He Who Fights With Monsters
By Thalia Drogna
*********************************************
"Hoshi, open a channel to the Rel Savanne," said Archer.
"Yes, sir, the channel is open," replied Hoshi.
"This is Captain Archer to the Rel Sevanne, I'd like to talk to you about Commander Tucker," said Archer.
"This is the Rel Sevanne," said a voice in a southern drawl that Archer recognised immediately. "What can I do for you Captain?"
"I want my Chief Engineer back," said Archer, deciding to cut straight to the chase.
"I'm sorry, sir, but that just isn't possible," said Trip.
"Trip, you're the best Engineer that I know, you have to be able to figure out a way to help the Tien. What happens when you die and there's no one to replace you?" he said. He didn't add that Trip had considerably less time than he thought he did.
"I've had a look, but this thing is pretty complicated, it's going to take me more than two days to work it out. I'm pretty sure that I can sort something out by the time they need a new Patriarch," said Trip.
So Archer's suspicions had been confirmed, Trip was working on the problem, he just needed to work faster. "Five years, Trip, that's all you've got."
"Five years? How come?" asked Trip.
"The scans Phlox took show that your brain is working too hard, you're going to burn out, Trip. Phlox reckoned five years at the most before your brain can't take the strain any longer and you die," said Archer. This wasn't the way he would have chosen to tell his friend that he only had five years to live but he hoped that it would distract Trip long enough for Reed to do what he needed to.
"Five years or fifty, it doesn't make any difference," said Trip. "If I were to leave now then I'd be condemning two thousand Tien to death. At least this way I have a chance to work something out to save them."
That wasn't exactly the reaction Archer had expected, although with hindsight he should have known the brainwashing would cancel out any self- preservation instincts that Trip had left. "Trip, please listen to me," said Archer. "Enterprise needs her Chief Engineer. If we're going to complete this mission then we need you here with us."
"I'm sorry, Captain, but you know I can't do that," said Trip and he broke the link. He had no wish to go through the reasons why he had to stay, again, for the benefit of his former Captain. It brought up a whole load of emotions in him that he didn't want to face, not least how much he would miss the friendship of Jonathan Archer, but his place was here now and griping about it wouldn't change anything. He turned his attention back to the ship.
"Ninety percent of systems are functioning within standard operational parameters," said the nanites. "Warp engines, Jerel, Lirat and Devas, still under repair. Intermittent malfunction in internal sensors. Power grid in section twelve has failed and is under repair. Bridge systems still experiencing malfunctions." Trip listening as they reeled off the list of malfunctions and repairs needed to the Rel Sevanne including a jammed door in section five. Some of it he could fix, some of it the nanites could take care of and some of it he'd have to speak to Shar Jen about sending some of her engineers to deal with. He estimated it would be another five hours before all the repairs were done and they would be able to leave. Time was running out, they had to get underway as quickly as they could.
"Wait," said Trip. "An internal sensor malfunction? Where?"
The nanites brought up the schematic of the sensors and indicated the area of the malfunction.
"That malfunction isn't intermittent, it's moving," said Trip to the nanites, "and it's coming this way. Do a scan of Enterprise, how many biosigns are aboard?"
"Eighty," replied the nanites.
"Damn it, the Captain pulled a fast one on me. I'd bet my right arm that Malcolm beamed over here while I was talking to Enterprise," said Trip.
"Possible transporter signature detected," said the nanites. "Sixteen minutes ago, in the star chamber."
"He's nearly here," said Trip. "I'm guessing he's come to take me back to Enterprise." Suddenly he was torn, he didn't know what to do. He knew he didn't want to go back to Enterprise, he had to protect the Tien, but he didn't want to hurt Malcolm either. "Damn it, why couldn't they just leave well alone."
"Unknown," said the nanites.
"I wasn't talking to you," he replied. "Hello Malcolm," he said out loud as a platinum blond figure in a Tien uniform entered the computer room. "You're a little short to be a Tien."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Commander," said the familiar British accent.
"I know what you're here for Malcolm and you'd best just turn around and go home now, 'cause I'm not coming with you," said Trip.
"Look, Trip, this isn't you. It's the Rel Sevanne. It's brainwashing you into wanting to stay. The computer has a built in programme to convince you that you're pleased to be a part of it and you need to protect the Tien. Remember how you felt about being joined with the computer, you weren't happy then, were you?"
"No, but I didn't know what it was going to be like. Besides, now I'm here, it feels right. We've been over this before, I'm not leaving the Tien to die."
"They wouldn't have to die," said Reed. "There's a Minshara class planet near by. We could ferry them to the planet and everyone would be safe."
"No, no they wouldn't. You don't understand the situation. You leave the Tien on a planet and you'll have signed their death warrant," said Trip.
"Why don't you explain the situation to me then? Help me understand why you're so determined to sacrifice your life for these people," said Reed.
"I can't. Just take it from me that off loading the Tien onto a planet would mean their deaths," said Trip. "If I tell you then I'm placing you and Enterprise in the same danger the Tien face right now. The best thing that can happen is for us to repair our engines and get underway."
"Trip, I don't have time to argue with you. You're coming with me," said Reed and he moved towards the cylinder that contained Trip's body and pulled open the black covering.
"Don't make me hurt you, Malcolm," said Trip.
"Trip, I'm your friend. You remember Risa don't you? And playing Mah Jongg with Hoshi and Travis? Getting drunk on the Captain's bourbon in the Shuttlepod? Hell, getting drunk on your birthday last year? For god's sake, some of that must still mean something to you?" said Reed angrily, but he kept working on the cylinder.
"It still means a lot to me, Malcolm," said Trip. "You'll always be my friend. But you have to realise this isn't about Trip and Malcolm anymore, this is Lieutenant Reed and Trip En Ath Tucker, Patriarch of the Tien. I wish it could be another way and I wish I didn't have to do this." The doors of the computer room opened to reveal Nils Fen and a compliment of his security officers.
"Lieutenant Reed," said Nils Fen. "Stop what you're doing and step away from the Patriarch."
Reed straightened up from his work on the cylinder and turned to face the Tien Weapons Master. His hand automatically went to his phase pistol.
"I wouldn't do that, Malcolm," said Trip. "You're outnumbered ten to one. Put the phase pistol on the floor."
Reed carefully removed the phase pistol from the holster as if to drop it on the ground. And in one fluid movement had stunned three Tien guards before Nils Fen had time to react. Reed moved towards the cover of a computer bank but he didn't make it. Nils Fen's marksmanship was excellent and he stunned the Armoury officer before he could get to safety.
"Why'd you have to go and do that, Malcolm?" asked the exasperated voice of the Tien Patriarch. "He'll be okay won't he?" he asked Nils Fen.
Nils Fen went to the sprawled form of Lieutenant Reed and felt for a pulse. "His pulse is strong, he should come round in about half an hour or so. I'll put him in a holding cell until then."
"Okay, Enterprise can come and pick him up before we leave, but we'd best hang onto him until then. He'll only think up some other harebrained scheme to get me out of here if we let him go back to Enterprise. Get the doctor down to have a look at him just to be on the safe side."
"Yes, Patriarch," said Nils Fen. He ordered two of his men to pick Malcolm up and take him to a holding cell.
"What happened?" said Shar Jen, from the doorway. She saw the guards and rushed across to check on Trip. His vital signs were displayed on a panel beside the cylinder.
"Just Enterprise trying to get its Chief Engineer back," said Trip. "I told you they'd have to try, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. Are you okay?" said Shar Jen.
"I feel fine but just check the cylinder. Malcolm was pretty intent on getting me out of here," said Trip. "Ordering Nils Fen down here was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
"I know, En," said Shar Jen. "But it was the right thing to do. I'm proud of you." Trip noted her use of his second name, something which signalled intimacy among the Tien. To the Tien it was like calling someone "darling" or "love". Trip decided that he quite liked it but that didn't make him feel any better about what he'd just done to Malcolm.
"Still, I wish I didn't have to do that," said Trip. "I don't think Malcolm's ever going to speak to me again and the Captain's going to be real mad."
"None of that concerns you anymore, En," said Shar Jen. She felt the waves of guilt that were emanating from him and wanted to soothe him but wasn't sure how.
"You're right," said Trip. "But it's going to take me a little while to get used to that."
Nils Fen handed Shar Jen the equipment which Reed had been carrying. "Interesting," said Shar Jen as she examined it. "This is how he was able to disrupt the internal sensors. And this is almost certainly a homing beacon, something for their transporter to lock onto."
"Yeah, Malcolm wouldn't have come over here without a plan for getting back again. I guess I'd better contact Enterprise and let them know Malcolm's okay."
"You don't have to," said Shar Jen.
"Yes, I do," replied Trip. "Rel Sevanne to Enterprise," he said.
"This is Enterprise," said Hoshi.
"Hoshi, put the Captain on," said Trip.
"Yes, Commander," said Hoshi.
"Archer here, go ahead Trip."
"I just thought you might like to know that we found Malcolm wandering around the corridors," said Trip.
"What have you done with him?" asked Archer, Trip could hear the concern in his voice.
"Don't worry, he's okay, or at least he will be when the stun wears off. I've got the doctor checking him over, just to be sure," said Trip.
"You shot him?" said Archer, obviously angry.
"Well we wouldn't have had to if he hadn't decided to play hero and make life difficult for himself," said Trip.
"I want him back. Now. You can bring him to us or we can send a shuttle pod over, it's up to you," said Archer.
"Sorry, Captain, I think we'll hang onto him for a little while. You'll get him back before we leave, but if I give him back, he'll hatch another plan and then we'll be back where we are now."
"Trip, I don't care what you think, I want my Armoury officer back on Enterprise," said Archer.
"No can do. The Tien are a bit protective of their Patriarch and having Malcolm sit in a holding cell for a while will make everyone feel better. Besides, you can't tell me you didn't know about what Malcolm was doing," said Trip. "From the bits and pieces he was carrying, I'd say T'Pol was in on it as well."
"What do you want me to say, Trip. We want our Chief Engineer back," said Archer.
"At the expense of my ship and over two thousand Tien," said Trip.
"It isn't your ship, you're not a Tien," said Archer.
"That doesn't matter. I'm their protector. If you take me away they have nothing," said Trip.
"But the planet..." began Archer.
"Would be like signing their death warrant," said Trip. "It's not an option."
"Why isn't it an option, Commander, what am I missing here?" said Archer.
"I can't give you that information, Captain," said Trip. "And I'm not a Commander anymore, I'd appreciate it if you'd accept my resignation."
"You know I won't do that," said Archer.
"You're going to have to," said Trip, "because I'm not coming back." And with that he broke the connection.
****
Reed awoke to find himself in a small but relatively comfortable cell. He was lying on a narrow bunk covered by a blanket. He groaned slightly at the ache in his chest that he knew was from a stun blast and did his best to sit up.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up," said a familiar voice.
"Well when you've been stunned by a phaser it takes a little time to regain consciousness," replied Reed, in a matter of fact tone. "Perhaps a better question would be why the bloody hell was I stunned with a phase pistol on the order of my so-called friend!"
"Sorry about that but you really didn't give us any choice," said Trip.
"So what are you going to do with me? Execution, torture, wire me into your computer?" asked Reed, sarcastically.
"Oh give me a break, Malcolm, you're the one who decided to mount a covert mission to an alien ship. I should damn well execute you for the sheer stupidity that you displayed, except that then the Captain would be even more pissed off with me than he is already," said Trip in exasperated tones.
"The only mistake I made was getting caught," retorted Reed indignantly.
"Just how did you think this was going to work?" asked Trip. "I mean how exactly were you planning on getting me out of here before I called the guards? You're just lucky that I reminded everyone to set their weapons to stun otherwise you might never have woken up."
"You weren't meant to call the guards," said Reed. "You were meant to have enough friendship left for me that I had time to get you out of that glass box they put you in. Once you were out I had the hypospray that you found on me to knock you out so that I could get you back to Enterprise. Of course it turned out that, as usual, anyone I let get close to me betrays me. Maybe we should have sent Captain Archer."
"It wouldn't have made any difference who you sent, Malcolm. It wasn't because I don't value our friendship, I do and I'm going to miss everyone on Enterprise. How many times do I have to say this, my priorities have changed, I've gained a hell of a lot of responsibilities all of sudden and one life doesn't weight against two thousand."
"I suppose that's meant to make me feel better?" asked Reed crossly.
"I didn't expect you to be happy, but I hoped you'd at least understand," said Trip.
"Well I don't. I don't understand how you can throw away a friendship of three years just because your situation has changed and I don't understand why you can't see that we need you on Enterprise just as much as the Tien need you here," said Reed.
"It isn't about whether Enterprise needs me, it's about the fact that the Tien will die if I leave," said Trip.
There was a moment of silence. Reed knew when he was fighting a loosing battle. "You didn't tell me what you're going to do with me," said Reed.
"I spoke to the Captain, he knows you're okay, so I'm just going to hang onto you until it's time for us to leave so you can't cause me any more trouble," said Trip. Reed could imagine him smiling as he said it, if his body hadn't been immobilised. Trip had always enjoyed annoying him.
"You realise if we ever get out of this I'm going to make you pay dearly for this," said Reed through gritted teeth.
"I'm sure you will," said Trip. "If you need anything, just call for me, it's what everyone else does. Would you believe I'm holding a conversation about a broken shower at the same time as I'm talking to you? I guess the work of a Patriarch is never done. This definitely wasn't in the job description."
"There was no job description," replied Reed, but Trip didn't answer and he assumed that the broken shower now had the Patriarch's full attention. Silently he thought to himself that Trip had been right on at least one point, it was sheer stupidity to think that his plan might actually have worked. He should have known better than to try to persuade a victim of brainwashing that they didn't quite have the correct world view. How are you going to get the two of you out of this one, he thought.
****
The ceremony was simple. All the members of the Senior Council were present. Kris Nor read from the Book.
"The Goddess said to the Tien that they should take from the sky what they needed to protect themselves from the Darkness. And the Tien built the sky chariots that they might search the sky for arms to protect themselves from the Darkness," he read. "The Tien are the chosen people of the Goddess and she will guide us through the sky to find the destruction of the Darkness. The Darkness came to Tien looking to devour us, but fled from the surface when it found the people gone. The Goddess told the Tien that the Darkness has only a short time before it reaches its end. Time slips away from the Darkness with each year that the Tien evades it's grip."
Trip knew the significance of the passage that the Exarch had read, it was the Tien's justification for taking him away from his home and friends. It was also more than just that though, it described the reason why the Tien had left their homeworld. They were running from the Darkness which had chased them across light years. This was not just part of the Tien religion, it was part of their history.
"Trip En Ath Tucker, you are to be designated Patriarch of the Tien. It is your duty to serve the Rel Sevanne and her people. Do you accept this honour?" asked Kris Nor.
"Yes, I accept this honour," replied Trip. "I will serve the Rel Sevanne and her people until my end." As a computer, he didn't have to worry about fluffing his lines, everything was stored in the memory banks, including the Patriarch's inauguration ceremony. The ceremony was being broadcast to the whole ship and in a cell in the depths of the Rel Sevanne he could hear a certain Armoury officer ranting at him. He'd watched Reed pace backwards and forwards ever since he'd been placed in the cell. The Lieutenant had always been bad at waiting, especially when there was nothing for him to do.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. No! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!" shouted Reed at the ceiling of his cell. "You're a complete bloody fool." He slammed his hand into the wall, he couldn't believe that Trip was doing this to him. How could the damn idiot do this? "Listen to me, Trip. Stop this, you're not Trip En Ath Tucker, you're Commander Charles Tucker III. This is not who you are, you belong on Enterprise. You're not their Patriarch. You're not meant to be part of their computer and you're not bloody well staying!"
"Sorry, Malcolm," said Trip. "This is one time when I can't listen to you."
"Trip En Ath Tucker," said Kris Nor, "you are to be designated Patriarch. It is your duty to protect the Rel Sevanne and her people. Do you accept this honour?"
"Yes, I accept this honour," said Trip. "I will protect the Rel Sevanne and her people until my end."
"Trip! Do you hear me! Don't say another word. You're Commander Charles Tucker III, Chief Engineer of Enterprise!" shouted Reed desperately.
"Trip En Ath Tucker," said Kris Nor, "you are to be designated Patriarch. It is your duty to govern the Rel Sevanne and her people justly. Do you accept this honour?"
"Yes, I accept this honour," said Trip. "I will govern the Rel Sevanne and her people justly until my end."
"Trip En Ath Tucker, I hereby designate you Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne and her people," said Kris Nor. "The people of the Rel Sevanne pledge you their support and loyalty until your end."
And the whole of the Rel Sevanne chanted the answer, "we pledge you our support and our loyalty until the end."
"We hope the goddess will look favourably upon your Patriarchy," said Kris Nor. There was further scripture and then a bell was rung and that was the end of the ceremony. Trip was officially part of the Tien people and he could still hear Malcolm shouting at him down in his cell. It was time that they sent Malcolm home, Trip reminded himself, and that the Rel Sevanne got under way.
"Nils Fen, take Lieutenant Reed out of his cell and escort him to the shuttle bay. Get one of your men to run him back to Enterprise," said Trip.
"Yes, Patriarch," said Nils Fen.
"Time for you to go home, Malcolm," said Trip to the occupant of the holding cell who was now sitting on his bed silently, looking defeated.
"Why the hell did you do it?" asked Reed.
"Because we don't have any time left, Malcolm. We've got to get underway. The repairs are completed, there's no reason for us to stay. And Enterprise needs to continue on its Mission too, you have to do that for me. You have to stop the Xindi for me. Please Malcolm," said Trip.
"So that's it, you're just giving up," said Reed.
"No, I'm not giving up, I'm still working on a way for the Tien to survive once I'm gone and now I know that I've only got five years, well that's just added incentive to get it done quicker," said Trip. "You've been a good friend to me Malcolm and I'm going to miss you. Hell, I'm going to miss everyone on Enterprise. I've sent Hoshi some letters for my folks back home, I'd consider it a favour if you'd make sure that they get them when you're next back on Earth."
"Of course, Commander," said Reed. He couldn't bring himself to fight with Trip any longer, he didn't want their last words to each other to be an argument.
"It's been an honour serving with you, Malcolm," said Trip.
"You too, sir," said Reed, trying very hard to keep the emotion out of his voice. And suddenly sirens were wailing and the lights changed to red across the Rel Sevanne. "What's going on?" asked Reed.
"The Darkness just found us," was Trip's only reply.
By Thalia Drogna
*********************************************
"Hoshi, open a channel to the Rel Savanne," said Archer.
"Yes, sir, the channel is open," replied Hoshi.
"This is Captain Archer to the Rel Sevanne, I'd like to talk to you about Commander Tucker," said Archer.
"This is the Rel Sevanne," said a voice in a southern drawl that Archer recognised immediately. "What can I do for you Captain?"
"I want my Chief Engineer back," said Archer, deciding to cut straight to the chase.
"I'm sorry, sir, but that just isn't possible," said Trip.
"Trip, you're the best Engineer that I know, you have to be able to figure out a way to help the Tien. What happens when you die and there's no one to replace you?" he said. He didn't add that Trip had considerably less time than he thought he did.
"I've had a look, but this thing is pretty complicated, it's going to take me more than two days to work it out. I'm pretty sure that I can sort something out by the time they need a new Patriarch," said Trip.
So Archer's suspicions had been confirmed, Trip was working on the problem, he just needed to work faster. "Five years, Trip, that's all you've got."
"Five years? How come?" asked Trip.
"The scans Phlox took show that your brain is working too hard, you're going to burn out, Trip. Phlox reckoned five years at the most before your brain can't take the strain any longer and you die," said Archer. This wasn't the way he would have chosen to tell his friend that he only had five years to live but he hoped that it would distract Trip long enough for Reed to do what he needed to.
"Five years or fifty, it doesn't make any difference," said Trip. "If I were to leave now then I'd be condemning two thousand Tien to death. At least this way I have a chance to work something out to save them."
That wasn't exactly the reaction Archer had expected, although with hindsight he should have known the brainwashing would cancel out any self- preservation instincts that Trip had left. "Trip, please listen to me," said Archer. "Enterprise needs her Chief Engineer. If we're going to complete this mission then we need you here with us."
"I'm sorry, Captain, but you know I can't do that," said Trip and he broke the link. He had no wish to go through the reasons why he had to stay, again, for the benefit of his former Captain. It brought up a whole load of emotions in him that he didn't want to face, not least how much he would miss the friendship of Jonathan Archer, but his place was here now and griping about it wouldn't change anything. He turned his attention back to the ship.
"Ninety percent of systems are functioning within standard operational parameters," said the nanites. "Warp engines, Jerel, Lirat and Devas, still under repair. Intermittent malfunction in internal sensors. Power grid in section twelve has failed and is under repair. Bridge systems still experiencing malfunctions." Trip listening as they reeled off the list of malfunctions and repairs needed to the Rel Sevanne including a jammed door in section five. Some of it he could fix, some of it the nanites could take care of and some of it he'd have to speak to Shar Jen about sending some of her engineers to deal with. He estimated it would be another five hours before all the repairs were done and they would be able to leave. Time was running out, they had to get underway as quickly as they could.
"Wait," said Trip. "An internal sensor malfunction? Where?"
The nanites brought up the schematic of the sensors and indicated the area of the malfunction.
"That malfunction isn't intermittent, it's moving," said Trip to the nanites, "and it's coming this way. Do a scan of Enterprise, how many biosigns are aboard?"
"Eighty," replied the nanites.
"Damn it, the Captain pulled a fast one on me. I'd bet my right arm that Malcolm beamed over here while I was talking to Enterprise," said Trip.
"Possible transporter signature detected," said the nanites. "Sixteen minutes ago, in the star chamber."
"He's nearly here," said Trip. "I'm guessing he's come to take me back to Enterprise." Suddenly he was torn, he didn't know what to do. He knew he didn't want to go back to Enterprise, he had to protect the Tien, but he didn't want to hurt Malcolm either. "Damn it, why couldn't they just leave well alone."
"Unknown," said the nanites.
"I wasn't talking to you," he replied. "Hello Malcolm," he said out loud as a platinum blond figure in a Tien uniform entered the computer room. "You're a little short to be a Tien."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Commander," said the familiar British accent.
"I know what you're here for Malcolm and you'd best just turn around and go home now, 'cause I'm not coming with you," said Trip.
"Look, Trip, this isn't you. It's the Rel Sevanne. It's brainwashing you into wanting to stay. The computer has a built in programme to convince you that you're pleased to be a part of it and you need to protect the Tien. Remember how you felt about being joined with the computer, you weren't happy then, were you?"
"No, but I didn't know what it was going to be like. Besides, now I'm here, it feels right. We've been over this before, I'm not leaving the Tien to die."
"They wouldn't have to die," said Reed. "There's a Minshara class planet near by. We could ferry them to the planet and everyone would be safe."
"No, no they wouldn't. You don't understand the situation. You leave the Tien on a planet and you'll have signed their death warrant," said Trip.
"Why don't you explain the situation to me then? Help me understand why you're so determined to sacrifice your life for these people," said Reed.
"I can't. Just take it from me that off loading the Tien onto a planet would mean their deaths," said Trip. "If I tell you then I'm placing you and Enterprise in the same danger the Tien face right now. The best thing that can happen is for us to repair our engines and get underway."
"Trip, I don't have time to argue with you. You're coming with me," said Reed and he moved towards the cylinder that contained Trip's body and pulled open the black covering.
"Don't make me hurt you, Malcolm," said Trip.
"Trip, I'm your friend. You remember Risa don't you? And playing Mah Jongg with Hoshi and Travis? Getting drunk on the Captain's bourbon in the Shuttlepod? Hell, getting drunk on your birthday last year? For god's sake, some of that must still mean something to you?" said Reed angrily, but he kept working on the cylinder.
"It still means a lot to me, Malcolm," said Trip. "You'll always be my friend. But you have to realise this isn't about Trip and Malcolm anymore, this is Lieutenant Reed and Trip En Ath Tucker, Patriarch of the Tien. I wish it could be another way and I wish I didn't have to do this." The doors of the computer room opened to reveal Nils Fen and a compliment of his security officers.
"Lieutenant Reed," said Nils Fen. "Stop what you're doing and step away from the Patriarch."
Reed straightened up from his work on the cylinder and turned to face the Tien Weapons Master. His hand automatically went to his phase pistol.
"I wouldn't do that, Malcolm," said Trip. "You're outnumbered ten to one. Put the phase pistol on the floor."
Reed carefully removed the phase pistol from the holster as if to drop it on the ground. And in one fluid movement had stunned three Tien guards before Nils Fen had time to react. Reed moved towards the cover of a computer bank but he didn't make it. Nils Fen's marksmanship was excellent and he stunned the Armoury officer before he could get to safety.
"Why'd you have to go and do that, Malcolm?" asked the exasperated voice of the Tien Patriarch. "He'll be okay won't he?" he asked Nils Fen.
Nils Fen went to the sprawled form of Lieutenant Reed and felt for a pulse. "His pulse is strong, he should come round in about half an hour or so. I'll put him in a holding cell until then."
"Okay, Enterprise can come and pick him up before we leave, but we'd best hang onto him until then. He'll only think up some other harebrained scheme to get me out of here if we let him go back to Enterprise. Get the doctor down to have a look at him just to be on the safe side."
"Yes, Patriarch," said Nils Fen. He ordered two of his men to pick Malcolm up and take him to a holding cell.
"What happened?" said Shar Jen, from the doorway. She saw the guards and rushed across to check on Trip. His vital signs were displayed on a panel beside the cylinder.
"Just Enterprise trying to get its Chief Engineer back," said Trip. "I told you they'd have to try, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. Are you okay?" said Shar Jen.
"I feel fine but just check the cylinder. Malcolm was pretty intent on getting me out of here," said Trip. "Ordering Nils Fen down here was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
"I know, En," said Shar Jen. "But it was the right thing to do. I'm proud of you." Trip noted her use of his second name, something which signalled intimacy among the Tien. To the Tien it was like calling someone "darling" or "love". Trip decided that he quite liked it but that didn't make him feel any better about what he'd just done to Malcolm.
"Still, I wish I didn't have to do that," said Trip. "I don't think Malcolm's ever going to speak to me again and the Captain's going to be real mad."
"None of that concerns you anymore, En," said Shar Jen. She felt the waves of guilt that were emanating from him and wanted to soothe him but wasn't sure how.
"You're right," said Trip. "But it's going to take me a little while to get used to that."
Nils Fen handed Shar Jen the equipment which Reed had been carrying. "Interesting," said Shar Jen as she examined it. "This is how he was able to disrupt the internal sensors. And this is almost certainly a homing beacon, something for their transporter to lock onto."
"Yeah, Malcolm wouldn't have come over here without a plan for getting back again. I guess I'd better contact Enterprise and let them know Malcolm's okay."
"You don't have to," said Shar Jen.
"Yes, I do," replied Trip. "Rel Sevanne to Enterprise," he said.
"This is Enterprise," said Hoshi.
"Hoshi, put the Captain on," said Trip.
"Yes, Commander," said Hoshi.
"Archer here, go ahead Trip."
"I just thought you might like to know that we found Malcolm wandering around the corridors," said Trip.
"What have you done with him?" asked Archer, Trip could hear the concern in his voice.
"Don't worry, he's okay, or at least he will be when the stun wears off. I've got the doctor checking him over, just to be sure," said Trip.
"You shot him?" said Archer, obviously angry.
"Well we wouldn't have had to if he hadn't decided to play hero and make life difficult for himself," said Trip.
"I want him back. Now. You can bring him to us or we can send a shuttle pod over, it's up to you," said Archer.
"Sorry, Captain, I think we'll hang onto him for a little while. You'll get him back before we leave, but if I give him back, he'll hatch another plan and then we'll be back where we are now."
"Trip, I don't care what you think, I want my Armoury officer back on Enterprise," said Archer.
"No can do. The Tien are a bit protective of their Patriarch and having Malcolm sit in a holding cell for a while will make everyone feel better. Besides, you can't tell me you didn't know about what Malcolm was doing," said Trip. "From the bits and pieces he was carrying, I'd say T'Pol was in on it as well."
"What do you want me to say, Trip. We want our Chief Engineer back," said Archer.
"At the expense of my ship and over two thousand Tien," said Trip.
"It isn't your ship, you're not a Tien," said Archer.
"That doesn't matter. I'm their protector. If you take me away they have nothing," said Trip.
"But the planet..." began Archer.
"Would be like signing their death warrant," said Trip. "It's not an option."
"Why isn't it an option, Commander, what am I missing here?" said Archer.
"I can't give you that information, Captain," said Trip. "And I'm not a Commander anymore, I'd appreciate it if you'd accept my resignation."
"You know I won't do that," said Archer.
"You're going to have to," said Trip, "because I'm not coming back." And with that he broke the connection.
****
Reed awoke to find himself in a small but relatively comfortable cell. He was lying on a narrow bunk covered by a blanket. He groaned slightly at the ache in his chest that he knew was from a stun blast and did his best to sit up.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up," said a familiar voice.
"Well when you've been stunned by a phaser it takes a little time to regain consciousness," replied Reed, in a matter of fact tone. "Perhaps a better question would be why the bloody hell was I stunned with a phase pistol on the order of my so-called friend!"
"Sorry about that but you really didn't give us any choice," said Trip.
"So what are you going to do with me? Execution, torture, wire me into your computer?" asked Reed, sarcastically.
"Oh give me a break, Malcolm, you're the one who decided to mount a covert mission to an alien ship. I should damn well execute you for the sheer stupidity that you displayed, except that then the Captain would be even more pissed off with me than he is already," said Trip in exasperated tones.
"The only mistake I made was getting caught," retorted Reed indignantly.
"Just how did you think this was going to work?" asked Trip. "I mean how exactly were you planning on getting me out of here before I called the guards? You're just lucky that I reminded everyone to set their weapons to stun otherwise you might never have woken up."
"You weren't meant to call the guards," said Reed. "You were meant to have enough friendship left for me that I had time to get you out of that glass box they put you in. Once you were out I had the hypospray that you found on me to knock you out so that I could get you back to Enterprise. Of course it turned out that, as usual, anyone I let get close to me betrays me. Maybe we should have sent Captain Archer."
"It wouldn't have made any difference who you sent, Malcolm. It wasn't because I don't value our friendship, I do and I'm going to miss everyone on Enterprise. How many times do I have to say this, my priorities have changed, I've gained a hell of a lot of responsibilities all of sudden and one life doesn't weight against two thousand."
"I suppose that's meant to make me feel better?" asked Reed crossly.
"I didn't expect you to be happy, but I hoped you'd at least understand," said Trip.
"Well I don't. I don't understand how you can throw away a friendship of three years just because your situation has changed and I don't understand why you can't see that we need you on Enterprise just as much as the Tien need you here," said Reed.
"It isn't about whether Enterprise needs me, it's about the fact that the Tien will die if I leave," said Trip.
There was a moment of silence. Reed knew when he was fighting a loosing battle. "You didn't tell me what you're going to do with me," said Reed.
"I spoke to the Captain, he knows you're okay, so I'm just going to hang onto you until it's time for us to leave so you can't cause me any more trouble," said Trip. Reed could imagine him smiling as he said it, if his body hadn't been immobilised. Trip had always enjoyed annoying him.
"You realise if we ever get out of this I'm going to make you pay dearly for this," said Reed through gritted teeth.
"I'm sure you will," said Trip. "If you need anything, just call for me, it's what everyone else does. Would you believe I'm holding a conversation about a broken shower at the same time as I'm talking to you? I guess the work of a Patriarch is never done. This definitely wasn't in the job description."
"There was no job description," replied Reed, but Trip didn't answer and he assumed that the broken shower now had the Patriarch's full attention. Silently he thought to himself that Trip had been right on at least one point, it was sheer stupidity to think that his plan might actually have worked. He should have known better than to try to persuade a victim of brainwashing that they didn't quite have the correct world view. How are you going to get the two of you out of this one, he thought.
****
The ceremony was simple. All the members of the Senior Council were present. Kris Nor read from the Book.
"The Goddess said to the Tien that they should take from the sky what they needed to protect themselves from the Darkness. And the Tien built the sky chariots that they might search the sky for arms to protect themselves from the Darkness," he read. "The Tien are the chosen people of the Goddess and she will guide us through the sky to find the destruction of the Darkness. The Darkness came to Tien looking to devour us, but fled from the surface when it found the people gone. The Goddess told the Tien that the Darkness has only a short time before it reaches its end. Time slips away from the Darkness with each year that the Tien evades it's grip."
Trip knew the significance of the passage that the Exarch had read, it was the Tien's justification for taking him away from his home and friends. It was also more than just that though, it described the reason why the Tien had left their homeworld. They were running from the Darkness which had chased them across light years. This was not just part of the Tien religion, it was part of their history.
"Trip En Ath Tucker, you are to be designated Patriarch of the Tien. It is your duty to serve the Rel Sevanne and her people. Do you accept this honour?" asked Kris Nor.
"Yes, I accept this honour," replied Trip. "I will serve the Rel Sevanne and her people until my end." As a computer, he didn't have to worry about fluffing his lines, everything was stored in the memory banks, including the Patriarch's inauguration ceremony. The ceremony was being broadcast to the whole ship and in a cell in the depths of the Rel Sevanne he could hear a certain Armoury officer ranting at him. He'd watched Reed pace backwards and forwards ever since he'd been placed in the cell. The Lieutenant had always been bad at waiting, especially when there was nothing for him to do.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. No! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!" shouted Reed at the ceiling of his cell. "You're a complete bloody fool." He slammed his hand into the wall, he couldn't believe that Trip was doing this to him. How could the damn idiot do this? "Listen to me, Trip. Stop this, you're not Trip En Ath Tucker, you're Commander Charles Tucker III. This is not who you are, you belong on Enterprise. You're not their Patriarch. You're not meant to be part of their computer and you're not bloody well staying!"
"Sorry, Malcolm," said Trip. "This is one time when I can't listen to you."
"Trip En Ath Tucker," said Kris Nor, "you are to be designated Patriarch. It is your duty to protect the Rel Sevanne and her people. Do you accept this honour?"
"Yes, I accept this honour," said Trip. "I will protect the Rel Sevanne and her people until my end."
"Trip! Do you hear me! Don't say another word. You're Commander Charles Tucker III, Chief Engineer of Enterprise!" shouted Reed desperately.
"Trip En Ath Tucker," said Kris Nor, "you are to be designated Patriarch. It is your duty to govern the Rel Sevanne and her people justly. Do you accept this honour?"
"Yes, I accept this honour," said Trip. "I will govern the Rel Sevanne and her people justly until my end."
"Trip En Ath Tucker, I hereby designate you Patriarch of the Rel Sevanne and her people," said Kris Nor. "The people of the Rel Sevanne pledge you their support and loyalty until your end."
And the whole of the Rel Sevanne chanted the answer, "we pledge you our support and our loyalty until the end."
"We hope the goddess will look favourably upon your Patriarchy," said Kris Nor. There was further scripture and then a bell was rung and that was the end of the ceremony. Trip was officially part of the Tien people and he could still hear Malcolm shouting at him down in his cell. It was time that they sent Malcolm home, Trip reminded himself, and that the Rel Sevanne got under way.
"Nils Fen, take Lieutenant Reed out of his cell and escort him to the shuttle bay. Get one of your men to run him back to Enterprise," said Trip.
"Yes, Patriarch," said Nils Fen.
"Time for you to go home, Malcolm," said Trip to the occupant of the holding cell who was now sitting on his bed silently, looking defeated.
"Why the hell did you do it?" asked Reed.
"Because we don't have any time left, Malcolm. We've got to get underway. The repairs are completed, there's no reason for us to stay. And Enterprise needs to continue on its Mission too, you have to do that for me. You have to stop the Xindi for me. Please Malcolm," said Trip.
"So that's it, you're just giving up," said Reed.
"No, I'm not giving up, I'm still working on a way for the Tien to survive once I'm gone and now I know that I've only got five years, well that's just added incentive to get it done quicker," said Trip. "You've been a good friend to me Malcolm and I'm going to miss you. Hell, I'm going to miss everyone on Enterprise. I've sent Hoshi some letters for my folks back home, I'd consider it a favour if you'd make sure that they get them when you're next back on Earth."
"Of course, Commander," said Reed. He couldn't bring himself to fight with Trip any longer, he didn't want their last words to each other to be an argument.
"It's been an honour serving with you, Malcolm," said Trip.
"You too, sir," said Reed, trying very hard to keep the emotion out of his voice. And suddenly sirens were wailing and the lights changed to red across the Rel Sevanne. "What's going on?" asked Reed.
"The Darkness just found us," was Trip's only reply.