Author's Notes: Final chapter is next! This story is finally coming to an end! Thanks for your patience, and for all the comments.
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Sickbay
"Archer here! What's going on?!" the Captain keeps his hand on the intercom. Why did Lieutenant Reed com him? Have they made contact with the alien?
"It's Commander Tucker, Sir," the voice is hesitant, as if Reed is afraid to speak up.
Trip? What now?! "And-?!" Archer pretty much barks in the com.
"I'm not sure, Sir, I think he may be on his way to Sickbay..."
No wonder Reed sounds tentative. Archer sucks a breath of air through his teeth, "You think?!"
"He left before I could stop him, Sir." Malcolm's been split between two decisions. Go after Trip and leave the helm - what if the aliens made contact when he wasn't around? Or stay on the bridge and let Trip perhaps attack the Captain. In the end, he's wedded to his duty and any crew member is expendable. Even the Captain.
Archer swears and cuts off the com. He reflexively kneads his shoulder, unaware he's doing it. Phlox notices. The shoulder has just mended, he doesn't want it to get injured again. The doors swish open and Archer turns to the doorway.
Trip is standing there. Except that it doesn't look like Trip. The stare is Trip and not Trip. The eyes are still the same blue, the face is the same, and yet this is a stranger. Archer would be unable to point out the difference, perhaps the way the muscles pull on the corners of the eyes and mouth? Whatever, that's not his friend standing there, that... thing... is passing itself off as Trip. He feigns joviality, slathering his voice with honey, "Hey, Trip, must be good news, the modulator is working I take it?" He's gaining time, already coiled for action, his eyes cold as they seize up this stranger.
The engineer looks at him, or rather through him. "You need to bring her to the planet," he says. Even his voice is not his own, a lower register, rougher around the edges. Archer recognizes the voice that spoke when Trip was unconscious in Sickbay. So the alien is up to its tricks again. The thought fills him with anger. They had an agreement! That thing couldn't wait until they made contact with the planet?! He's been trying his darnedest to deliver on his promise, while the alien is doing an end run around him and Enterprise!
'How would that be getting the better of Enterprise?' the voice in his head is cool, poised. Archer almost looks around for the speaker but stays focused on Trip. It's a female voice. T'Pol? But T'Pol is in a coma, completely out of reach. He can't figure who it is but he can't ignore what the voice is saying. How is this an end run around Enterprise? It's not. He shakes his head, refusing to accept it. "You need to release her first!" he hisses. No point in trying to pretend this is Trip.
Trip's head is cocked as if he's listening to an otherworldly tune. "You need to bring her to the planet," he repeats.
"How?! How do you suggest we bring her there?! She's in a stasis field, for god's sake!" Of course that's not a reason, the seriously ill or wounded are being transferred all the time. But the hell is he going to agree without bringing up every obstacle he can think of.
Trip is still staring at through him, past him. "Bring the stasis field," he says. Archer sees Phlox from the corner of his eye shaking his head in disbelief.
"You know we can't, Trip," Archer's maintaining an appearance of good humor in spite of himself, "Just release her, okay?"
"You need to bring her to the planet," the Trip/alien dyad replies. There's something in the set of his shoulders, in the way he's standing, something that lets Archer know he won't be moved, physically or otherwise, there's no point trying.
Archer tries anyway, or he wouldn't be Archer, "We don't even know where on the planet!"
"The Realm of the Unassigned. I have the coordinates," Trip answers.
Archer has a sudden insight, "And if we do, you'll leave her alone?" he asks.
Trip looks at him as if he's never seen him before. "She does not belong in the Realm of the Unassigned," he says.
Archer tries another tack, "Do you really want us to send her there?! Alone? Without anyone to protect her?!" He's appealing to any shade of humanity left in Trip.
There's a slight lightening of Trip's eyes and Archer hopes perhaps that thing is letting go. That only lasts seconds. Bells and alarms start ringing, Phlox rushes to the medical console. A couple of orderlies run in, he's barking commands at them. He turns to Archer, "The alien is attacking her again!"
"You need to bring her to the planet," Trip repeats, his gaze fixed.
"Wait!" Archer entreats, "Trip, wait! It's T'Pol, Trip! T'Pol! Stop hurting her!" Trip turns to look at him. The alarms stop. "Just give me a minute, Trip, just one minute!" Archer's goes to the intercom, Trip silently staring at him.
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It
It will soon be back at the Realm of the Unassigned. It knows it. It is pulsating slowly, taking pleasure at the fact the well-ordered universe will fall back into place and It will find its rightful place in the hall of glory. Soon.
It can feel the psionic waves from the millions of geodid on the planet, like a corona, almost blinding in its intensity. The glow enhances its own powers, It is gliding along from energy field to energy field, bending them at will. The almost-host was easily summoned. The transports are harder, they are blind to psionic energy, It cannot force them. But It can lean on the host instead.
And It does. There is no joy in doing so. It is what must be done. Without ill will towards the host, or the almost-host. It must reach the Realm, that is all that matters. It will reach the Realm, the transports will see to it.
If they want to preserve the host.
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Bridge
The intercom rings, "Archer to Bridge!"
"Reed here," the lieutenant answers right away.
"Any progress? We need to make contact with the aliens now!" Archer knows there's little hope of that happening. Reed glances at Hoshi, doesn't want to make her feel badly, looks away. She shakes her head in silent response.
"Nothing further to report, Captain," Malcolm's voice is crisp, neutral. What else can he say, really?
Hoshi's face is burning with the humiliation of defeat. The modulator sits inert on her console. She's never tasted defeat before, and it tastes like ash. She's never let Jonathan down. Yet. She'd cry but that's the last thing she's gonna do. She's a Starfleet officer, godammit. Memories flash back, that poker game, other times she's known what to expect, what was being said, even if it wasn't formulated. Again, she thinks back to the alert call, to how she knew what it was. How did she know? How?
She pushes back into her seat, "Wait!" she hollers. She swiftly turns dials on her console, looking back to when they found the alien ship. She's feeling Malcolm's eyes on her back, the eyes of the entire bridge complement. 'Just be', a voice whispers in her mind. She wants to look around but needs to stay focused on the recording. It's a male voice, but it's not Malcolm. Or Trip. Or the Captain. She can only deal with one mystery at a time. She listens.
Suddenly she feels like laughing. No, it can't be. Can it? She can't even say it, nobody would understand, but really, how could she have missed it all along? She closes her eyes, listening to the song resounding on the bridge. That's when it hits her. Of course! It is! She hopes she's not wrong. Somewhere, somehow, she knows she's not.
She turns to Malcolm, "Let the Captain know the aliens aren't hostile."
Malcolm looks back at her speechlessly but the Captain's heard her, "Got it, thanks Hoshi." The com goes silent. She leans back in her seat with a sigh.
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Sickbay
Archer flicks the com shut, turns back to Trip. Or whatever that thing is.
"You need to bring her to the planet," Trip repeats.
"Wait!" Archer shoots him a dark look, bites back an acerbic reply, glances over at Phlox who's shaking his head, there's nothing he can do. Archer'd love to do some heroic act right now, save the day and get the alien to release T'Pol. But that's not in the cards. If he refuses to bring T'Pol to the planet, the alien will kill her, he's out one officer, a friend and an officer, and no first contact. If nothing happens, she'll die, there's only so much Phlox can do. If he accepts, the aliens may kill T'Pol, and he's no better off. Or they don't, and he'll have his entire crew back, perhaps even first contact.
'It is the logical choice.' Again, the female voice. That had to be T'Pol, but it can't be, it wasn't even her voice. She's in a coma anyway, with that blood-sucking parasite trying to feed on her. He knows there is no other choice but how can he send her down with her attacker still wrapped around her mind?
'She will be safe.' The voice resounds in his head. Who is it? Perhaps the aliens. Hoshi said they weren't hostile. He looks up, searching.
"You need to bring her to the planet," Trip interrupts.
Archer waves irritably, "I get it, Trip!" He takes a deep breath, makes the command decision, "...but only after Phlox has stabilized her and everything's ready to our liking!" He can and will delay, "And we need to monitor what's happening. You stay here and work with Phlox to adapt this. I want it on the main screen!" he's pointing at the alien viewing screen Phlox has jerry-rigged to the biobed. Plus that way he keeps Trip in Sickbay, away from the bridge.
Where he can keep looking for some other way out of this whole mess.
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