"Gotcha Last" Chapter Two
T'Pol was one very confused Vulcan as an incredibly tense command crew descended in the turbo-lift. "I do not understand the current situation," the sub-commander finally admitted to Hoshi as the elevator reached the bottom deck and their group began to file out. "I was under the impression that Captain Duvall and the crew of the Shenandoah are your allies, so why are you all so apprehensive at Commander Tucker's return?"
"Just because we're allies doesn't mean that we're on the same side." Was Sato's cryptic reply.
T'Pol was going to ask for further clarification but then they reached the launch bay and there was no more time. The Vulcan stifled her unacknowledged curiosity and stepped to the rear of the group. Content to observe the events as they unfolded.
She wasn't the only one interested in following the current situation. Archer had summoned Phlox to the bay, just in case, and the doctor was quite anxious to learn the basis of the current assembly.
They didn't have long to wait. When the doors slid open Archer took in the scene with a glance. His shuttlepod was resting securely on the deck, one floor below with it's hatch still firmly shut. Other than the new arrivals, the only sign of life on the upper catwalk was the young woman who was manning the launch bay control station. "Any sign of Commander Tucker?"
"No, sir." The crewman replied. She had been wondering why the commander hadn't left the pod and had been debating whether to call for assistance when the contingent from the bridge arrived. Relieved, the crewman finished her report, anxious to have responsibility transferred from her hands to the captain. "The pod's been docked for a good three or four minutes and there hasn't been so much as a peep out of the commander."
"Thank you, Crewman." Archer turned his attention to his command crew who were clustered on the ramp with him. "You stay here."
"Yes, sir." Reed answered for all and the group settled itself to watch as Archer gingerly made his way down the ladder that connected the upper catwalk to the airlock of the pod.
When the captain reached the shuttle's hull, he hesitated for a moment, afraid of what was he was going to find inside, then suddenly angry at himself for hesitating, Archer took his bad temper out on the airlock by latching his hand around the handle and heaving the door up with a desperate wrench. Before he could say anything, Jon was startled when a hand reached out from inside the pod and slammed the hatch shut.
Surprised at the action, the captain took a second to regroup before lifting up the hatch again, this time opening it up fully so the occupant inside couldn't reach out to close it again without showing himself. "Trip." Archer called, forcing himself to keep his tone light. "Come out of there."
"No!"
"It's all right." Jon said, seeing that he was going to have to coax. "You're home now. It's safe to come out."
"Won't!" The defiant reply up floated out of the opening.
Jon shot a look at his crew clustered above before turning his attention back to the lock. He debated about going into the shuttle and seeing for himself what was wrong, but he didn't want to crowd his friend. It would be better for all concerned it Tucker came out on his own. "Why not?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
The mumbled answer was so quiet that Archer actually had to lean down near to the open aperture in order to hear it. Tucker's words confirmed Jon's worst fear and the captain realized that it was going to take all the persuasiveness that he could muster in order to convince the engineer that it was safe to come out.
Adopting the tone of voice that one might use to talk to a petulant child, Jon began to make his case. "Listen to me, Trip. We're all your friends here and everyone wants what's best for you. If you come out I promise that no one is going to say anything." Archer turned and gave his crew a very imploring gaze when he said the last and hardened an edge to his voice. He wasn't only talking to Tucker right then. "No one is going to react to you in any way, Trip."
The captain stared at the group for a moment until they all nodded. They understood that Archer was giving them a command and the party braced themselves for the worst. The captain saw that his communiqué had been received and turned his attention back to the pod. "Come on out now, Trip."
Tucker, too knew the tone of an order when he heard one, so the captain wasn't very much surprised when Trip popped his head out of the hatch. He looked around and noted that Archer was on the ladder while the rest of the crew was perched up above. "You all remember your promise, now."
"We'll remember, Trip." Jon reassured the man. "Now come on all the way out."
Tucker sighed. He knew he couldn't hide forever, as much as he wanted to, so with only one more warning glare to ensure his companions continued good behavior, Trip swallowed his pride and climbed onto the ladder.
A gasp was heard when the upper part of Trip's body rose into view. The engineer had the arms of his uniform jumpsuit tied around his waist. His black undershirt was nowhere in sight, leaving Trip's chest totally exposed to everyone's gaze, and ohhh was it something to see. For there, prominently on display on Trip's chest was a tattoo of the Shenandoah's logo, emblazoned with vivid, neon colors.
Despite the crew's best efforts, a snicker or two was heard echoing off of the launch bay's metal walls. Trip fought back the impulse to duck back into the shuttle and had to hang onto as much dignity as he could, but it was hard. The situation was just too darn embarrassing.
Ah, T'Pol understood now. This was an example of what humans called a practical joke. A manifestation of a friendly rivalry that the Vulcan's had noticed, but hardly understood, between the crews of other human vessels in the past. Relieved that nothing life threatening was really going on, the Vulcan concentrated on observing this new and interesting ritual. The High Command would be most interested.
Despite the fact that he felt badly for his friend, Archer had to struggle to keep from laughing himself. "Tell me, Trip. How exactly did this happen?"
"Aw, Cap'n." The engineer haltingly tried to explain as they made their way up the ladder. "You know how dirty it is when you're working on an engine."
"Yeah." Archer kept his tone neutral for now. Just wanting to keep Tucker talking.
"Well, I guess I, accidentally mind you, left some grease and dirt all over Duvall's pristine walls and floors and the engineering gang over there didn't take too kindly to it."
"Accidentally, huh?" Jon knew that Trip's opinion of Duvall mirrored his own so the captain couldn't really put Trip's actions down to happenstance, and the engineer didn't really expect him to.
"Okay." Tucker conceded. "I may have smeared a streak of grease or two on purpose, but Duvall and his group are such a bunch of strait laced, stuck up..." Trip didn't know if he should come right out and say it, but what the hell. "... jerks that I couldn't resist yanking on their chain a little." Tucker looked mournfully down at his chest. "I didn't figure on them doing this though."
Watching the sad engineer almost made Travis Mayweather forget the levity of the situation. Growing up a boomer Travis was well versed in the art of the practical joke, but this one beat them all. When Mayweather glanced at the artistic composition he wondered if he was seeing things, but when the helmsman peered more closely he discovered that the colors were indeed changing their hue, migrating to form the most ghastly combination possible. Mayweather even bet that they glowed in the dark. "How did they manage to turn you into a work of art?"
Weary to the bone, Tucker wondered if the humiliation would ever end. "I'd just finished up on the warp coil modifications when they grabbed me and knocked me out with some sorta drug. I was only unconscious for a few minutes, but when I came too I was like this."
Usually sympathetic, Hoshi too was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Tucker just looked too silly. "Why don't you just cover up?" The comm officer cheerfully suggested.
It took all of Trip's will power to remind himself that a gentleman didn't hit a lady. "Don't you think I would if I could." Tucker waved his hand over the tattoo, careful not to brush up against the surface. "They put some sorta chemical in the paint. If anything touches this spot I end up itching something fierce." Right then Tucker caught sight of Phlox hovering behind the crowd and he felt a ray of hope for the first time since he woke up and saw this monstrosity. "Say, Doc, is there anything you can do for me?"
"Well, let me see." Phlox moved forward and started to scan the engineer with his tricorder.
While Tucker was preoccupied with the exam, Reed quietly positioned himself next to Archer's ear. "You know sir, this means war."
"Oh yeah." Enterprise's captain knew that the pride of his ship was at stake. Something had to be done.
While his mind started to hatch plots Archer noticed that the doctor had finished his inspection of the engineer's unique condition. It was obvious from the expression on Phlox's face that the doctor didn't have good news to report. "I'm sorry, Commander. Apparently the inks used in this tattoo have been laced with certain chemical compounds that induce the itching when touched. I'm afraid that their interaction with my dermal re-sequencer would produce the same result."
Tucker's heart sank. "So I'm stuck with this thing?"
"I'm afraid so." The doctor saw that his pronouncement didn't go over too well so the Denobulan tried to find a way to cheer the melancholy officer up. "Not to worry. The effects should dissipate as soon as the top layer of skin cells wear off. At that point I can remove the remaining ink and you'll be good as new."
"Wear off!" This didn't help the distraught man feel better at all. "How long is that gonna take?"
"Oh, I'd estimate a week, maybe two."
"Two weeks!" Stripped of all his dignity, Tucker didn't think he had the strength to endure this desecration for fourteen more days, so Trip turned to his old friend to plead for help. "Cap'n. I know my leave isn't due for another four months, but can't I take it now? I really don't want to be wandering around where everybody can see this." Tucker gestured to the collage on his chest. "Couldn't I stay in my cabin until this 'thing' goes away?"
"No." It was hard to deny his friend but Jon couldn't let Tucker take the easy way out. "Hiding isn't the answer, Trip. That would be just giving in to what Duvall and his gang want."
Easy for Archer to say. He wasn't the one wearing a neon sign on his chest. "But, Cap'n..."
"I'm sorry, Trip." Jon saw the look of dismay on his friend's face and hastened to reassure him. "Listen, during the next few days I don't want you to think about the itching, or the humiliation, I want you to concentrate on only one thing."
Tucker perked up a little at the tone of Archer's voice. He sounded like a man with a plan. "And what's that, sir?"
Archer grinned. A grin so evil that it matched the one Duvall flashed him earlier. "Revenge!"
TBC....
T'Pol was one very confused Vulcan as an incredibly tense command crew descended in the turbo-lift. "I do not understand the current situation," the sub-commander finally admitted to Hoshi as the elevator reached the bottom deck and their group began to file out. "I was under the impression that Captain Duvall and the crew of the Shenandoah are your allies, so why are you all so apprehensive at Commander Tucker's return?"
"Just because we're allies doesn't mean that we're on the same side." Was Sato's cryptic reply.
T'Pol was going to ask for further clarification but then they reached the launch bay and there was no more time. The Vulcan stifled her unacknowledged curiosity and stepped to the rear of the group. Content to observe the events as they unfolded.
She wasn't the only one interested in following the current situation. Archer had summoned Phlox to the bay, just in case, and the doctor was quite anxious to learn the basis of the current assembly.
They didn't have long to wait. When the doors slid open Archer took in the scene with a glance. His shuttlepod was resting securely on the deck, one floor below with it's hatch still firmly shut. Other than the new arrivals, the only sign of life on the upper catwalk was the young woman who was manning the launch bay control station. "Any sign of Commander Tucker?"
"No, sir." The crewman replied. She had been wondering why the commander hadn't left the pod and had been debating whether to call for assistance when the contingent from the bridge arrived. Relieved, the crewman finished her report, anxious to have responsibility transferred from her hands to the captain. "The pod's been docked for a good three or four minutes and there hasn't been so much as a peep out of the commander."
"Thank you, Crewman." Archer turned his attention to his command crew who were clustered on the ramp with him. "You stay here."
"Yes, sir." Reed answered for all and the group settled itself to watch as Archer gingerly made his way down the ladder that connected the upper catwalk to the airlock of the pod.
When the captain reached the shuttle's hull, he hesitated for a moment, afraid of what was he was going to find inside, then suddenly angry at himself for hesitating, Archer took his bad temper out on the airlock by latching his hand around the handle and heaving the door up with a desperate wrench. Before he could say anything, Jon was startled when a hand reached out from inside the pod and slammed the hatch shut.
Surprised at the action, the captain took a second to regroup before lifting up the hatch again, this time opening it up fully so the occupant inside couldn't reach out to close it again without showing himself. "Trip." Archer called, forcing himself to keep his tone light. "Come out of there."
"No!"
"It's all right." Jon said, seeing that he was going to have to coax. "You're home now. It's safe to come out."
"Won't!" The defiant reply up floated out of the opening.
Jon shot a look at his crew clustered above before turning his attention back to the lock. He debated about going into the shuttle and seeing for himself what was wrong, but he didn't want to crowd his friend. It would be better for all concerned it Tucker came out on his own. "Why not?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
The mumbled answer was so quiet that Archer actually had to lean down near to the open aperture in order to hear it. Tucker's words confirmed Jon's worst fear and the captain realized that it was going to take all the persuasiveness that he could muster in order to convince the engineer that it was safe to come out.
Adopting the tone of voice that one might use to talk to a petulant child, Jon began to make his case. "Listen to me, Trip. We're all your friends here and everyone wants what's best for you. If you come out I promise that no one is going to say anything." Archer turned and gave his crew a very imploring gaze when he said the last and hardened an edge to his voice. He wasn't only talking to Tucker right then. "No one is going to react to you in any way, Trip."
The captain stared at the group for a moment until they all nodded. They understood that Archer was giving them a command and the party braced themselves for the worst. The captain saw that his communiqué had been received and turned his attention back to the pod. "Come on out now, Trip."
Tucker, too knew the tone of an order when he heard one, so the captain wasn't very much surprised when Trip popped his head out of the hatch. He looked around and noted that Archer was on the ladder while the rest of the crew was perched up above. "You all remember your promise, now."
"We'll remember, Trip." Jon reassured the man. "Now come on all the way out."
Tucker sighed. He knew he couldn't hide forever, as much as he wanted to, so with only one more warning glare to ensure his companions continued good behavior, Trip swallowed his pride and climbed onto the ladder.
A gasp was heard when the upper part of Trip's body rose into view. The engineer had the arms of his uniform jumpsuit tied around his waist. His black undershirt was nowhere in sight, leaving Trip's chest totally exposed to everyone's gaze, and ohhh was it something to see. For there, prominently on display on Trip's chest was a tattoo of the Shenandoah's logo, emblazoned with vivid, neon colors.
Despite the crew's best efforts, a snicker or two was heard echoing off of the launch bay's metal walls. Trip fought back the impulse to duck back into the shuttle and had to hang onto as much dignity as he could, but it was hard. The situation was just too darn embarrassing.
Ah, T'Pol understood now. This was an example of what humans called a practical joke. A manifestation of a friendly rivalry that the Vulcan's had noticed, but hardly understood, between the crews of other human vessels in the past. Relieved that nothing life threatening was really going on, the Vulcan concentrated on observing this new and interesting ritual. The High Command would be most interested.
Despite the fact that he felt badly for his friend, Archer had to struggle to keep from laughing himself. "Tell me, Trip. How exactly did this happen?"
"Aw, Cap'n." The engineer haltingly tried to explain as they made their way up the ladder. "You know how dirty it is when you're working on an engine."
"Yeah." Archer kept his tone neutral for now. Just wanting to keep Tucker talking.
"Well, I guess I, accidentally mind you, left some grease and dirt all over Duvall's pristine walls and floors and the engineering gang over there didn't take too kindly to it."
"Accidentally, huh?" Jon knew that Trip's opinion of Duvall mirrored his own so the captain couldn't really put Trip's actions down to happenstance, and the engineer didn't really expect him to.
"Okay." Tucker conceded. "I may have smeared a streak of grease or two on purpose, but Duvall and his group are such a bunch of strait laced, stuck up..." Trip didn't know if he should come right out and say it, but what the hell. "... jerks that I couldn't resist yanking on their chain a little." Tucker looked mournfully down at his chest. "I didn't figure on them doing this though."
Watching the sad engineer almost made Travis Mayweather forget the levity of the situation. Growing up a boomer Travis was well versed in the art of the practical joke, but this one beat them all. When Mayweather glanced at the artistic composition he wondered if he was seeing things, but when the helmsman peered more closely he discovered that the colors were indeed changing their hue, migrating to form the most ghastly combination possible. Mayweather even bet that they glowed in the dark. "How did they manage to turn you into a work of art?"
Weary to the bone, Tucker wondered if the humiliation would ever end. "I'd just finished up on the warp coil modifications when they grabbed me and knocked me out with some sorta drug. I was only unconscious for a few minutes, but when I came too I was like this."
Usually sympathetic, Hoshi too was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Tucker just looked too silly. "Why don't you just cover up?" The comm officer cheerfully suggested.
It took all of Trip's will power to remind himself that a gentleman didn't hit a lady. "Don't you think I would if I could." Tucker waved his hand over the tattoo, careful not to brush up against the surface. "They put some sorta chemical in the paint. If anything touches this spot I end up itching something fierce." Right then Tucker caught sight of Phlox hovering behind the crowd and he felt a ray of hope for the first time since he woke up and saw this monstrosity. "Say, Doc, is there anything you can do for me?"
"Well, let me see." Phlox moved forward and started to scan the engineer with his tricorder.
While Tucker was preoccupied with the exam, Reed quietly positioned himself next to Archer's ear. "You know sir, this means war."
"Oh yeah." Enterprise's captain knew that the pride of his ship was at stake. Something had to be done.
While his mind started to hatch plots Archer noticed that the doctor had finished his inspection of the engineer's unique condition. It was obvious from the expression on Phlox's face that the doctor didn't have good news to report. "I'm sorry, Commander. Apparently the inks used in this tattoo have been laced with certain chemical compounds that induce the itching when touched. I'm afraid that their interaction with my dermal re-sequencer would produce the same result."
Tucker's heart sank. "So I'm stuck with this thing?"
"I'm afraid so." The doctor saw that his pronouncement didn't go over too well so the Denobulan tried to find a way to cheer the melancholy officer up. "Not to worry. The effects should dissipate as soon as the top layer of skin cells wear off. At that point I can remove the remaining ink and you'll be good as new."
"Wear off!" This didn't help the distraught man feel better at all. "How long is that gonna take?"
"Oh, I'd estimate a week, maybe two."
"Two weeks!" Stripped of all his dignity, Tucker didn't think he had the strength to endure this desecration for fourteen more days, so Trip turned to his old friend to plead for help. "Cap'n. I know my leave isn't due for another four months, but can't I take it now? I really don't want to be wandering around where everybody can see this." Tucker gestured to the collage on his chest. "Couldn't I stay in my cabin until this 'thing' goes away?"
"No." It was hard to deny his friend but Jon couldn't let Tucker take the easy way out. "Hiding isn't the answer, Trip. That would be just giving in to what Duvall and his gang want."
Easy for Archer to say. He wasn't the one wearing a neon sign on his chest. "But, Cap'n..."
"I'm sorry, Trip." Jon saw the look of dismay on his friend's face and hastened to reassure him. "Listen, during the next few days I don't want you to think about the itching, or the humiliation, I want you to concentrate on only one thing."
Tucker perked up a little at the tone of Archer's voice. He sounded like a man with a plan. "And what's that, sir?"
Archer grinned. A grin so evil that it matched the one Duvall flashed him earlier. "Revenge!"
TBC....