Unbound-Part 15

Unbound
An "Enterprise" story

By Alison M. DOBELL

RATING: PG.
STATUS: New. SEQUEL to "MIXED BURDENS"
ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Welcomed.
EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "Captain Archer is shown a future without hope. Sub-Commander T'Pol and Lt Reed suffer an even greater shock while Dr Phlox summons up the last of his strength to do one final thing."
DISCLAIMER: The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Enterprise' are the property of Paramount. No infringement of copyright is intended.

Part 15

"WORST CASE SCENARIO"

* * * * *

It was hard to believe what he was seeing. The planet was like none he had ever seen before. He recognised species of Xindi like the Captain who had addressed him but there were others forms, like variants or sub-species that were like yet unalike. Somehow he knew they were all one race, not so much by their look but their tongue. First he was shown the outward destruction. Huge primordial forests and swamps reduced to burnt wasteland. The water gone in a drought so sudden and fierce it not only cracked river beds and the deep places of their ocean but left a heat haze of dust over everything. He saw the bodies. Some burnt, some burst open with pressure. Flesh liquidised then vaporised. Many details flooded his mind not in images or words but in complete knowing. A sense completely beyond his Human ability. He was unaware that his mind was being manipulated to take some information directly into his brain to be embraced as fact. He blinked, visibly upset.

"I don't understand how we did this." He said in a hushed pained voice.

The next moment the scenes changed. He saw vibrant landscapes. The various sub-species living in their own colonies whether on land, in the sea or in the air. They met infrequently yet seemed to be able to live among each other with minimal friction. If only the peoples of Earth could do so as easily. Even with the end of War on Earth, there was still friction. Petty jealousies ran between nations as well as men. Removing borders did not remove the memory of them.

"Watch, witness, learn. Our death, your shame."

Then he saw it. Heart sickened by the sudden attack. Weapons unleashed that seemed to ripple through the planet surface increasing the devastation and annihilating everything in its path. He wanted to weep, his mind struggling to grasp the idea that they were responsible for this.

"Why did we attack?" At the silence he was met with the Human turned his head and looked at the Xindi Captain. "Why?"

A kind of hiss echoed in his mind reinforcing the impression of the reptilian nature of his host. Captain Archer frowned. "My people would not attack - not like this - without a very good reason." He paused as if trying to choose his words with more care. "What happened to cause this?"

"We did nothing. Your people found us, decided they did not want to share space with us even though this was our homeworld. Our space not theirs. The attack was swift, brutal and final. We few are all that survived."

The Captain's mouth flapped open like a sail suddenly bereft of wind. He was flagging and he knew it.
"You mean... all the other Xindi are... gone?"

"Not gone, dead. You destroyed our world."

"Even wiping out an entire planet I can't believe this is all that would be left."

"We do not care what you believe. You are the destroyer of worlds.

"Look,” Said the Captain urgently, trying to keep his voice calm. "We should do something, stop this. You're showing me the future and even though it's hard to accept for you to even be *able* to show me that future that you can do so means there has to be some possibility of altering it."

The Xindi stared at him as if he were quite mad. "We make no deals with murderers."

"Not murderers."

"The solution is clear. You die. We live. The universe prevails."

"No, you don't understand. If we do this right all of us will live."

Suddenly the Xindi flexed his jaw. The reptilian eyes were wiped by two pairs of eyelids leaving the orbs glossy, dark and uncompromising. He hissed at Captain Archer. "Why would we want to do that, Human? We have the means to end you and secure our future. You are a pestilence, a disease that can be snuffed out before it contaminates. Save your breath for it no longer carries the weight of your words to our ears."

* * * * *

"Quick, Sub-Commander. The transporter room!"

She stared at Lt. Reed without blinking. "Lieutenant, the Zenari do not need the use of our transporter."

"No,” Said Lt. Reed, trying to keep the slight shake out of his voice. "But maybe they do need it for the Commander."

She blinked but right at that moment had no better idea and doing something was infinitely better than doing nothing. She tried not to consider her reasoning too closely. Being around the Humans for so long was definitely having a detrimental effect on her level of intelligence. A curt nod and they were making their way swiftly, their steps getting quicker as they progressed as if some sense of urgency were prevailing upon them. As they turned the last corner before reaching their destination the Sub-Commander found herself being pushed against the wall as the Armoury Officer drew his phaser and fired. Shock whipped through her diminutive frame then her eyes narrowed as they locked on the figures firing back at them. The simulacrums of Dr Phlox and Lt Reed were trying to get the unconscious Commander into the transporter room and shut the door before they could stop them.

The Sub-Commander drew her phaser and added her fire to Lt. Reed's. Whether by skill or luck she was gratified to see the Lieutenant's accurate phase fire take down his duplicate. The Sub-Commander urged him to keep firing. "We must destroy them completely, Lieutenant. Wounding is not an option we can afford."

He gritted his teeth and continued to fire.

"Try not to hit the Commander."

Lt. Reed resisted the urge to say something very rude to her and simply redoubled his efforts. Their combined fire brought down the doctor as well, the Commander lying slumped on the floor between them. As the Vulcan drew nearer she kept firing, over and over again, until the two copies were hardly recognisable. Lt. Reed stopped firing and dropped to his knees beside the inert Commander. He quickly checked his pulse and let out a sigh of relief. "He's still breathing, Sub-Commander."

She nodded and this time used the wall com. In less than a minute a team of security officers converged on their position and while some helped with the Commander the others were instructed to clean up the remains. Uneasy looks passed between them and the Sub-Commander quickly gave them an abbreviated explanation of the copies. Informing them as to how the Zenari had tried to infiltrate the ship. Fortunately the faces of the copies were a congealing mess but it was still disturbing to see what were clearly Starfleet uniforms riddled with phaser fire. Only disciplined responses prevented the security team from balking in their duty. It helped that Lt. Reed was so calm. His orders issued in a matter of fact tone that steadied them. He explained that the Zenari had also captured the Captain.

Ensign Marks hesitated. "Sir, what do you want us to do with the bodies?"

Lt. Reed looked at Sub-Commander T'Pol. She wanted to keep the bodies for analysis but considered that might be courting further danger yet ignorance could be an even greater potential threat. They needed to understand what they were up against. It was time to make a considered decision weighing up all the pros and cons. Even though their Zenari shades had probably returned to their masters on Zeon she wanted to take no chances. She ordered the remains to be placed in a couple of the lead lined coffins they kept in stores. The Ensign immediately set about the unpleasant task while his senior officers escorted the unconscious Commander Tucker to sickbay. Lt. Reed was wondering when all the nasty surprises would come to an end. Glancing sideways at the Sub-Commander's taut expression he had a feeling it would not be any time soon.

* * * * *

He could hear voices impinging on the deepest recesses of his unconscious mind. As if tripping an internal alarm he surfaced quickly. His consciousness shrouded in the sluggish realm of hibernation to mask his rapid return to alertness. He did not open his eyes. The Denobulan made no attempt to move or see what was around him. Other senses stretched and tugged at the boundaries of his abilities gleaning information however slight to inform his brain of potential danger. The voices were Zenari but thankfully they were some distance away. No one had thought to come this far from the dome. He wondered if they found the atmosphere too difficult for their respiratory systems then berated himself. With the kind of technology and evolution at their fingertips a little thing like being able to breathe would hardly stop them. He was not even sure they had a respiratory system to begin with. No. It must be something else. He must learn to stop thinking in Human terms. Vaguely he became aware of words. They floated like a mist and were almost as hard to hold on to.

"Where are they? They could not have escaped!"

"I do not know, your Excellency."

The voices paused. He heard the shifting brush of cloth, no doubt their heavy robes swishing across the ground as they walked. "We underestimated them."

"It must have been the spy."

"Yes."

"How did they get him out? He was dying."

"Not quickly enough it seems."

Another voice interrupted the two. Dr. Phlox could not hear it properly, could not tell who it was let alone what was being said but he did hear the response. "Ah! Good. Let us go back inside."

The second voice sounded a little on the smug side which disturbed the doctor more than the actual conversation. "A much better solution, Excellency."

"Indeed. Now we can monitor them more closely and see how events unfold."

Then the voices were gone. Whisked away by a return to the dome. Shut off from the unexpected input the doctor felt even more helpless than he had before but all was not lost. They would come back for him. He just had to ensure that when they did so they would not walk into a trap. He forced painful eyes open and realised it was almost fully dark. That could both help and hinder him. First he needed to get himself moving, even though it meant dragging his non-responsive bloated flesh across the rough jagged ground of this forsaken planet. If he could get further from the dome he could risk mind scanning for T'Pol but not this close. Gritting his teeth, the Denobulan began the long painful task of crawling, his upper limbs having to act for his legs as well as his arms. The effort draining him as much as it crucified him but too much was at stake to allow a little thing like agony to put him off. He had waited almost twenty years for this and he would not fail now.

* * * * *

Once in sickbay they quickly got Commander Tucker on to a biobed then Sub-Commander T'Pol began to examine the unconscious Chief Engineer paying particular attention to his spinal column. Lt. Reed watched for a few minutes then turned his head at a noise to his left. Ensign Cutler was beginning to stir on another biobed. Leaving T'Pol to look after Trip he went over to her bed and gave her a sardonic smile as she carefully opened her eyes. Seeing her squint up at him reminded him of the numerous occasions he had cause to curse the bright lighting. He gave a reassuring smile, "One moment."

Her eyes followed him as he stepped away then a sigh of relief eased from her lips as he dimmed the lighting to a more comfortable level. Sub-Commander T'Pol raised her head and glanced across at him but made no comment. She quickly turned back to the Commander, checking through all the scans Ensign Cutler had made before the copies attacked. Seeing the Lieutenant pull up a chair beside the Ensign's bed, Sub-Commander T'Pol felt free to place a hand on the Commander's shoulder, her eyes watching him intently with concern. After a moment she brought her hand up to his cheek and splayed her fingers. They settled comfortably on the contact points and with hardly any effort at all she slid into his mind. He was disorientated and though divorced from pain the memory of it lingered. He did not seem himself.

*Trip? Concentrate on my voice.*

For a moment there was silence then he responded. *T'Pol? That you?*

*I was hoping you could tell me.*

He felt confused. *Was I knocked out?*

*Where's the doc?*

Something stopped her from telling him. She frowned and carefully hid her reaction. *What is the last thing you remember?*

*Some argument with a ceiling. Far as I can recall I lost.*

It was enough like his normal humour to reassure her yet still she was cautious. He seemed to sense that his favourite Vulcan was holding something back.

*T'Pol? What's goin' on?*

*On Enterprise.*

He paused for so long she thought he had drifted. *We gotta get outta here, T'Pol. We're in danger.*

*They have the Captain.* She felt the Commander's heart lurch, the concomitant pain piercing her.

*The Zenari?*

*Not without the Captain.*

Trip paused. *Sometimes ya just gotta make the best of the hand ya got. We have a saying on my homeworld T'Pol, 'he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day'.*

*That what ya think I was doin'?*

She paused for a fraction of a second. *We are not leaving without Captain Archer.*

*As are you.*

He caught his breath. Every movement of his diaphragm caused pain but right now it hardly registered with his heart in his mouth. *What do ya mean?*

T'Pol did not reply but did something so unexpected the Chief Engineer was taken completely by surprise. She opened up all her senses and plunged her mind forcibly into his. Trip jerked on the table, his closed eyes fluttering, his muscles spasming all over his body. Sub-Commander T'Pol did not relax her mental grip nor the violence of her intrusion. As she built up the pressure another part of her mind reached out for Dr. Phlox. It seemed to take forever to get a response from the planet surface. It was a gamble but one she deemed worth the risk. When it came it was weak but infinitely welcome. She passed the sense of her suspicion to him and while the Commander tried to raise an effective defense the Denobulan unleashed his own mental assault. With a cry which rocked sickbay, the Commander shuddered hard and spasmed so violently it broke T'Pol's connection and drew a panic stricken Lt. Reed running to T'Pol's side.

The Sub-Commander sank to her knees, her face pale and glistening with perspiration. She looked as if all the strength had been drained out of her and replaced with fear. Lt. Reed checked the Commander. His pulse had weakened considerably and tiny aftershocks were firing in his muscles making the body twitch yet his eyes were closed and nothing seemed to cause any reaction from him. Anxious for his friend and alarmed at the Sub-Commander's condition, he crouched beside her seeking answers. "Sub-Commander? T'Pol? What the bloody hell happened?"

The Vulcan rose slowly to her feet, shaking so badly Lt. Reed helped her. She was looking at Trip, shaking her head, but her words were for the Lieutenant. She seemed dazed and sadder than he could ever remember hearing her sound before. It sent icy tendrils ripping through him making him shudder even as her words stunned him. "Lieutenant, help me strap the Commander down."

He made no effort to hide his shock. "What? Why would I do that?"

She turned bleak eyes on him. They shone oddly. If he did not know better he would say the Sub-Commander was on the brink of tears. "The Commander is not himself."

Lt. Reed's eyes widened with alarm. "You don't mean this is... another copy?"

T'Pol shook her head. "No. The body is that of Commander Tucker but I believe someone else is in control."

Malcolm swallowed hard. "Zenari?"

"Undoubtedly."

Lt Reed's hands shook as he helped the Sub-Commander fasten the straps across Trip's body and pull them tight. "How did you know?"

"When I entered the Commander's mind it was like walking through a virgin landscape."

The Armoury Officer did not make any trite quips. "Is Trip... all right?"

"He is deeply traumatised, Lieutenant."

"Does he know you?"

The Sub-Commander blinked at him. "The Commander is trapped inside his own body, Lieutenant. I believe he can see and hear us but cannot respond directly."

"I don't understand. When the Zenari made copies of Dr. Phlox and myself the copies were able to interact and pass themselves off as us. Why should it be so different for Trip?"

"Because he is not a copy. The presence that occupies his mind and is trying to manipulate him is doing so by force. The violence of the spasms you witnessed is evidence that the Commander - though unable to communicate with us - is struggling to break free."

"When this is over I think we should blow the bloody Zenari to kingdom come."

"You have to catch them first, Lieutenant."

"How do we get the Zenari presence out of Trip?"

"We don't."

"I'm sorry?"

"We don't Lieutenant, the only one who can effectively expel them is the Commander."

"Hold on a minute, T'Pol, you said that Trip is unable to communicate with us. That the Zenari have control over him, am I right?"

She nodded, feeling miserable and anxious.

"If that's the case how in hell is Trip supposed to fight these bloody super-aliens?"

"With our help. Right now Dr. Phlox is giving what limited aid he can to the Commander; that is why he is not dead."

The last small amount of colour fled from the Armoury Officer's face. Oh God, this was worse than anything he could have possibly imagined. He glanced at the Commander. His body was still twitching but there was no sign of the Commander regaining consciousness. He wanted to cry. "How can Dr. Phlox help him?"

"Not just the doctor, you and I will need to assist as well."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We will have to enter trance together. Join our energies with the doctor's then give that energy to the Commander along with some instructions."

Lt. Reed felt like a non-swimmer who had somehow wandered out of his depth. Any minute now he was expecting dark waters to close over his head and oblivion to find him. He found himself saying a silent prayer for his friend. It was not fair. Hadn't the engineer suffered enough? "Okay, Sub-Commander. Just tell me what I have to do..."

* * * * *

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Two folks have made comments

Wow! Please post the next chapter sooooooon!

Well written and suspensful as always! I love seeing T'Pol in charge like this and I really like how Malcolm has come to trust her judgement and is willing to do whatever it takes to help save Trip. Great chapter! Looking forward to finding out how you solve this!