CHAPTER FOUR

John had lost track of the number of turns his journey had taken since leaving the promenade. The hustle and bustle had faded to silence, and the soft scuff of his small guide's feet was all there was to hear. She turned to smile at him from time to time, making sure that he was still following, leading him deeper into the bowels of the station.

After about ten minutes of travel, she stopped suddenly outside a non-descript doorway, and when John looked at her questioningly, she merely nodded. He took a deep breath before testing the handle, and on finding it opening to his touch, edged cautiously into the room. The brightness of the light startled him at first, but the sight of his Chief Engineer strapped to a chair was even more startling.

Trip had his chin on his chest, seemingly asleep, and John's mouth went dry as he looked around the small room for a third party. When no one was visible, he rushed forward.

"Trip, you ok?"

Trip slowly opened bleary eyes and gave the captain a weary grin.

"Cap'n, glad you could stop by." His voice was slightly hoarse from the hours he'd spent yelling for help, and his body ached from being forced to sit still for so long in that cramped position.  "What's goin' on, anyway?"

"Don't you know?"

"I haven't seen anybody to ask. The last thing I remember's bein' stuck in the back of the neck, then wakin' here in the waitin' room from hell, trussed like a Thanksgivin' turkey. D'ya think there's a cosmic conspiracy out there to get Tucker, no matter what it takes?"

John was busying himself, trying to undo the bindings on his friend's limbs.

"I don't know, Trip, but sometimes it certainly seems like it…I can't get these off, they're too strongly bonded. I'll need to find something to cut them with."

"Guess I'll just wait here, Cap'n, but don't forget to come back."

"Your Captain won't need to go anywhere, I'll release you presently."

The two officers had been so intent on working on Trip's bindings that neither man had seen or heard the newcomer's arrival.

They took in the humanoid's appearance. He was male, of average height and build, but with a distinctive, unforgettable face. A ridge divided his face in two, running from the centre of his forehead, down over the tip of his nose, and ending on his top lip. The eyes were yellow and cold, and the pupils were reptilian. He held an ugly-looking hand weapon, which he had trained on John. He spoke again, a little haltingly, as if finding the words difficult to form.

"Thank you for your punctuality, Captain. I apologise for these melodramatics, but I need a small service from you and your ship, and for that I borrowed your crewman."

"Borrowed?" Trip spat. He was fed up with being the fall guy for every crazy loon in the galaxy. He'd signed on to Enterprise to keep her running smoothly, to nurse and cajole the engines into giving their best, and what had he got for his troubles? 'Bash Tucker' time, in triplicate.

John didn't like where the conversation was leading. If this alien thought that he wouldn't co-operate without some threat to Trip hanging over his head, he figured he wasn't going to be too keen on hearing what the service was.

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Just a little delivery, nothing more. I was in possession of some vitally important information, which I need urgently delivered to my home planet, some light years from here. I don't have access to a warp-capable vessel of my own, so I've…borrowed yours."

"You said you were in possession. That implies that someone else is in possession of it now."

"Patience, Captain, I'm coming to that. Your crewman…"

"I suppose you're going to tell me that if I refuse to help you, you'll kill Commander Tucker?" John interrupted.

"A Commander? I chose well. It's always helpful to have someone of importance as your bargaining chip, don't you think? No, I won't do anything like that, and you'll understand why if I may continue. I'm only too happy to release the commander, because he's now in possession of said information."

"I am? Since when?" Trip was getting dizzy trying to keep up with the ping-pong conversation taking place over his head.

"Shortly after you were delivered to me, I inserted an implant into your bloodstream. It's a chemical compound which, when removed and analysed, will reveal its secrets to the educated eye. However, in order to prevent this information falling into the wrong hands, it can only be safely removed by someone in possession of a 'key'."

"And who has that?" John could feel his anger rising. This alien was so glibly messing with other peoples' lives, and he hadn't given any thought to whether his implant might adversely affect Trip. Trip's mouth had taken on the qualities of a freshly landed trout.

"Your contact on my home world, a trustworthy individual called Mendos.  I'll give you all the information you'll need to make the delivery in good time. I'll be sending you on your way very soon, as I must caution you that the implant will start to degrade over time. I'm not familiar with your physiology, but the courier normally has seven days to make a safe journey. After that, or if an attempt is made to remove it without the key, the implant will implode. Death will be instantaneous."

TBC

Please R/R, and thank you for all the nice things you've said thus far. Kind reviews are like nectar from the gods.

I'm also trying to balance between fleshing it out a bit more to please those of you who think my style too terse, and not boring myself with unimportant 'jaw-jaw'. I tend to skim-read over descriptive parts in all other stories, always have. Sorry.