"They really need a better name for that." Forest thought to himself. It was hard to keep his mind off of Enterprise, so he lashed out at the first thing that came onto his screen. Unfortunately, it was an intelligence report that concerned the star system that Enterprise had been heading towards.
"Get me Captain Archer, NOW DAMNIT!"
Captain's Quarters, 0534 hours ship time
"T'POL! NO!" Archer's eyes snapped open and he shot up out of bed. Porthos, sleeping at his feet, leapt up into the air, and fell to the floor. Archer looked around his quarters, remembered that Phlox had ordered him to get some rest, and had given him a sedative. "Sorry Porthos. I…just had a nightmare." Porthos looked up at him and just wagged his tail. Archer didn't understand why, but the little guy seemed to know what was going on. Man's best friend, must be part telepathic in order to achieve that, Archer thought.
"Captain." The comm panel buzzed. "Admiral Forest is on line, and he doesn't sound very….happy." Hoshi sounded scared. Hell, half the crew was, but there was something more on her mind. "Put him through to my quarters Hoshi, and don't worry, I'll handle him."
"Jonathan, I am so sorry about what's going on, but it looks like you aren't just going to be able to sit there and wait for Columbia for repairs. You need to keep moving towards that star system we had you going to." It was obvious that there was more behind this, because the Admiral was just barely holding back his tongue. Archer had learned the hard way what that look meant.
"Why is that Admiral? We are stuck on impulse for the next couple of days, and even then, our top speed won't be too good, maybe warp two." Archer was beginning to worry.
"I'm sending you the intelligence now. Jon, it seems the Vulcans have kept us in the dark more than you would think."
"What else is new…" Archer had begun to read the report. "Admiral, could you do me a favor?"
"What is that Jon?"
"Tell the Vulcan High Command that they are responsible for the deaths of three of my crewmembers, and that I expect them here within two days, otherwise I will make sure that this report goes to the families of my dead crewmen, and then, I will make sure that my friends in the press will also find a copy of this on their desks. I might even give the Andorians a call, depending on my mood."
"Jon, you can't do t—"
"LIKE HELL I CAN'T! THEY DIDN'T TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT WERE GETTING INTO! ALL THEY HAVE IN THEIR DATABASE ABOUT THE ICLARKU STAR SYSTEM IS THAT IT'S UNINHABITED, AND THAT IS A LIE!" Archer pounded the desk. Porthos, seeing that he was angry, whimpered and crawled under the bed.
"Ok Jon, you're right, I'll tell them."
"NO! I'll give you a better idea, play them this conversation, let them know that T'Pol was the only survivor of the blast, and she isn't likely to come around for the next few months. Let them know that my fiancée isn't going to be able to help me calm my emotions, or hold them back from lashing out at them."
"Jon…I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Admiral, I know it isn't what you expected of us, but this crew has become a family. And T'Pol and I, well, we just…"
"Don't worry. I understand, and I support you on this. It's about time that we start shaking the skeletons out of the Vulcan's closet, that is, if we are to keep continue co-operating."
"Archer out."
Inspection Pod, just outside Deck F, formerly the Armory. 1624 hours
"Good God!" Trip was looking at the damage. Thankfully the torpedoes stored in the Armory hadn't gone off, keeping the blast isolated, but still, there was something not right about the blast. He pointed over to the edge of the hull that led down the corridor. "Malcolm, what does that look like to you? If the blast had been from the inside, shouldn't the hull be bent outward?"
"Hmm, yeah it should. That's weird." Malcolm took out his scanner and told Trip to get the air lock ready. "I'm going for a walk. Let's see if I can get a sample of the explosive."
"Hey guys, you need to get back to the shuttlebay, the captain wants us to get underway."
"Tell him that he needs to hold his horses, we may have found something." Trip shot back. Malcolm was now making his way to the edge of the hull, and he had pulled out his scanner and started sending back the readings. "We may not have the answers, but we may have just found some more questions. Malcolm, get a few more scans, then get back here."
"Hold on, I think I see a couple of torpedoes still intact. I'd recommend getting those out of here before we try moving. I'm moving towards them, and I will see if I can't get them to drift to the pod, it should be able to handle the weight, right?"
"It should, depending on how many there are."
"I see only four of them, two more I might be able to get the warheads from, but the propulsion units are gone."
"It must have been one hell of a blast; I don't get though how anything in the Armory could have done this. I mean we didn't have the warheads armed, and the torpedoes all have ion drives, so they wouldn't have been the cause." Trip maneuvered the pod so that it could receive the torpedoes. "Enterprise, Trip. Seems we have a few loose torpedoes. Were going to get them secured in the shuttlebay, and you should be able to get underway in about 10 minutes."
"Good job Trip. Tell Malcolm that he and you both get a steak dinner tonight." Archer motioned for the channel to close. At least they wouldn't be completely defenseless. Four working torpedoes and only one operating phase cannon, not much to use in a fight, but if what Admiral Forest said was right, that might not be the case for long.
Evidently something he had said had stirred not only the Vulcans, but the Andorians as well. Forest hadn't told him how, but his demand for help somehow managed to reach the Andorian ambassador, and from there, to his old friend Shran, who was now heading up a task force of six of the Andorian Imperial Fleets most advanced ships. The Vulcans had also contacted him directly, and said that they would be sending a task force of their own, with repair capabilities to replace their destroyed Armory. On top of repairing Enterprise, it seemed the Vulcans were finally removing the last of their restrictions on the transfer of technology to mankind. Enterprise was to have her engines revamped, raising her max speed to warp 6.5. Energy shielding was to be installed.
All of this without a single catch. If it had come at any other time, Archer would have thought that they were trying to butter him up for a bit favor, but the way that Ambassador Suval had talked when he had called. Archer had never seen a Vulcan so….scared.
"What would make a Vulcan so scared?" He asked T'Pol, not expecting a response.
"I wouldn't know Captain, but I will tell you this, T'Pol is healing quicker than has ever been observed, even among Vulcans themselves. There is something about the two of you that is causing her body to want to heal itself. I can't put it any better than that, but all I know is that the further away you are, the less this effect becomes. I would almost ask you to move into Sick Bay, if not for our current problems." Phlox had been informed of everything so far. If anyone on this ship could be trusted, other than T'Pol, it was Phlox. There was always Chef, but he was so busy trying to feed the crew of 80, that he barely had time to talk.
"You know what, I think you are right."
"I am?"
"I'm moving into Sick Bay for now. I bet the effect goes both ways. If I sleep by her side, maybe I won't have the nightmares."
"Anything is possible I suppose, but don't get your hopes too high. She is still weeks away from becoming conscious again."
"Just a couple days ago, that was months, so as I see it, that's all the hope I need."
Herald of Light: I have more, but I am getting tired, so it will have to wait until the next time I can get on the computer and post. ciao!