Red Rain

By Thalia Drogna

AN: To say I was disappointed by "These are the Voyages" is an understatement. I'm not going to list everything that was wrong with that episode here, the list would be too long, but if they wanted to kill Enterprise for me then they did a good job. I'm in mourning.

Phlox found a chair for Trip to sit in while he worked so that he didn't have to rely on Reed to support him. He sat there working on the Hunter draped in a grey blanket feeling like death warmed up, trying to ignore the low level of throbbing pain in his arm, side and head that was steadily getting worse by the minute. Working one handed was frustrating to say the least and he needed Reed's help just to hold things while he worked on them.

Ensign Lauritsen had left to work on the trinary virus that they would need to carry out their plan. She had a tough assignment given that this would be the first trinary computer virus that anyone had ever attempted to build. Meanwhile T'Pol had retreated to the Science Lab to concentrate on finding a way to override the android's built in security systems. Without overriding the security systems they couldn't upload the virus or interrogate the Hunter. Trip's part in the operation was to repair the sensory apparatus and the communication system so that they could broadcast the virus to the other Hunters.

"Son of a bitch," said Trip as he dropped the micro-calibrator he was holding for the third time.

"You need to rest," said Reed, handing Trip the tool again.

"I can't rest until this is finished. At least once I've got my bit done T'Pol and Keisha can do the rest," said Trip.

"Sometimes you're far too stubborn for your own good," said Reed.

"Yeah, but if I wasn't stubborn then I wouldn't have got this far," replied Trip.

"This time being stubborn is going to get you court-martialled," said Reed. "You can be a real ass sometimes."

"So I've been told," said Trip, not even looking up from his work.

"Why on Earth did you disobey the Captain's orders? I'm sure we could have found some way to work this out," said Reed.

"When I left Special Projects I swore an oath, I was never going to kill again, except in self defence. If I'd left the MACOs to face the Hunters alone it would have been like I'd killed them myself. I couldn't just wait for them to get killed one by one when I could have done something about it, and I couldn't let Enterprise get involved and put the crew in danger. Enterprise is already damaged because of the Hunters, imagine how much worse it would have been if you hadn't had Water's Edge to back you up. If Enterprise had met that fleet of Hunter ships alone it wouldn't have stood a chance. Trust me, this worked out a lot better for everyone."

"But you're going to be court-martialled and you'll probably never work on a starship again," said Reed.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me if I can save the MACOs and defeat the Hunters. But I guess alive and in the brig is better than dead, which is what we all would have been if I'd stayed put."

"I can't believe that you're happy just to throw away your career like that," said Reed.

"I can get another job, and I do deserve the court-martial. If I'd been the Captain then I'd probably have done exactly the same thing; thrown my screw-up of a Chief Engineer in the brig. But then again if he'd given me the damn leave of absence, I wouldn't have had to disobey his orders."

"He knew why you wanted the leave of absence, and he couldn't just let you run off and put yourself in danger like that. You can't just chose which orders to obey and which to ignore."

"Don't you think I know that, Lieutenant," said Trip. "How many other times have you ever known me to disobey a direct order?"

"Well discounting our mutiny attempt in the Expanse, never," said Reed.

"Then you know how much soul searching I had to do," said Trip, looking straight at Reed. Trip closed his eyes and sucked air through his teeth as the pain his body was experiencing made itself known again.

"The painkiller's wearing off," said Reed.

"What's new," said Trip.

"I'll get Phlox," said Reed.

"No," said Trip, grabbing Reed's arm with his good hand. "I'm nearly done. Just another couple of connections."

"Okay, but as soon as you're done, I'm calling Phlox," said Reed.

"Deal. Despite appearances, I'm not a masochist," replied Trip.

"Could have fooled me," replied Reed, dryly.

Reed watched Trip while he put the finishing touches to the repairs to the Hunter. His face was pale and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"There, done," said Trip finally. "Get T'Pol and Keisha back here."

"While we're waiting for them, let's get you back to bed," said Phlox appearing out of nowhere.

"I'm fine," said Trip. "Just give me some more of your magic juice and that'll do me." Trip got up, hanging on to the biobed to support himself.

"Trip, for god's sake, stop being such an idiot and lie down before you fall over," said Reed.

"You may be right," said Trip, forcing the words out as sick bay spun around him. Reed grabbed him under the shoulder just as his legs gave up the fight against gravity. Trip vaguely heard the sound of a hypospray before everything faded into pretty colours and soft lights. He felt himself being laid down on the biobed, but it was a far away sensation.

"Wow, Doc, this is the good stuff," said Trip, persuading his mouth to form the words with difficulty.

"You need it," said Reed.

"That bad?" asked Trip. His injuries had been painful but certainly didn't seem life threatening.

"Commander, you are not indestructible. You have pushed your body to its limit and now it's telling you to slow down," said Phlox.

"Get some sleep, Trip," said Reed. "I'll wake you when T'Pol and Ensign Lauritsen are ready."

"Couldn't keep my eyes open anyway," admitted Trip, giving up the battle to stay awake. Reed grabbed the blanket from the chair and threw it over Trip. He barely even noticed and, by the time Reed left sick bay to track down T'Pol, Trip was definitely asleep.

Trip awoke to the sound of people talking in muted tones, probably trying not to wake him. He knew that he hadn't slept long, his abused body told him that it wasn't nearly long enough to make up for the battering he'd taken. He was going to be healing for some time to come but in order to begin healing he needed to sleep and he didn't have time for that at the moment. He sat up carefully and immediately noticed that a new ache had joined the ensemble. Taped into the back of his hand was the needle of an IV, obviously Phlox had decided that he needed some fluids and Trip couldn't disagree with the doctor.

He tried to remember when he'd last had a decent night's sleep. Even on Water's Edge he'd only managed to grab about five hours between repairs, finding it hard to sleep with the ghosts that permanently haunted his dreams. He wondered if he'd dream more about New Copenhagen now that he knew who Keisha Lauritsen really was. He hoped not, the memory alone was bad enough without a nightly cinema show.

The curtain wasn't drawn around his biobed so he had a good view of the Hunter on the bed next to his. Captain Archer, T'Pol, Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Lauritsen were all standing around the bed. T'Pol and Lauritsen were setting up equipment while Archer and Reed discussed something on a padd that they were both looking at.

"What's going on?" asked Trip.

"Trip, you're awake," said Archer, slightly surprised.

"Don't have time to be sleeping," replied Trip.

"Commander, please lie back down," said Phlox. Trip would have protested except he really didn't feel that good and there wasn't anymore for him to do with the Hunter. He gave an exaggerated sigh and lay back down, being careful not to trap the IV line. Phlox came over and checked all his vitals which Trip thought was probably just the doctor being over cautious. "I had hoped that you would sleep for longer."

"And miss all the fun," said Trip. "No, sorry, you're stuck with me."

"We are ready to activate the Hunter and attempt to question it," said T'Pol.

Phlox adjusted Trip's biobed so that he could sit up and see what was happening, knowing that he'd have a fight on his hands otherwise.

"We have been unable to find a way to download the information in the Hunter's central processor directly into our computer. The technologies used are too disparate. However once we reactivate the android we should be able to question it as we would with any other prisoner. I have been able to break the security on the system so that the Hunter has to answer questions and we should be able to download the virus directly into its central processor as planned."

"Good work T'Pol," said Archer. "Turn it on and let's see what it has to say."

T'Pol flicked a few switches and the Hunter twitched. It went from an inanimate collection of electronics and metal to something which seemed very much alive.

"What are you doing here?" asked Archer. He saw no point in wasting time.

The Hunter's eyes sprang open revealing dark pupils and equally dark irises that adjusted themselves to the lights of sick bay. Fluid began to leak from one of the Hunter's many damaged parts and dripped onto the floor, forming a slow black, oily pool.

"My designation is Hunter, I am here to hunt," said the Android. It's voice had taken on more of a machine-like quality than it had earlier. "Self diagnostics indicate that I have been severely damaged. I should not be functioning. I will initiate self-termination."

Archer looked worriedly at T'Pol.

T'Pol was staring at her screen and rapidly pressed a few controls. "The android's termination function has been bypassed."

"You'll stay functioning until I get my answers," said Archer. "Why do you want to kill the MACOs?"

"We destroy all individuals who hold knowledge of quantum computers. That knowledge is forbidden and must be purged."

"Why is quantum computer knowledge forbidden?"

"It is the wish of our creators," replied the Hunter.

"Why do your creators forbid knowledge of quantum computers?"

"When a quantum computer is run it collapses wave forms to provide answers. This terminates those who created us," said the Hunter.

"How does it terminate them?" asked Archer.

"The creators are quantum entities. They live in a continuous quantum state. When a quantum computer collapses the wave forms, it destroys the quantum state," said the android.

"I don't understand," said Archer.

"I do," said Trip, from his biobed. "Every time someone builds a quantum computer and turns it on, they're committing mass genocide."

"Genocide?" asked Archer.

"Essentially the Commander is correct, despite his overly dramatic phraseology," said T'Pol. "When a quantum computer is turned on it destroys the habitat which the creators of the Hunters live in. This is probably only a localised phenomenon, but it is essentially killing members of a race that exist in the quantum state. You could compare it to the destruction of the Rain Forrest on Earth which destroyed millions of species by removing the habitat that they lived in."

Archer turned back to the Hunter. "Why didn't your creators try to talk to the people who were building the quantum computers?"

"Our creators were attacked. There was no need for them to communicate with their attackers," said the android.

"They killed hundreds of thousands of people and they never thought to try to open a dialogue," said Archer.

"It was unnecessary. The solution was obvious and effective," said the Hunter.

"Turn it off," said Archer, crossly, to T'Pol, who followed her Captain's orders.

"I'd love to know how a race of beings that live in a quantum state were able to build androids like the Hunters," said Trip.

"They seem to have plenty of them," said Reed.

"Is the virus ready?" asked Archer.

"Yes, sir," said Lauritsen.

"Then I suggest that we leave this debate for later," said Archer. "Right now we have some MACOs to rescue."

Trip wasn't sure how he'd managed to climb into his uniform desert gear. It had been a very slow, painful process but if he was going on an away mission then he had to dress properly. One arm hanging out just wasn't a viable option when there was the strong possibility he'd be wandering around a baking hot desert. Phlox had put his right arm back into the shoulder immobiliser once he was dressed which made him feel lopsided and played havoc with his balance, although that could have been the concussion still.

Phlox had once again tried to persuade his patient to stay in sick bay, but it was a half-hearted protest that he already knew wouldn't be successful. Phlox had however made it quite clear to Trip that as soon as he was back he would be in for an extended stay in sick bay. Captain Archer had refused the Doctor's request to join the away mission, so instead he'd given Lieutenant Reed a medical kit and instructions on what drugs to give Trip to keep him functioning. Reed had promised Phlox that he wouldn't let Trip sustain any further injuries, but both of them knew that was a promise Reed might not be able to keep.

Trip limped down to the shuttle bay, not quite supported by Lieutenant Reed. If he was taking part in this mission then he had to at least try to pretend to be able to stand on his own two feet. He was certain that he wasn't fit enough to be going down to Algol II but he didn't have much choice if he wanted to get the rest of the MACOs home safe. Even if it was to the same court-martial that he was facing.

He was unbelievably glad to reach the shuttle and take his seat in the back. Archer was already seated at the controls going through the systems checks. T'Pol loaded the head of the damaged Hunter before taking her own seat. They had decided to keep the party small, they were already going to have trouble fitting the six MACOs in the shuttlepod and numbers wouldn't help them against the Hunters. As had been witnessed many times, phasers had no effect against them and the only rocket launcher available was currently on Algol II with Major Hathaway. Trip had no idea how much ammunition Hathaway had for the rocket launcher but he was betting that it wasn't enough to destroy eleven Hunters.

"You realise that as soon as you dip into the atmosphere you'll lose all communications with Enterprise," said Hoshi, standing in the hatchway of the shuttle.

"We are aware, Ensign," said T'Pol.

"I don't want anyone coming after us," said Archer. "I've given Lieutenant Hess orders to break orbit and head home if we're not back within six hours."

"Understood, sir," said Hoshi. "We'll warn Earth about the Hunters."

"We'll see you in a few hours time," said Archer.

"Good luck, sir," replied Hoshi and stepped back to allow Reed to close the hatch.

Algol II was one of the most inhospitable planets that Trip had ever had the misfortune to set foot upon. A red brown desert stretched off in all directions, punctuated by the occasional outcrop of red jagged rocks. Archer had set the shuttle down at the co-ordinates that Trip had supplied; the last known location of Colonel Darwin and the former Special Projects Unit.

"I have got to talk to the Colonel about his choice of places to visit," said Trip quietly enough that he was the only one who heard. He took out his sunglasses and put them on, making his eyes slightly more comfortable in the bright light. He pulled his cap down to shade his face as much as it could and was glad for once that it was a group of MACOs that they were trying to find. At least they would have been prepared for the conditions and he knew that they'd brought enough rations and water to last for weeks in the desert.

T'Pol loaded up her rucksack with everything that she would need, including the head of the deceased Hunter. Reed did the same, except that Trip was pretty sure that his rucksack contained something more explosive than scientific equipment. Trip only carried a water pouch and a scanner, and even those weighed heavily on him.

"You're our guide, Trip," said Archer. "Which direction?"

"They would have covered their tracks," said Trip, pulling out his scanner. The magnetic field was disrupting the scanner's sensors but Trip thought that he could get enough of a reading to work out what he needed to track the MACOs.

"What about those?" asked Reed pointing at a set of tracks that led away from their current position.

"How many MACOs are we looking for Malcolm?" asked Trip.

"Six," replied Reed.

"How many people went that way?"

"I'd say one," said Reed. A single set of footprints led off into the distance.

"It's a decoy. They made an obvious set of tracks. If you follow them then it will probably lead you to a well hidden booby trap," said Trip. "No, they went this way." Trip pointed in a direction at a ninety degree angle to the footprints.

"How can you tell?" asked Archer. The direction that Trip was pointing in looked just like the rest of the landscape, bleak and unforgiving.

"The sand's been disturbed, it's not packed down like the rest of the dunes around here, which is a pretty big clue, but the terrain is a bigger one. The Colonel's going to be looking for a good place to set up his defences and it gets real rocky over there."

"Okay," said Archer, "then that's the direction that we go."

The four Enterprise officers set off across the sand in the direction that Trip had indicated. They didn't have time to wait for night so they were walking under the blazing sun, which made the going tough for everyone except T'Pol. Trip imagined that for T'Pol this was just like a stroll in the park. Vulcans were well adapted to their planet's arid planes and dry atmosphere. Trip was determined not to slow the party down, so he persuaded himself to put one foot in front of the other and ignore the aches that were building in his body.

They had been walking for about half an hour when Trip stumbled. Archer was immediately at his side, closely followed by Reed and T'Pol. Trip closed his eyes for a moment at the pain that the fall had sent running through his body by jarring all his injuries.

"This remind you of anything?" asked Trip, as the Captain helped Trip to his feet and produced his water bottle for him to drink from. "I'm getting déjà vu." Trip shook sand from his hair and clothes.

"It does seem rather familiar," replied Archer, with the first genuine smile on his face that Trip had seen for some time. Reed produced a hypospray and, before Trip could protest, injected him with the contents. Trip took a couple of deep breaths of scorching air before he felt able to stand reliably on his own and that was possibly more because the shot that Reed had given him was beginning to work.

"What was in that?" asked Trip.

"A cocktail that Phlox came up with. Painkiller and a stimulant. You'll pay for it later, but it should keep you going for the moment," said Reed. "Phlox told me only to use it if you really needed it."

"Remind me to thank him when we get back to the ship," said Trip.

"You okay to carry on?" asked Archer, a protective hand still on Trip's uninjured arm.

Trip nodded, not wanting to waste his new chemically acquired strength on words. They set off again towards the rocks and another hour's walk took them to within sight of a large collection of rocky formations.

"Hold it," said Trip.

"Why?" asked Archer.

"This rock formation is a perfect place to set up camp, and they wouldn't set up camp without a lookout and a defence perimeter," replied Trip.

"Then where are they?" asked Reed.

"They're here somewhere," said Trip, scanning the rocks for any sign of life. He caught the glow of a laser trip wire low on the ground between two large outcrops of rock, and moved forward carefully to examine it.

Setting perimeter defences had been Arroya's speciality, but Rush and Carter were just as capable of creating a fiendish set of traps for anyone who decided to invade the MACOs' territory. Trip knew both of them well enough to believe that he could work out their tactics, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to risk the lives of his crewmates on his abilities. However, he probably couldn't disable all the traps one handed, so someone was going to have to come with him. He briefly considered taking his arm out of its sling, but the broken fingers made his right hand useless even without his shoulder strapped up as it was.

"Malcolm, how are your bomb defusing skills?" asked Trip.

"It depends what needs defusing," replied Reed.

"Bomb defusing?" asked Archer.

"The MACOs have set up a series of traps to catch anyone that tries to sneak up on them," said Trip.

"I am detecting a considerable amount of explosive," added T'Pol, examining the readout from her scanner. "The interference means that I cannot pinpoint their locations exactly."

"Mines," said Reed.

"Among other things," replied Trip pointing to the laser trip wire. "This is a trigger. Break the beam and you're a dead man."

"Nasty, if you're not looking where you're going," said Reed.

"They're not all going to be this easy to spot and without a properly working scanner it's going to be difficult," said Trip.

"Are we close enough to them to try our communicators?" asked Archer. The interference prevented long range communication but short range should be possible.

"I don't know what encryption or frequency they're using," said Trip, shaking his head. "They would have decided that when they arrived on the planet's surface. The idea is that if one of us is captured we can't tell what we don't know."

"What about if we broadcast a message on all frequencies?" asked Archer.

"That might result in drawing the Hunters to our position," said T'Pol.

"And there's no guarantee that they'll even be listening out for communications," said Trip. "Didier was our communications expert and the others just don't have the expertise to crack the Hunters' communications. There's only one way to do this Captain and that's by me going through that minefield."

"That's suicide, Trip," said Archer.

"Not if I'm careful. I know what I'm looking for and, if Malcolm follows me, then he can help me if I do come across anything that needs disarming," replied Trip. "As long as Malcolm's up for it."

"I'm always up for a challenge," said Reed.

"I'd rather do this alone, but with one hand out of action, I'm not going to be much use," said Trip.

"You don't need to justify it, Trip. You obviously can't do it alone," said Reed.

Trip nodded reluctantly. He didn't want anyone else put in danger, but if Reed followed his tracks then he should be safe. It was only if Trip set something off and Reed had to get out of the way quickly that he might be in trouble, but hopefully that wouldn't happen.

"Be careful," said Archer.

"Careful is my middle name," said Trip, flippantly. "You know the drill, Malcolm. Follow my footsteps exactly and don't touch anything unless I give you the go ahead."

"Understood," replied Reed.

Trip took a deep breath and stepped over the laser trip wire. He had already checked to make sure that he wouldn't be stepping on a mine. Either Carter was getting soft or the laser trip wire had been a bit too obvious. Trip wondered what it was really hiding. Then he spotted the second laser, this one at waist height and much better hidden than the first. Under the line of the laser the sand was disturbed and Trip would have bet his life that a mine was hidden there. The laser was at an inviting height for someone to crawl under it rather than going over it.

"Malcolm, there's a second laser here at about waist height, it's too high to climb over. I'm going to step under it, but there's a mine just below the line of the laser so think carefully where you put your feet."

Reed met Trip's eyes as he looked over his shoulder. Trip traced out the outline of the mine in the sand so that Reed would know where to avoid. Trip carefully positioned his feet and ducked down under the level of the laser.

"I'm going to kill Carter when I get hold of him," Trip mumbled to himself as he crouched down and shuffled awkwardly forward. Reed followed him carefully.

They walked carefully through a winding passage created by large outcropping of rock, Reed stepping exactly where Trip walked. A series of laser trip wires kept them on their toes but Trip got the impression that this wasn't the main event. It was all far too easy to circumvent. The reached the end of passage and the terrain opened out again before another range of rocks began a few metres away.

Trip stood and surveyed the field of sand in front of him. It was pitted with indentations and hillocks, there could be mines anywhere and they would be completely hidden. There was a pattern to any minefield that was laid, it was essential to know where you had planted your own mines in case you had to go back through the minefield. Trip just had to work out what pattern this one had been laid on.

"Let me guess, you're standing in front of a minefield," said Reed from behind Trip.

"Oh yes," said Trip with a sigh. "Open area, nowhere to place laser trips, natural undulations in the terrain, it's a perfect spot for a minefield."

"Your friend Corporal Rush, I assume."

"Maybe. You and he would get on well. You both like blowing things up."

"I'd rather not be the one who gets blown up," replied Reed.

"Yeah, me too," said Trip. "The only thing in our favour is that the field is laid to a pattern."

"And you know the pattern?"

"No."

"How many possible patterns are there?"

"Twenty official patterns."

"So what do we do?"

"You wait here," said Trip, lifting his foot to take a step.

"What are you doing!" shouted Reed.

"Narrowing the possibilities," said Trip and put his foot down gently.

"This is a live minefield! Are you mad?"

Trip crouched down on the ground slowly, compensating for his poor balance due to his injured arm. He reached forward and carefully brushed sand away from a mine that lay just under the surface.

"How far apart do you place anti-personnel mines, Malcolm?" asked Trip.

"A metre," replied Reed.

Trip drew a line in the sand around the mine and stepped over it. "That's Starfleet protocol, right?"

"Yes," said Reed. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Carter left the MACOs to become a Starfleet Armoury Officer, so he'd know that," said Trip.

"You're standing in a minefield and you're trying to second guess the people who laid it?"

"Terri Arroya was the countermeasures expert. She was great at breaking into places and great at stopping people from breaking into places. Terri isn't here, which means either Rush or Carter laid this mine field. Now Carter would do it by the book, so a metre away we'll find a mine. Rush doesn't do anything by the book."

"Which gets us precisely nowhere," said Reed. "If it was Rush then the next mine could be anyway."

"Yeah and by rights it should be the explosives expert who lays the mines. Except Rush burnt his hands back on Water's Edge," said Trip.

"Which makes it rather difficult to lay mines," said Reed with realisation. "Carter set the traps and laid the mine field."

"I'd bet my favourite hyper-spanner on it," said Trip.

"That still doesn't help us much, it could be a metre in any direction," said Reed.

"All I have to do is find one more mine," replied Trip. He crouched down again and felt forwards.

"If it's buried then you won't find it that way," said Reed.

"I'm not looking for a mine, I'm looking for loose sand. This is all packed down, but the stuff around a buried mine isn't." Trip edged forward again using his hands as his eyes. "Got it." He felt under the sand gently and found the metal edge of another mine. "What do you think? Thirty degrees off North?"

"Looks about right. What does that mean?"

"Epsilon pattern," said Trip, as he traced an outline around the mine. "They're laid in isosceles triangles, which means there will be some closer than a metre apart."

"In other words, you were lucky," said Reed.

"Yeah, but at least if I'd got myself blown up you would have known where one of the mines was," said Trip.

"And it would have given away our location to any Hunters who are in the area," said Reed. "Why is it you insist on trying to sacrifice your life at every given opportunity?"

"Pot and kettle, Malcolm. You're the one who's always putting yourself in danger. What about the time we went out on the hull to put out that plasma fire. I told you to go inside when you started to get too hot, but did you listen, oh no. You had to play the hero."

"If I hadn't then we wouldn't be having this conversation. You were worn out, if you remember. You'd had four hours sleep in the last forty eight hours, I wasn't going to let you go out there alone. I certainly wasn't going to leave the job half finished with the crew in danger. It was a calculated risk."

"Well so is this."

"There's nothing calculated about walking into a minefield," said Reed, angrily.

"It worked, didn't it? Anyway can we discuss this when I'm not surrounded by anti-personnel mines? You're safe to come over and join me. Just make sure you walk in my footsteps."

Reed stepped carefully up behind Trip.

"I should be able to follow the pattern now and lead us through this," said Trip. "Don't get too close to me in case I set one off."

Trip stepped around the next couple of mines, placing his feet gingerly on the ground even though he was fairly certain he was treading on un-mined areas. He counted his steps between each mine, walking through a live mine field required a considerable amount of concentration and Trip was well aware that his concentration wasn't as good as it could be. Reed followed a couple of paces behind, closer than Trip would have liked but Reed had already made it clear that they were in this together.

Trip neared the edge of the minefield, he placed his foot carefully on the sand and heard an ominous click. Trip swore colourfully.

"Malcolm, I think my luck just ran out," said Trip, far more calmly than he felt. "Guess I counted wrong."