Chapter 2

Trip walked with Sam through the long corridors towards engineering. As they walked, Trip notice that the few people they had passed were dressed in the same "retro-style" as Sam and wondered if it wasn't some sort of way to show unity. Surely not everyone had the same taste in clothing as their Captain? "Hey...uh, Cap'n, can I ask you something?"

"Only if you call me Sam." He quipped back.

"Oh...yeah, right. Anyway, Sam, what's up with the clothes? I mean, they're not exactly what's "in" at the moment. Y'all trying to make a statement or something?"

Sam gave an amusing snort. "I guess being out here as long as we have...we really haven't kept up with fashion trends."

A cold chill ran through Trip. "How long have you been out here?"

Sam opened a door and gestured Trip inside. Once Trip walked into the room, he froze in his tracks, looking wide eyed at the center of the room. "Is that your warp core?" He couldn't hide the shock in his voice.

A man who had been crouched down next to the core stood up and turned towards Trip. The man looked to be in his early 20's, a little muscular and a few inches shorter than Trip. "Yeah! Ain't she a beaut? Top of the line. You the guy who thinks he can help us get her going again?"

Trip absently stuck out his hand for a shake as he stood staring at the core with eyes so wide they looked like saucers. This guy thinks THAT'S top of the line? Sheesh! He thought to himself sarcastically. "Trip Tucker. And all I can do is try. Holy hell that's a warp 2. What the hell are y'all doing all the way out here with that thing? How the hell did you get all the way out here in the first place?"

Sam gave Trip an enigmatic smile. "Told you we been out here for a while."

Trip shook his head. "No. No. Warp 2 cargo? You're supposed to stay within Earth's solar system. I mean shit! It would take y'all weeks to get to Neptune...but all the way out here? It would take half a lifetime with this thing!"

Sam shook his head. "Not that long really, and I don't recall an exact rule that says we have to stay within the system."

"Well...uh...no, I guess not, but Starfleet leaves the outer system cargo hauls to the warp 3 and 4 ships. Safer that way, less chance of maintenance issues, and it wouldn't take as long for them to make their runs. What in the blue blazes are you guys thinking coming all the way out here with this engine? Hey...are you guys...are you running some sort of black market racket or something?"

Sam gave Trip a cold stare as Trip gulped. Damnit Trip! When are you gonna learn to keep your big yap shut? These guys are running a black market and you just HAD to say something! Now they're gonna kill you, Archer will never find you or the shuttle, and you'll just end up some kind of ghost story kids tell around the campfire. You idiot! Trip scolded himself.

Trip stammered. "I-I mean...it's none of my business if you are. I mean...I really don't give a damn one way or another. Look, I won't lie...I've had to go through the market myself a time or two, just to get what I needed. I think you guys are a resource that is taken for granted." Yeah...get on their good side...FAST! "Look...how about I just go back to my shuttle and drift in space until Enterprise finds me. Y'all will be long gone by then, I won't mention seeing you, and we'll just forget about this whole thing. Deal?"

Sam shook his head as he chuckled. "Trip, we're not running a black market, we're not going to kill you, and most importantly...we're not going to let you sit in that tin can of yours stranded. I already told you...we don't leave people stranded if we can help it."

Trip visibly relaxed. "Um...ok. So...what are you doing all the way out here then?"

"Told you. We have a drop to make, but we'll never get there if we can't figure out something about our anti-matter injectors. Is your offer to help Roger still open?" Sam lifted a brow at Trip.

"Roger?" Trip questioned before suddenly realizing he had forgotten about the other man in the room. "Oh! You. Sorry...guess I was so taken aback by the engine, I didn't get your name."

Roger shook his head. "Yeah, don't worry about it, most of the crew here forget about me. I'm use to it."

"That's not true, Roger." Sam said sternly.

"Yeah? Then how come I was trapped in a storage closet for over 24 hours before someone noticed I was missing and y'all started to look for me then?"

"Well...it's not like we forgot about you...exactly. You just have a tendency to get wrapped up in a project, and it's not that unusual for us to not see you for a day or two." Sam shrugged.

"Geez. Maybe I need to start changing some of my own habits." Trip muttered to himself.

Roger gave Sam a little sneer as he waved Trip over to the engine core. "Well...I've done everything I can think of to get her going again. We've been stuck at impulse for so long...I swear if we don't get to warp soon, I'm gonna get out and start pushing this damn ship myself just so we can get the run over with."

Trip's jaw dropped and he shook his head as he took a look at the core. "Yeah...uh...I know you're not an engineer, but...SERIOUSLY!?" He flailed his hands in the direction of the core. "You know what's wrong with your anti-matter injectors?" He paused for effect. "They're MISSING!"

Roger looked at Trip deadpaned. "I know they're missing, I'm not completely inept. Couldn't it be bypassed or something?"

Trip shook his head. "Yeah, sure, you can bypass the injectors if you want. You'll blow yourselves up doing it...but hey...your ship. Just, uh, wait until I'm gone and a few parsecs away from here before you fire her up, though. Ok? Thanks. How the hell did your injectors go MIA anyways?"

Sam shifted. "We were boarded by alien pirates. We tried to fight them off, that's how my engineer got injured, but they still got away with some of our cargo and the injectors."

"Pirates huh? Yeah...I've heard stories of cargo ships getting ripped off like that. Do you know what species these pirates were?" Trip asked.

Roger shook his head. "We never seen their species before, or since. They were short, bald, big noses and ears. Ugly looking too. Their teeth looked like dental hygiene wasn't much of a priority for their kind either, all sharp and crooked and everything."

Trip nodded his head. "I think I know the guys you're talking about. We had a run-in with them a few years back. According to the Vulcan database, their species is Ferengi."

Sam chuckled. "Going after a cargo ship is one thing...going after a starship? Ballsy little runts."

Trip gave a smirk. "Yeah...well...actually they might have gotten away with it if I hadn't been in the decon chamber. They used some sort of gas to knock out the crew except me. Well, there's really nothing I can do to help you with this issue at the moment. Maybe after we meet up with Enterprise, I can fabricate a replacement for you. At the very least, we can give you a tow to a repair station."

Sam and Roger shared a look. "Uh...maybe. We'll see what happens when we get you back to your ship."

Trip narrowed his eyes, but decided questioning Sam might not be a good idea at the moment. "Um...ok. You wanna show me to your comm station? Maybe I could get your long range communication back up."

Sam shifted. "They got the long range array too."

Trip shrugged. "Well, at least bypassing that won't blow you up. I can boost the signal of the short range, run a feed through the deflector. It won't be perfect, might get some static and background noise...but worth a shot."

Sam nodded and smiled. "Great! Roger can take you to the bridge, and you can show him what you're doing...a little teaching moment?"

"Sounds good, Roger, lead the way." Trip said enthusiastically.

~ooOoo~

Trip was showing Roger how to boost the short range communication, explaining the details of preventing an overload to the circuits as he mused at the almost obsolete equipment. He had to constantly remind himself that this was a small cargo outfit, one that couldn't afford the more advanced systems he was accustomed to working with.

There were times that Trip had flashes of his engineering school days, learning the trade and practicing with tearing apart equipment and putting them back together. He imagined his old professor looking over his shoulder, giving him instructions and encouraging words. It felt good to Trip to work with these systems again, but he was still appreciative of his modern Enterprise and promised himself not to take his "old girl" for granted.

As he was pulling part of an access panel off, he noticed a data recording card still in the slot. He tried to pop it out, but it was stuck. He reached into the toolbox and grabbed at anything he could use to pry it out. He was careful at what he was doing, not wanting to damage the circuitry or the card, as he wasn't sure if there might have been something important recorded on it.

He let out a low "yesss" when the card popped out. "Any idea what this is?" He asked Roger.

Roger shrugged. "No clue. Maybe Sam will know."

Trip nodded as he put the card into his jacket pocket. "I'll give it to him when I talk to him later. Right now, hand me that coil stripper."

"Coil stripper? What do you plan to use that for in here? Aren't these used for opening and disassembling a static coil?"

Trip chuckled. "Well...that's what they're designed for, but you'd be surprised to find all the little shortcuts around an issue, and the ways a tool can be used beyond their functions. I'm gonna have to write a book about that someday. Watch and learn, my friend."

Within 20 minutes, Trip and Roger had the comm system put back together. Roger looked hesitantly at Trip. "Think it's going to work?"

"Only one way to find out." Trip answered as he opened the designated Starfleet channel. "Tucker to Enterprise. Do you copy?"

His reply was static and he made some adjustments, continuing his hail. After a few moments, and out of ideas, he sighed. "I guess there just isn't enough in these old systems to get a good boost and cut through all that interference."

He pulled the panel again and checked the wiring. "If I could wrap these ends in gold sheet...that should give a better connection and cut down on the static."

Roger shook his head. "Yeah...those pirates were extreamly intrested in gold...almost obsessed with it. I mean seriously, how much value can there be in such a common material anyway?"

Trip shook his head. "Well, in some cultures, gold is still very sought after and has a high value. Keep in mind, even in Earth's history, gold was at one time, a very valuable commodity. Hell, wars were started over that stuff. It's only been a little over a hundred years since it's lost most of it's value for humans, pretty much only used in electronics and fashion jewlery. So I take it any gold foil sheets you might have had in storage is gone?"

Sam nodded his head. "Yep. And any other item that contained the sheeting. Guess they planned to strip it out."

Trip blew out a breath. "Copper then? It won't be as good of a connection as the gold foil, but it could work in a pinch."

Roger didn't voice his answer, the look he gave Trip said it all. "Got that too, huh." Trip wiped a hand down his face. "Well...I guess back to plan A and wait for Enterprise to come into range." Trip tried to stifle a yawn.

"You've had a long day, I can show you to a room so you can get some rest." Roger smiled.

Trip shook his head. "That's ok. I can catch a few hours on the shuttle. I don't want to inconvenience anyone by having to bunk up."

"It wouldn't be an inconvenience, we have plenty of extra rooms. Always did have more rooms than crew, you wouldn't have to bunk up with anyone."

Trip shuffled for a second. "Well...as long as I'm not putting anyone out. I could use a little rest."