Consequences

Rating: T+
Summary: All choices have consequences whether they be good or bad
Disclaimer: All cannon characters are owned by the Great Flanneled One, and now Disney. All Enterprise characters are owned by the Great Bird of the Galaxy. All others are mine. I make no money off this.
Note: This is a sequel to Choices

Timeline: 40BBY

Speech: " "
Training Bond communications: /
Internal thoughts: italics

Chapter Eleven

On his way back to the hanger bay, Trip paused by engineering. In the end he didn't enter, for he thought it would be better if he went straight to the crippled transport immediately. Because they were doing a simple orbit, he didn't need to be there constantly monitoring the engines. He hesitated, though, as he passed by the now closed up armory closet. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he continued into the hanger. This specific armory closet had two openings, one outside in the corridor, and the other side opened to the hanger bay itself. It was also set up so that it was completely sealed, so if anything happened while the hanger was depressurized, then there wouldn't be a hull breach if the armory was broken into. Personally, he thought it was dangerous. Thankfully, that he knew of, there were only two people on board that knew about this problem, him and Mal.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he focused on the transport before him. Stepping inside it, Trip looked around. Earlier he and Mal had jury-rigged the current lighting systems. Sticking his head in the small cabin that had two bunks in it, he found that someone had been there earlier and cleaned the place up a bit, but not completely, for sticking out from underneath the top bunk looked like something flimsy and whitish, almost like what people used to write on, and to an extent, today.

With a step or two, he approached the bunks and pulled it out. For a moment he felt as if he were intruding on something private, for this was apparently their private space. What he held now was paper of some kind. Turning it over his eyes widened as he turned and sat down on the bottom bunk. It was a sketch of a woman that had been lovingly finished to perfection. Her clothing had echoes of some of the more traditional styles of the Indian subcontinent, while her skin color looked to be about the same shade as Ensign Mayweather. Whomever she was, she was lovely.

"Her name is Eira," Qui-Gon's voice came from the doorway.

Trip physically jumped as his head whipped around towards the door. He had not heard Qui-Gon's arrival. As soon as he realized who was standing before him, he let his arms drop to his sides and he closed his eyes. Raising a hand he shielded his eyes for a moment. "You know, you could have given me a heart attack. I didn't hear you arrive at all."

Qui-Gon pursed his lips. Eventually he shrugged, "Sorry?"

"Never mind," Trip waved his hand in dismissal, but stopped when he realized where he was. "Um…I just realized that I probably shouldn't be in here, especially with your personal items here."

Qui-Gon gave him a kind smile. "Have no worry Commander Tucker for Jedi are not supposed to have personal items."

Trip took a step back and cocked his head to the side. "You know, the more you describe the order the more it sounds like it's religious. We have what are called monasteries and abbeys for men and women who decide to live a contemplative life surrounding one of our major religions."

"Interesting."

Trip looked beyond Qui-Gon and into the corridor. "Where's Obi-Wan?"

"He's currently outside taking a good look at the hull. He wants to make sure that it's secure and no breaches."

"Yeah, I can understand that. It would not be good to have all your breathable air sucked out into space." Trip looked back to the picture again. "You mentioned she was there at the last place you were."

Qui-Gon paused, while placing a finger over his lips. "Yes, she was there on our last mission. We had to protect both her and her father because a rival leader was trying to destabilize the area where they lived."

"Sounds like they had countries. It's only been in the last few hundred years when the different nations on Terra finally came to a consensus to not overrun their neighbors."

Qui-Gon eventually nodded. "I do hope where we came from finally comes to the same conclusion, though I'm not sure that will happen any time soon. The people who lived on that particular plant almost destroyed everything out of greed."

Trip whistled, "Just before you arrived?"

"Thankfully no. It happened a long time ago, but the wasteland it created is growing. As of now it's probably covering about a third of the planet."

"Unless something is done about it, it'll only get worse." Trip shook his head.

"Yes." Qui-Gon paused and turned towards the hatch.

"What is it?" Trip asked as he followed Qui-Gon, though he still remained inside the ship. The older Jedi was now behind Obi-Wan and helping him get onto the transport. Once inside he let Obi-Wan move towards the cockpit then turned his attention back to Trip. Who in turn looked over Qui-Gon's shoulder and in the direction of where Obi-Wan went. "Did he want to marry her?"

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, it was obvious that he was confused, at least for a moment. He glanced over his shoulder once again, and then back to Trip, "He never mentioned it. Plus he needs to finish his training if he wants to follow through with it."

It took a moment for Trip to understand what Qui-Gon was implying. "Ah…gotcha. Those pesky rules and regs." He nodded then turned back towards what he was now calling the engine room, though it really wasn't an engine per se, at least from his viewpoint.

Obi-Wan couldn't take his eyes off what was left of the instrumentation he had been operating when the shuttle crashed. He wasn't even sure if the ship was even flightworthy, that was until he looked to where Qui-Gon had been sitting. There were still bloodstains, but that was about it. Why me? Obi-Wan shook his head. First the poison and then this. Having no way to answer it, he turned the chair around and went back into the common room. He was tired though.

Leaning his head against the backrest of the chair, Obi-Wan closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was rest. It bothered him, though, that he tired out so easily. It was the same when he was initially recovering on Vasda. His mind wandered over to Eira. It was nice always having her nearby. Now, he found he was missing her more than he thought he would. There was also a mental emptiness he never expected to feel. It was as if she was gone, leaving a hole in his mind.

"Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan jerked his eyes open, then shook his head. /Sorry, Master. I'm just really tired./

"I'm not all that surprised." Qui-Gon approached while his mind gently probed. "Maybe you've done too much."

/I don't think so./ The thought was interrupted by a yawn.

"Actually I think you have." Qui-Gon gave him an amused smile.

Trip reappeared in the room. "I'd be careful if I were you. Your last seizure was probably triggered by exhaustion."

This time Obi-Wan frowned. It was one thing going up against his Master, but another thing entirely when someone else also agreed with him. He may not have folded his arms, but he did a good impression of being rather annoyed.

"Padawan Kenobi doesn't like it when I'm right," Qui-Gon's voice held a lot of humor.

"Of course not." Trip gave both Jedi a two fingered salute and turned back towards the engine room.

/All right,/ the grumble came through the bond loud and clear.

/Padawan./

/No one can hear me,/ Obi-Wan shot back.

/But there is at least one telepathic member of the crew. I will not take this insolence from you./

Obi-Wan let out a huff, but capitulated when he yawned again.

Several hours after Qui-Gon had left with Obi-Wan, Trip was still in the engine room of the shuttle. With it being a somewhat small space and no real air circulation made the whole area stuffy. Rubbing the back of his dirty hand against his forehead left a dark streak combined with his own sweat. He then used his sleeve to make sure it wouldn't run into his eyes, which left another stain on his uniform. It had collected quite a few since he began working on the engine. Personally he had no idea how long he had been there, but it didn't matter at this point in time.

With steady hands, he connected two more wires, and was rewarded by a shower of sparks. Trip leaned back while raising a hand to shield his face. He froze when a low level thrumming sound started. It may have been barely above human hearing, but it was enough to catch his attention. Trip looked around while trying to locate where it was coming from. "I wonder," he muttered as he scrambled to his feet.

Leaving the room he went over to where he and Mal had set up the extra lighting. In the larger room he turned out the lights plunging the area into darkness. Nothing happened. Right before he reached over to turn the lights back on so he could try again, he paused. It wasn't as dark as it had been. Waiting a little bit longer he was rewarded with the internal lights coming back on to full strength.

"Yes," Trip gave a small fist pump.

With the portable lights not needed anymore, Trip moved throughout the transport and removed the ones that were just installed. While in the room where he found the picture he paused when he accidentally kicked one of those small square memory devices under the lower bunk. "Huh," he muttered as he knelt down and fished it out. "I thought they were all retrieved." Standing back up, he turned it over in his hands while looking at it.

Shrugging, he slipped it into a pocket then continued on removing the rest of the lights. When the last was taken down, he went back into the common room while pulling out the small memory card. Trip turned it over and over in his hand looking for an edge that would normally be connected with what could only be called a viewer. Though he felt guilty about it, he began looking around for a screen, or anything that could be used to see what was on it. Trip had to admit he was extremely curious about their two visitors, and if this had anything on it, then it would possibly assuage his curiosity.

On one of the walls was a screen and a slot underneath it. "Bingo," he muttered as he looked around and then went over to it and slid the memory card into the slot. When it didn't work, he tried it again, but with it turned over. This time it slid in easily. Taking a step back, he folded one arm against his chest and propped his opposing elbow on it so he could tap his lips with a finger. At first nothing happened, but then the screen flickered.

The room was some sort of dojo with the floor decorated with lines. A voice spoke, and then Obi-Wan stepped into view. He held a staff that was close to his height. After a moment he began going through what looked like one of those katas that karate enthusiasts go through in preparation before their workouts or a bout with another karate expert. It was obvious why Qui-Gon moved the way he did and it was easily apparent Obi-Wan had the same. He shook his head then pressed a red button. The video winked out and the memory card was released. I'm surprised he's not angry.

After looking around for a few more minutes, Trip picked everything up and left the transport. It had been a long, but productive day. As soon as he stepped into engineering, he spoke to his second and let her know she would be in charge of engineering until he got the shuttle up and running. With her nod, Trip left and went back to his quarters to clean up for his shift's dinner time.

Stepping inside the smaller room, his communicator flashed. Not again, he sighed as he went over to listen to it. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. The message though turned out to be from the Captain wanting him to join him for dinner. With a smile, he cleaned up and headed to the captain's personal mess.

Entering the room, he sighed when he found T'Pol there, and already seated at the table, but the captain wasn't there.

"Sit down, Trip," Jon's voice came from behind.

Trip looked over his shoulder, then sat at an his usual place at the table.

"Have you been able to get anything accomplished with our visitor's transport?"

"Uh-huh," Trip nodded, ignoring T'Pol's narrowed eyes. "I managed to get the internal power working again. I also found out a little bit about our visitors and what Obi-Wan was being taught."

"You might want to try meditation."

Trip looked up to T'Pol, not really understanding what she was getting at. "Why?"

"Because it is conductive to calming and centering oneself."

"Why would I want to do that?" Trip looked at her, confused at her words.

Jon cleared his throat. "T'Pol, have you been able to speak with Qui-Gon?"

"He looks to be well. He participates in meditation."

A corner of Jon's mouth twitched up at the apparent irony of the Vulcan's statement. He turned his attention back to Trip, "What do you mean by different?"

Trip sat back, not entirely sure how he should broach the subject. "Well," he began, "I think it's just that they're different. Qui-Gon is apparently training Obi-Wan in some sort of martial arts. There was a video of Obi-Wan going through what you would call a kata."

"And meditation," Jon's head inclined in T'Pol's direction.

"Yes, I heard." Trip wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn't.

Jon didn't glare at Trip, but it was close. "When you're close to getting the engine up and running I want our visitors there."

Trip put a fork down, "I plan on it." He looked down to his food for a moment, wondering if he should mention the picture or not.

Instead of answering him, Jon answered to no one in particular, "I will speak with Reed and see if our phase cannon can collapse the anomaly."

"I don't know how dangerous that can be. It could have major repercussions both here and where our…visitors are from."

"What do you mean, Sub-Commander?"

Trip looked from one officer to the other, he was just as curious, though never thought about speaking about it.

"From my research this particular anomaly was not created by warping space. It has something to do with subspace frequencies."

"Or hyperspace," Trip commented.

The conversation died down until the end of dinner. Standing up, Trip commented, "I still want you to see what I found."

Jon shook his head. "That would be imposing on their privacy."

"I don't think so. It looks to be a training video." Trip shrugged.

It was obvious Jon was thinking of the best course of action. Eventually he nodded while rising to his feet, and ushered them out and into the corridor. When the stepped into the shuttle all was dark. Moments later the lights rose to a comfortable level. Trip paused when he noticed that T'Pol looked to be frozen in place. "Hey…," he waved his hand in front of her to get her attention.

She startled back a step then glared at him. Her reaction only made him smile. "I'm just checking to see if you're still with us."

"I am perfectly fine, Commander," her voice remained steady, but cold at the same time.

"Then come on," he indicated the other side of the room with a wave of his hand. Pulling the memory disc out of his pocket, he inserted it into the space provided. The wall screen flickered once again and just as before, it began playing the video of Obi-Wan working with a staff.

"He is attempting to remain upbeat while unable to do much for now. He is impatient." Qui-Gon's voice came from behind the three officers.

They turned around quickly.

"And do not worry," Qui-Gon smiled as his eyes flickered over to the video. "You are not intruding on any privacy. After each training session we look to see what was done correctly and what Obi-Wan can do to fix, so he will not train incorrectly."

"I know he's your apprentice. What are you training him for?" Jon glanced to his officers before turning his attention back to Qui-Gon.

"He is being trained so he can go out and help people. Yes, we are different, and because of our differences we hold great responsibility to the citizens of the Republic and ourselves in general. Future Jedi are brought to the Temple on Coruscant for training as soon as the child begins showing Force sensitivity, which is about the age of two standard, normally." His eyes flickered back to the screen, "Obi-Wan was different. From his actions alone we assumed he was abandoned at birth and miners found him. We were summoned because they didn't wish to deal with a newborn."

"How long have you know him?"

Qui-Gon clasped his hands before him. "I was the one sent to retrieve him. He just happened to become my apprentice when he was old enough. That we know of, he has no living family."

TBC…