Chapter 12: Red Alert

Other than each of the away team having a protocystian spore, they were fine and once they were released Buffy, T'Pol and Tucker met Archer in his ready room and informed him on the mission.

He told them about detecting the Suliban ship that left just after they had lifted off the surface.

And so T'Pol and Tucker went to work, they modified the sensors to detect the Suliban's plasma decay rate.

"Buffy?" Archer said later in his ready room. "Did you find out anything about her?"

"Being who Dawn and I are we have a pretty high clearance as you know, she's clean and normal right up until she gets the scholarship that put her in Soval's office. Then, her records start getting real terse and kind of vague. I suspect it could just be Soval's logging style as the details are never very important to him. Of course it could be a masking technique similar to the one he used when mine and Dawn's records became classified."

"Do you think she's a spy?" he asked.

"No," Buffy replied. "There is no reason for that. Of course she's not going lie to Soval either. So she might be a spy unwittingly. There is something else, something unusual. Dawn and I found logs of several messages going back and forth between Soval and Admiral Forrest just before she was assigned."

Archer narrowed his eyes in thought. "I didn't think Soval and Forrest had that much to say to each other."

"Neither did I," Buffy said. "In fact to my knowledge Dawn and I are the only human's Soval is even friendly with at all. But it does make you wonder what's going on."

"Do you think you could find out?" Archer wondered.

"Possible," Buffy said, "given time. But it's possible that T'Pol's a guinea pig. To see if maybe we can work together. Or she could be a plant after all, but not for what we think."

"For what then?"

"To keep an eye on me and Dawn," Buffy said. "Soval did not want us leaving Earth, not on an Earth vessel. When Dawn told him she wanted to be on this mission. He objected and suggested a Vulcan ship."

"That is interesting," Archer replied.

"T'Pol to Archer, permission to go to warp four point five. The Suliban ship is pulling away from us."

"Granted," Archer replied. "Archer to Engineering. We're going to go to warp four point five."

"Aye sir," Tucker replied. "I'll keep an eye on the engines."

"It's possible there's something about time travel we don't understand," Archer suggested suddenly as he looked back to Buffy.

"I'd say the odds for that are good," Buffy responded. "Only Dawn and I have any familiarity with time travel because of our past experiences and we like you were on the receiving end."

"So it's likely somebody more advanced than we are," Archer contemplated,

"Trying to change the past like the Borg?" Buffy wondered. "It's possible."

"I think we agree it's dangerous for these beings from the future to help the Suliban, but it's not so different from an advanced race like the Vulcans coming and helping Earth. If it's so risky, why are they helping us at all? They didn't help the Klingons, did they?"

"That's a good question," Buffy said. "And I have no idea on that. I look at what the Borg tried to do. And I think there are those like them out there that want to change our history so that we aren't there for some reason or another to do something in the future."

"A butterfly flaps its wings in Africa," Archer murmured, "and there's a typhoon in China the next spring. This idea that anyone can engineer the future by screwing up the past—"

"I know," Buffy said with a sigh. "If the Borg had succeeded who knows what we would be doing right now, because they changed the timeline."

"But those Borg had to have been reacting to something, right?" Archer questioned.

"Very possibly," Buffy said. "Maybe we will be at war with them and they lost. Dawn and I won't know for two hundred more years."

"So what about these people from the future that are helping the Sulibans? What are they reacting too?"

"I don't know," Buffy responded. "But I will tell ya this, I wish I could talk to them for five minutes."

The ship shuddered under them suddenly, cutting off the conversation.

They looked at the window. The stars were changing.

The ship was falling out of warp!

"Archer to T'Pol. Report!"

"You're needed on the bridge, Captain," came T'Pol's response.

Archer and Buffy stepped out of his ready room and onto the bridge.

Archer settled into his command chair as T'Pol stepped out of it, and eyed the big orange mass on the viewscreen—a gargantuan planet of mostly gravity and dust holding each other together on a vast scale.

"From the looks of it, a class six or seven," he muttered.

"Class seven," T'Pol confirmed. "The Suliban vessel dropped to impulse a few hours ago and altered course. Their new heading took them through its outer radiation belt."

"We've lost them?" Buffy asked.

Reluctantly, T'Pol nodded.

"Move us in closer," Archer said

Mayweather glanced at Archer, then worked to obey that order. Archer pushed out of his chair and paced as Buffy sat in his chair.

The ship moved closer toward the radiation belt of the orange gas giant. The planet loomed large and imposing on their screens, causing warnings to go off on several stations, but not the right ones.

"Anything?" Buffy asked.

"The radiation's dissipating their warp trail," Reed reported. "I'm only picking up fragments."

Archer gave T'Pol his hunting-eagle glare. "You finished helping us?" he challenged.

She went to Reed's station and eyed the graphics, then hit a control. One simple click.

On the main screen, an enhanced picture of the giant appeared, this time with a fragmented ion trail faintly traced in colors, being broken up by the winds. "Lieutenant," she said, "run a spectral analysis of the fragments."

Reed hit a series of controls in specific order. On the graphic, a sequence of numbers appeared near each fragment, all different.

"There's too much distortion," Reed complained. "The decay rates don't even match."

"Calculate the trajectory of each fragment."

He looked a bit dubious, and glanced at Buffy and Archer, both of whom nodded.

"You heard her," Archer said.

Reed clearly hadn't a clue what she was looking for, but he did as he was bidden.

T'Pol, while Reed worked, turned and met first Buffy's eyes and then Archer'. For the first time the three of them seemed to be thinking the same thing.

The graphic now displayed telemetry for each fragment. Archer nodded at T'Pol, who moved to another station and began doing the work for herself.

"Recalibrate the sensor array," Archer authorized. "Narrowband, short to midrange."

"Measure the particle density of the thermosphere," T'Pol added.

Buffy looked at T'Pol. "Those fragments weren't from the Suliban ship."

T'Pol confirmed, "They were from fourteen ... and all within the last six hours. I believe we've found what we're looking for."

Archer dropped a hand on Reed's shoulder. "How are your targeting scanners?"

"Aligned and ready, sir!"

"Bring weapons on-line and polarize the hull plating."

The crew jumped to action all over the bridge. That was no by-the-book order!

"Lay in a sixty degree vector," Archer said calmly. "We're going in."

The Enterprise moved through disruptions of gaseous energy and storms the size of whole planets. Her running lights cut through the dense layers, but it was still strangely similar to that ice cyclone on Rigel Ten.

"Sensor resolution's falling off at about twelve kilometers ..." Hoshi said.

Archer leaned forward. "Travis?"

Mayweather worked feverishly. "I'm okay, Captain."

The ship trembled and rolled—full swings her entire beam-width from side to side. Even her massive power was nothing against the natural monstrosity of a gas giant.

T'Pol worked almost anxiously at her console. "Our situation should improve. We're about to break through the cyclohexane layer."

The orange color gave way to an even denser layer of roiling blue liquid. The blue color, normally peaceful, seemed even angrier than the outer atmosphere, and more eerie. It was also more solid, slamming the bow every few seconds with powerful strikes.

"I wouldn't exactly call this an improvement," Dawn commented from her engineering console.

"Liquid phosphorescence," T'Pol explained. "I wouldn't have expected that beneath a layer of cyclohexane."

The ship rocked sideways again, then took a hard drop forward.

Hoshi hunched her shoulders and hung on until her knuckles turned white. "You might think about recommending seat belts when we get home."

"It's just a little bad weather," Archer assured.

The roiling on the main screen thinned and changed again.

The console near Hoshi suddenly cried out—peep peep peep peep!

"We've got sensors!" she called at the same pitch.

"Level off," Archer ordered. "Go to long-range scan."

"I'm detecting two vessels," T'Pol reported, "bearing one-one-nine mark 7."

"On screen," Buffy ordered.

Hoshi worked her board. The viewscreen changed to show two Suliban ships moving away in the distance.

"Impulse and warp engines," Reed reported.

"What kind of weapons?" Archer asked.

"We're too far away."

"Sir," Mayweather broke in, "I'm picking up something at three-forty-two mark 12 ... and it's a lot bigger!"

The viewscreen shifted as Hoshi worked faster.

"All sensors," Archer instructed T'Pol. "Get whatever you can!"

Before them on the changing screen, a huge complex came into focus. Was it a ship? Or buildings?

"Magnify," Buffy said.

The screen zeroed in closer. The complex was indeed some kind of moving object, made of hundreds of Suliban ships interlocked to form a massive spiraled space station. A few individual cell ships engaged and disengaged from the mother complex.

"Biosigns?" Archer asked.

"Over three thousand," Hoshi reported, "but I can't isolate a Klingon, if there is one—"

A jolt rammed the body of the ship.

Buffy quickly moved to Reed's console and looked over his shoulder. "A particle weapon, she said."

Hit again!

"Bridge!" a call came in from Trip Tucker. "We're taking damage down here! What's going on?"

"Just a little trouble with the bad guys," Archer assured.

"I suggest returning to the phosphorous layer," T'Pol called over the boom of the next hit.

"Take us up," Archer obliged.

The ship rapidly ascended, leaving the attacking cell ships behind with admirable grace. The Suliban cells quickly homed toward the main complex.

Prodding, Archer asked a general question to any who wanted to contribute. "What've you got?"

"It appears," T'Pol began, "to be an aggregate structure, comprised of hundreds of vessels. They're held in place by an interlocking system of magnetic seals."

"There!" Hoshi yelped. "Right there!"

Biodata tumbled across the main screen over a small section of the Suliban aggregate.

"These bioreadings are not Suliban!" Buffy said as she looked up at the main screen.

T'Pol looked at first Buffy and then Hoshi. "We can't be certain they're Klingon," she warned.

"Even if it is Klaang," Archer accepted, "we'd have a tough time getting him off of there."

Reed turned in his chair and broached a touchy subject. "We could always try the transporting device..."

"No," Buffy quietly said.

"We've risked too much to bring him back inside out," Archer added. "Would the grappler work in a liquid atmosphere?"

"I believe so ..." Reed replied.

"Bring it on-line. One more time, Mr. Mayweather. Take us down to proximity range."

"Proximity range, sir."

Once again the ship descended into the smooth lower atmosphere, the clear layer that seemed so welcoming, yet held the primary threat.

"Make it aggressive," Archer said. "Don't hold back."

"Understood, sir," Mayweather agreed. "I won't."

The ship hummed with power, and soared like a giant albatross on an arctic crest.

"Suliban ships in patrol formation, sir," Reed instantly reported. "They've seen us!"

"Let's give them a closer look, Mr. Mayweather."

"Aye, sir!"

"Mr. Reed, open fire," Buffy ordered.

"Oh, thank you, sir, so much."

"Ready that grappling system," Archer ordered.

"It shall indeed be ready, sir."

The ship took a compressive dive into the clear, burst out, and trumpeted her presence in the sky.

Rapid-blast torpedoes of compressed energy made a luminous announcement.

The artillery shells spoke out across the giant's sky-bound seas and scattered through the Suliban patrol. The Suliban returned fire, but also broke formation. Enterprise absorbed a tremendous hit.

"The ventral plating's down!" Reed called over the noise. "I'm having trouble getting a weapons lock! These scanners weren't designed for a liquid atmosphere!" Again the ship was hit, driving him to comment, "Though apparently theirs were ..."

"Go to manual targeting if you have to," Buffy told him.

A hard shake caused the console next to Hoshi to blow a plume of sparks. She shrieked and leapt back.

"Hold your position, Travis," Archer said calmly.

"The lead ship's closing," Reed reported. "Seven thousand meters ... six thousand ..."

"We should ascend!" T'Pol called.

"Hold your position!" Archer repeated.

Reed glanced at Buffy and then Archer. "One thousand meters. Forward plating's off-line!"

"Now, Mr. Reed!" Buffy ordered.

One of the cell ships veered almost directly to the star-ship's bow. Reed struck his controls. Two grappling devices shot from ports on the launch bay arm, trailing thin cables. The grapplers struck the Suliban ship and magnetically adhered to its hull.

"He's ejecting!" Hoshi called, and pointed.

A cockpit hatch sprang open on the Suliban cell. The pilot was gone in a blast of vapor and disappeared through the layer below.

"That was a stupid move, unless he's suicidal," Dawn said.

"Back up, Travis," Archer ordered.

"Rising, sir."

The ship moved back up toward the turbulent layers, now trailing its prey on a silken cord, drawing it closer and closer to the hangar bay.

Reed eyed his station and uttered, "Hello ... their ship is in the launch bay, sir."

Fifteen minutes later, Archer, Buffy, Dawn and Mayweather crowded around a table graphic in the situation room off the bridge. The table showed graphics of the cell ship, all different angles of the exterior, engine schematics, flight controls ... they tried to study these while the starship trembled and shook around them, battling the turbulence, but she was built to do that, like ships immemorial before her.

"All right, what's this?" Mayweather was pointing at something.

"The pitch control," Buffy said.

"No," Mayweather argued. "That's the pitch control. This is the guidance system."

"Pitch control ... guidance system ... I got it."

"The docking interface," Mayweather went on. "How do you deploy it?"

Archer hunched over the graphics. "Looks like you release the inertial clamps here, here, and here, then initialize the coaxial ports."

"Good. Where's the auxiliary throttle?"

"Mmmm—" Buffy squinted. "It's not this one ..."

Mayweather straightened up then. "With all due respect to Commander Summers, I'm pretty sure I could fly this thing, sir."

"I don't doubt it," Archer agreed. "But I need you here."

"Captain?" T'Pol's voice thrummed under a low-frequency boooom that suddenly grew louder and erupted in a hard bam.

They turned.

"That charge contained a proximity sweep," she said from her post. "If we remain here, they're going to locate us."

Archer nodded and turned to Mayweather. "You're gonna have to speed this up a little, Travis."

"How complicated can it be?" Buffy wondered. "Up, down, forward, reverse! We'll figure it out."

Booooom! Boooooom!

"Inverted depth charges, Captain!" T'Pol called.

Archer, Buffy, Dawn and Mayweather stepped out of the situation room, and T'Pol met Buffy and Archer in the middle of the bridge. "We'll be back before you know it. Have Mayweather plot a course for Qo'noS."

"There's a Vulcan ship less than two days away," T'Pol offered. "It's illogical to attempt this alone."

"I was beginning to think you understood why we have to do this alone," Dawn said.

She paused. "The three of you could both be killed."

Archer looked up, rather sharply. "Am I sensing concern? Last time I checked, that was considered an emotion."

As soon as he said it, he regretted his cocky accusation.

T'Pol's expression turned blank again. "If anything happens to the three of you, especially Commander Summers and Commander Summers, the Vulcan High Council will hold me responsible."

Buffy, Dawn and Archer smiled at her, offering a little understanding. Then Reed approached with two silver equipment cases, and their attention went there. "You're finished?" Buffy asked.

Reed flipped the lid on one case to reveal a rectangular device. "It should reverse the polarity of any maglock within a hundred meters. Once you've set the sequence, you'll have five seconds. One more thing." He flipped open the second case and pulled out two Starfleet-colored hand weapons with pistol grips and handed them both to Archer.

"Ah—our new weapons?" Archer asked.

"They're called 'phase pistols,' " Reed introduced. "They have two settings. Stun and kill. It would be best not to confuse them."

Another low boom shook the vessel under them, followed by a startling jolt that rocked them back to the moment.

To T'Pol he said, almost with delight, "The ship is yours! Buffy, Dawn, let's go!"