Part 4 Suspicions
"You want me to do what?" Lieutenant Reed asked incredulously, stopping very briefly from the task of checking the storage container to look first at Trip and then at Hoshi who stood on either side of him. Both did their best to look earnest and reasonable.
Realising that his companions were serious but still not prepared to consider their outrageous request, he decided the best course of action was probably to ignore them and hope that they'd go away. He went back to his task.
"Come on lieutenant," Trip tried cajolingly. "You're the only one who can do this."
Reed deliberately finished counting the contents of the container in front of him before repeating his action of looking at each of his companions in turn. Then stated firmly. "No," before shutting the lid and clipping the lock into place. He turned and moved off to the next container.
Trip barely got his fingers out of the way in time as the lid closed. He and Hoshi exchanged desperate glances before quickly following the lieutenant to where he had opened another container and was studiously checking it's contents. They split to stand either side of him again.
Reed let out an exasperated sigh as he once again found himself surrounded. "Look commander," he said looking at Trip. "Ensign," he similarly acknowledged Hoshi, "Weapons inventory is my least favourite task and much as I appreciate the company," he continued dryly, "and the amusing requests that you are making. I could really do with some peace and quiet so I can get this finished." He went back to counting the contents of the case.
Hoshi and Trip exchanged glances again. This time Trip used his eyes to indicate that Hoshi should try her powers of persuasion. Hoshi looked at him. 'What am I supposed to say' written clearly in her expression. Trip merely used his eyes and this time a slight inclination of his head to indicate that it was her turn to speak.
All of this unspoken communication took seconds and went completely unnoticed by lieutenant Reed who was once more engrossed in his inventory task.
"Lieutenant," Hoshi began, "Malcolm," she corrected herself softening her voice along with the form of address. She tilted her head slightly and smiled. "We need someone to find out what is going on and you are the only one who has experience at infiltrating alien races and you're so." She hesitated struggling with how to continue. ".good at it." She finished weakly.
Trip shot her an exacerbated look and she returned with an 'it's the best I could do' expression. Then they both rapidly rearranged their features as Reed paused from his task.
He stared ahead for a moment before turning to look at Hoshi. He smiled a humourless smile and straightened to his full height. Slowly with barely held patience he began. "Commander, Ensign," once again he acknowledged them each in turn. "Just what part of 'no' do you not understand?" He paused taking a deep breath. "Now if you will excuse me, since I am clearly not going to get any work done here." He turned and headed for the door.
Trip looked over at Hoshi. ".you're so good at it.." he mimicked, "is that the best you could come up with?" he asked in whispered tones. "I thought you were a language specialist!"
"I am," she hissed back. "I could have told him the same thing in two hundred and fifty separate dialects." She paused before adding. "I normally translate it, I don't make it up!"
By this time Reed was at the door and leaving. "Come on," Trip said. "We'd better go after him, although I don't reckon on our chances of persuading him to do anything now," he said pointedly, heading off in pursuit of the lieutenant.
Once she was safely in the trees T'pol turned to see how far behind her the Captain was. She turned just in time to see his heavy descent to the floor. Rapidly assessing their situation she knew that the logical course of action was to leave him and make good her escape. She stood a far better chance of getting away and making it back to the ship if she were alone even when the Captain was fully fit. In his present condition there was little chance of either of them escaping if she stayed to assist.
If there was one thing that T'pol had learnt through working with humans, however, as much as it pained her to admit it, there were sometimes other ways of looking at a situation than with pure logic. If she left the Captain behind then he would almost certainly die and Jonathan Archer would be a very difficult man for Starfleet to replace. His death would put the Exploration mission back by many years, not that there wouldn't be a large contingent of Vulcan in favour of that, but it was now her mission too and she did not want to jeopardise that. From that perspective logic dictated that she went back for him.
There was another argument that could also not be ignored. She knew that if the situation were reversed, no matter what the risk, the Captain would not hesitate to come back for her.
All of these thoughts were processed almost instantaneously and she was out of the cover and running back for the Captain before he had come to rest on the ground. Hefting him up on to her shoulder, thankful that Vulcans were so much stronger than humans, she headed back into the trees, disappearing into the undergrowth just as one of the searchlights traced the treeline in her wake.
This time she did not stop once she hit cover. She kept going realising that her chances were greater the bigger distance she put between herself and the compound they had just left.
On and on she ran ignoring all sensations of pain and tiredness, until she could no longer hear the sound of the sirens. When she was satisfied that any followers would have a difficult time, assuming they could pick up the trail, she stopped.
As gently as she could she lowered the Captain to the ground and checked his condition once more. It did little to allay her concerns. His pulse was too rapid, his skin cold and clammy to the touch and his breathing rapid and shallow. She needed to splint his arm and reset it and she needed to wake him up. Otherwise he was likely to drop into a state of shock that could kill him. She looked round for a suitable piece of wood to use as a splint and took out the jacket she had thought to retrieve from one of the guards at the compound, tearing the sleeves into strips to use as a bandage and a sling and laying the rest over the captain to keep him warm.
Then she found a piece of bark and filled it with water from a nearby narrow stream, part of the reason she had chosen this location to stop. She used some of it to wipe the Captain's brow and poured some into his mouth. All the time talking to him and encouraging him to wake up. As the cold water hit the back of his throat a reflex reaction took over and he began to swallow but inhaled at the same time causing him to cough and splutter. It was enough to return him to consciousness.
He blinked and waited for the painful coughing spasm to pass before attempting to focus on his surroundings. Leaning back against the tree, he turned to look at T'pol. "We made it then," he said, his voice weak and hoarse.
"If you mean that we have escaped the compound and thus far avoided recapture then you are correct." She said, gratified that he was lucid. "If, however, you mean we have escaped then I believe the term 'made it' is premature and contingent on us making it back to the Enterprise."
"I'll take the first one for now," Archer replied forcing a smile. "At least there's no one likely to hit me out here."
"But there may be any number of indigenous species waiting to rip you apart for food" T'pol replied with her usual clinical detachment. "or just for sport, not to mention.."
The Captain held up his good hand. "Let's just leave it at the not mentioning stage OK" he said. "Until further notice I want you to restrict the information you give me only to positive news."
"Very well Captain," T'pol said patiently. "As far as I can tell there is no one as yet following our trail. As soon as I have set your arm I suggest that we keep going."
Archer looked down at his left arm which rested limply and painfully across his chest. "Oh good, I'm glad you woke me up to do this." He said with a failed attempt at sarcasm. "Would have hated to have missed the pain." He shifted to a better position.
"I could not do it whilst you were unconscious." T'pol explained. "I need you to resist as I pull." She continued, manoeuvring herself to a place where she could manipulate the bone.
Archer gritted his teeth as she repositioned his arm. Even that was painful.
"Brace yourself Captain this is going to hurt," she said gently. Archer looked her directly in the eye and nodded that he was ready.
As she pulled and twisted in one swift action, the spasm of agony that swept up his arm was indescribable. He could not stifle the loud moan as his body and mind reacted to the pain and then his overloaded senses shut down again as he once more dropped into blackness.
Trip emerged on the corridor about fifteen feet behind Reed and shouted. "Lieutenant Reed Stop!"
Despite his reservations about the action, Reed's military training would not allow him to disobey an order and, whatever the circumstances, Commander Tucker was his superior officer so he had to do what he said. He stopped.
Trip was surprised. He had expected to have to give chase, instead Reed stopped and stood silently. He did not, however, turn round. He just stood and waited for Trip to catch up with him and then walk to the front.
Trip knew that he only had one more shot at this. He had to get Reed to listen and to do that he would, he now realised, have to back off a little. He made eye contact and spoke as seriously as he could. "Lieutenant, all I'm asking is that you don't just dismiss what Ensign Sato and I have been saying to you. At least think about what we've told you and look around at what's going on. We're due to leave the ship at 14:00 hours so I'll meet you in your cabin at 13:00 hours. You can let us know your decision then." He searched the young officer's expression for a sign that he was weakening. "Please," he added, a hint of desparation there.
Reed regarded him. It was rare to see Trip so serious and in a strange way so vulnerable. This was a genuine plea for help. Reed found his attitude softening and then he remembered what they were asking him to do. He shook his head "I can't do it," he said. "I can't go behind the Captain's back. It's tantamount to mutiny."
"Only if we're wrong," Trip said quickly, "and I don't think we are. If we're right and there is something wrong with the Captain then he'll thank you for it." He saw signs that his words were having an effect on the young officer. "Look you don't have to give me an answer now." He pressed his advantage. "Just promise me you'll think about it."
The two men held each others gaze for a few more seconds. "All right," Reed eventually replied, "No promises but I will think about it."
Trip broke into his characteristic wide grin. "Thanks," he patted Reed on the back. "We'll see you at 13:00 hours then."
Reed nodded and walked thoughtfully off down the corridor leaving Trip facing Hoshi who had come up behind but hadn't wanted to interupt.
"Do you think he'll do it?" she asked.
Trip turned so that he could watch the lieutenant dissapear round the next junction. "He has to," he said quietly, remembering his last encounter with the Captain just before he and Hoshi had headed down to see Reed. It made him shiver involuntarily. "Because I'm telling you now," he continued. "Whoever or whatever is on that bridge, it is not Jonathan Archer."
"You want me to do what?" Lieutenant Reed asked incredulously, stopping very briefly from the task of checking the storage container to look first at Trip and then at Hoshi who stood on either side of him. Both did their best to look earnest and reasonable.
Realising that his companions were serious but still not prepared to consider their outrageous request, he decided the best course of action was probably to ignore them and hope that they'd go away. He went back to his task.
"Come on lieutenant," Trip tried cajolingly. "You're the only one who can do this."
Reed deliberately finished counting the contents of the container in front of him before repeating his action of looking at each of his companions in turn. Then stated firmly. "No," before shutting the lid and clipping the lock into place. He turned and moved off to the next container.
Trip barely got his fingers out of the way in time as the lid closed. He and Hoshi exchanged desperate glances before quickly following the lieutenant to where he had opened another container and was studiously checking it's contents. They split to stand either side of him again.
Reed let out an exasperated sigh as he once again found himself surrounded. "Look commander," he said looking at Trip. "Ensign," he similarly acknowledged Hoshi, "Weapons inventory is my least favourite task and much as I appreciate the company," he continued dryly, "and the amusing requests that you are making. I could really do with some peace and quiet so I can get this finished." He went back to counting the contents of the case.
Hoshi and Trip exchanged glances again. This time Trip used his eyes to indicate that Hoshi should try her powers of persuasion. Hoshi looked at him. 'What am I supposed to say' written clearly in her expression. Trip merely used his eyes and this time a slight inclination of his head to indicate that it was her turn to speak.
All of this unspoken communication took seconds and went completely unnoticed by lieutenant Reed who was once more engrossed in his inventory task.
"Lieutenant," Hoshi began, "Malcolm," she corrected herself softening her voice along with the form of address. She tilted her head slightly and smiled. "We need someone to find out what is going on and you are the only one who has experience at infiltrating alien races and you're so." She hesitated struggling with how to continue. ".good at it." She finished weakly.
Trip shot her an exacerbated look and she returned with an 'it's the best I could do' expression. Then they both rapidly rearranged their features as Reed paused from his task.
He stared ahead for a moment before turning to look at Hoshi. He smiled a humourless smile and straightened to his full height. Slowly with barely held patience he began. "Commander, Ensign," once again he acknowledged them each in turn. "Just what part of 'no' do you not understand?" He paused taking a deep breath. "Now if you will excuse me, since I am clearly not going to get any work done here." He turned and headed for the door.
Trip looked over at Hoshi. ".you're so good at it.." he mimicked, "is that the best you could come up with?" he asked in whispered tones. "I thought you were a language specialist!"
"I am," she hissed back. "I could have told him the same thing in two hundred and fifty separate dialects." She paused before adding. "I normally translate it, I don't make it up!"
By this time Reed was at the door and leaving. "Come on," Trip said. "We'd better go after him, although I don't reckon on our chances of persuading him to do anything now," he said pointedly, heading off in pursuit of the lieutenant.
Once she was safely in the trees T'pol turned to see how far behind her the Captain was. She turned just in time to see his heavy descent to the floor. Rapidly assessing their situation she knew that the logical course of action was to leave him and make good her escape. She stood a far better chance of getting away and making it back to the ship if she were alone even when the Captain was fully fit. In his present condition there was little chance of either of them escaping if she stayed to assist.
If there was one thing that T'pol had learnt through working with humans, however, as much as it pained her to admit it, there were sometimes other ways of looking at a situation than with pure logic. If she left the Captain behind then he would almost certainly die and Jonathan Archer would be a very difficult man for Starfleet to replace. His death would put the Exploration mission back by many years, not that there wouldn't be a large contingent of Vulcan in favour of that, but it was now her mission too and she did not want to jeopardise that. From that perspective logic dictated that she went back for him.
There was another argument that could also not be ignored. She knew that if the situation were reversed, no matter what the risk, the Captain would not hesitate to come back for her.
All of these thoughts were processed almost instantaneously and she was out of the cover and running back for the Captain before he had come to rest on the ground. Hefting him up on to her shoulder, thankful that Vulcans were so much stronger than humans, she headed back into the trees, disappearing into the undergrowth just as one of the searchlights traced the treeline in her wake.
This time she did not stop once she hit cover. She kept going realising that her chances were greater the bigger distance she put between herself and the compound they had just left.
On and on she ran ignoring all sensations of pain and tiredness, until she could no longer hear the sound of the sirens. When she was satisfied that any followers would have a difficult time, assuming they could pick up the trail, she stopped.
As gently as she could she lowered the Captain to the ground and checked his condition once more. It did little to allay her concerns. His pulse was too rapid, his skin cold and clammy to the touch and his breathing rapid and shallow. She needed to splint his arm and reset it and she needed to wake him up. Otherwise he was likely to drop into a state of shock that could kill him. She looked round for a suitable piece of wood to use as a splint and took out the jacket she had thought to retrieve from one of the guards at the compound, tearing the sleeves into strips to use as a bandage and a sling and laying the rest over the captain to keep him warm.
Then she found a piece of bark and filled it with water from a nearby narrow stream, part of the reason she had chosen this location to stop. She used some of it to wipe the Captain's brow and poured some into his mouth. All the time talking to him and encouraging him to wake up. As the cold water hit the back of his throat a reflex reaction took over and he began to swallow but inhaled at the same time causing him to cough and splutter. It was enough to return him to consciousness.
He blinked and waited for the painful coughing spasm to pass before attempting to focus on his surroundings. Leaning back against the tree, he turned to look at T'pol. "We made it then," he said, his voice weak and hoarse.
"If you mean that we have escaped the compound and thus far avoided recapture then you are correct." She said, gratified that he was lucid. "If, however, you mean we have escaped then I believe the term 'made it' is premature and contingent on us making it back to the Enterprise."
"I'll take the first one for now," Archer replied forcing a smile. "At least there's no one likely to hit me out here."
"But there may be any number of indigenous species waiting to rip you apart for food" T'pol replied with her usual clinical detachment. "or just for sport, not to mention.."
The Captain held up his good hand. "Let's just leave it at the not mentioning stage OK" he said. "Until further notice I want you to restrict the information you give me only to positive news."
"Very well Captain," T'pol said patiently. "As far as I can tell there is no one as yet following our trail. As soon as I have set your arm I suggest that we keep going."
Archer looked down at his left arm which rested limply and painfully across his chest. "Oh good, I'm glad you woke me up to do this." He said with a failed attempt at sarcasm. "Would have hated to have missed the pain." He shifted to a better position.
"I could not do it whilst you were unconscious." T'pol explained. "I need you to resist as I pull." She continued, manoeuvring herself to a place where she could manipulate the bone.
Archer gritted his teeth as she repositioned his arm. Even that was painful.
"Brace yourself Captain this is going to hurt," she said gently. Archer looked her directly in the eye and nodded that he was ready.
As she pulled and twisted in one swift action, the spasm of agony that swept up his arm was indescribable. He could not stifle the loud moan as his body and mind reacted to the pain and then his overloaded senses shut down again as he once more dropped into blackness.
Trip emerged on the corridor about fifteen feet behind Reed and shouted. "Lieutenant Reed Stop!"
Despite his reservations about the action, Reed's military training would not allow him to disobey an order and, whatever the circumstances, Commander Tucker was his superior officer so he had to do what he said. He stopped.
Trip was surprised. He had expected to have to give chase, instead Reed stopped and stood silently. He did not, however, turn round. He just stood and waited for Trip to catch up with him and then walk to the front.
Trip knew that he only had one more shot at this. He had to get Reed to listen and to do that he would, he now realised, have to back off a little. He made eye contact and spoke as seriously as he could. "Lieutenant, all I'm asking is that you don't just dismiss what Ensign Sato and I have been saying to you. At least think about what we've told you and look around at what's going on. We're due to leave the ship at 14:00 hours so I'll meet you in your cabin at 13:00 hours. You can let us know your decision then." He searched the young officer's expression for a sign that he was weakening. "Please," he added, a hint of desparation there.
Reed regarded him. It was rare to see Trip so serious and in a strange way so vulnerable. This was a genuine plea for help. Reed found his attitude softening and then he remembered what they were asking him to do. He shook his head "I can't do it," he said. "I can't go behind the Captain's back. It's tantamount to mutiny."
"Only if we're wrong," Trip said quickly, "and I don't think we are. If we're right and there is something wrong with the Captain then he'll thank you for it." He saw signs that his words were having an effect on the young officer. "Look you don't have to give me an answer now." He pressed his advantage. "Just promise me you'll think about it."
The two men held each others gaze for a few more seconds. "All right," Reed eventually replied, "No promises but I will think about it."
Trip broke into his characteristic wide grin. "Thanks," he patted Reed on the back. "We'll see you at 13:00 hours then."
Reed nodded and walked thoughtfully off down the corridor leaving Trip facing Hoshi who had come up behind but hadn't wanted to interupt.
"Do you think he'll do it?" she asked.
Trip turned so that he could watch the lieutenant dissapear round the next junction. "He has to," he said quietly, remembering his last encounter with the Captain just before he and Hoshi had headed down to see Reed. It made him shiver involuntarily. "Because I'm telling you now," he continued. "Whoever or whatever is on that bridge, it is not Jonathan Archer."