TROPHIES
Chapter Three
When Jacob tripped for the third time, Trip knew proceeding in the dark was going to be impossible without some rest. The two men huddled together underneath a tree, leaning back against the trunk for a brief respite.
"So what'd you do before Starfleet, Jake?" asked Trip after a few moments of silence. He rubbed his sore feet and gritted his teeth against the pain.
"I was a police detective in New York City," replied Jacob. "For thirteen long years.
"Wow. Why'd you give it up?"
"My wife and daughter died in an auto accident. After that, my heart wasn't in it. I decided I needed to leave New York."
Trip swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"It's okay. They were hard times but I managed, sir."
"Trip. Call me Trip."
"Commander?"
"We're outta uniform so let's just say we're off duty, Jake," Trip said with a smile. He shifted his sitting position and extended his legs out straight. "So why Starfleet?"
"I'd always dreamed of space travel. Ever since I was a kid. After I lost my family, I applied for a security job at Starfleet headquarters. That was five years ago. Anyway, I became determined to get on the Enterprise crew. I thought my age would be a factor, but the powers that be were impressed with my credentials and I passed all the physical requirements. So here I am, a forty two year old ensign on Earth's first deep space starship."
Trip felt Jacob bump his shoulder as he moved to get comfortable.
"Why don't you get some sleep, Commander," whispered the security officer. "I'll keep the first watch."
"We can't sleep. The Eska have these incredible night vision sensors, way more advanced than what we have, so they're not going to stop. We only have three hours on them. Maybe more if we hid our trail well enough. We need to keep moving until the cap'n can find us."
"Do you think he can? The governor said we're hidden by an energy field."
"He'll find us, Jake."
Malcolm stood at the window of the governor's office watching the sunrise. He looked over the city of Tritaan, his thoughts on the missing commander and ensign. They were out there somewhere, he knew. And he wouldn't stop searching until they were found.
"Lieutenant?"
Malcolm turned around. Crewman Peters stood in front of him holding a plate of fruits and sweet rolls.
"No thank you, Crewman. I'm not very hungry," he said waving his hand.
"Eat something, Malcolm," ordered the captain from his seat at the front of the governor's over-sized desk.
Malcolm took the plate from Abby. "Thank you."
She smiled half-heartedly then quietly left the room. Malcolm moved to the desk and set his plate down. He watched Captain Archer pull apart a roll, then leave it uneaten on his plate.
"I think you need to eat something as well, Captain."
Archer looked up at his armory officer then sat back in his chair. "Damrus should have been back by now," he said in exasperation. He rose to his feet and began pacing. "I get the feeling he's keeping something from us."
"You're right, Captain."
Archer and Malcolm both looked at the man standing in the doorway. Damrus walked over to the window and stared out over the city. He sighed then turned to face the other two men.
"About two months ago, an Alkanon envoy arrived to tour the capital city. One of their females disappeared the second day they were here. We never found her."
"You think what ever happened to this woman is the same thing that's happened to Trip and Ensign Sawyer?" asked Archer.
"I'm not sure. I was just looking back at some old records. There are other recorded disappearances over the years." Damrus walked to the desk and set down a padd he'd been holding. Malcolm picked it up and studied the data on its face. The captain looked over his shoulder.
"The last person to vanish prior to the Alkanon was a Klingon freighter pilot who was forced to crash land due to a systems failure on his ship. They never found a body at the crash site. That was three years ago," said Malcolm.
Damrus nodded. "There are ten documented disappearances over the last twenty years. All from different species and all vanished without a trace."
"And the governor just happened to take time off at the same time," pointed out Archer.
"I probably wouldn't have checked except that Commander Tucker and Ensign Sawyer vanished so soon after the Alkanon."
"Where would he take them?" asked the lieutenant. He placed the padd back on the desk. "If he is indeed involved."
"I don't know," sighed Damrus. He sat in the governor's chair and leaned forward. "I can't believe he IS involved." He dropped his head in his hands, his fingers spread through his hair. "Has your ship been able to detect any bio signs?"
Archer shook his head. "T'Pol's been running continuous scans through the night. Last time she checked in, there was still no sign of them." The captain began pacing again.
"Captain, we may have found something," said Hoshi as she and Abby entered the room. She handed him a data padd on which a map was displayed. "The sub-commander has detected something strange in this area, sir." She circled a spot on the map with her finger.
"What do you mean? Something strange?" asked Archer peering at the map. "Human bio signs?"
"No. No signs of any life at all, sir."
Malcolm sighed. "Then what's so strange, Ensign?" he asked not able to hide his frustration.
"Our sensors have been able to pick up the Eska and the animal life but they don't register any readings at all in this section. The sub-commander said she wouldn't have noticed it except that it only occurs here and nowhere else. And she believes the pattern is too uniform to be a natural phenomena."
"Let me see," said Damrus. He rose from his chair and took the padd from Captain Archer to study it. "This is just an area of deep forest out in the middle of nowhere. No one lives out there. I think your sub-commander is grasping at straws, Captain." He handed the padd back to Archer.
"Ouch!" gasped Trip. He pulled his right hand back, examining the two puncture marks just below his thumb.
"Are you okay, sir?" asked Jacob.
Trip shook his hand. "Yeah."
The two men began covering their trail again in the early morning sunlight. They had walked through the night, barking their shins and ankles on unseen obstacles in the pitch black of night. Trip hurt all over and his feet were nearly raw. Now as the sun peeked through the trees, Trip reveled in the slight warmth it brought to his chilled body.
"Hold it," whispered Jacob with a tilt of his head. He grabbed Trip's arm. "Someone's coming."
Trip now heard the movement in the underbrush. His heart rate immediately picked up, adrenaline flowing at a near sickening pace. The two men started running, dodging through the trees. The first phaser shot hit a bush less than a meter from Jacob. The ensign flinched away, nearly running into Trip.
"How'd they find us so fast?"
"I don't know!" replied Trip between gulps of air. They continued weaving, phaser fire hitting all around them.
After about an hour, the two men slowed. The assault had stopped several minutes ago. Trip exchanged a questioning look with his companion.
"They stopped," Jacob rasped. "Why?"
"Probably don't want to expend too much energy," replied Trip as he stopped and leaned against a tree. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Why run after your prey when your prey has no way to escape? This is a game for Martis, Jake. He's gonna play it out as long as he can."
"We should keep moving, Commander," said the ensign.
"Trip, Jake. It's Trip. And yeah, you're right." They took off again at a jog.
"Do you have any idea how many there are?" asked the older man, ducking under a low hanging limb.
Trip shook his head. "No idea. My guess would be only Martis and maybe three or four of his henchmen."
"If we could take out one of them, at least we'd have a weapon."
"Divide and conquer?"
Jacob nodded. "I could circle back around behind them while you keep moving forward."
Trip stopped. He swiped his hand over his sweaty forehead. "It's too dangerous, Jake."
"Any better ideas, sir? Trip?" The ensign smiled. "I can do this, I know I can. Then we'd have a weapon. We'd stand a chance of surviving until Captain Archer can find us."
The engineer leaned over at the waist, putting his hands on his knees. He couldn't catch his breath. He felt Jacob's hand on his back.
"You alright?"
Trip nodded but stayed bent over. He was feeling suddenly hot and he wiped at his forehead again. After a few moments, he stood straight again, taking deep breaths and trying to relax.
"Let me do this, Trip." Jacob was watching him closely, a look of concern on his face.
"Okay," Trip relented. "I'll keep moving. I'll wind around a bit then head back to the tree we rested at last night. We'll meet there at sunset." He reached out and grabbed Jacob's arm before the older man could turn away. "You be careful, Jake."
The ensign smiled and nodded then he took off at a run. Trip watched him go. He looked briefly up at the graying sky. Rain.
"Great. Just great," he mumbled under his breath. He wiped his brow again then took off running again.
The storm had hit mid-afternoon. Trip had rested only briefly a few times, driven on by the knowledge he was still being hunted. When the rains came, he had already begun his trek back to the agreed meeting place. He was still feeling unusually warm even with the cold rain beating down on him. And he ached all over, every move painful. He kept pushing himself, knowing that Jacob would be there, waiting for him, phase rifle in hand. He smiled at the thought.
It was just beginning to get dark when Trip found himself at the tree from the night before. Jacob was there, sitting with his back against the trunk.
"I failed, sir," the ensign mumbled.
"Jake!" Trip gasped as he saw the red soaking his friend's tunic. He moved instantly to his side and knelt down. "How bad?"
"Its bad, sir. Real bad." Jacob coughed harshly, blood appearing on his lips. "I climbed a tree so I could see where they were but I fell. I impaled myself on a broken limb." He coughed again.
"Shhhh, don't talk," whispered Trip. He carefully helped the injured man lie down then he gently lifted his shirt. Trip cursed softly. Although it was getting darker, he could see enough to know instantly that the injury was serious. He quickly took off his own tunic then removed the blue undershirt he'd kept on. He carefully folded it and pressed it against the gaping wound, hoping to at least slow the blood loss.
"Go on, sir."
"What? I'm not leaving you!" Trip said with conviction as he put his tunic on again.
"You have to, Commander. Maybe if they find me, they'll let you go. They only need one human trophy."
"I'm not leaving you!" Trip repeated vehemently. The rain was falling harder and he looked up at the sky. He knew that in moments it would be completely dark. "We need to find someplace to hide until morning. Gotta get you out of the rain and give you time to rest."
"Trip."
"Don't say it, Ensign Sawyer!"
Jacob fell quiet. Trip stood up and peered through the dim light at his surroundings. He could barely make out a dense thicket a few meters behind the tree. He carefully bent and grasped Jacob under his arms. He pulled the older man into the thicket then turned to cover the signs of their passage. Finally satisfied, Trip settled down in the underbrush next to his friend, pulling at fallen limbs to further conceal their hiding place.
"You okay?" he asked. He gave the ensign a gentle nudge but there was no response.
"Damrus, it's been over thirty-two hours since my people disappeared!" yelled Jon angrily. "And you don't have any leads yet!"
"We're doing everything we can to find them, Captain!"
Jon stalked back and forth across the governor's office. They'd all gone back to the marketplace that afternoon to help search for more witnesses or more clues but they'd come up empty. He stopped in front of the view case that held the bird of prey. Poor creature, he thought. He turned and looked at each of the cases in the room, suddenly sickened by the display. The captain moved to the window and looked out at the falling rain. Lightning slashed across the dark sky, illuminating the city spread before him. The thunder that followed the flash of light rattled the glass. Jon closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on the window. Trip was out there somewhere.
"Captain?"
Jon didn't move. He felt Damrus come up to stand beside him.
"You should go join your crew and try to get some sleep."
"I'm not leaving here until we find them, Damrus."
"I know that, Captain."
"Has Governor Martis checked in yet?"
"No."
Jon straightened and turned to face the Eska. "Don't you find that odd?"
"Very odd. It looks like he may indeed be involved in your men's abductions."
"Think, Damrus. Where would he take them?"
"I honestly don't know, Captain. We've checked his home here in the city as well as his cabin in the mountains. We've check with his brother in Sureeto. He has no knowledge of a family emergency."
Jon slammed his fist against the wall. "Are you sure your men can be trusted? Couldn't they be loyal to Martis?"
"I've only sent my most trusted comrades, Captain. They're loyal to me only."
"Damn it," Jon cursed. He turned away and looked at each of the display cases again. "I'm going to take our shuttle pod when this storm passes to take a closer look at that area where our sensors don't pick up any readings."
Damrus sighed. "Captain, I told you there's nothing out there. You won't find anything."
"It's the only thing we have right now. I think it's worth a look," Jon replied.
CONTINUED
Chapter Three
When Jacob tripped for the third time, Trip knew proceeding in the dark was going to be impossible without some rest. The two men huddled together underneath a tree, leaning back against the trunk for a brief respite.
"So what'd you do before Starfleet, Jake?" asked Trip after a few moments of silence. He rubbed his sore feet and gritted his teeth against the pain.
"I was a police detective in New York City," replied Jacob. "For thirteen long years.
"Wow. Why'd you give it up?"
"My wife and daughter died in an auto accident. After that, my heart wasn't in it. I decided I needed to leave New York."
Trip swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"It's okay. They were hard times but I managed, sir."
"Trip. Call me Trip."
"Commander?"
"We're outta uniform so let's just say we're off duty, Jake," Trip said with a smile. He shifted his sitting position and extended his legs out straight. "So why Starfleet?"
"I'd always dreamed of space travel. Ever since I was a kid. After I lost my family, I applied for a security job at Starfleet headquarters. That was five years ago. Anyway, I became determined to get on the Enterprise crew. I thought my age would be a factor, but the powers that be were impressed with my credentials and I passed all the physical requirements. So here I am, a forty two year old ensign on Earth's first deep space starship."
Trip felt Jacob bump his shoulder as he moved to get comfortable.
"Why don't you get some sleep, Commander," whispered the security officer. "I'll keep the first watch."
"We can't sleep. The Eska have these incredible night vision sensors, way more advanced than what we have, so they're not going to stop. We only have three hours on them. Maybe more if we hid our trail well enough. We need to keep moving until the cap'n can find us."
"Do you think he can? The governor said we're hidden by an energy field."
"He'll find us, Jake."
Malcolm stood at the window of the governor's office watching the sunrise. He looked over the city of Tritaan, his thoughts on the missing commander and ensign. They were out there somewhere, he knew. And he wouldn't stop searching until they were found.
"Lieutenant?"
Malcolm turned around. Crewman Peters stood in front of him holding a plate of fruits and sweet rolls.
"No thank you, Crewman. I'm not very hungry," he said waving his hand.
"Eat something, Malcolm," ordered the captain from his seat at the front of the governor's over-sized desk.
Malcolm took the plate from Abby. "Thank you."
She smiled half-heartedly then quietly left the room. Malcolm moved to the desk and set his plate down. He watched Captain Archer pull apart a roll, then leave it uneaten on his plate.
"I think you need to eat something as well, Captain."
Archer looked up at his armory officer then sat back in his chair. "Damrus should have been back by now," he said in exasperation. He rose to his feet and began pacing. "I get the feeling he's keeping something from us."
"You're right, Captain."
Archer and Malcolm both looked at the man standing in the doorway. Damrus walked over to the window and stared out over the city. He sighed then turned to face the other two men.
"About two months ago, an Alkanon envoy arrived to tour the capital city. One of their females disappeared the second day they were here. We never found her."
"You think what ever happened to this woman is the same thing that's happened to Trip and Ensign Sawyer?" asked Archer.
"I'm not sure. I was just looking back at some old records. There are other recorded disappearances over the years." Damrus walked to the desk and set down a padd he'd been holding. Malcolm picked it up and studied the data on its face. The captain looked over his shoulder.
"The last person to vanish prior to the Alkanon was a Klingon freighter pilot who was forced to crash land due to a systems failure on his ship. They never found a body at the crash site. That was three years ago," said Malcolm.
Damrus nodded. "There are ten documented disappearances over the last twenty years. All from different species and all vanished without a trace."
"And the governor just happened to take time off at the same time," pointed out Archer.
"I probably wouldn't have checked except that Commander Tucker and Ensign Sawyer vanished so soon after the Alkanon."
"Where would he take them?" asked the lieutenant. He placed the padd back on the desk. "If he is indeed involved."
"I don't know," sighed Damrus. He sat in the governor's chair and leaned forward. "I can't believe he IS involved." He dropped his head in his hands, his fingers spread through his hair. "Has your ship been able to detect any bio signs?"
Archer shook his head. "T'Pol's been running continuous scans through the night. Last time she checked in, there was still no sign of them." The captain began pacing again.
"Captain, we may have found something," said Hoshi as she and Abby entered the room. She handed him a data padd on which a map was displayed. "The sub-commander has detected something strange in this area, sir." She circled a spot on the map with her finger.
"What do you mean? Something strange?" asked Archer peering at the map. "Human bio signs?"
"No. No signs of any life at all, sir."
Malcolm sighed. "Then what's so strange, Ensign?" he asked not able to hide his frustration.
"Our sensors have been able to pick up the Eska and the animal life but they don't register any readings at all in this section. The sub-commander said she wouldn't have noticed it except that it only occurs here and nowhere else. And she believes the pattern is too uniform to be a natural phenomena."
"Let me see," said Damrus. He rose from his chair and took the padd from Captain Archer to study it. "This is just an area of deep forest out in the middle of nowhere. No one lives out there. I think your sub-commander is grasping at straws, Captain." He handed the padd back to Archer.
"Ouch!" gasped Trip. He pulled his right hand back, examining the two puncture marks just below his thumb.
"Are you okay, sir?" asked Jacob.
Trip shook his hand. "Yeah."
The two men began covering their trail again in the early morning sunlight. They had walked through the night, barking their shins and ankles on unseen obstacles in the pitch black of night. Trip hurt all over and his feet were nearly raw. Now as the sun peeked through the trees, Trip reveled in the slight warmth it brought to his chilled body.
"Hold it," whispered Jacob with a tilt of his head. He grabbed Trip's arm. "Someone's coming."
Trip now heard the movement in the underbrush. His heart rate immediately picked up, adrenaline flowing at a near sickening pace. The two men started running, dodging through the trees. The first phaser shot hit a bush less than a meter from Jacob. The ensign flinched away, nearly running into Trip.
"How'd they find us so fast?"
"I don't know!" replied Trip between gulps of air. They continued weaving, phaser fire hitting all around them.
After about an hour, the two men slowed. The assault had stopped several minutes ago. Trip exchanged a questioning look with his companion.
"They stopped," Jacob rasped. "Why?"
"Probably don't want to expend too much energy," replied Trip as he stopped and leaned against a tree. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Why run after your prey when your prey has no way to escape? This is a game for Martis, Jake. He's gonna play it out as long as he can."
"We should keep moving, Commander," said the ensign.
"Trip, Jake. It's Trip. And yeah, you're right." They took off again at a jog.
"Do you have any idea how many there are?" asked the older man, ducking under a low hanging limb.
Trip shook his head. "No idea. My guess would be only Martis and maybe three or four of his henchmen."
"If we could take out one of them, at least we'd have a weapon."
"Divide and conquer?"
Jacob nodded. "I could circle back around behind them while you keep moving forward."
Trip stopped. He swiped his hand over his sweaty forehead. "It's too dangerous, Jake."
"Any better ideas, sir? Trip?" The ensign smiled. "I can do this, I know I can. Then we'd have a weapon. We'd stand a chance of surviving until Captain Archer can find us."
The engineer leaned over at the waist, putting his hands on his knees. He couldn't catch his breath. He felt Jacob's hand on his back.
"You alright?"
Trip nodded but stayed bent over. He was feeling suddenly hot and he wiped at his forehead again. After a few moments, he stood straight again, taking deep breaths and trying to relax.
"Let me do this, Trip." Jacob was watching him closely, a look of concern on his face.
"Okay," Trip relented. "I'll keep moving. I'll wind around a bit then head back to the tree we rested at last night. We'll meet there at sunset." He reached out and grabbed Jacob's arm before the older man could turn away. "You be careful, Jake."
The ensign smiled and nodded then he took off at a run. Trip watched him go. He looked briefly up at the graying sky. Rain.
"Great. Just great," he mumbled under his breath. He wiped his brow again then took off running again.
The storm had hit mid-afternoon. Trip had rested only briefly a few times, driven on by the knowledge he was still being hunted. When the rains came, he had already begun his trek back to the agreed meeting place. He was still feeling unusually warm even with the cold rain beating down on him. And he ached all over, every move painful. He kept pushing himself, knowing that Jacob would be there, waiting for him, phase rifle in hand. He smiled at the thought.
It was just beginning to get dark when Trip found himself at the tree from the night before. Jacob was there, sitting with his back against the trunk.
"I failed, sir," the ensign mumbled.
"Jake!" Trip gasped as he saw the red soaking his friend's tunic. He moved instantly to his side and knelt down. "How bad?"
"Its bad, sir. Real bad." Jacob coughed harshly, blood appearing on his lips. "I climbed a tree so I could see where they were but I fell. I impaled myself on a broken limb." He coughed again.
"Shhhh, don't talk," whispered Trip. He carefully helped the injured man lie down then he gently lifted his shirt. Trip cursed softly. Although it was getting darker, he could see enough to know instantly that the injury was serious. He quickly took off his own tunic then removed the blue undershirt he'd kept on. He carefully folded it and pressed it against the gaping wound, hoping to at least slow the blood loss.
"Go on, sir."
"What? I'm not leaving you!" Trip said with conviction as he put his tunic on again.
"You have to, Commander. Maybe if they find me, they'll let you go. They only need one human trophy."
"I'm not leaving you!" Trip repeated vehemently. The rain was falling harder and he looked up at the sky. He knew that in moments it would be completely dark. "We need to find someplace to hide until morning. Gotta get you out of the rain and give you time to rest."
"Trip."
"Don't say it, Ensign Sawyer!"
Jacob fell quiet. Trip stood up and peered through the dim light at his surroundings. He could barely make out a dense thicket a few meters behind the tree. He carefully bent and grasped Jacob under his arms. He pulled the older man into the thicket then turned to cover the signs of their passage. Finally satisfied, Trip settled down in the underbrush next to his friend, pulling at fallen limbs to further conceal their hiding place.
"You okay?" he asked. He gave the ensign a gentle nudge but there was no response.
"Damrus, it's been over thirty-two hours since my people disappeared!" yelled Jon angrily. "And you don't have any leads yet!"
"We're doing everything we can to find them, Captain!"
Jon stalked back and forth across the governor's office. They'd all gone back to the marketplace that afternoon to help search for more witnesses or more clues but they'd come up empty. He stopped in front of the view case that held the bird of prey. Poor creature, he thought. He turned and looked at each of the cases in the room, suddenly sickened by the display. The captain moved to the window and looked out at the falling rain. Lightning slashed across the dark sky, illuminating the city spread before him. The thunder that followed the flash of light rattled the glass. Jon closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on the window. Trip was out there somewhere.
"Captain?"
Jon didn't move. He felt Damrus come up to stand beside him.
"You should go join your crew and try to get some sleep."
"I'm not leaving here until we find them, Damrus."
"I know that, Captain."
"Has Governor Martis checked in yet?"
"No."
Jon straightened and turned to face the Eska. "Don't you find that odd?"
"Very odd. It looks like he may indeed be involved in your men's abductions."
"Think, Damrus. Where would he take them?"
"I honestly don't know, Captain. We've checked his home here in the city as well as his cabin in the mountains. We've check with his brother in Sureeto. He has no knowledge of a family emergency."
Jon slammed his fist against the wall. "Are you sure your men can be trusted? Couldn't they be loyal to Martis?"
"I've only sent my most trusted comrades, Captain. They're loyal to me only."
"Damn it," Jon cursed. He turned away and looked at each of the display cases again. "I'm going to take our shuttle pod when this storm passes to take a closer look at that area where our sensors don't pick up any readings."
Damrus sighed. "Captain, I told you there's nothing out there. You won't find anything."
"It's the only thing we have right now. I think it's worth a look," Jon replied.
CONTINUED