Title: "Enemy of the State" 21

Author: Quills

Contact:

Series: ENT

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer:  Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain from this story.

Codes: A, T/Tu, Ma, S, R, P angst, drama, romance, humor, action/adventure

Summary: The starship Enterprise is on a desperate mission to save Earth from the mysterious Xindi. While searching for the weapon the Xindi intend to use against Earth, Captain Archer and his crew are reunited with their friend from the future, Captain Soma, who brings news of an even more sinister plot by a Xindi faction involving the Vulcans, which threatens not only Earth, but the entire galaxy. Now it is up to Archer and his crew, with the help of Soma, to unravel the Xindi plot and prevent Earth and the galaxy from falling at the feet of their greatest threat…Vulcan. Special note: This story takes place after the season three episode, "Carpenter Street", but before the episode "Harbinger".

Chapter 21

Trip Tucker walked down the steep inclined passageway. He had to be careful and watch his footing or he would end up tumbling headlong down to the floor below. There had already been one injury to his engineering team because of it, Ensign Rostov, and it wouldn't do to have the acting captain follow suit. Extending his arm, he braced himself against the wall as he continued down the passage. When he had reached the bottom, he looked out across the open cavern. The ceiling had an immediate rise to some fifteen meters and extended back to the length of the cavern, sixty meters out. Half way across and to his right, he could see Beta team along the southern wall. He had split his engineering crews into Alpha and Beta teams for the mission. Alpha team was in charge of the Preserver transporter and portal, while Beta team was left to handle the energy source. In truth, the energy source was the most critical, and the area that had proven the most difficult. Without the energy cube to power it, the Preserver transporter was little more than an alien artifact. To add to the problem, they only had one cube operational out of the four they had found. If that cube went, so did the away teams chance of returning home.

Tucker made his way to the makeshift housing Beta team had set up for the energy cube. The chasm was originally one structure, but had been separated at some point in the planet's geologic past. The Preserver transporter itself was on the other side of ten meters of solid rock. The only access between the transporter and its energy source was the passage Tucker had just come through. Looking past the stacks of Starfleet storage containers, he focused his attention on the lone energy cube and the woman standing over it with a look that did not fill Tucker with confidence.

"Hess, how's that power cell holdin up?" he called out to his senior engineering assistant.

Hess looked up from the cube. "Not good sir," she said shaking her head "The cell is only forty nine percent recharged."

"What?" said Tucker in surprise, "but it should be at least seventy by now."

Tucker walked up to the glowing white cube; crouching down he looked up at Hess.

"Let me see your scanner," he said. The lieutenant handed him her scanner and he jabbed several keys, passing the device over the cube. Adjusting the scan to the settings T'Pol had used on the other cubes, he ran the device over the cube again. "Dammit, there's a micro-fracture, just like the others."

Hess gave him a start. "But how? We ran detailed scans on it." 

"Doesn't matter," said Tucker, shaking his head. "We can't fix it. So this means our window numbers are reduced. If the power charge keeps decreasing exponentially, then that's going to leave us with only two cycles, instead of three."

"Including the one coming up," added Hess.

"Including the one coming up," nodded Tucker. "That means the capn' and the others only have another fourteen hours to complete their mission, and we have no way of tellin' them."

"What do we do, sir?"

"Nothin' we can do," shrugged Tucker. He hated to admit defeat, but there wasn't anything he had to repair the cube, and no substitute power that was compatible. "In exactly three hours the cube cycles and we open the corridor, as scheduled. If they're not there, then we wait another eleven hours, and hope they can get back by then."

Tucker's communicator chirped. Reaching into his sleeve pocket, he pulled it out, flipping the antennae grip open.

"Tucker here."

"Commander, it's Lieutenant Reed," replied the familiar voice. Reed was currently at the ship's con while Tucker supervised on the planet.

 "Malcolm, please tell me yer callin' with good news," said Tucker, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Afraid not, Trip," replied Reed. "Long range sensors have picked up an object approaching the system."

Tucker shook his head. It was never simple. Something always managed to complicate matters even when they had already been complicated enough.

"What is it?" asked Tucker, dreading the answer.

"We're not sure," answered Reed. "But whatever it is, it's big."

"A ship?" asked Tucker. A ship was last thing they needed.

"Too far away to tell, but at it's present speed it will be here in just over twelve hours." Reed let the silence hang for a moment as he waited for Tucker's response. When he didn't get it, he pressed the matter. "Commander, I think we can be fairly certain that it's the Vulcans. When the away team left, the Vulcan shuttle was five hours overdue for a check-in."

"Thank you Malcolm," said Tucker with a twinge of sarcasm, "that hadn't occurred to me."

"Well what do you propose we do?" asked Reed, not bothering to restrain his annoyance with his friend.

Trip sighed, "We've got a problem of our own. The energy cube has a fracture, just like the other ones. The power levels are droppin' with each cycle. I figure we got two cycles, includin' the one comin' up."

"But that only gives the captain and his team…" Malcolm paused as he rechecked the figure he came up with, "fourteen hours."

"Sounds about right," said Tucker, in agreement.

"But they think they have another twenty-five."

"I know," said Tucker.

"So what do we do," asked Reed.

"Well for one thing, your gettin' Enterprise the hell out of here," said Trip. "A small team can stay down here with me to make sure the corridor opens for the away team."

"Trip, you can't be serious," said Reed, not bothering to hide his disagreement. "You'll be cut off."

"No choice, Malcolm. If that object turns out to be a Vulcan ship, then you need to be long gone."

"And what happens when it shows up?" asked Reed. "You'll still have to wait nearly two hours before the last window opens. If the Vulcan's arrive, they're bound to scan the planet and they'll detect the energy signature."

"We'll shut everything down until the last minute," replied Tucker, "hopefully they won't detect us."

"Trip, it's suicide."

"Lieutenant," said Tucker, stressing Reed's rank, "you have yer orders."

"Yes, sir."

"Malcolm…I know it's hard, but we have ta think of the mission," said Tucker. He was sympathetic to his friends position. "It's what the captain would want."

Reed sighed. Tucker was right and he knew it, but it didn't make it any easier. "All right, how long will you need to evacuate anyone who isn't staying?"

"We have less than three hours before the first window. We'll wait till then. If the cap'n and the others aren't back, you'll beam up anyone not stayin' and get the hell out outta here. If the Vulcan's don't hang around, then maybe you can come back."

"And what if they decide to stay?" asked Reed.

"You find another way to save the time-line," he answered. "Tucker out."

TBC…