6

A dungeon somewhere on Chalderon IV, 1723 hours, August 16 2151

There was a loud commotion in the hallway; sounds of a brief struggle followed by impatient cursing and then something being dragged towards their cell. The noises stopped near their door and one of the guards in the hallway spoke.

"Rostin wasn't specific about where we should put her. Let's lock her up with her 'friends' and see what they'll do to her."

The other guard smiled as he activated the keypad and both men laughed before opening the cell and shoving someone inside. Trip and Reed had already guessed who their new cellmate was. The guards stood by the door for a while, hoping the men would pounce on her, but when nothing happened they gave up their cruel entertainment and left the area of the cells.

Jean had landed face down on the dirt floor and didn't move or speak even after the guards were gone. Trip went over to see whether she was alright. After a brief moment of hesitation Reed followed, bringing the med kit along just in case she needed medical attention. When he came over Jean still hadn't moved and Trip was kneeling next to her, looking as though he was about to speak. Reed joined them on the floor and put down the med kit, sliding it into Trip's field of vision and nudging him slightly. Trip looked over, saw the kit and nodded before turning back to Jean.

"They found you out."

It wasn't a question and she didn't answer. After a moment's pause he glanced at the med kit again and then at Reed, sharing a look with him. They knew first-hand how rough the guards could be, add the fact that Jean was seldom or never silent and they had good reason to be concerned about her.

All of a sudden she stirred, trying to pick herself up, but settled for turning her head so that her nose wasn't pressing into the dirt anymore. She reached a hand up to brush dirt off her face and then rested her head in her hands, looking dejectedly through her fingers at the floor. "Don't ask me any questions."

The men only responded with a confused silence.

"They put a listening device on me, so don't say anything or ask me anything." She raised her head out of her hands and turned, curious to see their reactions.

Trip looked flabbergasted but Reed got over his surprise very quickly. He'd expected something like this. With men like Rostin this kind of ploy was standard. After catching a spy, they try to use the spy to their own advantage.

Reed gave her an appraising once-over, wondering where the device could have been hidden. Of course there were the obvious places; pockets, under her clothes, etc. but he couldn't tell just by looking. "Where is it?"

Jean gave a short, almost angry laugh and shook her head, saying cheerfully "They put it in my back." She sat up with some effort and turned her back to them, looking over her shoulder at them before lifting her tunic slightly to show what she meant. It was hard to see in the darkness and the men had to squint, but just below her yin-yang tattoo they saw a small rectangular chip. It looked as though it were made out of some dull colored metal.

"Wait, in your back? How d'you mean?" Trip looked as closely as he could without violating her modesty, but he still couldn't see how the chip was attached to her skin.

Jean raised her eyebrows, bitter humor shining from her eyes. "Ah, that's the fun part. There are small metal spikes at either end of it, curved sort of like fishhooks, which our hosts inserted into my skin. One of you needs to pull it out and then smash it into itty bitty pieces. Any volunteers?"

Trip frowned "So we just pull it out? Okay then, on three. One, two..."

Instead of waiting Trip pulled it out on two, catching Jean by surprise and causing her to bite back some unsavory language. Before she could say anything about it, he dropped the device on the floor and smashed it with the butt of a medical scanner.

She let the loose folds of her tunic drop back down to her waist before she began groping in the darkness, looking for a wall to lean against. "Uhg. I'm starting to hate this planet."

Reed couldn't help smirking as he moved to sit next to her. "Really? I thought you wanted to move here permanently. Owch!"

Jean had lightly kicked his leg and was glowering at him playfully. "That was before the capturing and the interrogations and the faux execution of Captain Archer. The charm of this place wore off hours ago."

Once she found a seat, Trip ran the scanner over her and Reed started asking questions as he cleaned up the cuts and bruises on her face. "Are you hurt? Is the captain alright?"

"I'm fine, just a few minor injuries, and the captain is safe. Right now he's got one of the communicators and a phase pistol and he's hiding out from the guards."

Reed couldn't help asking "How did you manage it?"

She cocked her head to one side and smiled. "I fed them some bull about having to perform funeral rites in order to ensure the captain's passage into the afterlife."

The men chuckled disbelievingly and Trip shook his head. "I guess it's a good thing we watched 'The Mummy' this week. Does the captain know what's going on?"

"Mmhm. He knows where this cell is and he has the door locking code, and the schedule for the guard rotation memorized. When the next shift of guards comes on duty there's fifteen minutes when no one is watching the hallway outside these cells."

"And how did you find out about this?" Reed was looking at her with a complicated expression on his face; he was impressed by the intelligence but cautious about it's source. If they proceeded with a plan which was based on faulty intelligence, they could easily find themselves in more trouble.

She paused, knowing that he wasn't going to like this. "Lorrister told me... but before you jump down my throat I'd just like to say that think he's trustworthy. He dislikes Rostin and he's willing to help us escape if we help him in return."

Trip shook his head and held out a hand. "Hold on, hold on, who's Lorrister, and why does he need our help? You didn't make him any promises, did you?"

"He was the older man from the council chamber. He's the regional governor for this province but his country's been at war lately and Rostin, the one who was supervising the interrogations, used a local garrison to take over. Lorrister didn't want to hold us captive, but Rostin didn't give him any choice. Lorrister helped me get the information I needed and he even helped me move the captain to safety. He says that he'll help us, and I believe we can trust him. So ... ?"

She glanced from one officer to the other, trying to assess their reactions and hoping that they took this news as well as Captain Archer had. Neither one of them looked happy about it.

"And you're willing to trust this... Lorristor with our lives? With the captain's life?"

Reed was looking at her very skeptically and shaking his head. How many hours ago had she met this person, and now she was putting all their lives at risk by trusting their safety to him...

However, she seemed confident that it was going to work. "Yes. He's an honorable and wise man, with nothing to gain from deceiving us, and it's not like we have too many other options."

"True, but that's still one helluva hail-Mary, Ensign."

Reed rubbed absently at his sore neck and shook his head doubtfully, agreeing with Trip. "I hope you're right about him, ensign. It's quite a long shot. What did you say about the guards changing shift, there's an interval when the hallway is unguarded? Do you know when the next shift comes on?"

"They change the guard in four hours, but there isn't much for us to do until then except rest and wait for Captain Archer to break us out."

Trip nodded and gestured towards a blanket folded haphazardly in the corner. "You two try to get some shuteye and I'll take first watch."

They both nodded and Reed got up to retrieve the blanket. He unfolded it as he walked back to where Jean was scoping out a semi-comfortable campsite. When it looked like she'd found a good dry spot they both sat down. He laid the blanket on the ground but drew it up to cover their knees.

After they both lay down and pulled the blanket up to cover themselves, Jean waited for a moment and then tapped his shoulder. "Sir?"

He answered without looking over. "Yes, Ensign?"

She was pretty sure that he would never agree to her request, but it didn't hurt to ask. "Sir, could I borrow your shoulder?"

Surprised, he opened his eyes and turned over partly to get a look at her. "What for?"

She took a breath and got ready to hear him say 'no'. "If it's alright, I'd like to deputize your shoulder as my pillow."

He raised his head and looked at her quizzically, trying to decide whether or not she was actually serious. He saw soon enough that she was. Under normal circumstances he would have turned her down, but these were hardly normal circumstances, and he couldn't help remembering how much she had helped him the month before. It had been her very first away mission, and she had managed to keep him from falling to pieces when they had to swim out of a sunken shuttlecraft. That was a debt he couldn't ignore, and anyway, he knew her. One side of his mouth quirked into a wry smile. "If you insist, Ensign. I don't suppose you'd take no for an answer anyway."

Surprised and happy, she laid her face on the fleshy part just below his shoulder, making sure that no other parts of her body were touching him since she didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable than was absolutely necessary.

She usually slept on her side with one arm below her pillow, or if she were in bed with someone else and using them as a pillow she'd intertwine her legs with theirs. This time, though, for the sake of Reed's sanity, she pointed her legs in an entirely different direction from his and kept her hands to herself.

For Jean's first away mission, see my story entitled 'Trapped'