What Does Not Kill Us
By Thalia Drogna
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing them.
*********************************************
Archer received the message that the Xindi had taken Commander Tucker and Hayes was chasing them through the Jeffries tubes with alarm. It took all his self control not to run off the bridge and go to join the MACO commander, but he knew that he was needed on the bridge while the Xindi threat still remained.
"T'Pol, are the internal sensors picking up the Xindi," asked Archer.
"Yes, they are proceeding along Jeffries tube 217, Major Hayes is pursuing them," said T'Pol.
"Lieutenant Reed, re-group your security team and cut off their escape route," said Archer. On the view-screen he could see the lights on the Xindi ship flicker and dim, the nanoprobes were spreading through the ship and disabling systems.
"Yes, sir." Reed didn't need to be asked twice, he walked quickly to the turbo lift. As he made the journey down to B deck he contacted his security teams and made sure that they were ready to block all the escape routes. He joined them outside the entrance to the Jeffries tube. Ensign Prior handed him a phase rifle and he checked the settings before climbing into the narrow crawlspace of the Jeffries tube. Ensign Prior followed him, there was no point in taking more men with them, the Jeffries tube was only big enough for the two security officers to fire simultaneously.
The two officers crawled as quickly as they could towards the last known position of the Xindi. Reed had despatched other security teams to cover the junctions off the Jeffries tube, but he knew it was most likely that the Xindi would be heading in his direction. They were currently blocking the Xindi's direct retreat to the shuttle bay, which would most likely be their destination now they had realised that the transporters were out. He was doing his best to concentrate on the tactics of the situation and not dwell on the fact that these Xindi had put two of his best Security staff in Sick Bay, or that they were trying once again to kidnap his very good friend.
They crawled around a corner and there they were, two Xindi manhandling Trip along the Jeffries tube. Reed managed to get off two shots before the Xindi pulled Trip in front of themselves as a shield. Trip looked pale and small against the Xindi and with him in the way Reed couldn't fire, knowing Trip's weakened state he couldn't be sure that a phaser stun wouldn't kill him. However, just as Reed was wondering if he could shoot the two Xindi without hitting Trip, Major Hayes and his MACOs rounded the corner from behind the Xindi. They opened fire diverting the Xindi's attention and allowing Ensign Prior and Lieutenant Reed a direct line of fire to the two Xindi. Both security officers fired on the Xindi and within seconds the hostage situation was over, two dead Xindi lying in the Jeffries tube next to one live Engineer in Star Fleet regulation light blue pyjamas. Reed let out a breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding and moved to check on Trip's condition.
On the bridge, Archer stood watching the death throes of their enemy. The Xindi ship managed to get one more torpedo off at Enterprise before their engines shut down and they hung, dead in space. Suddenly there was an explosion inside the enemy ship and the bridge crew covered their eyes as the Xindi craft exploded in a bright shower of flame and white hot metal.
****
"I don't think that Trip needs to know about any of this," said Archer, standing in Trip's quarters looking down at the sleeping engineer. "I want everyone involved to keep quiet about it." Luckily Trip had been unconscious throughout the whole fire fight and he didn't seem to be any the worse for his trip through the Jeffries tubes. It had simply been a matter of getting him back to his quarters before he woke up again.
"What are we going to do about the hole in the ceiling?" asked Reed.
"Get Lieutenant Hess to send a repair crew down here immediately. Maybe we can get it fixed before he wakes up," said Archer, surveying the damage to Trip's quarters. Most of the fire fight had taken place in the corridor so nothing was badly damaged inside, apart from the obvious hole. "Phlox said we have a couple of hours before the sedative wears off. I guess we can always say it was battle damage."
"Might be difficult trying to explain how a Jeffries tube on B deck came to have a large hole in it," said Reed. "I'll get on to Hess right away."
"We were pretty lucky with the damage we took, Hess thinks she can get all the repairs done in a week and the engines are fine so we can carry on towards the Xindi outpost. How are Ensigns Scott and Hooper doing?" asked Archer.
"Scott had a phaser burn to her shoulder, Phlox says she'll be off duty for a few days while it heals. Hooper's condition is more serious, she took a phaser blast to the chest, her body armour took most of the force but its still pretty bad. Not to mention the concussion she sustained when she fell. Phlox will know more in a couple of hours. I'd like to put them both in for a commendation," said Reed.
"Agreed, Lieutenant. Get the paperwork to me and I'll make sure it gets put through," said Archer.
"Thank you, sir," said Reed. He knew that the Ensigns had only been doing their job but they'd been outnumbered and still performed exceptionally well. He hadn't really expected the Xindi to come back for the Commander, it really didn't make any sense why they would, but his suspicious nature had led him to post the guards outside the Commander's quarters. Being paranoid was part of the job description as far has he was concerned and it had come in useful more than once, but this time he had really hoped that he was over reacting. Spending time in sick bay was an inevitable part of being a security officer but it didn't help him deal with the fact that it was his orders that had placed the two young Ensigns in danger.
"I'd love to know why they wanted him back," said Archer, as if he'd read Malcolm's mind.
"Me too, sir," said Reed.
****
When Trip woke up he knew he'd been asleep for longer than his usual six hours. He felt strange as well, as if he'd been sleeping very heavily and his head was feeling groggy. He recognised the feeling immediately, Phlox had used some of his knock out drops on him and a look out of his window confirmed his suspicions. They were no longer in the atmosphere of the gas giant.
"Bastards," he said quietly but with considerable venom.
"I guessed you might not be too happy when you woke up," said Archer from his seat beside the bed.
"You're damn right I'm not happy," said Trip, vehemently. "What the hell happened?"
"Malcolm's torpedoes worked," said Archer. "The Xindi ship was destroyed and we're on our way to that Xindi outpost again."
"Jon, I've been your friend for too long not to know when you're lying your ass off," said Trip. "It wasn't that simple was it?"
"No, not quite, some of the Xindi boarded Enterprise but Hayes and Malcolm managed to get rid of them before any damage was done," said Archer.
"And I suppose it was your plan to make sure that I was out of the picture while all this was going on. Poor Trip, he can't cope with this, he might have a panic attack and we wouldn't want that to happen," said Trip sarcastically, anger rising within him.
"Phlox thought it might be best not to agitate you. We both thought you'd been through enough," said Archer. "Is it so wrong for your friends to want to protect you?"
"I guess not, I just wish you'd asked first, that's all," replied Trip, his anger dying as quickly as it had flared.
Archer laughed. "There was a good reason why we didn't and you know what it was."
"Because I'm a stubborn son of a bitch?" asked Trip in a resigned tone.
"That would be it," said Archer. "Anyway, you feel up to talking me through your work on the nanoprobes so far?"
"Sure," said Trip, and within seconds he was explaining to Archer the intricacies of nanoprobe technology, everything else forgotten.
****
Two days later and Trip had come no closer to working out how to reprogram the nanoprobes. He was beginning to think that he was going about things the wrong way, perhaps they couldn't be reprogrammed in the way that he wanted to. He was fed up of the whole thing and he reckoned he must have used up the complete paper supply on Enterprise with his scribbled diagrams and calculations. He was getting pretty quick with the slide rule though. It was frustrating knowing that he only had one problem to solve and he just had to find the right direction to look in.
Phlox had arrived that morning with a pair of crutches and the announcement that he wanted to get Trip up and moving. The casts on his foot and arm only had another week before they could come off and Phlox felt his patient had spent enough time in bed. He was still very weak due to muscle wastage firstly from his enforced lying around in a Xindi cell and then from lying around in bed for over a month, the inactivity and lack of food had taken its toll on his body. Phlox had been very pleased to see his patient's appetite return and Trip seemed less jumpy now. He couldn't tell how much of it was Trip trying to put on a brave face but it did seem that he was more relaxed now.
After helping Trip to get dressed in a T-shirt and sweat pants, Phlox handed him the crutches and gave him some basic instruction in how to use them.
"Doc, I think I can manage a pair of crutches," said Trip, carefully pushing himself off the bed and putting all of his weight onto his good foot. Good was a relative term, when he'd first returned to Enterprise his left foot had been broken, but his right foot had been stripped of the skin on its sole. Phlox had had to graft new skin on to it and only now was it possible for him to put weight on it. The broken arm was taking so long to heal because it had had to be pinned, in quite a long operation as Trip understood it. Phlox had reflected that it was now more metal than bone.
Trip was only now beginning to find out exactly how bad things had been when he'd been brought back to Enterprise, Phlox hadn't wanted to burden him with the details to begin with so had told Trip very little about his injuries. He hadn't even realised until a couple of days ago that he'd been unconscious for five days after his rescue, to give his body time to heal a little before he had to deal with the emotional problems of his captivity. Not to mention the fact that he'd been in a lot of pain and it had given Phlox a chance to work on his most serious injuries unhindered. It had all scared him a little, he really had been very close to dying.
He positioned the crutches, one under each arm and experimentally put his weight on them. They seemed to work and he hopped across his quarters carefully. Just as he was turning to come back, Lieutenant Reed entered.
"Hey, you're up," said Reed.
"Yeah, I guess the Doc was getting fed up with me lazing around in bed," said Trip.
"Not at all, Commander, you still need plenty of rest, but also we need to get you moving. Perhaps Lieutenant Reed wouldn't mind accompanying you for a short stroll around B deck?" said Phlox.
"I don't think stroll is quite the right word for the Commander's gait with those crutches," said Reed, smiling, "but I'm willing to act as chaperone."
"I can manage on my own, you know," said Trip.
"Of course you can, Commander, I just thought you might like a little company," said Phlox but winked at Reed when Trip wasn't looking. Reed had already been briefed for this exercise, they still weren't sure how Trip would react to being outside his quarters and Phlox had been worried Trip would try to push himself too hard on his first outing. Reed knew how far Phlox would let Trip go and he intended on seeing that the Commander didn't try to overdo it.
Trip hobbled over to where Reed stood by the door.
"After you, Lieutenant," he said.
Reed stepped out into the corridor and Trip followed him more slowly, taking a deep breath before he put his head outside the door and carefully lifted himself over the threshold. Okay, he thought, I can do this, it really isn't that bad, it's only the corridor outside my quarters and there aren't any Xindi around for light years.
"So how are you getting on with the nanoprobes?" asked Reed, slowing his usual walking pace to a crawl so that Trip could keep up with him.
"I don't know Malcolm, every time I think I'm on to something it seems to lead to a dead end. I'm beginning to think the universe doesn't like me very much," replied Trip.
"Well you're not alone, two EPS conduits blew in the Armoury last night. We're still fixing the damage. This is on top of all the things that we already had to fix after our Xindi friends decided to use Enterprise for target practice. I've got teams working double shifts and we still won't be finished all the repairs for another three days. I hate to think what it's like down in Engineering."
"Probably worse," said Trip miserably.
"Sorry, the last thing you need to hear about is my problems on top of your own," said Reed, and he added to himself, the last thing you want to hear about is Engineering.
"At least it reminds me I'm not the only one," said Trip.
"I don't suppose I can help you with the nanoprobes?" asked Reed, "they were meant to be a weapon, after all."
"Yeah, but I get the feeling that they weren't designed as a weapon. Destroying technology looks as if it was an after thought. I've come across a couple of systems that seem to be pretty inefficient at doing what they do. I just can't get my head around it, Malcolm," said Trip.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," said Reed.
"Yeah, well, I'm doing my best. Anyway, it sure is nice to get out for a walk, even if it is only around B deck."
"It's good to see you finally up and about," replied Reed. "Although I don't think you want to be over doing it just yet. How about we just go down to the next corridor junction and then turn around and come back?"
"I think I might be able to manage that," said Trip.
"After that I'm afraid I'll have to leave you. Hoshi's asked me to help her with some repair work to her console, as payback for her help on the weapons systems," said Reed.
"Hoshi helped you with your weapons systems?" asked Trip in disbelief, he had a lot of respect for Hoshi's ability as a linguist but she certainly wasn't very technically minded.
"Yes, oddly enough she did. She came down to the Armoury when I was trying to fix a problem with the targeting sensors and she told me she heard a high frequency hum that wasn't usually there. She said it only made that sound when the sensors are out of alignment. She was right, the secondary sensor array was out and throwing the whole system. I guess all that target practice she put in did more than turn her into a good shot."
"Maybe I should get her to come and listen to my nanoprobes," joked Trip. Then he stopped in the middle of the corridor, Reed didn't notice his charge had stopped for a moment and took a couple more paces before he realised that Trip wasn't with him.
"Something the matter?" Reed asked looking back at Trip.
"Now why didn't I think of that before?" said Trip to himself, not paying any attention to Reed.
"Trip, are you okay?" asked Reed, concern showing in his voice.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I think I may have just worked it out. Come on let's go back."
"I don't suppose that you're going to tell me what it is that you've just worked out?"
"Nope, not until I know if I'm right," replied Trip.
****
By Thalia Drogna
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing them.
*********************************************
Archer received the message that the Xindi had taken Commander Tucker and Hayes was chasing them through the Jeffries tubes with alarm. It took all his self control not to run off the bridge and go to join the MACO commander, but he knew that he was needed on the bridge while the Xindi threat still remained.
"T'Pol, are the internal sensors picking up the Xindi," asked Archer.
"Yes, they are proceeding along Jeffries tube 217, Major Hayes is pursuing them," said T'Pol.
"Lieutenant Reed, re-group your security team and cut off their escape route," said Archer. On the view-screen he could see the lights on the Xindi ship flicker and dim, the nanoprobes were spreading through the ship and disabling systems.
"Yes, sir." Reed didn't need to be asked twice, he walked quickly to the turbo lift. As he made the journey down to B deck he contacted his security teams and made sure that they were ready to block all the escape routes. He joined them outside the entrance to the Jeffries tube. Ensign Prior handed him a phase rifle and he checked the settings before climbing into the narrow crawlspace of the Jeffries tube. Ensign Prior followed him, there was no point in taking more men with them, the Jeffries tube was only big enough for the two security officers to fire simultaneously.
The two officers crawled as quickly as they could towards the last known position of the Xindi. Reed had despatched other security teams to cover the junctions off the Jeffries tube, but he knew it was most likely that the Xindi would be heading in his direction. They were currently blocking the Xindi's direct retreat to the shuttle bay, which would most likely be their destination now they had realised that the transporters were out. He was doing his best to concentrate on the tactics of the situation and not dwell on the fact that these Xindi had put two of his best Security staff in Sick Bay, or that they were trying once again to kidnap his very good friend.
They crawled around a corner and there they were, two Xindi manhandling Trip along the Jeffries tube. Reed managed to get off two shots before the Xindi pulled Trip in front of themselves as a shield. Trip looked pale and small against the Xindi and with him in the way Reed couldn't fire, knowing Trip's weakened state he couldn't be sure that a phaser stun wouldn't kill him. However, just as Reed was wondering if he could shoot the two Xindi without hitting Trip, Major Hayes and his MACOs rounded the corner from behind the Xindi. They opened fire diverting the Xindi's attention and allowing Ensign Prior and Lieutenant Reed a direct line of fire to the two Xindi. Both security officers fired on the Xindi and within seconds the hostage situation was over, two dead Xindi lying in the Jeffries tube next to one live Engineer in Star Fleet regulation light blue pyjamas. Reed let out a breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding and moved to check on Trip's condition.
On the bridge, Archer stood watching the death throes of their enemy. The Xindi ship managed to get one more torpedo off at Enterprise before their engines shut down and they hung, dead in space. Suddenly there was an explosion inside the enemy ship and the bridge crew covered their eyes as the Xindi craft exploded in a bright shower of flame and white hot metal.
****
"I don't think that Trip needs to know about any of this," said Archer, standing in Trip's quarters looking down at the sleeping engineer. "I want everyone involved to keep quiet about it." Luckily Trip had been unconscious throughout the whole fire fight and he didn't seem to be any the worse for his trip through the Jeffries tubes. It had simply been a matter of getting him back to his quarters before he woke up again.
"What are we going to do about the hole in the ceiling?" asked Reed.
"Get Lieutenant Hess to send a repair crew down here immediately. Maybe we can get it fixed before he wakes up," said Archer, surveying the damage to Trip's quarters. Most of the fire fight had taken place in the corridor so nothing was badly damaged inside, apart from the obvious hole. "Phlox said we have a couple of hours before the sedative wears off. I guess we can always say it was battle damage."
"Might be difficult trying to explain how a Jeffries tube on B deck came to have a large hole in it," said Reed. "I'll get on to Hess right away."
"We were pretty lucky with the damage we took, Hess thinks she can get all the repairs done in a week and the engines are fine so we can carry on towards the Xindi outpost. How are Ensigns Scott and Hooper doing?" asked Archer.
"Scott had a phaser burn to her shoulder, Phlox says she'll be off duty for a few days while it heals. Hooper's condition is more serious, she took a phaser blast to the chest, her body armour took most of the force but its still pretty bad. Not to mention the concussion she sustained when she fell. Phlox will know more in a couple of hours. I'd like to put them both in for a commendation," said Reed.
"Agreed, Lieutenant. Get the paperwork to me and I'll make sure it gets put through," said Archer.
"Thank you, sir," said Reed. He knew that the Ensigns had only been doing their job but they'd been outnumbered and still performed exceptionally well. He hadn't really expected the Xindi to come back for the Commander, it really didn't make any sense why they would, but his suspicious nature had led him to post the guards outside the Commander's quarters. Being paranoid was part of the job description as far has he was concerned and it had come in useful more than once, but this time he had really hoped that he was over reacting. Spending time in sick bay was an inevitable part of being a security officer but it didn't help him deal with the fact that it was his orders that had placed the two young Ensigns in danger.
"I'd love to know why they wanted him back," said Archer, as if he'd read Malcolm's mind.
"Me too, sir," said Reed.
****
When Trip woke up he knew he'd been asleep for longer than his usual six hours. He felt strange as well, as if he'd been sleeping very heavily and his head was feeling groggy. He recognised the feeling immediately, Phlox had used some of his knock out drops on him and a look out of his window confirmed his suspicions. They were no longer in the atmosphere of the gas giant.
"Bastards," he said quietly but with considerable venom.
"I guessed you might not be too happy when you woke up," said Archer from his seat beside the bed.
"You're damn right I'm not happy," said Trip, vehemently. "What the hell happened?"
"Malcolm's torpedoes worked," said Archer. "The Xindi ship was destroyed and we're on our way to that Xindi outpost again."
"Jon, I've been your friend for too long not to know when you're lying your ass off," said Trip. "It wasn't that simple was it?"
"No, not quite, some of the Xindi boarded Enterprise but Hayes and Malcolm managed to get rid of them before any damage was done," said Archer.
"And I suppose it was your plan to make sure that I was out of the picture while all this was going on. Poor Trip, he can't cope with this, he might have a panic attack and we wouldn't want that to happen," said Trip sarcastically, anger rising within him.
"Phlox thought it might be best not to agitate you. We both thought you'd been through enough," said Archer. "Is it so wrong for your friends to want to protect you?"
"I guess not, I just wish you'd asked first, that's all," replied Trip, his anger dying as quickly as it had flared.
Archer laughed. "There was a good reason why we didn't and you know what it was."
"Because I'm a stubborn son of a bitch?" asked Trip in a resigned tone.
"That would be it," said Archer. "Anyway, you feel up to talking me through your work on the nanoprobes so far?"
"Sure," said Trip, and within seconds he was explaining to Archer the intricacies of nanoprobe technology, everything else forgotten.
****
Two days later and Trip had come no closer to working out how to reprogram the nanoprobes. He was beginning to think that he was going about things the wrong way, perhaps they couldn't be reprogrammed in the way that he wanted to. He was fed up of the whole thing and he reckoned he must have used up the complete paper supply on Enterprise with his scribbled diagrams and calculations. He was getting pretty quick with the slide rule though. It was frustrating knowing that he only had one problem to solve and he just had to find the right direction to look in.
Phlox had arrived that morning with a pair of crutches and the announcement that he wanted to get Trip up and moving. The casts on his foot and arm only had another week before they could come off and Phlox felt his patient had spent enough time in bed. He was still very weak due to muscle wastage firstly from his enforced lying around in a Xindi cell and then from lying around in bed for over a month, the inactivity and lack of food had taken its toll on his body. Phlox had been very pleased to see his patient's appetite return and Trip seemed less jumpy now. He couldn't tell how much of it was Trip trying to put on a brave face but it did seem that he was more relaxed now.
After helping Trip to get dressed in a T-shirt and sweat pants, Phlox handed him the crutches and gave him some basic instruction in how to use them.
"Doc, I think I can manage a pair of crutches," said Trip, carefully pushing himself off the bed and putting all of his weight onto his good foot. Good was a relative term, when he'd first returned to Enterprise his left foot had been broken, but his right foot had been stripped of the skin on its sole. Phlox had had to graft new skin on to it and only now was it possible for him to put weight on it. The broken arm was taking so long to heal because it had had to be pinned, in quite a long operation as Trip understood it. Phlox had reflected that it was now more metal than bone.
Trip was only now beginning to find out exactly how bad things had been when he'd been brought back to Enterprise, Phlox hadn't wanted to burden him with the details to begin with so had told Trip very little about his injuries. He hadn't even realised until a couple of days ago that he'd been unconscious for five days after his rescue, to give his body time to heal a little before he had to deal with the emotional problems of his captivity. Not to mention the fact that he'd been in a lot of pain and it had given Phlox a chance to work on his most serious injuries unhindered. It had all scared him a little, he really had been very close to dying.
He positioned the crutches, one under each arm and experimentally put his weight on them. They seemed to work and he hopped across his quarters carefully. Just as he was turning to come back, Lieutenant Reed entered.
"Hey, you're up," said Reed.
"Yeah, I guess the Doc was getting fed up with me lazing around in bed," said Trip.
"Not at all, Commander, you still need plenty of rest, but also we need to get you moving. Perhaps Lieutenant Reed wouldn't mind accompanying you for a short stroll around B deck?" said Phlox.
"I don't think stroll is quite the right word for the Commander's gait with those crutches," said Reed, smiling, "but I'm willing to act as chaperone."
"I can manage on my own, you know," said Trip.
"Of course you can, Commander, I just thought you might like a little company," said Phlox but winked at Reed when Trip wasn't looking. Reed had already been briefed for this exercise, they still weren't sure how Trip would react to being outside his quarters and Phlox had been worried Trip would try to push himself too hard on his first outing. Reed knew how far Phlox would let Trip go and he intended on seeing that the Commander didn't try to overdo it.
Trip hobbled over to where Reed stood by the door.
"After you, Lieutenant," he said.
Reed stepped out into the corridor and Trip followed him more slowly, taking a deep breath before he put his head outside the door and carefully lifted himself over the threshold. Okay, he thought, I can do this, it really isn't that bad, it's only the corridor outside my quarters and there aren't any Xindi around for light years.
"So how are you getting on with the nanoprobes?" asked Reed, slowing his usual walking pace to a crawl so that Trip could keep up with him.
"I don't know Malcolm, every time I think I'm on to something it seems to lead to a dead end. I'm beginning to think the universe doesn't like me very much," replied Trip.
"Well you're not alone, two EPS conduits blew in the Armoury last night. We're still fixing the damage. This is on top of all the things that we already had to fix after our Xindi friends decided to use Enterprise for target practice. I've got teams working double shifts and we still won't be finished all the repairs for another three days. I hate to think what it's like down in Engineering."
"Probably worse," said Trip miserably.
"Sorry, the last thing you need to hear about is my problems on top of your own," said Reed, and he added to himself, the last thing you want to hear about is Engineering.
"At least it reminds me I'm not the only one," said Trip.
"I don't suppose I can help you with the nanoprobes?" asked Reed, "they were meant to be a weapon, after all."
"Yeah, but I get the feeling that they weren't designed as a weapon. Destroying technology looks as if it was an after thought. I've come across a couple of systems that seem to be pretty inefficient at doing what they do. I just can't get my head around it, Malcolm," said Trip.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," said Reed.
"Yeah, well, I'm doing my best. Anyway, it sure is nice to get out for a walk, even if it is only around B deck."
"It's good to see you finally up and about," replied Reed. "Although I don't think you want to be over doing it just yet. How about we just go down to the next corridor junction and then turn around and come back?"
"I think I might be able to manage that," said Trip.
"After that I'm afraid I'll have to leave you. Hoshi's asked me to help her with some repair work to her console, as payback for her help on the weapons systems," said Reed.
"Hoshi helped you with your weapons systems?" asked Trip in disbelief, he had a lot of respect for Hoshi's ability as a linguist but she certainly wasn't very technically minded.
"Yes, oddly enough she did. She came down to the Armoury when I was trying to fix a problem with the targeting sensors and she told me she heard a high frequency hum that wasn't usually there. She said it only made that sound when the sensors are out of alignment. She was right, the secondary sensor array was out and throwing the whole system. I guess all that target practice she put in did more than turn her into a good shot."
"Maybe I should get her to come and listen to my nanoprobes," joked Trip. Then he stopped in the middle of the corridor, Reed didn't notice his charge had stopped for a moment and took a couple more paces before he realised that Trip wasn't with him.
"Something the matter?" Reed asked looking back at Trip.
"Now why didn't I think of that before?" said Trip to himself, not paying any attention to Reed.
"Trip, are you okay?" asked Reed, concern showing in his voice.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I think I may have just worked it out. Come on let's go back."
"I don't suppose that you're going to tell me what it is that you've just worked out?"
"Nope, not until I know if I'm right," replied Trip.
****