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Bumps in the Road - Ch 4Bumps in the Road By: Angela Koerkel Rated: PG Notes: This is the continuation of the ‘Aftermath’ and ‘Road to Recovery’ series. As always, thanks so much for reading and responding. Please continue to give feedback as it motivates the muse much more effectively than idle threats of “If I don’t write, I’ll have to do housework!” More Notes: Okay, we are actively taking the road less traveled now! To get to the AU, when you get to the fork in the road, head right and keep going. You’ll run smack into it about four chapters down the lane.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX The entrance to the caves was not far from the city. The trio made their way there quickly and in silence. As they entered the dark underground, Archer pulled his communicator out and hailed the ship. “Archer to Enterprise.” “Enterprise here, sir,” came Ensign Sato’s voice. “Hoshi, we need Phlox down here. Have him transport to these coordinates.” Archer hated relying on the transporters, but he had no choice; they needed the doctor and it was the fastest way. As the Captain spoke with the ship, Trip was already following T’Vay deeper into the darkness. Unlike outside, the air here was heavy and dank. It reeked of decay, no doubt from fungus and molds that grew along the interior of the rocks. He wondered idly how the Vulcans could stand it with their sensitive sense of smell. They rounded a corner just as Archer caught up with them and were met with an odd sight. There in the middle of a large open area, were about twenty Vulcans of various ages sitting on the hard ground in a circle. They seemed to be studying a map of some kind that was lying in the center. As they approached, Trip walked straight for a woman that looked to be about 60 Earth years old, Archer had no idea how old she really was. “T’Les,” he greeted her as his hand went up without thought. “Peace and long life. Where’s T’Pol?” His voice was calm, but he looked around the space anxiously as if he might see her standing off to the side somewhere. As she returned the hand gesture, T’Les said, “She is in a back cavern. I must warn you, Commander, she is not well.” “Show me where,” Trip said authoritatively and T’Les merely nodded and preceded him down a passageway. Archer remained behind and began to study the map with the remaining Vulcans. Moments later, T’Les returned alone. The first thing Tucker noticed was how frail T’Pol looked lying there. He had seen her ill or injured many times before, but something about being unconscious on a slab of rock in an underground hideout made it seem that much more severe. As he made his way to her side, he noticed for the first time that she had not been alone. “Greetings, Commander,” Koss intoned from his seat near T’Pol’s makeshift bed. The Starfleet officer turned toward him and suddenly lunged. As he pinned the much stronger man against the rock face, he snarled at him, “How could ya’ let this happen? This wasn’t her war! Ya’ call yerself her husband, but this is how ya’ treat her?” He held his arm at Koss’s throat as he seethed in anger. Before Koss could respond, T’Les was again at the entryway to T’Pol’s ‘room’ with Dr. Phlox. The doctor charged toward the men, “Commander! What is the meaning of this?” He pulled Tucker off of his prey. Koss maintained his dignity throughout the incident. “It is quite all right. Commander Tucker is understandably upset and I am a convenient outlet for that emotion. I am the logical…scapegoat, I believe you call it.” Still angry, but getting it slowly under control, Trip turned to Phlox. “Doc, ya’ gotta help her.” He indicated T’Pol’s still form, lying peacefully on the outcropping. Phlox headed immediately to his patient. After a moment, he faced Koss and T’Les, who now stood together on one side of the cavern. “What caused her injuries and how long ago?” “She was hit by a charged energy weapon from a Security Ministry guard 2.3 days ago. She lost consciousness immediately and has not awakened,” Koss answered. Nodding, the doctor continued to ask questions. “I see. Is it possible that she has entered into a healing trance?” Trip looked up sharply at that. “You know much of our ways, Doctor,” T’Les began. “No, she is not in the trance. Her pulse and respirations are too high for such a state.” “I concur,” the doctor agreed as he turned back to the patient at hand. “I need some time alone with her to conduct a more thorough examination.” He faced the interested parties once more. “I will let you know my findings as soon as possible.” T’Les returned to the main group, but Trip and Koss hovered along the corridor outside T’Pol’s room. After several minutes of pacing and pulling his hand through his hair, Tucker stopped and faced Koss. “I ‘pologize. It’s not my place to question yer dedication to yer wife.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “And I’m sure it wasn’t yer fault she got hurt.” Cocking his head to the side, Koss stared at Trip and then slowly the eyebrow went up. “You are a most curious species, Commander. I can understand T’Pol’s fascination with your people, you in particular.” As he went on, Koss stared at a distant point on the wall. “Your apology is accepted. But you are incorrect. It is my fault that T’Pol was injured. She would not have been on Vulcan at all if I had not requested her presence.” Tucker snorted and resumed pacing. “Well, if that’s how we’re judgin’ fault, then I’m right up there with ya’. I talked her into coming back.” He pounded his right fist into the open palm of his left hand. “Dammit! Why didn’t I stay out of it? If I woulda kept my mouth shut, she’d be on Enterprise still, safe.” “That is not necessarily true, Commander.” Koss shook his head slightly and allowed a near frown to show. “I would have continued to persuade her and I may have been successful. I alone bear the burden.” Trip stopped. He looked up at the husband of the woman he loved and laughed. “What is so amusing?” Koss puzzled. “Do ya’ hear us? We’re arguin’ over whose to blame for T’Pol bein’ hurt! But, the funny thin’ is, we’re not blamin’ each other, we’re blamin’ ourselves.” He paused for a moment as he considered the man before him. “Ya’ really care about her, don’t ya’?” Koss seemed perplexed by the question for a minute as he pondered it. “When we were bonded, I barely knew her. But over the past weeks, I have come to consider her a friend. I would be distressed if she were to come to permanent harm.” Trip shook his head. “That’s a damn long way of sayin’ yes.” “Yes, then, I…care about her well being, but not as you do.” Tucker met his eyes and saw the truth of the statement. “You and she are attuned to one another in a way that we would never be.” He paused as he debated whether to go on. The look of surprise and doubt on the engineer’s face convinced him. “Are you aware that Vulcans experience emotions?” At Trip’s nod, he went on. “T’Pol may not admit it, perhaps not even to herself, but she loves you very deeply.” For an instant, Trip was in heaven. Then reality hit. “Whether that’s true or not, she’s married to ya’.” He cast his gaze down and stared at the dirt floor as he aimlessly kicked at a pebble. Phlox poked his head out into the passageway as Koss opened his mouth to explain. “You can both come back in now, if you promise to behave.” He looked to Tucker, but noticed the man’s defeated expression and realized that he presented no threat. As they entered the small area, Phlox continued. “The weapon that was used on her disrupted her neural pathways, which is what it is designed to do. To most Vulcans, this simply causes a stun effect; however, T’Pol has experienced previous damage to her nervous system making her extremely susceptible to their energy waves.” “Is that the recent illness she mentioned?” Koss asked. “Yes,” Phlox nodded, glad that he hadn’t betrayed any medical confidentiality. “I’ve given her a mild neural suppressant to allow the systems to heal and some nutritional supplements. She will make a full recovery from this injury.” Nodding in appreciation, Trip asked, “When’ll she wake up, Doc?” “Oh, I expect that she will rest for another twelve to fifteen hours before her body revives itself. After that, she will have one heck of a headache for a few days and need extra meditation and sleep for about two weeks.” Tucker had been staring at her face since they reentered the room. Now, he looked up quickly at Koss. “Well, I’ll leave ya’ alone with yer wife.” Before the Vulcan could stop him, Trip had left the room and headed for the main hall. XXXXXXXXXXXX Archer and T’Les looked up simultaneously at Tucker’s entrance. He met T’Les’s gaze. “Ya’ can go back now. She’s still sleepin’, but Phlox says she’ll be okay.” A momentary look of relief passed quickly over the woman’s features before she resumed her controlled façade. “Join us, Commander,” she moved aside to allow Trip to see what they had been working on. There was a large piece of parchment laid out on the ground between them. “This is a hand-drawn overview of the Directorate offices,” the Captain stated, jumping into work. “T’Les says that their group is trying to gain access to the main computer so that they can broadcast their message throughout the Vulcan communication system.” “We are attempting to prove to the population that we have all been mislead by the Directorate and now is the time for a new government order,” T’Les finished. Trip looked over the map with mild interest. “And T’Pol believes in this cause?” “Indeed,” T’Les answered. “Then I’m in,” the engineer said. “Where do we start?” XXXXXXXXXXXX Sometime later, Archer and Trip stood off alone. “It’s not open for debate, Commander. I will be going on this mission. You’re needed here.” “Come on, Cap’n. I should be doin’ somethin’. Besides, what am I needed for?” Tucker argued. “Don’t fight me on this. T’Les and I are going into the Directorate.” He gave his friend a soft smile. “We’ll see you soon,” he added as T’Les came around the corner from where she’d been meditating. Together, Archer and T’Pol’s mother headed toward the mouth of the cave. XXXXXXXXXXXXX T’Les led the way into the building, past the security systems she had overridden. They walked down the deserted corridors to the control center. There, the duo began the tedious job of rewiring the computers and gaining access to the communications array. As they worked, T’Les did something very uncharacteristic for a Vulcan; she started a conversation. “You have known Commander Tucker for quite some time?” Archer looked up from his work briefly as he answered. “Yeah, I’ve known him for more than a decade. You’ll never know a finer man or a better friend.” “That seems to be a common perception.” Her response was only slightly cryptic. Now the Captain smiled. “Are you referring to your impression of him or T’Pol’s?” “Both. He appears to have an uncanny ability to gain the affection of the women of our family.” At that, they continued their work in silence. Archer was replacing the final reprogrammed computer panel when they heard the sounds of someone approaching. T’Les reacted first and warned the Captain. “There is a guard coming,” she whispered. “We must exit quickly.” Together they abandoned the room and made their way through the maze of hallways. Just as they reached the main doors that would lead to safety, Archer heard the warning call. “Halt. This is the Vulcan Security Ministry. Cease immediately.” The Captain pushed T’Les onward through the doors, but before they cleared the exit, weapons fire rang out. Although the human tried to block the beams, one of them caught his companion’s shoulder and she fell. He fell over her sprawled form as she instantly hit the ground. They lay in a heap just beyond the now closed doors. End Chapter Four Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS! A whole mess of folks have made comments*Just* Please tell me you didn't kill off T'Les. :-( Please up date soon. Oh, excellent chapter! I love it! It looks grim but I still hope T'Les will be ok. Please continue :-) wow, you do a great job with this story, very well done, next chapter ? Wow! This is getting better and better! oh wow what a post! i am very much enjoying this story. i am very much hoping t'les and jon are okay and we are going to get chapter 5, 6, 7, and so on very very quickly! Interesting story, it is also unusual to see a more sympathetic approach to Koss, having him volunteer that information about how T'Pol feels about Trip was a surprise. Please tell me you didn't kill T'Les? I really like her. Ali D :~) Oh this is good. Wonder if tptb are reading and noting the interaction between the characters and fine storyline. I'm eagarly awaiting part five. oh no! i hope all gets better! Great chapter! Hope to hear more soon! Please don't kill T'Les! |