Children of Enterprise
Estellio
Rating: Pg-13 (T)
Summary: When Archer is kidnapped by unknown aliens and the Enterprise is dead in the water, it seems like there is no hope for rescue but there's more to this than meets the eye and it could have something to do with the child in T'pol's arms.
A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long but a little trouble saw me without any way to get onto fanfiction net. I would have posted this earlier in the month but one thing went wrong after another and everything held me back. My posts are probably going to be a lot slower coming than before but I hope to have my posts back to weekly before the end of the year. We're half way through the fic now so there's no way I'm just going to drop it. Still, a thousand more apologies and now…le fic.
Gammara: The Pon Farr smack down. Lol! I love it! Genius.
Tata: As far as I'm concerned he should bare it all but ah well. I do read over these before I post them for mistakes but there's always a few that escape me. Drives me mad. I'll probably read it through from the start soon and update the chapters. Silly grammar and spelling mistakes like that always irk me too.
IOIOIO
Lorian checked for a pulse and found one, thready and erratic. Judging by the sickly pale pallor off Rialta's face she had gotten a lot worse since he last saw her and to his horror, her chest wasn't rising and falling nor was a wisp of breath escaping her lips. She wasn't breathing!
Not knowing much about Katarian physiology he just had to play it by ear and do what he would if it were his mother or father downed.
"Alright Rialta, let's just hope this works." Pinching her nose he sealed his mouth over hers and felt her chest rise beneath his arm. When he took his head away he checked for breath. Nothing. He repeated the process again then checked her breathing but found no change. Her pulse, however, was weakening and fast. "Rialta, what have you done? What have you done?" He whispered fervently before he administered another two breaths and checked her pulse. Nothing. "NO!" He put his hands on the place he figured her heart to be, knowing it could be dangerous but if he didn't do something she'd die.
He started chest compressions, fifteen compressions, then two breaths. She was still deathly pale and not breathing on her own. "Come on, Rialta, please, come on." Fifteen more compressions and two breaths later the doors to the cargobay opened and Hoshi Sato walked in, Lizzy in tow.
"HOSHI! GET PHLOX!" He shouted across the bay from where he knelt in the ship. "RIALTA'S HEART HAS STOPPED! SHE'S DIEING" He heard Lizzy give a strangle cry and saw he try and run towards the shuttle, Hoshi grabbed her shoulder and forced her out of the shuttle bay as she ran. Lorian tried another fifteen compressions and two breaths but to no avail. It wasn't working! He wasn't doing it right!
"Oh Rialta, please, please!" His throat tightened and nose burned as he forced away the tears that threatened. He hadn't cried since his father died when he was but a boy and now was no time to restart that old habit. He grabbed the hypo and checked the contents for any hint of what she had done to herself. The vial was unmarked. It could have been poison for all he knew. "Why have you done this? What have you done?" His reply was nothing more than a prone body, unresponsive and still. He grabbed her roughly by the chin and tilted her head back, prepared to administer another two breaths when he noticed something. A silvery vein on her neck was throbbing, pulsing with life. He placed his finger against it was greeted with a painstakingly slow pulse. Her chest still wasn't rising and falling so he administered a breath and heard a rattled cough as she came to, her hand flying to his face to push him away midway through the second breath.
"What are you doing?" She croaked, looking up at him with a puzzled expression. Lorian couldn't speak. He was both angry and elated at the same time as Rialta looked at him, trying to push herself off the floor, her breath rattling in her chest and movements slow and lethargic. Lorian couldn't help himself and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Her body was horribly cold, a testimony to just how close he had come to losing her. "What?" She whispered into his ear.
"Your heart stopped, you weren't breathing." He said, it coming out more as a sob. His Vulcan's controlled battled vainly with his human instincts and he just held her closer, rocking her slightly. "I thought I was going to lose you." She didn't say anything, merely lay still and when he looked down he realised she had lost consciousness. He placed a kiss against her forehead and lay her down, reluctant to leave her body but knowing he had to comm. sickbay. As he reached for the comm. He saw the data she had up on the view screen. It was a medical report on Katarians – she was researching her symptoms. Apparently she didn't know what was happening to her either but the computer did and it had recommended the medicine that had probably been in the hypospray. As Lorian read his mouth fell open and he looked down at Rialta. It seemed that he'd have to do a little more than CPR if he wanted to make sure she stayed alive...
IOIOIO
Meanwhile, about five decks above, another battle for life was just beginning. Both T'pol and Archer were unconscious on the floor. T'pol looked as if she had just run the Olympic 500 meter and John looked like the victim of a car crash. Blood poured from his ears and nose and he had angry red marks where T'pol's fingers had been adhered to his face. Trip had no idea what had transpired, only a vague idea but he didn't like what he had seen. Why had T'pol forced a mind meld on John? It was a question he'd have to wait to be answered, he had more important things to tend to now. Scooping T'pol up in his arms he cradled her close to him gently, she was almost like a rag doll in his arms and her tiny elfin face was pale and covered in a clammy sweat. This immediately struck Trip as odd for Vulcans didn't sweat like humans did, they let off heat through their ears and glands on the back of their necks and down their spines. Placing his hand against her forehead Trip found her cool and clammy to the touch and her eyelids flickered open a second.
"Trip?" She gasped, her arm coming up to grip his shoulder. He didn't notice what she was doing till too late and he crumpled to the floor, T'pol tumbling out of his arms onto the floor where she remained still. Malcolm and Lt. Kiami, who were carrying the Captain out under Phlox' supervision almost dropped their captain to rush to Trip and T'pol's aid. Thankfully, Malcolm had more presence of mind and lowered him to the floor gently while the Engineering Ensign ran to his CO.
"He's out cold." He reported as Phlox ran the scanner over T'pol.
"She's already begun Plak Tow, her body is burning up and excreting vital bodily fluids in an effort to compensate. We have to get her to sickbay now or she'll die." Malcolm immediately moved to pick her up and carried her into the turbolift with Phlox and Kiami dragging John and Trip. Kiami called the turbo lift and when it opened it revealed Hoshi trying to battle a enraged Lizzy."WANNA GO! WANNA GO! WANNA GO!" She screamed, twisting out of Hoshi's grasp at last only to run straight into Malcolm. Upon seeing Archer, T'pol and Trip unconscious she quietened. "Oh…they dead too?"
"Too?" Malcolm said immediately, "What happened?"
"Rialta is in the cargobay with Lorian. He said her heart stopped and was doing CPR." Phlox looked thoroughly harassed for a moment.
"Get them to sickbay! I'll be right along." Phlox ordered, moving to the nearest Comm. and comming Lorian asking for a status update on Rialta.
"We're in sickbay, Doctor. She's alive for now but I have discovered the cause of her symptoms. Has the emergency at my moth…at commander T'pol's quarters been resolved?" Phlox muttered something under his breath in Denoblian. "Sorry Doctor, I didn't quite catch that."
"We'll be joining you shortly, Lorian, be a dear and break out the neural stimulants. They're by the bat cages." He switched off the comm. and stepped into lift besides Lizzy who was staring at her mother in abject horror and terror. She clung to Phlox the moment he was close enough.
"Is mummy going to be alright?" She asked, her voice quivering under the strain of emotion. Phlox crouched down to her level.
"Go with Lt. Sato to the mess and play a game of chess. If you win, come see me, if you lose play until you win or I Comm. you, alright? Then you can see your mummy." Lizzy nodded, turning to Hoshi and taking her hand. The turbo lift was not designed to hold eight people so they were cramped until they reached deck eight and the majority of the occupants filed out to get to sickbay. Lizzy half made to go with them but Hoshi ordered it to deck Three and the mess hall.
"I can't play chess." Lizzy said, looking up at Hoshi with tearful eyes as if this was some great failing she needed to be absolved from.
"I'll teach you, don't worry Lizzy. Phlox is the best doctor in Starfleet. If anyone can make your mother better it's him." Lizzy sniffed, rubbing her nose with her sleeve.
"That's what daddy said when Mally got sick but he didn't get better. He's still in hospital." Lizzy said, dragging her feet as they left the turbolift.
"Malcolm was sick?" Lizzy nodded.
"He was kidnapped by the Romulans. Daddy said they treated him bad so he became poorly. He was treated bad a long time but when the war ended the prisoners were sent back and daddy said that Mally would get better but he's been in hospital a long time and he still walks funny. Daddy says it's because they hurt his knees and when people's knees are hurt they walk funny. Why is his hair a different colour to when he's at home?" Hoshi was so busy processing all the data that she completely missed Lizzy's question. There was a war between Starfleet and the Romulans! She had to tell someone! Malcolm was kidnapped and tortured, how long was he gone for?
"How long was Mally gone for, Lizzy?"
"Long before I was born. I don't know. Lots of years." The horror on Hoshi's face was not lost on Lizzy who realised her mistake.
"Don't worry! I'm sure he'll get better! I bet his hair will change colour too. I think he looks prettier with dark hair to white hair. Uncle Mally is the best! Ye're gonna have babies so I can play with them when I visit." Hoshi didn't know which she was more shocked with. The news that Malcolm, her husband in the future, was a prisoner of war for years during the Romulan war or that Malcolm, her husband in the future was going to make babies with her. She just never thought about Malcolm that way before. She hadn't thought about anyone on the ship that way before, except maybe Trip but that was different, they were locked in Decon together and dieing. You were bound to form and emotional attachment then…She never liked Malcolm, didn't like Malcolm…
"Aunty Mally? HOSHI!" Her head snapped round to look at Lizzy who was staring at her with a quizzical expression. "Where's the chess board?"
IOIOIO
"What happened?" Lorian asked, leaving Rialta's bedside and rushing to Trip's as he was laid down.
"He got a first hand example of the Vulcan neck pinch." Phlox said, running a scanner over T'pol's shivering body.
"And my mother?"
"She's deep in Plak Tow. I think…Hold on…" Phlox looked completely confused. "According to these scans she's perfectly fine." He shook his head and turned to Archer. Judging by the indignant squawk the medical scanner made he was still in rather bad shape. "Do you have those stimulants I asked for?" Lorian handed him a prepped hypo and he discharged it into Archer's temple hoping to still the life signs on the biobed which were fluctuating madly.
"It's the null, time is bouncing back and forth. It wont be much longer before time starts to ripple and disperse. Could you revive Commander Tucker please?" Phlox moved past him and reloaded the hypo with a stimulant before shoving it into Lorian's arms as he ran to attend to Archer who's life signs were plummeting at an alarming rate. Lorian discharged the hypo into Trip's neck where already a nasty bruise was forming over the nerve cluster. He jerked awake with a grunt and looked around.
"I need your help Commander, we are running out of time. We need to finish hooking up the power supply soon." Trip slipped off the bed and took a few uneasy steps, rubbing his shoulder.
"Yeah, sure. I forgot how much that hurts. What do you need?"
"Without Rialta's aid reconfiguring Enterprise's power couplings will take far longer than we have. Your expertise is required there far more urgently than it is required in the cargobay though I suggest you assign to highly competent Engineers to finish hooking up Rialta's ship to Enterprise." They marched out of sickbay leaving Phlox to work on Archer. Rialta groaned from where she lay and turned onto her side, her eyes flickering open.
"Where's Lorian?" She croaked but her question fell on deaf ears as the bio signs dropped to nil and Phlox rushed to save Archer's life. Rialta slid off the bed and slipped quietly out of sickbay after Trip and Lorian. Malcolm followed her, grasping her arm gently.
"Rialta, you should be in bed. Please, you've had a rough day."
"No time." She murmured. "Out of time. Lorian needs my help with recalibrating Enterprise. Can't do it on his own you see, not in the time frame."
"Rialta, according to him your heart stopped. Now, there's working yourself to death and then there's working yourself to death." She smiled up at him, her eyes slightly glazed.
"That's what I liked about you, Malcolm. You have a good sense of humour, shame you hide it. You were a good man but if we don't finish work on Enterprise soon, and by soon I mean now, then we're all dead and if you and Hoshi die I'll have never of existed anyway." Malcolm furrowed his brow, confused a moment.
"What are you talking about?"
"You'll see, very soon, you'll see." She pulled out of his grasp and tried to run down the hallway but ended up tripping herself up in her weakened sate and tumbling to the floor. Malcolm rushed to her aid and saw she was running a fever, her face flushed a sickly yellow. "Dad." She whined, reaching for him. "I'm too weak, the null is making the sickness progress too fast. You'll have to carry me to the Jeffries tube. Lorian can't finish it on his own. He'll blow Enty to pieces. Please daddy." Malcolm was stunned a moment, did she just call him daddy? This was impossible, she must be delusional.
"Rialta, we have to get you to sickbay. You're delusional."
"No…no…I'm not, Malcolm. You're my father and I need you to help me. Get me to Lorian. He needs my help you all do."
"I can't be your father!" She smiled.
"Damn you, just carry me!"
"No! Not until you explain yourself." Rialta closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I thought the name would have been a give away. Alright, alright…In a few months from now Enterprise will find a drifting escape pod. Inside will be a faint, unknown life sign who, it turns out, is yours truly. If it wasn't for you and Hoshi taking me in I'd have died. Enterprise was the only ship in the vicinity and your blossoming relationship was only further cemented by a child. I would have thought the name would have given it away. Rialta…it means Star in Gaelige. Your grandmother used to call you her rialta beag. Her little star…You thought the name appropriate for me. I always liked it. But you see, if ye don't find me I'll die and none of this will have happened and you'll all die anyway so there's working myself to death and then there's not working myself to death. I'm dieing anyway, Malcolm. I'm too far from home to reach help and even if I wasn't…there isn't enough time. You'd think for a time-traveller I'd have barrels, wouldn't ya but like your father always said, every second counts." Malcolm was too stunned to stop her and she slipped away. Him and Hoshi? A child? It was all too surreal but Rialta? She wasn't even human, she was adopted…Time travelling aliens was one thing but she was a part of his future. That's why she looked and sounded familiar. The was she carried herself, spoke, acted, looked; it all screamed Reed. She was so much like his sister but…no, she was his Rialta.