Devil's Advocate - Ch 3

Devil’s Advocate

By Triplover

Disclaimer: When I own all this I’ll be sure to go outside and watch the pigs flying cause it’s never gonna happen.
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Angst
Rating: R (for violence and other stuff)
Summary: After saving a cargo ship filled with many different species, crewmembers on Enterprise are found dead.
A/N: I just want you guys to know I went through a lot of Law & Order tapes before I wrote this story! LOL I also watched a few CSI tapes. See all the work I put in just to make sure you guys are happy? ;)
A/N: I’d also just like to thank DAK for being my beta!

Chapter Three

Mistake For Murder

“How could this happen?!”

“It was an accident. Obviously while repairing one of the plasma cannons. I’ll need to perform an autopsy.”

Archer looked down at the dead body of a man far to young to die. He’d just made lieutenant not but four months ago. He didn’t deserve to die like this. He didn’t deserve to die at all... not yet, he was just so young. Jonathan closed his eyes before nodding. “Perform the autopsy. I want to know just exactly what happened!”

“Of course, Captain.”

Archer turned to see Henry Cortell and Kayla Wilder standing near the door of sickbay. Both were looking right at Lieutenant Harren’s body. The Captain walked over to the both of them, dropping a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “Why don’t the both of you take the rest of the day off? I know Lieutenant Harren was a friend of yours.”

They both nodded, leaving together just as Commander Tucker walked in. His eyes went straight to Harren, wide with shock and worry. “What the hell happened?!”

Archer stopped him from going any further since the Doctor was about to begin the autopsy. His hand lay on Trip’s chest, pushing him back a little. “The Doctor’s working on that, Trip.”

“One of my men just died, Cap’n! I want to know what the hell happened now!” he was shouting angrily. “They say he was tryin’ to replace the power cell in one of the phase cannons. What the hell did he think he was doin’? He wouldn’t do somethin’ without tellin’ me first.”

Archer ignored his behavior, knowing that he was upset over the death of a friend. “Trip, please calm down. The Doctor will inform you when he’s found out the cause of Harren’s death. In the meantime I need you on that cargo ship repairing their ship.”

Trip glared at his Captain. “A man just died! I don’t give a damn about some stupid cargo ship!”

“There’s nothing we can do but wait, Trip! The doctor is going to do whatever he can to find out what happened. There’s nothing you can do. Just work on the repairs and I’ll call you just as soon as we’ve learned what happened to him.”

Trip looked back at Harren. Jonathan could see the pain in his eyes. “He was my friend,” Tucker whispered. “He was a good guy.”

“I know, Trip. We’ll find out what happened. I swear to you, we’ll find out what happened.”

The engineer backed away, tears in his eyes, not even looking at Jonathan. “Yeah… fine.” At that he quickly retreated. Archer exhaled before glancing back, just as the

Doctor moved the curtain around Harren to begin the autopsy. Jonathan finally left, rubbing his forehead. Damn.

==

“Lieutenant Harren and I were going to pick the next movie for movie night,” Malcolm almost whispered before drinking his orange juice.”

Hoshi nodded. “I wish I’d known him better. He was always so easy going. I don’t think I ever saw him get angry… about anything.”

“He certainly knew how to relax. He once made a joke about teaching me that one day.” Malcolm chuckled. “Said I’d have back problems because of being so stiff all the time.”

Hoshi laughed. “That’s Vince, the guy wasn’t afraid to tell anyone what he thought of them. I remember the first year he told me I jumped more than ticks on dogs. I wanted to slap the guy at first… but I suppose he was right. I had been a little edgy when I first came onboard.”

Lieutenant Reed gave her a knowing smile. “At least you changed. It might have taken a few years, but you did it. Apparently I still had a ways to go before I have ‘eased up’ enough.”

“Then it’s too bad he’s not here. I bet he’d be the only one on this ship to get you to finally let your guard down.”

Malcolm glared at Hoshi. “I’ll have you know I’ve ‘let my guard down’ plenty compared to how I used to be. I had to ‘let my guard down’ in a place like this. Not even my parents know me as well as most of the people on this ship. The Captain, Trip and you being the main ones to actually understand me.”

Hoshi was grinning back at him. “Just because we know you, it doesn’t mean we understand you, Malcolm.”

Malcolm’s glare disappeared as he flashed a smirk her way. “Very funny.”

“I thought so.”

Both laughed together just as they heard someone walk over to them. “What’re you two laughin’ about?”

Malcolm almost jumped when he realized who it was. “Uh, nothing Commander. Please, take a seat.” When he looked up at the Commander he could see he wasn’t in one of his better moods. He seemed on edge. He had bags under his eyes and his hair wasn’t as neat as it usually was. Trip took a seat, letting out a sigh as he did so before rubbing his eyes. “You okay, sir?” Hoshi asked.

Trip looked up at her and tried to reassure her with a smile, but it looked faked. “I’m okay, just a little tired. Haven’t been getting much sleep.”

Hoshi and Malcolm looked at each other knowingly. “Oh really, Trip? This wouldn’t be Commander T’Pol’s doing, would it?” Malcolm teased.

Trip glared at the Lieutenant, the kind of glare that would scare any security officer, if he didn’t know better. “No, it has nothin’ to do with T’Pol. I’ve uh… just… had a few nightmares lately.”

“What about?” Hoshi asked between bites of her food.

Tucker opened his mouth to speak but then forced it shut for a few seconds, hesitating.
“It was nothin’… just some stupid dreams.”

“They are obviously not stupid enough to keep you awake at night,” Hoshi fought.

Trip smiled. He was sure a few years ago she never would be this assertive. The commander thought of not telling her, but when he thought about it he realized it wasn’t at all what he wanted. These two people were his friends, and it would be good to get it out in the open. “Well last night I went to sleep just as soon as my head hit the pillow. I don’t really remember the nightmare; all I remember is this feeling. I could see eyes looking back at me. They almost looked… afraid. I don’t know how I can explain what happened. I just remember this feeling, like I was trapped.” It seemed to pour out of him; even with his hesitation on the matter he could not stop himself.

“Trapped?” Hoshi prompted.

Trip nodded. “Like I was locked up in some type of a room, and yet I could see past the walls around me… I just couldn’t move past them. I had no control. Everythin’ was dark. I couldn’t see a thing. I just remember feelin’ helpless. When I woke up I felt more tired than I had before goin’ to sleep, guess that happens when you toss and turn all night. I finally get a real good six-hour sleep and I still feel like I’ve been up all night.”

Hoshi bit her bottom lip, thinking. “Maybe you feel helpless about something in your life. It could be something from your subconscious trying to tell you about a feeling you’ve suppressed. It happens all the time. The brain will use the subconscious in order to help people see things that they have suppressed without realizing what had happened. Maybe your feeling of helplessness in the dream was projecting a problem you have. Something could be bothering you, a feeling of not being in control that you’ve pushed away.”

Both Malcolm and Trip stared at Hoshi in surprise.

“What?”

“What are you? A psychologist or somethin’?” Trip asked.

Hoshi blushed. “No, I uh… just know a lot about that kind of stuff. I like to read,” she explained. They kept staring at her. “What? Stop looking at me like that.”

The two men finally looked away still surprised, Trip was shaking his head smiling faintly. “Whatever ya say, Hoshi.” He then looked back down at his untouched lunch. “Well I gotta go.”

“What about your food?” Malcolm asked him.

Trip stood, looking down at Lieutenant Reed. “Suddenly, I’m not very hungry anymore. Besides, I got a lot of work to do.” Trip rubbed his eyes sighing before turning to leave them. “See ya later.”

Hoshi frowned as he left the mess hall. “What’s with him?”

Malcolm shrugged. “How should I know? I guess sleeping problems can do a lot to a person.”

Hoshi turned back to look at Malcolm. “So can bad dreams.”

==

Jolen again looked down at a picture of his family before hiding it away, in case someone from Enterprise found it. No one was to know about his true identity, not yet at least, not until the he did what he’d come here to do.

“How have things progressed?”

Jolen swirled around before realizing who it was. “Would you please stop doing that!”

Daniels gave a faint smile. “I asked you a question.”

“They’re going fine! The first has been eliminated.”

“Good, time has already changed. Vince Harren helped improve engine efficiency when he made it to chief engineer. Although the change was barely enough to be noticed, the next person to die will not have that affect.”

“Who? Who is this person?”

“You will find this out in due time, Jolen.”

Jolen slammed his fist down on his desk in anger. “I am tired of your resistance to share information with me about the future! You were the one that brought me here so I could exact revenge! Yet you do not help me? I wish to know who is next!”

Daniels took a few steps closer. “Commander Tucker will tell you that, Jolen. You must simply pay attention. I can do little to help you, not with them monitoring me. They sent me here to investigate this change in the timeline. It would not take them long to find out who is responsible with most of the factions gone. The only one left is the faction working for the Suliban. If they get wind that it is not the Sulibon behind this they will trace it back to me and you will not get the chance to punish Commander Tucker for his crime. You do want to punish him… don’t you?”

Jolen glared at the man. “Of course I do!”

Daniels nodded. “Just checking, the last person to fail me is no longer here. Do not make the same mistake. You may think that I am working to help you, but in truth you are working to help me.”

Jolen would never understand this man, what was his reason to kill Commander Tucker? Did this man complete an important task in the future? “Why do you want him?”

“Who?”

Croft rolled his eyes. “Do not play coy with me, Daniels. You want Commander Tucker dead, I only wish to know your reasons.”

“That is none of your concern!” Daniels barked.

Jolen was not afraid. “Is it? Are you sure? This agreement we have taken may be beneficial for me, but I do not see how it will help you.”

“I will gain your loyalty,” Daniels answered.

Jolen smiled. “We both know you care nothing about what I could bring to you. You can control time, use anyone in this universe as you please… why me?”

Daniels hesitated for only a second before answering. “You have a hate for this man, a hate that I can use.”

“Why use all your power to kill one man?”

“I will not be killing one man, Jolen. I will be killing millions.”

“By the death of just one man?”

Daniels paced the room, smiling. “He may seem to be one man, and he alone is of little importance… it is about what he will provide, what he will contribute to this future that makes him important. The Suliban have little interest in him, but I on the other hand see his importance.” The time traveler paused to look at him. “Amazing isn’t it? That one man could hold in his hands the life of millions without ever realizing it. Yet, he does hold those lives in his hands, and it’s all because of something seemly so simple. That is what’s of most interest… that a man doing something so simple could change the course of history, and open it to possibilities that would have never been known otherwise. He is the key, because he was the first.”

Jolen nodded, finally understanding. “My father once told me that it’s always important to look ahead to the future, but if you do not remember what came behind you, you’ll fall into the ditch.”

Daniels looked at him, not quite understanding its meaning.

Croft smiled at the memory. “It means that in life, we must always look ahead to the future, looking to see what will happen, but we can not do anything about what’s to come if we forget past mistakes. How can we avoid something if we have no memory of it being bad?”

Finally the time traveler nodded. “Without him, without the past that he helped create, humanity would fall in the ditch it before avoided. With no knowledge of what could have been possible, they would make the same mistakes, only in this future those mistakes would be more costly than if they had made them before. In this case it is not about mistakes, but about a possibility they avoided thanks to the Commander. Without him, people will be erased, people who are very important, and without them… how will they avoid the ditch?”

Jolen raised on eyebrow. “Exactly. I am beginning to understand your interest in this man.”

==

Trip wasn’t exactly sure where he was going, but he followed his feet anyway, waiting to see where it would take him. By the time his feet began to stop he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. It was the place where Lieutenant Vince Harren was killed. Why would he come here? This was the last place he wanted to be. He just wanted to take his mind off of all this, if only for a second. Dammit! It felt so wrong for him to die this young. He was a good guy, smart, and he knew how to play the sax better than any man Trip had ever known. He should have died an old man, not like this.

The engineer walked around the small room looking at his surroundings, before noticing the power cell lying on the floor. When Phlox had been called everyone vacated the area. They had no idea what had happened and weren’t about to mess with anything in the room until they figured out what had happened.

Trip stooped down to pick up the item only to get a small shock. As an engineer, he was used to getting shocked, burned and sometimes cut, but he just touched the thing and it shocked him! It was then that he noticed that the power cell wasn’t fully charged. Why would Harren replace a used power cell with one that wasn’t even at full power? Unless…. If he had touched it while it was fully charged it would have been enough to… enough to kill him! With that kind of energy the electroshock would stop his heart before he even got a chance to realize what was going on.

The Commander looked up to see the power cell locker. “My god!” he whispered. Damn, the power cell! That was it! It was the power cell! Trip stood and ran over to the com unit. “Commander Tucker to Cap’n Archer!”

“I’m here Trip,” Archer said through the com.

“I think ya should get down here… there’s somethin’ I need to show you. Bring the doc too, I think he’ll wanna see this too.”

“Where are you, Trip?”

So upset about his findings had been Trip that he completely forgot about telling them where he was. He shook his head slightly, trying to suppress his impatience.

“Engineering… I’m where Lieutenant Harren died.”

“I’ll be right there!”

Trip nodded just as the com went off. Now he knew the truth… it was about damn time, still that did not help the growing fear inside him. He again reached for the power cell, enduring the shock that went down his arm as he tried to examine its components.

==

Once Archer and the Doctor reached engineering they headed straight towards Trip, both looking very worried for the Commander. “What’s going on here, Trip?” Archer asked in his usual commanding tone.

Trip was crouching in front of a power cell when he stood and turned towards them. “Since no one knows what happened I made sure my engineers didn’t touch anything in here. Don’t ask me why, I just thought it might be better just in case. Now I’m glad I did. I was walkin’ around when I just got this feelin’. I came here and I noticed the power cell. I was about to pick it up simply to check it out when it shocked me.”

Archer frowned in confusion. “Trip, what does this have to do with Lieutenant Harren’s death?”

Trip looked down at the power cell. “When I touched it, it shocked me. Lieutenant Harren was tryin’ to replace the power cell in one of the phase cannons. Now, a power cell is protected very carefully with a metal to prevent electroshock, since the power of that shock would immediately stop the heart. Normally even with that metal surrounding it there is still a small electro wave coming from within the power cell that may leak out, but it’s of course harmless, not nearly enough to shock me the way this power cell did. I’ve felt that electro wave, but when I touched the power cell this time… it was different. The shock was more powerful, way more powerful. It wasn’t enough to do anything to me but if that thing had been fully charged… I woulda been dead.”

Phlox took a step closer. “You think that’s what killed Vince Harren.” It wasn’t a question.

Trip nodded. “I think he took the power cell and as soon as he touched it, it shocked him, enough to stop his heart completely.”

Phlox frowned as he looked down at the power cell. “I came to the same conclusion after I finished my autopsy. It looked as if the electricity went through the hand and into his body. It’s more than likely that this could be the cause.”

“That’s not all,” Trip added. “I had to shock myself a few times but I needed to see how this could happen. There was no way anyone would make a mistake like this with a power cell. It would be too dangerous. People check and recheck this over and over again to make sure everything is safe. This was no mistake. Cap’n, I think someone tampered with it. We should see if we can lift some prints, I think he was murdered.”

Archer’s eyes widened as he looked over at Trip. “Murdered?”

The Commander ran a hand through his hair, swallowing hard. “The only question is who would want to kill Harren?”

Archer lifted one eyebrow before rubbing his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Chapter 4

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Four of you have made comments

Oooh, excellent! Good work Trip. I am really not liking Daniels in this story and his reasoning for why he wants Trip dead seems more like something the Suliban would want to achieve than a human. So is the Daniels Croft deals with really the human time traveller or a Suliban agent faking it? Good story, can't wait for the next part. Ali D :~)

Once again i love this story! But this murder better not find out about T'pol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very intrigueing. Look forward to your next chapter.

I always knew Daniels was evil!