Chapter 25
"Bridge to Captain Tucker."
Trip rolled his head on his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling of the command center. The four-day trek to the compound had been challenging for Columbia and taxed every member of the Phoenix crew. System failures plagued the ship and just when Dempsey and his team thought they had a handle on the problem, another gremlin jumped onto the court. Yesterday the problem with the engine got so out of control the resident NX expert had to be called in and said expert ended up pulling an all-nighter.
An all-nighter in one of my favorite places, Trip thought stretching his arms over his head. Makes me wish I was still an engineer. He picked up his coffee cup as he reveled in his triumph. It took a couple of hours, but he fixed it. I fixed Columbia's engines! He stared into the void of the cup, forgetting all about the bridge call. The team, Chief Alvarez, Crewman Hitchcock, Ensign Lippert, Dempsey … the team … we fixed it.
"Captain Tucker?"
The voice jolted him from his fog. He pulled his communicator out of his pocket and slid it open. "Tucker here."
"Captain, you have a visitor in the ready room."
"I'll be right there." Trip replied with a smirk on his face. Tonight's visitor was about to get a real ass chewing … Admiral Anthony Stewart style. Missed reporting deadlines, anti-social, arguing with senior staff, overall bad attitude … all attributes that could get a person kicked right off the ship. He downloaded some information to a PADD and stood up from the workstation.
Within ten minutes, he was towering over his "visitor" trying to pull of his best Iron fist persona. His target seemed intimidated, at least in theory anyway.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" he questioned his subject crossing his arms at his chest.
"Permission to speak freely sir?"
"Go ahead."
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because it's part of your program," Tucker said dropping his hands to his waist. He knew exactly where this was going.
"It's stupid."
"It's not stupid, Riley. On Earth it's the law that kids your age go to school," Trip replied still standing over her.
"I don't live on Earth!" she protested. "I may never live on Earth again."
Trip's mind raced a mini marathon while he tried to decide what he was going to say. Why do I suddenly sound like her father? "Riley, the skills you are learning will help you in life, no matter where you live."
"Oh right," Riley scowled. "How is physics going to help me?"
"Try flying a shuttle pod without understanding the mechanics," Trip said waving his hand up in frustration.
"I could fly a shuttle if my life depended on it," she retorted.
"Really? Maybe we should test that theory right now?" Trip suggested. "How 'bout it?"
Riley looked out the window and back up at him. "We're at warp," she muttered with a perplexed expression on her face.
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"You can't launch a shuttle at warp," she replied. "It would be smashed flat from the G-forces."
"How do you know?" he questioned barely able to keep the smile off his face.
"Ensign Carole told me in my ….." her voice trailed off and she looked at the floor.
"What was that?" Trip said leaning against the desk. "I…I couldn't quite hear that."
Riley blew a puff of air out loudly. "I learned it in my physics lesson," she muttered refusing to look up at him.
"Ah huh," he grunted. "What'd I tell ya?"
"Okay, you made your point," she said with a dejected tone in her voice.
"What about your PT?" Tucker asked her.
"What about it?"
"Lieutenant Haas informed me you refuse to run on deck eleven," Trip said leaning toward her.
"It's haunted!" Riley yelped. "I'm not going down there!"
"It's not haunted. There is nothing but empty rooms on deck eleven."
"Noooo!" Riley argued shaking her head. "There is something living down there in one of the room. I saw the door move and a shadow inside the room."
"I think that's your imagination playing games with you," Trip remarked just as the comm link clicked behind him.
"Bridge to Captain Tucker."
Trip twisted around on the desk to reach the comm padd. "Go ahead."
"Captain Pearson is pending for you."
"Okay," he replied looking up at the chronometer. He turned back to Riley. "You have three hours before your lesson with Ensign Carole. Go do your homework," he said enunciating each word.
"Yes sir," she said standing up from the chair and walking to the door.
00-00
Ensign Kelly Morgan sat in the dining room nursing a plate of food and a glass of water. She stared blankly at the tabletop and reflected on how numb she felt. Her purpose and lifeblood had been sucked out of her, reaffirming why seeing Trey was a mistake, it had been four days since he had been dragged from her cell and any attempt to get information on his whereabouts from her guards had been fruitless. Ichara told her that musing over his fate was useless, but it didn't belay her feelings and the hole in her heart that wouldn't stop throbbing.
Besides Trey's disappearance, other things were occurring in the compound that were unsettling to the Columbia crew. New prisoners were arriving everyday. Shavu and Avu had been reassigned and the new guards had little time for talk. The relaxed atmosphere the detainees had come to expect was quickly snagged from under them as the guards resorted to physical punishment quickly and for the most part, no understandable reason. The only good thing that happened during all the commotion was Kelly, Ichara and Captain Hernandez were moved to the men's dormitory.
Despite their hatred for the captain, Hernandez rallied the detainees into hanging on every day. Whatever their feelings or opinions, they respected Hernandez's fight for life. So determined to beat the odds, she silently inspired all the detainees, to the point they were protective of her. Just a day ago when the guards attempted to transfer Hernandez to the medical bay, the Columbia crew stood their ground protectively around the captain and deterred her removal from the ward. Kelly knew she was grateful for what protection and aide they provided under their horrendous condition, even if she rarely verbalized it. The guilt that fed the woman had to be overwhelming.
"Kelly," Ichara called to her from the doorway.
Ensign Morgan looked up to see Ichara, Lieutenant Mahoney and Crewman Lake enter the dining room and approach her table.
"Brice, Kyle," she muttered as she watched the three sit around from her.
"We overheard the guards talking," Lake said leaning his elbows on the table. "The supply transports aren't coming."
"The ship the guards spoke of was filled with new prisoners," Ichara explained. "I suspect that's why we were moved and our access was changed. The guards are busy processing them."
"The new meat," Lake guffawed. "All the better for us I say. One more day being forced into the rec room was going to kill me."
"You think that's going to stop?" Kelly retorted looking up at him. She watched him shrug and she pushed her plate away. "We're in prison. They beat us, torture us and lie to us. That is the order of things."
"Something is happening," Ichara replied. "The guard seemed…."
"Antsy," Mahoney finished the sentence for her. "Ichara is right. Why else would they change the protocol of our bracelets? I can understand why they think they can trust you two … but the rest of us? There are only a handful of guards and eighteen of us. Twenty including the two of you. Giving us free access to the compound is a tactical error."
"Maybe that's their plan, to lure us into a trap so they can kill us," Kelly mumbled as a tear rolled down her face. She felt Kyle's hand on her back and felt little comfort in his warmth.
"Don't give up now Ensign," he said reassuringly in her ear. "You've beaten the odds already."
"Nobody is giving up," Ichara said firmly. "Kelly's need for survival is strong. We've all made it this far. We can work together, maybe with the new prisoners and come up with a new plan." She held Kelly's gaze as she spoke projecting a silent understanding.
"You're optimistic," Lake remarked taking a drink from Kelly's water glass.
"If you have lived as Ichara has, you would understand," Kelly replied watching Ichara nod. She noticed movement behind Lake and looked up to see an attendant set a container on the table. "Thank you," she said to the attendant before he walked away.
"What's this?" Lake said lifting up the lid.
"Out!" Kelly spat, slapping his hand and pulling the container closer to her side of the table. "It's broth for the captain."
"Ouch, excuse me," he replied jokingly. "Is she well enough to eat?" he asked looking from Kelly to Lieutenant Mahoney. "She didn't look too good this morning."
"Barely," Kelly replied. "At least her fever's down. The Lieutenant had her sitting up last night." She looked over to him appreciatively. Mahoney had the same schooling as Kelly and only three months seniority on her, but somehow his expertise trumped hers. At least in her mind anyway.
"We need to get her strength up," Mahoney remarked. "Lying on that cot all day isn't good. She needs to move, get the blood circulating." He trailed his gaze around the table and settled on Kelly. "With that said, we should probably go check on her. Brice, take Kelly outside for some air," Kyle said glancing over at Lake.
"What?" Kelly stammered looking back at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing more than you need some fresh air," Kyle said standing up. "You and Ichara have been locked up in the back room for the past three weeks. A little sun will do you good."
"Yes Kelly," Ichara agreed. "It will help clear your head." She leaned over the table and picked up the container of broth. "The lieutenant and I will check on the captain."
Kelly watched Ichara and Mahoney leave the room and slowly trailed her gaze to Lake. "Why do I suspect a set up?" she asked him suspiciously.
"Because you've been cooped up too long," Lake said standing up. He extended his hand to her. "Let's go. I'm your entertainment guide."
00-00
CDR Stu Rybaiski walked into the mess hall and stood in front of the refrigeration display for several minutes before making his selection. He picked up his tray and turned around to find a table. The room was nearly empty, so he had the pick of locations. As he made his way toward the window, he noticed someone sitting alone in the corner and veered toward the table.
"Up for some company?" he said when he got closer.
The red-haired girl looked up at him and smiled. "Sure Commander," Riley replied moving her stuff out of his way. "Got enough to eat?" she commented looking at his overloaded tray.
"Wanna share?" Stu asked her as he sat down.
"Ah, no," Riley shook her head. "Too rich for my blood. It will make me sick"
"That's coming from the girl who eats chocolate ice cream for breakfast?" Rybaiski laughed.
Riley laughed with him and shook her head. "My system isn't used to certain foods just yet. Dr. McCann and Chef monitor everything I eat and it's never chocolate ice cream for breakfast," she informed him.
"Uh huh," Rybaiski mumbled sticking a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. "Whatcha writing?" he asked motioning at the PADD on the table.
"A letter to my brother. At least I'm trying too," she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't exactly know what to say."
"Well, if he was me, I'd want to know what you'd been doing for the past couple of years," Stu said. He picked up his water glass and took a drink.
"So I should tell him that I was a slave girl that danced for a buck?" Riley questioned him. "You'd want to read that?" She tilted her head with a perplexed expression on her face.
Rybaiski was quiet for a moment mulling it over in his head. "Well, I wouldn't like it … but yeah, I'd need to understand what happened to you so we could put our relationship back together. You don't need to be graphic about it. Just tell him your story," Stu said twisting his pasta with his fork. "It's not really any different than breaking down your walls with us," he reminded her. "Except I'm sure your not going to beat the crap out of your brother when you finally meet him." Stu smiled and winked at her to make his point.
"I'll try to contain myself," Riley bit her lip and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry about your friend … Ensign Chambers," she added, her voice practically a whisper.
"It's okay," Rybaiski answered as he continued to eat. "You were just trying to defend yourself. You didn't really hurt her," he said picking up his water glass.
"But… I heard she had to have surgery because of what I did," Riley blurted out in confusion.
"She had surgery, but it wasn't because of what you did to her exactly," he said reassuringly. "In fact, you did her a favor. See because of what you did, she had a bunch of tests run and we found out that she had something wrong inside her brain. She needed the surgery to correct it. If you hadn't hit her, she would have never found out and one day she would have just died for seemingly no reason," he explained leaning back in his chair. "So in the end, it was a good thing you hit her, not that I would advise doing that on a regular basis."
Riley stared at the commander with a perplexed expression on her face. "You're weird," she muttered to fill the empty space after a minute.
"I'm weird?" he chuckled picking up his fork. "Well, birds of a feather flock together."
Rybaiski watched the young girl as he ate his meal. She had come along way since her fateful escape from sickbay. As she acclimated to life on the ship, she shed her apprehension around the crew and started to develop friendships with a selected few, himself included. It was nice to see Riley laugh and feel like Phoenix was her safe zone. He continued to eat as she rambled on about the letter to her brother oblivious to the others in the mess hall. Oblivious until a certain person walked through the door.
Stu was mid swallow when he noticed Riley turn her head and start to tremble slightly. He darted his eyes to the left and noticed a Tellarite exchange officer amble up to the drink dispenser. "You okay?" he asked Riley carefully eyeing her reaction.
"Um yeah," she said as she leaned into the table and started to collect her things. "I should go. I have my physics lesson with Ensign Carole in a little bit."
Stu noticed her hand shaking as she tried to pick up the PADD. "You got some time, doesn't it start at nineteen thirty?" he asked drawing her attention away from the door.
"Yeah," she muttered looking back at him.
"That's ah eleven minutes from now," Stu reminded her. "Just enough time to work on that letter some more." He watched her squirm in her seat. Her eyes darted wildly everywhere but back to the door and it reminded him of that frantic expression on her face the night he found her in the shuttle pod. Riley was agitated and her breathing was beginning to become labored.
It wasn't the first panic attack she had around one of the exchange officers. Usually Riley freaked and bolted out of the situation. The Tellarites had been on board for four weeks now. It would another two to three months before they or Riley would be transferred off the ship. Phoenix wasn't that big; she couldn't run forever, Riley needed to figure out a way to deal with her fear. This was her chance to confront it head on and Stu was going to see it through with her … even if it meant pinning her in her seat.
"So umm, got your physics homework done?" he asked as a diversion.
"Huh?" she muttered looking back at him. "Does everyone on the ship know about that?"
"It's a small ship," Stu replied after taking another swallow of his water.
"Geezus, like my homework is anyone's business," she retorted crossing her arms at her chest. "Just another thing to put me under the microscope."
"You think you're under a microscope?" he asked setting his fork down.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Sort of."
"That's called caring Riley," he said taking a bite out of his garlic bread. "I care whether or not you do your homework and broaden your horizons. Just like I care whether or not you can learn to live with people who are different than you." He looked back toward the front of the mess hall. "He's gone and look, you survived it. You sat here the whole time he was in the room getting a drink from the machine. You didn't bolt out of your seat or start screaming or knock out your security escort."
"He's the monster in my dreams," Riley said looking down at the tabletop.
"He is? Shoot … here I thought I was the one that you fantasized about," Stu said with a dead serious expression on his face. His gamble paid off when she looked up at him and laughed.
"You wish," Riley chuckled nervously.
"You can't treat a single person a certain way because of what one person in his species did to you," Stu reminded her.
"It wasn't just one person," she argued.
"Whatever," he interrupted. "You know what I meant. You can't let those ghosts control you," he said picking up his water glass. "This is your safe zone. No one is going to hurt you here."
"That's easy for you to say," she said fiddling with the PADD. "You haven't been lied to half your life."
"Are we back to that again?" he asked rolling his eyes. "When was the last time someone lied to you?"
Riley tilted her head in thought. "Lieutenant Haas did the other day when he said there was nothing on deck eleven."
"Huh? There isn't anything on deck eleven," Rybaiski retorted.
"Yes there is," Riley argued.'
"Yeah, a cargo bay, the racquetball slash basketball court and a bunch of empty rooms."
"They're not all empty," Riley began to say just as her communicator cut her off.
"Ensign Carole to Riley."
Riley slumped against the chair and looked at the commander Rybaiski. "You made me late," she mumbled pulling the communicator out of her pocket. "Riley here. I'm on my way. Commander Rybaiski held me up." She snapped the communicator shut and picked up her PADD. "Will you help me write this letter later?" she asked as she stood up from the chair.
"Sure," he said. "Whatever you need."
"Whatever I need?" she repeated with a smirk. "Including finding the ghost on deck eleven?"
00-00
"It's beautiful here," Kelly mumbled as she lay on the ground and looked up at the night sky. Morgan and Lake had been sitting outside for over two hours basking in the night air. "Sick huh?" she giggle looking over at Crewman Lake.
"You could say that," he replied tossing a rock into the force field that prevented them from leaving the courtyard.
"Do you think the ship is up there?" Kelly asked mindlessly.
"Hard to say," Lake answered. "The lizards probably stripped it and sold it off to a salvage dealer by now."
"Oh that's optimistic," Morgan retorted rolling over to face him. "What happened to being my entertainment guide?"
"I'm sorry," he mumbled sheepishly rubbing his hand across his groin. "I'm bored."
"Maybe you should go visit your girlfriend in the rec room," Kelly quipped pushing herself up from the ground. "What's her name? Callee? You could get your freak on with her, that's what you do right?"
"More or less. But it's hardly recreational," he said. "I mean it was in the beginning, it was actually fun the first couple of days. Now it's just a form of torture."
"Having sex everyday is a form of torture?" Kelly questioned him. She walked over to a bench and sat down. "I can think of ten people that would argue that point with you."
"Well, you would think that," Brice replied. "While we're on the topic of what I do or don't enjoy in the rec room…..were you sleeping with that guard?" He looked over to her and saw her squirm in her seat. "Kelly? Did he force himself on you?"
She exhaled slowly and shook her head. "I've haven't been forced to do anything," she said skating the question. "They're impotent."
"Whatever! You expect me to believe that? You had him wrapped around your finger!" Brice joked. He rubbed the inside of his thigh more aggressively this time. It didn't go unnoticed by Kelly.
"Gotta itch?" she scowled at him.
"Sort of," Lake remarked trying to adjust himself. "The skin around my crotch is on fire."
"Maybe you have crabs," Kelly said with a deadpan delivery. "That's what you get for not practicing safe sex."
Lake opened his eyes wide and shot Kelly an incredulous expression. "Wha? No way! Crabs are folklore!" he guffawed.
"That's not exactly true Crewman," Ensign Morgan informed him. "Haven't you heard that old bar rule … be careful who you lay with, because you don't' know who they've been laying with? That's why there's a protocol against sleeping with aliens."
"Guess someone forgot to tell the lizards," Lake mumbled just as a guard he never saw before rushed into the courtyard.
"Back inside! Both of you!" The male was visibly agitated as he corralled the two into the building.
"What's going on?" Brice asked as the guard pushed the two against the wall and roughly patted each down.
"That's none of your concern," the guard growled. The male pulled two rocks out of Lake's pocket and tossed them on the floor. "Trying to pick up weapons?" he hissed into Lake's ear.
"No," Lake protested. "I was just playing a game."
"I'll show you a game," the guard replied caustically. "Hands on your head. Both of you!" he ordered and chuckled sadistically as they both complied. "You want to play? We'll have fun tonight."
00-00
Rybaiski ran down the corridor on deck two and skidded into the Command Center at the end of the hall. He nearly bowled Commander Gervase over as he came crashing through the door. "What's going on?" he blurted out.
"Incoming transmission from Columbia," Ensign Braidi remarked calmly from the comm station.
"On screen," Trip replied pacing around the work bar. "Commanders," he greeted T'Pol and Catch once the image flicked into view. Lieutenant Dempsey hovered in the background of the room.
"Captain," T'Pol replied with a formal tone. "We just received word from the Andorian Security Director, the Naree are aware of Elnora's failed attempt at Hybrids."
"There seems to be a leak in her organization," Dempsey added. "From the compound obviously."
"Don't assume, it could have come from the High Family."
"They live on the same planet," Rybaiski shrugged.
"It would be easy enough to make a phone call," Gervase pointed out. "Payback from the King."
"Why would the Ambassador tip us off on Elnora's secret lab and clue his arch enemy in before we get in place to rescue our people?" Dempsey questioned throwing his hands up in the air. His antenna tilted forward with an accusing air. "That would be political suicide!"
"And hasten the Anoree death," Rybaiski added noticing for the first time that Tucker hadn't said a word, not that they had given him much time to do so.
"In any event," T'Pol interrupted drawing the focus in the room. "The Naree are planning a raid on the compound."
"It will take fifty two hours to assemble their ships," Catch remarked.
"What's our ETA to the sector?" Tucker asked.
"At present speed, ten hours," Stu answered.
Rybaiski watched as Tucker paced around the work bar considering his options. The captain persona that enveloped his friend intrigued him. How Trip could transform from his racquetball buddy to the stoic captain in a matter of seconds mystified him. Impressive, Stu thought
"Darlington is a day behind us," Stu offered to break the silence.
"The Security Director has dispatched two ships to assist us," Dempsey said. "They are also a day away."
"Intel also picked up chatter that after the raid the remaining detainees would be parceled off at slave markets," McCann added glancing back at Dempsey.
"The chatter wasn't specific, however, there are markets on Draylax and just across the neutral zone in Romulan space," Dempsey remarked
"Oh, that's lovely," Gervase grumbled. "Figures that a monster would have the Romulans on the buddy list."
Trip tapped his finger on the edge of the work bar. "T'Pol, maintain your course and heading. We'll go ahead, take a defensive position and get a handle on the tactical situation."
"I'll notify Captain Pearson on Darlington and the Andorian's of the situation," T'Pol stated not skipping a beat.
"Helm," Tucker said keying the communication panel at the work bar. "Take us to maximum warp."
TBC