Part 7 Taking Action
Reed quickly changed, Hoshi had returned with a deep purple shirt that to him looked far more inconspicuous, he had accepted it gratefully if a little self consciously, his English reserve giving him strangely mixed values about getting changed in front of a woman. Although it was considered completely acceptable to walk about on a beach with no shirt, and he certainly had no problem with sitting in the decontamination unit with female officers, there was something about the act of taking clothes off and putting them on in mixed company that made him feel uncomfortable. Not something that he felt Trip or Hoshi would understand so he did his best to cover his discomfort and concentrate on what he had to do next.
They had chosen a room close to the pod launch bay for Reed to undergo his transformation. Since they had no idea what was going on, they did not know who on the crew could be trusted and who could not, so it was important that nobody saw him. As soon as he was ready, he checked the weapon and communicator he was taking with him for emergency use. Trip and Hoshi also had communicators that had been adjusted to a low frequency which hopefully the ship would not pick up, not on a routine sweep anyway. It would, however, limit the distance over which they would work giving them an effective range of only half a mile.
His equipment check complete, Reed made for the door where Trip was already waiting. Hoshi had taken up a position across the corridor so that she could signal when the path was clear. She gestured that everything was OK and Trip, after checking the opposite direction, waved Reed forward. He was just about to step out onto the corridor when Hoshi changed her hand signal to a stop and then a go back. Trip put his hand up barely stopping Reed in time.
Already tense from the very 'cloak and dagger' nature of what they were doing, Reed's system pushed out a flood of adrenaline which made his heart beat faster and his breathing quicken. All he could hear was the thunderous pounding of is own heartbeat as he ducked quickly behind the door.
Trip nonchalantly stepped out into the corridor closing the door behind him and moving over to talk to Hoshi as though it was the most natural thing in the world. His calm exterior betraying none of the combination of excitement and fear of discovery that was gripping his own system and giving him similar reactions to Reed. "Hey Ensign," he said innocently to Hoshi, "I've been looking for you," He watched the two crewmembers who had just turned the corner approach his position and nodded in acknowledgment as they went past, desperately trying to continue his conversation without giving anything away. "I just wanted to check that you had everything you need for." and that was all he needed to say as the two moved out of sight and hopefully out of earshot. He lowered his voice. "Phew that was close, another second and they would've spotted Reed for sure."
Hoshi nodded, relief written in her own expression. "Too close for me," she replied trying to bring her own breathing and pounding heart under control. When Captain Archer originally asked her to join the crew and its expedition she had been reluctant, afraid of what she might encounter, but the longer she was out here, the more action she was involved in, the more she found herself wanting to be a part of these situations.
Trip was about to move back to take up his position when more noise alerted them to people approaching. It was Hoshi's turn to make up some questions that would make their standing in the corridor look innocent. Once the two officers, this time from engineering, so Trip had paused his conversation to greet them by name, had passed, they both breathed another sigh of relief.
"Third time's a charm," Trip said as he headed back and opened the door. Peering round it, he found Reed still standing with his back against the wall so that, only from a very small angle on the corridor, could he be seen, even with the door open. Trip gave him a thumbs up signal and turned to look at Hoshi. When she indicated that once again they were clear, He signaled Reed who this time made it out on to the corridor, down the short section and into the launch bay without incident.
Relief spread over Trip and Hoshi once again as their friend and crewmate made it through the doors without being spotted. They moved to follow him.
As Reed ducked through the doors into the relative safety of the launch bay, he too allowed a little of the tension to dissipate. It would have been far easier if the Doctor could have worked his magic in here, but it took too long and there was far too great a risk of someone coming to check or work on one of the Pods. He turned to look at the door as he heard Trip and Hoshi enter behind him. He smiled at them but the smile froze on his lips as a far too familiar voice spoke from behind.
"Going somewhere Lieutenant?" Captain Archer said as he stepped out from his hiding place behind the Pod.
Reed watched the expressions of relief rapidly transfer to shock on Trip and Hoshi's faces as they looked past him to where the Captain stood. He turned round very slowly to see a phase pistol pointing at his chest.
"You really didn't think you were going to get away with this conspiracy did you?" The Captain asked as their gazes met.
"Captain," T'pol said, "You have a high fever. You will need to do more than rest" When Archer did not respond, she tried a direct question. "Captain, can you hear me?"
Archer's eyes were glazed over now as the fever clouded his thinking completely. He had used the last of his reserves of strength, the last of his ability to hold on and fight when he had tried to stand up to the young woman with the gun and now his system was close to collapse. He heard the odd word, had the vague impression that there was someone near him. Did he know who it was? He wasn't a fully sure whether he was standing or sitting. The only sensations he was sure of was the pain, which ranged from a dull ache to a sharp fiery stab, and the bone weary tiredness that seemed to take hold of his entire being. "Just need to rest for a while," he mumbled, now barely coherently.
At the third repeat of this phrase and the total lack of awareness of his surroundings, T'pol knew that the Captain was in real trouble. The fever on top of his injured and weakened condition would soon overwhelm and, without treatment, eventually kill him.
As he had fallen she had felt a slight twinge of what human's would call fear. Apart from when she had foolishly allowed a rogue Vulcan to persuade her to release her emotions as part of an experiment, an experiment which had almost ended in disaster for her, it was the first time that she could remember an emotion breaking through since she had mastered control of them long ago.
Human's often had a wrong view of Vulcan's, believing them to be completely devoid of emotions. They were still there, they just had none of the physiological or psychological effects that they had on humans because they were always tightly controlled. It was a skill that the Vulcan's learnt from an early age and maintained through meditation, In one as skilled as T'pol, to have even a slight sensation break through indicated an unusually strong response. She needed to find somewhere to meditate.
She was quickly in control again and by the time she knelt at his side, she was applying her skills of logic to try to decide how best to help. The only logical option was to accept the young woman's offer of assistance. Although this involved a great deal of risk, all of the other alternatives would undoubtedly result in the Captain's death.
She looked into the eyes of the young woman noting that they held concern. "You said that you would help," she said in her usual even tone. "We would like to accept your offer."
The woman regarded her for a few moments looking as if she was weighing her up. Finally she smiled and offered her hand. "The name is Tetia," she said.
"T'pol," she returned both the handshake and the greeting.
Lines of a tenuous trust established by the exchange of names, they both looked down at the Captain, who shivered once more.
"We need to get him to somewhere warmer where we can get him out of those wet things," Tetia said, "and treat his wounds."
"I agree," T'pol looked up once again into the young woman's eyes. "You have such a place?" She asked.
"Yes but it is quite a way from here and we need to travel underground. Using the surface streets is far too dangerous especially if they are looking for you."
"Then we should get started before the Captain is too weak to assist us." T'pol replied. She turned her attention back to him. "Captain," she said, her tone much harsher than the one she had used moments ago, but she needed to penetrate through the fevered haze. "Captain Archer" she repeated sharply.
T'pol's voice penetrated the clouds in Archer's mind, the sharp urgency kicking in a combination of his military training and natural survival instinct as he fought back to a vaguely lucid state. His vision cleared a little and he turned to look at her. "T'pol?" he questioned weakly.
Noting the return to some form of awareness, T'pol explained their situation. "Captain," her tone had softened slightly in as much as the Vulcan's tone could ever be described as soft, "We need to move now. We have to get to a safer location. Do you think you can manage it?"
For a moment there was no reply and T'pol thought that he may have drifted off again but he was merely considering his position and gathering his reserves. He knew that his condition was deteriorating rapidly and staying where he was was as good as signing his own death warrant. Strong survival instincts kicked in. He put his hand out to grip hers. "If you help me," he said holding the Vulcan's gaze.
T'pol nodded and shifted her position. Leaning heavily on her for support Archer slowly and painfully forced himself to his feet. His good arm draped over T'pol's shoulder.
Tetia did what she could to provide support as he stood, but short of taking hold of his broken arm there was little she could do. Once standing T'pol looked at her. "I suggest you bring both of the weapons," she said. It was not ideal to put themselves at the total mercy of this stranger in this way but in taking the decision to accept her help, T'pol had also taken the decision to trust her, the two went hand in hand.
T'pol glanced at the Captain beside her, his breathing was too shallow and erratic and the sweat was now clear on his forehead. She knew that she had taken the only logical course of action but as she watched Tetia retrieve both weapons she just hoped that it had been the right one.
Reed quickly changed, Hoshi had returned with a deep purple shirt that to him looked far more inconspicuous, he had accepted it gratefully if a little self consciously, his English reserve giving him strangely mixed values about getting changed in front of a woman. Although it was considered completely acceptable to walk about on a beach with no shirt, and he certainly had no problem with sitting in the decontamination unit with female officers, there was something about the act of taking clothes off and putting them on in mixed company that made him feel uncomfortable. Not something that he felt Trip or Hoshi would understand so he did his best to cover his discomfort and concentrate on what he had to do next.
They had chosen a room close to the pod launch bay for Reed to undergo his transformation. Since they had no idea what was going on, they did not know who on the crew could be trusted and who could not, so it was important that nobody saw him. As soon as he was ready, he checked the weapon and communicator he was taking with him for emergency use. Trip and Hoshi also had communicators that had been adjusted to a low frequency which hopefully the ship would not pick up, not on a routine sweep anyway. It would, however, limit the distance over which they would work giving them an effective range of only half a mile.
His equipment check complete, Reed made for the door where Trip was already waiting. Hoshi had taken up a position across the corridor so that she could signal when the path was clear. She gestured that everything was OK and Trip, after checking the opposite direction, waved Reed forward. He was just about to step out onto the corridor when Hoshi changed her hand signal to a stop and then a go back. Trip put his hand up barely stopping Reed in time.
Already tense from the very 'cloak and dagger' nature of what they were doing, Reed's system pushed out a flood of adrenaline which made his heart beat faster and his breathing quicken. All he could hear was the thunderous pounding of is own heartbeat as he ducked quickly behind the door.
Trip nonchalantly stepped out into the corridor closing the door behind him and moving over to talk to Hoshi as though it was the most natural thing in the world. His calm exterior betraying none of the combination of excitement and fear of discovery that was gripping his own system and giving him similar reactions to Reed. "Hey Ensign," he said innocently to Hoshi, "I've been looking for you," He watched the two crewmembers who had just turned the corner approach his position and nodded in acknowledgment as they went past, desperately trying to continue his conversation without giving anything away. "I just wanted to check that you had everything you need for." and that was all he needed to say as the two moved out of sight and hopefully out of earshot. He lowered his voice. "Phew that was close, another second and they would've spotted Reed for sure."
Hoshi nodded, relief written in her own expression. "Too close for me," she replied trying to bring her own breathing and pounding heart under control. When Captain Archer originally asked her to join the crew and its expedition she had been reluctant, afraid of what she might encounter, but the longer she was out here, the more action she was involved in, the more she found herself wanting to be a part of these situations.
Trip was about to move back to take up his position when more noise alerted them to people approaching. It was Hoshi's turn to make up some questions that would make their standing in the corridor look innocent. Once the two officers, this time from engineering, so Trip had paused his conversation to greet them by name, had passed, they both breathed another sigh of relief.
"Third time's a charm," Trip said as he headed back and opened the door. Peering round it, he found Reed still standing with his back against the wall so that, only from a very small angle on the corridor, could he be seen, even with the door open. Trip gave him a thumbs up signal and turned to look at Hoshi. When she indicated that once again they were clear, He signaled Reed who this time made it out on to the corridor, down the short section and into the launch bay without incident.
Relief spread over Trip and Hoshi once again as their friend and crewmate made it through the doors without being spotted. They moved to follow him.
As Reed ducked through the doors into the relative safety of the launch bay, he too allowed a little of the tension to dissipate. It would have been far easier if the Doctor could have worked his magic in here, but it took too long and there was far too great a risk of someone coming to check or work on one of the Pods. He turned to look at the door as he heard Trip and Hoshi enter behind him. He smiled at them but the smile froze on his lips as a far too familiar voice spoke from behind.
"Going somewhere Lieutenant?" Captain Archer said as he stepped out from his hiding place behind the Pod.
Reed watched the expressions of relief rapidly transfer to shock on Trip and Hoshi's faces as they looked past him to where the Captain stood. He turned round very slowly to see a phase pistol pointing at his chest.
"You really didn't think you were going to get away with this conspiracy did you?" The Captain asked as their gazes met.
"Captain," T'pol said, "You have a high fever. You will need to do more than rest" When Archer did not respond, she tried a direct question. "Captain, can you hear me?"
Archer's eyes were glazed over now as the fever clouded his thinking completely. He had used the last of his reserves of strength, the last of his ability to hold on and fight when he had tried to stand up to the young woman with the gun and now his system was close to collapse. He heard the odd word, had the vague impression that there was someone near him. Did he know who it was? He wasn't a fully sure whether he was standing or sitting. The only sensations he was sure of was the pain, which ranged from a dull ache to a sharp fiery stab, and the bone weary tiredness that seemed to take hold of his entire being. "Just need to rest for a while," he mumbled, now barely coherently.
At the third repeat of this phrase and the total lack of awareness of his surroundings, T'pol knew that the Captain was in real trouble. The fever on top of his injured and weakened condition would soon overwhelm and, without treatment, eventually kill him.
As he had fallen she had felt a slight twinge of what human's would call fear. Apart from when she had foolishly allowed a rogue Vulcan to persuade her to release her emotions as part of an experiment, an experiment which had almost ended in disaster for her, it was the first time that she could remember an emotion breaking through since she had mastered control of them long ago.
Human's often had a wrong view of Vulcan's, believing them to be completely devoid of emotions. They were still there, they just had none of the physiological or psychological effects that they had on humans because they were always tightly controlled. It was a skill that the Vulcan's learnt from an early age and maintained through meditation, In one as skilled as T'pol, to have even a slight sensation break through indicated an unusually strong response. She needed to find somewhere to meditate.
She was quickly in control again and by the time she knelt at his side, she was applying her skills of logic to try to decide how best to help. The only logical option was to accept the young woman's offer of assistance. Although this involved a great deal of risk, all of the other alternatives would undoubtedly result in the Captain's death.
She looked into the eyes of the young woman noting that they held concern. "You said that you would help," she said in her usual even tone. "We would like to accept your offer."
The woman regarded her for a few moments looking as if she was weighing her up. Finally she smiled and offered her hand. "The name is Tetia," she said.
"T'pol," she returned both the handshake and the greeting.
Lines of a tenuous trust established by the exchange of names, they both looked down at the Captain, who shivered once more.
"We need to get him to somewhere warmer where we can get him out of those wet things," Tetia said, "and treat his wounds."
"I agree," T'pol looked up once again into the young woman's eyes. "You have such a place?" She asked.
"Yes but it is quite a way from here and we need to travel underground. Using the surface streets is far too dangerous especially if they are looking for you."
"Then we should get started before the Captain is too weak to assist us." T'pol replied. She turned her attention back to him. "Captain," she said, her tone much harsher than the one she had used moments ago, but she needed to penetrate through the fevered haze. "Captain Archer" she repeated sharply.
T'pol's voice penetrated the clouds in Archer's mind, the sharp urgency kicking in a combination of his military training and natural survival instinct as he fought back to a vaguely lucid state. His vision cleared a little and he turned to look at her. "T'pol?" he questioned weakly.
Noting the return to some form of awareness, T'pol explained their situation. "Captain," her tone had softened slightly in as much as the Vulcan's tone could ever be described as soft, "We need to move now. We have to get to a safer location. Do you think you can manage it?"
For a moment there was no reply and T'pol thought that he may have drifted off again but he was merely considering his position and gathering his reserves. He knew that his condition was deteriorating rapidly and staying where he was was as good as signing his own death warrant. Strong survival instincts kicked in. He put his hand out to grip hers. "If you help me," he said holding the Vulcan's gaze.
T'pol nodded and shifted her position. Leaning heavily on her for support Archer slowly and painfully forced himself to his feet. His good arm draped over T'pol's shoulder.
Tetia did what she could to provide support as he stood, but short of taking hold of his broken arm there was little she could do. Once standing T'pol looked at her. "I suggest you bring both of the weapons," she said. It was not ideal to put themselves at the total mercy of this stranger in this way but in taking the decision to accept her help, T'pol had also taken the decision to trust her, the two went hand in hand.
T'pol glanced at the Captain beside her, his breathing was too shallow and erratic and the sweat was now clear on his forehead. She knew that she had taken the only logical course of action but as she watched Tetia retrieve both weapons she just hoped that it had been the right one.