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Enemy of the State-Ch 23
By Quills Contact: quills@thequillpen.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 23 Trip Tucker paced back and forth between the two stone entrance markers to the Preserver transporter corridor. He was on edge, waiting impatiently for any sign that the mission team was returning. It had been over eleven hours since they had left…Archer, T’Pol and Soma…with no word from them. The first window was about to close and there was sign that they were coming back. He had hoped that they had found what they were looking for and would be waiting to come back. But in truth, he didn’t even know if they had arrived safely. In fact, he didn’t know a god damn thing, except that they had one cycle less than they thought and there was nothing he could do about it, and no way to tell them. “How much longer, lieutenant?” asked Tucker, continuing to pace. Tucker’s engineering assistant, Lieutenant Rostov looked over at the chief. “About a minute, Trip.” A minute, he thought. This is gonna be the longest god damn minute of my life. Rostov watched Tucker continue to pace. He knew Tucker was worried. The whole crew was. But Tucker was closest to the three people on the mission. He had known Captain Archer since he was a just a lieutenant. The captain was someone Tucker looked up to. And Soma, well he was good friends with the chief. The two of them got on really well, which is more than you could say about T’Pol. She and Tucker always seemed at each other’s throats about one thing or another. Nothing seemed too small for those two not to argue about, which made the rumors all the more difficult to believe. The scuttlebutt around the ship was that Trip and the sub-commander were spending a lot of there evenings together, in her quarters. No one had come out and said anything to Trip, but there was talk. And on a ship the size of Enterprise rumors got around fast. Tucker stopped short, and looked up at him. “What?” “For the love of Jesus, would you stand easy,” said Rostov. “Pacing isn’t going to help…either of us,” He emphasized the last part for Tucker. Trip let himself smile. He could always count on Rostov to lighten even the most serious moments. And he was right, there wasn’t anything he could do, but wait. And that’s what bothered him. If there was only something that he could do, instead of waiting. “Commander,” said Rostov. Trip caught the change in Rostov’s tone. He sounded urgent and all business. Tucker, hurried to the transporter control. When he arrived, he saw Rostov was running a scan on the unit. The alien display was covered with tags, with English words on them. Hoshi, with the help of Soma, had done a good job translating much of the alien symbols that designated the controls. “What have you got?” asked Tucker. “I’m not sure,” replied Rostov, scrutinizing his scanner. “I’m reading an energy spike output.” “Let me see,” said Tucker, taking the scanner. Looking at the readouts, he could see that Rostov was right. The power spike was clearly there. The dry runs they conducted, never showed power spikes. The only time there was a fluctuation, was when the captain and the others went through. Tucker looked up at the shimmering corridor. It could only mean one thing. “Someone’s comin’ through.” Tucker rounded the console, quickly running to the edge of the corridor. Turning back, he called out to Rostov. “How much longer will it hold?” Rostov shook his head. “Twenty seconds…maybe less.” Tucker looked back at the corridor. Come on, he thought, just a little longer. Watching the ink black gateway, Tucker waited for the traveler to cross the ethereal corridor and step back into land of the living. Suddenly the corridor entrance shimmered. It’s smooth surface rippled like a dark body of water. For a brief moment, Trip held his breath. Then suddenly he gasped, as the traveler broke through the liquid film. A sleek black form exited the corridor. Stopping for a moment, it stared at Tucker, its black armor blending into the low light of the cavern. Tucker stared back in disbelief. Even with the helmet covering its head, he knew what it was; a Vulcan, just like the ones aboard the shuttle. His mouth opened, and he was about to speak when the armored figure moved in a whirlwind of speed. Charging at Tucker, he tackled the engineer, before he had a chance to react. “Trip!” shouted Rostov, as he watched the armored man tackle him to the ground. Hearing the shouts, two engineering crewman came running from the other side of the cavern. Seeing Tucker on the ground, they rushed over to help their engineering chief. The Vulcan caught their movement in its peripheral. Like a coiled spring, it leapt off of Tucker, colliding with the closer of the two crewmen. Tackling the man to the ground, it shoved a knife hand to his solar plexus, forcing the air from his lungs. ”Rostov to Enterprise!” shouted the engineer into his communicator. “Emergency! We need security down here, now!” Not waiting for a response, Rostov moved to join the two crewmen in subduing the Vulcan. Almost instantly, he felt a sharp blow to his kidneys. Reeling from the pain, he collapsed to the ground. Gasping, he turned, and looking up he saw a black boot connect squarely with his face. Tucker looked up, just as Rostov crumpled to the ground. He could see two more of the black armored Vulcans had exited the corridor, a male and female. They weren’t wearing helmets. Grabbing a spanner from an overturned tool kit, he started into a run towards the two Vulcans. The one closest to him turned, seeing him running towards him. Swinging his body around, he pulled what Tucker was certain could only be a disruptor from his belt. Reacting immediately, Tucker twisted his body. Veering off to the left, he dove behind an outcropping of stalagmites. The Vulcan let loose a volley of disruptor blasts, slicing into the stone floor. Tucker rolled forward and threw himself clear of the weapons fire. Looking back, he could see the Vulcan was repositioning his aim directly at him. Squeezing his hand, nervously, he felt the spanner gripped between his fingers. Sucking in a deep breath, he swung his arm forward, releasing the spanner into the air. It sailed through the air, spinning wildly until it slammed into the Vulcan Male’s head. Collapsing to the floor, the Vulcan dropped his disruptor weapon. Tucker saw the weapon drop. Pushing himself off the ground, he raced over to the fallen Vulcan. He needed to get to the weapon before the Vulcan regained his senses. Coming up to the black armored form, he bent down to pick up the weapon, only to be tackled sidelong. Falling over the Vulcan, he caught a glimpse of his attacker. It was the female. He had forgotten all about her. Rolling across the ground, she continuously struck at him with her hard gloved fists. Pinning him against the ground, she placed her hand to his neck, cutting off his air. “Let go of me ya pointy eared bitch!” gasped Tucker, as the Vulcan tightened her grip. He could feel the vice like fingers growing tighter. In a few seconds, he would pass out from lack of air, and she would most likely kill him. Struggling, he tried wrenching her hand from his neck, but he was no match for her strength. As his vision blurred, and consciousness began to slip away, a thought occurred to him. It would almost certainly not work, but in a few seconds, it wouldn’t matter. Sliding his right hand up the Vulcan’s armored forearm, he reached out for the point where the shoulder plating met the neck. With the no helmet, it left the neck exposed. Tucker knew he had only one chance. Reaching out, he jammed his open hand into the neck of his assailant, applying pressure to the exposed area. The Vulcan soldier clenched tightly, and Tucker could feel himself losing consciousness. Then, almost instantly, the pressure on his throat disappeared and the Vulcan collapsed on top of him. Pushing the woman off, Tucker rolled on his side. Inhaling deeply, he filled his oxygen-starved lungs with air. After a moment, he looked over at the still unconscious Vulcan. “Well I’ll be damned,” he said, in astonishment. “It actually works.” Suddenly he heard the familiar hum of the transporter beam. Looking up, he saw three heavily armed MACOs led by Lieutenant Reed. The armory officer motioned two of the MACOs toward the first Vulcan soldier who had come through the corridor. The man was fighting with four of Tucker’s engineers, while three lay on the ground, unconscious. Meanwhile, Reed and the third MACO had moved in the opposite direction, searching for any other intruders. Seeing Tucker, Reed immediately headed in his direction. The engineer caught site of Reed as he started to stand up, dusting off his uniform. “Better late than…” Tucker was about to finish, when Reed raised his phase rifle directly at him. Before he could say anything, Reed squeezed of a shot from the weapon. It sailed past Tucker, striking directly behind him. Spinning around, Tucker looked down to see the Vulcan male he had thrown the spanner at. He was sprawled out on the floor. A large red mark on his head, from a phase rifle beam set on stun. “…never,” said Tucker, finishing his earlier statement. “Trip, are you all right?” asked Reed. “I am now,” smiled the engineer, at his friend. Reed looked down at the unconscious female Vulcan. “What happened to her?” Tucker shook his head. “Long story. I’ll tell ya later.” It was a lie, but he didn’t want to explain that he had learned the technique from T’Pol…in his off hours…at night…in her quarters. “Right now we need ta see what damage they might’a done to the transporter.” Tucker and Reed approached the transporter. The device didn’t look like it had suffered any damage during the scuffle. It seemed to Tucker, that the Vulcans were more interested in attacking them, than damaging the transporter. Kneeling in front of the console, he inspected the casing for any sign of disruptor fire. “Lieutenant,” called out one of the MACOs. Reed left Tucker, who was still inspecting the transporter control housing. Heading over to the MACO, he could see the man was looking at something along the wall. “What is it Kelly?” “Sir, I think you need to have a look at this,” said the Lieutenant, pointing to the wall face in front of him. Reed walked up to Kelly, and turned to see just what the man found so bloody interesting. Then he saw it and froze. Looking at the wall face, he could see the heavy burn marks from a disruptor blast. The rock was pitted and scarred, but it was also hollow. Looking at the center of the disrupter burn, he could see a hole that went clean through the stone slab, and that was all it really was. Looking through the meter wide hole, he could see machinery, just like the Preserver’s transporter. Looking back at the Tucker, he shouted at the engineer. “Trip, you need to see this.” Tucker looked up. “What is it?” “That’s what we’re hoping you can tell us,” he answered. Tucker’s brow furrowed. Standing, he headed over to Reed and Kelly. Whatever they had, it better be good. Walking up to the two men, Tucker stopped and put his hands on his hips. “Well?” Reed nodded towards the wall face. Tucker turned to see what Reed was pointing at. His surprise was at least equal to that of Reed’s. “Son of a…” The disruptor blast that almost got him, had taken out the wall directly behind him. Walking towards the stone, Tucker tried to get a better view of what was inside. He could see the rock face wasn’t thick, but the wall of the hole obscured how much he could see. Turning to Reed, he motioned him over. “Give me a hand up,” he said, raising his leg. Reed grabbed Tucker’s foot and steadied himself. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” “I need ta see what the hell is behind this wall,” said Tucker, boosting himself up. Grabbing the edge of the hole, he pulled himself in until he was perched on the edge. Sliding down the corridor, Tucker slid about two meters before reaching open air. Pushing himself to the edge, he stopped, and looked to see where the ground was. He could see there was a three-meter drop to the floor, but there also a number of large stones he could climb down. Looking back down the hole, he called out to Reed. “I’m gonna go have a look.” “Trip!” Reed called out, clearly concerned for his friend. But Tucker had already disappeared from view. Bloody hell, thought Reed. Turning to Kelly, he motioned him to boost him up. Grabbing the edge of the hole, he repeated Tucker’s maneuver, sliding down the hole. Reaching the other side, he looked out to see Tucker standing next to a collection of large alien machines, all similar in design the Preserver transporter. Climbing down the rocks, Reed walked across the ten-meter open area, to where Tucker was standing. “Malcolm…I want ya to get Hoshi down here right away.” ”What for?” “Translatin’…because unless I miss my guess,” he said, pointing back out the hole. “We just found that transporter’s big brother.”
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