Let the Dead Bury the Living
By Thalia Drogna
AN: I started writing all of this before Season 4 started, so none of this now fits with what's cannon but that's why it's fan fiction. Although I'm pleased to see that some of the themes I've brought into this were also incorporated by the writers.
Trip woke up in sickbay.
"Not again," he mumbled as his eyes got used to the light.
"I'm afraid so," said Phlox.
"Am I in trouble?" asked Trip.
"For not telling me about the dizziness?" asked Phlox.
"It didn't seem that bad," said Trip.
"Well I think you've paid the price for your omission," said Phlox.
Trip tried to sit up and it was then that he put weight on his right hand for the first time and pain shot down his arm. He took a sharp intake of breath before falling back against the biobed.
"You have a hairline fracture of your right wrist," said Phlox, "which you sustained when you fell."
"Just what I need," said Trip, noticing the strapping around his wrist. "So what's the dizziness all about?"
"The nanites had an adverse reaction to the medication that you've been taking," said Phlox. "I'm afraid I was concentrating on how the medication affected you and neglected to examine how it affected the nanites."
"So you can just change the drugs again, right?" said Trip, hopefully.
"It isn't that simple," said Phlox.
"It never is," sighed Trip.
"First of all if I change the drugs now you'll have to go through the adjustment phase all over again and even then the nanites will eventually react in the same way," said Phlox. "The nanites were built to live in your body with a particular slightly altered balance of chemicals. That balance has been destroyed and the drugs that you're taking have just made matters worse. The signals that the nanites send to each other are getting confused."
"Great, so I have to put up with the dizziness," said Trip, pushing himself up on the bed using his undamaged left arm. He sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed.
"I've decreased the immuno-suppressant dosage, but that means that the nanites will have more trouble dealing with your immune system. Until I can find an alternate treatment that is all we can do," said Phlox. "I expect it to get worse as the drugs build up in your system, and if it gets severe then I will have no choice but to remove you from duty."
Trip's head snapped up. "It's just the odd dizzy spell," said Trip.
"Which caused you to fall down a flight of steps and fracture your wrist," said Phlox. "Engineering can be a very dangerous place."
"Can't you give me something to stop me getting dizzy?" asked Trip.
Phlox shook his head. "Anything which I could give you would just make it worse. The nanites are being confused by the drugs already in your system, adding more won't help."
"Doc, I've already had too much time off. I need to be in Engineering, supervising the repairs and upgrades," said Trip.
"Well perhaps I can compromise for the time being. No climbing ladders, no clambering around jeffries tubes and no working alone," said Phlox.
"Doc, that means I can't do anything," said Trip.
"I have no problem with paper work or anything on the ground. It's either that or I remove you from duty entirely, which I may have to do if you get any worse. T'Pol tells me that there's plenty for you to do without leaving your desk," said Phlox.
"Yeah, she would say that," said Trip. "Fine if that's what it takes to get me out of here, then that's what it takes."
"I also want to see you every morning before your shift and every evening at the end of it. And I don't think I need to remind you that if I hear that you have been climbing around or doing anything other than supervising, I will be taking you off duty," said Phlox.
"Understood, Doc," said Trip. He hoped off the bed and immediately his world spun and he grabbed for the bed.
"Just stand still for a moment. Sudden movements confuse the nanites more than slow ones," said Phlox.
Trip nodded, slowly and breathed deeply to regain his equilibrium. "I'm getting worse, aren't I? I mean the drugs aren't working how they're supposed to. How long is it going to be before they don't work at all?"
Phlox sighed, he hated giving out bad news. "Less time than I originally thought. I've begun to see the first indications of your immune system developing resistance to the drugs. The human immune system is very tenacious, and yours especially since it has been under attack," said Phlox. "Given the complications to your condition, I believe there will be further deterioration over the next week."
"I see," said Trip, miserably. "Thanks, Doc, I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Phlox watched as his patient left sickbay. Trip stopped outside the door briefly, said something that Phlox didn't catch to Ensign Marshall who was on guard duty, before he wandered away down the hall with the security officer in tow.
Phlox went to the com. "Phlox to T'Pol."
"T'Pol here, go ahead Doctor," said T'Pol.
"Are you alone?" asked Phlox.
"Yes, Doctor," said T'Pol.
"If you have any way of contacting Captain Archer, I suggest you do it," said Phlox.
"I'm not sure if that will be possible," said T'Pol.
"Commander Tucker is getting worse. If the Captain doesn't return with data that we can use to help him soon, then I won't be able to prevent his further deterioration," said Phlox.
"Understood, Doctor, I will do my utmost to contact the Captain," said T'Pol.
The trio of intruders into the Inner Sanctum had climbed quickly for about half an hour before they reached a landing just outside the airlock to the Aquatic's level. Enam indicated that they would be safe to stop for a brief rest before they continued. Archer and Shran had both done rapid jobs in dealing with their respective wounds while they were on the move and now they were able to tend to them properly.
"You're still bleeding," said Archer to Shran as the Andorian dropped his pack on the ground.
"So are you," replied Shran. "Although I'm not sure I'd call that red stuff you have running through your veins "blood"."
"I could say the same about that blue stuff," said Archer.
Enam got out the first aid kit and handed bandages and antiseptic to Archer. Then produced a separate first aid kit which she handed to Shran. Finally she produced a hand scanner, which she ran over Archer's wound.
"Human antiseptics don't agree with the Andorian constitution," said Enam in explanation seeing Archer looking at the second kit.
"Our blood is based on copper rather than iron," said Shran.
"Like the Vulcans," said Archer.
"Hardly," snorted Shran with derision. "Different chemistry."
"You brought two first aid kits?" asked Archer.
"Of course, I'm always prepared," said Enam. She waved the scanner over Shran's hand. "There's poison in the wound," she said.
"Rorna's sting," said Shran, "I must have caught it as the spider died."
"How bad is it?" asked Archer.
"Bad enough," said Enam.
"It's not even a scratch," said Shran.
"Creen poison is powerful, nasty stuff, blue," said Enam. "Even a scratch is enough to make you very ill and probably kill you. If it was anything more, you'd be dead already. Just as well I brought the antidote. I've never tried it on an Andorian before, we'll just have to hope that it works." Enam loaded a hypospray. Shran looked at Enam with disdain but let her inject him with the hypospray.
Archer finished cleaning and bandaging the wound on his arm while Enam dealt with the gash on Shran's hand.
"What now?" asked Archer.
"Get your diving gear on, we're going for a swim," said Enam.
Trip was doing some repairs to a junction box just off a main corridor and happened to catch a conversation two Ensigns were having as they were walking down the seemingly empty corridor. Hess had been working with him but she'd moved on to the next junction box a little further down the corridor. His broken wrist was getting in the way of his work and making it a much slower job than it should have been, but if he didn't let nanites stop him working, then he sure as hell wasn't going to stop for a broken wrist.
"It really isn't fair," said one Ensign to the other. "We've been stuck on this ship for over a year without anything even resembling shore leave, and now we can't go home. And it's all because of bloody Commander Tucker."
"It's not his fault that he got infected with nanites," said the other Ensign. Trip couldn't recognise them from their voices but he thought they might have been a couple of Reed's Armoury team.
"Well maybe he should have been more careful in the first place," said the first voice.
"He was captured by the Xindi, he couldn't help that," said the second voice.
"Yes, but he isn't exactly smart when it comes to watching his back. Look what happened with the Tien and Lieutenant Reed is always having to pull his ass out of the fire," said the first voice.
"Yeah, you're right there, he's nothing but trouble when it comes to away missions," said the second voice in complete agreement.
"Right, and what if those nanites do turn out to be dangerous," said the first voice.
The voices receded down the corridor but Trip kept himself hidden. A little gossip wasn't important and he'd known that it would happen. He couldn't blame them either, even he was pissed off about the lack of shore leave and he wouldn't have been able to go anyway. He just hadn't really expected the crew to blame him for something that wasn't his decision. After the Expanse they'd become a very tightly knit crew and he'd thought that would count for something, but he guessed it didn't after all. Maybe they'd all just been through too much.
The Aquatic's level was a murky green underwater jungle, full of vegetation and bizarrely shaped metal structures. Enam estimated that it would take them an hour to swim from one side of it to the other, where they could find the exit. They only had a limited air supply so if it took them too long, they would be in trouble. The three of them had sealed their backpacks in the plastic that Enam had brought for the job and now carried waterproof phasers that would work under water.
A huge shape suddenly swam past them in the water.
"What was that?" asked Archer over the helmet com.
"A Xindi sea treen," said Enam. "They're the equivalent of guard dogs. They work on sonar alone, which I'm scrambling, so it can't see us at the moment, but watch its' tail. If you get hit by that then you'll know about it. They have pretty good ears as well, so if you see one coming just stay real still until it goes past."
"What else have we got to look forward to?" asked Shran.
"The Aquatic spends most of its time in the East corner area, we shouldn't encounter it, but it does have guards and there are rumours that it keeps a pet kraken," said Enam.
"What's a kraken?" asked Archer.
"Something like a squid, only bigger and nastier," said Enam. "Trust me, if we find out first hand what it is then the chances are that we won't be leaving. Also there are motion sensors and various traps that we need to avoid, but I have some good maps of this level," said Enam.
"That's what you said about the last level," said Shran.
"I got us out, didn't I, blue?" said Enam, crossly.
"Enough," said Archer. "Let's just get out of here as quickly as possible."
Enam set off at a brisk pace through the plants and metal supports. They swam along the wide corridors of the Aquatic's level, occasionally stopping to disarm the stun traps that they found. They finally came to a narrow passage way which was the best way to go if they wanted to avoid further traps and motion sensors. It was actually only supposed to be used for maintenance on the level's generator but they thought they could fit down it. They had to take their backpacks off and push them through in front of them, the space was so narrow.
They made it three quarters of the way along before Archer got wedged between a protruding piece of machinery and the wall, his backpack getting in the way. He tried to turn himself but every turn he made just seemed to make the problem worse. Enam had got through no problem and Shran was behind him.
"You humans have no spatial awareness," said Shran, looking at Archer's legs.
"Shut up and push," said Archer. He was embarrassed enough without Shran rubbing it in.
"Wow," said Enam, "humans don't bend much, either." She had just executed an almost impossible turn in the cramped space, so that she could look back at Archer. He strongly suspected that her bones were made of rubber.
"We bend in all the places we're supposed to," said Archer. Enam took his pack and propelled it out of the way so that he had more room to manoeuvre. It floated forward before it got stuck a little further down the passage on the ceiling. She pulled Archer forward and after a bit more wriggling he was un-jammed and swimming forward again.
"Oh no," said Enam, looking at Archer.
"What is it?" asked Archer.
"Your arm," said Enam, "it's bleeding."
There was a tear in Archer's diving suit and blood could be seen clouding the water just around him. "It's where Rorna got me with his sword. I must have reopened the wound on that machinery back there. It's not too bad, I'll deal with it later."
"You don't understand," said Enam, grabbing a real of tape from a pocket in her diving suit. "The sea treen smell blood. If they catch the scent then they'll be on us in a shot." She rapidly taped up Archer's arm, hoping that it wasn't already too late.
"How far is it to the exit?" asked Shran.
"Not far," said Enam, "maybe another fifteen minutes if we can keep up the pace."
"Good, let's get moving," replied Shran.
They emerged from the narrow passage and out into the wider corridor. The water was so murky that they almost didn't notice the line of treen blocking their path until they were on them.
"Why don't they attack us?" asked Shran.
"I'm still jamming their sonar, they can't see where we are," said Enam. "But they must have smelt the blood. They're sitting right in front of where we need to be and there's too many for us to deal with just using phasers. If we start making a lot of noise then they'll hear us even without their sonar."
"We have to go through them?" said Archer.
"There isn't any other way, unless you want to go back the way we came and round the other side of the generator, but that could add another hour to our travel time. We'd only just have enough air," said Enam. "We should be able to get through them if we're quiet."
"Better get it over with then," said Archer. "Ladies first."
Enam nodded and swam carefully forward with Shran and Archer following. Enam was a good swimmer and she avoided the treen as if they were no more than marker buoys. Archer and Shran had more trouble, a couple of times Archer had to back paddle rapidly in order to avoid hitting a treen that suddenly changed course. Shran was having even more difficulty, the Andorian wasn't exactly the most graceful swimmer that Archer had ever seen although he was quick and powerful. Archer guessed that the treen knew something was there but they couldn't find it and were moving around more in confusion as each swimmer passed. It was like playing dodgems with underwater elephants.
Enam was just passing the final treen when it unexpectedly changed course and caught her with the very tip of its tail. Archer heard her utter what he presumed was an expletive from her native language and then there was silence.
"Shran!" shouted Archer. "Enam's been hit."
"Where is she?" said Shran. Archer was already swimming towards the area that he thought Enam had been thrown in.
"This way," said Archer as he powered through the water as fast as he could. He found Enam floating in the water, obviously unconscious. "We've got to get her out of here," said Archer, as Shran approached.
"She's the only one who knows the way out of here," said Shran.
"We were only fifteen minutes away from the exit and we know it's in this direction," said Archer.
Shran heard movement behind him. "Archer, we may not have fifteen minutes." The treen were turning towards them.
Archer looked back towards the treen and then he looked down at Enam's belt on her diving suit where the sonar jammer should have been. Instead there was a broken box of electronics.
"Great," said Archer. "The sonar jammer's broken. They're no longer blind. Come on, swimming for the exit is out only chance."
Shran and Archer held Enam between them and swam for all they were worth toward the exit. Shran stopped for a second to fire his phaser at the leading treen which slowed their attackers down slightly, but they were still right behind them and gaining. The huge fish were built for exactly this sort of pursuit and didn't tire or worry about using up oxygen. Archer on the other hand felt like his limbs were on fire but he couldn't stop until they were clear. They could see the exit up ahead emerging from the green gloom.
"Archer, they aren't following us anymore," said Shran, looking back over his shoulder.
"They can't have just given up?" said Archer. "They nearly had us."
"That's what's worrying me," said Shran.
"Come on," said Archer, "let's get that airlock open." He reached the door and pulled out Enam's lock picking device from her pack and attached it to the door lock. Suddenly something had hold of him around his waste and was pulling him away from the door. He struggled, dropping his phaser in the process while he tried to free himself. He managed to turn himself around and saw a nightmare creature that was a cross between a giant squid and horseshoe crab. It had ten long tentacles which each ended in a bony point and a tough looking carapace with spikes on it. It had one large eye that blinked at Archer and beak that snapped in anticipation of the meal it was about to receive.
"You must be the kraken. I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you," said Archer trying to breathe while wrestling with its grip. He wriggled himself enough that he was able to get hold of his dive knife. He pulled it from its sheath and plunged it into the tentacle that was holding him. The creature cried out in pain but only loosened its grip slightly. Archer stabbed it again and this time it released him. However other tentacles were waiting to re-capture him. He fended them off with the knife but he knew this was only postponing the inevitable, there were too many tentacles.
Then he noticed movement behind the tentacles and suddenly Shran was there firing on the tentacles. He offered Archer a hand and used the phaser to propel himself faster through the water. He took aim on the giant single eye and fired. The creature immediately screamed in pain and curled in upon itself. It was too busy to worry about Archer and Shran as they swam away towards the exit.
"That's two you owe me, Archer," said Shran.
"Who's counting?" said Archer.
"I am," replied Shran.
"We've got company," said Archer glancing behind him. The treen were rallying, drawn by the blood from the kraken.
"Just concentrate on getting that door open," replied Shran.
Archer pressed a couple of buttons on the lock picking device and it clicked for a couple of interminably long seconds before it displayed a green light to show that the door was open. They grabbed the, still unconscious, Enam and bundled her into the airlock, closing the door behind them just as the treen began their attack on the kraken. The wails from the kraken could be heard even through the door of the airlock.
The airlock cycled and they found themselves on the next landing. Archer and Shran pulled off their diving gear and then took off Enam's for her. As they pulled off her suit, Enam began to stir.
"By all that's holy, what happened?" asked Enam, feeling her head gingerly.
"You remember you said we should watch out for the tails," said Archer. "You should have listened to your own advice."
"I guess I should have done. Thanks for getting me out," said Enam.
"We didn't have much choice," said Shran. "We need you to guide us through the next level."
"Well I accept your thanks," said Archer. "What do we do now? Up to the next level?"
"We get some sleep," said Enam. "It's a long climb to Gain's level and then it's a hard journey to the next set of stairs. We need to be rested."
"Gain?" asked Shran.
"A former Tanu mob boss," said Enam.
"Who are the Tanu?" asked Archer.
"They are my people," said Enam. "I am Tanu."
"We don't have time to sleep," said Archer.
"We can't afford to carry on without being alert and on top form," replied Enam. "Just a few hours is all I need, we can take turns on guard duty while the other two rest."
"What she says makes sense, Archer," said Shran. "If the next level is anything like the last two, we'll need to be at our best."
"Okay, but just a couple of hours and then we get moving," said Archer.
"You two sleep, I'll stand guard," said Enam.
Lieutenant Davis knocked on the door to Reed's quarters.
"Come in," came the shout.
Davis opened the door to see Reed sitting at his desk.
"What can I do for you, Ian?" asked Reed.
"You and I need to have a discussion," said Davis.
"I seriously doubt that," said Reed. "I think you and I have said everything that we need to say to one another. I don't like what you stand for and I don't like what you're here for."
"That wasn't what I wanted to talk about, although in a roundabout way it does concern your friend, Commander Tucker. What is it you call him? Trip?" said Davis. "I gather he's a bit of a one for the ladies. Apparently he's even managed to melt the heart of that ice queen Vulcan bitch."
"Lieutenant, I will not sit here and listen to you insulting members of this crew, especially not its senior officers," said Reed, standing up abruptly and dropping the padd he had been working on on the desk.
"You don't have a choice, Reed," said Davis. "You'll listen to whatever I want."
"If you don't leave right now, Lieutenant, I will have you removed," said Reed, angrily. "This conversation is over."
"Actually, this conversation has only just begun," said Davis. "Some friends of mine did some digging into your past and they found out something interesting about you. Seems you haven't always been as law abiding as you are now."
"Get to the point, Davis," said Reed.
"My friends and I found out that you've been a bad boy. I'm sure that Starfleet would be interested to hear about Jessica," said Davis.
Reed sat down heavily in the chair, this was what he'd feared. He knew what was coming next. "What do you want from me?"
"Your co-operation," said Davis.
"In what?" asked Reed.
"In whatever we choose. For the moment I want you to stay away from Commander Tucker," said Davis.
"He's my friend," said Reed. "I can't just ignore him."
"You can and will if you want to keep your career," said Davis.
"Maybe I don't care about my career," said Reed.
"I thought you might say that," said Davis. He pulled out a padd from his pocket and passed it to Reed.
"I don't have time for games," said Reed.
"Watch the vid," said Davis.
Reed pressed the control that played the video on the padd. It showed a young woman. She seemed to be somewhere that looked like a warehouse and she looked very scared.
"Malcolm, it's me, Jessica. I'm so sorry, I know they're using me to get to you. I'm really scared. I don't know what this is about, but they say that they'll kill me if you don't do what they want," said the woman.
"You bastard," said Reed. "If anything happens to her then your life won't be worth living. Who are you? Who are you working for? It's not Starfleet Intelligence, they'd never authorise this."
"No, not Starfleet Intelligence," said Davis. "Someone with more teeth than Intelligence. Just remember that we hold all the cards, Reed. If you do something stupid then Jessica will suffer and rest assured that we've thought of everything, so no heroics."
"Fine, you win. I'll do what you want," said Reed, defeated.