Gateway-Part 23

"Gateway"

By Quills

Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain
from this story.
Codes: A, T/Tu, Ma, S, R, P angst, drama, romance, humor,
action/adventure
Summary: Captain Archer is relieved of command for a secret mission into the 24th Century. To find and stop the Suliban renegade Silik. While he is gone, a Vulcan Starfleet Captain from the future is given temporary command of the Enterprise NX-01 with his own orders to investigate the 'Temporal Cold War'.

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Part 23

Chapter Forty-seven

"Search every deck...do you hear me!" yelled Silik with white hot fury. The Vulcan had outmaneuvered him. He had not given Soma enough credit, but he would not make the same mistake twice.

"Alert engineering and computer control," added Silik. "Those are the areas they can do the most damage."

"Commander," said the second addressing Silik. "should we not alert all sections...?"

Silik lunged forward grabbing his second by the throat. "Who commands here?!"

The Suliban struggled in Silik's grip as he gasped out a reply. "Y-You do."

"That's right," sneered Silik. "Don't forget it."

He released his grip on the man's throat as he pushed his second away. Staggering back, his second gasped for air as Silik gave orders to the soldier manning the comm station. "Send print out messages only....I do not want the Enterprise personnel to know we detected their arrival.”

“Mbek, scan the ship for non-Suliban life forms.”

Mbek nervously turned back to his console. Activating internal sensors he made bio sweeps of the Kirk’s decks. The sensors scanned the Kirk deck by deck until the sweep was complete. Mbek looked up at Silik. “There are two life forms leaving Deck 22 section alpha heading for deck 23…engineering section…one Human…one Vulcan.”

Silik smiled, he so hoped Soma had the bad judgment of trying to lead this last ditched effort himself. “Have shock forces meet them on deck 23."

The comm. officer nodded. "Understood sir."

“And…if there is anything left of the Vulcan…bring it too me.”

The comm. officer nodded and signaled Silik’s shock troops
To head for deck 23.

"Helm, adjust course and speed to take us out of the denser cloud area," said Silik taking his seat in the command chair. "Mbek, keep reading the sensor logs. I want to know where the 'Enterprise' is hiding."

_______________________________________

Soma and Reed made their way up the narrow Jeffries tube. They had followed the directions the ship's computer schematic gave them for the safest route to engineering. Unfortunately, they were about to come to the last Jeffries tube access along the way. From this point on they would be forced to continue down a main corridor, deck 23, one deck below engineering. They would be exposed with little cover available if they met resistance.

"Mr. Reed?"

"Right here, Captain," responded the armory officer as he stopped just below Soma on the ladder.

"I'm afraid this is where things get complicated," said Soma "Through this hatch is a main corridor that leads to a stairwell up to engineering. There aren't any other access ways in so we're going to have to make it down the corridor...which won't afford us much protection if there are Suliban forces waiting."

"And if we make it to the stairwell," responded Reed with a sigh. "There are almost certainly Suliban waiting for us there."

"Most likely."

"Are you ready?" asked Soma looking down at Reed.

"No," said Reed shaking his head as he unslung his phase rifle. "But let's do it anyway."

"Right."

Soma climbed the remaining rungs to the top of the tube. Sliding to one side to secure his position, he reached up and grabbed the manual release on the hatch. Turning the lever, the hatch lock made a sharp click allowing the plate to move freely. Soma looked down at Reed and gave him a nod. Pulling his phase pistol out, Soma pushed the hatch forward as he carefully leaned out of the access way. Glancing up and down the corridor to make sure the way was clear, he laid the panel on the deck and slid out of the Jeffries tube. Crouching down, he motioned for Reed to follow. The Lt. climbed the ladder exiting the access way and moved to the opposite wall where he crouched down.

"Lt, I'm going to make my way to where the corridor meets a two way junction," explained Soma. "If it's clear, I'll signal you."

"Yes sir, I'll cover you from here," said Reed with a nod. "Sir…Be careful."

"I intend to," Soma smiled.

Soma made his way carefully down the corridor as Reed crouched down with his phase rifle aimed just past him. Soma edged along the wall as he approached the corridor junction. He forced his breathing to go shallow and cocked his head slightly to allow his sensitive Vulcan ears to give him a warning. Pausing for a moment, he listened for any hint of noise. For a long steady moment he heard only quiet with the background thrum of the ship's engines. Then he heard it. It wasn't much, but it was enough. The creak of flexing boot material from someone shifting their position. It was a trap! The Suliban knew they were here and they were just waiting for him and Reed to line up like ducks in a gallery.

Soma had less than a second to act. He couldn't make it back to Reed's position so he took the only other option and dived low across the corridor junction, twisting his body as he was in mid air. The Suliban immediately reacted, raising their weapons to open fire, but Soma swung his arm out pointing his phase pistol in their direction. Tapping the wide beam setting with his thumb, he fired off one blind shot striking two Suliban before he hit the deck in a somersault roll to the opposite side of the corridor.

Lt. Reed saw all this in the blink of an eye and in a span of time that took only slightly longer he lunged across the corridor and grabbed the Jeffries hatch cover, pulling it up in front of him as a Suliban soldier came out of the corridor. Seeing Soma exposed, Reed raised his phase rifle and fired off a shot striking the Suliban in the back. As the man crumpled to the floor, another Suliban exited the corridor and opened fire on Reed's position. The disruptor blasts struck the access hatch Reed was using as a makeshift shield. The Suliban continued firing as he backed into the safety of the adjacent corridor.

Soma pressed his body against the wall as he slid up to where his corridor met the one the Suliban had emerged from. Careful to stay clear of the suppression fire Reed was laying down, Soma turned his weapon into the corridor and fired blindly. He hadn't counted on hitting anyone, but hoped the added fire would drive the Suliban further back down the corridor. His phase pistol fire was immediately met by a volley of disruptor blasts that struck the adjacent wall and sent sparks showering over both he and Reed.

Soma squinted through the rain of sparks and signaled for Reed's attention. The Lt. acknowledged his Captain as he continued to fire intermittent shots down the corridor. Suddenly, the return fire ceased and the corridor went silent. Soma glanced over at Reed, and both men knew they could not have stopped the Suliban that easily. They were waiting for one of them to carelessly expose himself for an open shot.

Glancing at Reed, Soma tapped his chest pocket and made a discarding motion. Reed nodded knowing exactly what the Captain had in mind. Unzipping his breast pocket, Reed pulled out one of the cobalt grenades. Looking over at Soma, he nodded again to signal he was ready. Soma nodded back as he positioned himself to run clear of the opening once the grenade was thrown.

Reed tapped the igniter button on the grenade and holding his shield up, twisted into the open and hurled the grenade down the corridor. A renewed volley of disruptor fire came out of the darkened corridor, striking Reed's makeshift shield. The impact force put him off balance and sent him hurtling backwards into the adjacent wall. Stunned, Reed collapsed in the exposed corridor with only scant seconds before the grenade exploded.

Seeing his armory officer exposed, Soma gritted his teeth and lunged forward. With Vulcan agility and Vulcan strength he went down on one knee lunging out with his arm and grabbed Reed by his uniform. With a quick jerk he hauled the armory officer out of the corridor just as flash of blinding blue light came from the adjacent corridor. The flash was followed, by a shattering concussive blast that threw both Reed and Soma to the ground.

The blast swept up the corridor and out the entranceway flooding into the corridor where Reed and Soma were. A wall of bright blue plasma flame licked across the upper half of the corridor burning everything it came in contact with. As the plasma crawled across the walls its intensity began to diminish until finally the last of the cobalt blue flame disappeared, leaving blacked walls several meters down both ends of the corridor.

Reed was the first to raise his head. Looking up he could see the char line where the plasma had stopped burning. It was less than a foot above his body. If he and Soma had been standing up they would have been incinerated.

"Captain?" called Reed. "Captain, are you alright."

A dull groan from Soma told Reed the Captain was still alive and a raspy cough and a nod of his head put the armory officer
at ease.

"I'm still functioning, Mr. Reed," said Soma. "Just barely."

"Captain, I..." Reed stammered as he realized what Soma had done.

"Forget it Malcolm," said Soma sitting up. "You took a hell of a risk setting that grenade off. Besides, I can't let subordinate officers grand stand me. Think what that will do to my reputation."

Reed gave Soma a smile and then looked down the corridor towards the stairwell to engineering. "Shall we?"

"Let's," said Soma.

_____________________________________________

T'Pol sat pensively in the command chair as the 'Enterprise' emerged from the denser section of the nebulae cloud. She knew the ship would never survive another direct confrontation with the 'Kirk'. Any attempt to do so would be suicidal. However, she was also aware of what was at stake. If the 'Kirk' was not stopped here, she would go to Earth or perhaps Vulcan. Even in her damaged condition she would be more than a match for what amounted to nothing more than hundred and fifty year old obsolete starships. Captain Soma was correct, the 'Enterprise' and her crew were expendable. The ‘Kirk' had to be stopped at all costs.

"Sensors, Mr. Delgado?" asked the Vulcan as she glanced at the science station. The young Lt. sitting in what was normally her position, ran his hands over the dials nervously. She could see the beads of sweat forming on his face. He was frightened; they all were. No one wanted to die, but even more than that no one wanted to fail; not this time.

"Its hard to say, Ma’m," replied Delgado. "The readings are sporadic. I keep getting energy signatures in different places...sometimes two at the same time. They can't be in both spots so its got to be false readings."

"What’s the closest energy signature?"

Delgado turned to his instruments again. After a moment he reacquired the closest energy pattern his sensors could discern. "Ninety degrees to starboard."

"Mr. Mayweather, adjust course ninety degrees to starboard," ordered T'Pol. "Mr. Wang, stand by on weapons. The targeting system won't work in here so we will have to rely on your marksmanship."

The Enterprise changed its heading as the impulse engines fired. The battle damaged starship limped through the ionized clouds as it headed for the source of the energy distortion. The readings Delgado had interpreted could very well be a ghost image. In this highly charged field of ions the sensors proved almost useless and any reading they gave could lead them right into the waiting hands of the ‘Kirk’.

Delgado’s head snapped up as a warning light flashed on his board. "Sub Commander, I'm reading that energy signature 2000 kilometers directly ahead."

"Mr. Wang."

"Starboard cannon and torpedoes ready, Ma'am." Replied the armory officer.

"Wait till we are at point blank range," ordered T’Pol. “Our phase cannon is only at fifty percent. We will have to be right on top of her to cause any appreciable damage.”

“Understood, Sub-Commander.”

"Sub commander, I'm reading another energy signature...this one directly astern."

“What about the signature directly ahead?” she asked.

“It’s still there Ma’m.” said Delgado. “I don’t understand…that can’t both be…”

Delgado’s words were cut off as the ship suddenly lurched violently forward. Several loud explosions from the aft section rang through the bridge.

“Phaser fire!!” yelled Wang. “Directly astern.”

“Return Fire!” shouted T’Pol. "Emergency power…all ahead full."

The Enterprise’s engines whined as she maneuvered sluggishly away With the ‘Kirk’ less than 500 meters away. Firing her aft torpedo, the Enterprise returned fire on the ‘Kirk’ striking one of its torpedo tubes. The impact caused the port side of the ‘Kirk’s’ torpedo housing to explode taking several of the upper decks with it.

"Sub Commander that original energy signature is still in front of us. We're closing in on it too fast for it to be a ghost image…whatever it is its headed straight for us."

“Mr. Mayweather, hard to port.”

“I’ll try Sub-Commander, but the helm is sluggish and…Sub-Commander she’s not responding. We’ve lost helm control.”

T’Pol had only seconds to think. Whatever the object was, it was on a direct course for the ‘Enterprise’. “Fire dorsal reaction control thrusters. Take us under whatever it is.’ She knew it was a gamble. They had no Idea how large the object was or even if they had enough time for the thrusters to bring them clear of the object.

“Ensign Sato, give me forward view maximum strength.”

Hoshi gripped her console as she tapped several keys bringing the viewer into static filled focus. As the static raced across the screen the bridge crew could make out the approaching object. It was clearly several times the size of ‘Enterprise’ but the viewer was too distorted to tell what the object was.

“Sub-Commander, I’m picking up an audio transmission,” said Sato.

“From the ‘Kirk’?”

“No, this one’s too the Kirk.”

“Put it on audio,” ordered T’Pol.

A static crackle filled the bridge as the comm. channel tapped into The message directed at the ‘Kirk’. “…Silik…get the hell away from
my ship!”

T’Pol looked at Sato, making no attempt to hide the surprise. Turning Away from Sato, T’Pol focused her attention on the viewer. She had recognized the voice instantly; it was Captain Archer’s. She wasn’t certain how he had returned or even how he had found them, but she was certain about one thing. He was on a direct collision course with the Enterprise.

Continue to Part 24 (Chapter 48)

Return to Part 22 (Chapter 46)

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A handful of people have made comments

Woo Wee! Exciting. I can hardly wait for the next part.

This is excellent, and I just love how you have written Soma. I also chuckled at the end with Captain Archer turning up in time to tell Silik to get the hell away from his ship! Ali D :~)

Yes yes YES! Wow, I'm actually cheering for Archer, lol. Kudos to youf or that!
Wonderful chapter! Excitement, frustration, suspense!
Aw, Captain Soma saved Malcolm. Get's ya' right here (thumps heart).

Bravo, can't wait for the next chapter.(I'm gonna have to laugh if Archer damages Enterprise, though)
-Phaser Lady

I was so excited to see another chapter posted and you did not disappoint! Wow...you write a mean action scene! And I was very happy to see Soma again...what a great character you've created.

First off I just LOVE Soma. He's such a great original character, something that not all fanfic writers can do is to create a character with such depth.

Secondly, the Archer line is GREAT!!!

Keep it coming!