Let the Dead Bury the Living
By Thalia Drogna
AN: Thanks to all my reviewers and especially everyone who reviewed Chapter 4: Rinne, Plumtuckered, Cha Oseye Tempest Thrain, Gally Gee, Maraschino and Cryogenie.
"Lieutenant Davis has been asking questions," said T'Pol. She was in the Captain's ready room when Reed had come to find her with the daily reports. Reed was currently Acting First Officer, with both Trip and Archer out of the picture for the moment.
"What kind of questions?" asked Reed.
"He questioned me about my relationship with Commander Tucker and also asked me twice about the Captain's accident. He said that he thought it was coincidental that the Captain was now confined to sick bay, an area that he is forbidden from entering."
"Ian was always sharp," said Reed. "Luckily there isn't anything that he can do about his suspicions."
"Unless he decides to violate orders and go into sick bay. In which case he will discover our deception," said T'Pol.
"I've made sure that he can't get into sick bay. I've added a coded lock to the door," said Reed. "Only senior crewmembers can enter. Anyone else has to be let in by Phlox and I doubt the Doctor will be letting Lieutenant Davis in any time soon given Trip's condition."
"A wise precaution," said T'Pol.
"I thought so," said Reed. He wondered if T'Pol felt the loss of two of Enterprise's senior officers as keenly as he did. It always made him nervous when the Captain left the ship without security. The fact that there was nothing that he could do for Trip was almost as bad.
"He also asked me if it was true that Vulcans cannot lie," said T'Pol.
"Is it true?" asked Reed.
"No," said T'Pol. "Although it is not logical to lie we are capable of it. We are not particularly good at it though."
Reed nodded, he could imagine how T'Pol had answered Davis's questions, with cool deflections and side stepping of the real answers. Just the sort of thing that set a Security officer's sixth sense tingling. "Davis is persistent, he won't give up easily," said Reed.
"Then I suggest we are prepared to divert his questioning," said T'Pol. "It is only the senior officers and Doctor Phlox who know where the Captain is. As far as the rest of the crew is concerned, he is recovering from plasma burns in sick bay."
"Yes, but that in itself is suspicious. None of them have actually seen the Captain since he was taken to sick bay," said Reed. "Ian knows something is going on, he just isn't sure what it is at the moment."
"Then we will just have to hope that the Captain returns before Lieutenant Davis's persistence becomes problematic," said T'Pol.
Reed nodded. "Are you going to visit Trip this evening?" he asked.
"If my duties allow," said T'Pol.
"Perhaps you could make time," said Reed. "I think he'd appreciate the visit. I know you don't believe this T'Pol, but Davis does have a point. We've all noticed that you and Commander Tucker have become a lot closer over the past few months."
"It is simply that I have been helping him to sleep," said T'Pol. "Our relationship is purely professional."
"Even so, you're important to him," said Reed.
T'Pol looked at Reed as if weighing up the truth of what he said, before turning back to the screen she had been reading when Reed entered. "I will do my best to visit him," said T'Pol.
Archer waited. There was nothing else for him to do.
"How long are we intending on giving Commander Shran?" asked Drezan.
"He's already overdue," said Archer. "I guess we'll give him another couple of hours and if he hasn't arrived by then, we'll make for home."
An alarm sounded. "Someone's approaching us," said Drezan.
"Shran?" asked Archer.
"Maybe," said Drezan. "It has the right profile to be Andorian. It's not a cruiser though. Something much smaller. Definitely warp capable though. They're hailing us."
"Can you put it on screen?" asked Archer.
"Certainly," replied Drezan and did so.
The blue face of a familiar Andorian met Archer. "Shran. You're late," said Archer.
"I had a few technical problems," replied Shran.
"I can see that," said Archer. "Where's your ship?"
"I've been reassigned," said Shran.
"I wonder why," said Archer with the slightest hint of sarcasm entering his voice. "Perhaps something to do with failing to bring home the Xindi weapon prototype."
"Very shrewd, Captain," replied Shran. "I don't want to continue this discussion over an open channel, since you have the larger ship maybe you'd like to invite me to come aboard."
"Okay, come on over," replied Archer. Shran broke the connection.
It only took a few minutes for Shran to dock with the Noolen. Archer was waiting to greet him at the airlock of the shuttlebay and showed him to a room where they could talk.
"It's been a while," said Archer.
"Not as long as I had hoped it would be," replied Shran. "Let's get to business. I have information that you need."
"You said in your message that it was about Commander Tucker," said Archer.
"It is," said Shran. "First, I want some assurances from you."
"What sort of assurances? And how do I know that the information you have is even any use to me?" asked Archer.
"You owe me, Archer. I helped save your piddling little planet. Be glad that I'm even here at all," said Shran.
"Yes, I am wondering why you're helping me, when, as you say, it's me who owes you," said Archer. "I think I'm missing something here."
"Does it matter what my motives are, so long as you get the information to help your Commander Tucker," said Shran.
"Oh it matters," said Archer. "I'm just not sure how much at the moment. What are your terms?"
"After you hear what I have to say, you'll be going back into the Expanse. I want to come with you," said Shran.
"That's it?" asked Archer, puzzled. It wasn't what he had expected Shran to say.
"Yes, that's it," said Shran.
"Why can't you go alone?" asked Archer. "I get the feeling that you need me as much as I need you."
"Do we have a deal or not, pink-skin?" asked Shran, biting off the words.
"Yes, we have a deal. If we go back to the Expanse then you can come with us," said Archer. He had no intention of returning to the Expanse at the moment. There was nothing there for them and he thought it extremely unlikely that Shran would be able to tell him anything that would make him want to go back there. But Shran wasn't telling him something and Archer wondered what that might be. "Tell me why you called me here."
"I have your word?" asked Shran.
"You have my word," said Archer.
"My new command is a listening post. We picked up a transmission from a Xindi research station. It mentioned Commander Tucker and the nano-technology that was introduced into his body. Plus a few other things about his capture by the Xindi and that Enterprise had destroyed the nano-technology research station. They managed to recover some of their research from the ruins of the station," said Shran.
"Not interested," said Archer. "We already have that information. T'Pol downloaded their entire database."
"That isn't why I called you here," said Shran. "I have something that you can't get from any downloaded database. The man who re-designed the nanoprobes. Ven Dath, he's alive and I know where to find him," said Shran.
"That isn't possible," said Archer. "Trip killed him. Lieutenant Reed saw him do it."
"That doesn't concern me. I have information that he is alive. I gather that the Commander isn't very well and he needs help. It must be worth at least checking out whether I'm right or not."
"Your word isn't enough, I need proof," said Archer. "I've been ordered not to contact the Xindi. I need something pretty good before I'll be able to convince my superiors to let me go back to the Expanse."
"I have recordings of the relevant messages and pictures," said Shran. "Knowing how mistrusting you pink-skins are, I thought you might need convincing. I arranged a little extra reconnaissance of my own to back up my claims." He handed Archer a data clip.
Archer looked at the clip that he had just been given as if he could discern the contents just by staring at it. "Let's take a look," he said and put the clip into the slot on the computer.
Trip awoke to see T'Pol sitting beside his bed. He felt better than he had for days and to be greeted by T'Pol when he woke up was great.
"Hi," he said sleepily. And then he internally said hi to the nanites, almost cautiously as they hadn't exactly been chatty lately and he got the impression that they were too busy coping with their own problems to report back to him.
"Acknowledged," said the nanites, which was their version of hi.
"How are you today?" he asked.
"Functions still outside acceptable parameters, but normalising," said the nanites.
"What about the die off rate?" asked Trip.
"Ten percent above accepted norms, but within safety margins," said the nanites.
"You mean you're not cluttering up my bloodstream with tiny broken machines anymore?" he asked.
"Affirmative," said the nanites.
Trip breathed a sigh of relief. "Did I sleep all day?" he asked T'Pol.
"Yes. You are feeling better?" asked T'Pol.
"Yeah," said Trip. "A lot."
Phlox appeared beside the bed. "I was able to find the correct combination of immuno-suppressants. They are holding your immune system at bay so the nanites can resume their normal operations without being attacked by your body."
"Great," said Trip and he moved to sit up.
"However, you are still very weak from the fever and you need to rest a bit longer before you can leave sick bay," said Phlox, putting a gentle hand on Trip's shoulder. "Also I must remind you that this is only a short term solution, I don't know how long I will be able to maintain this state of affairs, not to mention the fact that you will find it difficult to fight infection without a fully operable immune system, so there are a few things that I need to go through with you before I let you go."
"Like what?" asked Trip.
"I will be recommending that you don't go on any away missions for the foreseeable future. I don't want you picking up any strange alien bacteria that you won't be able to fight off," said Phlox.
"I thought that was what Decon was for," said Trip.
"Indeed it is, but that only prevents you bringing anything back on board the ship, it won't stop you getting sick while you're off the ship," replied Phlox.
"Okay, no away missions. What else?" asked Trip with disappointment evident in his voice.
"The human immune system is a remarkable thing, every day you come up against hundreds of potential sources of disease which it deals with without you even noticing. For example the common cold, although annoying, would be fatal if it weren't for your immune system. Although the function of your immune system is now reduced, it is still active, but I want you to be extra careful about showering and your general cleanliness. I'll also be giving you some medication to take to give your immune system a hand. Finally, I do not want you tiring yourself out with long hours of work, so I will be providing you with a duty schedule that you will stick to or I will confine you to sick bay again for bed rest."
"Sounds like I don't have a lot of choice. I follow your instructions, or I end up ill and back here anyway," said Trip.
"I couldn't have put it better myself," said Phlox, grinning at his scowling patient.
"There is also the matter of the Captain," said T'Pol. "Your illness is currently our excuse for preventing Lieutenant Davis from entering sick bay and discovering that the Captain is not on board the ship."
"So I wasn't dreaming. The Captain really did go to see Shran," said Trip.
"Yes, and he has yet to return. He is now approximately two hours overdue," said T'Pol.
"He shouldn't have gone at all," said Trip, he threw off the blanket that covered him and put shaky legs over the edge of the bed. He immediately knew that sitting up had been a bad idea, he closed his eyes and tried to regain his equilibrium. "You know, I think I might just rest here a little while."
"Your body has expended a lot of energy fighting the nanites and dealing with the effect that the build up of dead nanites had on your systems. You need more time to recover your strength," said Phlox.
Trip opened his eyes again and looked at the doctor with resignation. "How much longer am I going to have to stay here?"
"Well I would release you to your quarters but we rather need your continued presence in sick bay to prevent the Lieutenant from becoming suspicious," said Phlox.
Trip nodded wearily and lay back down on the biobed. "If that's what you need, then I guess I'm stuck here until the Captain gets back." He looked over at T'Pol. "Why'd you let him go?"
"He did not give me a choice. Both Lieutenant Reed and I tried to talk him out of going but he was adamant that he needed to find out what information Shran had," replied T'Pol. Trip wasn't sure but he thought that he heard a little indignity creeping into her tone. An indignant Vulcan, that was a first. Trip couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was that was different about her, lately T'Pol just seemed to be slightly more...human.
Trip closed his eyes. He was tired, there was no doubt about that and it certainly wasn't normal for him to wake up and immediately want to fall asleep again. Usually he was the kind of person who was capable of working until the small hours of the morning, although woe betide anyone who tried to tackle him in the morning before he'd had his first cup of coffee. "I hope it's good, whatever it is," said Trip
"As do I," said T'Pol.
Archer reviewed the data that Shran had given him. It wasn't conclusive by any means. Some pictures of Ven Dath, recordings of the messages that they had intercepted and documentation, which Archer had to admit, did look genuine but he was equally sure that Shran had the resources to fake it.
"This isn't exactly irrefutable proof," said Archer.
"Can you afford to take the chance that it isn't genuine?" asked Shran. "I would have thought that Commander Tucker's life was worth more to you than that."
"Don't try to use emotional blackmail on me, Shran. I know what's at stake," said Archer. "Trip's been my friend for over ten years, I'm not going to let him die if there's something that I can do about it."
"In which case, you will be going to the Expanse," said Shran with some satisfaction.
Archer sighed. "It looks that way."
"Very well, then we should return to Enterprise and make preparations to leave," said Shran.
"Hang on a minute, Enterprise isn't going anywhere for at least another month. There's a reason why we're sitting in space dock. We sustained a lot of damage in the Expanse, Enterprise is undergoing a complete refit," said Archer.
"That could be problematic," said Shran.
"What about an Andorian ship? Your government must be able to give us something," said Archer.
"My government don't know that I'm here," said Shran.
"They don't know you're here?" said Archer, angrily and suddenly the ship shook under him.
"Drezan to Archer, you might want to conclude your meeting. Some of the Commander's friends have arrived, and they appear to be quite angry."
Archer went to the com. "What's happening?"
"Andorians, asking for Commander Shran," replied Drezan. "What do you want to do, Captain?"
"Just give me a minute." Archer turned back to Shran. "What's going on?" asked Archer.
"I suggest you get us out of here, Captain," said Shran.
"Maybe you'd like to tell me what the hell you're up to first," said Archer. The ship shook again.
"They're just firing warning shots across our bow at the moment. If we don't get moving, they could decide to become more persuasive," said Shran.
Archer looked at Shran, his eyes meeting those of the Andorian in a look of pure steel. "Drezan, take us out of here, fast as you can." Getting to the bottom of what Shran was up to would have to wait.
"Yes, Captain," said Drezan.
"Let's get to the cockpit," said Archer. "I think we may need your help on this." They arrived to see four Andorian attack fighters bearing down on them. "Can we outrun them?" asked Archer, looking at Shran.
Shran scanned the instruments of the Denobulan transport. "No," replied Shran. "We can't outrun them."