Title: "2084"
Author: Quills
Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com
Series: ENT
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain from
this story.
Codes: T/Tu angst, drama, romance, humor, action/adventure
Summary: This is a "Somewhere in Time" type story. It takes place in the
Enterprise universe as seen on TV, but about 70 years before Enterprise.
chapter 2
Sgt. Trip Tucker stood in the marina parking lot. He was beginning to realize how stupid walking out on T'Pol had been....especially since she had the keys to the car. He sighed and turned around heading back to his boat. Then he saw T'Pol coming down the walkway. It was going to be a long day.
"The car is parked at the end of this section," she said walking past him.
He shook his head and followed her down the parking lot. They had been issued a black 2082 model Buick. Like it's unmarked police car predecessors it stuck out like a sore thumb and Trip spotted it right away. T'Pol walked over to the car and started to unlock the driver's side door when Trip called out to her.
"What do you think your doing?" he asked as he walked up to her.
She gave him a puzzled look "I am opening the car door."
"No, no darlin," he corrected her. "Your not drivin'." He took the keys from her and slid into the driver's seat. Trip leaned out the window and thumbed towards the passenger section.
T'pol raised an eyebrow and shook her head in an obvious sigh. "This is going to be a long day." she thought.
- - - - - - - - - - - - 20 minutes later - - - - - - - - - - - -
The two officers pulled into the 76th street Miami/Dade Metro Police Precinct. Officers called it the "76". Trip Tucker had called it home for the last eight years. He had started as a Detective third grade in the vice and narcotics division before taking his current assignment in homicide. At one time, the vice squad was an extremely high profile position for more seasoned detectives, but with the arrival of the Vulcans and first contact, drugs and vice took the same route as war and famine. Though they still existed, many of the problems of the world seemed to have solved themselves when people found out they weren't alone in the universe. However, Trip Tucker was quite certain his job was secure...at least for the foreseeable future.
He pulled into the official parking area and brought the car to a stop. He and T'Pol exited the care and headed for the precinct building but were stopped by a uniformed female officer coming down the main stairs.
"Hey Trip, Captain Forrest wants to see the two of you as soon as you check in," she told him.
"What about?" asked the detective not holding back his annoyance.
"How the hell do I know," the officer responded. "What do I look like...your friggin' secretary?"
"Yeah...get me a coffee," he told her. "two sugars."
"Up yours Tucker," she said walking off.
T'Pol looked at Trip. "Apparently, you foster a great deal of respect and admiration among your fellow officers."
"Yeah, she loves me," he said sarcastically.
"Apparently," she responded shaking here head.
"Come on, lets go find out what the Cap'n wants."
- - - - - - -
Tucker and T'Pol entered Captain James Forrest's office. Forrest was a seasoned police officer with over 20 years uniform and plain clothes experience with the Miami/Dade police. He was a hard nosed kind of cop who didn't brook any bullshit. Of course, this put him at constant odds with Trip Tucker. One of his best detectives but also one of his worst when it came to style and procedures. The only thing that kept him from kicking Tucker clear off the department was the Sergeants 96% closure record on homicide cases. It was the reason he gave Tucker as much leeway as he did.
"Cap'n, you wanted to see us," said Tucker as he entered the room.
"Where the hell have you two been!" shouted the Captain.
T'Pol bristled for a moment. She would never understand the human need for maximum volume to convey a purpose.
"What?" was all Tucker could get out.
"Zip it Tucker," said the Captain. "Did you two file your report for last nights investigation? I got the Vulcan High Command breathing down my neck for an update on the case."
"Already done Cap'n," said Tucker. "It's in the detectives daily briefs."
"Good," said the Captain with a grumble.
"I always try to anticipate your every request," said Tucker sarcastically.
"If I thought that I'd be the Sergeant and you'd be the Captain."
"No thanks, I don't want a demotion," replied Tucker.
The Captain just glared at him for a moment but realized he was just being baited. "Here, have a look at this."
"What is it?" asked Tucker as he took the data padd.
"It's a report we got from the South Beach division," explained the Captain." It seems an off world shipment that was supposedly earmarked for the Vulcan Compound in Frisco got diverted to the customs holding facility over in South Beach."
Tucker looked the report over, but couldn't make heads or tales of it beyond the fact that a container had been stolen. He handed it off to T'Pol.
"It may have nothing to do with the case you two are working on, but I thought you should know about it."
T'Pol studied the report for a moment and then spoke. "Captain, I believe this theft IS directly related to our present case."
"Care to explain Sub Commander?" said the Captain.
"The serial numbers on the manifest suggests the item is a nutrient supplement that was being shipped to the Vulcan compound in San Fransisco. It is specifically listed as 'non high frequency scanning'. This means conventional scanning would not be able to determine the specific contents of the container. However, the data from the low frequency scan shows traces of cerillium. This is alloy used in... among other things Vulcan disruptors."
"So your sayin your suspect smuggled an illegal off world weapon onto the planet by disguising it as food supplements?" said the Captain.
"Yes, sir," T'Pol replied. "Sonav is extremely resourceful. It has been my assertion from the beginning of this case that he has been planning his "visit" to Earth for sometime."
"So he could have other little toys squirreled away just waitin to pick em up," added Tucker.
"That is a distinct possibility," said T'Pol with an uneasy tone.
Tucker threw up his hands. "Great, just what we needed a psychotic homicidal Vulcan...who is now armed."
"Any other good news for us Cap'n?" quipped Tucker.
"Yeah...you got two days to nail the son of a bitch so stop wastin it in my office."
"Were already on it," said Tucker giving his Captain a mock salute.
"Oh, one other thing," said the Captain "If this perps walkin around with an off world weapon I want you to pick up a safety vest on the way out."
"Cap'n...I don't wanna wear a vest," said Tucker
"I didn't ask if ya wanted it," yelled the Captain. "Just get the God damn vest and hit the streets...both of you!"
The two officers exited the office still hearing a tirade of curses coming from their Captain.
- - - - - - - - - -
"What can I do for ya Trip," asked the police clerk.
"I need a vest," he grumbled.
The young officer looked at him nervously. "Somethin goin on?"
"What?" said Trip with clear annoyance. "Why do you ask?"
"Well...you've never asked for a vest before," he said "I just thought maybe we were under attack or somethin."
"Cap'n's orders," said Tucker.
"Oh, ok...just sign here."
Tucker turned to T'Pol holding up the vest. "This should make Forrest happy."
T'Pol eyed the vest and then looked at Trip. "I think it advisable to mention that if Sonav has acquired a disrupter weapon, your safety vest will afford you no protection."
"What do you mean," asked Trip not liking where this was going.
"Disruptor fire will not pierce the vest but rather envelope the object it comes in contact with causing a thermal chemical reaction that will be terminated in a rapid energy release exhausting all available material," explained the Vulcan.
Trip looked at her with a blank stare. "Give it to me in plain non Vulcan English."
"It will vaporize you," she said.
Trip's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say that in the Captain's office?"
"No one asked," she replied. " and...the Captain already appeared to be extremely agitated. I did not think voicing this information would have been prudent at that moment."
"Great, just great," said Trip Tucker.
to be continued.......
chapter 2
Sgt. Trip Tucker stood in the marina parking lot. He was beginning to realize how stupid walking out on T'Pol had been....especially since she had the keys to the car. He sighed and turned around heading back to his boat. Then he saw T'Pol coming down the walkway. It was going to be a long day.
"The car is parked at the end of this section," she said walking past him.
He shook his head and followed her down the parking lot. They had been issued a black 2082 model Buick. Like it's unmarked police car predecessors it stuck out like a sore thumb and Trip spotted it right away. T'Pol walked over to the car and started to unlock the driver's side door when Trip called out to her.
"What do you think your doing?" he asked as he walked up to her.
She gave him a puzzled look "I am opening the car door."
"No, no darlin," he corrected her. "Your not drivin'." He took the keys from her and slid into the driver's seat. Trip leaned out the window and thumbed towards the passenger section.
T'pol raised an eyebrow and shook her head in an obvious sigh. "This is going to be a long day." she thought.
- - - - - - - - - - - - 20 minutes later - - - - - - - - - - - -
The two officers pulled into the 76th street Miami/Dade Metro Police Precinct. Officers called it the "76". Trip Tucker had called it home for the last eight years. He had started as a Detective third grade in the vice and narcotics division before taking his current assignment in homicide. At one time, the vice squad was an extremely high profile position for more seasoned detectives, but with the arrival of the Vulcans and first contact, drugs and vice took the same route as war and famine. Though they still existed, many of the problems of the world seemed to have solved themselves when people found out they weren't alone in the universe. However, Trip Tucker was quite certain his job was secure...at least for the foreseeable future.
He pulled into the official parking area and brought the car to a stop. He and T'Pol exited the care and headed for the precinct building but were stopped by a uniformed female officer coming down the main stairs.
"Hey Trip, Captain Forrest wants to see the two of you as soon as you check in," she told him.
"What about?" asked the detective not holding back his annoyance.
"How the hell do I know," the officer responded. "What do I look like...your friggin' secretary?"
"Yeah...get me a coffee," he told her. "two sugars."
"Up yours Tucker," she said walking off.
T'Pol looked at Trip. "Apparently, you foster a great deal of respect and admiration among your fellow officers."
"Yeah, she loves me," he said sarcastically.
"Apparently," she responded shaking here head.
"Come on, lets go find out what the Cap'n wants."
- - - - - - -
Tucker and T'Pol entered Captain James Forrest's office. Forrest was a seasoned police officer with over 20 years uniform and plain clothes experience with the Miami/Dade police. He was a hard nosed kind of cop who didn't brook any bullshit. Of course, this put him at constant odds with Trip Tucker. One of his best detectives but also one of his worst when it came to style and procedures. The only thing that kept him from kicking Tucker clear off the department was the Sergeants 96% closure record on homicide cases. It was the reason he gave Tucker as much leeway as he did.
"Cap'n, you wanted to see us," said Tucker as he entered the room.
"Where the hell have you two been!" shouted the Captain.
T'Pol bristled for a moment. She would never understand the human need for maximum volume to convey a purpose.
"What?" was all Tucker could get out.
"Zip it Tucker," said the Captain. "Did you two file your report for last nights investigation? I got the Vulcan High Command breathing down my neck for an update on the case."
"Already done Cap'n," said Tucker. "It's in the detectives daily briefs."
"Good," said the Captain with a grumble.
"I always try to anticipate your every request," said Tucker sarcastically.
"If I thought that I'd be the Sergeant and you'd be the Captain."
"No thanks, I don't want a demotion," replied Tucker.
The Captain just glared at him for a moment but realized he was just being baited. "Here, have a look at this."
"What is it?" asked Tucker as he took the data padd.
"It's a report we got from the South Beach division," explained the Captain." It seems an off world shipment that was supposedly earmarked for the Vulcan Compound in Frisco got diverted to the customs holding facility over in South Beach."
Tucker looked the report over, but couldn't make heads or tales of it beyond the fact that a container had been stolen. He handed it off to T'Pol.
"It may have nothing to do with the case you two are working on, but I thought you should know about it."
T'Pol studied the report for a moment and then spoke. "Captain, I believe this theft IS directly related to our present case."
"Care to explain Sub Commander?" said the Captain.
"The serial numbers on the manifest suggests the item is a nutrient supplement that was being shipped to the Vulcan compound in San Fransisco. It is specifically listed as 'non high frequency scanning'. This means conventional scanning would not be able to determine the specific contents of the container. However, the data from the low frequency scan shows traces of cerillium. This is alloy used in... among other things Vulcan disruptors."
"So your sayin your suspect smuggled an illegal off world weapon onto the planet by disguising it as food supplements?" said the Captain.
"Yes, sir," T'Pol replied. "Sonav is extremely resourceful. It has been my assertion from the beginning of this case that he has been planning his "visit" to Earth for sometime."
"So he could have other little toys squirreled away just waitin to pick em up," added Tucker.
"That is a distinct possibility," said T'Pol with an uneasy tone.
Tucker threw up his hands. "Great, just what we needed a psychotic homicidal Vulcan...who is now armed."
"Any other good news for us Cap'n?" quipped Tucker.
"Yeah...you got two days to nail the son of a bitch so stop wastin it in my office."
"Were already on it," said Tucker giving his Captain a mock salute.
"Oh, one other thing," said the Captain "If this perps walkin around with an off world weapon I want you to pick up a safety vest on the way out."
"Cap'n...I don't wanna wear a vest," said Tucker
"I didn't ask if ya wanted it," yelled the Captain. "Just get the God damn vest and hit the streets...both of you!"
The two officers exited the office still hearing a tirade of curses coming from their Captain.
- - - - - - - - - -
"What can I do for ya Trip," asked the police clerk.
"I need a vest," he grumbled.
The young officer looked at him nervously. "Somethin goin on?"
"What?" said Trip with clear annoyance. "Why do you ask?"
"Well...you've never asked for a vest before," he said "I just thought maybe we were under attack or somethin."
"Cap'n's orders," said Tucker.
"Oh, ok...just sign here."
Tucker turned to T'Pol holding up the vest. "This should make Forrest happy."
T'Pol eyed the vest and then looked at Trip. "I think it advisable to mention that if Sonav has acquired a disrupter weapon, your safety vest will afford you no protection."
"What do you mean," asked Trip not liking where this was going.
"Disruptor fire will not pierce the vest but rather envelope the object it comes in contact with causing a thermal chemical reaction that will be terminated in a rapid energy release exhausting all available material," explained the Vulcan.
Trip looked at her with a blank stare. "Give it to me in plain non Vulcan English."
"It will vaporize you," she said.
Trip's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say that in the Captain's office?"
"No one asked," she replied. " and...the Captain already appeared to be extremely agitated. I did not think voicing this information would have been prudent at that moment."
"Great, just great," said Trip Tucker.
to be continued.......