The Keeper
By:Dorothy (Dotty) Lee
Chapter Four
It had been two hours since they had first lost contact with Commander Charlie Tucker. Archer and the rest of the landing party had returned to Enterprise, and were now gathered in the ready room. . On the trip back to the ship, T'pol and Hoshi had filled him in on all of the information they had gathered from the library. So far, they knew that two hundred years ago a spacecraft apparently brought two visitors to the planet. 'The Keeper', and his companion, who the text referred to only as the Keepers guard, told the people, who were known as the Quellians, that they had been sent there to heal and protect them. The only thing the Keeper had asked for in return was the first born-daughter of one of the families every ten years. In between that time, there was a monthly ceremony known as 'The Restoration Ceremony'. During the ceremony anyone who had sick or injured family members could bring them to the 'Temple' and the Keeper' healed them as they passed through the 'Great Healing Arch.' The people would also bring offerings of food and clothing to the temple as gifts to the Keeper. The temple was located in the center of town surrounded by a wall of stone. And according to the books, the next Restoration ceremony was to be held the very next day.
He looked around at his senior staff as they prepared their reports and gathered any last minute information from their consoles, and felt a small ounce of comfort in knowing that they would do everything in their power to bring back their lost crewmember...dead or alive. It had taken every ounce of discipline in him to leave the planet without his chief engineer. Sensors still showed no sign of Trip. And the energy burst that they had picked up earlier had not made a repeat occurrence as of yet. Clearing his throat of the lump that had been there since they had left the planet, He addressed the group.
"Okay people! What have we got?"
Malcolm spoke up first, his eyes filled with frustration. "I've run diagnostic after diagnostic on the sensor array. There's nothing wrong with them. There has to be a dampening field enclosed in those mountains, either natural or artificial that's preventing us from picking up anything below ground. We could always blow a hole in the top of one of those peaks with the phaser cannons, but if anything or...." He paused for only a second. "..anyone, was in the immediate area of the blast, they would probably be killed."
"Couldn't we just cut an opening in the rock on the surface?" Hoshi asked, getting everyone's attention.
Malcolm shook his head at her. "I'd be afraid to try that sort of operation without a test trial. We've only had these babies up an running for a couple of weeks. If the energy output of the primary coils were off even a a tenth of a gigijule..."
"We're not going to blow up or shoot anything until we know who or what is down there." Jonathon stated, drawing their attention back to him. "I'm going back down there in the morning to attend this..'Restoration Ceremony. ' I have a feeling all the answers to our questions will be answered there."
"Captain, I believe I may have one question answered for you already." T'pol said quietly, moving from her place to stand at the monitor controls on the wall behind Archer. Manipulating the controls, she brought up the illustration from the book. Archer looked at the picture then turned his eyes upon his science officer. His jaw set in growing anger.
"If you even hint at the word 'classified information' I'll throw you in the brig T'pol!" The very thought that Trip was missing because of withheld information on her part was enough to make his blood boil.
"I assure you Captain. I have not kept any information from you purposely. This planet has not been visited by any of my people. I am the first Vulcan to observe it. However.."
Archer was beginning to hate 'howevers'.
"This ship is in our classified data." She said pointing to the screen. "It has all the markings of a 'Grennii' Spacecraft."
" What the bloody hell is a Granny?" Malcolm asked moving closer to get a better look at the ship.
T'pol glanced at him with disdain. "The name is Grennii not Granny, Lt. Reed. They are a race of telepathic beings from a planet approximately 1,342 light years from Earth. We first encountered them when they were discovered observing your planet. It seems they were the ones responsible for multiple UFO sightings in the mid- twentieth century and had in fact taken humans to their ship for experimentation purposes. We..persuaded them to leave your planet alone, and they have not been seen or heard from since."
"Until now." Archer said grimly, staring at the picture.
"So how do we fight these Grennii? What is their weapon capability?" Malcolm asked. He was getting impatient with all this talking. He wanted to do something. After all..Trip was his friend too. And if these bloody devils had done something to him, he wanted to be the first to knock their telepathic brains out
of their bloody heads!
"It is unlikely that there is more than the minimal firepower on the ship pictured in this drawing. It was designed mainly for transport according to our records. However, they are a very technically advanced race, and given the scope of the shielding in place on the planet below, there is no way of knowing what may be below the surface." T'pol answered.
"But if they're so advanced, why didn't they attack us when we entered orbit?" Travis blurted out, speaking up for the first time since the conversation had started.
"Maybe they didn't want to be discovered."
Archer had patiently listened as his officers discussed the situation. Now he looked at T'pol as she finished her statement. "I think T'pol is on the right track. It's obvious to me that whoever this Keeper is rather it is Grennii, or Human as the picture shows, has a good thing going. Maybe he was hoping we'd move on without discovering his little operation here. "
"So you think Trip might have saw something he wasn't supposed to see, and that's why they grabbed him?" Malcolm asked.
Archer looked at him sighing deeply. "That's what I'm going to find out."
"If you plan on going back to the surface Captain, I will accompany you." T'pol said as he moved toward the door. "The Grennii are not only telepathic. They also possess teleportation and telekinetic abilities. If you cannot take them by surprise they will be able to render you unconscious..or worse, with just a thought."
"What makes you think you would be unaffected by them?" Archer asked her, stopping at the door.
"I did not say I would not be affected. But, my Vulcan physiology gives me a slight advantage. Such an advantage could make the difference between success and failure."
"Alright. You're with me." Archer replied, looking back at the others. "Malcolm, you're in command. If they do have weapons capable of reaching us, you'll be responsible for keeping Enterprise out of harms way. The rest of you know what to do. " Looking back at T'pol he pushed a button on the control panel located on the wall activating the sliding doors. "Let's go get Trip."
Trip was dreaming again. He lay in the same field again, under the same tree. His head lay resting in Natalie's lap as she gently caressed his forehead. He sighed deeply enjoying the feel of her hands as they ruffled his hair. He could smell a sweet perfume on the breeze as she lowered her lips to his own. Responding to her gentle kiss, he reached out and took her face in his hands, pulling her closer...
Suddenly he was awake, gasping as he pushed away the hands that grasped his shoulders, and scrambled out and away from his molester. "Wha...what'll you think you're doing?!" He exclaimed, staring in shock at the young Quellian girl that had been kissing him. She had been thrown back on her bottom when he pushed her away, and now she scrambled to her feet and ran to the nearest corner of the cell staring at him in utter terror.
Still breathing hard he scooted back until he was sitting against the wall. Laying his head back he closed his eyes, trying to get his respiration under control. His head was pounding almost as hard as his heart and he groaned softly running a hand through his hair, damp with perspiration. If this is a nightmare I wish to HELL I'd wake up! He thought miserably. Letting his hand fall limply to his side, he opened his eyes and stared at the girl. She had sat down as well, her hands wrapped around her pulled up knees. He wasn't sure how she'd ended up in here with him. The last thing he remembered was that basterd Richards poisoning his drink. Looking up he stared at the force field, half-expecting Richards to be standing there watching them. He relaxed somewhat when he saw the empty corridor outside the cell. Looking back at the girl, who still cowered in the corner, he slowly got to his feet, ignoring the drug induced throbbing in his head, and walked over to her. Crouching down in front of her, he gave his best smile. "I'm sorry I scared you. You just startled me, that's all."
Looking at him her violet eyes wide with fear, the girl spoke, her voice soft and high pitched. "It is I who should ask forgiveness. I did not mean to offend you. The Keeper said I was to entertain you until he returned. You were so kind to me at dinner, I wanted to repay you for your generosity."
"You speak english!?" Trip replied, his words more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. the 'Keeper' taught me many things about his world. I can speak several languages from your planet. He also allowed me to look at the picture books he brought with him. He can be very kind at times." She replied, shifting around to lay her legs, still curled up close to her body, sideways on the floor.
I bet he can! Tucker thought sarcastically, catching himself looking at her well-formed body. Swallowing hard he stood up, moving back a little as she jumped up as well, facing him.
"You are not mad at me then." She said moving toward him, her hands coming up to take hold of his waist, before he could stumble back, out of her reach. Taking a sharp intake of air, Tucker reached down and removed her hands from him. "Uh..no..I'm not mad..at you honey..you've just got to...not.." He stopped as she began to cry.
"You do not like me!" She sobbed, pulling away from his grip on her hands, and turning from him.
Throwing his hands up in frustration, Trip sighed wearily, laying his hand on her shoulder, and gently turning her around. "I do like you honey. That's why I won't take advantage of you. Not every human male is like Richards. What he's doing..the way he treats you.. is wrong.
She looked up at him, her eyes threatening to bring forth tears again. "He does..hurt me..sometimes."
"That's alright. Don't worry about it. He told her, feeling a surge of sympathy rush through him. "I won't let him hurt you anymore."Taking her in his arms he hugged her, as a father would hold his child. Then, he led her over to the cot hanging out from the rock wall and set her down. "Where did Richards go?"
"To prepare the temple for the Restoration Ceremony." She answered, wiping her eyes with her shawl.
"Restoration ceremony?"
"Yes." She answered, explaining to him what the ceremony involved.
Tucker rubbed his chin, thinking. "When do you think he'll return?" He asked her. Maybe this would be his only chance to escape, he thought, listening to her reply.
"Not until the sun has risen high into the sky."
Turning away from her, he looked at the force field. If I could just get through to that control panel..he thought looking around for something to use as a tool. His eyes stopping on the sink on the far wall, he quickly moved across the room. Crouching down in front of it he examined the spigot that came up out of the metallic basin. Grabbing hold of it tightly, he began to twist the pipe back and forth. It gave just a bit. He changed his position, getting down on one knee, grunting with effort as he put all his weight into it. With a loud screech the spigot came loose, breaking away from the sink bed. Taking his newly acquired tool, Trip moved over to the wall housing the control panel on the outside. Looking around the edges of the wall he spotted a grapefruit sized rock. Picking it up he transferred the pipe to his left hand. Then, placing the pipe against the rock wall, at the height he remembered the control panel being at, he struck the pipe with the rock he held in his right hand making a loud clacking sound. Bits of rock chipped off, falling to the ground like rain. Nodding in satisfaction, he began to chip away the wall where it joined with the metal frame of the force field.
The girl came over to stand beside him after a few minutes. "What are you doing?" She asked him. Stopping his work for a moment, he wiped his dust filled eyes with his sleeve, as he looked at her.
"The controls to this force field are inside this wall. If I can get to them, I might be able to shut it off or at least short it out."
"But the Keeper said there's enough power in there to kill you!"
Trip chuckled, turning back to the wall. "This is what I do for a livin honey, I don't plan on killin myself. " He worked a few moments in silence, swearing under his breath when the rock he was using as a hammer broke in two. Looking around the room, he spotted another large rock lying in the left corner. " Uh, sweetheart..could you get that rock over there for me?" He asked the girl who had sat down at his feet to watch him. While waiting he continued to scrape at the rock, using his hands to break off some of the small jagged pieces that were sticking out. The sharp ends cut into his hands, causing the blistered flesh to bleed. Ignoring the pain, he wiped his hands on his uniform. The slate -like rock was very brittle, making it a lot easier to get through than he had thought it would be. He could already see a tiny hole in the center of the small crater he'd dug out, and smelled the familiar odor of ion energy from the plasma conduits inside the wall.
"Here. I found two." The girl said, returning from her errand.
Taking the rocks from her, Tucker set one of them on the ground, and went back to his hammering. "Thank you. uh.." Pausing he looked over at her smiling. " I just realized..I don't even know your name."
"It is Risianna."
Pausing once more from his work he smiled softly at her. "That's very pretty...but then, you're a very pretty, young lady."
Risianna blushed deeply ducking her head shyly. "Thank you Charles." She said calling him by the name Richards had used. He suppressed a cringe.
"Call me Trip..all my friends do." He told her, resuming his work.
"Trip." She murmured softly to herself, settling back to the floor. Tucker suppressed a chuckle, grinning as he continued to hammer away. If he made it out of here alive, he'd make sure that son of a bitch, Richards, never has a chance to take the innocence away from another child! He thought as the grin faded from his face, replaced by grim determination.