D And D Chapter Eleven
See above
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Malcolm Reed learned from a very early age that there was a type of human being who became upset when their expectations were not met, and that one common way to show this was to become visibly angry. His own father was one of these people, and when you combine that with the unfortunate trait of blaming others for your misfortune – well, it wasn't hard to see why, unlike others of his linage – Stuart Reed of the Royal Navy never rose above the rank of captain.
Visible anger, however, by itself was not a 'condemning trait'; rather it was only an indication of emotional distress that some people misinterpreted when it wasn't present. It was often 'thrown' in Malcolm's face that he didn't care or comprehend the gravity of a situation. Oh, quite the opposite – Reed often knew precisely in great detail the particulars of a situation – he just didn't feel that 'going off half-cocked' was appropriate. He'd think about the problem, and how to get out of it, if not calmly then at least with what he thought of as 'a modicum of grace'.
(This led to some memorable rows with his parents, including one that would have repercussions years later when he was trapped in the shuttle pod with Commander Tucker. The original argument occurred when he was twelve years old (and was to be regarded as an adult, as his father strictly informed him,); the cause of the dispute he had totally forgotten, but what he did remember was the anger of his father and what happened. The man had worked himself into a rage, almost screaming and physically advancing on him until he was so close that Malcolm could feel the heat rolling off his body.
Malcolm hated being dominated like that, and pushed him back away; what happened next, in retrospect was hardly surprising – his father announced that he had been 'hit' by his son, and would be severely punished – the memory of the sheer unreasonableness of that statement stuck with Reed, and he thought of such reactions as a 'last resort', hence the shock of Tucker when his anger was thrown back 'in his face' by Malcolm's unusual rage. It was an emotional tool, nothing more, nothing less.)
That being said, when Commander T'Pol informed the captain that the ship was experiencing the effects of impacting some of the distortions, Reed half expected him to come rushing out of his 'Ready Room', and not in a good mood. It had been slow going picking their way through, what Reed had regarded as 'shoals of deformations in the space/time matrix', and this would not sit well with Archer's need to hurry through the mission to find the Xindi.
This had been the most severe effect so far in their voyage – all ship's systems had been impacted, including the Warp engine and offensive and defensive systems. If they weren't 'dead in the water', they were pretty much close to that state. Archer came through the short corridor up to the bridge and demanded to know what was going on; while he seemed to maintain his professional demeanor, it was obvious that his temper was being tested. As Malcolm reported on the state of the primary systems, another vessel was detected in the vicinity – apparently stationary, perhaps adrift – though it was hard to see how something eight million kilometers away would be caught in the same distortion that they were in.
T'Pol announced that there was no discernable atmosphere aboard the alien ship, and although the Enterprise's best speed was but 'a quarter impulse', the captain, with his usual inquisitiveness intact, ordered that the ship head for the other vessel. He wanted to investigate what had happened – Reed frankly wasn't sure that they were in any fit condition to render aid if possible, but Archer did order the maneuver, and they did need information . . .
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Earlier Frank Hawkins was in the Mess Hall eating one of the chef's 'experimental 'meals, and thinking that sometimes, just sometimes all of Starfleet was a little bit crazy – even someone as reliable as the 'Chef' could have an 'off day'. Some of his blended meals were to say, charitably, 'unexpected' when it came to taste. Today was an example – the corporal wanted a spicy meal, something to 'hit his taste buds' – instead, Chef had apparently settled for sweet, instead of hot, leaving the MACO wondering if there was any hot sauce available, and thinking that if Commander Tucker tried the lunch menu he would not be happy . . . Maybe he ought to warn the man when he got back to his duty station outside the Engineering Room.
This thought was disrupted by one of the oddest things that the two MACOs had ever seen – Hawkins had been sitting with Romero, who was equally unimpressed by Chef's food selection of the day – when the all the dishes suddenly 'flew' to the top of the Mess Hall, dosing everyone with uneaten food and drink. Cries of surprise were interrupted by a loud stream of cursing from the kitchen area – in a language that Frank wasn't familiar with – though with some of the 'root' words he could guess that it had to do with paternity of some sort . . .
The two MACOs got up immediately and exited into the corridor, and noticed that the tell-lights had come on as the power was in the process of going out on the ship – this kind of problem could not be isolated, and they ran to the Engineering Room, where they found Commander Tucker, his engineering staff, and the relief MACOs (who were holding emergency lanterns), attempting to do something . . . A noise came from the com system, and Tucker ran over and almost pounded on the button.
The captain's voice barely leaked out of the device – clearly communications aboard ship were also impacted, although you could get a good idea that the man was at the very least irritated, "Lieutenant Reed tells me that the power is out to the primary systems on the ship. When can we expect . . ." The com system failed for a few seconds, then resumed. "Commander, can you hear me?" "Capt'n, it might be good if we got some point-to-point communicators for the time being . . . " Tucker wiped his forehead with his right hand, and he motioned with his other hand to Rostov, a senior crewman to dig out the emergency supply.
Apparently Malcolm Reed had had the same idea because almost immediately the Englishman's distinctive voice emanated from a device taped to the bulkhead next to the regular system. Clearly this problem had occurred in the past and the solution had been used before – "Trip, can you hear me?" "Gotcha Malcolm, . . . ". They then proceeded to report on the situation . . .
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A decision was made to investigate the derelict vessel; Archer wasn't pleased at all that the efforts to restore the primary systems aboard the Enterprise weren't proceeding faster. He had assigned both T'Pol and Tucker to oversee the repairs. Problem was, neither of them was quite sure how to proceed – sure the idea was to get the Enterprise back in running condition – but why the ship's systems had failed in the first place was the problem . . .
Meanwhile Archer was determined to go over to the alien ship and investigate what had happened. Malcolm saw what kind of mood the captain was in and he decided to go along with the idea for the time being . . . it might prove informative as to what was currently bedeviling the ship – he wasn't either a warp theorist or a specialist in the computer systems like Trip or T'Pol. Until they decided what the problem was and the solution he was stuck with the most basic of tasks . . . and Jonathan Archer was clearly in one of his moods, so he best go with him and protect him as best as possible.
Reed assigned three of the MACOs to accompany them over to the alien vessel, Kemper, Hawkins, and McFarlane. According to their records they'd had experience in zero-G, air pack, suited conditions, both on the moon and on Jupiter station. Hayes seemed to tacitly agree with his choices – although as they were suiting up, the captain just had to question the MACOs as to their abilities. (Did the captain really think that any of the people selected for the mission were not experienced in the highest regard?) Reed did remind them, as none of them had ever had contact with unknown aliens, about certain protocols, such as 'no air aboard the ship', didn't mean that they were 'deceased'. (Reed still remembered quite vividly the experience with the white tendrilled being that grabbed several crew members including the captain and Trip. At least being in suits would make it easier to cut anyone so caught, loose.)
Captain Archer immediately took control of the shuttle craft, flying it over to the alien vessel. Malcolm knew that he best acquiesce in the matter; the earlier events at the mine had not calmed the American one bit, and this latest series of troubles – apparently 'natural phenomena' – had put the man in even worse mood. (Reed was reminded of a great truth having to do with the sea, the sky, and the soul – memorable to him because of his family's traditional branch of service, the Royal Navy. Victor Hugo had said it in 'Les Miserables', "There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.")
Malcolm Reed hoped that Jonathan Archer would 'sort out his 'demons' and learn the 'interior of his soul' before his inner torment cost lives needlessly . . .
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The docking with the alien craft was uneventful as was the entry. No one greeted the five humans demanding to know why they had entered – T'Pol's pronouncement that there was no atmosphere aboard the vessel was correct. The aliens aboard had been humanoid, with proper corridors, and apparent doors leading to rooms – Sargent Kemper pulled open one of the partially open bulkheads and was unpleasantly surprised by a body falling forward. Reed was able to detect residual traces of disruptor weapons 'fire' – an observation which was both troubling and reassuring at the same time. It meant that while the problems with the distortions were severe, it took an actual attack from some other beings to cause this mayhem.
The group made their way to a section of the ship which seemed to function as the bridge (or at least a central nexus – it contained an access point for the resident data storage,) and Archer tasked the lieutenant to 'download' information in hopes that some answers as to what happened might be available. Along with the weapon's fire from an unknown assailant – it appeared that the craft had suffered some kind of catastrophic failure – not surprising given the current state of the systems aboard the Enterprise. This was concerning to both Starfleet officers, and as soon as the shuttlecraft returned, Archer ordered that 'best speed' be made to leave the area in case whomever attacked the alien vessel, returned and attempted the same with their ship.
Reed relieved the three MACOs who had accompanied them from further duty that shift; since it was their first experience in the 'suits' this voyage, he made sure that Phlox checked the group out for any nascent problems - it was not unheard of for people to develop some stress related conditions relating to a first time Zero-G shift. As he was ultimately responsible for their wellbeing – the presence of Major Hayes notwithstanding – he ordered them to take some time off, to rest from the experience. Which was why, in hindsight Corporal Hawkins was not on duty in his usual spot outside Engineering when the second alien ship approached . . .
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Reed was back at the tactical console on the Bridge – his expertise in strategic operations superseded for the moment any assistance that he could give his well-trained staff in repairing the offensive or defensive systems. He watched with some concern, the tension apparent in the body language of the captain. The man had the unfortunate tendency of 'running hot or cold' – meaning that Archer had difficulty in moderating his attention span or energy level.
(This had already caused some difficulty in Reed's estimation – while a younger man might have been able to rely on the 'energies of youth' to maintain such a pace, at some point Captain Archer would have to relax, else he would be liable to 'crash', not something to be welcomed during a crisis. This would bear watching . . . Archer kept asking questions about possible adversaries of the assaulted craft; Malcolm could only give probable answers, wherein the captain wanted certainties. Impossible given the information available.)
Reed's attention was drawn to the announcement by Ensign Mayweather that a second alien vessel was approaching the Enterprise; this was problematic as neither the offensive nor the defensive systems were minimally operational – he accessed the navigational sensor array and watched with dismay at the approach of this new ship. It was heading in their direction in a clearly aggressive manner, and he had no ability to either charge weapons or activate the hull plating – the defense of the ship and its crew would have to be handled internally 'the old-fashioned way' – as his mind knew that in all likelihood these were pirates intent on looting their ship.
(At this point, there was a problem that frankly had gone unnoticed by the engineering staff, and it was very serious – sensors in Cargo Bay Two were malfunctioning – so that any entry into that area would go unnoticed. Crewman Fuller was currently in the bay making sure that the torpedoes stored in that location were 'safed' and had not been activated by the distortion field. He was after all a specialist in that particular type of armament, and it was his assignment to keep this weapon system working in optimum condition. Mention of this would be made during his memorial service both on the Enterprise, and back on Earth, where he was given honors for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of Humanity.)
At this point the Enterprise was boarded by the pirates – an alarm activated that indicated entry into the Armory – a logical place for attack as well as holding valuable materiel – weapons obviously – Malcolm was already on his way to that area, picking up a couple of stray MACOs, Woods and Wilson in battle armor . . . with Archer hot on his tail. They made entry via the upper level of the unit – a section little used, but there because of design considerations and immediately confronted the invaders who had apparently already stolen much of the small arms in the area.
Malcolm could see at least one of his staff had been rendered unconscious, and he was attempting to retake the area from the pirates when Archer (behind him on the platform) asked him a question regarding the torpedoes being 'armed'. He bit back an urge to tell the man that, 'Of course they're bloody armed!', and instead merely affirmed that they were indeed 'armed'. Archer's suggestion of using a stun grenade was really not much better, but he wasn't going to argue the point mid battle . . .
After 'settling the matter', Reed ran up to his targeting platform and quickly checked to see if the crewman was alive – he felt a pulse, and accessed the ship's security sensors (unfortunately not fully operational) from the screen – it showed additional pirates in both Engineering and Cargo Bay One – missing the situation with Fuller and Cargo Bay Two. However it wouldn't have made much difference at this point as Engineering had top priority . . . Reed took Woods with him, leaving Archer and Wilson to check out the situation in Cargo Bay One.
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The battle in the Engineering Department from Malcolm's standpoint was almost anti-climactic; while the invaders had stolen the warp injectors and made off with vital equipment using what appeared to be point-to-point transporters – dealing with a thoroughly pissed off Chief Engineer meant that one of the invaders – an armored, but curiously deformed creature – had met with the physical reality of Trip's favorite 'hyperspanner' which never left Tucker's side and would someday surely be buried with the man. (The additional effect of the 'lightning' coming off the warp engine caused the pirates to flee, and abandon their comrade. Reed witnessed the fearsome power of the malfunction – and the satisfaction of his friend, who seemed to 'shout "Mess with my engines, will you!")
This momentary satisfaction was tempered by the stark reality of what had actually occurred. The Armory had been invaded with much looting of small arms – the Engineering Department raided and vital equipment and resources taken – Archer reported that Cargo Bay One had been stripped to the bulkheads, and Malcolm, with a sense of dread, sent a mixture of his staff and some MACOs to the second Cargo Bay where a mortally wounded Fuller was discovered with missing torpedoes and anti-matter stores. In his mind the defense of the Enterprise had failed and likewise he had failed in his duty.
Malcolm immediately met with Major Hayes to discuss options, and set about completing the repairs to the offensive and defensive systems (as best he could) aboard ship . . . if there was to be 'a second chance', they would be ready . . .
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A.N. I held off writing this 'note' to the end as I wanted to apologize for the lateness of this chapter – but also to explain at least in part – why . . . I had a case of writer's block involving the motivation of Archer, a believable (I hope) explanation for 'Fuller's death' and some confusion regarding whether Cargo Bay One or Two was invaded . . . I figured both were . . . if this makes sense . . . onward to the next chapter . . .
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