Mentem Mortalia Tangunt
By Thalia Drogna
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing them.
*************************************************
Chapter 6
Archer and T'Pol arrived on the bridge just as the ship came within visual range. T'Pol took over her science station and started to run scans.
"Captain, the ship approaching is definitely Xindi and is considerably better armed than Enterprise. They are more than a match for both ourselves and the Jorgans. We should leave before they find us," said T'Pol.
"Bridge to Engineering," said Archer.
"Hess here, Captain," replied the Acting Chief Engineer.
"What's your status, Lieutenant?" asked Archer.
"If we weren't in the middle of the Expanse I'd want to go back to Jupiter Station for repairs. But as we don't have that choice we're doing the best we can with what we have. I've had to cannibalise some of the internal bulkheads from C deck to shore up the nacelle support structure, but we should be able to give you warp capability in about 5 hours time," said Hess.
"Lieutenant, we have a Xindi battleship approaching us which will be arriving in approximately..." Archer looked to T'Pol for a time estimate.
"Two hours, Captain," replied the Vulcan.
"Two hours, we'd rather not be here when it arrives and I need those warp engines on line," said Archer.
"I'm sorry, sir, but if we go to warp now we'll rip off the port nacelle, and it would probably take half the ship with it. I wouldn't even recommend trying impulse. I need more time," finished Hess. Hess felt as if she was having to explain physics 101 to the Captain and she silently wished that the Commander was here to take the brunt of this crisis.
"Do as much as you can, Lieutenant. I want to know the second that we have warp capability," said Archer. "Looks like we're not going anywhere for the moment, Sub-commander," he said to T'Pol. He turned to Hoshi, "Hail the Jorgans, Ensign."
"Yes, sir," she said and then a few moments later, "I have Captain Milas for you, sir." The Jorgan captain appeared on the screen.
"Captain, we have detected a Xindi ship approaching. My Science Officer tells me that they have superior weapons to our own. I suggest that you leave this area of space immediately to avoid a confrontation," said Archer.
"Thank you for your warning, Captain, but we won't leave Enterprise in its current state unprotected," said Milas. "It is the least we can do considering the circumstances."
"Captain, I don't think you quite understand the situation," replied Archer. "The Xindi ship is considerably more powerful than the combined fire power of both our ships. Even with Enterprise undamaged I doubt the two of us could hold it off."
"The Jorgan military code is very strict in this matter, we cannot leave an ally's stricken ship unprotected. We are not prepared to negotiate on this. We will be in touch once I have consulted with my officers to discuss our battle plan," said Milas.
Archer looked over at T'Pol for assistance, but she simply looked back at him and gave a slight shrug. "Very well Captain, thank you for your assistance, Archer out." Hoshi disconnected the link. "It seems that despite our problems we've made some new friends. T'Pol, I need you to help me come up with a defence plan to use both ships."
"Yes, Captain," said T'Pol.
"As long as we have our weapons we can still protect ourselves and with Captain Milas' help we might even be able to get out of this in one piece," said Archer, it was said more for the benefit of the bridge crew than for his own. He knew the odds of getting out of this alive and they weren't good.
****
"What part of the Jorgan military code were you referring to, Captain?" asked First Officer Magin. "I can't seem to recall it."
"The part which says this is our war not theirs," replied Captain Milas.
"Archer mentioned a Xindi attack on their home world," said Magin.
"It was not the war with the Xindi which I was referring to," said Milas. "Our mistakes in the colonies are for us to resolve and the humans should not have been forced into fighting our battles. No only that, we need all the allies that we can find in our war against the Xindi."
"But the Xindi obviously sent orders for the saboteur to attack the human captain and his ship. We know that the spy revealed our position to the Xindi after we made contact with the humans," replied Magin. "I think the Xindi are more interested in the humans than they are in us."
"I can see your reasoning but that doesn't absolve us from our responsibilities. We must give Captain Archer as much help as we can," said Milas. "Even if it costs us our ship."
****
Reed and his security team made their way to the catwalk. His scans told him this was where to find the intruder and they were homing in on his position now. However actually catching the invisible saboteur was going to be interesting, the scans could only give the a rough position and nothing more. They knew he was in the catwalk but apart from that they were blind. The catwalk was dark, and even if the Jorgan hadn't been cloaked they would have had trouble finding him.
"Set your phasers on stun," he told his team.
Reed decided to try the direct approach. "Mentan, this is Lieutenant Reed, if you surrender now you will be treated fairly," shouted Reed. "We know you're here it's just a matter of time before we catch you."
"Don't come any closer, human," said the Mentan, "I will kill you."
Not smart, thought Reed, the reply gave him a rough position on the Jorgan. Reed indicated to his officers to take the other side of the catwalk and try to get behind where the voice had come from.
"So far you haven't killed anyone. Commander Tucker is still alive, just tell us what the poison was," Reed shouted. He was thinking that Commander Tucker was alive, but he wouldn't be for much longer if they couldn't get Mentan to help them find the antidote.
Suddenly a phaser fired from further down the catwalk, Reed ducked behind a railing and fired back in the direction the blast had come from. Mentan fired again and Reed signalled to his team to close in on the Jorgan's position. As far as he could see Mentan hadn't realised that Reed wasn't alone and he was only firing in Reed's direction. His security team moved quietly further down the catwalk and fired towards where the shots were coming from. Finally the Jorgan stopped firing.
"Mentan!" shouted Reed. He didn't get an answer.
"I think we got him, sir," said Ensign Gordon.
"Well where is he?" asked Reed. "He must still be cloaked." How the hell do we find him now, thought Reed. "Fan out and search," he instructed.
The security officers did as instructed, phasers still drawn. Usually a phaser stun lasted about an hour but there were never any guarantees with alien species that it would be the same amount of time.
One of the security team tripped over something, "I've found him, sir," said the crewman.
"Let's get him to the brig," said Reed, "and hope we can work out how to turn that damn cloak off." He went over to the intercom, and contacted the bridge. "We have the Jorgan saboteur, sir. We're putting him in the brig until he wakes up. I'm afraid we had to stun him."
"I'll meet you there, Lieutenant," replied Archer.
****
It only took a small amount of investigation to discover the miniature cloaking unit that the Jorgan had strapped to the belt of his uniform and detach it. Lieutenant Reed sent it down to Engineering for them to investigate how it worked, maybe it would come in useful later and they could always use more knowledge of how cloaking devices worked. Reed called Doctor Phlox to ask him to come and look at the prisoner. Not only was this standard procedure with a stunned prisoner but Reed wanted Phlox to check that the cloak had not had any adverse effects which would prevent them from questioning the Jorgan.
Phlox arrived looking flustered and was shortly followed by the Captain.
"When can we question him?" asked Archer, once Phlox had given his new patient the once over.
"As soon as he wakes up, which should be shortly," said the doctor. "The cloaking device radiation has had some impact on his skin, hence its terrible condition, but other than that I would say that he hasn't been using the cloak for prolonged periods. The radiation hasn't harmed him in any other areas."
"Good," said Reed, "I've got lots of questions that I need him to answer."
"Captain, if I might have a word with you?" asked Phlox.
"Yes, Doctor," said Archer.
"It's Commander Tucker, I've had to put him on life support," said Phlox.
Archer felt something inside himself turn to ice and he bowed his head. Trip would never have wanted to die like this. "There's nothing else that you can do for him?"
"I'm afraid not. Shortly after you left his condition deteriorated further. Even if we do find an antidote now, his systems are shutting down and are already badly damaged by the poison," said Phlox. "I won't give up, but as time passes it becomes less likely that we can save him."
Reed listened to the whole conversation feeling more despairing at each word. Trip was probably his best friend among the crew and he still felt that his lack of action had meant that the Commander was dying. If he'd seen the radiation was unusual sooner then maybe they could have questioned the Jorgan spy in time. If he'd even bothered to check the Jorgans as they came onto the ship more carefully it may have meant none of this would have happened.
Both men had known when the doctor had first told them about the poison that Trip was dying but the reality of it actually happening hadn't sunk in until this moment. The very idea of an Enterprise without Trip was almost unthinkable but it seemed to be becoming a reality.
"Keep me informed, doctor," Archer said in a strained voice, it was all he could manage.
"Yes, Captain," replied Phlox and left the brig.
There was a low moan from the cell, Mentan was waking up.
"Lieutenant, I want you to find out everything that Jorgan knows about our current situation and I don't care how you do it," said Archer.
"Yes, sir," said Reed with feeling.
****
By Thalia Drogna
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing them.
*************************************************
Chapter 6
Archer and T'Pol arrived on the bridge just as the ship came within visual range. T'Pol took over her science station and started to run scans.
"Captain, the ship approaching is definitely Xindi and is considerably better armed than Enterprise. They are more than a match for both ourselves and the Jorgans. We should leave before they find us," said T'Pol.
"Bridge to Engineering," said Archer.
"Hess here, Captain," replied the Acting Chief Engineer.
"What's your status, Lieutenant?" asked Archer.
"If we weren't in the middle of the Expanse I'd want to go back to Jupiter Station for repairs. But as we don't have that choice we're doing the best we can with what we have. I've had to cannibalise some of the internal bulkheads from C deck to shore up the nacelle support structure, but we should be able to give you warp capability in about 5 hours time," said Hess.
"Lieutenant, we have a Xindi battleship approaching us which will be arriving in approximately..." Archer looked to T'Pol for a time estimate.
"Two hours, Captain," replied the Vulcan.
"Two hours, we'd rather not be here when it arrives and I need those warp engines on line," said Archer.
"I'm sorry, sir, but if we go to warp now we'll rip off the port nacelle, and it would probably take half the ship with it. I wouldn't even recommend trying impulse. I need more time," finished Hess. Hess felt as if she was having to explain physics 101 to the Captain and she silently wished that the Commander was here to take the brunt of this crisis.
"Do as much as you can, Lieutenant. I want to know the second that we have warp capability," said Archer. "Looks like we're not going anywhere for the moment, Sub-commander," he said to T'Pol. He turned to Hoshi, "Hail the Jorgans, Ensign."
"Yes, sir," she said and then a few moments later, "I have Captain Milas for you, sir." The Jorgan captain appeared on the screen.
"Captain, we have detected a Xindi ship approaching. My Science Officer tells me that they have superior weapons to our own. I suggest that you leave this area of space immediately to avoid a confrontation," said Archer.
"Thank you for your warning, Captain, but we won't leave Enterprise in its current state unprotected," said Milas. "It is the least we can do considering the circumstances."
"Captain, I don't think you quite understand the situation," replied Archer. "The Xindi ship is considerably more powerful than the combined fire power of both our ships. Even with Enterprise undamaged I doubt the two of us could hold it off."
"The Jorgan military code is very strict in this matter, we cannot leave an ally's stricken ship unprotected. We are not prepared to negotiate on this. We will be in touch once I have consulted with my officers to discuss our battle plan," said Milas.
Archer looked over at T'Pol for assistance, but she simply looked back at him and gave a slight shrug. "Very well Captain, thank you for your assistance, Archer out." Hoshi disconnected the link. "It seems that despite our problems we've made some new friends. T'Pol, I need you to help me come up with a defence plan to use both ships."
"Yes, Captain," said T'Pol.
"As long as we have our weapons we can still protect ourselves and with Captain Milas' help we might even be able to get out of this in one piece," said Archer, it was said more for the benefit of the bridge crew than for his own. He knew the odds of getting out of this alive and they weren't good.
****
"What part of the Jorgan military code were you referring to, Captain?" asked First Officer Magin. "I can't seem to recall it."
"The part which says this is our war not theirs," replied Captain Milas.
"Archer mentioned a Xindi attack on their home world," said Magin.
"It was not the war with the Xindi which I was referring to," said Milas. "Our mistakes in the colonies are for us to resolve and the humans should not have been forced into fighting our battles. No only that, we need all the allies that we can find in our war against the Xindi."
"But the Xindi obviously sent orders for the saboteur to attack the human captain and his ship. We know that the spy revealed our position to the Xindi after we made contact with the humans," replied Magin. "I think the Xindi are more interested in the humans than they are in us."
"I can see your reasoning but that doesn't absolve us from our responsibilities. We must give Captain Archer as much help as we can," said Milas. "Even if it costs us our ship."
****
Reed and his security team made their way to the catwalk. His scans told him this was where to find the intruder and they were homing in on his position now. However actually catching the invisible saboteur was going to be interesting, the scans could only give the a rough position and nothing more. They knew he was in the catwalk but apart from that they were blind. The catwalk was dark, and even if the Jorgan hadn't been cloaked they would have had trouble finding him.
"Set your phasers on stun," he told his team.
Reed decided to try the direct approach. "Mentan, this is Lieutenant Reed, if you surrender now you will be treated fairly," shouted Reed. "We know you're here it's just a matter of time before we catch you."
"Don't come any closer, human," said the Mentan, "I will kill you."
Not smart, thought Reed, the reply gave him a rough position on the Jorgan. Reed indicated to his officers to take the other side of the catwalk and try to get behind where the voice had come from.
"So far you haven't killed anyone. Commander Tucker is still alive, just tell us what the poison was," Reed shouted. He was thinking that Commander Tucker was alive, but he wouldn't be for much longer if they couldn't get Mentan to help them find the antidote.
Suddenly a phaser fired from further down the catwalk, Reed ducked behind a railing and fired back in the direction the blast had come from. Mentan fired again and Reed signalled to his team to close in on the Jorgan's position. As far as he could see Mentan hadn't realised that Reed wasn't alone and he was only firing in Reed's direction. His security team moved quietly further down the catwalk and fired towards where the shots were coming from. Finally the Jorgan stopped firing.
"Mentan!" shouted Reed. He didn't get an answer.
"I think we got him, sir," said Ensign Gordon.
"Well where is he?" asked Reed. "He must still be cloaked." How the hell do we find him now, thought Reed. "Fan out and search," he instructed.
The security officers did as instructed, phasers still drawn. Usually a phaser stun lasted about an hour but there were never any guarantees with alien species that it would be the same amount of time.
One of the security team tripped over something, "I've found him, sir," said the crewman.
"Let's get him to the brig," said Reed, "and hope we can work out how to turn that damn cloak off." He went over to the intercom, and contacted the bridge. "We have the Jorgan saboteur, sir. We're putting him in the brig until he wakes up. I'm afraid we had to stun him."
"I'll meet you there, Lieutenant," replied Archer.
****
It only took a small amount of investigation to discover the miniature cloaking unit that the Jorgan had strapped to the belt of his uniform and detach it. Lieutenant Reed sent it down to Engineering for them to investigate how it worked, maybe it would come in useful later and they could always use more knowledge of how cloaking devices worked. Reed called Doctor Phlox to ask him to come and look at the prisoner. Not only was this standard procedure with a stunned prisoner but Reed wanted Phlox to check that the cloak had not had any adverse effects which would prevent them from questioning the Jorgan.
Phlox arrived looking flustered and was shortly followed by the Captain.
"When can we question him?" asked Archer, once Phlox had given his new patient the once over.
"As soon as he wakes up, which should be shortly," said the doctor. "The cloaking device radiation has had some impact on his skin, hence its terrible condition, but other than that I would say that he hasn't been using the cloak for prolonged periods. The radiation hasn't harmed him in any other areas."
"Good," said Reed, "I've got lots of questions that I need him to answer."
"Captain, if I might have a word with you?" asked Phlox.
"Yes, Doctor," said Archer.
"It's Commander Tucker, I've had to put him on life support," said Phlox.
Archer felt something inside himself turn to ice and he bowed his head. Trip would never have wanted to die like this. "There's nothing else that you can do for him?"
"I'm afraid not. Shortly after you left his condition deteriorated further. Even if we do find an antidote now, his systems are shutting down and are already badly damaged by the poison," said Phlox. "I won't give up, but as time passes it becomes less likely that we can save him."
Reed listened to the whole conversation feeling more despairing at each word. Trip was probably his best friend among the crew and he still felt that his lack of action had meant that the Commander was dying. If he'd seen the radiation was unusual sooner then maybe they could have questioned the Jorgan spy in time. If he'd even bothered to check the Jorgans as they came onto the ship more carefully it may have meant none of this would have happened.
Both men had known when the doctor had first told them about the poison that Trip was dying but the reality of it actually happening hadn't sunk in until this moment. The very idea of an Enterprise without Trip was almost unthinkable but it seemed to be becoming a reality.
"Keep me informed, doctor," Archer said in a strained voice, it was all he could manage.
"Yes, Captain," replied Phlox and left the brig.
There was a low moan from the cell, Mentan was waking up.
"Lieutenant, I want you to find out everything that Jorgan knows about our current situation and I don't care how you do it," said Archer.
"Yes, sir," said Reed with feeling.
****