"Out of the Loop" Chapter Five
Another two months passed this way with Trip just outside the loop of Enterprise's social structure before Tucker finally finished his prototype, and much to the engineer's delight, the thing actually worked on it's first try.
He couldn't wait to show it off, and he wanted Archer to be the first to see it. Trip's achievement wouldn't have been possible without the captain's help, so it was only fitting that his friend be on hand for the first public demonstration of his new invention.
Unfortunately that was going to have to wait. Tucker had just set off in search of said captain when Archer ran by him in a beeline for the launch bay, with Malcolm, Travis and T'Pol right at his heels.
Damn! It was at times like these when Trip found that his disability made him madder than a wet hen. He knew darn well that something important was up, maybe the safety of the ship itself was at stake and there was nothing he could do to help. Hell, he couldn't even ask somebody what was going on!
Knowing that he was letting himself get way too upset, Trip forced himself to calm down. As much as he wanted to give the captain a hand he knew there was nothing he could do right at this moment, so Tucker consoled himself with the fact that his new invention would be more than helpful in future situations. It could, and would actually save lives. And that was something that Trip planned on letting the captain in on when he got back. Whenever that was. Trip realized that might be awhile so he decided to relax for now and started off toward the mess hall. Hopefully good food would help the time pass faster.
___________
Well that theory was a bunch of bunk. Trip spent the next three days in an impatient bundle of nerves before Shuttlepod One was finally berthed back in her home hangar once again. Tucker watched as the landing party emerged from their ship, all smiles this time. Obviously the crisis, whatever it was, was over.
Trip fought down his frustration by forming the mental image of a locker in his head. Then Tucker opened it up and symbolically shoved his curiosity inside, slamming the door shut behind it. Tucker knew that he'd probably never find out what happened, still, Enterprise made it through in one piece and that was the important thing.
Archer flashed Trip a welcoming smile when he saw the engineer standing at the top of the stairs. Trip thought that the captain didn't look too busy and asked, with a gesture if Archer could come with him for a minute? The captain quickly said something over his shoulder to T'Pol, before holding out his hand for Trip to take. Apparently the answer was yes. Three days of being patient evaporated in an instant and Trip was overcome with eagerness. Frantically Tucker dragged Archer forward. He couldn't wait to show the captain his new toy any longer.
Somehow Archer wasn't surprised when they ended up in engineering. Tucker had been working on that invention of his for a long time and the captain correctly guessed that the engineer's eager air could only mean one thing. Trip was finished with... whatever it was.
Tucker positioned Archer near his workbench then gestured for the rest of the gang to gather round. After obtaining permission from their captain, Hess and the other engineers who were working at non-critical positions eagerly left their posts and spent the next minute or so jostling for the right position in order get a good look at the show. Every single engineer had their own guess as to what the commander had been working on for all those weeks. They even had a pool running, so the gang was anxious to see which of their number had guessed correctly and was going to take home the pot.
Trip continued to set up his equipment, blissfully unaware of all of this, of course, but if he had known he not only would have approved, he would have been touched. The fact that his fellow engineers were interested in his actions enough to start up a pool about it, meant that, despite his disability, he was still a member of the team.
Once Trip noticed that his audience was in place, he completed his preparations, then planted himself in front of Archer and started gesturing to his arm. At first John didn't know what the heck Trip wanted, but when he did figure it out he was slightly horrified. The captain pulled up his cuff to reveal a little seen watch and John had to ask the question even though he knew Trip had no way to understand. "You do know that this is my grandfather's watch, don't you?" Sure the watch was old, sure it didn't even tell time anymore, but it was a treasured family heirloom. Now John knew that Trip knew that, and the captain trusted his friend, he really did. Still, he would hate to see anything happen to it, but when he looked up into those puppy dog eyes staring at him, Archer knew that he really didn't have a choice. Caving in completely the captain removed the watch from his wrist and handed it over.
It all was worth it, however, when Trip lit up like a Christmas tree. The engineer took a hold of the timepiece and scurried across to place the treasure directly in front of his device. Archer fought down a flutter of nerves as the engineer pointed his invention at the captain's heirloom. Archer couldn't help but notice that Trip's creation looked just like one of those ray guns from those extremely early science fiction films, but John had to trust that his watch wasn't about to be disintegrated in front of his very eyes.
Trip angled the "gun" until the mussel was perfectly aligned up with the watch. Once the engineer was satisfied that everything was ready, he looked up at Archer, mutely asking for permission, and after receiving his captain's reluctant nod, Tucker hit the switch.
A loud hum was instantly heard and the tip of the "gun" began to glow a hot red, but there was no immediate effect on the watch. While most of Tucker's attention was focused on what he was doing, he glanced at his audience out of the corner of his eye. Assured of their continued attention, Trip moved onto stage two.
Tucker boosted the power, as evidenced by the increasing hum, then Trip tilted his "gun" upward. A gasp echoed throughout the room because the captain's watch was no longer resting quietly on Trip's workbench, it was now floating a few inches above the table!
The crowd watched in amazement as the engineer spent the next few minutes flying the timepiece around the room. Every time Tucker shifted his invention in a different direction, the watch faithfully followed. Trip flew it up and down, then he pushed the watch further away from himself, before adjusting a dial, pulling it close again. Finally Tucker positioned the watch directly in front of the captain. It took Archer a second to realize what he was supposed to do, then John opened up his hands. Tucker maneuvered the watch right over Archer's open palms, then he cut the power, allowing the timepiece to fall safely into the captain's hands.
While Archer just stared at his personal heirloom like it suddenly morphed into some sort of alien artifact that he had never seen before, most of the engineering team was flat out floored by what they had just witnessed, and a few, more practical souls were disappointed. There would be no winners in the betting pool this day. Nobody anticipated this.
For Trip's part, the engineer waited anxiously for his friends reaction to his new toy but so far everybody was just standing around looking like a herd of deer stranded in front of a bunch of headlights.
This tableau remained in check for a second while the enormity of what they had just witnessed had time to sink in all the way, then the captain looked up at the engineer with his gaze full of wonder. "Trip..." Archer began, totally forgetting for the moment that his friend couldn't understand him. "You're the first human to have come up with a tractor beam."
The captain's words hung in the air for a moment, then as if a damn burst, everyone moved at one. Smiling, John grabbed Trip close and wrapped him up in a congratulatory hug with a huge round of applause following seconds behind. For the first time in weeks Trip felt like he could still contribute, like he was really still worthy of being a member of Enterprise's crew. Now Trip knew that ever was able to speak to anyone ever again, his life was still going to work out all right.
TBC....
Another two months passed this way with Trip just outside the loop of Enterprise's social structure before Tucker finally finished his prototype, and much to the engineer's delight, the thing actually worked on it's first try.
He couldn't wait to show it off, and he wanted Archer to be the first to see it. Trip's achievement wouldn't have been possible without the captain's help, so it was only fitting that his friend be on hand for the first public demonstration of his new invention.
Unfortunately that was going to have to wait. Tucker had just set off in search of said captain when Archer ran by him in a beeline for the launch bay, with Malcolm, Travis and T'Pol right at his heels.
Damn! It was at times like these when Trip found that his disability made him madder than a wet hen. He knew darn well that something important was up, maybe the safety of the ship itself was at stake and there was nothing he could do to help. Hell, he couldn't even ask somebody what was going on!
Knowing that he was letting himself get way too upset, Trip forced himself to calm down. As much as he wanted to give the captain a hand he knew there was nothing he could do right at this moment, so Tucker consoled himself with the fact that his new invention would be more than helpful in future situations. It could, and would actually save lives. And that was something that Trip planned on letting the captain in on when he got back. Whenever that was. Trip realized that might be awhile so he decided to relax for now and started off toward the mess hall. Hopefully good food would help the time pass faster.
___________
Well that theory was a bunch of bunk. Trip spent the next three days in an impatient bundle of nerves before Shuttlepod One was finally berthed back in her home hangar once again. Tucker watched as the landing party emerged from their ship, all smiles this time. Obviously the crisis, whatever it was, was over.
Trip fought down his frustration by forming the mental image of a locker in his head. Then Tucker opened it up and symbolically shoved his curiosity inside, slamming the door shut behind it. Tucker knew that he'd probably never find out what happened, still, Enterprise made it through in one piece and that was the important thing.
Archer flashed Trip a welcoming smile when he saw the engineer standing at the top of the stairs. Trip thought that the captain didn't look too busy and asked, with a gesture if Archer could come with him for a minute? The captain quickly said something over his shoulder to T'Pol, before holding out his hand for Trip to take. Apparently the answer was yes. Three days of being patient evaporated in an instant and Trip was overcome with eagerness. Frantically Tucker dragged Archer forward. He couldn't wait to show the captain his new toy any longer.
Somehow Archer wasn't surprised when they ended up in engineering. Tucker had been working on that invention of his for a long time and the captain correctly guessed that the engineer's eager air could only mean one thing. Trip was finished with... whatever it was.
Tucker positioned Archer near his workbench then gestured for the rest of the gang to gather round. After obtaining permission from their captain, Hess and the other engineers who were working at non-critical positions eagerly left their posts and spent the next minute or so jostling for the right position in order get a good look at the show. Every single engineer had their own guess as to what the commander had been working on for all those weeks. They even had a pool running, so the gang was anxious to see which of their number had guessed correctly and was going to take home the pot.
Trip continued to set up his equipment, blissfully unaware of all of this, of course, but if he had known he not only would have approved, he would have been touched. The fact that his fellow engineers were interested in his actions enough to start up a pool about it, meant that, despite his disability, he was still a member of the team.
Once Trip noticed that his audience was in place, he completed his preparations, then planted himself in front of Archer and started gesturing to his arm. At first John didn't know what the heck Trip wanted, but when he did figure it out he was slightly horrified. The captain pulled up his cuff to reveal a little seen watch and John had to ask the question even though he knew Trip had no way to understand. "You do know that this is my grandfather's watch, don't you?" Sure the watch was old, sure it didn't even tell time anymore, but it was a treasured family heirloom. Now John knew that Trip knew that, and the captain trusted his friend, he really did. Still, he would hate to see anything happen to it, but when he looked up into those puppy dog eyes staring at him, Archer knew that he really didn't have a choice. Caving in completely the captain removed the watch from his wrist and handed it over.
It all was worth it, however, when Trip lit up like a Christmas tree. The engineer took a hold of the timepiece and scurried across to place the treasure directly in front of his device. Archer fought down a flutter of nerves as the engineer pointed his invention at the captain's heirloom. Archer couldn't help but notice that Trip's creation looked just like one of those ray guns from those extremely early science fiction films, but John had to trust that his watch wasn't about to be disintegrated in front of his very eyes.
Trip angled the "gun" until the mussel was perfectly aligned up with the watch. Once the engineer was satisfied that everything was ready, he looked up at Archer, mutely asking for permission, and after receiving his captain's reluctant nod, Tucker hit the switch.
A loud hum was instantly heard and the tip of the "gun" began to glow a hot red, but there was no immediate effect on the watch. While most of Tucker's attention was focused on what he was doing, he glanced at his audience out of the corner of his eye. Assured of their continued attention, Trip moved onto stage two.
Tucker boosted the power, as evidenced by the increasing hum, then Trip tilted his "gun" upward. A gasp echoed throughout the room because the captain's watch was no longer resting quietly on Trip's workbench, it was now floating a few inches above the table!
The crowd watched in amazement as the engineer spent the next few minutes flying the timepiece around the room. Every time Tucker shifted his invention in a different direction, the watch faithfully followed. Trip flew it up and down, then he pushed the watch further away from himself, before adjusting a dial, pulling it close again. Finally Tucker positioned the watch directly in front of the captain. It took Archer a second to realize what he was supposed to do, then John opened up his hands. Tucker maneuvered the watch right over Archer's open palms, then he cut the power, allowing the timepiece to fall safely into the captain's hands.
While Archer just stared at his personal heirloom like it suddenly morphed into some sort of alien artifact that he had never seen before, most of the engineering team was flat out floored by what they had just witnessed, and a few, more practical souls were disappointed. There would be no winners in the betting pool this day. Nobody anticipated this.
For Trip's part, the engineer waited anxiously for his friends reaction to his new toy but so far everybody was just standing around looking like a herd of deer stranded in front of a bunch of headlights.
This tableau remained in check for a second while the enormity of what they had just witnessed had time to sink in all the way, then the captain looked up at the engineer with his gaze full of wonder. "Trip..." Archer began, totally forgetting for the moment that his friend couldn't understand him. "You're the first human to have come up with a tractor beam."
The captain's words hung in the air for a moment, then as if a damn burst, everyone moved at one. Smiling, John grabbed Trip close and wrapped him up in a congratulatory hug with a huge round of applause following seconds behind. For the first time in weeks Trip felt like he could still contribute, like he was really still worthy of being a member of Enterprise's crew. Now Trip knew that ever was able to speak to anyone ever again, his life was still going to work out all right.
TBC....