666
Stepping onto the bridge, Hoshi nodded to the crewman who had manned her console during the G shift. "Anything to report, Crewman?" she asked.
"We were hailed by the planet some twenty minutes ago, Madam," the young man replied. "I passed the communication to Commander Tucker's quarters."
Hoshi slid into the seat the crewman had promptly vacated. "Thank you," she said to the man, who nodded and left.
She settled down and immediately went to do a comm. system check. She had her orders. As she worked a dark expression came over her face. Frowning, she double-checked her readings. She bit her lip, feeling numb as her hands expertly tapped away. She didn't like what she thought she was seeing; she had to make absolutely sure. After three quarters of an hour she leaned back in her chair, dreading what she knew she had to do.
"Ensign," she said to Mayweather. "I'm leaving the bridge for a few minutes. I need to talk to Commander Tucker."
Trip stormed into the armoury and saw Malcolm turn to him and knit his brow. He suspected Reed knew why he was there, and his pulse accelerated as he felt anger swell inside him. Damn him! As Enterprise's Security Officer surely he must have known that he, like Brown, would be monitored! What game was he playing? Was he trying to get thrown into the brig?
Trip marched up to him and said in a low and deadly voice, "I need to speak to you in private, Lieutenant." Malcolm closed his eyes briefly and nodded, and Trip led the way out of the armoury.
They strode in silence to the turbo lift, and Trip pushed the button to the bridge. He could feel Malcolm's gaze on him but purposely avoided meeting it, and clenched his jaw determined not to confront him before they had reached the sanctuary of Archer's ready room.
On the bridge Trip said a curt 'Good morning' to the people there and went directly to his destination. He didn't see Hoshi exchange a fleeting glance with Malcolm and lower her head, obviously upset.
The moment the door closed behind Reed, Trip turned to face him, his jaw jutting out in anger. "You received a call last night. On a confidential channel," he ground out.
Malcolm heaved a deep breath and met his gaze unwaveringly. "Yes, Commander, I did, but…"
"Well I sure hope you have a damn good explanation, because it doesn't look good for someone suspected of treason," Trip snapped. "And forget about rank, Malcolm, I'm talkin' to my friend here, I want to know what the hell is goin' on with you," he added with barely restrained fury.
Malcolm's eyes never left Trip's. "Harris contacted me. Said he knew I was in trouble and offered to help. I sent him to the devil and cut off the communication. And that's all there is to it, Trip," Malcolm answered quietly but firmly. "I was going to tell you myself, but you anticipated me."
A heavy silence fell between them.
"You don't believe me, do you? How can you not believe me!" Malcolm suddenly burst out.
There was a note of despair in his voice and Trip felt himself once again play tug-of-war with Commander Charles Tucker, the man in command. He shook his head and said, "I want to, but you're not makin' things easy for me, you've got to admit."
"I'm not trying to make them difficult, believe me," Malcolm answered with feeling.
There was another long pause, broken again by Malcolm's distressed voice, "I'm the Chief Security Officer, for goodness's sake. Do you think I'd be so stupid not to know I'd be monitored?" He gave a soft ironic laugh. "You must really think highly of me to believe me capable of such idiotic blunders.-- He called me, Trip!"
"Alright, alright," Trip said irritably.
He hated this emotional roller-coaster. When he thought of Malcolm as his friend he was certain of his innocence. But the moment he remembered that he was in command it was as if he turned into another person, someone who could not take anything for granted, who could not allow himself the luxury of trust. Right now he was a Starfleet officer before he was Malcolm's friend, and had to think and act as such if he wanted to keep his promise to Admiral Gardner.
"Trip, I didn't do it," he heard Malcolm repeat in a weary, tormented voice, and looked up to see his friend rub his eyes tiredly. He studied him closely and noticed how drawn his face still looked. He immediately regretted getting angry at him. Surely it couldn't be easy to be suspected of treason and have even your best friend doubt your sincerity. Damn, he cursed. If he weren't Acting Captain he was sure he'd been offering Malcolm all of his support, and here he was instead, one moment his friend, the next biting his head off.
They looked at each other in silence, and taking in Malcolm's misery Trip felt his irritation melt away.
"Did you get some rest as I ordered you, Lieutenant, or were you your usual stubborn and heroic self?" he asked softly, in playful reproach and with a tentative conciliatory grin.
He saw, to some relief, Malcolm respond with a faint but trademark smirk.
"If truth be told, Sir, I did cheat a little," he murmured. "But I managed a full four and a half hours of sleep; although I could've used another four and a half," he added with a grunt.
Trip felt the tension between them ease a bit and was glad about it. It felt good – normal – to have a little bantering.
"I've spoken to the Prime Minister," he revealed abruptly after a moment. He was going to trust Malcolm. Desperately wanted to.
"Oh?"
"He was very decent about the whole thing, surprisingly. He seems to think we should consider the possibility that our man might have had help from someone on Raan," Trip reported. "Apparently there are quite a few xenophobic factions opposin' the government's policy of interplanetary exchanges."
"Hmm, that's interesting," Malcolm replied pensively. "I suppose you've already asked Hoshi to check if there were any communications between Enterprise and the planet, aside from Captain Archer's," he asked.
"Yes," Trip replied with a wry smirk. "Nothin' came up."
"Lovely," Malcolm grumbled. After a pause he added glumly, "I checked Enterprise's supply of explosives: nothing looks out of the ordinary. Assuming it was Starfleet explosive that was used, whoever did this must have devised a way to smuggle some on board when we last left Earth without anyone noticing. Difficult, but possible."
"You have doubts about Brown bein' our man?" Trip asked with a frown.
Malcolm took some time to reply. "How can Brown be our man?" he finally burst out. "He wasn't inside the bloody hall, he wouldn't even have had the time to plant the explosive there. When we went down to the planet, I checked the hall while he checked the outside, and then the talks began."
"Who else can be our man?" Trip countered.
Malcolm closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them again and said gravely, "Assuming I didn't do it, he pretty much has to be, I suppose." He shook his head as if to erase that thought, adding under his breath, "Not that I like the prospect. He's one of my men."
After a moment he went on, "But if Brown did it, how on earth did he manage to get Starfleet explosive inside that hall? Damn, we are back to square one." He grimaced and murmured dejectedly, "It really does look like I was the only one who could have done it, doesn't it?"
Trip raised his eyebrows. "Can't argue with that," he said wryly. "Although assumin' Brown is our man, that's what he's countin' on. He's countin' on the fact that you could have done it, while he couldn't. You were inside that hall, he wasn't. As Chief Armoury Officer all weapons supplies are your responsibility and you have free access to them, he hasn't," Trip argued. He looked Malcolm pointedly in the eyes as he added softly, without sting, "You were involved in Covert Ops..."
Malcolm pulled his face in a frustrated smirk. "Great," he said sombrely. After a pause he added irritably, "What I don't understand is… I checked the place thoroughly just before the talks began. How could I not have found the explosive?" Looking up at Trip he suggested, "I really wouldn't mind taking a look inside that hall again.
"Aside from the fact that despite the Prime Minister's goodwill we are not welcome on the planet at the moment, you remain one of the suspects, Malcolm. Whether we like it or not," Trip replied flatly. "Has Hoshi reported to you about Brown's communications with Earth?" he enquired.
Malcolm sighed. "Yes. Brown has been corresponding with a certain Ensign Louise Ashcroft, a Starfleet engineer. But there is nothing suspicious in their letters," he replied. "Just friendly chat."
Silence fell between them.
"We'll, I'd better get back to the armoury," the lieutenant murmured after a moment. Before leaving he said hesitantly, "I was in sickbay this morning, early. For my medication. Phlox says the Captain and T'Pol are doing a little better."
"Yeah, I know," Trip just replied. Seeing Malcolm tense up he added, "About last night… look, I'm sorry. I was damn tired. I know you did the best you could to bring them home safely, Malcolm." After a short pause he murmured, as much to reassure himself as his friend, "They'll be ok, I'm sure they will."
Chief Advisor Asek felt irritation turn him sour, but didn't allow his face to betray any of his inner feelings. "Excellency, you have experienced first hand the ruthlessness of these Humans. We were very lucky to escape death. There are public demonstrations all over the city against the government policy with regards to alien interference in our world. I urge you to reconsider."
"Interference? An alliance is no interference, Asek. We can't ignore all the other species that are in the galaxy, we can't remain isolated while others form a federation of planets. Most importantly, we can't let fear rule us," the Prime Minister retorted. "The explosion may have a Starfleet signature, but I'm sure Captain Archer was as much a victim here as we were. He came in good faith, I'm certain of it. I'm not going to order Enterprise to break orbit until we have found out the truth."
"With all due respect, your Excellency, we already know the truth," Asek replied resolutely. "That Human, that Lieutenant Reed; we should have never allowed him into the hall. In light of what has happened, Sir, you must admit it was an exaggerated show of kindness on our part to grant Captain Archer's request to have their security check the hall. You see where it has led us. If we let Enterprise stay, we may be in more danger," he concluded letting a touch of irritation come to the surface.
"If I didn't know you any better, Asek, I'd say you were ready to join the people who are crowding the streets right now protesting against our interplanetary policy," Teron said, frowning.
Asek quickly smoothed his features. "Sir, I'm only concerned about your well-being and that of our people. I'm not saying we should ban all contacts with alien species; just that we can't trust these Humans after what's happened. Send them home. Let time pass and people forget, and then maybe we can think about trying again with some other species," he said in an ingratiating voice.
Teron stood pensively at the window of his office, looking out onto the streets of his city, crowded with people shouting and carrying anti-government banners. After a long moment he turned to Asek, as if surprised that the man was still standing there, waiting for an answer. "I'll think about it," he said noncommittally.
TBC