Chapter 12: It's the Little Things
"He wants immunity for giving us Endil?" Archer was incredulous and irritated by the bold request the Orion had made.
"He wanted an assurance that Earth, Vulcan, and Andoria would not interrupt his operations while in orbit around Aldus Prime."
"You've got to be kidding." Archer was not a man who made deals with degenerates like Hesan.
"We agreed," T'Pol told him. Archer was about to start questioning her sanity when he noticed that behind her, Trip was grinning like a maniac.
"But…?"
"We alerted the Aldan Security Force before leaving orbit," T'Pol finished. "While they will probably not be able to shut him down, they will force Hesan to move his operations elsewhere."
"I guess I can live with that," Archer nodded once in approval of her solution. "Still no sign of the vetch?"
Both Commanders shook their heads no.
"Well, at least we might be able to wrap up Sehl's murder. Are we sure Endil is our culprit?"
"It's gotta be Endil," Trip told the captain. "He needed the money, she threatened him, she made the mistake of telling him she was going to take it. It all adds up."
"He is the most likely suspect," T'Pol agreed.
"What about the Orion DNA Phlox found?" That was one angle that hadn't been covered entirely to Archer's satisfaction. "Both Hesan and Endil confirmed that Sehl never met with Hesan, so where did it come from?"
T'Pol had a ready answer. "Endil must have transferred it to Sehl when he killed her. We know that she struggled with her killer before her death, she likely picked up the DNA then."
The captain nodded, but still wasn't completely certain. "And he's sticking to his story, that he found Sehl dead at the Academy?"
"Phlox says it's possible, but there's nothing conclusive to prove where she died. Endil has no proof to offer to back up his story." T'Pol's tone indicated that she didn't find Endil's story plausible. "His version of events is very convenient: Sehl was already dead when he got there, she stole the artifact but it wasn't on her body, he shows up at Hesan's gambling den to "warn" the Orion that Starfleet is coming...the simpler explanation is that he killed Sehl, took the artifact, and came to Hesan to broker a deal to sell it. Hesan is too savvy to accept an artifact tied to a theft and a murder, so instead he turned Endil over to us."
It was all reasonable, Archer supposed. He just couldn't shake the sensation that there was something wrong with all this. "I have a feeling there's more to all this than we know," he sighed, almost to himself.
Neither Trip nor T'Pol could deny his suspicions. Archer felt suddenly tired, and noticed that his officers looked tired too. Well, Trip did. With few exceptions, T'Pol always looked poised and well-rested.
"I guess we'll find out in the morning. In the meantime, get some rest," he ordered them.
"I won't say no," Trip smiled wearily, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. It had been a long day. "I could really use some shuteye."
The engineer shot the Vulcan a look that Archer caught. T'Pol remained expressionless but gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head. It was highly amusing, the way they thought no one else picked up on these little exchanges. Archer tried not to smile at their unspoken conversation.
Although the captain knew about the bond, he wasn't clear on exactly how it manifested in his two officers. He had a feeling it had something to do with sleep or meditation, as they had maneuvered their schedules for the past five months so that they worked the same shifts as often as possible. He also knew the two rarely spent time in one another's quarters, so they were spending time together by some other means. If it helped them be focused and alert, he was all for it. Seeing them squirm as they wondered exactly how much their captain knew was just a bonus. He was going to get some mileage out of this in the future, he could tell.
"Dismissed." He managed to keep a straight face until they left the room.