Author's note
Thank's for all of the review's, as promised i've updated faster.
Chapter 7
All of the senior members of Enterprise, plus Sovek met in the situation room bright and early. The Captain having received an answer from Starfleet regarding the apparent Romulan threat.
Captain Archer related what he had been told. It seemed Starfleet agreed that the Romulans could pose a future problem, however they didn't believe destroying a weapons facility was the answer.
Firstly the Intel had come from an unknown source.- Archer had accepted Sovek's wishes and not told his superiors from whom he had received the information from. This Archer believed wasn't the main reason for Starfleet's unwillingness to get involved. The main reason being that if they were to take action it would surely be considered an act of war by Earth. Earth and its people were not ready, nor did they want another war.
The Xindi conflict was still fresh in people's minds and with the recent Terra Prime problem, Starfleet was just managing to justify Enterprise and Columbia's mission of exploration. No one on Earth would support a planetary war.
"So what's going to happen about the Romulans?" Trip inquired.
"Officially Starfleet will continue to observe any threat to Earth and take the necessary action. Unofficially it is just hoping the danger will go away. " The Captain replied.
"Your government is fooling itself captain." Sovek stated. "War is inevitable; ignoring it will only cause the numbers of lives that will be lost to increase. Your leaders are fools Archer." Sovek said bluntly as he left the room.
"Took that well didn't he." said Trip
"I don't entirely disagree with him." said Archer "The threat from Terra Prime is putting a lot of pressure on Starfleet. They can't be seen to be getting into conflicts with other species, even if they pose a great threat." Archer stated.
Trip and T'pol knew more than anyone the lengths Terra Prime could go to. The incident months ago with their daughter a shining example of humanities darker side. If Sovek was right about the Romulans, and the officers believed he was. Then Terra prime could be indirectly responsible for Starfleet's and Earths' failure to protect itself against an alien race. The poetic irony not passing the crew of Enterprise by.
Archer was the last person that wanted war. Never wanting to go through anything like the Xindi conflict ever again, but if the Romulans were such a threat, Earth needed to take action… and soon.
"We have been ordered to continue our Exploration, it just so happens the next system the Admiral authorised us to explore is very close to the co-ordinates Sovek provided."
The officers knew exactly what Archer was implying.
Archer continued. "We are to strictly gather information about the system, if it just so happens that Enterprises' sensor's take some readings of a previously unknown outpost that just happens to be Romulan then so be it." Archer said, a small smirk apparent on his face. He didn't like all the secrecy but if that's what it took to make sure that Earth would remain safe, then so be it.
"We must be very careful though. If the Romulans suspect that we are in the system for any other reason they may attack. I don't want to face that risk." Archer told his officers.
"Travis, when you get to the bridge set a course; warp four point five." Mayweather nodded.
"Ok, everyone dismissed."
Enterprise had been travelling through the blackness of space for around two days now. The stars from the perspective of the people on Enterprise were streaking by at incredible speeds; the crew getting even closer to their destination.
Hoshi was working late, her shift having finished hours ago. She was still in the middle of updating the translation matrix- a job she could not exactly leave half finished. Her console beeped indicating Enterprise had detected an incoming signal.
Leaving her work for the moment she picked up her earpiece and listened to the message, her eyes opened wider as she listened to the signal. Pressing a sequence of commands, she contacted the captain and relayed what she had heard. "I'll be right there." was his only response and within minutes, he had arrived on the bridge.
Malcolm was in the gym when the call for all senior officers to report to the bridge came through. He placed down the weight he was lifting and hurried to the bridge. 'What's gone wrong now?' His only thought as he entered the turbo lift. Somedays he would like to be able to go a week without some major catastrophe from happening. There was no chance of that happening though, this ship was Enterprise and it was like a magnet- attracting all the trouble you could find in the galaxy. Still if he had to admit it, he enjoyed some of the situations they got themselves into; he thrived on the uncertainty and danger.
Stepping on to the bridge, he saw the rest of the officers; they were apparently waiting for him. Seeing that his security officer had arrived the captain started to fill everyone in on what had occurred.
"Within the last fifteen minutes. We received a distress signal from a Tellarite ship; not too far from our position, their systems have failed and they are coming very close to a gas giant whose gravity they can't overcome."
"Do we know how bad their systems are Cap'n?" Trip asked.
"No, all we received was a rather distorted distress signal in Tellarite. We have no idea how or why their systems failed, or if there are any casualties".
"T'pol and Trip I want you to offer assistance when we rendezvous. Assess how bad their system's are, and find out if you can do anything to help. I have asked Phlox to prepare for any casualties.
"Captain, I wish to offer my services also." said Sovek stepping off the turbo lift having heard most of the conversation.
"I told you the bridge was off limits." replied Archer ignoring what the Vulcan had said.
"I apologise Captain, however I believe I can help with your situation. I have been on various Tellarite ships and know their systems. It would speed up the repair time."
Archer considered this for a few seconds "You can help Trip and T'pol our ETA is in thirty minutes; prepare what you need to assist you."
"Thank you Captain." Sovek responded.
Thirty minutes later Enterprise slowed to impulse. They had attempted to hail the Tellarite vessel but had been unsuccessful. T'pol tried to scan the interior to detect any life signs but was somehow being prevented from doing so. She assumed the gas giant was interfering with her readings and thought nothing more of it. She managed to scan the exterior though, and found that the docking ports were incompatible with enterprise or her shuttle pods.
"Captain it appears we will have to beam over. We will not be able to dock." T'pol informed the Captain.
"Ok, be careful over there." Archer responded.
"Aren't we always Cap'n" said Trip a grin on his face.
Archer rolled his eyes. If there was trouble to be found the commander would find it. It was a well-known fact aboard Enterprise that Phlox often joked that he had reserved a bed entirely for the engineer. This was due mostly to the fact that usually Trip spent more time in sickbay after an away mission than essentially on the mission itself! Archer just hoped this wouldn't be one of those times, he didn't realise how wrong he actually was.
Trip, T'pol and Sovek stood on the transport platform. Trip nodded over to the Ensign who was operating the controls, the young woman pulled down the lever and activated the transport. The molecules of the three were broken down and they re-materialised on board the Tellarite ship.
The scene they were met with could not be more different from what they were expecting. They didn't even have time to respond before each of them were hit directly in the chest, their bodies falling straight to the ground. Out of the shadows, a figure stepped forward, a weapon still trained on the three. A crude smile appearing on their face. "I told you this wouldn't be the last time we met, Sovek."………
To be continued...
Yes, I know i'm mean to keep you in suspense. Please review!