Please note the news article which is contained in this chapter was written by Kathy Rose. Thanks, Kathy. You're the best!
Chapter 18
"Any word on Lt. Reed's condition?" Archer asked his second in command as they walked through Enterprise's corridors.
"Not yet. Dr. Phlox will keep us posted as soon as he knows anything." T'Pol replied calmly.
"We should have taken into account..." Archer's voice full of regret, trailed off.
"We couldn't have foreseen their actions. They were illogical."
Archer snorted in disgust.
"If Lt. Reed and the alien hadn't been as far along in the tunnel as they were, they certainly would have been killed," T'Pol said.
"Very true, Sub-Commander. We'll just have to hope that Dr. Phlox will be able to work his magic on our enigmatic armory officer. Please keep me informed."
"Of course, Captain."
"Are all the aliens on the ship? I'd like to depart as soon as possible."
"According to Ensign Mayweather, they all should be on board shortly. We have converted some storage areas into sleeping areas for some of the Viteni, but we still need to find more room," T'Pol said.
"Then inform the crew that they will have to share their quarters with our alien friends."
"Yes, Captain."
"Jon!"
Archer and T'Pol turned to see an agitated Trip Tucker approaching them.
"What's wrong, Trip?" Archer asked.
"It's this." He held up a data chip and tossed it to Archer. "Read it."
Jonathan took the chip, and crossing to the nearest computer terminal, immediately downloaded the contents. With Trip and T'Pol looking over his shoulder, he read the news item in question.
SECURITY BREECH ON SEX PLANET?
FROM THE ASSOCIATED SPACE PRESS
PLANET RISA - Reports concerning the conduct of
crewmembers of Earth's first Warp 5 ship as well as the
possible compromising of sensitive security information
in a reputed sex resort have made their way back to Earth.
The incident in question took place during an unscheduled
shore leave on the planet Risa, for which crewmembers of the
USS Enterprise drew lots.
An unallied planet, the primary industry of Risa is tourism.
In addition to typical tourist activities such as beach
resort vacations and sightseeing, there is a large nightclub
community for tourists to explore and enjoy. Sexual liaisons
with no strings attached are a large draw at these
nightclubs.
An undisclosed source indicates that two male Enterprise
officers were actively trying to "pick up" two aliens of the
opposite sex at one nightclub. Apparently the tables were
turned on the officers, however, as the females in question
turned out to be alien males in disguise who lured them away
from the main part of the club and robbed them of
everything, even their clothes, leaving them tied up in a
wine cellar.
The officers, who were overpowered, remained in the wine
cellar overnight before being able to free themselves. To
add to their humiliation, they had to exit the building
through the main club area wearing only their Starfleet
issue underwear.
Considering that all officers receive advanced defense
training and that they were so easily overpowered, there is
concern that they may have been incapacitated in some manner
before being mugged. Even more alarming, both officers are
privy to sensitive information, but Starfleet will not
comment on whether any tactical secrets were divulged --
willingly or unwillingly -- by the officers.
"Did you notice the headline and the 'tactical information reference'?" Trip said, clearly exasperated. "He's clearly pointing the finger at someone in security, namely Malcolm. That son of a bitch, I'd like to take him by the..."
"This isn't good," Jonathan said, rereading the news item a second time.
"Ah should have listened to Malcolm," Trip drawled. "He told us -- told me -- that Michael couldn't be trusted. To be wary of him, but I didn't listen. Thought he was just a straight-up guy. We -- I should have listened, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. Now what are we going to do?"
"One thing's for sure," Archer said pressing a button to stop the newsfeed from playing, "we were duped by a master."
"We gotta do something, Captain. We can't just let this go unanswered!"
"Actually, it might be best if nothing was said at all," T'Pol remarked.
"What do you mean? Something's gotta be done!" Trip exclaimed.
"To explain, if you can, would only draw more attention to the incident. Sometimes if nothing is said, tales die."
Trip was clearly appalled at her suggestion. "I can't believe you think we shouldn't do anything!"
"I didn't say do nothing, Commander. But a diversion might serve a better purpose than any type of rebuttal."
Archer crossed his arms and spoke up. "Give them something else to talk about. Preferably something positive?"
T'Pol nodded.
"Good idea, Sub-commander. I think I have an idea. T'Pol, remember what I told you about speaking to the crew about sharing quarters? Include Michael on that list as well. I would suggest a couple of the more active children would be appropriate."
"Yes, sir." With another nod, T'Pol left the pair to perform her task.
"Captain?"
"I think we can get Michael to write another story, but I also think he shouldn't escape unaffected by the aliens' visit to the ship." Archer chuckled. "Something tells me a couple of alien children might disrupt his life style on the ship."
Trip chuckled. "Something tells me 'disrupting his life style' might be an understatement." The engineer sobered. "I just hope Malcolm will recover so that he can appreciate it, too."
"Ah, Trip, is this really what you and Malcolm did on Risa?" Jonathan asked as he started reading the news article again.
Trip looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and he found he couldn't meet his friend's gaze. "Well, some of it."
"Some of it?"
"Er, most of it -- but we never revealed classified, or even non-classified information."
"You were led to the cellar by two men posing as women?"
"Hey, we weren't proud of it -- but they were gorgeous -- until they morphed into men!"
"Trip?"
"Yeah."
"You should schedule an eye checkup with Phlox at your earliest moment."
End Chapter 18