Unbound-Part 17

Unbound
An "Enterprise" story

By Alison M. DOBELL

RATING: PG.
ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Welcomed.
EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com
WEBSITE: http://carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY: "Back on Enterprise it is time to take stock. On the Xindi ship Captain Archer thinks he has found a chink in the enemy's armour but nothing is quite what it seems."
DISCLAIMER: The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Enterprise' are the property of Paramount. No infringement of copyright is intended.

Part 17

"OBLIVION"

* * * * *

He felt the light hands touch him. At first he took little notice, it was a fleeting distraction and full consciousness kept slipping out of his grasp. But then everything began to solidify into a more permanent reality around him and the hands became flesh. He was confused, not recognising the touch. His eyes fluttered open, surprised to find Ensign Cutler hovering over him. "What ya doin', Liz?"

She jumped slightly and he could not resist a playful little smirk, eyes twinkling through the haze of exhaustion induced sleep. "You're awake!"

"Yep, an' wonderin' why your hands are wanderin' all over me while I'm sleepin'."

As he expected she blushed to the tips of her ears. "I was concerned about you, needed to see if you were alright."

"Uh huh, and did feelin' me up while I was unconscious answer your questions?"

She stared at him in indignant reaction then caught the gleam in his eyes and frowned as she realised he was just teasing. "That wasn't very funny, Commander."

"Why were ya proddin' me like that?"

She felt self conscious but he had a right to know. "I heard you had a bad fall. That you had a suspected broken back."

Trip remembered now. The horror of finding himself unable to move or feel anything from the neck down. Had to admit to being more than a mite terrified himself. Since being back in sickbay he had regained movement and feeling in the rest of his body. No matter how sluggish it felt good. He frowned, both of them unaware that the Sub-Commander had just entered sickbay. "That's weird, don't feel paralysed now."

Ensign Cutler opened her mouth to comment when a calm voice broke in on their conversation. "The Commander did not break his back, Ensign."

"I'm confused." Said Trip, turning his head to look at his favourite Vulcan. "I couldn't move down on Zeon, but now I can. Did ya do something to me?"

The Sub-Commander shook her head and came to stand the other side of the biobed from Ensign Cutler. "No, but the Zenari did."

"The Zenari? What the hell do they have to do with it?"

"The Zenari lie. In thought, word and deed, Commander."

"Ya mean...?"

She nodded. "Yes, Commander. They manipulated your mind into believing you were paralysed from the neck down. Your condition was pyschosomatic."

He swore softly but was still not comprehending. "Why?"

"So that you would not try to escape."

He wanted to laugh. "T'Pol, I fell forty feet from a ceiling. Where in the name of Zefram Cochran was I gonna go? Not even Malcolm could find a way to get outta that precious tomb."

Ensign Cutler was following their conversation with interest but Trip's latest comment baffled her. "Tomb?"

Trip turned his head to look at her. "Yeah. They got this elaborate room called the Crystal Chamber. Huge thing with a floor made of somethin' like marble. You had to stand in it to believe it existed."

"You called it a tomb."

He nodded. "That's what it was, ornate or not it was a locked box with us trapped inside it."

Ensign Cutler had to resist the urge to shudder and concentrated on the other thing he had let slip. "Forty feet?"

He wished he had kept his mouth shut. No way in hell could he tell her his fall had been broken by him landing on Dr Phlox. Poor girl was confused enough and the answers he had were not for her ears. Not now, maybe not ever. He realised that T'Pol was still there and frowned at her, wondering if he was slowly losing his mind. "I thought ya were gonna go bring the doc back?"

"We did."

The Ensign's face briefly lit up until she caught the look in the Sub-Commander's eye. That look almost made her flatline. "Sub-Commander?"

"Lt Reed will be bringing the doctor to sickbay shortly."

"Couldn't ya have helped him, T'Pol?"

A wariness crept into the Vulcan's eyes, a wariness she kept carefully screened from Ensign Cutler. Trip marveled at her sensitivity at a time like this, knowing that Liz was inordinately fond of the good doctor.

"I wanted to see if you were conscious first, Commander."

That surprised him so much that his eyebrows rose and disappeared into his hairline. There was the hint of a glare in T'Pol's eyes at his expression. As if she thought he was mocking her only he wasn't. "Why would ya wanna do that?"

"Because the doctor wishes to talk to you."

What the hell? He thought the doc had been dying. What was going on? He realised he would learn nothing more with Ensign Cutler standing there. He had an idea. "Ensign?"

"Yes, Commander?"

The formality seemed to steady her quicker than anything else. It was a comforting structure to fall back on when everything else seemed to suddenly have lost all its' boundaries. He understood how she felt. "It's time ya took a break."

Before she could protest the Sub-Commander added her voice. "Before you do so Ensign, please go to the bridge and ask Ensign Mayweather to come to sickbay."

She wanted to protest but the Sub-Commander was the First Officer and she had just been given an order. Plus she really was tired and her head was beginning to throb again. At least the doctor was back and seemingly in one piece or he would have been brought straight to sickbay. Thus reassured she left. T'Pol waited until the door hissed shut behind her then turned to look at Trip, her eyes softening as she beheld him.

"How bad is he?" Asked the Chief Engineer.

A tiny sigh leaked out between her plush lips. "Every bone in his body appears to have been liquefied."

Shock. Horror. Anger and distress. She gently cradled a hand against the side of his face, not activating the pulse points but aching to touch him. Give a small fraction of the comfort she wanted to bestow on him. Her need was so great she could not trust herself to even skate upon the edge of a light trance with him. She would want to subsume him, absorb every cell of his being into hers or vice versa. It did not matter which way round it happened so long as they became one. The strength of her feelings shook her yet outwardly she remained calm though not so distant as before. He sensed her tension and turned his face so that he could kiss the palm of her hand. He felt her tremble at the touch of his lips. "C'mon, T'Pol." He murmured in his warm honeyed tone. "My thought to your thoughts."

"We cannot. Ensign Mayweather will be here soon and we have to help Dr Phlox."

The return to duty cooled his passion but he let the embers burn on in his eyes. Wanted her to know that her feelings were reciprocated even if they must remain unspoken. A light balance of heat vied between them in seductive tension. Trip bathed in it, reveled in the knowledge that since their mental joining he could read her. Taste her thoughts and touch the outline of her fear. His silence was her strength. He knew it and joyed in the opportunity to do this for her. However small the gift he would not squander it. Every beat of her heart written inside his own in the flowing script that only came from a lover's hand. Yet they were not lovers. The connection forming between them went beyond that. How he knew did not matter one iota but he did not question that it was true. Gut instinct. Destiny. They were only words. Whatever it was he embraced it with a calm the envy of Surak. He did not know that they were being drawn into a bond that nothing could break.

* * * * *

Ensign Hoshi Sato's face was shining. Travis looked at her in awe.

"You're serious?"

Hoshi nodded. "Yes."

"But that means..."

"The Zenari created the Xindi."

Stunned silence hit the bridge. Only then did Hoshi realise she had said aloud what should have been said in private. Nervous eyes flicked to the other members of the bridge crew. Rostov hardly blinked but his look was intent, his focus on her to the exclusion of all else. Oh rats. How was she going to explain her slip to the Sub-Commander? Just then her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Ensign Cutler. They all turned to stare at her. Liz gave them a nod.

"Ensign Mayweather, the Sub-Commander requests your presence in sickbay."

For a moment his eyes drifted wide then he got a grip and gave her a business like nod back. "Thank you." He glanced at Hoshi. "I'll mention your theory to the Sub-Commander."

His eyes said so much more. Hoshi nodded, wishing she could be a fly on the wall for that little conversation. Realising Liz was still standing just inside the door Hoshi turned to her and forced a bright smile. "How is Dr Phlox?"

Travis left, not once looking back as the women talked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him yet."

Ensign Sato was careful not to frown. "What are you going to do now?"

"The Sub-Commander told me to get some rest."

Hoshi smiled. "Good idea, I plan to do the same just as soon as I'm relieved."

Only when Liz Cutler had left did Rostov speak. "I don't know about anyone else," He said in a deceptively casual voice. "But I would definitely love to know what is going on."

It was the inevitable invitation for Hoshi to open up. The communications officer resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said nothing. Damn. She would have to learn to be much more careful. Even though she did not know a lot it was still more than most of the crew. By her reckoning only the Captain, Trip, T'Pol, Malcolm, Dr Phlox and Travis knew what was going on. If she played this right she would soon be taken into the magic circle. She forced herself to calm down and be patient even though it was driving her nuts. Longing to be given even the smallest chance of helping. Praying that when T'Pol spoke to Travis and he relayed what she had said that the Vulcan would realise she had something useful to contribute as well. She almost smiled. Ensign Hoshi Sato had come a long way from the terrified and nervous girl who had first set sail across the unknown ocean of space in pursuit of a dead man's dream.

* * * * *

Captain Jonathan Archer forced himself to breathe slowly, taking the breath deep into his lungs before exhaling as carefully as possible. He needed to calm down not hyperventilate. It was not only his life hanging in the balance but that of his crew and his entire planet. Never had the weight of command been such a burden. Yet he would not relinquish it for anything. He would rise to this challenge because it was inconceivable to do otherwise. To die fighting and struggling for a noble cause was infinitely better than being swallowed by apathy.

He was seated in a strange chair. It reminded him of the banned substance known as ivory. Carved in odd rune-like crenellations it was white like alabaster and oddly warm to the touch where his hands gripped the armature, pieces of iron set in the hand rests across the poles of two magnets like an exotic inlay. A pattern with a purpose. At first he had thought it a torture device now he just considered it a part of the oddness that was the Xindi mindset. Whatever it was for he sat ill at ease while trying to project a state of ataraxia.

"Speak, Human, then be silent until the stars are dust."

The Captain wet his lips, tried to hide his nervousness and hoped his leaking palms would not be the cause of his electrocution. "What do you want me to say?"

The insectoid Chancellor almost lashed out and hit him. Incensed with the Human's dull wits. The reptilian Captain spoke to forestall such an outcome. "You were speaking about the Zenari."

He nodded, relieved that they were at least giving him a chance to state his case. "The Zenari lie. They lied to the Vulcans when they made first contact almost a hundred years ago and they are lying now."

"Lie? How?" Said the mammalian Xindi, his facial features compressed in what mimicked a frown.

"You believe that we Humans are the future downfall of your entire species."

"We have seen and it is so." Snapped the Chancellor.

"No. You have seen a *possible* future. The one they wanted you to believe."

The Chancellor's eyes narrowed dangerously. As if he were maligning the Gods. "I think you are the one who dissembles, Human."

"I speak the truth."

"Then," Said the reptilian Captain without a qualm. "You will not mind proving it."

Before Captain Archer could ask him what he meant the Xindi Captain waved his hand over a sensor at the back of the chair switching it on. Current flowed in a strangely synthetic arc, flowing in waves through his body but not causing actual pain. He tried to lift his hands off the hand rests but it was as if his skin was glued to the surface. He just stared at his captors, half driven by fear, half by curiosity. The mammalian Xindi looked transfixed. "It is curious." He said in mild surprise.

"And fearful." Added the Chancellor with some satisfaction.

"But not because he lies." Said the Xindi Captain.

They exchanged glances. Captain Archer gritted his teeth. "What are you doing to me?"

The Xindi Captain ignored his question and leaned in a little closer to the Human. "Now, repeat what you know about the Zenari."

He thought of refusing for all of a second, a sudden subtle change in the current seeming to warn him against any deviation. So he spoke the truth, repeating as much as he could remember from his conversations with T'Pol and what they had managed to glean so far. The war cabinet watched him in silence. After he had finished speaking the silence stretched for so long that the Captain's ears were beginning to ache for lack of sound. When the Xindi Captain spoke at last it was not to address the Human. "He believes what he says."

"That is not truth." Stated the Chancellor.

"We believe what the Zenari told us." Mused the Xindi Captain.

The Chancellor's face seemed to darken. "Are you agreeing with this creature?"

"No, honoured cousin, just musing over what has been said."

"And what of what has *not* been said?" Asked the mammalian Xindi, his eyes fixed on the Human.

The reptilian Captain looked thoughtful then seemed to come to a decision. "Choose your questions carefully and we will see what manner of belief he clothes himself in. Whether the lie is skin deep or a fabrication of limited intelligence struggling to comprehend its' own inadequacy."

* * * * *

Ensign Mayweather was relieved to see the Commander awake and seemingly little the worse for his adventure. He looked around but could not see any sign of the doctor. Questioning eyes homed in on the Vulcan Sub-Commander. T'Pol anticipated his question. "Dr Phlox is with Lt Reed."

The Ensign nodded but was more confused than ever.

"Please join Lt Reed and assist him in bringing the doctor to sickbay."

Alarmed now he could not hide his concern. "Is he injured?"

"Yes."

Travis was about to ask another question when the Commander butted in. "I'd go now if I was you Travis an' ask questions later. A man could bleed to death while ya satisfy your curiosity."

It was not said unkindly but the words made Travis feel guilty. He nodded. "Where is he?"

"Dr Phlox is in the transporter room." Said T'Pol. "Please hurry, Ensign. I will remain with the Commander."

Once he had gone Trip gave T'Pol a long look. Gently he picked up her hand and held it to his chest almost without conscious thought cupping her palm over his heart. "Ya could have gone with him, T'Pol."

"My place is here, Ashayam."

He did not query her use of the Vulcan endearment. Did not need to ask what it meant. The bond between them seemed to be getting stronger by the second. He could feel her blood in his veins. Her thoughts lighting a pathway between heart and mind, body and soul. Unaware she had moved, Trip felt her lips on his and closed his eyes. His mouth parted to let her explore, his heart opened to receive her. His mind celebrating an embrace of the spirit that drove the baser instincts back to the primordial sludge from which life had formed. Her desire to meld with him was almost overpowering yet T'Pol resisted. Not now. Not yet. But soon. Her promise caressed his senses and lapped at the shores of his want and need. Her burning desire resisted the need to swamp him and immerse them both in the throes of passion.

They broke apart as if by mutual consent not a word spoken. A simple look sealed the bargain then the fire in their eyes abated. They moved apart and turned to face the door just as it swished open and let Lt Reed and Travis enter with the doctor, moving quickly to the biobed next to Trip's and transferring the doctor from the stretcher to the bed. Trip wanted to get off his bed but T'Pol gave a tiny shake of her head and he stilled his movements. Travis gave them a curious look then gave all his attention to Dr Phlox, the worry on his face deepening. The doctor looked terrible, his bloated body showing discolouration as if it was decomposing only there was no smell of putrefaction and none of his flesh had ruptured.

Travis looked up into Malcolm's face. "What happened to him?"

"The Zenari." A voice mumbled.

Startled, Travis looked down at the doctor and watched his eyelids slowly flutter open to hold him in their alien regard. The multiple retinas staring up at him with the belying innocence of a babe. It was disconcerting that a man so close to death could still function. Of all things, the doctor looked amused.

"I am not going to die, Ensign."

Travis looked shocked then stunned. Was he really that transparent?

"Yeah, ya are." Said the Commander.

Startled, Travis turned his head to stare at the Chief Engineer. Trip was sitting up, his legs dangling off the side of the bed but making no effort to stand. While T'Pol was not restraining him or touching him, she seemed to have some kind of control over him that was almost creepy. And since when could Trip read his mind? Travis was not sure he wanted to take that line of thought any further. The Commander hid a smile and resisted the urge to squeeze T'Pol's hand.

Lt Reed turned to Ensign Cutler. "Can you help him, Ensign?"

He watched a myriad mix of emotions flicker fleetingly across her anxious face then Dr Phlox turned his gaze on her and his tone took on the jovial bent that was so much a part of the man's character that its' absence would have haunted them like the echo of a missing limb. "Exsanguination of excessive bodily fluids would be a start, Ensign."

His eyes were twinkling. How was that possible? Travis stared, confused but also heartened by the doctor's banter. He felt as if he were slowing spiraling into madness. Since when did Chief Engineers fall forty feet from a ceiling onto a marble floor and survive with not a bone broken? And speaking of bones, if the Denobulan's bones had been liquefied how was it possible that he was even conscious let alone still alive? There was nothing about this whole rollercoaster of impossible events that made sense to him except one. They had an enemy that was vastly superior to them in technology, mental abilities and who knew what else. Yet. Impossible as it seemed they were somehow holding their own. He wanted to shake his head and pinch himself but another part of him, a part that was growing stronger by the minute, stayed his hand - wanting to see how things would play out. If this was a dream he wanted to see how it ended. If it was a nightmare he knew it was already too late.

* * * * *

The whirls of subtle energies seemed unaffected by the notion of flesh, bone, blood, tissues. As if the pores in his skin were vast portals allowing access to every part of his body. The only blessing was that it did not hurt but it did creep him out to the power of ten. He still could not move his arms from the rests. The inlays of iron provided an odd counterpoint to the stark alabaster colour of the chair. His head lolled back and found a resting place in the design that kept his eyes facing forward almost in line with that of the reptilian Captain. He was pretty sure he had not been drugged yet his mind most certainly was not his own. That was when he felt it. The sliding sensation of something alien moving around inside his head. His thoughts being rifled through like a thief going through a filing cabinet. The realisation was like having a sudden bright light illuminating him with piercing precision.

"Oh God, you're in my head! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD!"

The Chancellor looked smug. There was no other word for it. The reptilian Captain watched him with emotionless calm. It was as if they were waiting for something.

"Look," Captain Archer was panting now. Trying to keep his voice steady and manage the rising tide of panic but it was like trying to hold back a tsunami building in a vast ocean and making its' implacable way across the rolling waves towards him. He was pinned. Not by physical means but by fear. He was not ashamed to admit that right now a heart attack would have seemed like the cavalry but the weakness lasted only a minute then his resolve stiffened. He could not afford to consider capitulation especially as his entire species would have to pay the price. "What is it you want from me? I've told you the truth."

They said nothing. The silence unnerving. Captain Archer wet his lips, it was the only real movement he could control. The rest of his body he was aware of but unable to command. He felt his muscle groups activate individually and frowned. Watched the muscles bunch first in his left arm then his left hand flexed open. The fingers unrolling one by one then bunching back into a fist before unfolding to lie open and acquiescent on the arm of the chair. The hairs on the back of his neck began to tingle. Oh God, what was happening to him? The same thing happened to his other arm, then the muscles in his neck and chest and all down his torso to his legs. He was trembling hard now, fear running rampant and making his heart beat so frantically it was like an animal throwing itself against the bars of the cage that confined him. A lull in sensations gave him time to recover but not enough to be ready for the tiny muscle spasms in his face, then that odd tickling sensation in his brain as if something with sharp needlepoint teeth was crawling through his brain. He gritted his teeth, wanted to scream, but he was damned if he would give the Xindi that satisfaction. He spoke through gritted teeth. "What do you WANT?"

Then the nightmare grew another head. The voice of it echoing like his doom inside his skull. All his defenses breached. Nothing left sacred not even his own fear. "We have what we want, Archer."

"Who are you?"

"The last sentient lifeform you will be aware of as we strip your brain and lead you to oblivion."

"You're Xindi?"

He felt a cold humour mock him as if he were some dull-witted child, the chill of it freezing his brain and making him shudder with revulsion. "Not Xindi."

For a moment he was confused. Then the full import of his situation hit him and his heart quailed. *Oh God* "You're Zenari!"

At that point of realisation something sharp, cold and pitiless slid into his brain and turned out all the lights.

* * * * *

Continue to Part 18

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Three people have made comments

Ah! Finally we´re coming near NC-17...*bg* Can´t wait for it, can´t wait for it!
Poor T`Pol, so many problems and feelings, she has to take care of. And poor Dr. Phlox!

Please post ch. 18 sooon!

As always another one of your best! Can hardly wait to see how this ends. :-)

Terrific (as usual)! But you are going to clue us in on Phlox's rescue, aren't you? ;)