."
"I understand, Jim, but I'm telling ya: Wrenchy didn't do anything."
The captain sighed, looked at Carol, and then rubbed a hand over his face. Everyone was waiting around, expecting him to make a decision. It must be hard, Penelope thought. "All right, here's what's going to happen. Spock," Kirk said, addressing the first officer, "you'll escort Lieutenant Waters to Sickbay so that Bones can look her over. If she was really stunned by a phaser, he'll be able to tell us. We'll review footage from the ship's logs and corroborate Waters's story. But I want two security posted on her until then."
Spock dipped his head, hands clasped behind his back. "Yes, Captain." The first officer stepped forward, motioning for her to enter the elevator first. As she started to go into the lift, Scotty made a move to follow.
The captain shook his head. "Mr. Scott. I need you on the Bridge," Kirk reminded, stopping Scotty dead in his tracks. Scotty met her gaze, apology in his blue-grey eyes as he turned back around to face the captain.
"Carol, you go to Sickbay as well," the captain's voice had lowered as he spoke to the weapons specialist as well. Carol protested.
"I'm quite alright," the science officer stated with confidence. At that, the captain said something even more quiet, so Penelope couldn't catch what was spoken. Whatever it had been, it made Carol sigh and move away towards where Spock and Penelope stood. The three then entered the elevator and went down to Sickbay.
Despite its brevity, the ride there was strained. No one spoke, but Penelope felt extremely uncomfortable at the situation. She had never been so unsure about her place aboard the Enterprise, but suddenly, her life was under scrutiny, her decisions magnified and analyzed. In particular, Penelope's meeting with Dr. Robinson two weeks previous might cast her as mentally unstable.
Everything she had done since taking the posting as Scotty's Assistant Chief would now be under question, and Penelope didn't know if the truth would be able to withstand the pressure.