Chapter 17
Returning to the surface, Pop-chu led them into one of the sub-domes and into what appeared to be the Viteni version of a conference room. They sat around a circular table and Pop-chu pressed a button which caused a large oval screen to descend from the ceiling. Another button caused several small pallets to rise from the table in front of each of the stations. Pop-chu used his own pallet to bring up a layout of the tunnel and demonstrated how, by using a finger against the center of the pallet, he could draw on the diagram. The away team took a moment to familiarize themselves with the device, and soon found that while the alien had used what appeared to be his slender forefinger on the pallet, the humans would have to resort to using their pinky fingers to achieve anything close to the same results.
"Any ideas, gentlemen?" Archer asked. Looking around the table he saw that the two engineers were seated beside each other and conversing quietly, Hoshi was beside Pop-chu, and Malcolm, his chin resting on his steepled fingers, was staring intently to his right at the diagram on the screen. Michael was leaning back in his chair looking bored.
"Fred and I agree that before anything is attempted, we need to reinforce the structural integrity of the tunnel," Cynthia replied.
Fred continued their recommendation. "We can have Enterprise beam down some of the emergency bracings we use on the ship. They are easily adjustable, and can be assembled quickly." He indicated on his pallet where the braces would be placed.
"Sounds wonderful," Pop-chu said. To the surprise of everyone in attendance, they understood his words.
"They have a translator, but it can only be used in this room," Hoshi explained. "It automatically activates as soon as the room lights are turned on. I think I should be able to download the necessary language algorithms into the UT so we can use it in the future."
The Captain smiled at Pop-chu, who in turn looked rather smug as well as apologetic before he spoke again. "What about plans to get them out?"
Malcolm, still looking at the screen, spoke. "Explosives."
Michael laughed. "You want to bring the entire tunnel down on top of them?"
Pop-chu, hearing this exchange, looked worried.
A single glare from Archer silenced the reporter.
"Due to the density of the asteroid surface, we cannot dig down from above. So I propose to use tritanium percussion grenades," Malcolm explained. purposely not looking at how close Michael was sitting next to Hoshi. He had to keep his mind on the mission at hand. In the future, he vowed, he'd deal with his feelings regarding Hoshi. "I'll position two at the bottom of the debris pile and one in the center and detonate them simultaneously . If all goes according to plan, it should clear a big enough opening for the scientists to crawl out before anything collapses further. During my tour of duty on Mars, we used a similar procedure during a mine cave-in. It should work, but the timing has to be perfect. We set up the braces, set off the explosives, and then immediately perform the rescue before the aftershock occurs, which will likely result in another cave-in. We should have twenty-five to thirty-five seconds for the scientists to escape."
Archer stared at Malcolm for a few seconds, considering the plan. "If they hustle, all the scientists should be able to get out," he said. "Sounds good, Malcolm. We'll inform the scientists of the plan. Any other questions?" Archer asked. "Then let's get to work. Crewmen Lowell and Cressel, let Engineering know what you need. Lieutenant Reed, inform the Armory--."
"The grenades are already on the shuttlepod, sir," Malcolm interrupted, anticipating Archer's command. "I'll just have to arm them and position them. Until that time, I'll give Lowell and Cressel a hand."
Walking out of the conference room, Michael edged up to Hoshi and let out a long, mournful sigh. "My brother is a hard act to follow. You know, I may not come across like I care, but I've looked up to Malcolm my entire life. I'm afraid I'll never be as good as him."
Hoshi instinctively placed her hand on Michael's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. Perhaps he was seeing his brother in a new light. She knew she was and had been for a while.
At the beginning of her assignment to Enterprise, she'd thought Malcolm was a stuffy and uni-dimensional person, but since then -- and more particularly the last few months -- she'd found there was more to him than that -- much more.
At the ship's initial launch, she knew he was passionate about his job and keeping the crew safe. Since then, she discovered not only did he value the crew because it was part of his job to keep them safe, but also that he had come to think of them as family. She'd found he possessed a quick wit and didn't suffer fools gladly -- she didn't either. He also had superb taste in music. She had come to look forward to any time she could spend in his company, even if it only involved sitting in the observation lounge and watching the stars streak by. She vowed to find out what else lay behind Malcolm's walls.
Everything had been planned down to the last detail. Malcolm personally placed each of the grenades and programmed the denotation mechanism. Only when he was sure that everything would explode as planned did he join the rescue team which would enter the tunnel.
When everyone was in position, Malcolm pressed the button on the remote control.
As planned, the grenades detonated.
As planned, Malcolm accompanied the team to rescue the scientists.
What wasn't planned was that the scientist Malcolm was trying to lead to safety would resist the Human's efforts. In the frenzy of the rescue attempt, no one noticed that Malcolm and the alien weren't safely out of the tunnel until the aftershock hit.
End Chapter 17