Chapter 1
"Find anything?" Malcolm asked as his friend returned from his latest search.
"No," Trip replied, obviously frustrated. From the look on his face, it became immediately clear that he never should have been allowed on the investigation team. "In fact," he continued angrily. "We've been searchin' through hydroponics for four days an' we haven't found a damn thing!"
Malcolm observed as his commanding officer, and friend, became more agitated each moment, and the acceleration of his agitation grew even more so with each day that passed. Obviously, T'Pol's absence had more of an effect than he would admit. This was, after all, only one example of Trip's recent odd behavior.
He decided that an attempt to calm the Commander would yield the best result in this situation. He continued his work as he responded, hoping his response would convince Trip to get back to work and stop worrying about this. "Investigations usually last more than four days, Comman-"
"Don't say that!" Trip suddenly snapped, startling Malcolm. He looked up from his work to see the engineer flashing him a very angry glance.
"What?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"I said don't say that!" he snapped again, much louder this time almost spitting out the last word with disgust. "Don't call me that!" Malcolm decided that he had never been more confused by any human in his life.
"What? Don't call you what, Comm-?"
"Don't call me that!" Trip shouted, nearly screaming and easily drawing the attention of the other four officers in the room. It wasn't until a moment later that he realized the total confusion on Malcolm's face and lowered his voice to a more mild tone, although clearly still angry. "Commander!" he spat, stating his rank as if it were an obvious fact. "Don't call me Commander!"
This was not at all what Malcolm had expected, and he didn't really know what to say. Normally he would simply assure himself that his friend was merely pulling his leg. But with his tone of voice and other strange behavior, Malcolm wasn't as quick to assume such things.
But even if it wasn't a joke, he decided it best to keep the mood friendly. "What should I call you then?" he asked with a forced friendly smile.
By Trip's response, he realized not only how oddly his friend was acting, but also how insensitive he probably sounded. "Trip, Tucker, Charles! I don't care! Just not Commander! Got it?"
"Do you mind if I ask why, Trip?" He made sure to emphasize the Trip so as not to agitate him further.
Clearly, however, his effort was unsuccessful. "Do I have t' make that an order, LIEUTENANT?"
Malcolm once again had no idea what to say. He managed only a nervous nod, becoming increasingly fearful of his friend's odd behavior. Fortunately, this seemed to calm the Commander greatly, which frightened Malcolm even more. If Trip only became angry when not in control, what would he do when a more threatening foe than the ship's armory officer challenged him?
Malcolm's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening behind him. He turned around to find Captain Archer approaching them, looking hopeful, but not too much so. He noted that the Captain flashed Trip a look before walking up to them, and Trip looked back at his work obediently.
"You guys find anything yet?" Archer asked optimistically.
"I'm afraid not, sir." Malcolm told him reluctantly. "In fact, the Commander and I, as well as three security teams, have searched this room and the surrounding areas three times, as well as the rest of the ship twice, and the only evidence we've found that anything even occurred is the blood on the floor and in the locker."
"Well have you found any weapon… a knife or a sharp tool of some kind? Anything that could have caused the damage that T'Pol obviously suffered?" Archer was beginning to look distressed, but took a moment to glance over at Trip to make sure he remained silent.
"No, sir. As I told you, we haven't found anything. Whoever did this obviously covered their tracks with expert precision. The only conclusion that I can make at this point is that this was not done by an amateur of any kind. This was clearly a planned attack, and the person who executed that plan obviously did so covertly."
Archer pondered this for a moment. "Well if you're right, then doing the same sweep of the ship until we all die of exhaustion isn't going to help us at all." He wanted to find out what had happened as much as anyone else, but he also knew what he had to do. "Well you guys have been at this for more than twenty hours now. Why don't you go eat something and get some sleep. If you want to, you can return to the investigation in the morning. But if you really don't think you'll find anything…"
"I don't believe so, sir."
Archer took a moment to note to himself how quiet Trip had remained. He knew, however, that that wouldn't last long now. "In that case," he said reluctantly, "I guess we'll have to put this investigation on hold for the time being. I'll see you both tomorrow." He began to walk for the door.
"What?!" Trip exclaimed, just as he had expected. "How can ya just stop? We haven't even found anything yet!"
Archer turned back around and stopped in his tracks. His face betrayed how stupid he thought Trip had just sounded, although he tried to hide it. "Well that's the point, Trip. If there's nothing tp find, there's nothing to find. And besides, we're not stopping, we're just putting it on hold for a little while. You guys can come back to it in a few days, and by then you might be able to find something that you missed. Right now, you're running on empty, and I know you don't work well when you're tired, Trip. So get some rest, get back to your engines for a few days, and then you can come back here." He pointed a finger at Trip in order to stop the backtalk that would more than likely come from the engineer before continuing. "Now, get cleaned up here and then get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
With that, he walked out of the room, leaving Malcolm and Trip in his wake, hoping they would follow his orders and that he wouldn't find Trip down here in the middle of the night…
"Find anything?" Malcolm asked as his friend returned from his latest search.
"No," Trip replied, obviously frustrated. From the look on his face, it became immediately clear that he never should have been allowed on the investigation team. "In fact," he continued angrily. "We've been searchin' through hydroponics for four days an' we haven't found a damn thing!"
Malcolm observed as his commanding officer, and friend, became more agitated each moment, and the acceleration of his agitation grew even more so with each day that passed. Obviously, T'Pol's absence had more of an effect than he would admit. This was, after all, only one example of Trip's recent odd behavior.
He decided that an attempt to calm the Commander would yield the best result in this situation. He continued his work as he responded, hoping his response would convince Trip to get back to work and stop worrying about this. "Investigations usually last more than four days, Comman-"
"Don't say that!" Trip suddenly snapped, startling Malcolm. He looked up from his work to see the engineer flashing him a very angry glance.
"What?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"I said don't say that!" he snapped again, much louder this time almost spitting out the last word with disgust. "Don't call me that!" Malcolm decided that he had never been more confused by any human in his life.
"What? Don't call you what, Comm-?"
"Don't call me that!" Trip shouted, nearly screaming and easily drawing the attention of the other four officers in the room. It wasn't until a moment later that he realized the total confusion on Malcolm's face and lowered his voice to a more mild tone, although clearly still angry. "Commander!" he spat, stating his rank as if it were an obvious fact. "Don't call me Commander!"
This was not at all what Malcolm had expected, and he didn't really know what to say. Normally he would simply assure himself that his friend was merely pulling his leg. But with his tone of voice and other strange behavior, Malcolm wasn't as quick to assume such things.
But even if it wasn't a joke, he decided it best to keep the mood friendly. "What should I call you then?" he asked with a forced friendly smile.
By Trip's response, he realized not only how oddly his friend was acting, but also how insensitive he probably sounded. "Trip, Tucker, Charles! I don't care! Just not Commander! Got it?"
"Do you mind if I ask why, Trip?" He made sure to emphasize the Trip so as not to agitate him further.
Clearly, however, his effort was unsuccessful. "Do I have t' make that an order, LIEUTENANT?"
Malcolm once again had no idea what to say. He managed only a nervous nod, becoming increasingly fearful of his friend's odd behavior. Fortunately, this seemed to calm the Commander greatly, which frightened Malcolm even more. If Trip only became angry when not in control, what would he do when a more threatening foe than the ship's armory officer challenged him?
Malcolm's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening behind him. He turned around to find Captain Archer approaching them, looking hopeful, but not too much so. He noted that the Captain flashed Trip a look before walking up to them, and Trip looked back at his work obediently.
"You guys find anything yet?" Archer asked optimistically.
"I'm afraid not, sir." Malcolm told him reluctantly. "In fact, the Commander and I, as well as three security teams, have searched this room and the surrounding areas three times, as well as the rest of the ship twice, and the only evidence we've found that anything even occurred is the blood on the floor and in the locker."
"Well have you found any weapon… a knife or a sharp tool of some kind? Anything that could have caused the damage that T'Pol obviously suffered?" Archer was beginning to look distressed, but took a moment to glance over at Trip to make sure he remained silent.
"No, sir. As I told you, we haven't found anything. Whoever did this obviously covered their tracks with expert precision. The only conclusion that I can make at this point is that this was not done by an amateur of any kind. This was clearly a planned attack, and the person who executed that plan obviously did so covertly."
Archer pondered this for a moment. "Well if you're right, then doing the same sweep of the ship until we all die of exhaustion isn't going to help us at all." He wanted to find out what had happened as much as anyone else, but he also knew what he had to do. "Well you guys have been at this for more than twenty hours now. Why don't you go eat something and get some sleep. If you want to, you can return to the investigation in the morning. But if you really don't think you'll find anything…"
"I don't believe so, sir."
Archer took a moment to note to himself how quiet Trip had remained. He knew, however, that that wouldn't last long now. "In that case," he said reluctantly, "I guess we'll have to put this investigation on hold for the time being. I'll see you both tomorrow." He began to walk for the door.
"What?!" Trip exclaimed, just as he had expected. "How can ya just stop? We haven't even found anything yet!"
Archer turned back around and stopped in his tracks. His face betrayed how stupid he thought Trip had just sounded, although he tried to hide it. "Well that's the point, Trip. If there's nothing tp find, there's nothing to find. And besides, we're not stopping, we're just putting it on hold for a little while. You guys can come back to it in a few days, and by then you might be able to find something that you missed. Right now, you're running on empty, and I know you don't work well when you're tired, Trip. So get some rest, get back to your engines for a few days, and then you can come back here." He pointed a finger at Trip in order to stop the backtalk that would more than likely come from the engineer before continuing. "Now, get cleaned up here and then get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
With that, he walked out of the room, leaving Malcolm and Trip in his wake, hoping they would follow his orders and that he wouldn't find Trip down here in the middle of the night…