He Who Fights With Monsters
By Thalia Drogna
*********************************************
"Malcolm, this isn't an escape plan, it's suicide," said Archer as he read the contents of the padd.
"I think it can be done, sir," said Reed, deadly serious.
"I have no doubts about what you think, Lieutenant," said Archer. "You're ignoring all the unknowns in the equation and there are a lot of them."
"I'm not asking anyone else to risk their life, just me," said Reed.
"But you're asking me to approve it, and create a distraction while you carry it out," said Archer. "Not to mention the moral implications of killing over two thousand Tien or at the very least completely changing their way of life."
"If you're talking about non-interference, then I think the Tien blew that out of the water when they kidnapped our Chief Engineer," said Reed. "As for the deaths of two thousand Tien, there's a Minshara class planet less than ten light years away. We know that they have warp capable shuttles, they could ferry everyone to the planet before the Rel Sevanne looses life support."
"The Tien seemed pretty adamant that planetfall was not an option for them. How do we know there isn't a reason why they haven't settled a planet before now? How do we know that making them go to that planet won't kill them all?" asked Archer.
"We don't know, sir," said Reed, "but I'm willing to take that risk."
"You may be willing but I'm not so sure that I'm quite so happy to condemn two thousand sentient beings to what could well be their deaths," said Archer.
"Believe me, sir, I do understand what we're talking about here. I've thought about little else today. But it's my duty to protect this crew and currently one of the crew is being held captive on the Rel Sevanne. You have to at least let me try to get him back, sir," said Reed.
"What happens if you try and fail?" asked Archer. "The Tien just might decide to take it out on Enterprise. And even if you weren't asking me to put the lives of this crew in danger for one man, you're asking me to risk losing my Armoury officer. Enterprise might be able to complete this mission with one of its senior officers missing but I'm not sure we could do it without two."
"Yes, sir, I understand," said Reed, obviously taking Archer's argument as a dismissal of his ideas. "If you don't mind, I'll go back to my quarters now, I believe there are a few hours left until my shift starts."
"I haven't said no yet, Malcolm," said Archer.
"Does that mean I can go ahead?" asked Reed, brightening.
"No, it means I need to think about it. I'll have an answer for you at 0900, Lieutenant. Come to my ready room then," said Archer.
"Yes, sir," said Reed.
"Goodnight, Malcolm," said Archer and with that he turned to go back to his bed and Reed left for his own quarters, beginning to put together equipment lists in his head for what he would need for his plan to rescue Trip.
****
Archer hadn't been able to get back to sleep. He knew Malcolm was worried about Trip but so was he. All Archer really wanted to do was go to the Rel Sevanne and get Trip back, but as the Captain he didn't have that luxury. He had to think about the 82 people under his command and the two thousand people on the Rel Sevanne. He had to think about the six billion people on Earth who were relying on him and Enterprise to find the Xindi. He had to think about all those people plus the moral issues. He had never been so aware of his responsibilities as he was now.
They had to remember that they were Earth's representatives in space. Just because the aliens they met had abandoned their ethics didn't mean that they should as well. However, he also knew that his Armoury officer's moral sense was very well developed. He had seen the look on Malcolm's face when he had bundled the Osaarian they captured into the airlock. He knew that Reed had been debating with himself whether he should stop his Captain, but Archer suspected Reed's respect for rank had held him back. That and he probably didn't believe that Archer would actually kill the Osaarian. The frightening thing was that Archer knew he was angry enough that he could have happily spaced the Osaarian if he hadn't answered his questions. If Reed was considering this then he probably had managed to convince himself that the Tien would be safe on the M class planet.
He decided that going over this again and again was not helping him to reach any conclusions at all. He went in search of T'Pol and found her in the Command centre.
"How's it going?" asked Archer as he stepped through the hatch.
"I am making progress in understanding the Rel Sevanne's computer slowly. Although complicated, I am beginning to form a picture of some of the data systems," said T'Pol.
"Will you have something by the end of the day that can help us?" asked Archer, hopefully.
"That is doubtful," said T'Pol. "I am having to analyse each system individually. It is extremely time consuming. I have the complete science staff working on this, and I still do not think we would have a coherent picture of the computer for at least a year. This is the most complicated system that I have ever encountered."
Archer's face fell. "I wanted to discuss something with you," he said and handed her the padd with Lieutenant Reed's escape plan on it. "Malcolm brought this to me last night. I've been going over the pros and cons of letting him carry it out since 0230 and I'm just going round in circles. I was hoping you might have an opinion."
T'Pol scrolled through the padd. "I take it the Lieutenant intends to be the one to carry this out," she said.
"Of course," said Archer.
"Then I suggest we let him try," said T'Pol.
"Just like that? I thought you were all for leaving Trip on the Rel Sevanne," said Archer.
"That was before the doctor informed us that the Commander's life span would be considerably shortened by his conjoining with the Rel Sevanne's computer," said T'Pol. She had to admit that she did not understand emotions, as a Vulcan she had learnt to control them but not understand them. She did not understand humans either. She knew however that humans needed to be happy and certainly Commander Tucker had not been happy since he had entered the Expanse. He had appeared to be happy on the Rel Sevanne and so T'Pol had reached the logical conclusion that he should stay on the Rel Sevanne, but perhaps Reed was right, it also mattered how Trip gained that happiness. Logic did not always apply to humans, she reflected once again. "Even his current happiness, albeit falsely conceived, is not worth his life," she added for Archer's benefit.
"What about the Tien? We could be killing them all," said Archer. "I expected you to argue the case for non-interference."
"Logic dictates that we should try to save as many people as possible. You have made it clear that you feel we will be more likely to accomplish our mission if we have Commander Tucker. Therefore it is simply a matter of numbers, two thousand Tien lives against the lives of six billion humans," said T'Pol. "Also I notice that Lieutenant Reed mentions a Minshara class planet not more than ten light years away that the Tien could be relocated to."
"I wish I could see it as that clear cut, T'Pol," said Archer. "It's still two thousand lives that we're talking about. Even if we don't kill them then we are still talking about changing their way of life considerably. Who knows if they could even survive on that planet."
"If you were already aware of the arguments then why did you ask for my advice?" asked T'Pol.
"I suppose I was hoping that you'd thought of something that I hadn't. And sometimes it just helps to talk through something like this," said Archer.
"The lifestyle of the Tien should be protected," said T'Pol, "but not at all costs. Even Vulcans do not advocate isolationism. From the scans that I have taken, I have no reason to believe that the Tien would suffer from being relocated to a planet." T'Pol handed him back the padd that he had given her, she obviously considered this to be an end to their discussion. Archer paused to look at it once again before he turned to go.
"Thanks T'Pol, I appreciate you listening to me," said Archer and left the command centre with his decision made.
****
When Lieutenant Reed arrived at Captain Archer's ready room at exactly 0900, he knew he'd won the argument, he recognised the determined look on his Captain's face, and Archer confirmed it.
"Permission granted, Lieutenant," was all he said.
Reed knew it was going to be tough. His plan was based on three things, firstly that he had been able to discover enough about the Rel Sevanne that he could deflect their sensors long enough for him to reach the computer room, secondly that he could modify the transporter to account for the Rel Sevanne's peculiar hull makeup and finally that Trip wouldn't immediately raise the alarm as soon as he saw him. In fact not only would those three parts have to fall into place but he was also going to have to disable any cameras on his route as well, he hoped the same device that he was going to use to disrupt the sensors would also interfere with the cameras.
He knew that the computer room was too well shielded for him to beam directly into it, the only place where they'd been able to get a coherent transporter lock was the Star Chamber, so he was hoping that there weren't too many cameras between him and the computer room. The microphones worried him but he'd just have to hope that he could be quiet enough that they wouldn't pick up his movement.
Trip of course was the biggest unknown. Reed had no idea how thoroughly the Tien had managed to brainwash him, he had to hope that he wouldn't betray his friend. After they had spent most of the previous night talking he was pretty sure that although Trip wouldn't want to come with him, he wouldn't turn Reed over to the Tien. T'Pol and Phlox had already begun work on how best to disconnect Trip from the Rel Sevanne, a procedure which he might only have seconds to perform before he was discovered. And then he would have to manhandle Trip to somewhere they could beam out.
Even to his own ears it sounded impossible, dependent on so many variables and so many things going right. He pushed all that to the back of his mind, he had to get Trip back. He had given his word that he would look after Trip on the Rel Sevanne and he had broken that word. This was the only way for him to redeem himself.
It was 1700 before all the preparations were complete and Malcolm stepped onto the transporter pad. His hair was dyed white blond and he wore a reasonable facsimile of a Tien uniform. He wasn't tall enough or thin enough to really pass for a Tien but all he needed was to look enough like one that he wouldn't be stopped in a corridor. Strapped to his belt was a phase pistol, a device for creating interference in the Tien's sensors, a homing beacon which he would activate once he had reached a safe beam out location so that T'Pol could lock on to him, and a hypospray full of one of Phlox's concoctions that the doctor told Reed should keep Trip stable and unconscious long enough for Reed to bring him home.
T'Pol was at the transporter controls. The two of them had worked closely together on the transporter modifications, Vulcan technology in that area being considerably better than the human equivalent.
"Remember that these modifications are only temporary," said T'Pol as Reed stepped onto the transporter pad. "I doubt they will hold for more than one outward and one return journey."
"I understand Sub-commander," said Reed. "I only get one chance at this."
"I hope that a second chance will not be required, Lieutenant," said T'Pol.
"Usually humans just wish each other good luck," said Reed.
"Very well, good luck," said T'Pol. "T'Pol to Archer, I am ready to transport the Lieutenant to the Rel Sevanne."
"Understood," said Archer, "Give me a minute and then you can transport him."
If this part of the plan failed Reed's rescue attempt would be over before it had begun. There was a chance that the Rel Sevanne might detect their transporter signal so they needed a distraction while Reed beamed on board. Archer would contact the Rel Sevanne and demand that they return Trip. Reed wasn't sure if that would be enough to keep Trip's attention away from detecting the transporter signature but it was the only idea they had been able to come up with short of firing on the Tien ship. Something which they wanted to avoid at all costs given the Rel Sevanne's superior fire power.
"Energise, Sub-commander," said Reed, after exactly a minute had passed.
T'Pol energised the transporter and watched the Lieutenant disappear and noted that he had indeed reappeared on the Rel Sevanne. Their scanners were still being effected by the unusual composition of the Rel Sevanne's hull so they had no way of tracking Reed once he was aboard. All they could do now was wait for the Lieutenant's homing signal to beam him back.
By Thalia Drogna
*********************************************
"Malcolm, this isn't an escape plan, it's suicide," said Archer as he read the contents of the padd.
"I think it can be done, sir," said Reed, deadly serious.
"I have no doubts about what you think, Lieutenant," said Archer. "You're ignoring all the unknowns in the equation and there are a lot of them."
"I'm not asking anyone else to risk their life, just me," said Reed.
"But you're asking me to approve it, and create a distraction while you carry it out," said Archer. "Not to mention the moral implications of killing over two thousand Tien or at the very least completely changing their way of life."
"If you're talking about non-interference, then I think the Tien blew that out of the water when they kidnapped our Chief Engineer," said Reed. "As for the deaths of two thousand Tien, there's a Minshara class planet less than ten light years away. We know that they have warp capable shuttles, they could ferry everyone to the planet before the Rel Sevanne looses life support."
"The Tien seemed pretty adamant that planetfall was not an option for them. How do we know there isn't a reason why they haven't settled a planet before now? How do we know that making them go to that planet won't kill them all?" asked Archer.
"We don't know, sir," said Reed, "but I'm willing to take that risk."
"You may be willing but I'm not so sure that I'm quite so happy to condemn two thousand sentient beings to what could well be their deaths," said Archer.
"Believe me, sir, I do understand what we're talking about here. I've thought about little else today. But it's my duty to protect this crew and currently one of the crew is being held captive on the Rel Sevanne. You have to at least let me try to get him back, sir," said Reed.
"What happens if you try and fail?" asked Archer. "The Tien just might decide to take it out on Enterprise. And even if you weren't asking me to put the lives of this crew in danger for one man, you're asking me to risk losing my Armoury officer. Enterprise might be able to complete this mission with one of its senior officers missing but I'm not sure we could do it without two."
"Yes, sir, I understand," said Reed, obviously taking Archer's argument as a dismissal of his ideas. "If you don't mind, I'll go back to my quarters now, I believe there are a few hours left until my shift starts."
"I haven't said no yet, Malcolm," said Archer.
"Does that mean I can go ahead?" asked Reed, brightening.
"No, it means I need to think about it. I'll have an answer for you at 0900, Lieutenant. Come to my ready room then," said Archer.
"Yes, sir," said Reed.
"Goodnight, Malcolm," said Archer and with that he turned to go back to his bed and Reed left for his own quarters, beginning to put together equipment lists in his head for what he would need for his plan to rescue Trip.
****
Archer hadn't been able to get back to sleep. He knew Malcolm was worried about Trip but so was he. All Archer really wanted to do was go to the Rel Sevanne and get Trip back, but as the Captain he didn't have that luxury. He had to think about the 82 people under his command and the two thousand people on the Rel Sevanne. He had to think about the six billion people on Earth who were relying on him and Enterprise to find the Xindi. He had to think about all those people plus the moral issues. He had never been so aware of his responsibilities as he was now.
They had to remember that they were Earth's representatives in space. Just because the aliens they met had abandoned their ethics didn't mean that they should as well. However, he also knew that his Armoury officer's moral sense was very well developed. He had seen the look on Malcolm's face when he had bundled the Osaarian they captured into the airlock. He knew that Reed had been debating with himself whether he should stop his Captain, but Archer suspected Reed's respect for rank had held him back. That and he probably didn't believe that Archer would actually kill the Osaarian. The frightening thing was that Archer knew he was angry enough that he could have happily spaced the Osaarian if he hadn't answered his questions. If Reed was considering this then he probably had managed to convince himself that the Tien would be safe on the M class planet.
He decided that going over this again and again was not helping him to reach any conclusions at all. He went in search of T'Pol and found her in the Command centre.
"How's it going?" asked Archer as he stepped through the hatch.
"I am making progress in understanding the Rel Sevanne's computer slowly. Although complicated, I am beginning to form a picture of some of the data systems," said T'Pol.
"Will you have something by the end of the day that can help us?" asked Archer, hopefully.
"That is doubtful," said T'Pol. "I am having to analyse each system individually. It is extremely time consuming. I have the complete science staff working on this, and I still do not think we would have a coherent picture of the computer for at least a year. This is the most complicated system that I have ever encountered."
Archer's face fell. "I wanted to discuss something with you," he said and handed her the padd with Lieutenant Reed's escape plan on it. "Malcolm brought this to me last night. I've been going over the pros and cons of letting him carry it out since 0230 and I'm just going round in circles. I was hoping you might have an opinion."
T'Pol scrolled through the padd. "I take it the Lieutenant intends to be the one to carry this out," she said.
"Of course," said Archer.
"Then I suggest we let him try," said T'Pol.
"Just like that? I thought you were all for leaving Trip on the Rel Sevanne," said Archer.
"That was before the doctor informed us that the Commander's life span would be considerably shortened by his conjoining with the Rel Sevanne's computer," said T'Pol. She had to admit that she did not understand emotions, as a Vulcan she had learnt to control them but not understand them. She did not understand humans either. She knew however that humans needed to be happy and certainly Commander Tucker had not been happy since he had entered the Expanse. He had appeared to be happy on the Rel Sevanne and so T'Pol had reached the logical conclusion that he should stay on the Rel Sevanne, but perhaps Reed was right, it also mattered how Trip gained that happiness. Logic did not always apply to humans, she reflected once again. "Even his current happiness, albeit falsely conceived, is not worth his life," she added for Archer's benefit.
"What about the Tien? We could be killing them all," said Archer. "I expected you to argue the case for non-interference."
"Logic dictates that we should try to save as many people as possible. You have made it clear that you feel we will be more likely to accomplish our mission if we have Commander Tucker. Therefore it is simply a matter of numbers, two thousand Tien lives against the lives of six billion humans," said T'Pol. "Also I notice that Lieutenant Reed mentions a Minshara class planet not more than ten light years away that the Tien could be relocated to."
"I wish I could see it as that clear cut, T'Pol," said Archer. "It's still two thousand lives that we're talking about. Even if we don't kill them then we are still talking about changing their way of life considerably. Who knows if they could even survive on that planet."
"If you were already aware of the arguments then why did you ask for my advice?" asked T'Pol.
"I suppose I was hoping that you'd thought of something that I hadn't. And sometimes it just helps to talk through something like this," said Archer.
"The lifestyle of the Tien should be protected," said T'Pol, "but not at all costs. Even Vulcans do not advocate isolationism. From the scans that I have taken, I have no reason to believe that the Tien would suffer from being relocated to a planet." T'Pol handed him back the padd that he had given her, she obviously considered this to be an end to their discussion. Archer paused to look at it once again before he turned to go.
"Thanks T'Pol, I appreciate you listening to me," said Archer and left the command centre with his decision made.
****
When Lieutenant Reed arrived at Captain Archer's ready room at exactly 0900, he knew he'd won the argument, he recognised the determined look on his Captain's face, and Archer confirmed it.
"Permission granted, Lieutenant," was all he said.
Reed knew it was going to be tough. His plan was based on three things, firstly that he had been able to discover enough about the Rel Sevanne that he could deflect their sensors long enough for him to reach the computer room, secondly that he could modify the transporter to account for the Rel Sevanne's peculiar hull makeup and finally that Trip wouldn't immediately raise the alarm as soon as he saw him. In fact not only would those three parts have to fall into place but he was also going to have to disable any cameras on his route as well, he hoped the same device that he was going to use to disrupt the sensors would also interfere with the cameras.
He knew that the computer room was too well shielded for him to beam directly into it, the only place where they'd been able to get a coherent transporter lock was the Star Chamber, so he was hoping that there weren't too many cameras between him and the computer room. The microphones worried him but he'd just have to hope that he could be quiet enough that they wouldn't pick up his movement.
Trip of course was the biggest unknown. Reed had no idea how thoroughly the Tien had managed to brainwash him, he had to hope that he wouldn't betray his friend. After they had spent most of the previous night talking he was pretty sure that although Trip wouldn't want to come with him, he wouldn't turn Reed over to the Tien. T'Pol and Phlox had already begun work on how best to disconnect Trip from the Rel Sevanne, a procedure which he might only have seconds to perform before he was discovered. And then he would have to manhandle Trip to somewhere they could beam out.
Even to his own ears it sounded impossible, dependent on so many variables and so many things going right. He pushed all that to the back of his mind, he had to get Trip back. He had given his word that he would look after Trip on the Rel Sevanne and he had broken that word. This was the only way for him to redeem himself.
It was 1700 before all the preparations were complete and Malcolm stepped onto the transporter pad. His hair was dyed white blond and he wore a reasonable facsimile of a Tien uniform. He wasn't tall enough or thin enough to really pass for a Tien but all he needed was to look enough like one that he wouldn't be stopped in a corridor. Strapped to his belt was a phase pistol, a device for creating interference in the Tien's sensors, a homing beacon which he would activate once he had reached a safe beam out location so that T'Pol could lock on to him, and a hypospray full of one of Phlox's concoctions that the doctor told Reed should keep Trip stable and unconscious long enough for Reed to bring him home.
T'Pol was at the transporter controls. The two of them had worked closely together on the transporter modifications, Vulcan technology in that area being considerably better than the human equivalent.
"Remember that these modifications are only temporary," said T'Pol as Reed stepped onto the transporter pad. "I doubt they will hold for more than one outward and one return journey."
"I understand Sub-commander," said Reed. "I only get one chance at this."
"I hope that a second chance will not be required, Lieutenant," said T'Pol.
"Usually humans just wish each other good luck," said Reed.
"Very well, good luck," said T'Pol. "T'Pol to Archer, I am ready to transport the Lieutenant to the Rel Sevanne."
"Understood," said Archer, "Give me a minute and then you can transport him."
If this part of the plan failed Reed's rescue attempt would be over before it had begun. There was a chance that the Rel Sevanne might detect their transporter signal so they needed a distraction while Reed beamed on board. Archer would contact the Rel Sevanne and demand that they return Trip. Reed wasn't sure if that would be enough to keep Trip's attention away from detecting the transporter signature but it was the only idea they had been able to come up with short of firing on the Tien ship. Something which they wanted to avoid at all costs given the Rel Sevanne's superior fire power.
"Energise, Sub-commander," said Reed, after exactly a minute had passed.
T'Pol energised the transporter and watched the Lieutenant disappear and noted that he had indeed reappeared on the Rel Sevanne. Their scanners were still being effected by the unusual composition of the Rel Sevanne's hull so they had no way of tracking Reed once he was aboard. All they could do now was wait for the Lieutenant's homing signal to beam him back.