"Out of the Loop" Chapter Three
John actually whistled as he meandered his way through Enterprise's corridors, heading for Trip's cabin. He was overjoyed when he learned that Tucker had found some sort of project to keep himself busy. It was an absolute sign that the engineer was getting over the shock of this calamity and was beginning to live with his disability. John risked a peek at Trip's padd on his last visit but all he saw was a mumbo jumbo of lines that made absolutely no sense to him (and he certainly couldn't ask) but Trip seemed to understand it all and that was all that really mattered.
Still, the engineer had been a hermit in his quarters for the last few days, spending several hours working on that mysterious schematic of his, so Archer was by no means surprised when he entered Trip's cabin that afternoon to find the engineer hunched over his desk. While John totally approved of the idea of Trip keeping busy, enough was enough. It was high time that Tucker took a break.
Trip smiled when he saw who his visitor was, but he had been making great progress on his schematic and was slightly annoyed at the interruption . He shoved his irritation aside when John smiled at him and waved toward the door in an invitation, silently asking Trip to come with him. This was interesting. It was past lunch and before dinner so the captain obviously had something other than food on his mind, but what could it be? Trip ran the possibilities through his head then realized that there was an easier way to find out what was going on. Trip saved his work and shut down his padd, then stood up and followed the captain out of the room.
Trip's curiosity only increased when Archer led him to the launch bay, of all places. Tucker couldn't think of any reason why the captain would want him there. If something was broken, he was probably wouldn't be able to fix it, and he certainly couldn't contribute anything to an away mission. Yet, an away mission seemed to be exactly what Archer had in mind because as soon as they arrived Tucker saw that Travis was prepping a shuttlepod for launch.
Trip reared back when his friend grasped his arm lightly and attempted to tug him down the stairs. Trip asked the captain a million questions with just one look and in reply Archer just laughed and nodded, once again trying to herd Tucker down the ladder. It seemed that the captain really did want him to go into the pod. Shrugging his shoulders, Trip gave up and allowed himself to be guided into the shuttle.
When Trip saw that Phlox was a member of the party, he immediately wondered if this particular away mission had anything to do with his medical condition, but there was no way that he could ask so Tucker forced himself to get a grip. Rather than face his usual frustration at not being able to communicate, Trip decided to be patient and simply sat in the seat that John pushed him toward. Content now to wait upon events to follow.
__________
It didn't take long. Trip spent the whole ride to the surface with his face pressed up against the porthole. Spread out before him was a panorama of seas and continents with the latter obviously being home to a teaming population. Across the pod John was watching his friend with a mixture of amusement and joy. Whether this mission turned out to be a success or not, just getting Trip off of the ship for a while was a victory in itself. Tucker really needed this change and John was happy to provide it.
Things got even more interesting after the pod landed on the planet. As soon as they stepped out of the hatch the landing party was greeted by an assortment of, what Trip assumed to be planetary dignitaries. They all exchanged greetings, none of which Trip understood, and the leader, and extremely tall man who towered at least seven feet high, lead the way into a nearby building. As Trip suspected, Captain Archer must have had some discussions with the aliens about him because they never directly spoke with him or expected any words from Tucker in reply. Once again stifling any curiosity that he couldn't resolve, Trip just followed the group inside.
Archer was well aware that Trip must be burning with questions and for the millionth time he wished that he could possibly explain. John just hoped that this visit would result in something that could actually help his friend. The leader of the Delmex people, Jatikka, took great pleasure in showing the group around his palace, before guiding them to the dining hall where they enjoyed a fine meal. Then Archer had Hoshi and Travis make sure that Trip's focused on the after dinner entertainment, while he and Phlox slipped away to have a private chat with Jatikka in his personal library.
"So you were able to identify the photo of the device that I sent you?" Archer tried to keep the tremor out of his voice, but he had asked everyone they had met for the last three months if they knew anything about the machine that hurt Trip and every answer had been no. Up until today.
"Yes indeed." The Delmex leader opened up an old, dusty book, then pointed to a faded, but still visible photograph. That is the instrument in question, is it not?"
One glance was enough. Both Phlox and Archer agreed that was it and the captain's hope surged for the first time in weeks. "Do you know who built it?"
"Oh, yes. This type of technology could have only come from the Nekkaton's."
Nekkaton's. Archer ran that word over and over in his mind. Now they had a name. A lead to the race of people who built this nefarious invention. Now they had a chance to track down the owners down and get them to help Trip. But chances, like hopes and dreams sometimes lack substance, and all of Archer's wishes vanished like the wind the second that Jaitkka opted to continue his explanation.
"They built ships and colonized most of the planets in this region. Our archeologists have found several of their relics both on and off world."
Relics? That word didn't go with the mental picture of a thriving, highly intelligent (and close by) civilization that Archer so desperately needed, so the captain ignored the term, hoping against hope that it didn't matter. "Where can I find these people?"
There was silence in the room for several seconds that stretched out into centuries. That's when John realized that, if he was reading Jaitkka's facial expressions right and apparently he was, then the prince was looking for a way to let him down easy. Finally the regent gave up and just came out with it. "I'm sorry, Captain, but the Nekkaton civilization ceased to exist over a million of your years ago."
"A million..." Archer reeled with the shock. Now there was no chance to help Trip. None at all.
Phlox, however, wasn't ready to give up so easily. "Can you at least tell us what this device does? It's an incredible piece of technology to still be functioning after all this time, and since it still obviously does work, if I understood it's purpose, perhaps then I could reverse it's effects."
"It's difficult to explain..." Jaitkka tried hard to come up with terms that they would comprehend. "I believe that your people would call it a universal translator."
"A translator?" Archer had thought that the device must have been some sort of a medical implement, but a translator... "This thing couldn't be a communications device. It altered Trip's brain chemistry."
"Well, that's how it works." Jaitkka explained. "Instead of running my words through a portable computer and broadcasting them aloud as your translators do, this one actually alters the make up of the recipients brain to allow him to communicate with the operator of the instrument. Your engineer must have set it off accidentally."
That was, to Archer's mind, down right barbaric. "Are you telling me that Trip can only talk to someone who's been dead for a million years?"
"I'm so sorry, Captain, but I'm afraid that's correct."
Archer didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it. Not just yet anyway. "How can you be so sure?"
Jaitkka sighed, understanding their reluctance to accept the truth. "Our scientists have become quite adept at translating Nekkatonian hieroglyphics over the years." Jaitkka gestured to the book. "I'm sure that my people have interpreted the documentation for this device correctly."
Of that Jaitkka may have been certain but Phlox wasn't so easily convinced. "I'm sure your archeologists are very fine scientists indeed, but with all due respect I have to disagree. Commander Tucker has shown no signs of being able to converse in a foreign language, it's simply the speed of his comprehension of his own speech that he has trouble with."
The Regent was shaking his head before Phlox had even stopped talking. "That's not quite correct, Doctor. Your commander is having trouble dealing with your... English?" Phlox nodded to tell the Regent that he had the word right. "...because it is no longer his native language. His comprehension is so slow because the commander's mind is having to work through what is now foreign territory for him. I'm sure if Commander Tucker were to run into a Nekkaton he would have no trouble having a conversation with one."
"Not much chance of that, is there." Archer muttered. Most of his hope had died when he had heard that the Nekkaton's ceased to exist over a million years before. Still, Archer wasn't totally ready to give up. "Can't you tell us how to reverse the process? Surely you know how this thing works."
It was with a heavy heart that Jaitkka returned the book to its place on the shelf. "I'm afraid that the knowledge of how to control Nekkaton technology has been lost to the ages."
John had been afraid of that. "But you've got that book." He said, holding on to one last shred of hope.
A hope that was quickly dashed. "A book of pictures only. We know what kind of technology the Nekkaton's had and what each item is supposed to do, but how it operates is still a mystery."
Devastated by this news, Archer tried to imagine what the future was going to be like for Trip, knowing that he'd never again be able to communicate with those he loved or do the job that he desired. What kind of life was that to look forward to?
Jaitkka shared his guests disappointment, but struggled to hang onto one shred of optimism. "Several of our scientists are learning more and more about the Nekkaton's every day. It is possible that one of them may have some information about this device that I lack. I will contact them immediately, as well as the scientific societies on several nearby worlds. If I come across anything that I deem will be useful, I will forward it along to you immediately."
Archer thanked the prince for his assistance, but as the party made their way back to the dining hall Archer wondered how he was going to tell Trip the truth about his situation, or if he even should.
TBC....
John actually whistled as he meandered his way through Enterprise's corridors, heading for Trip's cabin. He was overjoyed when he learned that Tucker had found some sort of project to keep himself busy. It was an absolute sign that the engineer was getting over the shock of this calamity and was beginning to live with his disability. John risked a peek at Trip's padd on his last visit but all he saw was a mumbo jumbo of lines that made absolutely no sense to him (and he certainly couldn't ask) but Trip seemed to understand it all and that was all that really mattered.
Still, the engineer had been a hermit in his quarters for the last few days, spending several hours working on that mysterious schematic of his, so Archer was by no means surprised when he entered Trip's cabin that afternoon to find the engineer hunched over his desk. While John totally approved of the idea of Trip keeping busy, enough was enough. It was high time that Tucker took a break.
Trip smiled when he saw who his visitor was, but he had been making great progress on his schematic and was slightly annoyed at the interruption . He shoved his irritation aside when John smiled at him and waved toward the door in an invitation, silently asking Trip to come with him. This was interesting. It was past lunch and before dinner so the captain obviously had something other than food on his mind, but what could it be? Trip ran the possibilities through his head then realized that there was an easier way to find out what was going on. Trip saved his work and shut down his padd, then stood up and followed the captain out of the room.
Trip's curiosity only increased when Archer led him to the launch bay, of all places. Tucker couldn't think of any reason why the captain would want him there. If something was broken, he was probably wouldn't be able to fix it, and he certainly couldn't contribute anything to an away mission. Yet, an away mission seemed to be exactly what Archer had in mind because as soon as they arrived Tucker saw that Travis was prepping a shuttlepod for launch.
Trip reared back when his friend grasped his arm lightly and attempted to tug him down the stairs. Trip asked the captain a million questions with just one look and in reply Archer just laughed and nodded, once again trying to herd Tucker down the ladder. It seemed that the captain really did want him to go into the pod. Shrugging his shoulders, Trip gave up and allowed himself to be guided into the shuttle.
When Trip saw that Phlox was a member of the party, he immediately wondered if this particular away mission had anything to do with his medical condition, but there was no way that he could ask so Tucker forced himself to get a grip. Rather than face his usual frustration at not being able to communicate, Trip decided to be patient and simply sat in the seat that John pushed him toward. Content now to wait upon events to follow.
__________
It didn't take long. Trip spent the whole ride to the surface with his face pressed up against the porthole. Spread out before him was a panorama of seas and continents with the latter obviously being home to a teaming population. Across the pod John was watching his friend with a mixture of amusement and joy. Whether this mission turned out to be a success or not, just getting Trip off of the ship for a while was a victory in itself. Tucker really needed this change and John was happy to provide it.
Things got even more interesting after the pod landed on the planet. As soon as they stepped out of the hatch the landing party was greeted by an assortment of, what Trip assumed to be planetary dignitaries. They all exchanged greetings, none of which Trip understood, and the leader, and extremely tall man who towered at least seven feet high, lead the way into a nearby building. As Trip suspected, Captain Archer must have had some discussions with the aliens about him because they never directly spoke with him or expected any words from Tucker in reply. Once again stifling any curiosity that he couldn't resolve, Trip just followed the group inside.
Archer was well aware that Trip must be burning with questions and for the millionth time he wished that he could possibly explain. John just hoped that this visit would result in something that could actually help his friend. The leader of the Delmex people, Jatikka, took great pleasure in showing the group around his palace, before guiding them to the dining hall where they enjoyed a fine meal. Then Archer had Hoshi and Travis make sure that Trip's focused on the after dinner entertainment, while he and Phlox slipped away to have a private chat with Jatikka in his personal library.
"So you were able to identify the photo of the device that I sent you?" Archer tried to keep the tremor out of his voice, but he had asked everyone they had met for the last three months if they knew anything about the machine that hurt Trip and every answer had been no. Up until today.
"Yes indeed." The Delmex leader opened up an old, dusty book, then pointed to a faded, but still visible photograph. That is the instrument in question, is it not?"
One glance was enough. Both Phlox and Archer agreed that was it and the captain's hope surged for the first time in weeks. "Do you know who built it?"
"Oh, yes. This type of technology could have only come from the Nekkaton's."
Nekkaton's. Archer ran that word over and over in his mind. Now they had a name. A lead to the race of people who built this nefarious invention. Now they had a chance to track down the owners down and get them to help Trip. But chances, like hopes and dreams sometimes lack substance, and all of Archer's wishes vanished like the wind the second that Jaitkka opted to continue his explanation.
"They built ships and colonized most of the planets in this region. Our archeologists have found several of their relics both on and off world."
Relics? That word didn't go with the mental picture of a thriving, highly intelligent (and close by) civilization that Archer so desperately needed, so the captain ignored the term, hoping against hope that it didn't matter. "Where can I find these people?"
There was silence in the room for several seconds that stretched out into centuries. That's when John realized that, if he was reading Jaitkka's facial expressions right and apparently he was, then the prince was looking for a way to let him down easy. Finally the regent gave up and just came out with it. "I'm sorry, Captain, but the Nekkaton civilization ceased to exist over a million of your years ago."
"A million..." Archer reeled with the shock. Now there was no chance to help Trip. None at all.
Phlox, however, wasn't ready to give up so easily. "Can you at least tell us what this device does? It's an incredible piece of technology to still be functioning after all this time, and since it still obviously does work, if I understood it's purpose, perhaps then I could reverse it's effects."
"It's difficult to explain..." Jaitkka tried hard to come up with terms that they would comprehend. "I believe that your people would call it a universal translator."
"A translator?" Archer had thought that the device must have been some sort of a medical implement, but a translator... "This thing couldn't be a communications device. It altered Trip's brain chemistry."
"Well, that's how it works." Jaitkka explained. "Instead of running my words through a portable computer and broadcasting them aloud as your translators do, this one actually alters the make up of the recipients brain to allow him to communicate with the operator of the instrument. Your engineer must have set it off accidentally."
That was, to Archer's mind, down right barbaric. "Are you telling me that Trip can only talk to someone who's been dead for a million years?"
"I'm so sorry, Captain, but I'm afraid that's correct."
Archer didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it. Not just yet anyway. "How can you be so sure?"
Jaitkka sighed, understanding their reluctance to accept the truth. "Our scientists have become quite adept at translating Nekkatonian hieroglyphics over the years." Jaitkka gestured to the book. "I'm sure that my people have interpreted the documentation for this device correctly."
Of that Jaitkka may have been certain but Phlox wasn't so easily convinced. "I'm sure your archeologists are very fine scientists indeed, but with all due respect I have to disagree. Commander Tucker has shown no signs of being able to converse in a foreign language, it's simply the speed of his comprehension of his own speech that he has trouble with."
The Regent was shaking his head before Phlox had even stopped talking. "That's not quite correct, Doctor. Your commander is having trouble dealing with your... English?" Phlox nodded to tell the Regent that he had the word right. "...because it is no longer his native language. His comprehension is so slow because the commander's mind is having to work through what is now foreign territory for him. I'm sure if Commander Tucker were to run into a Nekkaton he would have no trouble having a conversation with one."
"Not much chance of that, is there." Archer muttered. Most of his hope had died when he had heard that the Nekkaton's ceased to exist over a million years before. Still, Archer wasn't totally ready to give up. "Can't you tell us how to reverse the process? Surely you know how this thing works."
It was with a heavy heart that Jaitkka returned the book to its place on the shelf. "I'm afraid that the knowledge of how to control Nekkaton technology has been lost to the ages."
John had been afraid of that. "But you've got that book." He said, holding on to one last shred of hope.
A hope that was quickly dashed. "A book of pictures only. We know what kind of technology the Nekkaton's had and what each item is supposed to do, but how it operates is still a mystery."
Devastated by this news, Archer tried to imagine what the future was going to be like for Trip, knowing that he'd never again be able to communicate with those he loved or do the job that he desired. What kind of life was that to look forward to?
Jaitkka shared his guests disappointment, but struggled to hang onto one shred of optimism. "Several of our scientists are learning more and more about the Nekkaton's every day. It is possible that one of them may have some information about this device that I lack. I will contact them immediately, as well as the scientific societies on several nearby worlds. If I come across anything that I deem will be useful, I will forward it along to you immediately."
Archer thanked the prince for his assistance, but as the party made their way back to the dining hall Archer wondered how he was going to tell Trip the truth about his situation, or if he even should.
TBC....