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Negotiations-Ch 10Negotiations By Hoshi’s Sis Rating: PG/13 A/N: Takes place after they have left the Expanse at the end of Season 3, but before the Season 4 episode, “Home.” @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Chapter Ten Once on the surface, Trip managed to slip into the conference room with relative ease. There were already a few engineering personal down there making last minute adjustments, so it wasn’t too out of place for the Chief of Engineer to be on the scene, making what looked like last minute checks. Technically the conference had already started ten minutes previously when the Andorian and Vulcan delegates had beamed down, but no actual talks or negotiations were scheduled to begin until Captain Archer joined them. Making sure that no one was around, Trip slipped into the nearest ventilation conduit and slowly began to plant detonators in key junctions around the room. It was going to be a tiring and sweaty job, since there wasn’t much space to swing a mouse in the cramped and tight compartment. Never mind also that time was sparse, as his disappearance on Enterprise might be noticed anytime soon and his modifications placed back on line. She may not be as good as Trip, but Hess was certainly quite capable of having sensors back on line within 30 mins. So it didn’t leave him much time to put the first part of his plan into place, especially considering that he had to shield these detonators from being easily detected by Malcolm’s efficient security personal. The dampening field he had brought would shield them from sensors on the ship, so all he had to do was make sure they would be undetected by hand scanners on the surface. -------------------------------------------------------------- “Hoshi, get in touch with the Vulcan’s and Andorian’s to see if they can locate Trip on their sensors,” said Captain Archer as he walked back onto the bridge with T’Pol and Malcolm. “T’Pol, go and help Ensign Taylor conduct repairs to the external sensor network, then work with Hess to see what other surprises our Chief Engineer left for us. T’Pol nodded and walked off the bridge with Ensign Taylor to go to Engineering. “Sir,” asked Malcolm, “I know that Trip is a good friend, but I respectfully request that we place the ship on High Alert status until we find out what the problem is with him.” “Don’t you think your jumping the gun a bit, Malcolm?” “Just playing it safe, Captain,” explained Malcolm, “I’m worried about him as well, but like T’Pol said, I find all this too much of a coincidence.” “Put us on General Alert and have all departments sign in,” replied Captain Archer, “I’m willing to run with the ball, but not pass and panic just yet.” “Sir,” said Hoshi, looking up from her console, “I’ve got Ambassador Soval and Commander Shran on the line. They want to know why Enterprise has gone on General Alert.” “Put them both on, Hoshi,” replied Captain Archer. “Is there a problem, Captain?” asked Ambassador Soval. “Probably not,” replied Captain Archer, “we’re just being cautious.” “I don’t recall it being usual procedure to place a ship on General Alert on the basis of a trivial matter,” said Soval, “unless you suspect foul play by one of the parties involved.” “What are you implying, Vulcan?” asked Shran, jumping angrily into the conversation. “Nothing, although I fail to see why you are suddenly so defensive without having an ulterior motive.” “Why you smug, green blooded……” “That’s enough you two,” shouted an angry Captain Archer before a full scale dispute could break out between Shran and Soval, “if these negotiations are going to work, you’ll have to quit jumping to assumptions and learn to trust each other. I refuse to be a referee in anymore slanging match between your two species.” “You seem unusually upset, Captain,” asked Ambassador Soval. “For once, I agree with you, Vulcan,” said Commander Shran, “is there a problem we should be aware of Captain?” “I’m not sure yet,” replied Captain Archer calming down, “according to T’Pol, Trip’s been acting rather weird. Now he’s gone missing down on the planet, damaging our equipment in the process, so we are unable to track or locate him.” “Most puzzling,” said Soval deep in thought, “despite his behaviour never being the norm due to his overt emotional outbursts, he has always come across as the constant professional. Maybe we should postpone the negotiations?” “Let’s find him first before we make any hasty decisions; we could after all be making a mountain out of a mole hill,” replied Archer. “I would appreciate it if any of you could scan the planet, since your sensors are far more advanced than ours. Maybe you would have better luck locating him. Both Shran and Soval indicated to their science stations to start conducting scans. “I don’t understand your analogy, Captain. What do mountains and molehills have to do with this?” “It’s just a saying, Ambassador. It means ‘not to be too hasty in our decisions’ because we could be blowing this all out of proportion.” “Do you think this could be related to his accident,” asked Shran. “Usually I would say no, but when I place it in retrospect to his behaviour the last couple of hours, I would say that it could be linked. I would be grateful if Phlox could go over your doctor’s records and scans, in case something was missed.” “What accident?” enquired Soval. “He had a mishap with a plasma junction on the Wheyton before you arrived,” replied Archer, “I can’t pinpoint anything specific wrong, but he doesn’t seem to have been the same since.” “Maybe I could send you our doctor to help with your investigation,” said Soval. “I’m sure Phlox would appreciate your help,” thanked Captain Archer, “have any of you picked up anything on your sensors?” “It’s weak we’re picking up his signal in the vicinity of the conference room but I can’t pin point his precise coordinates,” said Soval, “Captain Archer, did Commander Tucker give any indication that he was going down to make last minute arrangements?” “No, he’s not been near Engineering since the accident and he’s not listed or been cleared for active duty.” “Bridge to Captain Archer…………” buzzed T’Pol. “Archer,” “Nothing else on Enterprise has been tampered with.” “Get back to the bridge” said Captain Archer, thankful that things were going his again. “I’m going to need you up here.” “Captain!” exclaimed Malcolm as T’Pol signed off, “Parsons in the Armoury never signed in, so I sent security down there. They found him dead, killed from a broken neck and there is a plasma rifle and some explosives missing.” “High Alert,” shouted Captain Archer, “Shran, Ambassador, I suggest you send down some men and shuttles to retrieve your delegate’s as soon as possible.” “Travis you have the bridge, Malcolm, you and T’Pol are with me. We’re going down to the planet to bring Trip back whether he wants to or not.” ---------------------------------------------------------- Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS! Two folks have made commentsOh boy!! Stupid Brain washing Romulans! Great story but I hate the thought of Trip killing other members of the crew even in a brain washed state. How our boy will cope with that when the mess is settled I don't know. Good work, can't wait for the next part! Ali D :~) |