Examinations-Pt. 3

Examinations

PART THREE

by Thinkey

PG-13
Disclaimers in Part One

When he had first signed on for Enterprise, Trip had imagined great adventures, seeing new worlds and different civilizations. Thinking back, he realized that he had never considered the dangers in the least. That thought just hadn't crossed his mind.

It was crossing his mind now, however, and he couldn't help but wonder if it would have been better to stay in Florida with his girlfriend. That thought seemed immensely more pleasing than how he was feeling right now.

Trip's train of thought was broken when he heard a noise from out in the hallway. He straightened up into sitting position and brought his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He hoped against all odds that they didn't take him next.

His heart skipped a beat as the door began to open. Shadows masked most of the person's face as he entered the room; Trip could tell that he was still wearing the mask, though. His attention shifted from the tall masked man to the object he seemed to be dragging.

Trip's breath caught in his throat as he felt his skin pale at the sight.

The masked man tossed the person he was carrying aside and then exited the room without a word. The slamming of the door filled the small room and Trip winced with the sound. He gazed over at the figure in a heap on the floor....

T'Pol.

Trip wasn't sure what to do. He gazed at her body through the darkness, trying to decide weather she was conscious or not.

Slowly, he moved from his sitting position and crawled over to where the masked man had left her. Trip felt his stomach twist in knots as he reached down to her slender neck and placed a finger on it, checking for a pulse.

There was none.

"T'Pol!" he gasped as panic took over his rational side. Without thought, he flipped her over and placed his head to her chest, checking for a pulse there as well. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found a faint thud from within her chest.

He lifted his head up and looked her over, not seeing any signs of a struggle. Trip took a deep breath. That had to be a good sign. He reached down and grabbed her by the shoulders, bringing her over to where he was sitting.

He bought her head down to the pillow softly, then grabbed the blanket from nearby and draped it over her still body. His hand slid across hers by accident and Trip realized how cold she was. He grasped her hands in his, trying to warm them up. They felt like ice.

What had they done to her?

Trip watched the blanket he had placed on her slowly move up and down, indicating that she was at least breathing. He placed one of her hands under the blanket, but kept the other in his own for his own sanity. He gazed down at her small figure - not a bit tarnished, but so worn out. Trip couldn't even contemplate what had been done to her. He had never seen anything of this kind before.

There was a lot he hadn't seen - or experienced - before.

Trip looked in the direction of the doorway and he could see the shadow of someone pass in front of the door, standing guard. Trip held T'Pol's hand close as he counted the footsteps the person outside was making. Each step meant the difference between the masked assailants coming in there to retrieve one of them or T'Pol having the chance to rest up. The Vulcan needed her rest and Trip wouldn't wake her. However, he wanted to know what was happening - and she was his only source of information. If they stood a chance of escape, he needed to know their intentions.

Trip's whole body ached from being cramped up so long. He stretched his legs out and straightened his back against the rock wall behind him. It wasn't luxury seating, to say the least.

Trip sighed and looked at T'Pol's sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, so...un-Vulcan. They had been through a lot in their first year on Enterprise and seen each other in grim situations, but this was different. In her peaceful slumber, she looked...vulnerable, truly vulnerable.

Trip sighed and closed his eyes to try and rest. His thoughts, however, kept wandering. Maybe all the bitterness he held for her was misguided.

"Be better, T'Pol," Trip whispered down to her. "And that's an order."

***

Archer gripped the ladder with his feet as he held on from the vent opening with one hand and swung over to grab the ladder with the other. He didn't care how long it took or how hard it was to do it - as soon as they arrived back at Jupiter Station, he was going to order (not suggest - order) them to change the roofing on these turbolifts.

With one hand and one foot on the ladder, he swung his other hand from the vent over to the ladder. Done. One step down. Now he just had to climb all the way down to the lower deck to access the door.

Jon began to climb when he suddenly heard a noise from above him. Stopping on the ladder, he stared up into the darkness and listened again. There was a clinking noise.

"Hello?" he hollered into the darkness. The clinking continued.

"Is there anyone up there?" More clinking.

Then it stopped. "Captain? Is that you?" a voice echoed from up above the jammed turbolift. It was Mayweather's.

Archer felt somewhat relieved that he wasn't alone. "Yeah, it's me, Travis...what are you doing up there?"

"Trying to find you," he replied. Archer smiled to himself. Why else would he be in the turboshaft?

"You're going to have to turn around, Travis. There's no way you're going to be able to pass the turbolift itself. I managed to get out through a vent in the floor," Archer explained.

"Got it, Captain. You're planning to climb down to the bowels of the ship?"

"That's the plan. Do you know what happened to Enterprise?"

"We got hit by some pretty rudimentary nuclear weapons. Lieutenant Reed's on it as we speak. We don't know where they came from."

"Don't know where they came from? What kind of ship could fire without anyone seeing it? What do you mean we don't know where they came from?" Archer asked.

"No clue, Captain - nothing was picked up on sensors."

Just swell, Jon thought. Invisible ships were attacking Enterprise.

"Thanks, Travis," Archer replied. "I'll see you when I get out of here."

"No problem, Captain."

Archer sighed and continued his climb downwards. He didn't like the feeling of this situation at all. With two of his top officers planet-bound, the last thing he wanted to face was an attack from a new species - especially one that was invisible.

He figured it wouldn't take more than twenty minutes to make the actual
climb. Then he could get things back in order.

***

Phlox wandered down the darkened corridor toward his destination. A single light flickered in the hallway as he made his way to the doors of the Armory. He punched the access panel; the doors slid open and he stepped in.

Reed was alone in the room, hunched over a console, barely moving. "Lieutenant, am I disturbing you?" Phlox asked.

"Not really. I'm just running a more thorough scan on those weapons that hit us. We can't find the ship they came from," Reed explained as he tapped away at his console.

Phlox approached Reed from behind and peered over his shoulder at the sensor data. Reed suddenly tensed up and turned back, eyeing Phlox. "See anything of interest, Doctor?"

Phlox ignored Reed's obvious unease about the situation. "Not really. However, I have seen this type of attack before," he offered.

That piqued the weapons officer's interest. Reed turned in his chair, offering the doctor his full and undivided attention.

"My people were once witness to this kind of attack," Phlox continued.

Reed stood up from his chair. "Who are they?"

Phlox sighed. "We never did find out that tidbit of information. But I can tell you that the attacks took place somewhat...far from here. I believe they originated
along the Alpha Quadrant's border with the Beta Quadrant," he explained.

Reed seemed to grow more and more confused. "Alpha Quadrant? Beta Quadrant?"

"Yes - my people talk about the galaxy in four pieces. The Alpha Quadrant is where we are at the moment. The Beta Quadrant is over in that direction." Phlox pointed in the general direction. "The Gamma and Delta Quadrants are on the other side of the galaxy."

"O...kay," Reed said. "So these attacks took place along the Beta Quadrant border. And you never found out who did it?"

Phlox shook his head.

"How about where the bombs were coming from?"

"That's...a curious question, Lieutenant. We never did find a ship. However, the weapons were fired from the Beta Quadrant."

"And now they are firing here. But how could they detect us - if they're even bothering to?" Reed sighed. This whole attack didn't make sense at all.

"It might appear random, but they are far from random. If their sensors cannot reach this far, then it's most likely someone here is giving them information."

Reed frowned at the thought. Who in the quadrant would want to fire on one Starfleet ship? It all didn't add up...at least he couldn't see it.

"Anything else, Doctor?" Reed asked. It seemed he was back to square one.

"Not that I can think of," Phlox replied as he made his way to the door. "If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you and the captain know about it," he added before stepping through the door.

Once it closed, Reed turned and planted his hands firmly down on the console and took a deep breath. There was no backtracking to the evidence, because that evidence was quite possibly lightyears away. Finding the source of the information was near impossible since they knew almost nothing about the area.

A plan. They needed some sort of plan. "How do you plan against an enemy you know nothing about?" Reed wondered aloud.

"You don't," Archer spoke from behind.

Reed turned around to greet his captain. "I was just talking to Phlox on my way here. He explained a few things to me," the captain clarified.

"How do we not plan for an attack, Captain?" Reed asked rhetorically. "I'm the weapons and tactical officer of this ship. It is my duty to make sure the ship is safe. I cannot do that under these circumstances." It was not the type of situation Reed had prepared for back on Earth.

Jon sighed, feeling Reed's frustration. "We continue with our everyday routine," he said, slapping his hand down on the prototype torpedo that was still on the table. Reed looked at his current project and smiled. Maybe this was the way to go after all.

"Sounds like a plan, sir."

Archer smiled and walked over to Reed, placing a hand on his shoulder as they both looked at the torpedo before them. "Didn't you say this would be working by now, Malcolm?" Jon asked.

Reed sighed. "It should be, Captain. I just can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it."

Neither of the men looked at the other; they just stared at the torpedo.

"I guess I should try and make it work."

"Yes, you should, Malcolm. Yes you should," Archer replied, tapping Reed on the back again. Reed glanced at him and Jon winked with a little smile. Business as usual it would be.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on the bridge. Got to get the ship back up to top-notch!" Jon declared as he walked to the door. Reed smirked at his captain's sudden-found optimism. Maybe this was the way around this after all.

***

As soon as the door was closed behind him, Jon slumped against the wall and sighed. An unknown enemy shooting from who knows where, and all they had to go on was Doctor Phlox's story about a similar attack. He had to get to the bridge and get a complete report.

Malcolm was fine working in the Armory; Jon, on the other hand, had to keep an optimistic outlook on things. Hopefully they would be able to solve this problem quickly. He didn't know how many more attacks like these they could take.

Straightening up, Jon clasped his hands behind his back and began walking to the nearest working turbolift.

***

With a squeeze of his hand, Trip's eyes darted open as he looked around the room. There were only T'Pol and himself, and she was apparently squeezing his hand.

"T'Pol? T'Pol, are you awake?" He placed one hand on her shoulder and squeezed hers with the other. She moved slightly under the blankets and a light moan escaped from her lips. Trip sighed with relief - she was coming around.

Her eyes opened slowly and met Trip's. He smiled. Quickly she sat up and withdrew her hands from his.

"Where am I?" she asked as her eyes surveyed the room. Her body was tense and her actions abrupt as she looked herself over before turning back to him.

Trip took a deep breath. "We're in one of the rooms of the complex. They tossed me in here after they dragged me away." Her saw her eyes widen as he spoke, but he had to ask her. "What happened to you, T'Pol? What did they do to you?"

She pulled away at the mention of that, sliding several meters across the floor and curling up into a sitting ball. Trip made a motion towards her, but she shot him a look that made him fall back into a sitting position. "T'Pol...you have to tell me."

T'Pol's breathing became ragged. "I...do not wish to discuss it."

"That's not helping us, T'Pol! Who are they? What do they want?" Trip lost his temper slightly, jumped forward, and moved towards her. She flinched and pulled away again, turning her head away from him and staring at the floor.

Trip sighed and bowed his head. Why did he have to lose his temper in such situations? "I'm sorry, T'Pol. I didn't mean to sound so harsh." He paused as he reached out to touch her arm.

She flinched again and this time he flinched along with her. "I need to know - I need to understand what's going on here. Please, T'Pol, please...." he pleaded.

They both sat still as the moments passed. Finally, she turned to him slowly, her attention still on the floor.

"They wanted information. About Enterprise." Her voice was slow and unstable. Trip nodded his encouragement for her to continue as his hand unconsciously began tracing circles on her arm. It seemed to have a calming effect on her increasingly erratic behavior.

Trip couldn't even begin to wonder what they could have done to bring her to this state. It was so unlike her.

"What information?" Trip probed. "Weapons systems, warp drive...?"

"General information. About Earth as well."

Trip shook his head. "Why did they take you instead of me? I should have been the one they took."

"You lacked the necessary information, it would seem," T'Pol replied, a hint of sarcasm seeping through. Trip ignored it, knowing that she wasn't herself.

"Do you know who they were? What did they do with the rest of the Vulcans on the planet?"

"I did not recognize them and I do not know what they did with the inhabitants. I have the impression that they already have all the answers."

This struck Trip as very strange. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"They already knew...things," T'Pol explained. "Facts that I had not told them. They also mentioned incidents that I do not believe have happened." Trip could see the pain in her face as she tried to put together all the facts. None of it was really making sense to either of them at the moment, but it had to be a start.

"Then they must be guessing. It's the only way they can have some stuff right and some wrong." Trip paused for a moment. "Right?"

"Possibly. I do not know for sure," T'Pol answered.

Trip nodded and they both fell into silence. He watched her slowly begin to retreat into herself again. He had no idea what they had done to her, and he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask. Trip had never seen her look so vulnerable.

Trip gathered up all the courage he had left and took a deep breath. "What...did they do to you, T'Pol?" he asked, nearly whispering.

Her eyes shot up and met his and the classic Vulcan sternness returned. Trip noticed it and decided that she was trying with all her will to keep herself together. However, he couldn't help her if he didn't know what was done. He tried to reassure her.

"You can trust me."

"I do not...I cannot talk about it at this time, Commander. I am having difficulty... concentrating," T'Pol admitted as she wrapped her arms even tighter around her legs. It was her way of dealing with the pain. Whatever they done to her was definitely affecting her on some emotional level, Trip concluded. With humans, talking about it helped; it seemed that Vulcans dealt with it by retreating.

He knew T'Pol did a lot of meditation, but she had never explained to anyone what the purpose was. Maybe this was it.

Trip sighed to himself as he stretched out, lying down on the floor, his head propped on his elbow. He watched a series of expressions crossing T'Pol's face as she sat there with her eyes closed. It would be better if he left her alone for a while - to deal with it internally before anything else.

He would be here watching her. He silently prayed that the masked man wouldn't come back for a while. His stomach was beginning to hurt a little, but it was a small annoyance at the moment in comparison to what T'Pol had apparently gone through.

Nothing about this situation made sense. It felt as if someone, somewhere was controlling every part of their lives and they had absolutely no say.

Trip cursed himself over and over again in his head for not returning to the shuttlepod when they had had the chance. None of this would have happened. Would they even last the few days until Captain Archer came back for them? There was no knowing.

A part of him hoped that they couldn't find the information they wanted from them in that time - even if it meant the torture. For T'Pol's sake, however, he
hoped that he was next. She didn't deserve to go through that again.

He brought his head to the floor slowly, using his arm as a pillow. Rest was nearly impossible, but he would try.

He hoped T'Pol could do the same.

***

Archer stepped off the turbolift and onto the bridge. Mayweather was back at his post and Hoshi seemed busy at communications.

"Report," he said as he stepped up and took a seat in his chair. Hopefully there would be some good news.

"Engineering team is down fixing the damaged turbolift as we speak," Mayweather replied. "There's also a team repairing damages on E deck. Reed's busy in the Armory with the torpedo launcher, and we're currently out of warp."

Archer nodded and glanced over at Hoshi, who seemed hard at work. "How about you, Hoshi?"

Hoshi sat listening in on her hearing device. Her face fell into a frown. "Captain, a Vulcan ship is hailing us."

"Vulcan?" Jon asked. "What do they want?" Over the past year, his encounters with the Vulcans had ranged from curious to accusatory. Most of them bore little
good news.

"They're coming out of warp, Captain," Mayweather announced. "Dead ahead."

"Put it on screen," Archer ordered. The screen lit up with the face of Sopek.

Jon sighed, wondering what the Vulcans wanted this time. He tried to sound diplomatic. "Captain Sopek; how nice to see you again."

Sopek was all business. "Captain, can you explain to me what happened to the two hundred Vulcans on Corinos Prime?"

Archer quirked an eyebrow. Last he knew, the Vulcans were all there - and so were Trip and T'Pol. "Captain?"

"They're gone," Sopek stated. Jon exchanged a look with Hoshi. She didn't seem to get it either.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Captain. I sent my crew down over a day ago."

The Vulcan captain was unmoved. "We passed there 2 days ago. I can assure
you, Captain: there was no one there."

Sopek and Archer looked at one another in confusion. The Vulcan frowned. "Please tell me you scanned the planet before sending your crewmen down...."

Archer was getting mad. "Of course we did. Everything checked out as normal." He wasn't going to be taken for a fool by this captain.

"Perhaps your scanners gave you false readings," Sopek suggested.

"Perhaps it's yours," Archer shot back.

"Perhaps you're not telling us something," Sopek accused.

"Just what are you accusing us of?" Archer growled. First the attacks and now the Vulcans. Could his day get any worse? That was when it dawned on him....

"Captain, I'm picking up another warhead headed right for us." Mayweather informed Archer.

"Polarize the hull plating!" Archer ordered as he made his way back to his seat. He held on as the ship rocked.

Once it had stopped moving, Jon straightened up to face a very uncharacteristically surprised Sopek. "I think there's more going on here than missing Vulcans, Captain."

"Another one, Captain!" Mayweather announced. "This one's aimed at the Vulcan ship!"

It was too late, however, and Archer and the bridge crew watched as the connection to Sopek was cut, replaced by an outside view. The explosion detonated below their port bow, rocking the ship. Everything seemed to stay in one piece, however. Archer sighed. It seemed they were both victims of the same attack.

The viewscreen opened again and Sopek reappeared. "Do you have any idea who that was, Captain? Our sensors picked up nothing."

Now he wanted their help, Archer thought. But Sopek wasn't about to get it, since they knew as much as the Vulcans did at the moment. "We don't know. This is the second attack today. We can't find anything on sensors either." He paused. "Maybe this attack and your missing people are linked in some way."

"Intriguing." Sopek paused for a moment as Archer stood, waiting for the Vulcan's next move. The stern captain came close to sighing. "Captain Archer, would you accompany us back to Corinos Prime for a further investigation?"

Archer stood, stunned at their sudden request for help. "Gladly," he replied. Sopek nodded and the transmission ended.

Jon motioned for Mayweather to plot a course as he sat back into his chair. There was something about the Vulcan's request that bothered him. Maybe they knew a great deal more than they were letting on.

He'd have to wait and see.

***

As the large door opened with a loud squeak, Trip rose from the floor quickly, standing between two masked men and T'Pol. "What the hell do you want?" Trip growled as he approached them. If they were going to take anyone this time, it would be he.

Without a word from either of the masked kidnappers, one approached Trip
and the other moved aside, towards T'Pol. "Don't touch her!" Trip exclaimed as he lunged himself at the second kidnapper. A hand quickly reached out, hauling him back. Trip struggled against the masked person's restraining hold as he watched the other masked man grab T'Pol from the floor.

"Leave her alone!" Trip hollered, but he was tugged aside to make way for T'Pol and the other masked person.

Neither of the masked men said a word as T'Pol was moved towards the door. Her eyes opened slowly and met Trip's yet again. For the first time, Trip saw real fear in her eyes.

Trip struggled forward, trying to reach her again, but strong hands held
him back, the grip cutting up the circulation to his lower arms. He lunged forward once more without success. Trip sighed in defeat, wondering how many more such sessions T'Pol could withstand.

Suddenly he was shoved ahead. He stumbled into the open doorway, reaching up to brace himself against the frame.

"Walk," the masked man said as he shoved Trip yet again, sending him stumbling. Trip straightened up and walked forward, moving behind the other masked kidnapper and T'Pol.

They were led down a corridor and into a small room at the back of the complex. The first masked man and T'Pol entered the darkness as Trip stopped and peered around the corner. His captor shoved him in the back yet again. Trip continued into the darkness and felt the large hands take hold of him. He struggled a little more, but realized it was useless - these people were at least twice as strong as he was.

Slowly he was hauled through the darkness across the room. He couldn't see a thing; all he could hear was a scuffle ahead of him. Beyond T'Pol and the two masked men, he had no idea who was in the room with him.

Thinkey

Continued in Part 4

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