Red Rain
By Thalia Drogna
Trip was dreaming about Special Projects, except this time it wasn't the usual nightmares. He'd been dreaming about his birthday party. They'd been en route to a planet called Karavia and somehow they'd found out that it was his birthday, although he hadn't told anyone. He'd walked into the small mess hall on board the Thak Tikh to get a cup of coffee and instead of coffee the dispenser had given him beer. Just as he'd been about to take the dispenser apart, a couple of the other MACOs had come in. It was Fenner, their pilot and Rush, the explosives expert.
"What's up, Trip?" asked Rush.
"Damn thing's gone haywire," said Trip, hitting the dispenser. He needed his coffee if he was going to pull the double shift that he had planned.
"Really? It was fine this morning," said Fenner.
"Yeah, it was," said Rush.
Kanatova, Didier and Hathaway came in. "What's going on?" asked Hathaway. "Don't you guys have any work to do?"
"Trip says the dispenser's broken," said Fenner.
"It is?" asked Hathaway.
"I asked it for coffee and I got beer," said Trip. None of this was helping him to fix the dispenser and the last thing he needed was an audience.
"Sounds broken to me," said Kanatova.
Darwin, Carter and Arroya entered the mess hall, talking about some aspect of their up coming mission. "I don't remember scheduling a meeting," said Darwin. There was now a small discussion going on around the drinks dispenser with Trip looking baffled in the middle.
"Problem with the dispenser, sir," said Hathaway.
"What's the problem?" asked Darwin.
"I asked for coffee and got beer," said Trip, for the second time.
"And your problem would be?" asked Darwin.
Trip just stood looking at his Commanding officer for a moment, dumbfounded. Suddenly everyone burst out laughing and Trip realised that he'd been had.
"Happy birthday, Lieutenant," said Darwin. "Now since Sergeant Rush went to all the trouble of rigging this thing to dispense beer, I think we'd better drink some of it."
"How did you know? I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday," said Trip.
"What do you think intelligence experts are for?" asked Hathaway.
"You got Dempsey to find out?" asked Trip. "Where is he anyway?"
"He drew the short straw, he's on watch duty," said Fenner.
"Well, since you went to so much trouble...permission to get drunk, sir," said Trip, with a grin.
"Permission granted, Lieutenant," said Darwin.
That was how the MACOs had thrown him a party, it had been pretty understated but he'd had fun, and it was nice to kick back and forget about work for a little while. It had been one of the moments when he had realised just how close the Special Projects Unit was. They all had to trust one another in order to work together effectively, but it had taken them a little while to accept Trip as one of them. However, if there was one thing he'd realised about Special Projects, they looked after their own.
That party was one of the good memories Trip had from his time in Special Projects. When he'd probed a little he'd found out that it had been Arroya's idea to pull the practical joke on him, that was her sense of humour.
The next week they'd arrived at Karavia and it had been back to business as usual.
He was rudely awoken from his dream by the sound of the door chime. He wondered why he'd been dreaming about that particular party. He guessed because that was the last time he'd been able to get seriously drunk without a reason or worrying what he might give away while he was drunk. But maybe it was because he'd been thinking about Arroya. Trip pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his eyes as he went to open the door. He pressed the button and the door slid back to reveal a concerned looking Captain Archer.
"Hey Captain," said Trip and waved Archer into the room while he turned to sink back onto the bed.
"I got the sick list, but Phlox wouldn't tell me what was wrong," said Archer. "Are you okay?"
"I got a message from a friend telling me that Theresa Arroya died. She was one of the MACOs in the Special Projects Unit," said Trip.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Trip," said Archer. "I'm guessing that that's not the reason you're looking so bad though."
"I decided to hold a wake. On my own. Let's just say that I used to have a bottle of Scotch and now I don't," said Trip. "Malcolm came by for our martial arts practice and found me passed out at my desk, and before you say anything," he said quickly, holding up a hand to stop Archer from interrupting, "I've already had the lecture from Malcolm. It was a stupid thing to do and I won't do it again. You can take it out of my vacation allowance if you want to, I deserve it."
"In my experience, the consequences are usually punishment enough for drinking a whole bottle of Scotch on your own," said Archer. "You look pretty rough so I guess you're feeling bad enough. Just, next time, come and talk to me about it before you hit the bottle."
"I wasn't drinking to numb the pain, I was drinking in honour of her memory," said Trip. "It's what she would have wanted."
"As she was a MACO, I can believe that," said Archer. "What happened to her?"
Trip told Archer the story of Arroya's death and how he couldn't really believe what had happened. Archer sympathised but told him much the same things that Malcolm already had. Trip wasn't anymore satisfied hearing them from Archer than he had been when he'd heard them from Malcolm. Their conversation was interrupted by the com.
"Captain Archer and Commander Tucker to the Bridge," said the com.
They arrived on the bridge to find T'Pol standing beside Hoshi at her station while they tried to tune in a message. It was garbled but a few things came through very distinctly.
"This is...a message...Tucker...hope...me...Red...system," said the message.
"Whoever it is, it seems that they wish to speak with Commander Tucker," said T'Pol.
"Can you clean it up some more, Hoshi?" asked Archer.
"The signal isn't very strong and it's on a tight beam transmission aimed directly at us," said Hoshi. "We're travelling away from the source, but I'll see what I can do." Hoshi pressed some more buttons on her console and then played the message again.
"This is James Fenner...a message for Trip Tucker...hope you can hear me...Red Rain...Veras system," said the message and then went on to repeat.
"Red Rain," whispered Trip, getting a look in his eyes which Archer knew only too well. Trip was worried. "Captain, we have to go help him," he said turning to Archer.
"Where's it coming from, Hoshi?" asked Archer.
"The asteroid belt of the planetary system that we just passed," replied Hoshi.
"A few minutes at warp four, Captain," added T'Pol.
"Travis, lay in a course, warp four," said Archer. "What's this all about, Trip?"
"James Fenner used to be in Special Projects, he left the MACOs a few years ago to start his own freight business. He was our pilot. Last I heard he'd bought a ship and was ferrying cargo around some alien solar system. He's in trouble, Captain," said Trip.
"What does Red Rain mean?" asked Archer.
"It was Special Projects' code for being under attack," said Trip. "If he's using that code then it has to be bad."
"Can we let him know that we're coming?" Archer asked Hoshi.
"I can try but I don't know if he'll get the message," said Hoshi. "The asteroids are causing interference."
"I'm picking up weapons fire. There are four ships in the asteroid belt," said Reed. "One of them is registering as a small cargo freighter. I'm not getting any ID for the other three, they're not in our database."
"My scans are unable to penetrate their hulls," said T'Pol. "However they appear to be small fighter craft so are unlikely to be heavily armed."
"Enough to take down a small cargo ship," said Trip, heading for the Engineering station.
"The cargo ship is armed," replied T'Pol.
"Wouldn't have expected anything less from James," said Trip.
"Running cargo can get pretty dangerous," added Mayweather.
"The cargo ship has been hit, sir," said Reed. "Looks as if it was a direct hit to the starboard nacelle. The other three are closing in for the kill."
"How long until we're within firing range?" asked Archer.
"Another minute," said Reed.
"When you get a lock, fire at will, Mr Reed," said Archer. "If there's one thing I've never liked, it's bullies."
Reed waited until he had his phase cannons locked on the lead ship of the attacking trio and then fired. The ship blew up almost immediately, followed by the other two.
"I didn't hit it that hard," said Reed. "I didn't hit the other two at all. They must have self-destructed."
"What about the cargo ship?" asked Archer.
"It has sustained considerable damage," said T'Pol.
"Captain, the warp engine's going critical. We don't have time to dock and get James off. I think the only option is to use the transporter" said Trip.
"Do it," said Archer. Trip pressed buttons on his control pad and activated the transporter.
"I've got a lock, I'm bringing him back," said Trip.
"Transporter room report that they've got him," said Hoshi.
"Good, get Doctor Phlox to check him over," said Archer.
"Captain, I'd like to go and see him myself," said Trip.
"Perhaps you can find what that was all about," said Archer.
"I'll do my best," replied Trip.
"Captain, I suggest that we leave this area of space as quickly as possible. The warp core of the cargo ship is about to detonate," said T'Pol.
"Warp four, Mr Mayweather. Get us away from here as fast as possible," said Archer. As they headed back out of the Veras system the cargo ship exploded behind them, leaving only debris to let anyone know that anything had happened in the asteroid field at all.
Reed had sent a message back to Earth as soon as Trip had told him about his misgivings surrounding Arroya's death. He looked up the MACO Security detail that was in charge of the investigation intending on calling their commanding officer, however he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he recognised the name of one of the investigating officers. Corporal Amanda Cole. Reed knew that she'd requested a transfer to MACO Security and hadn't really been surprised after everything that they'd been through in the Expanse that she wanted to make a change in her career plans.
Although Trip had been the one she'd been interested in, Reed was the one who probably knew her best. After Major Hayes death, all the MACOs had looked to Reed for leadership and he'd got to know them quite well. Reed doubted Trip had even spoken to Amanda Cole since she had left Enterprise, whereas she had asked Reed to write her a recommendation to back up her application for transfer to Security. In short, Corporal Cole owed him a favour and as it was for Trip she had been happy to oblige.
He had been working in the armoury when Hoshi had commed him to say that he had a call from Earth and he asked her to put it through to his quarters. This wasn't something that he wanted to broadcast anymore widely than necessary.
"So what can you tell me?" asked Reed.
"Not much that you don't know already," said Amanda. "She died from a broken neck. She sustained the injury after being thrown through the window of her fifth floor apartment."
"What about the tox screen? Had she been drinking?" asked Reed.
"There was a small amount of alcohol in her blood but she was still legal to drive," said Amanda. So much for that theory, thought Reed.
"What about the apartment? What was taken?" asked Reed.
"A few things," said Amanda. "Nothing which couldn't be carried easily. It's hard to tell, Arroya was the only person who knew what was in that apartment and we can't ask her. The place had been searched though, like they were looking for something specific."
"Interesting. What about forensics?" asked Reed.
"Nothing much there, certainly no finger prints and very little in the way of other trace evidence. Again it's hard to tell what was brought in and what was already there," said Amanda.
"So you think it was a robbery gone wrong?" asked Reed.
"There's nothing to indicate anything else. She wasn't on active duty, she'd been teaching at the base for a couple of years. The Security guys looked into her background and couldn't find anyone with a grudge against her or even a bad word to say. No jealous boyfriends, no disgruntled co-workers, nothing."
"Trip mentioned that she had a bit of a colourful childhood, maybe she got caught up with something from her past?" suggested Reed.
"Given what her friends have said about her and the background checks we performed, I think it's unlikely but I'll look into it," said Amanda. "There really is nothing here, Lieutenant, it's a dead end."
"What do you think about Trip's theory that some bloke off the street couldn't have killed her?" asked Reed.
"I like Trip a lot, but he doesn't know the way that these things work. If she was surprised, even a MACO might not have been able to do anything to defend herself," said Amanda. "If there was more than one assailant then I don't fancy her chances."
"Even a Special Projects MACO?" asked Reed.
"She was Special Projects?" asked Amanda.
"Yes, so was Trip," said Reed.
"That's hard to believe," said Amanda. "Especially given how bad he was at hand to hand."
"But it's true nonetheless," said Reed. "He wasn't exactly putting everything he had into our training that day you threw him."
"That guy is full of surprises. He plays the dumb Southerner, but after ten minutes I knew it was all an act. It doesn't change anything on the case though, she still could have been taken by surprise," said Amanda.
"Yes, but was she?" asked Reed.
"There are some inconsistencies. The door was broken in," said Amanda.
"Which could have given her enough warning that someone was in the apartment," said Reed.
"Or she was already in the apartment when they broke down the door. And we know that she called Security so she must have had some time to react," said Amanda.
"She called Security from her apartment?" asked Reed.
"Yes," replied Amanda.
"What did she say?" asked Reed.
"We don't know. There's no record of the actual message," said Amanda.
"Is that standard procedure, logging the message but not the content?" asked Reed.
"No, we follow the same procedures as Starfleet Security. All messages are recorded," said Amanda. "We're looking into how this one got lost."
"That is a little too convenient," said Reed. "I'm beginning to think that Trip may have been right. This wasn't just a random killing. If she called Security then she either was expecting trouble and called before they broke down the door or she had time between her attacker entering and being thrown from the window to use the com. Both of which mean she wasn't surprised."
"Which makes it that much less likely that a highly trained MACO would be killed by some small time criminal," said Amanda. "I'll go back to my Lieutenant and see if we can do some more digging."
"Thanks Amanda, I know that Trip would appreciate it," said Reed.
"Yeah, say hi to him for me and remind him to keep out of trouble," said Amanda. "I'll keep you updated on anything that we come up with. One other thing, I want you to do some checking for me. We just rescued a former MACO by the name of James Fenner. He was running from some raiders. See what you can find out on him for me. I don't like coincidences."
"Shouldn't be a problem. I'll be in touch once I have some information for you. Bye, sir," said Amanda.
"Goodbye, Corporal," replied Reed and cut the connection.
Major Ellen Hathaway hated spaceports. She'd spent enough time in them to know that they were miserable soulless places, a no-man's land between either leaving or arriving, where the only state was waiting. She was particularly depressed about the waiting this time because even though she was meeting a friend, they were arriving to attend Terri Arroya's funeral. Captain Ian Dempsey, ex-Intelligence Officer of Special Projects, now MACO Liaison with Starfleet Intelligence on Mars was coming in on the next transport down from the Mars Research Station.
Even though she wished it could have been under better circumstances, she was looking forward to seeing Dempsey again. It had been too long since they'd spoken. She'd kept in touch with all of them, knowing that they would need her support once they returned to Earth. Colonel Darwin had done the same for her, although had stepped back from the unit, distancing himself in an attempt to prevent them from being associated with his failure.
Of course the one she had been most worried about had been Trip Tucker, only twenty-seven when the unit had folded and not even a real MACO. He'd always had more trouble than the rest of them reconciling what they had to do, she guessed because he hadn't gone through the same MACO training that the rest of the unit had. Of all of them, he had been closest to Antonia and had taken her death the hardest. Hathaway had her sources for news and had heard that Trip wasn't coping well so had asked Kanatova to make a house call. She didn't know what Kanatova had said to Trip but, after that, things did improve and when she heard that Trip had been involved in an unauthorised test of the NX-Beta she knew that he'd be okay.
Trip still wrote to her from Enterprise and she looked forward to his letters, he was by far her most regular correspondent. She worried about him as he still seemed to get himself into inordinate amounts of trouble, and she'd cried with him when he told her about Lizzie. She wished that Enterprise was closer to Earth and he had been able to attend Arroya's memorial service, she suspected that he would take the news hard. But she had to keep reminding herself that Trip was no longer the kid that they'd watched at the 602 club, he was Chief Engineer of Enterprise and had done a lot of growing up since then.
Arroya and Hathaway had arranged regular dinner dates now that they were both back on Earth and in the same town. She worried that it would raise questions but they were careful not to pick places to meet that were too close to the MACO base. Arroya had done pretty well for herself, she had her own course at the base and obviously really loved teaching, something Hathaway could understand. She had seemed happy. It really was unbelievably cruel that she had been killed when and how she had.
Hathaway sighed. This was why she hated waiting, because it gave her time to think and these days there were a lot of black memories that she would rather forget. Big picture widows looked out onto the spaceport so that people could watch the ships arriving and leaving. She could see the Mars shuttle making its final braking burn high in the sky above them. In a few moments it would be touching down on the landing pad.
Suddenly there was an explosion of flame and the shuttle disintegrated as it descended through the air. Hathaway flinched away from the light of the explosion, around her people were screaming and weeping. She went to the window, not believing what she had just witnessed. She pressed her hands to the glass.
"Ian," said Hathaway. "Ian!" she shouted. There was nothing that she could do though. All one hundred and twenty people who had been on the Mars to Earth shuttle were dead, killed in the explosion.